Chapter 208: The Horse Bandits Attack

He Yuzhu followed Yang Xiuqing into a mountain hollow and was stunned by the scene before his eyes.

This hollow was filled with makeshift shacks, housing men, women, the old, and the young; everyone was sallow and emaciated, and some even lacked the strength to stand up.

"Yang Xiuqing, you really are something. There must be five hundred people here! How can you possibly manage them all?"

At this moment, He Yuzhu felt a bit of admiration for this man; he couldn't even feed himself, yet he was still helping these people find food.

Yang Xiuqing sighed and said, "At first, I just wanted to find some people to travel with, but then more and more people came. I... I couldn't just drive them out of the group, could I?"

"Even if I gave you all the grain on the truck, I'm afraid it wouldn't solve your problem," He Yuzhu said, shaking his head helplessly.

Yang Xiuqing knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, and said, "On behalf of these miserable people, I thank the great philanthropist He for his life-saving grace!"

"Get up! Just for the fact that you are able to help these people, I agree to help you. Organize the people and have them unload the grain from the truck."

He Yuzhu released two thousand catties of grain from his space.

When these refugees saw the bags of cornmeal and white flour being unloaded, their eyes went wide—it had been so long since they had eaten such good food!

In an instant, the entire camp became lively.

The women nimbly set up stoves and began to boil porridge, fry pancakes, and steam buns.

The camp, which had been deathly still just a moment ago, suddenly became filled with laughter and joy.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the camp showed signs of vitality, and the children began to run around.

The men also began to gather firewood everywhere, lighting up piles of bonfires.

Yang Xiuqing walked quickly to He Yuzhu, rubbed his hands together, and asked with some embarrassment, "Brother Zhuzi, I have one more thing I'd like to ask of you. Do you think you could do me a favor?"

"If you have something to say, just say it. No need to hesitate!"

"Could your truck give a ride to the dozens of people here who really can't walk anymore and take them to a nearby city?" Yang Xiuqing said.

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "That's no problem. But after I take you to the city, how will you settle them?"

Yang Xiuqing shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Taking them to the city will fulfill my wish. People in the city have money; even if they have to beg along the streets, they can survive."

He Yuzhu did not ask any further. Since he had a truck, doing this favor was not a problem.

Ding Li, sitting in the driver's seat, watched so many people getting on the truck and felt a bit of fear. She asked timidly, "Brother, are you... are you going to abandon us?"

He Yuzhu patted her little head and said, "My greatest virtue is that I never go back on my word once I've promised something!"

Ding Li then smiled happily.

After two full meals, the mother and daughter's health had improved, and Mother Ding could also walk slowly.

He Yuzhu let the old, weak, sick, and disabled take turns resting on the truck, while those who could still manage followed behind the truck on foot.

The group trudged along for four or five hours. As the sky grew dark and everyone was exhausted, they stopped to prepare dinner.

Just as the meal was ready and everyone was about to pick up their chopsticks, a burst of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the distance.

Yang Xiuqing tilted his head to listen carefully, his expression changing abruptly: "Not good... at this sound, I'm afraid we've really run into mountain bandits!"

He Yuzhu said dismissively, "What are you afraid of? The bandits are here, what else can they take from you?"

"They'll take the grain! If our thousand-plus catties of grain are taken, how will everyone survive!" Yang Xiuqing said urgently.

He Yuzhu's heart tightened, and he said, "Yang Xiuqing, pick out some men, find some wooden sticks and stones, and protect the old and weak on the perimeter!"

Just then, dust billowed on the mountain road as more than thirty fast horses surged forward. Each horse was ridden by a fierce-looking man; some held gleaming sabers in their hands, some held Box Cannons, and others held Type 38 Arisakas—the weapons were very chaotic.

In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the refugee camp.

Seeing this formation, Yang Xiuqing picked up his large axe from the ground and walked toward the horse bandits.

It must be said, this man really had the air of an ancient chivalrous hero.

