Chapter 251: Arming the Boys with Gear

Li He and Fang Hui sprang to their feet, "Sister Ning Jingli!"

The other dozen or so boys looked bewildered.

No one saw how that beautiful older sister had appeared.

Ning Jingli said to the two, "I guess the flashlights and Drone I gave you are running low on power; let me swap them and see what else you might need."

Since she left last time, Ning Jingli has been stopping by whenever she can, every few days.

During that period she sent flashlights, food, and other supplies.

She hopes that this way the two will gradually accept new things and new knowledge.

"Ning Jingli…," Li He said, his eyes red, "our teaching master was killed by the officials."

"What?" Ning Jingli gasped.

Then Li He and Fang Hui narrated the whole story to her in detail.

Ning Jingli's face went cold after listening.

She hadn't expected the local officials to mobilize troops against Black Water Village, nor that they would leave the locals in destitution and even cause deaths over it.

"How about this," Ning Jingli said without hesitation, "I'll first take out those three murderers for you, and then—"

Before she could finish, Li He insisted, "No, the master's vengeance must be ours."

Ning Jingli frowned, "They're officials; how will you deal with them? Even if you manage to kill the murderers, what then? The government will investigate thoroughly and won't let you off."

Li He shook his head, his resolve hardening, "If the County Office continues this lawlessness, what future is left for the locals? Sister Ning Jingli, I've decided; I must slay the culprits myself."

Ning Jingli thought, she truly was a rebel who seized the world in history; even at fifteen she already possessed such stubbornness.

"Fine, then I won't take on the task," Ning Jingli said with a smile, "but you'll have to let me help a bit, it'll raise your chances of successful revenge."

"Alright, thank you, Sister Ning Jingli." Li He, not a reckless fool, readily agreed.

Ning Jingli told him to wait a moment, then turned and stepped into the Time-Space Gate.

The Time-Space Gate she opened swirled with a Fluorescent Vortex, but no one else could see it except her and Xiao Qidi.

Thus to onlookers, she simply vanished into thin air.

Li He and Fang Hui were already used to it, but when they turned, the other dozen or so boys stared in collective amazement.

"Ahem, what…?" Li He thought, preparing to explain.

"Brother Li He, did an Immortal just descend just now?" someone blurted out.

"She's so beautiful, she comes when she says she'll come and leaves when she says she'll leave; she must be a fairy sister!"

"Exactly! The place we're staying in was originally a Fairy Maiden Temple!"

"So she's the fairy that used to be worshipped in this temple?!"

The crowd chattered, then all rushed over, bowing and worshipping at the spot where Ning Jingli had just appeared and vanished.

Fang Hui, seeing this, said, "Alas! Actually she—"

Li He covered his mouth, whispering, "It's fine, let them think she's an Immortal; it saves us the trouble of explaining. Later we can just hand out the biscuits and canned food Ning Jingli gave them, saying they're gifts from an Immortal."

After the dozen or so boys bowed, they gathered around Li He, chattering, asking how he summoned the Immortal sister.

Li He wore a smug expression, shaking his head, "Well…"

The crowd stared expectantly, holding their breath, eyes fixed on him.

He replied, "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."

The crowd instantly showed disappointment.

Li He laughed, "Anyway, I'm on good terms with the Immortal sister, and with her help, avenging the master will be a sure thing."

"Right! Brother Li He is awesome!"

The crowd suddenly understood, then knelt again, kowtowing to Li He, declaring they'd follow him for life, forever looking to his lead.

Fang Hui said, "Brother, you've just gained a dozen or so junior brothers."

Li He looked quite proud, adopting an old‑manly air, "Seems Heaven wants me to shoulder this heavy responsibility; I must not let the junior brothers down."

"Hehe, brother, you're becoming more imposing," Fang Hui flattered.

"Of course!" Li He grinned, squinting at him, "We'll all be impressive from now on."

A little less than half an hour later.

Ning Jingli returned, and several large cardboard boxes appeared with her.

"These are protective suit sets with built‑in armor, plus some weapons that might suit you; they're enough to arm your group. How to use them is up to you."

Ning Jingli spoke as she opened the boxes and took out the gear.

The others stood at a distance, watching respectfully, daring not to utter a word.

