The fire burned until the next morning before it gradually died down.
The bandits, standing at the foot of the mountain, could not see the situation at the summit. However, they presumed that those mud-legged peasants would have no way to escape, so they boldly entered the mountain.
After receiving the reminder from the little henchman, Jiang Wan immediately informed Jiang Pan.
With a command, the men rolled up their sleeves again, preparing for the second round of battle.
Compared to the panic and unease of the previous night, everyone now felt a sense of victory. In broad daylight, the vegetation on the mountain had also burned down considerably. If those bandits came up again, wouldn't they be as obvious as a louse on a bald man's head?
They stood at a high vantage point, with ample stones and wooden spikes. What were they afraid of?
The villagers' morale was high, and they excitedly waited for the bandits to come up and die.
The bandits completely misjudged the situation on the mountain and had no defenses when they came up.
When they reached the mountainside again, Jiang Pan shouted, "Push!"
Another batch of stones rolled down from the summit.
The bandits were completely caught off guard and, in their fright, scrambled to run down the mountain.
However, the mountain forest was covered with ashes from the fire, and the grass ash made the ground slippery. Coupled with the steep slope, the bandits could not keep their footing, and they tumbled down towards the foot of the mountain, one after another.
Those who rolled slower were hit by stones midway. Those who rolled faster were battered and bruised by the rocks from the mountain, and when they could no longer roll, they were finished off by the pursuing stones.
When all the stones had landed, these more than a hundred bandits suffered heavy losses, and even their leader was seriously injured.
The little henchman went down the mountain to check the situation and returned to report to Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan smiled with satisfaction. In this tough battle, their small mountain village had achieved a great victory!
The villagers waited on the summit for a long time, but there was no movement from the foot of the mountain. They then discussed sending some people down to check the situation.
Jiang Pan immediately stepped forward, and many men also decided to go down together. Erlang also quietly mixed into the group. Jiang Pan glanced at him and turned his head away, tacitly approving his actions, which made Erlang grin with delight.
The village chief also wanted to go, but everyone quickly persuaded him, "Uncle Village Chief, it's not too late for you to go down after we confirm it's safe."
The village chief waved his hand, "No, I'm worried about my old ox. I don't know if it's still there."
That was their family's most valuable possession and their main labor force. It could not be lost.
Jiang Lao Er's eyes darted around, and he also mixed into the group.
Jiang Wan did not go with them. Because the little henchman had said that the bandits were no longer able to fight back, and to avoid having to climb up again later, she was too lazy to move.
Jiang Pan led the group of men, escorting the village chief, and slowly walked down the mountain.
The already steep mountain wall, now bare from the fire, made the descent even more perilous.
Jiang Pan led the way, choosing places with gentler slopes to step on. He then used his wood-cutting knife to chop some marks on the ground, which would serve as anti-slip measures. This would make it easier for the elderly, young, women, and children of the village to descend.
When they reached below the mountainside, they could see some bandit corpses smashed by stones and pools of blood.
Many of the men felt a chill of fear.
They were all honest farmers, law-abiding citizens. At most, they had only slaughtered chickens and ducks at home or hunted wild rabbits on the mountain. Who would have thought that one day they would also kill people?
Jiang Pan, perhaps having gained experience from the previous time he picked up the horse, was much calmer when he saw these corpses this time.
"Let's tidy up these corpses, otherwise the children will be frightened later."
No one had any objections, so they continued to walk down, tidying up the corpses along the way.
They weren't that kind-hearted to bury the corpses. Instead, they carried them and threw them far away. A group of bandits who had committed many evils and wanted to harm them? Bury them and let them rest in peace? What a dream!
There were also those who were still alive. They ruthlessly carried them and threw them into the pile of corpses.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, there were even more corpses, and the smell of blood was stronger.
The village chief, being old, could not stand the shock. He clutched his chest and found a place to sit down.
Jiang Lao Er pretended to approach the village chief and patted his chest, saying, "Uncle, why were you in such a hurry to come down? Look at this suffering."
The village chief did not want to talk to him and closed his eyes to calm himself. "Don't just stand here. Hurry up and help Da Pan and the others. Clean this place up quickly so that the people on the mountain can come down sooner."
Jiang Lao Er was unwilling to carry corpses. He had always kept as far away as possible from such unlucky matters.
He came down the mountain only because he wanted to see if he could take advantage of the situation before most people came down.
"Uncle Village Chief, didn't you say you wanted to see your ox? I'll help you over there?"
The village chief was truly worried about his ox, so he did not refuse.
Jiang Lao Er helped the village chief towards where they had placed the carts. Along the way, his eyes darted everywhere, and finally, they locked onto Jiang Pan's three horse carts.
"Let's go this way."
Jiang Lao Er helped the village chief detour towards the horse carts. The village chief, unaware of his intentions, followed him.
As they approached the horse carts, Jiang Lao Er was about to find an excuse to let the village chief walk by himself when suddenly a figure rushed out from Jiang Pan's horse cart: "Die, you bastard!"
It was the injured bandit leader!
He had deliberately hidden in the horse cart, intending to kill some of the small mountain village people to vent his anger when they were caught off guard!
Jiang Lao Er wanted to steal something, so he deliberately stood close to the horse cart. Therefore, the bandit leader's knife swung towards him.
He was so scared that his soul almost left his body. He instinctively pulled the village chief to block and then rolled to the side to dodge.
The village chief, being old and completely unprepared, was pushed by Jiang Lao Er and ended up right in front of the bandit leader.
The bandit leader's knife struck the village chief's shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately.
The village chief cried out in pain and tightly grabbed the bandit leader's knife with both hands, fearing he would strike again.
Seeing that the village chief had temporarily held off the bandit leader, Jiang Lao Er not only did not go to help but instead turned and ran.
How could the village chief, at his age, be a match for the bandit leader?
The bandit leader kicked the village chief to the ground and raised his saber to strike.
The village chief desperately crawled on the ground, trying to escape.
The bandit leader pursued relentlessly, aiming for the village chief's neck, and raised his saber to strike.
At this critical moment, Erlang suddenly rushed over and knocked the bandit leader aside.
The bandit leader, being a desperate man with some martial arts skills, reacted swiftly despite his serious injuries and immediately grappled with Erlang.
Erlang, a half-grown child, although he had dabbled in some martial arts on his own, how could he be a match for the bandit leader?
The bandit leader threw aside his saber and tightly gripped Erlang's neck. Erlang felt as if his neck was about to be crushed.
Fortunately, Jiang Pan rushed over in time, raised his wood-cutting knife, and struck the bandit leader's head with a single blow.
Blood spurted out, splashing all over Erlang's face.
The bandit leader let out a roar of unwillingness, his body tilted and fell to the ground, dead.
Jiang Pan first dragged Erlang up. After confirming he had no external injuries, he quickly went to check on the village chief's injuries.
The village chief was severely injured. The blow had broken the bone in his shoulder.
"Hurry up and call my wife down from the mountain! Hurry!"