Chapter 260: The Luodai Cave Storage Room and Jianlao — The Only Hope

Zhao Ji returned to the passage he had come through earlier. Although he had discovered a large crack and opening in the ceiling of this passage before, at the time he had only felt that it was nice to be able to see the night sky outside; other than it being quite pretty, he had no other thoughts about it.

It was not until Mr. Xiao Simengsi reminded him that he realized it seemed possible to lead more of the captured civilians out through here.

Saving only Mr. Xiao Simengsi alone seemed too pathetic. Zhao Ji himself had been hired by Mr. Xiao Simengsi's relative to come and save him, but as for those captured civilians whose relatives had all been killed by the bandits, who would think of a way to save them?

Arriving before the crack and opening, Zhao Ji discovered that the rock wall here must have been frequently affected by the wind and rain outside. Unlike other places, the surface of the rock wall here was not that smooth, and at the high opening, there were some withered vines and tree branches sticking out.

Because the rock wall was mottled and dilapidated, Zhao Ji boldly tried to climb it, discovering that the bottom of the passage was less affected by wind and rain and was relatively smooth, making it difficult to step on or hook one's fingers into the rock crevices.

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and felt that as long as a few Wooden Boxes were placed underneath for people to step on, they should be able to climb up.

As long as one person got up, there would be no problem; the remaining people could use a Rope to assist, or the person above could pull on the Rope.

After deciding what to do, Zhao Ji returned to the cave that served as the storage room and Jianlao for the bandits.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he returned, he saw that all twenty-plus civilians had already come out of the Jianlao. Zhao Ji immediately realized that it was Mr. Xiao Simengsi who had let the other civilians out. He guessed that because they had been locked up together by the bandits, they shared an experience and emotion of suffering together, so as soon as Mr. Xiao Simengsi was saved by him, he turned around and let the other civilians out.

"You're back. How is it? Can we get out from there?" Mr. Xiao Simengsi looked at Zhao Ji nervously. He did not even know the name of this young man hired to save him, yet he had suddenly placed the heavy burden of saving so many people on the other's shoulders.

Being stared at nervously by over twenty civilians, Zhao Ji tilted his head back slightly, swallowed, and nodded.

Seeing that someone was about to shout in excitement, Zhao Ji quickly stopped this action. He held a finger to his lips, signaling that everyone had to be quiet: "Quiet down, please everyone be quiet."

Mr. Xiao Simengsi also signaled for silence, and the civilians finally quieted down.

Looking at these people who were either barely clothed, had suffered many beatings, or were starved to the point of being unrecognizable, Zhao Ji signaled for everyone to gather and explained the current situation.

"Everyone. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Qiao-Jier, and I am from Kendall City. I am currently hired by Mr. Xiao Simengsi's uncle, Mr. Kendo Simons, to rescue the kidnapped Mr. Xiao Simengsi. Earlier tonight, I slipped into this Luodai Cave bandit lair through a gap in the bandits' patrols and the guards' carelessness."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Mr. Xiao Simengsi. Some opened their mouths to thank Mr. Xiao Simengsi and his family, and some excitedly said they would also pay money to have Jier save them too; money was no object.

Jier signaled for everyone to be quiet and listen to him: "Right now, outside the passage behind me, there are at least fifty bandits resting, so everyone must be quiet. You cannot make any particularly loud noises that would wake the sleeping bandits. Once the bandits discover that everyone has escaped, it will be all over. I have the confidence to fight my way out, but you certainly cannot. Everyone has been tortured so miserably by the bandits."

Hearing Jier explain it this way, the civilians finally realized that they were not safe yet; on the contrary, the situation was extremely dangerous. After all, even if they had been subjected to every humiliation while locked in the Jianlao, the bandits at least wanted to make use of them. But once the bandits discovered that the imprisoned captives had killed their way out, they would certainly kill them all.

"I consider myself to have some ability, so I hope that from now on, until we leave here and escape to Bingxun Pass, everyone will act according to my orders. This concerns everyone's life and death. You must follow instructions and orders from here on out; only then can you escape this bandit lair alive."