Li He's eyes lit up, "Thank you, Sister Ning Jingli!"

Ning Jingli's expression turned slightly complex.

If it weren't for the fact that this kid is Li He and Fang Hui is with him, she really wouldn't dare give these items to a group of thirteen‑fourteen‑fifteen‑year‑old boys.

She glanced at the boys, thought briefly, and said, "Li He, I'll do my utmost not to let innocent civilians, taken as conscripts, die in Black Water Bay. You all must also be careful; a gentleman's revenge need not be rushed—if the time isn't right, you must not endanger yourselves."

Li He clasped his fists, "Yes! Li He will remember!"

After Ning Jingli left.

Li He then began distributing the gear to the junior brothers.

The group put on the never‑seen clothes and shoes, finding them sturdier and lighter than ordinary garments.

As for the weapons, they were mostly swords and knives, plain in design but extremely sharp, far surpassing ordinary arms.

The boys gasped repeatedly, exclaiming that these truly were gifts from an Immortal.

After donning the gear, their confidence surged; they felt invincible and set off to return to the county town to hunt down the three officials.

"No, no!" Fang Hui blocked, "You're going to a death march!"

A teenager raised his sword and, full of vigor, said: "Our armor makes us impervious to swords and spears, and with our powerful weapons, those officials are definitely no match for us!"

The others echoed in agreement.

"Exactly! We now can block a man killing a man, a Buddha blocking a Buddha! Still afraid of a few petty officials?"

"Don't even mention the County Office officials; I feel even if we face a military lord, I'm not scared!"

…

Fang Hui thought this wouldn't work, but didn't know how to persuade them.

It seemed they were about to lose control.

Li He, with a dried grass in his mouth and a sword in hand, rose slowly, walked up to a teenager, and suddenly raised his hand for a slash.

The attacked teen didn't react at all, his legs went weak with fright, and he fell to his knees.

Li He's sword halted before the teen's nose, he chuckled and asked, "Even my single slash scared you to kneel; how will you fight the officials?"

The teen regained his senses, indignant, said, "Brother Li He, you… you attacked while I wasn't watching; give me a chance to prepare, and I won't be scared."

"Fine, get up and fight me."

Li He reached out and pulled the teen to his feet.

Then he stripped off his protective gear, swapped his weapon for a bronze kitchen knife, and told the teen to attack him with everything, without any hesitation.

The teen was startled, "Brother Li He, you'll get hurt! I've never trained in combat, but… the equipment gap is so huge; if you demand me to go all out, you might—"

Li He replied nonchalantly, "If you defeat me, I'll lead you to slay those three officials right now. If you wound me, I won't blame you. Come on."

Under the gaze of the other teens, this teen mustered courage, brandishing his sword wildly and swung at Li He.

Li He blocked it only with the bronze kitchen knife.

Clang—

Sparks flew in all directions.

The bronze kitchen knife was nicked.

But Li He's expression didn't change, his arm didn't tremble.

But the teen who launched the attack was shaken, his palm webs went numb, and the knife fell from his hand.

Li He kicked him down with one foot, picked up his knife, lunged forward, and stepped on his chest again.

Before the teen could react, he saw Li He thrust the knife tip straight down.

"Ah! Mother!" the teen closed his eyes and screamed hoarsely.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes, and Li He's knife was already pressed against his throat.

A wave of cold rushed to his forehead, then spread through his whole body.

The teen's face broke out in cold sweat; after a shiver, he involuntarily wet his pants.

The other ten‑plus teens stared at the scene, all frozen like statues.

Li He spat out the dried grass from his mouth and surveyed the crowd with cold eyes.

"You wear the armor the Immortal sister gave you, wield the weapons she gave you, yet you have no idea how to use them, not a hint of tactics, and you just charge forward. Not only can you't avenge, you'll let the gear fall into the officials' hands! Then it'll be just like earlier, dying by your own swords!"

"I only have a broken kitchen knife; you can't even parry a single move. How can you fight the officials?"

"Now, who still thinks that relying solely on fancy gear can get revenge? Go ahead, I won't stop you."

When his words ended, Li He wore a carefree, defiant grin, and pointed at the broken temple gate.

Talking a thousand words or ten thousand can't compare to showing the facts directly.

