Chapter 473: Asking for Reinforcements

Just at this moment, a burst of footsteps approached from afar.

Guo Huai immediately held his breath, only to see a figure stumble toward the edge of the pond, stop while panting heavily, bend down, cup some water in their hands, and gulp down several mouthfuls.

Guo Huai identified them carefully, and his heart gave a jolt: it was actually An Daiyuan!

He lowered his voice and called out, "Major An, are there pursuers?"

An Daiyuan, who was drinking water, shuddered in fright upon hearing this. He looked up and saw that it was the deceased Guo Heshang. He was so scared that he let out an "Ouch!" and sat down hard on the muddy ground. "You... are you human or a ghost?"

"I am Guo Huai! Major An, what is wrong with you?" Guo Huai wiped the water from his face and moved a bit closer to him.

Only then did An Daiyuan pat his chest and say, "Oh! You look so much like your brother that I thought your brother's soul had come to claim my life... I'm sorry, brother, it was me... it was me who harmed your brother!" He rubbed his eyes, his tone sounding remorseful, yet there was not a single tear in his eyes.

"Major An, I don't blame you; it was my brother who underestimated the enemy. Why did you come back alone? Where are the others?" Guo Huai asked.

"I should be asking you that! You, a man leading troops, how did you end up hiding in this mud puddle?" An Daiyuan said this to cover up the embarrassment of not having gone to the battlefield himself.

"Don't mention it! That kid actually shot and killed one of our brothers in the night! I knew the battle was lost, so I could only retreat first. The reason I jumped into this pond was that I heard someone chasing me and thought that star of misfortune had come after me, so I jumped into the pond to hide... I didn't expect it to be you." Guo Huai said, still feeling a lingering fear.

Time rewinds to over an hour ago.

An Daiyuan had not followed Guo Heshang to charge at that time, but that did not mean he did not care about this battle.

He had chosen another mountain path—the very one he and Guo Heshang had used to scout He Yuzhu's camp during the day.

He lay alone on the sparsely wooded mountaintop, observing the battle.

Soon, he noticed that the speed at which one figure was moving in the darkness was astonishingly fast, while his own side's firepower could barely pose an effective threat to them.

This was simply an unequal massacre.

Not until the battle was lost did he retreat quickly, remaining carefully hidden the whole way, and thus he returned even later than the panicked Guo Huai.

The night wind blew across his soaked body, and Guo Huai sneezed.

An Daiyuan sighed and said, "Brother Guo, this time it was still your brother who underestimated the enemy too much."

Guo Huai nodded heavily and said with hatred, "Major An, I cannot swallow this insult! I am going to find Xie Zhuqing to borrow troops and avenge my big brother!"

A glimmer of calculation flashed in An Daiyuan's eyes as he asked, "You are going to find Xie Zhuqing? Will she buy your story?"

Guo Huai sighed and said, "She knows me, but she might not give me face. This woman has no small amount of ambition. Major An, why don't you promise her a 'Party and State' Major General title? Anyway, these titles nowadays... aren't worth much."

"That is easy to handle! As long as we can take down that convoy and perform a great service, let alone a Major General, even giving her a Lieutenant General rank is no problem! As for Bureau Chief Mao, I will handle him!" An Daiyuan said.

A hint of joy had just appeared on Guo Huai's face before he became worried again, "But that woman took people to the Xupu area a few days ago; it is said she hid inside, so she is not easy to find."

An Daiyuan said, "At this point, we can only try our luck. We still have a few fast horses left at our station. Let's take two horses each and rush over there overnight."

"Then let's go right now!" Guo Huai's spirits lifted.

On He Yuzhu's side, cleaning up the battlefield took quite a bit of time.

After burying the corpses of those bandits on the spot, the eastern horizon was already showing a fish-belly white.

Liu Erhei was counting the spoils of war collected and was grinning from ear to ear: "This is great! We have plenty of ammunition and weapons now; if we run into bandits again, we will have much more confidence!"

He Yuzhu, however, was not so optimistic and said in a deep voice, "There are many guns, but most of our worker brothers don't know how to use them. In their hands, these guns are not much different from fire pokers for now."

"That is indeed true!" Liu Erhei lost his earlier excitement all at once.

"I will cook immediately, and we will hit the road as soon as we finish breakfast. I estimate there is more than just this one group of bandits in this area; the road ahead is likely not going to be peaceful," He Yuzhu said.

