Chapter 401: The Siege

Lanzai could only suppress his anger, but his shoulder was aching severely; every slight movement made him feel the wooden splinters churning inside his flesh. Yet, when he reached out to touch and search for them, he could not find the critical one. He had only pulled out the longest and thickest ones; there were definitely others he had not found.

So, he gathered the arrows, took off one of his upper skirts, and covered the arrows with it. Afterward, he shouted loudly, asking for someone to come in and help.

The Soldiers outside all heard him, but they lingered, none wanting to go in. Finally, one person, under the encouragement and suggestive glances of his companions, cautiously walked into the hut.

As soon as he entered, Lanzai began to curse: "I called so many times, can't you hear? What are your ears for!"

The Soldier, scolded, kept his head low, acting like a quail inside the cramped hut, not daring to say a word for fear of angering Lanzai.

After Lanzai had his fill of cursing and his anger had mostly subsided, he said in a dull tone: "I was pricked by thorns on my shoulder. I can't reach them myself. You watch and pull them out for me."

Only then did the Soldier understand the reason Lanzai had called him in. He whispered a "fine," then slowly moved behind Lanzai, and looking at the spots where the blood had already somewhat dried, began to search for the wooden splinters.

However, his eyes would occasionally stare at Lanzai's neck, and his hands were clumsy, which made Lanzai very angry: "Are your ears useless and your eyes useless too? You still can't find them? Should I dig your eyes out and put them in your hands?"

The Soldier was startled into a shiver, then immediately brought his eyes close to Lanzai's shoulder to search carefully, not daring to let his mind wander at all. But the light in the hut was too poor, and it was hard for him to see clearly.

After two thin splinters were pulled out, Lanzai felt something being extracted from his flesh. First, there was pain, then he felt much more comfortable. But when he touched his shoulder with his hand, he could still feel a prickly, uncomfortable sensation on his skin, so he said in a slightly gentler tone: "Not all of them are out, keep looking!"

The Soldier had no choice but to search again. The blood was smeared on the skin, making it hard to see, so he used his fingers dipped in saliva to wipe the blood away, and sure enough, he saw two more very tiny splinters.

He tried to pull them out with his fingernails, but the splinters were too short for him to extract, so he had to explain this to Lanzai to avoid being scolded for dragging it out.

"Even if you can't pull them out, you must! Find a way yourself!"

The Soldier said weakly: "I need something to pick them out with."

Lanzai searched around, but couldn't find anything suitable, so he lifted his clothes, took out an arrow, turned, and handed it to the Soldier: "Use this to pick them out. Be gentle, this thing is very sharp."

The Soldier gripped the arrow shaft, which still had bloodstains on it, looked at Lanzai's nape, and after taking a deep breath, held the arrow high. But at this moment, Lanzai said impatiently: "Hurry up, what are you waiting for?"

The Soldier quickly lowered the arrow: "I, I don't really dare..."

Lanzai turned his head and glared: "It's being stuck into me, not you. You're so cowardly; once the raft is finished, you'll be the one to lead the charge for me!"

The Soldier hurriedly touched the arrow to Lanzai's skin and, using the tip of the arrow, carefully pried open his skin to extract the two thin splinters.

Now, when Lanzai reached out to touch the area, he only felt blood flowing, but there was no more discomfort. He nodded and said directly: "Done, get out."

The Soldier, as if granted amnesty, quickly put down the arrow and left the hut; it was truly too terrifying inside.

Seeing the soldier come out safely, the others also breathed a sigh of relief. They had already planned it: once the raft was made, they would all go up together, kill both Lanzai and Gongxia, and then escape on the raft. Whether they went to join the Huaxia or wandered the wilderness, it would be better than staying here.

Moreover, this was the shared thought of the several hundred people there. They had reached a consensus among themselves. The reason they hadn't acted yet was that the trusted troops of Lanzai and Gongxia were not far away; it was impossible for them to watch as they killed their leaders. Furthermore, more soldiers in the distance did not share their thoughts, and they could not risk asking.

They could only wait until the raft was finished and they had a way to escape before acting. The Soldier just now had almost been unable to hold back and had nearly plunged the arrow in.

Originally, they had planned to act at night, but visibility at night was too poor, which was not conducive to their escape. It would be better to do it now; even if they couldn't rush into the hut and stab the two to death with Spears, they could still launch a surprise attack when the two came out.

After a while, the raft was tied together and brought over. It was large enough for the three hundred or so of them to sit on. Everyone saw that the time was ripe, so they didn't discuss it further; after all, there was no turning back now, and everyone had to move.

Thus, a group of people volunteered to step forward, took the raft from the hands of those who brought it, and enthusiastically stated that they would carry it over themselves and would notify the two Leaders, so there was no need to trouble the others.

Those who brought the raft saw that these people were so enthusiastic, and they could save themselves some trouble and avoid meeting the two Leaders, so they were naturally more than happy to do so. They handed over the raft and left happily.

The people carrying the raft gave a signal, and more people walked in their direction—not to help carry the raft, but to form a human wall to block the view of others.

At the same time, the rest of the people had already gripped their weapons and began to walk toward the hut of Gongxia and Lanzai.

A few Soldiers who hadn't been notified, and could be considered the two men's personal guards, noticed something was wrong. Just as they were about to question them, they were immediately silenced by a Spear through the throat, letting out only a muffled groan.

Gongxia and Lanzai noticed something was wrong and had just opened their mouths to question them, but their voices were drowned out by the noisy shouting from outside: "Heave! Lift with force!"

The team in the distance heard the shouting, took a curious look, and then ignored it.

Gongxia and Lanzai discovered in horror that the entrance to their hut was blocked by a dense crowd of people, and then one spear after another was thrust toward them. They had nowhere to hide, and the sounds they shouted could not overcome the yelling of those carrying the raft outside.

The people carrying the raft walked very slowly, just so that after the others acted, they could quickly throw the corpses outside into the hut and clean up. Those blocking the view also pretended to want to help carry the raft; after all, standing there was too strange and would only arouse suspicion.

By the time the hundreds of people reached the shore with the raft, hurriedly boarded it, and suddenly drifted downstream, the team in the distance finally realized something was wrong.