Gu Qingcheng hid below, finally deciding to deploy a miniature drone. As the drone ascended, she turned off the lights to avoid detection, activating only the infrared night vision system.
The drone hovered around the mountain for more than ten laps, unnoticed. Firstly, it was dark and pitch black everywhere. Secondly, people nowadays were not sensitive to things appearing overhead and no one bothered to look up.
Thanks to the infrared system, Gu Qingcheng gained a preliminary understanding of the situation on the mountain. The bandit in front had not lied; there were about fifty men on the mountain.
With just the two of them, dealing with over fifty bandits was beyond their capabilities. They needed powerful assistance.
So, Gu Qingcheng recalled the drone and said to Mi Guo, "Let's return to the village first and discuss it."
Mi Guo, coveting the drone, said to Gu Qingcheng, "Sister, what is this divine item? Teach me how to use it later?"
"No problem, just don't show it off, or you'll incur divine retribution!" Gu Qingcheng readily agreed.
"Haha, I understand." Mi Guo quickly nodded her head like a rattle drum.
The two of them sneaked back to the village in the dead of night.
By the time they returned to the village, it was almost midnight.
Seeing that the villagers were all asleep, they could only wait until the next morning to discuss it with everyone.
The next day, Mi Guo rang the bell, summoning Dai Fa and all the team leaders.
Gu Qingcheng recounted their encounter in Zhanchun Town yesterday.
Upon hearing that bandits had occupied the mountain and were robbing and killing people everywhere, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
"It's one thing that we can't stand by and watch, but another is that if we don't eliminate them, they will become a threat to us in the future. Once they grow powerful, they will surely target remote mountain villages like ours. So, my idea is to strike them while they are weak. Let's eliminate these scum before they become too strong." Gu Qingcheng expressed her opinion.
"I agree!" Dai Fa expressed his support. "Young Master Gu is far-sighted. Our village is high and remote, and although we are not frequently harassed by officials, the presence of bandits now also becomes a disadvantage, meaning we can only rely on ourselves for everything. Whether we live or die, no one will pay attention to us. To protect ourselves, we must take the initiative. If they grow powerful, it will be difficult to eliminate them."
After discussion, they felt that the existence of Wushan Village was definitely a threat to Phoenix Village. Furthermore, they had already heard of Phoenix Village's reputation. A group like them, experienced in robbing, would surely be more difficult to deal with than Wu De's men. Now, they were robbing small villages, but later, as they grew stronger, they would definitely target wealthy villages. Rather than waiting to be passively attacked, it was better to take the initiative and crush them, so they wouldn't dare to invade.
Gu Qingcheng felt this was also an opportunity to train the troops. Since the authorities couldn't manage it, they would do it for them.
Yan Xin and the young men from the hunting team were eager to fight bandits when they heard about it. They had practiced for so long, and the previous time, they had only played a role in defending against Wu De's sneak attack. However, that successful counterattack had ignited their fighting spirit, not to mention the admiring glances they received from the village girls afterward. Upon hearing that those bandits bullied women and committed all sorts of evil deeds, their blood boiled. Who didn't have a sense of justice? Putting themselves in the place of the village sisters, they wished they could annihilate these bandits immediately.
Everyone was engrossed in discussion.
Just then, Fu Dadi ran over and said to Gu Qingcheng, "Young Master Gu, a woman named Lian Yu has come to the village entrance with a few people to see you."
Gu Qingcheng, upon hearing it was Lian Yu, told Fu Dadi to bring them in. Fu Dadi obeyed and left.
About ten minutes later, he returned with a dozen women, led by the woman Gu Qingcheng had rescued from the bandits.
As soon as Lian Yu saw Gu Qingcheng, she couldn't control herself and burst into tears, kneeling on the ground and saying, "Please take us in, Young Master Gu!"
Gu Qingcheng quickly helped them up and asked, "What happened?"
It turned out that after Lian Yu returned to her village yesterday, she found the entire village burned down, with many dead and injured. Her family had been killed. Lian Yu could only cry and bury her relatives with the others. It was late into the night when she learned that everyone in the village had suffered the same fate. Lian Yu worried that the bandits from Wushan Village would return. Moreover, the village was already devastated and uninhabitable. Thus, she asked everyone if they wanted to seek refuge in Phoenix Village.
When everyone heard there was a place to go, and it was a large village, they all agreed. After all, even if they rebuilt their homes now, because their village was small, they could still be repeatedly plundered by the bandits from Wushan. They had lost their sense of security. Hearing Lian Yu say that Phoenix Village was willing to take them in, they all agreed and walked with her early in the morning. They walked all the way to Zhanchun Town and, upon inquiring, indeed found a Phoenix Village on the mountain. Lian Yu followed the path indicated by the villagers up the mountain.
When they reached the village entrance, Fu Dadi, who had been instructed by Gu Qingcheng, let them in but told them to wait at the entrance while he reported first. Lian Yu and the others saw the scene of Phoenix Village from the entrance and were secretly shocked. This village was new yet magnificent, completely different from what they had imagined. They thought a village built so high in the mountains would be small and insignificant like their own, but they didn't expect hundreds of neat residential houses, exuding a prosperous and upward momentum that awed them all.
Lian Yu then inquired of a villager who appeared at the entrance when this village was established and who the village chief was. It turned out that the person she inquired of was Uncle Kang. Uncle Kang, being an old hand, spoke eloquently and praised Gu Qingcheng to the heavens. Thus, Lian Yu's resolve to join Phoenix Village was strengthened.
After hearing her story, Gu Qingcheng asked if the other villagers she brought were willing to stay. Of course, they were willing! They had been worried that Phoenix Village might reject them. So, they kowtowed and begged to be taken in. Gu Qingcheng told them to rise and not to kowtow, saying, "As long as you are willing to work hard, you can all stay. Our villagers are composed of refugees from all over the country. Everyone is loyal to the village and very diligent. We need people like that. If you have no other intentions and are willing to work with us, you can stay."
Hearing Gu Qingcheng's willingness to keep them, everyone couldn't help but kowtow in gratitude again. Seeing how pitiful Lian Yu and the others were, and hearing about their village being burned and their children slaughtered, the men present were even more filled with righteous anger, their blood boiling. They were also refugees and knew how detestable those robbers were. They all said, "Young Master Gu, even if you don't ask us to go, we will flatten that Wushan Village ourselves."