To dilute the tense atmosphere of last night, He Yuzhu personally cooked and made a piping hot bowl of knife-cut noodles for everyone.

With a meat-diced sauce poured over the noodles, the aroma was mouth-watering.

The workers held their lunchboxes and ate with such gusto that they almost swallowed their tongues.

When they set off, the rain that had lasted for days had actually stopped, and the long-lost sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the wet mountain forests and roads; it was indeed a good omen.

By noon, the temperature had risen significantly, feeling warm when it shone on people.

The next stretch was a mountain road, but fortunately, the surface was rocky and not particularly muddy, so the convoy's speed increased quite a bit.

However, once they entered the plains, the road became increasingly muddy and unbearable. The truck wheels kept getting stuck in mud pits, and everyone had to get out of the cars again and again, pushing and pulling to get them out. Because of this, everyone was splattered with mud.

An Daiyuan and Guo Huai ran wildly all the way and finally arrived at the Xupu border the next morning.

After asking around several times, they finally found Xie Zhuqing's place of residence.

It was behind a dense bamboo forest deep in the mountains, where a series of bamboo houses had been built against a clear pond, making it quite secluded.

Led by two female guards with twin pistols tucked into their waists, An Daiyuan and Guo Huai walked into the largest bamboo house.

The bamboo house was simply furnished, with one side open, facing the clear water of the pond.

A faint layer of mist still floated on the water in the early morning, possessing the artistic conception of an ink wash painting.

Xie Zhuqing sat upright on a bamboo chair, wearing a crisp gray Zhongshan suit, her hair cut extremely short; at first glance, she really looked like a handsome man.

She was in her early thirties, with a round face and delicate features; despite having weathered the storms of life, she still had some beauty.

As soon as Guo Huai saw Xie Zhuqing, he knelt down with a "thud" and wailed, "Big Boss Xie! My big brother... my big brother was beaten to death by someone! You must help me get revenge!"

Xie Zhuqing was stunned at first, then burst into loud laughter, "Your brother is dead? Hmph! With that stupid look of his, it's a miracle he lived until today! If he's dead, he's dead! You can lead his team; you might even be better than him."

Upon hearing this, Guo Huai was both anxious and angry. He looked up, stiffened his neck, and said, "Big Boss Xie, that is not righteous of you! Two years ago, when you were besieged by the Communist Party at Baima Mountain, if my brother hadn't risked his life to lead men in and save you, would you have today? Have you forgotten this life-saving grace?"

Xie Zhuqing stopped smiling and said coldly, "Have I saved your brother fewer times? Don't use old debts to pressure me."

Seeing the atmosphere stiffen, An Daiyuan hurriedly interjected, "Brother Guo, Big Boss Xie, please calm down. Big Boss Xie, to tell you the truth, An came here this time not only for Brother Guo's matter but also under the orders of Bureau Chief Mao of the Secret Service Bureau. Bureau Chief Mao has long heard of Big Boss Xie's deeds of not being inferior to men, admires you very much, and intends to incorporate your esteemed unit, promising the rank of Major General. If you can perform a great service, promotion to Lieutenant General is not impossible."

"Incorporate?" Xie Zhuqing sneered, "Most of your people have already run to that island. With the ocean in between, what are you using to incorporate me? You want to make me risk my life for a hollow title? I don't do such losing business. Why do you think I hid in these deep mountains and old forests? I just want some peace and quiet."

An Daiyuan had long expected her to say this, so he was not anxious. Instead, he sneered, "An has received word that the Communist Party already knows your whereabouts. Big Boss Xie, how many more days do you think you can live this life of 'picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence'?"

Xie Zhuqing's eyes flickered slightly.

An Daiyuan struck while the iron was hot and said, "If you are willing to cooperate this time, after the matter is settled, I guarantee to send you safely to Hong Kong and offer a large sum of settlement money. Wouldn't that be a hundred times better than living here in fear and uncertainty?"

Xie Zhuqing blew out a smoke ring and cursed, "Jiang Guangtou is so stingy even to his own people; how could he be good to me? I cannot trust your guarantees."

"Times change, and the situation is different now; it is precisely the time when people are needed," An Daiyuan said.

"What exactly is the matter? Tell me about it!" Xie Zhuqing said.