Alright, let them come.
Chen Xiaobei picked up a repeating crossbow and handed it to Li Dong.
"Do you know how to use this?"
Li Dong nodded. "Don't forget, I used to work for a wealthy family in the city."
Chen Xiaobei didn't have a strong memory of this, but it was good that he knew how to use it, saving him teaching time.
He picked up another one and handed it to Chen Xiaowen.
"Do you know how to use this?"
Chen Xiaowen shook his head.
Chen Xiaobei went around and asked the other village guards one by one. Apart from two who said they knew how to use it, the other five said they didn't.
Chen Xiaobei handed each of them a repeating crossbow. "We're going into the mountains now. I'll lead the way. Li Dong and the two of you who know how to use these will be responsible for teaching the others how to operate them."
He then pointed to the boxes on the ground.
"Take as many bolts as you can, just in case."
After they were equipped and walked out of the courtyard, outside by the road, Zhao Hua and a group of villagers bowed to them with tears in their eyes. "Village Chief Xiaobei, Captain Li Dong, thank you."
This scene was moving. It was only then that Chen Xiaobei truly realized the immense responsibility of his position as village chief.
He raised the torch in his hand. "Everyone, please rest assured, we will do our utmost to find them."
With that, Chen Xiaobei turned and left without looking back.
His feeling entering the mountains this time was completely different from before.
They say that man's greatest fear is the fear of the unknown.
This saying was absolutely true. Chen Xiaobei didn't know what lay beyond his sight. As he walked, he silently prayed that Chen Xiaobo and the others had just gotten lost and hadn't encountered any accidents.
At this moment, Chen Ping and his group were already in a panic, even losing control.
Because the wolves not only hadn't left after dark, but several more had arrived. There were now over a dozen wolves under the trees.
Especially as darkness fell, the wolves' eyes glowed green, making one's heart pound.
The group walked about two li into the mountain. Li Dong excitedly reported to Chen Xiaobei, "Brother Xiaobei, everyone has learned. Don't worry, they won't mess up."
Good, Chen Xiaobei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Whether they had accuracy or not, at least they knew how to shoot arrows, which was a deterrent.
"Since everyone has learned, let's start calling out now."
With that, Chen Xiaobei took the lead and shouted loudly towards the mountain, "Chen Xiaobo!"
As he took the lead, everyone immediately shouted.
"Chen Dayong!"
"Chen Ping!"
Their shouts echoed back and forth across the sky of Qingniu Mountain.
Soon, the panicked and disoriented Chen Ping and his group also heard the commotion. Although they were still far away and couldn't hear clearly what was being shouted, it was clearly human calls.
Chen Xiaobo was the first to get excited. "Great! Is someone coming into the mountain to look for us?"
Chen Dayong immediately chimed in, "I bet it's Chen Xiaobei."
"Yes, yes, it must be Village Chief Xiaobei."
The group chatted amongst themselves, seemingly forgetting about Chen Ping's existence.
At this moment, Chen Ping gritted his teeth in anger. Chen Xiaobei, Chen Xiaobei, they all only talked about Chen Xiaobei. Had they forgotten that he was the one who was supposed to lead them to make a fortune in the mountains?
Chen Ping couldn't understand at all that in this situation, who would still be thinking about making money.
The pack of wolves under the trees had clearly also heard the commotion.
After a brief pause, three wolves darted rapidly down the mountain path.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobo immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey, people below the mountain, listen! Wolves are heading your way!"
As he took the lead, the rest of the group immediately echoed him.
"Be careful, there are wolves in the mountain."
These overlapping shouts quickly reached the foot of the mountain.
Chen Xiaobei immediately made a gesture, signaling everyone to stop.
"Do you hear that? Someone is shouting."
Everyone listened intently for a moment. Chen Xiaowen was the first to speak. "Brother Xiaobei, I think someone is shouting about wolves."
Before he could finish speaking, a distant wolf howl drifted over, low and long.
This wolf howl made Chen Xiaobei's heart leap into his throat.
There were indeed wolves.
He held up his torch and looked around. There were no high ground features to rely on.
Li Dong, who was beside him, nudged his arm. "Brother, quickly climb a tree."
Chen Xiaobei finally reacted. "Everyone, quickly climb trees. Let's figure out the situation first."
There were several tall pine trees nearby.
Xiaobei stuck his torch into the gravel next to him, gripped the trunk with both hands, and scrambled up in a flash.
Everyone followed suit, leaving their torches on the ground and climbing into the trees.
Before long, Chen Xiaobei saw three pairs of small glowing lights in the distance, descending along the mountain path.
"Everyone, pay attention, there are three wolves," Chen Xiaobei shouted loudly.
As he shouted, the three wolves had already rushed to the base of the trees.
Perhaps they had been in the darkness for too long. Suddenly, with so many torches, the wild wolves were somewhat unaccustomed. They began to circle around.
Chen Xiaobei didn't say a word. He raised his repeating crossbow, aimed at the wolf closest to him, and pulled the trigger repeatedly. Three arrows were fired in quick succession.
Seeing him act without hesitation, Li Dong also did not hold back and pulled the trigger one after another.
Seeing that the village chief and the captain had already acted, the rest of the group had nothing to wait for.
A volley of arrows rained down. The three wolves, before they even understood what was happening, fell into a pool of blood.
One wolf stubbornly raised its head and let out a tragic howl towards the sky, then its head lolled to the side, and it died.
Seeing how easily three wolves were killed, Chen Xiaowen became excited.
"Great! This repeating crossbow is amazing."
With that, he slipped down from the tree and was about to run forward.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei's legs trembled with fright.
"Xiaowen, come up quickly."
"Brother Xiaobei, the wolves are all dead, what are we afraid of?" Chen Xiaowen looked nonchalant.
Before Chen Xiaobei could speak, Li Dong shook the tree trunk and said sternly, "If I tell you to come up, then come up! Are you sure there are only these three wolves?"
Chen Xiaowen's expression changed slightly when he heard this. He quickly turned around, hugged the tree trunk, and scrambled back up.
Li Dong was right. The dying howl of the wolf had carried halfway up the mountain.
The wolf pack guarding Chen Xiaobo and Chen Ping's tree immediately stood up.
Then, one wolf raised its head and howled at the sky.
But after waiting for a long time, there was no reply.
This wolf then lowered its mouth to the ground and howled again.
Still no response.
This wolf finally couldn't stand it anymore. It broke into a run and sped down the mountain.
Seeing this, the other wolves followed suit. Seeing the wolf pack running down the mountain, Chen Xiaobo and the others shouted again.
Hearing the commotion from the mountain, Chen Xiaobei's mind raced. Perhaps more wolves were coming.
"Everyone, pay attention, there are likely more wolves coming."
After shouting, Chen Xiaobei began to ponder. Shooting a wolf with a repeating crossbow was so easy. If he could injure a wolf and deliver it alive to Liu Ce, would he be able to get a hundred taels of silver?