"Xin Ci, what did you tell your Uncle Qi?"
"I wrote on the note that many Tatars are galloping towards our garrison. I told Uncle Qi to bring reinforcements quickly."
"Xin Ci, you did wonderfully." Old Jin didn't know what words of gratitude to use. They weren't people who indulged in empty platitudes, and with the Tatars so close, he had no time to dwell on it.
Old Jin, as a veteran who had seen great storms, was not flustered even with the Tatar army at their doorstep. He continued to assign tasks to each soldier in an orderly fashion.
Seeing that Uncle Jin had made most of his arrangements and glancing at the determined eyes of each soldier, Fu Xin Ci left them with a single instruction: "Uncle Jin, everyone lie down."
"Lie down?"
"It means for us to all get down on the ground," Zheng Xiaoqi said. Then, as if remembering something, his eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Is Xin Ci going to fire her cannons again?"
"Is it that thing that sounds like thunder?"
"It seems so. Otherwise, Xin Ci wouldn't tell us to lie down."
"Everyone, lie down quickly!" Old Jin's command was followed by the swift descent of the garrison soldiers to the ground.
There was no tension in their hearts now, only excited anticipation.
Fu Xin Ci crawled back to higher ground and followed the mountain's residual ridge forward. From a distance, she could already see dust swirling without the need for binoculars.
Fu Xin Ci lay low behind the rocks, calculating the maximum damage of the hand grenades.
She saw the Tatars, who had been urging their horses forward, come to a halt.
Just as she was puzzling over this, a few Tatars came to investigate.
Fu Xin Ci understood. These Tatars had likely smelled the strong scent of blood. However, they couldn't yet be sure who had been killed.
But it was only a matter of time before they found out, as they knew their own people.
Given their character, if they had killed someone, they would surely have celebrated with loud shouts. They wouldn't have been so silent.
Realizing this, the Tatars became even more hesitant to advance. The more they thought about it, the more they felt an unsettling eeriness in the silence.
From afar, a series of unintelligible guttural words drifted intermittently. Fu Xin Ci could tell from their emotions that these Tatars were anxious and angry.
Fu Xin Ci really wanted to curse them. You invaders, anxiety should always accompany you! And anger? Do you deserve it?
However, just as she was preparing to act, she saw the Tatars actually turn their horses around and flee in a different direction.
"...?" What was the meaning of this?
Old Jin had also been lying on the main road, listening intently. As he listened, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Xin Ci, did those Tatars run away?"
"Yes, I saw them turn their horses and head north."
"They're running away."
"Uncle Jin, what should we do?"
"Let Uncle Jin think," Old Jin's mind rapidly calculated the odds. Fifty against five hundred, or even more. Without the ability to ambush, their chances of facing them head-on were slim.
There might be no chance of success, but he didn't want the Tatars to escape.
Qi He, however, was so excited his hands and feet didn't know where to go. He loudly suggested to Uncle Jin, "Uncle Jin, let's chase them!"
Old Jin: "Of course, we have to chase them. It's just that our numbers are so disproportionate. If only a brother garrison could help us out."
"Bazong?"
"Damn it, all that lying in ambush was for nothing."
After cursing, Old Jin was about to order everyone to get up and mount their horses to chase those Tatar beasts when he heard the little girl's voice, a mixture of surprise and joy, call out, "Uncle Jin, those Tatars are running back!"
"Really?" Old Jin felt his voice change. He was so excited.
"Yes." Fu Xin Ci held up her telescope. She could clearly see the flags of the Ming army, and on the leading flag, a large character 'Liu'.
When Old Jin heard the little girl's words, he laughed heartily, "It's General Liu and his men! Let's mount up and intercept those damned Tatar beasts."
"Yes."
As Uncle Jin led the garrison soldiers out, Qi He was about to follow but was stopped by Fu Xin Ci.
"Sister Fu?"
"We can't follow when they're facing the enemy head-on. Otherwise, we'd be Uncle Jin's weakness."
Fu Xin Ci didn't want to cause trouble for Uncle Jin. After speaking, her gaze swept over Qi He and her own small frame.
Qi He immediately understood and asked with some dejection, "Then what are we going to do now?"
"Come, I'll take you." Fu Xin Ci didn't answer directly but grabbed Qi He's arm and activated her wood-elemental ability, galloping forward along the residual ridge of the mountain.
Qi He was already accustomed to it and no longer startled as he was at first. He obediently let his sister Fu guide him.
However, before they got close, Fu Xin Ci noticed something was wrong. She quickly stopped and hid behind a patch of low-lying bushes.
After letting go of Qi He, she couldn't afford to be so careful anymore. For the first time, she took out her telescope in front of Qi He.
She saw the two armies in a standoff, separated by less than a hundred paces. The front rank of the Ming army consisted of archers, while the front rank of the Tatars had musketeers.
Fu Xin Ci was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected the Tatars to have firearms this early.
After a moment of surprise, she couldn't help but adjust her distance and observe carefully.
These were likely the oldest type of firearms, the kind where after one shot, it took a long time to reload and fire again.
In Fu Xin Ci's opinion, although this weapon was inconvenient, it fired scattershots, and anyone hit by it was almost certainly incapacitated.
She couldn't let her own people suffer, so she instructed Qi He to stay put and not move, then she darted out.
She shouted three times, "Lie down!" Regardless of whether the Ming soldiers understood, she was already close to the Tatars.
She used her space as a cover, and while the Tatars were still bewildered, she threw her hand grenades.
Two loud explosions followed, and the ground seemed to shake. The Tatar musketeers in the front rank were almost blown away.
Most of the Ming soldiers stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before them: a tiny figure darting in and out of the Tatar ranks.
Where she appeared, and then disappeared, a deafening boom would sound, followed by Tatars being flung into the air, and then falling as scattered limbs and broken bodies.
On the Ming army's side, many warhorses were affected. All the generals dismounted their horses and desperately held onto their steeds to prevent them from being spooked and causing harm.
General Liu, however, had eyes shining with excitement, staring intently at the flickering little girl.
"Hahaha, wu."
General Liu was so engrossed in his laughter that he didn't notice a clod of earth that had been blasted into the air land in front of him.
At this moment, he finally understood why the little girl had shouted, "Lie down," before taking action.