A middle-aged man asked: "Then this, uh, Jier. I heard you say it's full of bandits outside, is it possible for us to escape? If there is a way, please tell us so everyone knows. Otherwise, we might as well all grab a knife, rush out, kill a bandit, and avenge our dead family and friends!"

Jier and Mr. Xiao Simengsi looked at each other: "There is a way, please listen carefully."

No one wanted to die. Although revenge was also important, if they could live, who wouldn't want to live? Everyone moved closer to listen to Jier explain.

"It is like this: in the only access passage outside the storage room where you are now, there is a crack and opening in the mountain body at the top of a section of the passage. It is several meters wide, enough for people to escape through. I just went out to look and tried it myself; it is possible to climb up, as long as we make some preparations. Our method of escape is this."

Hearing that there was a way to escape without fighting the bandits made everyone very excited; some people were even trembling with joy. Some of them were truly too afraid of those brutal bandits. The tragic sight of all their family and friends being killed and the repeated violations and beatings by the bandits made them afraid to face those bandits head-on.

"It is winter now, and the nights are very long. I estimate it is just past midnight. There is still a long time before any bandits wake up and come over. Everyone must seize this time. Whether we can escape safely depends on everyone's actions from here on."

Everyone looked at Jier. Jier took a deep breath and began to direct everyone: "First, men and women separate. The men have better physical strength, so prioritize eating some meat, then drink some fresh water. Don't worry about whether it's easy to digest for now; eat more of the dried meat the bandits have stored. The water is in the large stone vat nearby. Once the men have eaten their fill, the women should eat quickly."

"After the men have eaten, move these Wooden Boxes down and throw out the things inside; I only want the empty boxes. Prepare the empty boxes and place them by the entrance of the passage, then go and collect all the Ropes in this storage room. Don't take the ones that are too thick; just find Ropes of a suitable thickness that are easy to use. We will need them later."

"The women should first strip the three dead bandits, and at the same time collect everything in this storage room that can be used as clothing, simply making them into warm garments to wear on the body."

Seeing that everyone was confused, Jier pointed to the clothes on his own body.

Thick clothes, pants, and Boots, as well as a warm wolf-fur scarf and wolf-fur Cloak. Only then did everyone realize that it was currently Kendall's winter, and it was very cold outside.

They did not feel it in the cave because they were dressed thinly, but once they went out, these thin clothes would cause people to die of hypothermia in no time.

"In addition to preparing warm items, the women must also prepare enough food for everyone to eat for two days using bundles. You don't need water; everyone should drink their fill of water before leaving. We will escape at full speed for the first day, and after we are far away from here, we will find a way to find water to drink."

"At the same time, the men should each prepare a weapon. Don't choose one that is too small or too big; you don't have enough strength, so choose a sword or blade of normal, suitable weight. Also, find a few wooden sticks as long as a person, and then use Ropes and waterproof thick cloth to make at least three such tools (Jier demonstrated what a stretcher for two people to carry would look like and how to make it). Don't ask what they are for yet; everyone just make them. Act now. Mr. Xiao Simengsi, please help direct and arrange this."

Jier could see that it was likely because Mr. Xiao Simengsi had let the others out that the other civilians valued Mr. Xiao Simengsi's opinions.

The other party nodded and began to instruct everyone, getting them to move.

Jier saw that everyone was busy, and he had his own things to do. He dragged the three bandit corpses stripped by the women to the front of the supply storage area, found some suitable materials, and began to get busy.

He hung the three bandit corpses in a conspicuous, high place and prepared many flammable items behind the corpses. He used a Dagger to shave some highly flammable wood shavings to hide behind the corpses and fixed some Flint that would spark when rubbed together behind the corpses.

He found some Lamp Oil and sprinkled it on the wood shavings behind the corpses. Jier looked left and right; very good, if one didn't pay attention, one wouldn't be able to see that there was anything behind the corpses.

Jier looked at the large amount of winter supplies prepared by the bandits, his gaze gloomy as he moved some of the supplies. Some waterproof oil-soaked felt cloth was not easy to ignite, but once ignited by high heat, it was easy to burn very fiercely.

