"Okay," Fu Xin Ci agreed with the brave young man.
Qi He, however, came to Fu Xin Ci for advice, "Sister Fu, what should we do about those women?"
"When I get back, I'll have Mama Yang and Grandma Han come to help," Fu Xin Ci said. Then she rode her horse back to the Meng family courtyard and had Grandma Han and Mama Yang, along with clothes, take the horse-drawn carriage driven by Meng Qi Cheng to the seaside.
As she urged her horse to follow, she saw Ning'er catching up from behind.
"Sister, I want to fight the Japanese pirates with you too."
"Yes, when our Ning'er is a little older, he'll go fight Japanese pirates with his sister."
Ning'er hadn't expected his sister to say that and pouted.
Fu Xin Ci didn't have time to coax him and asked Madam Fang to take him back.
"Mother, please take Ning'er inside and lock the courtyard gate. Try not to let unfamiliar people in."
"Alright," Madam Fang responded, pulling her youngest son inside. Ning'er was still a bit unhappy.
"Mother, close the gate."
"Alright." Madam Fang was very obedient to her daughter and immediately, with Chun Yu and a few others, bolted the courtyard gate from the inside.
Fu Xin Ci sat on her horse and, thinking her grandfather wasn't home, guessed that he had likely gone to the mountain pass.
The beach was temporarily safe, so she decided to urge her horse to the mountain pass to check.
Her white horse galloped through the town. On both sides of the street, shops and residences were all closed up.
As the white horse neared the mountain pass, the noisy sounds from within became clearer.
"I wonder what it's like outside?"
"The fighting at the seaside was fierce. It was over in the blink of an eye."
"Don't talk nonsense. What do you mean 'in the blink of an eye'? You wouldn't finish blinking ten times."
"Why are you being so argumentative? I was just making a comparison."
"Even as a comparison, you can't say that. Didn't you hear what Lord Yan's subordinates said earlier? They were almost worked to death just now."
"Lord Yan's subordinates were whispering to Lord Yan with their hands over their mouths earlier, wanting to borrow some firearms from Miss Fu."
Upon hearing the mention of firearms, many people stopped their chatter and pricked up their ears.
"Those of us who went to the seaside heard it all. At the beginning, it sounded like thunder, boom, boom, one after another. We could hear it clearly from the pine forest."
"Yes, there were several booms. I didn't count them."
"At least seven or eight times."
"There were."
"The sounds later were also quite terrifying, a 'tut-tut-tut' sound, a burst of 'tut-tut-tut,' and I even heard the screams of those Japanese pirates."
"What? You feel sorry for the Japanese pirates dying?"
"Don't spout that nonsense. I'm holding a club, and I feel like I've lost out if I haven't hit any Japanese pirates."
"Yeah, it was a wasted trip to the seaside. Later, we saw Lord Yan leading General Jin and his men towards the mountain pass, and we rushed after them with our donkey cart, but we couldn't catch up."
The few men spoke with such vigor that their mouths were dry, but they still couldn't stop talking.
Those who hadn't gone to the seaside grew anxious. "You're making it sound so fantastical. What amazing things did Miss Fu bring out today to deal with the Japanese pirates?"
"We were just saying, we didn't see it, but we heard the sounds. The earlier sounds were like thunder, and then the 'tut-tut-tut' sound, I don't know what it was like."
"Yes."
Those who had been to the seaside nodded in agreement.
Grandpa Meng listened to their accounts, his heart churning like a stormy sea. His granddaughter's secrets had been seen by Yan Yi. What was to be done?
Fu Xin Ci, unaware of her grandfather's worries, urged her horse and galloped over.
The people gathered in the mountain pass heard the sound of hooves. Seeing that it was Miss Fu, they all greeted her proactively.
"Miss Fu."
"Miss Fu has arrived."
"Mmm."
Fu Xin Ci smiled and nodded at each of them, acknowledging their greetings. The frequency of nodding became so rapid that she felt her cervical spine could barely take it.
Finally, she spotted her grandfather. Fu Xin Ci immediately dismounted and walked over.
Grandpa Meng knew his granddaughter's capabilities, but when he saw the dried bloodstains on her dress, he still felt a prickle of fear.
"Is Ci'er alright?"
"Don't worry, Grandfather, your granddaughter is fine."
Grandpa Meng looked at his granddaughter's complexion, which was still the same as usual, and his worry lessened slightly.
Fu Xin Ci's gaze swept around before she secretly asked her grandfather, "Grandfather, how many men did Uncle Qi take with him?"
Grandpa Meng glanced around. Seeing that many people were still looking at his granddaughter with awe, but no one was approaching, he recounted what he knew to his granddaughter in broad terms.
"The moment your Uncle Qi saw the signal fire, he took ninety percent of the soldiers from the thousand-household command to reinforce them."
"Ninety percent? That means, apart from Qi He and their small squad, only the soldiers here in the mountain pass remained."
"Yes. Originally, your Uncle Qi intended to leave Old Jin and the others behind too, but Lord Yan took Old Jin and them as well."
"Lord Yan and Uncle Jin already had a fierce battle, especially Lord Yan..."
Fu Xin Ci recalled the bloody battle earlier. Yan Yi had always been at the forefront of the charge, and she had even heard him grumble that his saber had become dull.
His subordinates had laughed and teased him, saying that their lord wasn't the only one whose saber was dull.
She was still influenced by the television dramas and movies from before the apocalypse, and she harbored a certain wariness of the East Factory, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the like.
Subconsciously, her instinct was to stay as far away from them as possible.
However, at this critical juncture today, she had still chosen to save Yan Yi. After all, if a high-ranking official like him were to meet his end at Eagle Beak Cliff, Uncle Qi would have to bear all the consequences.
And most importantly, she felt that Yan Yi was a decent person. At least their family had never suffered any grievances under Yan Yi.
Moreover, their family had received Yan Yi's help, not just once.
Therefore, in return for his past kindness, she couldn't let Yan Yi meet his end today.
Thinking of this, she worried about the direction of the signal fire and wondered how the battle was going on that side.
Fu Xin Ci's heart was heavy with concern, and Qi He's heart was also in suspense. It wasn't until dusk that news of victory arrived from the east.
The Japanese pirates had been repelled. It was also thanks to Qi Yuan Shan and the timely arrival of reinforcements from the thousand-household command. Otherwise, a county town would have been in peril.
It was said that Lord Yan, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, seeing so many Japanese pirates attacking the town, had become so furious that he had loudly cursed the pirates' ancestors for eighteen generations.
After slashing with his saber for a long time, still unsatisfied, he had declared that he would race with Commander Qi to see who could kill more Japanese pirates.
In the end, he had lost to Qi Yuan Shan.
The next day, both Qi Yuan Shan and Yan Yi were carried back by their soldiers.
Upon receiving the news, Qi He rode to the thousand-household command without delay.
"Father." As he took three rapid steps into his father's room, he saw another injured person in his father's room.