Jia Er and the others hurried forward to help, dragging the bodies into the woods before stripping them of their belongings.
Before long, everyone went back into hiding.
With two men taking so long to return, the bandits would surely sense something amiss and come to investigate.
Sure enough, not long after, three more came. They called out the names of the two missing men, laughing and joking around.
They had no idea that there were now several extra people in the trees.
Jia Er and his men dropped down silently. Moving with perfect coordination, they looped ropes around the three bandits' necks almost simultaneously, taking them out without a hitch. They successfully confiscated three weapons from the bandits.
But this time, the commotion was louder and drew the bandits' attention.
"Go check what's going on!"
This time, seven or eight came. Taking them out silently wouldn't be easy.
Ruan Yu made a gesture to Jia Da, who nodded and led his men to find a spot to set up an ambush.
Ruan Yu watched Jia Da walk off to make preparations before she stepped out, pretending to look lost.
"Huh? Where'd a woman come from?"
Ruan Yu put on a frightened expression and turned to run without a word.
"Grab her!"
"Where do you think you're running, little girl? Come to big brother!"
The bandits laughed and chased after her, thinking she was just some lost girl. The night was long, and they could use some entertainment.
They didn't notice at all that Ruan Yu was leading them further and further away.
Suddenly, a muffled grunt came from behind. The bandits in front spun around and saw their men being dragged off by several dark figures.
"Who's there? Stop skulking around and come out!"
Thud!
Another one dropped.
Just like that, of the eight bandits chasing Ruan Yu, only six remained.
The others immediately went on high alert, drawing their blades. With a rustling sound, Jia Da and his men emerged from the shadows and clashed with them instantly.
It was only in direct combat that the bandits' skill became apparent.
These bandits were all strong and burly, and they were used to fighting and killing, making them quite troublesome opponents.
Jia Da's men, having gone hungry for a long time and with many of them wounded or crippled, couldn't take down these bandits even with the element of surprise.
Just as the bandits were about to call for reinforcements, an arrow flew out of nowhere, striking one square in the chest.
Then another arrow.
In the blink of an eye, another man dropped.
Ruan Yu stepped out of the darkness holding her compound bow and loosed three arrows at once.
This time, she hit two, immediately easing the pressure on Jia Da and his men.
"Finish them quickly."
The moment she spoke, they heard noise in the distance—the other bandits were coming!
Ruan Yu scrambled up a tree and aimed at the bandits in the distance.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out one after another.
The remaining bandits were still dozens of meters away, but with her absolute five senses, Ruan Yu could see them clearly even in the dark.
In the blink of an eye, three or four more fell.
"Get down! They've got a shooter!"
The bandits were alert. After being caught off guard initially, they quickly steadied themselves.
Ruan Yu loosed seven or eight arrows in succession, but three or five still managed to reach her.
Ruan Yu stowed her compound bow and drew her military knife, charging to meet them.
Her figure was as nimble as a swallow, her movements clean and decisive. Every time her blade rose and fell, it was a one-strike kill.
Two more dropped quickly.
By then, Jia Da and his men had caught up, and together they finished off the rest.
Finally, all the bandits were dead.
Ruan Yu breathed slightly heavily. If it weren't for a killing weapon like the compound bow, she wouldn't have dared to take on this group of bandits. After all, this body of hers was malnourished and too weak—her strength wasn't even a tenth of what it was at her peak.
Fortunately, it had all gone off without a hitch.
"Miss Ruan, you're incredible!"
Jia Er gave Ruan Yu a thumbs up. "I, Jia Er, bow to you!"
Having witnessed Ruan Yu take down seven or eight bandits as easily as chopping vegetables, the shock in everyone's hearts was easy to imagine.
If it hadn't been for Ruan Yu holding the front line tonight, their group would have been nothing but lambs to the slaughter against twenty-something bandits.
"You're wounded?"
Ruan Yu noticed that Jia Da and several others had cuts and bruises on them, so she pulled some medicine from her bosom—actually from her Space—and tossed it over. "Remember to apply this to your wounds later."
"You have medicine?!"
Jia Er exclaimed, then was overcome with joy. "You're really giving this to us? Can it be used for other injuries too?"
Ruan Yu knew that among them was a young man named Er Gouzi who had been badly wounded. Because they had no medicine, his condition had been left to fester.
If not for the food Ruan Yu had secretly been sending over these past few days, that young man probably wouldn't have lasted this long.
"It can, but using it on him now won't do much."
Jia Er's expression immediately fell.
"Give him this to take orally, and combine it with the topical application."
As she spoke, Ruan Yu pulled out another kind of medicine.
What she gave them were anti-inflammatory tablets, because from what she'd seen of the young man earlier, it was clear that his wound had become infected, causing a fever that wouldn't break.
Ruan Yu told Jia Er how to administer it.
Jia Er was so overcome with emotion that he moved to kneel before Ruan Yu. "Jia Er thanks Miss Ruan for saving his life!"
Ruan Yu caught him in time. "No need for thanks. This is just payment."
Jia Da felt grateful as well. This Miss Ruan seemed aloof on the surface, but in truth, she had a soft heart.
In these times, medicine was more precious than grain—worth its weight in gold—yet Miss Ruan had given it to them so readily.
He had no way to repay her, so he took the initiative to handle all the dirty, tiring work, such as clearing away the corpses and cleaning up the battlefield.
Jia Da led his men to search the bandits' bodies first, and they found quite a bit of gold and silver on them.
Jia Da did not keep any of it for himself. "Miss Ruan, we found thirty-three taels and five mace of silver in total."
Ruan Yu took twenty taels and handed the rest back. "This is yours."
"That absolutely won't do! If it weren't for you being here tonight, Miss Ruan, we'd be the ones lying on the ground!"
Jia Da was well aware of his own limitations. Without Ruan Yu and the weapons in her hands, they would have been no match for the bandits on their own.
"If I tell you to take it, take it. Follow me, and I won't let you suffer any losses," Ruan Yu said impatiently.
Jia Da's eyes lit up, and he let out a hearty laugh. "Haha, alright then. I'll take your word for it, miss, and accept it."
Only then did Ruan Yu look satisfied.
While they were clearing away the bodies, the skinny man had also finished sorting through the bandits' supplies. He immediately scurried over to report.
"Reporting to you, miss! We've got thirteen horses, five sacks of grain—three of millet and two of sweet potatoes—two water vats, three sacks of horse feed, twenty-three large blades, and two chests of jewelry…"
"This is quite the haul!" Jia Er grinned so wide his eyes nearly squinted shut. "Looks like these bandits were rolling in wealth."
Ruan Yu waved her hand grandly. "Take everything back with us."
"On it! Brothers, let's get to work!"
Jia Er and the others rushed over excitedly, some leading the horses, some pushing the carts, and the whole group headed back fully loaded.