Chapter 258: The Bandit Lair in Luodai Cave — Caves, Houses, and Water Pools

Zhao Ji tracked the group from a short distance away. Because he was hiding in the woods and had the help of the nearby steep terrain, his figure was not discovered.

Those careless bandits did not care about their surroundings at all while on their own turf; long-term safety had left them with little vigilance. As for the captured civilians being herded in the group, they lowered their heads one by one as if resigned to their fate. As they ventured deeper into the mountain forest, they lost all thoughts of resistance, praying only to survive.

Because the bandits were carrying heavy loot and the captured civilians were utterly exhausted, the group moved very slowly, not reaching a Jiedian set up by Luodai Cave until nightfall.

Two or three people were stationed here year-round, and the place was well-stocked with food and water. Arriving here at dusk was clearly a distance calculated by the Bandit Leader of this group.

Seeing these people stop to rest after arriving at the small Jiedian at dusk, Zhao Ji observed the surroundings of the Jiedian before leaving the area.

From the direction the bandits were heading, he roughly determined the location of the Luodai Cave lair. This group needed to rest after a day of travel, but he was full of energy, so he stopped tracking them.

After all, it would be dark soon, and once it was dark, the forest would be even more convenient for him to hide and move forward.

He estimated this location to be the central area controlled by the Luodai Cave group, and the terrain began to grow complex. Unlike the somewhat gentle mountain land on the outskirts, there were many ravines here, and the trees were particularly dense, making it very difficult to traverse after dark.

Zhao Ji had no choice but to walk along the natural Valley that allowed for passage; it was very difficult to climb over the steep slopes, let alone climb over these mountains and forests in the dark.

In this area, Zhao Ji even encountered two patrol squads of five people each. The others were brazenly carrying bright Torches in the dark, chatting and walking casually as they patrolled.

Dodging behind a tree by the side of the path, Zhao Ji let these patrolling bandits pass. Far from being alarmed, he was pleased; a well-staffed Bandit Group that sent people out to patrol—what did this indicate? It indicated that he was already very close to their lair.

Zhao Ji calculated that these bandits, known as Luodai Cave, felt more professional than the guards at the checkpoints, villages, and cities. From what he had seen, the night defenses of Doraerlin Village were not this sufficient, and Kendall City was even more lax.

In his view, the defenses of Kendall City were more "loose on the outside, tight on the inside." The external defense was very weak, and the night watch was focused on patrols within the city area.

He did not know much about Bingxun Pass, but judging from the lax security at the north gate of the checkpoint, the Soldiers at the pass were there more to assist the Tax Officer in collecting taxes from passing people.

As for this Luodai Cave Bandit Group, they had sentry Jiedian staffed with people on the outskirts of their territory, and near their lair, there were patrol squads at night. Considering their lair was a Shandong, they would certainly have people prepared to guard the entrance of the Shandong.

With the bandits having layers of defense like this, it was no wonder he had heard that multiple militia campaigns to suppress the bandits had failed to eliminate them.

Slapping his forehead, Zhao Ji remembered that these bandits must have also deployed scouts and informants within Bingxun Pass. Usually, these people would keep an eye out for suitable passing Caravans, and as soon as there was any movement at the checkpoint, such as a large number of Militia moving in, these people would certainly pass the news and intelligence to the bandits' lair here.

With such layers of defense, it was no wonder this group of bandits had grown so large.

Compared to the Luodai Cave bandits, the nearby Yaguijing Bandit Group was inferior. Firstly, they were too close to Bingxun Pass, and after sending people out, they had no time to retreat. Secondly, although the terrain was mountain forest, it was gentle and could be traversed anywhere, making it difficult to defend or station people. Thirdly, their preparations and actions regarding defense were poor; even at night, the Yaguijing did not send out small groups to patrol. As soon as it got dark, they abandoned control over their territory, allowing Zhao Ji to pass through in the dark at will.

Of course, this was how Zhao Ji thought; perhaps those who became bandits didn't actually think too much. They were all living hand-to-mouth, so they just did things haphazardly. Only with a safe lair like Luodai Cave would these bandits have the mind to tinker with these layers of external defensive measures.

Zhao Ji did not try to attack these two groups of patrolling bandits; he still remembered that he had come here to save people. If possible, it would be best to rescue the nephew of Mr. Kendo, who had been kidnapped, the first time he found the bandit lair.