Sure enough, all the teens hung their heads dejectedly and put down their weapons.

The defeated teen lying on the ground shakily got up, "Brother Li He… we really want to slay our enemies for Master… you… teach us, and once we know how to wield a blade, lead us."

Li He pinched his nose, "First take off your pants and wash them before talking to me again; the smell of urine in your crotch is choking me."

The teen scratched his neck awkwardly, and the others burst into laughter.

"Alright!" Li He said seriously, "I originally planned to avenge alone, to spare you weak scholars who only wield pens from dying in vain, but now with good gear I can take you along. However, you must train honestly for a while, at least be able to hold a blade steady, run fast, and learn to obey my commands. Understood?"

The group rallied, raised their fists, and shouted in unison, "Understood!"

Fang Hui's eyes showed admiration, "Brother, you really have the skill."

Li He grinned, "You go lead them behind the temple to climb the mountain and train strength. Don't go too far, and stay safe."

"Ah… okay, brother, what about you?"

"I slipped into the city at the fourth watch last night to gather intel; I'm exhausted and need to sleep a bit."

"Yes, yes, brother, you should rest."

Li He yawned, lay down in the corner haystack, and soon began snoring.

Fang Hui then led the ten‑plus teenage scholars out of the broken temple to climb the mountain for training.

On the other side—

After returning to Black Water Bay, Ning Jinli immediately told the head siblings of Black Water Village the information she had learned.

Although she didn't know why Ding County suddenly came to suppress bandits, knowing the news early allowed for pre‑emptive measures.

According to Quezi Junshi's analysis, since the Ding County magistrate needs to conscript strong men, this anti‑bandit operation targeting Black Water Bay is limited to Ding County and is wholly overseen by the county's elder.

Not only will neighboring counties not participate, the Prefect above should also not command, otherwise the forces deployed would be regular troops rather than County Office soldiers and conscripts.

The Ding County forces total roughly two hundred plus men.

Thus, when they come to suppress the bandits, most will be the conscripted strong men they captured.

"Have you encountered this situation before?" Ning Jinli asked.

Hei Da said, "In recent years we've only faced a few deployments of officials for arrests, each time about a few dozen, never over a hundred. Their arms are better than ours, so we usually hide when we can; twice we couldn't avoid them and fought, and we lost dozens of brothers before escaping."

When these incidents were mentioned, Hei Da, Hei Er, and Quezi Junshi's faces grew grim.

Hei Er said, "This time they're coming after us again, the commotion is terrifying; how should we respond?"

You should know that just a few dozen soldiers could already give the Black Water stronghold a hard time; if more than two hundred soldiers were deployed, and they brought a large group of young laborers…

Hei Er doesn't even dare to imagine what the situation will be then.

The crippled strategist thought and said, "In the past we were always ambushed, caught off guard. This time we can plan ahead, use the terrain, set traps, and I've now trained a group of monkeys and crocodiles. Unlike before, when only our own brothers could fight, this time, no matter how many they send, they'll never return."

"Impossible!" Ning Jinli warned, "Those young laborers are just ordinary citizens of Yin County, seized without cause to suppress bandits. They are innocent, so we must treat them differently."

The crippled strategist's face showed difficulty, "Miss Ning Jinli, if there are too many people, the fight will inevitably become chaotic. The brothers of the Black Water stronghold and my monkeys can still distinguish soldiers from the laborers, but the crocodiles won't recognize anyone…"

Ning Jinli said, "No need to deploy the crocodiles, or only use them when absolutely necessary. Besides providing you with farming tools, I can also supply weapons and even armor, which will be thousands of times better than what the soldiers use."

Hearing that, the two siblings and the crippled strategist's eyes brightened.

The crippled strategist immediately said, "Our brothers' fighting skills aren't lacking; the problem is the huge equipment gap. Miss Ning Jinli, you know that throughout Luan Chuan Bao we can find fewer than thirty decent swords and spears combined. Armor is even more scarce. If our gear and weapons could surpass the soldiers', our brothers could take on ten men each without trouble, and we would have the capacity to protect the civilian laborers when fighting the soldiers!"

"Then that's settled," Ning Jinli said decisively, "I'll go make armor and weapons now, send them over to you, and everyone can start the pre‑battle preparations!"