"Miss Li, we've known each other for a while, and we had a good time chatting in the wooden cell. I'll be quick and make sure you don't feel any pain," Zhou Chen said.
After speaking, Zhou Chen raised the saber in his hand, seemingly about to strike.
At this critical moment, he suddenly changed direction and swung the saber fiercely at Xie Qizhi, who was beside him.
The turn of events was too swift. Xie Qizhi dodged instinctively.
However, he had never anticipated such a betrayal and couldn't react in time.
"Ah—"
With a scream, Xie Qizhi's left arm was directly severed.
Simultaneously, the others who had taken weapons turned on the bandits beside them with such decisive and brutal force, as if they harbored an unresolvable hatred for them.
The scene instantly descended into chaos.
Li Yue Shu subconsciously covered Shen Zhi Yu's eyes and turned to the children, "Close your eyes, all of you. Don't look."
The children were terrified by the scene. Hearing Li Yue Shu's words, they instinctively closed their eyes and covered their ears as well.
Seeing that Xie Qizhi was not killed instantly, Zhou Chen raised his saber again.
But Xie Qizhi was already on guard. He dodged and struck Zhou Chen with a palm strike.
Zhou Chen, unable to evade, took the full force of the blow.
Xie Qizhi's internal energy was profound. If he hadn't just lost an arm, that palm strike would have certainly taken Zhou Chen's life.
Although all twelve of them had defected, Xie Qizhi had many bandits with him. They quickly reacted and surrounded them, along with Li Yue Shu.
Xie Qizhi sealed his acupoints and bandaged his arm crudely. His face was pale as he glared at Zhou Chen, "You dare betray me?!"
Zhou Chen let out a cold laugh, "I've never been loyal to you, so how can you speak of betrayal?"
He indifferently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Xie Qizhi, you've killed so many people. I doubt you even know how many wish you dead!"
Zhou Chen made no effort to hide his hatred and killing intent. "More than twenty years ago, you brought your men to Qing Yong Mountain and became bandits. You massacred the villages within a dozen miles, stealing all the women and children!"
"We twelve are the only remaining bloodlines from all the surrounding villages! Our parents and brothers were all killed by you!"
Listening to Zhou Chen's words, all of Li Yue Shu's doubts were resolved at this moment.
This Xie Qizhi truly deserved to die!
However, his name sounded so familiar. Could he be a character from the original book?
Xie Qizhi stared in shock at these twelve people whose eyes burned with hatred, as if they wanted to flay him alive. He had never expected them to have such a background.
After choosing Qing Yong Mountain back then, he had specifically cleared the surrounding area to keep its secrets. He hadn't paid much attention even if someone managed to escape.
For so many years, no one had sought revenge against him. He had thought everyone was dead.
But he never imagined that these people had endured for so many years to get revenge, even fawning over him and pretending to join Qing Yong Mountain to gain his trust.
Anger surged in Xie Qizhi's heart, and his sinister eyes deepened. "You should have died twenty years ago. Since you were lucky enough to survive, you should have lived in obscurity! If you want to die, I'll grant you your wish!"
"Kill them all and feed them to the wild beasts!"
At his command, the enraged bandits charged forward.
Li Yue Shu took out her scalpel. The others now had weapons and were no longer helpless against the bandits' attacks.
However, the bandits outnumbered them significantly, and they also had to protect the children. The group began to falter.
Zhou Chen, at the forefront, was already injured and was quickly cornered by two men, sustaining several wounds.
Seeing his movements slow down, a bandit behind him shifted the direction of his blade and lunged at him.
Just as the man was about to wound Zhou Chen, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Li Yue Shu flipped her wrist and threw the man over her shoulder with an over-the-shoulder throw.
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Chen looked back and realized he had narrowly escaped death. He gratefully said to Li Yue Shu, "Thank you, Miss Li."
Li Yue Shu nodded and rejoined the fray, not noticing a flicker of contemplation in Zhou Chen's eyes as he looked at her.
This Miss Li was likely no ordinary person.
Just as the fierce battle raged, a commotion suddenly erupted from the foot of the mountain. It sounded like many people were approaching.
"Bad news! Leader, bad news..." a bandit rushed over in a panic. "The imperial army... the imperial army is coming up the mountain! They're coming from all directions, we can't hold them!"
"What?!" Xie Qizhi's face turned grim. "What's going on? Why are the imperial troops here so suddenly? How did they get up the mountain?"
The reporting bandit was terrified. "Fires are breaking out all over the stronghold. My brothers are busy putting them out and didn't notice the approaching imperial army! They're coming up from several places. My brothers can't handle it, and we couldn't find the leader or the second-in-command, so... so we've lost control!"
Hearing this, Xie Qizhi stumbled, and if not for the person beside him supporting him, he would have collapsed.
He suddenly thought of something and glared ferociously at Li Yue Shu and Qin Mo Yuan, "Did you summon those imperial troops? Who exactly are you?"
When the reporting bandit mentioned the imperial army's arrival, the melee stopped.
Although Li Yue Shu and the others were still surrounded, the bandits clearly lacked their previous air of assured victory.
Li Yue Shu's expression was sarcastic. "Want to know? Go ask the King of Hell!"
"You..."
Xie Qizhi's rage flared, burning away his reason. He instinctively lunged forward, but the reporting bandit quickly pulled him back. "Leader, as long as we're alive, there's hope for the future. The second-in-command has already taken the goods and retreated. We should run too!"
Xie Qizhi was unwilling, but thinking of his master's hard work, he could only suppress all his anger. "Retreat!"
The single word seemed to contain all his hatred and unwillingness as he roared it out.
Thus, Xie Qizhi and all the bandits fled, leaving behind only pools of blood and a severed left arm.
Only when they were completely out of sight did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Some who couldn't hold on any longer collapsed onto the ground, and even Zhou Chen knelt down.
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu took out some wound medicine and asked Shen Zhi Yu to help distribute it to everyone.
She herself then handed a bottle of medicine to Qin Mo Yuan.
Qin Mo Yuan looked at her and then pouted, "Can Ah Shu apply medicine to me?"
As he spoke, he held out his hands.
The retort Li Yue Shu was about to deliver died on her lips. She suddenly swallowed it back.
Qin Mo Yuan's hands were covered in scratches, some of which were even stained with sand and dirt, appearing almost mangled.
Li Yue Shu's voice grew hoarse, and she asked hesitantly, "After being thrown off the cliff, how did you survive?"