Because at this moment, the bandits were in the light and he was in the dark. The others had no vigilance against him. Moreover, this year's militia sweep and bandit suppression had not yet begun, and these bandits had no intention of pulling back yet.

Avoiding the bandit patrol squads carrying Torches, Zhao Ji moved through the dark along the path the group had come from.

The night was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly. The small hills and trees in the mountain forest blocked the three moons in the sky; he estimated that only during a Large Full Moon could the ground of the mountain forest be illuminated.

Zhao Ji, who did not carry a Torch, groped his way forward slowly by the faint light.

Later, he ran into the returning patrol squads again. After Zhao Ji let them pass, he followed right behind the patrol squad, using the light from their Torches to follow them all the way to their lair.

At the end of a low Valley, at the corner of a hillside in a dead-end Valley, was the entrance to the Shandong that served as the lair for the bandits.

There were clearly a particularly large number of trees around the Shandong, blocking the view of anyone who wanted to discover this place from afar. It was only after Zhao Ji heard the patrol squad greeting the people guarding the entrance of the Shandong that he discovered that such a hidden Shandong was concealed in this tree-filled area.

There were four bandits rotating guard duty at the entrance of the Shandong, resting, eating, and living right at the entrance, which looked as if it had no flaws.

Sneaking into the dense forest at the entrance of the Shandong, he carefully observed these bandits guarding the cave entrance from among the trees.

Zhao Ji discovered that these bandits were fortunately not stationed right against the entrance of the Shandong, but had set up two Tents and lit a fire on the open ground next to the entrance.

At this moment, everyone was gathered around the fire warming themselves, and there was no one at the entrance of the Shandong. The two patrol squads that had returned were no longer going out, but were crowding in front of the fire, laughing and joking with the two bandits guarding the cave entrance.

Listening carefully, he discovered that these people were talking about when an outside leader would return and what the harvest was like. For this, they even started a gambling game, placing bets with each other.

Zhao Ji listened carefully; loud snoring could be heard faintly from the Tent by the fire. He estimated that the daytime guards were resting, and even the conversation and gambling right at their doorstep had not been enough to wake these two up.

Seeing that none of the bandits were focused on defense and were all casually warming themselves by the fire and chatting, Zhao Ji considered whether he should sneak into the bandit lair now.

This was very risky, but it was currently the middle of the night, and those who should be asleep were resting. Since these bandits had such sufficient defenses on the outskirts of their lair, then correspondingly, the interior surely did not need to be guarded and watched so carefully.

As long as he slipped into the Shandong, he estimated that he should be able to move around safely until dawn.

Actually, there was another method: he only needed to disguise himself, get some bandit clothing, and wait for the small chaos when the batch of bandits who had gone out to plunder returned tomorrow. He could naturally sneak in; once he followed them inside, he could swagger around and scout at will. If discovered, he wouldn't be afraid; he would just say he was a new recruit.

However, this method also had one drawback: he knew too little about these Luodai Cave bandits. If someone questioned him, he would be unable to answer, which would naturally arouse suspicion. Besides, he didn't look like a bandit, whether it was his sturdy, healthy body or his alert and serious personality; he was different from these crude bandits who had not a shred of culture or knowledge. Furthermore, these bandits seemed to be very powerful when plundering, but Zhao Ji had actually discovered that these bandits didn't eat well. Because they were in the mountains, their food sources were singular, and they were all sallow and emaciated, which was clearly malnutrition caused by a monotonous diet. The low-level bandits didn't even have a trace of grease on their faces; it seemed they rarely got to eat things rich in Grease, so naturally, their bodies were in poor shape.

As for Zhao Ji, in order to improve his physique recently, his appetite had increased greatly. Whenever conditions were right, he would eat a lot of meat, combined with frequent training and exercise. Being at an age where he was still growing, his body had become increasingly sturdy recently.

No matter how you looked at it, his physique didn't look like a bandit's; it looked more like a bandit leader's.

After considering it for a while, Zhao Ji checked the equipment on his body, then circled halfway around, avoiding the bandits at the front of the cave entrance from the side. Taking advantage of the moment when two of the bandits in the middle were arguing and cursing, attracting the attention of all the bandits, he lay on the ground and crawled bit by bit from the dry grass on the side of the Shandong into the shadows inside the Shandong.

