With the sound of bodies falling with a splash, Xu Jiacan danced his spear, and after a series of screams, all the black-clothed men were killed with a single stab.
The captain's star-like eyes flickered, and the corners of his lips curled up. He praised, "Good spear technique, you truly learned it from Uncle Xu."
Xu Jiacan's spirits immediately soared, his eyes and brows smiling.
"Cleaning up the battlefield? No charge." After Pang Dun'er finished speaking, it was as if a bulldozer had passed through the mountain path, flattening it by at least two inches wherever it went.
As for the corpses of the black-clothed men and the seeping blood, they were buried in a deep pit along with the soil and stones.
The people secretly watching from the mountainside were stunned, their mouths agape, not even noticing when insects flew in.
They had been waiting on the mountainside, planning to sneak away and steal the leftover lamb leg once everyone on the mountain path had fallen asleep.
Who would have thought they would witness such a terrifying scene?
"My heavens, such a handsome young man is actually a demon who kills without batting an eye."
They had seen it clearly just now; the handsome young man's spear technique was truly beautiful to watch. If only the screams of the black-clothed men hadn't been there.
And that fatty who roasted the most fragrant meat could actually move rocks with his bare hands.
"My heavens, they had just rashly tried to steal a lamb leg. Now they wished they had two more legs."
Fu Xinci glanced at the mountainside. Since those people weren't doing anything, she withdrew her gaze and did nothing.
After everything returned to peace, the four of them returned to the encampment under the hazy moonlight.
"Everything's alright?" Yang Xinjie asked eagerly as her companions returned.
Pang Dun'er brushed his gradually loosening clothes and boasted proudly, "When Pang Dun'er is on the job, one is worth two."
"Mhm." The captain led the affirmation of Pang Dun'er's words.
Xu Jiacan and Xiao Ai also nodded in agreement.
Pang Dun'er: He was a little unaccustomed to no one objecting to his boasting today.
Old Jin: "Long Teng, thank you all."
Everyone present shared Old Jin's sentiment. If Long Teng and his group hadn't intervened today, no one would have survived here tonight.
"Uncle Jin, there's no need for thanks. Let's get some rest early, we still have to travel tomorrow."
"Yes, everyone should get some rest."
With Old Jin's order, everyone suppressed their surging emotions and lay down silently.
As excellent soldiers, it was natural to want to know about the battle.
However, since the sub-lieutenant wouldn't let them ask, they could only endure.
On the mountain path under the night sky, two campfires, one in the north and one in the south, were still lit. The leaping flames rose and fell like the unsettled hearts of young men.
"Go to sleep, you'll know everything by tomorrow morning," Qi He's words helped everyone relax their nerves, and soon the sound of snoring filled the air.
The loudest, of course, was Old Jin's, with snorts mixed into his snores.
Fu Xinci suddenly felt a little sympathetic towards Zhong Shi. Her lack of energy in recent years might have been caused by Uncle Jin's snoring.
Living under such noise pollution, she couldn't stand it for a second.
Just then, her companions were gesturing to her.
Xiao Ai: She wanted to throw this old man far away.
Pang Dun'er: He really wanted to bury Old Jin.
Captain: He wondered if a frozen person could still snore.
Xu Jiacan: The world is vast and full of wonders. Their knowledge was still too shallow. This was the first time he had heard such peculiar snoring sounds, and he truly couldn't bear it.
Yang Xinjie and Xu Ruyi, they wanted to shout: "Help!"
Fu Xinci saw her companions' miserable pleading expressions and suddenly, like them, greatly missed Old Jin's appearance from a few days ago.
Alas, perhaps not. A seriously injured person was still worthy of sympathy.
Without further thought, the wood-elemental ability in her hands slowly flowed out.
Xiao Ai: "Can it work through so many people?"
"Hush, you need to believe in Xinci's abilities."
Indeed, in less than a moment, Old Jin's snoring gradually weakened until it was even lower than the sound of a strong man's snore.
The expressions of the companions changed drastically, and their eyes turned to Pang Dun'er in unison.
"Why are you looking at me? It's a bit scary."
"Don't you know your own snoring is also extraordinary?"
"Is it?"
"I think so!"
Pang Dun'er didn't quite believe Xu Jiacan's words, thinking he was tricking him. However, when he saw the captain's gaze, he knew Xu Jiacan was telling the truth.
He leaned back and then mumbled somewhat sheepishly, "Captain, then let Xinci help me with that too."
"Mhm." After the captain agreed, he made a gesture to Xinci, his hand ultimately pointing at Pang Dun'er.
Xinci nodded and smiled. Pang Dun'er felt shy. "Am I being laughed at by Xinci?"
"It's okay, our Xinci is very generous. This little thing of yours is nothing."
"That's true."
"Let's sleep. I hope we can have a good night's sleep tonight."
Over at Xiao Ai's side, "I really miss last night's hammock, what should I do!"
"Don't say it, the more you say it, the more I'll miss it."
"Bear with it. When we get back, let Xinci make one for us, and we can sleep in hammocks every day."
"Good idea."
The three chatted a few more times, but finally succumbed to Morpheus's embrace and went to play chess with him.
In the mountain stronghold, the old chieftain listened to the reports of his gluttonous subordinates for a long time without speaking.
The young chieftain glanced at the few small subordinates beside him. Clearly, they all remembered the mountain demon incident from a couple of days ago and were somewhat flustered.
"Father."
"It's alright, everyone sit down." After the old chieftain spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the door, eagerly anticipating the morning light so that these troublesome guests would leave.
Then he could have someone invite Sister Ma Er from Dongshan to perform a dance to send off the plague gods.
Summer nights were always colorful, just like the unpredictable moods of the people in the mountain stronghold.
Finally, as the east showed a fish-belly white, the people resting on the mountain path, except for a few young and ignorant children, had all woken up.
"We'll travel first, and rest when the sun is directly overhead."
"Yes, we'll listen to the military officer." The old man's words represented the reply of their Zhou family.
Everyone packed up and set off. The pace of travel today was clearly much faster than yesterday.
Everyone had the same thought: they wanted to return to Eagle Beak Cliff as soon as possible, lest they didn't know when those black-clothed men would chase after them again.
Along the way, Old Jin told Old Man Zhou that their final destination was Eagle Beak Cliff, also known as Mengjia Town.
Upon hearing Mengjia Town, Old Man Zhou first paused slightly, then burst into laughter, "Military officer, we truly have fate. We were originally planning to go there to sell all these cloths. I didn't expect us to meet first."
Old Jin hadn't expected things to be so coincidental, and now he didn't need to waste any more words.