Chapter 5

Originally, the caravan of over 130 people has now been reduced to just over 110. Such a large group attempting a breakout can't possibly go unnoticed. Now, we can only take advantage of the time difference, using the brief moment when the bandits don't expect it to rush to the mountain temple. Relying on the terrain's protection, there might still be a glimmer of hope for survival.

The bandits never expected the caravan to abandon their goods and break out. After all, the intelligence said this caravan was carrying 110,000 silver taels. Would they really just give up so much money? It was this small hesitation that allowed the caravan to find a gap and charge through, firing as they went.

The mountain path was rugged and difficult to navigate. Xiao Letian was so exhausted he felt like a dog. Although he was part of the four-person assault team, he was just a filler, occasionally firing a few shots without knowing where they landed. The sky grew darker, and the ground was full of large rocks. Xiao Letian had already fallen several times. At first, someone would help him up, but as the situation became more chaotic, no one paid attention to him anymore.

Over a hundred people ran up the mountain together in the pitch-black night. In no time, the tight formation had scattered, dragging along like a worm heading north. Almost everyone was moving forward by listening to the footsteps of those in front.

On both sides of the group, bandits would occasionally charge in, and many of the caravan members were killed in the darkness, their screams echoing continuously. Fortunately, the darkness also limited the bandits' movements, and these scattered attacks couldn't stop the group's progress.

"Ouch, damn it..." Xiao Letian stumbled again. He couldn't remember how many times he had fallen, and his forehead was already bruised. At that moment, he heard two women's hushed voices behind him, "Ah Chou, does your leg still hurt? Can you still walk?"

Xiao Letian recognized the voice as Hu Niu, the old shopkeeper's daughter. He quickly turned around and, in the faint light, saw Hu Niu supporting the little yellow-haired girl. This was bad; they couldn't stop now. The two girls were practically courting death.

"Hurry, what are you two doing? Do you want to die? Even if your legs are broken, you can't stop..." Xiao Letian whispered as he approached.

"Is it Brother Xiao?" Hu Niu was immediately excited. "Ah Chou fell and might have injured her foot. Can you carry her?" Xiao Letian was both anxious and angry. He thought to himself, "My head is already bruised, and no one has offered to carry me. Do you really think this is your home?"

But he couldn't leave them to die. Without a word, he squatted down, "Hurry, get on my back..." To his surprise, Ah Chou hesitated, "Miss, he's a man..."

Damn, at a time like this, she's thinking about that? You, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, underdeveloped girl, are actually thinking about men and women? But just as she hesitated, a figure suddenly flew out of the darkness on the right.

"There are women here, it must be the Fan family's daughter! Capture her alive..." The shadow pounced on Ah Chou like a hungry wolf, and she fainted from the shock. Xiao Letian was furious. So, you didn't want to get on my back because you were waiting for a man to pounce on you? Your taste is really heavy.

The bandit miscalculated. He thought he was pouncing on the daughter, but it was just a little maid. Hu Niu stood nearby, a truly unique young lady of the Qing Dynasty. Her temperament was so fierce that before Xiao Letian could react, a flash of cold light appeared in her hand, and a silver hairpin was viciously plunged into the bandit's back. "Let go of Ah Chou, you big bad guy..."

Xiao Letian was stunned. The delicate maid was the one who acted, while the fierce one was the young lady. This world was truly unpredictable. But now wasn't the time to be stunned. The mountain temple to the north was already lit by torches, and Qing San Ye and Lewis must have already arrived. The bandits' encircling forces couldn't be far. Wasting any more time would mean certain death.

Xiao Letian gritted his teeth, pulled out the dagger from his chest, and charged forward. "Want to kill me? Not in this life..." This was the first time Xiao Letian truly killed someone. The previous time was an accident, but this time, his brain controlled his hand, driving the cold metal into the enemy's body.

Blood gushed out, and although he couldn't see it, Xiao Letian could feel the stickiness in his hand. The dagger hit the back of the heart, piercing through it. The bandit kicked several times and spat out a mouthful of blood without even a scream.

Xiao Letian was almost exhausted, but he kept going. He flipped the body, picked up Ah Chou, and growled, "Up..." He carried her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Hu Niu was stunned. She saw the man in front of her as a towering mountain, his black silhouette under the starlight exuding an invincible aura. Her eyes welled up, and she wiped them with her sleeve, then followed Xiao Letian closely.

Poor Xiao Letian, in his previous life, he had never carried a person, let alone a gas can or a bag of rice. His muscles, though well-built, were gym-trained, typical of someone who used them to attract women. Carrying a person up a mountain would have made him sweat just thinking about it.