His daughter, Yang Mei, also took a large blade from a bundle and followed her father to meet them.

He Yuzhu also walked silently toward the truck.

When he returned to the vehicle, he saw Ding Li with a face full of fear—the child might have been frightened into illness by the bandits. She trembled all over and asked timidly, "Brother Zhuzi, what should we do?"

"I'm here! What's there to fear!" He Yuzhu climbed onto the back of the truck, took a Submachine Gun from a box, and began to move toward the horse bandits under the cover of the night.

On the other side, Yang Xiuqing cupped his hands and said loudly, "Brothers of the road, we don't have anything valuable on us. We are all poor wretches. Please be kind and spare our lives!"

A thin, dark-skinned leader in the crowd rode out and gave a sinister smile: "Nothing? Then where did this truck come from? Stop the nonsense, hand over the truck and the grain, and I might spare your lives—otherwise, none of you will live!"

At this moment, five horse bandits surrounded the truck and came face-to-face with He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu showed no mercy and opened fire immediately.

"Da-da-da..." The sound of gunfire rang out.

The five horse bandits were immediately knocked off their horses.

He Yuzhu's shooting did not stop. Using the cover of the dark night and the mountain rocks, he kept firing while running; wherever the gunfire went, more than a dozen horse bandits lost their lives in succession.

On the other side, Yang Xiuqing had also charged into the enemy ranks. He swung his axe and hacked down a horse bandit, then turned and slashed at another.

In the chaos, a horse bandit suddenly raised a Box Cannon and aimed it at Yang Mei.

Seeing this, Yang Xiuqing realized it was too late to rush over and kill the bandit, so he threw the large axe in his hand with all his might.

The axe spun through the air and, with a "thud," embedded itself into the opponent's chest!

Dozens of well-fed refugees also joined the battle one after another; they surrounded five isolated horse bandits and poked them with long sticks.

Seeing that more than half of his men had been killed or wounded in the blink of an eye, the thin, dark-skinned leader knew things were going wrong and hurriedly signaled the remaining men to retreat.

But the retreat route had already been cut off by He Yuzhu. He had long since set up a Machine Gun, blocking their path of escape.

"Da-da-da..." The sound of gunfire rang out.

The retreating bandits instantly became living targets and were knocked off their horses one after another.

At this time, the refugees chasing the horse bandits also rushed over, and seeing those who were still breathing, they raised their tools to finish them off.

"Leave one alive!" He Yuzhu shouted to stop them. Only then did these people stop, leaving behind the thin, dark-skinned leader.

Yang Xiuqing dragged the leader to He Yuzhu and asked, "Brother Zhuzi, what's the use of keeping them alive?"

He Yuzhu's eyes flashed, and he suddenly said, "I have an idea—since these mountain bandits dared to come and rob us, why can't we do the opposite and take their lair directly? Wouldn't settling these refugees in their Shanzhai be a ready-made place to stay?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiuqing's eyes immediately lit up, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "Brother Zhuzi, your mind is still the sharpest! How did I not think of this move!" But he then revealed a worried expression, "However, there are certainly more than just these people on the mountain, and I fear the remaining bandits are not something we can handle..."

"You don't need to worry about that," He Yuzhu said in a calm yet firm tone, "You just focus on finding out the location of their lair, their numbers, and their equipment; leave the rest to me to resolve."

Having witnessed He Yuzhu's ability to kill nearly 20 people by himself, Yang Xiuqing no longer hesitated and grinned, "Alright then! I'll listen to Brother Zhuzi!"

He turned and strode toward the captured dark-skinned, thin leader, kicked him in the chest, and shouted sternly, "Speak! How many more people are there on your mountain? Confess honestly! If you dare to hide anything again, I will slice the flesh off your body piece by piece!"

The dark-skinned, thin leader was trembling all over from fear and said in a shaky voice, "I, I am the Second Master of Heifengzhai... On the mountain... there are still over forty people on the mountain..."