After entering, he did not move for a moment. Confirming that none of the bandits outside had noticed anything amiss, he stood up and observed the situation inside the Shandong with his body hunched low.

Except for the fire outside the cave, the entrance here was pitch black. With the small amount of light scattered from outside the cave, Zhao Ji discovered that the ceiling of the cave here had been smoked pitch black by the smoke of Torches, and the path inside the cave was actually very flat, without any obstacles.

Walking quietly for a few steps, Zhao Ji's trained body keenly discovered that this flat ground, paved with small Stones and Stone slabs, was subtly sloping downward.

Estimating that the interior of this Shandong was not small and might be a dry water-eroded cave running through the mountain, Zhao Ji proceeded carefully.

The ground inside the cave was level, but the path was winding, which meant Zhao Ji could only see a small area in front of him that wasn't blocked. He focused his attention on his extended arms and his ears, carefully distinguishing the various subtle sounds coming from ahead.

Not long after walking, Zhao Ji heard a chorus of snoring. Moving along the cave wall in the dark, he lightened his footsteps, and after turning a corner, he discovered light coming from ahead.

Crouching down at the edge of the bend, Zhao Ji poked half his head out to scout and discovered that the inside was a place similar to a hall. There were many man-made structures inside; roofless wooden houses were arranged in sequence against the cave walls, and in the middle was a flat area cleared by hand, with a tall Torch standing in the center.

Interestingly, on this torch as tall as a person, there were several pieces of polished, flat metal. These metal pieces avoided the upward channel of smoke directly above the torch, scattering the light of the torch around it like a lotus flower.

In addition to this conspicuous central torch, some Oil Lamps were hung in front of the doors of some wooden houses. It should be said that basically every house had an Oil Lamp at the door, but the vast majority of the Oil Lamps were not lit.

Because it was the middle of the night, all the bandits were resting in their houses.

Just as he expected, inside the Shandong, the defenses here were very lax. No one was patrolling between the various houses, and every house had its door tightly shut, with snoring and suppressed panting and groaning coming from inside the roofless houses.

Ignoring those sounds, Zhao Ji carefully observed the various conditions of this Shandong hall in the dark passage. Before long, footsteps and the faint light of a scattered Torch came from behind him.

Zhao Ji estimated that it was a patrol squad coming in to rest or change shifts. He quickly walked out of the passage and hid behind a pile of cluttered things not far away.

Zhao Ji hid his body behind this Stone vat that looked like it had been carved from Stone, carefully observing the patrol squad that had walked in.

After these people walked to the middle of the Shandong, they added some firewood to the tall torch in the center and then scattered casually. Several bandits walked into an empty house; the lights in the house went on, and then quickly went out.

One bandit came to the front of another house, called up the people inside after entering, and then went to rest in the house where the previous bandits were.

The batch of bandits who were called up lazily slung their weapons and walked out of the Shandong wearing thick clothing made of various garments and animal furs.

It was estimated that this was another batch of bandits setting out to patrol. Seeing that none of the other bandits came out to check when those bandits had just come in and gone out, Zhao Ji became bold.

Knowing that this Bandit Group was accustomed to their daily lives within this safe Shandong, they would likely all be this off-guard unless someone of at least Young Leader rank authorized a state of high alert.

Zhao Ji stood up; he could finally openly scout this place.

He discovered that the stone vat he had just hidden behind was actually used for holding water; presumably due to poor technique and tools, this stone vat was not deep and only held a small amount of fresh water.

Looking around at the dry wooden houses and wooden items, Zhao Ji felt that a large fire could likely burn this place down, provided there was no water in these stone vats, which were presumably used for drinking and firefighting.

Pushing this thought aside for the moment, Zhao Ji came to an open area and carefully examined his surroundings. There were over a dozen wooden houses, and besides the passage he had come from, there were two other passages, though he did not know where they led.

He carefully approached a wooden house; with only a slight judgment, he could tell this wooden house was ordinary and should be where common Bandits lived. He pushed the door and found it was unlocked.

Quietly opening the door just enough to stick his head in, and aided by the faint light from the large torch in the center behind him, Zhao Ji saw clearly what was inside.