He placed these felt cloths evenly in the middle of the passages between the separated goods, making it easier for the large fire that might be lit later to burn over a large area.

At the same time, Jier also moved some of the goods slightly, blocking the passages leading from the periphery of the goods to the interior. In this way, once the fire started, it would be impossible for those bandits to put out the fire inside the piles of goods.

He had prepared a surprise for the bandits on his side, while on the other side, the men had already cleared out many empty Wooden Boxes. Jier saw that the quantity was sufficient, so he told them not to bother anymore and to busy themselves with other things.

He himself hugged two empty boxes at a time and walked into the passage, careful not to make a sound.

He carefully placed the empty boxes under the crack and opening. Because the ground was sloped, the boxes were also sloped. However, Jier did not care. He returned to the storage room, went back and forth several times, and moved many empty boxes to stack them under that escape passage.

Feeling the height was suitable, Zhao Ji brought the Rope and carefully used his hands and feet to step on the empty boxes. Arriving at the highest box, Zhao Ji spread his arms to maintain his balance and stood up.

With the two-meter-high foundation brought by the numerous empty boxes, plus his own height, Jier.

Jier placed his hands on the rough, cracked high wall. After gripping it firmly, he extended his feet to rest on some slightly wider cracks in the wall.

After his whole body was pressed against the wall, Jier began to use the illumination from the Torch placed on the ground and the Oil Lamp on the passage wall not far away to search for cracks higher up, climbing upward.

The beginning was the hardest part to climb, but the higher he went, the easier it became. The wall gradually turned into a rock wall, and at the same time, there were more and more cracks, and the gaps in the cracks became larger.

After Zhao Ji climbed up more than five meters, he finally arrived outside this mountain body.

Many vines hindered his continued climbing and moving forward, so Zhao Ji boldly freed one hand and used his Dagger to cut off the withered vines blocking the way.

Not daring to let these vines fall onto the empty boxes in the passage below, Zhao Ji had no choice but to repeatedly throw every cut vine far away to the outside of the mountain body.

This work took him quite a bit of time, which led to Mr. Xiao Simengsi specifically and carefully coming over to check the situation in the passage below.

Jier waved at Mr. Xiao Simengsi from high up, signaling that everything was proceeding normally, and only then did Mr. Xiao Simengsi excitedly go back to explain the situation to everyone.

With one vault, Zhao Ji finally got himself out of this bandit lair and returned to the cold outside world.

Taking a deep breath of the icy air, Zhao Ji quickly cleared away all the vines and plants nearby, clearing out a suitable open space. Thrillingly, Zhao Ji also discovered several iron animal traps set by the bandits in the grass here, which made Zhao Ji realize that the bandits were not unaware that people might escape from here; the other party was also prepared.

From where he came out of the crack, one could not see the entrance to the bandit lair cave; this location should be on the mountain to the side of the cave entrance. Listening carefully, one could vaguely hear a slick, off-key song being sung by the patrolling bandits not far away.

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and felt that this place was not particularly safe. He observed for a while and found a route that might be walkable from this mountain slope to a Shulin not far away.

He first placed the Rope on the ground, then personally walked this route once, eliminating some obstacles on the road that were difficult to walk on, and then returned to the crack and opening.

Zhao Ji lowered the Rope, and the top of the Rope was tied to a rock the size of a person to secure it.

Going back down was much faster; he slid right down along the Rope.

When he neared the empty crates, Zhao Ji carefully maintained his balance and stepped onto them. Once these empty crates had fulfilled their purpose, they were somewhat redundant. After landing, Zhao Ji's first step was to carefully move these empty crates aside, creating a screen and obstacle across the entire passageway.

He tied two loops into the bottom of the Rope hanging down from above, large enough for a person to insert their feet. Once finished, Zhao Ji returned to the storage room where the people were.

"He's back! He's back! Jier is back!"

As soon as Jier returned, he was greeted warmly by everyone, all of whom stared intently at him. Jier spoke directly: "It's no problem. I just climbed out through a crack in the passageway; it's relatively safe outside. But the exit isn't very far from the Bandit standing guard at the Shandong entrance, so after we go out, everyone must not say a single word. You must be quiet."

