The little maidservant wife was also awakened by him. Thinking he needed to relieve himself, she rubbed her eyes and said, “Husband, I’ll get the chamber pot for you.”
“There are enemies attacking at night. Get up immediately, take the little tiger, and hide in the cellar. Lock the cover from inside. Do not come out until I call you,” Li Chen said in a low and urgent voice.
“Ah?” She was startled, clutching the little tiger as she sat up in panic.
Li Chen quickly settled her arrangements, then grabbed his hunting bow and short blade, slung the quiver over his back, and carried the heavy crossbow in his hand. With a light leap, he exited the courtyard and concealed himself in the grass about 15 meters away opposite the house.
…
At that moment, under the night sky at the foot of the mountain, a group of men had just dismounted. On one of the horses was a woman in pink garments, tied securely.
All of them wore black cloth masks, revealing only pairs of fierce, gleaming eyes.
“Second Boss, that man named Li Chen lives in this village. His house is the isolated one up on the hill.
“I’ve confirmed it. There’s a strong possibility that Zhang Guang, Old Pockmark, and San Lü were killed by him.
“Zhang Guang’s younger brother disappeared right outside Li Chen’s house. When Zhang Guang went to the county to inquire about this girl’s whereabouts, he seems to have run into Li Chen and even said he would demand an explanation.
“Although no one saw him kill the three of them, they all went to the county together, yet only that boy returned. So he’s the prime suspect.”
A gaunt man pointed toward the hill as he spoke.
“Zhang Guang took three men and still got killed by some country bumpkin?” The Second Boss stared coldly at Li Chen’s house on the hill, hatred flickering in his eyes.
“Second Boss, Zhang Guang and Old Pockmark were both capable fighters. If they really died at that villager’s hands, he must have some skill. Besides, we have this girl with us and a mission to complete.
“Should we head back to the stronghold first and bring more men to deal with him later?” the cautious man asked in a low voice.
“If we mobilize too many men, we’ll alert the authorities. And if that villager gets wind of it, he’ll flee into the mountains. Once he’s in there, catching him won’t be easy.
“I’m handling this myself, and it’s a night raid. Killing him will be like crushing an ant. What’s there to fear?” the Second Boss snorted coldly.
He waved his hand. “Leave one man to guard the girl. The rest, follow me.”
Pulling his black mask up to cover more of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, he signaled forward.
The mountain bandits each raised a long blade that reflected the cold moonlight and quietly advanced up the hill under the cover of darkness.
…
Li Chen’s eyes, sharp as an eagle’s, scanned the surroundings continuously. The night vision ability he had trained in his previous life was still there, even enhanced.
With only faint moonlight, he could see nearly everything within 30 meters as clearly as in daylight.
Behind the courtyard was a cliff more than ten meters high, so the only approach was from the front.
Each of them held a long blade that gleamed cold and sharp under the moonlight.
Li Chen narrowed his eyes and silently rose in the distance. Instead of using the crossbow, he lifted his hunting bow.
The female dog in the courtyard suddenly sensed danger and began barking.
“Damn it, there’s a dog. Move faster,” the leader muttered.
Five men vaulted over the courtyard walls from the sides, while three entered through the front gate.
“Three… two… one…” Li Chen counted silently.
The moment he reached “one,” three screams rang out almost simultaneously. Someone had fallen into the pit traps.
Li Chen sprang up instantly. His hunting bow fired in rapid succession. “Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…” Three arrows flew out, each striking true.
The three men in front of the courtyard were hit and collapsed, screaming in agony.
Li Chen’s arms felt slightly sore. Drawing the bow to full strength three times in a row was still intense for him, but manageable.
His physique had grown much stronger than before. He could now draw a full bow six times consecutively. Still, he could not exhaust himself. He needed to conserve strength.
Without hesitation, he slung the bow and grabbed the crossbow, rushing forward.
One bandit who had narrowly avoided falling into a pit was scrambling to climb back over the courtyard wall to escape.
The loyal female dog rushed forward, biting fiercely at his trouser leg and slowing him down.
Just as he flipped over the wall, Li Chen was already less than five meters in front of him.
He raised the crossbow and fired.
With a short scream, the powerful bolt pierced through the man’s thigh and pinned him to the wall.
Li Chen had intended to keep him alive for interrogation. But the man’s blade had fallen to the ground with its tip pointing upward.
As he was pinned to the wall and lost balance, he fell downward. By sheer misfortune, his neck landed directly onto the upright blade.
Foam and blood filled his mouth as he hung grotesquely from the wall, the blade piercing his throat. He was beyond saving.
“Damn it,” Li Chen cursed softly.
Drawing his short blade, he jumped over the courtyard wall and inspected the yard.
The three men in the pit traps had been impaled clean through by sharpened wooden stakes. They were dead beyond doubt.
Of the remaining four, three had been shot through the heart. The last had panicked and rushed into the house, only to be pierced through the left chest by a pre-set crossbow trap inside. Get faster updates on NovelPing.
Not a single one remained alive.
This left Li Chen irritated.
Had he known this would happen, he would not have struck so ruthlessly.
Now there was no one left to question.
Still, he could guess that these men were most likely bandits from Black Wind Stronghold seeking revenge.
After a brief moment of thought, he recalled hearing a faint horse’s neigh earlier. They must have left someone below the mountain.
Leaving the bodies where they lay, he slung the hunting bow over his back, carried the crossbow in hand, covered his face with a piece of coarse cloth, and disappeared into the night.
Half an hour later, he arrived outside a dense grove near the edge of the village.
From a distance, he saw five horses.
His eyes lit up.
In the Great Yan Empire, horses were extremely valuable.
Both Northern Mang and the western tribes relied on iron hooves and curved bows, striking like the wind.
Without cavalry, there was no way to counter them.
Horses were weapons of the battlefield.
And the Great Yan Empire lacked warhorses. Its cavalry numbers had long been insufficient, leaving it constantly on the defensive.
The empire had even implemented horse policies, allowing commoners to raise horses freely. Once the horses reached two years of age, they could be branded at official livestock stations and sold.
Yet the results had always been limited.
Now these bandits had generously delivered five horses to Li Chen. Naturally, he would accept them gladly.
But Li Chen did not act immediately. He hid in the grass and observed patiently.
He did not spot any other bandits nearby. Faintly, he could see that one of the horses carried the pink-clad woman tied to its back.
He frowned.
Why had the bandits not left anyone to guard the horses and the captive? That did not seem right.
He waited a while longer, but still saw no one.
He decided not to wait any further.