But human potential in dire situations is limitless. The torches fifty meters away represented hope, while the sea of shouts behind him represented death. Xiao Letian actually made it, his steps steady and determined.

When Xiao Letian entered the range of the torchlight, Qing San Ye, the old shopkeeper, and even Lewis were stunned. At that moment, Xiao Letian was a hero, carrying the unconscious Ah Chou on his left shoulder and supporting Hu Niu under her armpit with his right arm. Hu Niu had fallen and couldn't walk.

A man carrying a woman and holding another woman—no one had ever seen such a sight. This was the third year of the Tongzhi era, the height of Confucian propriety. A woman losing her virtue was a matter of life and death.

The old shopkeeper almost fainted with anger. He rushed to Xiao Letian, "You bastards, you bunch of bastards..." He was aiming for Xiao Letian, but he wasn't scolding him. Like a tiger among sheep, he beat the nearby caravan members fiercely.

"I've been feeding you for nothing. When the young lady was in danger, not one of you helped. You're all useless eaters..." Only then did Xiao Letian realize he wasn't alone. There were five or six other caravan members with him.

They were dazed, exhausted, and scared. It wasn't their fault. In a life-or-death situation, they had no energy to pay attention to their surroundings. Even Xiao Letian hadn't noticed the others; his eyes were only on the mountain temple and the torchlight.

But the old shopkeeper's concern wasn't unfounded. In that society, if a caravan member saved the young lady, there would be gossip, but there was a hierarchy to shield them. A caravan member saving the young lady was within the bounds of propriety. But an outsider carrying and holding her was a different matter.

The old shopkeeper couldn't vent his anger on Xiao Letian, so he beat the other caravan members.

After settling the two girls in the temple, Xiao Letian shouted at the old shopkeeper, "Enough, a few hits will do. These are your caravan members, and Qing San Ye isn't an outsider. What are you afraid of? Just give everyone a little hush money, and no one will talk. The most important thing now is to hold off the bandits. Listen..."

The scene immediately quieted down. From the darkness below, a sea of shouts echoed, startling the birds into flight.

"That's the bandits' pre-battle rally. By the sound of it, there are at least two hundred of them..." Qing San Ye's face turned grim. He looked at the terrified caravan members and soldiers and sighed, "We have less than a hundred people left. How can we resist?"

Xiao Letian looked around and realized that nearly 20 more caravan members had disappeared during the breakout, likely killed on the slope. The remaining members were mostly injured, with many having sprained ankles.

"Mr. Lewis, what would you Americans do in this situation?" Xiao Letian asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand your Eastern combat customs. I just counted, and besides the five Colts we have, there are only ten of your so-called muskets left. With 200 bandits, I can only be pessimistic. We will lose..."

"But don't worry, as an American, I will resist to the last moment. I won't surrender until I've fired my last bullet..."

Forget it, you Americans are always dreaming, dreaming of being personal heroes. You think the bandits, who attack without warning and don't follow the rules, would want you as a prisoner? Xiao Letian shook his head but didn't voice his thoughts.

But at that moment, a dense sound of bowstrings echoed from the slope below. Qing San Ye immediately tackled the old shopkeeper, "Get down, hide, the bandits are shooting arrows..." As he spoke, a hail of arrows rained down on the ground.

This was Xiao Letian's first experience with a volley of arrows. He crouched behind the mud wall, avoiding the arrows. In the courtyard, several injured caravan members were pinned to the ground, their blood flowing like streams.

"The enemy has over a hundred bows? What kind of bandits are these, to have so many strong bows..." Qing San Ye was knowledgeable. The Qing government's restrictions on bows were as strict as modern China's gun control. Even hunters, who relied on hunting, had at most a bamboo bow. For a bandit to have even a few strong bows was already extraordinary.

But today, Qing San Ye discovered that this group of bandits had over a hundred strong bows. The battle was hopeless.

The volley of arrows lasted only four rounds, with over four hundred arrows turning the mountain temple into a reed bed. As the arrow attack stopped, a fierce shout of battle came from the darkness outside the temple gate. The bandits had begun their charge.

"The bandits are coming, shoot arrows, fire guns, drive them back..." Qing San Ye shouted, standing up and firing rapidly from behind the half-wall. His ancestral riding bow was used with incredible skill.

No one in the caravan was afraid now. They knew that if they didn't fight, they would die. Musket fire and arrows flew, and those without weapons threw stones. But even so, they couldn't stop the bandit tide. When a few muffled sounds and flashes of light came from the bandit ranks, the old shopkeeper almost went mad.

"Damn, the bandits not only have bows, but they also have muskets..."