"At the same time, it is still night outside. Aside from the little light from the moon in the sky, there isn't much illumination. We are out of luck; the moon is already fading early tonight, it's a waxing crescent. So we must hurry. While we still have the moonlight to help us, once we are out, we must quickly leave the hillside and follow me one by one into the Shulin."

"As long as we reach the Shulin, our escape will be half successful. Afterward, we just need to take advantage of the darkness to move away from the territory of the Thieves of Luodai Cave. The further we get before they discover us, the safer we will be."

After Jier finished speaking, all the people began to tremble with excitement. The hope of survival was right before their eyes, and their faces and eyes were filled with the fighting spirit to live.

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Jier began to check the preparations for what was to come.

He checked the warm clothing worn by every person. Because there wasn't enough clothing to wear, they had rummaged through the cargo Jier had allowed them to touch (mainly for fear that they might trigger a mechanism and start a fire). Most of it consisted of Linen Cloth bags. The women had no choice but to use the small knives they had on hand to cut openings in these Linen Cloth bags, wrapping them layer by layer around everyone's bodies, then binding them tight with Rope on the outermost layer.

Jier gestured at the sacks wrapped around everyone and found that while they were certainly unsightly, they were truly thick enough. Everyone was wrapped several sizes larger; there shouldn't be any problems with warmth, and everyone even had their feet wrapped in many pieces of Linen Cloth.

Added to the fact that everyone was wearing a single layer of clothing underneath, once they went out, as long as they didn't stop moving, they should be able to withstand the low temperature outside.

Besides the warm clothing, Jier checked the prepared food and the water situation for everyone. Finding that everyone had drunk their fill of water, Jier also drank his fill, then had everyone pour the remaining water from the vats onto the ground.

The three makeshift stretchers were carried on the backs of the three people in the best physical condition.

Thus, seeing that everyone was prepared, Jier led everyone, quietly and hand-in-hand, into the passageway.

Arriving at the hanging Rope, Jier had everyone wait for a moment. After he climbed up first, one person below would insert their feet into the two loops tied into the Rope, hanging there while grabbing the Rope with one hand and pushing against the wall with the other to maintain distance.

Jier first stepped on the wall, pulled the Rope with his hands, and climbed up rapidly with a scuttling motion.

Everyone below watched with excitement; if Jier could get up, they could too. The hope of survival was right before their eyes.

After Jier got up, he shook the Rope. According to the plan, two strong men would go up first; if they were to go up, they would have to rely on Jier's own strength to pull them up. After all, despite being called strong, everyone was actually very weak; it could only be said that their physical condition was slightly better than the others.

Mr. Xiao Simengsi had to be placed further back because he was often beaten by the Thieves and had many injuries on his body.

Seeing Jier go up, the Rope began to shake. This indicated that Jier above was ready. The first person walked over, inserted their feet into the loops one by one, and gripped and clamped the Rope tight with their palms and arms.

This person also shook the Rope, and a moment later, Jier above began to pull.

Jier planted his legs firmly on the ground, loosened up his arms, and then grabbed the Rope.

Pull!

The Rope rose a section, over twenty centimeters.

Jier gripped tight with one hand, reached down with the other, and after getting a firm hold, exerted force with the reaching arm again to pull the Rope up another twenty centimeters.

Just like that, Jier pulled upward bit by bit, hauling the man hanging at the bottom of the Rope up little by little.

When his fingers were hurt by the friction, he wrapped his palm around the taut Rope, wound it once, and then lifted it up a section.

When his palms also hurt, he used only his wrists to wrap around the Rope, letting the Rope dig into his flesh, and lifted it up a section.

When his wrists hurt, he switched back to his fingers.

As long as the first person got up, it would be easier for the others who followed. Even if they couldn't exert strength, the first man to go up could wrap the Rope around his waist and then step backward himself to pull the Rope.

In the passageway below, everyone kept their mouths tightly shut. Regardless of which deity they believed in, they were all praying intensely in their hearts: it must succeed!

It must succeed!