Many things are troublesome when it gets dark. The visible area shrinks until eventually, one is plunged into complete darkness, unable to see anything.
Li Dong struck a flint several times, but the surroundings remained pitch black, with no end in sight. Chen Xiaobei finally stopped. "Brother Li Dong, we can't go any further. If we're out of options, we'll have to go back."
"Go back?" Li Dong was stunned. "What if those people find us? Wouldn't that be..."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "I've thought it through. If we go back now, we can pretend we were just starting our ascent into the mountains and are now descending. The leader of those men knows me, and perhaps they'll let us pass."
"And if they don't let us go, at least I can warn Sun Jian in advance if Cui Hongyu arrives."
After hearing Chen Xiaobei's analysis, Li Dong nodded.
"You have a point. Let's go back now."
Chen Xiaobei's worries were not unfounded. At this very moment, Cui Hongyu at home was starting to get anxious.
Chen Xiaobei had never returned this late from the mountains before. Could something have happened again? After all, there were wolves on Mount Qingniu.
Even Chen Qiao'er was getting a bit worried. She tugged on Cui Hongyu's hand and asked, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, when will brother be back?"
After a moment of thought, Cui Hongyu took Chen Qiao'er to find Chen Dayong.
Upon hearing Cui Hongyu's explanation, Chen Dayong patted his chest. "Hongyu, don't worry. I'll organize our men right away and prepare to head up the mountain."
With that, he turned to rally the village defense team.
Cui Hongyu thought for a moment and then said, "Brother Dayong, I have eight repeating crossbows at home. Please take them with you when you go."
At this very moment, some people had already entered the mountain.
La Erduo, Yang Zhi, La Tu'er, and others, led by a young man, skirted around Hetou Village and quietly entered the mountain.
Entering the mountain at night, and doing so openly with torches, perhaps they saw this trip to Mount Qingniu as a mere outing.
As they walked, Yang Zhi vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
Seeing his apprehension, La Erduo couldn't help but chuckle.
"Second brother, there's no need to be so tense. Relax."
The young man leading the way smiled slightly. "Everyone, please rest assured. We have reliable information that the other party won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. You can all proceed with confidence."
Hearing this, La Tu'er's lips curled into a sinister smile.
Soon, everyone arrived at the Mountain God Temple.
La Tu'er suddenly spoke, "Big brother, let's take a break here first." With that, he plopped down.
La Erduo considered it. There was no rush. "Alright, everyone rest for a bit." He then turned to the young man leading them and asked, "How much further?"
The young man smiled slightly. "Still more than ten li. No rush, no rush."
While everyone rested, Yang Zhi, holding a torch, circled the Mountain God Temple carefully. His gaze fell upon the wooden stick and pile of stones left by Chen Xiaobei.
It was clear these were man-made traces, and Yang Zhi's heart skipped a beat.
He returned to La Erduo's side and said in a low voice, "Big brother, it seems someone has been here."
La Erduo smiled and handed him a water skin. "Brother, didn't the guide say the opponents won't come until tomorrow? I suspect these are just traces left by villagers."
Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, Yang Zhi reluctantly turned away and went to the two young men, lowering his voice. "Second brother, third brother, stay close to me later."
These two were his paternal brothers, one named Yang Yuan and the other Yang Bo.
"Is something wrong, big brother?" Yang Yuan asked.
"Yes, I just scouted around. Someone has been here, and they deliberately left traces."
"Second and third brothers, my eyelids have been twitching non-stop. We must be careful later."
After a short rest, La Erduo gathered his men, preparing to continue upwards.
At this point, Yang Zhi approached him again and advised, "Big brother, just in case, let's extinguish a few torches, leaving only the one at the front for guidance."
La Erduo thought for a moment and finally agreed.
It was fortunate for Yang Zhi's advice that it, to some extent, changed the fate of those present.
Meanwhile, La Tu'er, with Batu and others, deliberately lagged behind.
This was a slightly unusual move, but neither Yang Zhi nor La Erduo noticed it at first.
Soon, Sun Jian and his men on the mountain received the news.
Indeed, they arrived on schedule. Sun Jian couldn't help but let out a cold snort. They've come right to my doorstep, so don't blame me for being impolite.
After the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, La Erduo, Yang Zhi, and the others walked into the ambush.
Sun Gui led his men, hidden behind a small steep slope on the mountain path ahead.
Seeing La Erduo and his group approach, the young man was anxious.
Impatiently, he raised his repeating crossbow and fired two bolts at the torch-bearing guide ahead.
Yang Zhi, with his keen senses, was walking forward when he heard a low firing sound in his ear. He then saw the guide ahead stagger and cry out. Losing his grip, the torch fell.
Yang Zhi knew something was wrong. There was indeed an ambush.
In the fleeting moment the torch fell, he quickly surveyed the surrounding terrain.
A cliff on his left, and what seemed to be a path on his right.
With this thought, Yang Zhi rapidly crouched down, stepped forward, picked up the fallen torch, and flung it forcefully down the cliff.
The scene was instantly plunged into darkness.
Sun Gui clearly hadn't anticipated Yang Zhi's move.
The bright light of the torch suddenly moved rapidly, causing a brief moment of disorientation.
The men around Sun Gui instinctively stopped their actions.
In this split second, Yang Zhi grabbed the arms of his two brothers, Yang Yuan and Yang Bo, and quickly moved towards the right, stooping low. He had already seen a narrow path there.
Only now did Sun Gui recover and shout, "Quick, quick, shoot!"
A series of dull thuds followed, the sound of repeating crossbow bolts hitting flesh.
La Erduo, lying on the ground, shouted loudly, "Second brother, second brother, retreat quickly!"
"Third brother, retreat quickly."
Before the shouts died down, several strange sounds were heard.
Then, white smoke began to fill the area.
La Erduo knew this was bad. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he rolled a few times on the ground and reached the edge of the cliff.
Without a word, he jumped down.
La Tu'er, who had been lingering at the back, heard the fighting ahead. Without hesitation, he beckoned Batu and turned to run back.
Yang Zhi, leading Yang Bo and Yang Yuan, felt their way along the narrow path towards the woods, but were spotted by figures in black within the forest.
As the three approached, a point of light was suddenly thrown from the woods. The sudden flash startled Yang Yuan, who was in front.
Before he could react, with two soft thuds, two arrows struck him. Yang Yuan coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Seeing this, Yang Zhi's heart tightened. He hadn't expected an ambush here.
But now, he had no other choice. He believed that since there was an ambush here, their retreat must have been cut off, so retreating down the mountain would be unwise.