The Bandits had divided the house into two levels, separated in the middle by thick wooden planks. The lower level had some tables, chairs, and chests on the outside where the Bandits' daily necessities were kept; inside were various miscellaneous stored items that Zhao Ji could not see clearly.

On the wall near the door, various messy weapons were hung, from Dagger to Short Bow and long bow, from wooden Spear to Mudu and axes, everything one could expect, though it seemed there was only one of each.

Zhao Ji had originally thought the Bandits had many weapons, but when he took a look, he realized the Bandits' weapons only looked numerous in quantity, while the quality was not great; they were all very crude weapons and equipment.

On the second level of the house, because the house had no roof, the actual space on the second level was quite large. Zhao Ji stood on tiptoe to look and discovered that the Bandits were all sleeping wrapped in messy bedding; some women were also being held by them as they slept together, and what's more, he even saw infants and children.

Zhao Ji frowned deeply; what did this mean? This Bandit Group had already distributed the abducted women to various experienced Bandits as wives, established families, and even given birth to newborns.

This Bandit Group was no longer a loose, casual organization; it had the qualifications to become a small power. As long as this Bandit Group continued to be maintained, they would not even need to recruit outsiders; they could maintain a long-term existence just by using their own children raised within their ranks.

And children who grew up in this environment from a young age would, upon truly reaching adulthood, treat raiding as a mundane, everyday part of life.

As for those abducted women, giving birth to new children and living here for a long time, hadn't they also become part of this Bandit Group? Especially since the houses had no Lock and there was no one outside. And at the entrance of the Shandong, there were usually only four people on guard; it probably wouldn't be difficult to sneak in and out like he did.

Yet the Bandits were also at ease living together like this; what did this mean? It meant that these people who had been abducted for years no longer thought about escaping; they too had become members of the Bandits.

Silently closing the wooden door, Zhao Ji walked away, heavy-hearted. He headed toward the other two passages he had just discovered.

One of the two passages went faintly downward, and one went faintly upward. He first headed to the downward passage to scout; he guessed that the people living in the wooden houses in the hall just now were all members of the Bandit Group, which was why those Bandits were so at ease with no one standing guard or on duty in the hall.

The further down he went, the more humid the air became. This passage was also pitch black, but unlike the main passage leading to the outside, there were some lamp stands set up by the Bandits on the walls here. As Zhao Ji felt his way along, he discovered that these lamp stands must be used frequently, as the Lamp Oil inside was half-full, and compared to other places, the ground here was more level, paved with the finest Suishi, likely to prevent people from falling while walking here.

After going more than a hundred meters deep into the passage and turning a few corners, Zhao Ji heard many dripping sounds in his ears; in addition, there was a faint rumbling sound caused by water flowing and rubbing against the rock walls.

As expected, after turning another corner, the ground became level, and at the same time, the top of the passage became low, and small water droplets began to fall from above. Zhao Ji estimated that there was definitely no one here, so he lit a small Torch to illuminate the surroundings.

The surroundings were the end of the passage; in front of him was a Shitan extending to the rock wall at the end. The surroundings were all smooth rock walls, which seemed to be covered with shiny substances leached from the rock walls; when illuminated by Zhao Ji's Torch, they reflected various bright glimmers.

Looking up at the top of the passage, he discovered that above were stalactites extending down from the ceiling, and the water droplets were dripping from the very bottom of those stalactites. Some wide stalactites had already been destroyed by the Bandits, presumably because they disliked them blocking the passage space, so they destroyed them to be done with it.

The Suishi on the ground had also been replaced with large, thick stone slabs to prevent the water dripping from above from washing the Suishi away.

Zhao Ji approached the Shitan and discovered that the Shitan was flowing water. The water gushed out from several large rock crevices on the left side of the Shitan and flowed away through several pitch-black, bottomless water holes on the right side of the Shitan.

Illuminated by Zhao Ji's Torch, many tiny white fish swam in the water; they faced Zhao Ji's Torch, seemingly possessing a phototactic nature.

"There is water, there is fish. This Bandit Group could survive for a long time just by living in this Shandong. It's truly troublesome; even if a large number of Militia surround this place later, how would they attack inside?" Zhao Ji muttered.

"Siege won't be able to starve these Bandits to death either. Tsk, what a nuisance." Zhao Ji extinguished the Torch and returned along the original path in the dark.