Chapter 00124: Can You
# Can You?
Chapter 124
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 124: Can You?
Lu Yao was so furious that he kept roaring, "Fire the signal arrows! Fire the signal arrows!" He couldn't care less at this point.
He just wanted to summon his hidden troops to hold the line.
Two signal arrows shot into the sky, one red and one green, standing out vividly in the night sky.
Wu Shaoyi, however, laughed and said, "Trying to call for reinforcements? Hahaha, General Pei has already taken care of that for you!"
Lu Yao was shocked.
Among the three generals who had gathered at the Immortal Spirit Village, Pei Xinyong was the most composed and steady.
If it weren't for his efforts to bring them together, Lu Yao and Wu Shaoyi would never have met.
At best, they would have avoided each other for life; at worst, they would have fought to the death.
How could Pei Xinyong have completely sided with Wu Shaoyi in just half a night?
This didn't make sense!
Or had these two already conspired to team up against him?
If that were the case, then the nine hundred men he had brought into the mountains weren't too many—they were far too few!
The combined forces of Wu and Pei numbered over two thousand six hundred.
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yao's back as he urgently said, "I just wanted to stabilize that dog official and wait for you all to arrive so we could make a grand show of it. He's going to Xiazhou to take up a high-ranking position. If we seize his official documents and seal, we can roam freely in Xiazhou and never have to hide again! I swear on my ancestors' blood that we'll share the benefits equally from now on, with no ill intentions!"
Wu Shaoyi chuckled, "Kneel down and surrender to show your sincerity. Once we deal with that dog official, we'll naturally treat you fairly!"
Lu Yao was enraged.
"Bah! Don't push your luck!"
He had been patient again and again, but when had he ever endured such humiliation? That bastard Wu didn't know when to stop! His eyes darted around, and he shouted, "Men, go untie the boats by the lake!"
￥￥￥￥￥
As the two groups of bandits turned on each other, the government troops immediately retreated, fearing they might get caught in the crossfire.
Fortunately, Wu Shaoyi had focused all his attention on Lu Yao, barely sparing a glance for the government troops.
Clearly, in his eyes, internal enemies were ten times more hateful than external ones.
Moreover, these two had a deep-seated grudge, and the more it was suppressed, the more explosive it became.
Wu Shaoyi had even issued an order to "kill Lu Yao on sight," so his men were single-mindedly targeting Lu's forces, paying little attention to the government troops.
Of course, this was also because the government troops had retreated without a fight.
He Chunhua had long ordered his men to be ready at a moment's notice.
Now, before dawn, all the carriages and luggage were packed.
Some hadn't even been unpacked, while others had been reinforced and repaired overnight.
Even the items Lady Ying had just used were packed back into their boxes and securely tied to the carriages.
Even the horses had been fed and watered, their strength replenished, and they were hitched to the carriages.
As soon as the fighting broke out in the village, He Chunhua decisively ordered, "Retreat to the west!"
Over four hundred people, along with their carriages, immediately set off toward the mountain path west of the village.
The government troops naturally didn't make a big announcement, but the villagers weren't deaf or blind.
As soon as they saw the troops preparing to leave, they rushed over, crying, "Officers, take us with you!"
He Chunhua had anticipated this.
The soldiers pointed ahead and said, "Follow us in retreat. Everyone must line up, no more than three people per row!"
"You can ride horses, but no carriages!"
Despite repeated warnings, some villagers still threw all their belongings onto the carriages and tried to pull them westward.
The soldiers stopped them, leading to arguments and even physical altercations.
He Yue, Zeng Feixiong, and others were overwhelmed with work.
He Lingchuan had to stride over and shout, "Abandon the carriages and move on foot, or stay behind with them. Don't block the way!"
The carriages and ox carts were large, but the mountain path was narrow, allowing only two vehicles side by side at most.
With the villagers blocking the way, even the government carriages couldn't pass.
The cart owners angrily retorted, "If the officers can go, why can't we?"
"Exactly! All our belongings are on the carts. Are we supposed to starve once we're out?"
The two sides began shoving each other again.
He Lingchuan reached out, grabbed the man at the front, and pulled him off the cart, holding him up.
"The soldiers can hold the rear. Can you? If any of you can take up arms and hold the rear, your cart can pass!"
He glared at the man in his grip.
"Can you?"
The man froze, his neck stiff, not daring to nod but unwilling to shake his head.
They were all ordinary civilians.
What right did they have to fight against bloodthirsty bandits? Let's not forget that these bandits had just publicly slaughtered a hundred villagers, including strong and capable men from the village defense team!
And these weren't just any bandits—they were remnants of a rebel army that had fought the government for years, storming cities and killing without mercy! Their combat experience was vast.
What could ordinary civilians possibly do against them?
"Those who can't fight, get off the horses and walk! Those who can fight, let your families ride while you stay behind!"
He Lingchuan's shout, combined with the screams of "The bandits are coming!" from those pushing forward, finally made the civilians on the carts relent.
They got off and ran ahead.
If they didn't run now, they'd just be sacrificial lambs for those who could run faster.
The soldiers pushed the villagers' carts to the side, clearing a path for the civilians to run.
Half the road was for people, and the other half for carts, maintaining some order.
Soon, He Lingchuan saw bandits rushing toward the western part of the village, breaking into homes.
He couldn't tell if they were Wu's or Lu's men, but looting was their specialty.
Especially Wu Shaoyi's men, who, seeing that they outnumbered the enemy, believed victory was inevitable.
Some began to entertain the idea of looting early.
Looting was all about being quick—those who hesitated would get nothing.
Yesterday evening, Lu Yao had killed and occupied the village but hadn't had time to loot before the government troops arrived.
To avoid suspicion, Lu's bandits hadn't ransacked the place, thinking they could do so after defeating the troops.
As a result, the villagers' belongings and livestock, which they hadn't had time to take, were still in their homes.
Seeing this from the mountain, the soldiers weren't angry—they were relieved.
With the bandits busy looting, they could buy precious time to retreat.
But fate wasn't on their side.
More and more bandits began to focus on the western mountain path.
Some were following Lu Yao's orders to capture He Chunhua, but the majority were being forced to retreat under Wu Shaoyi's men's attacks—some retreating east, but others retreating west, coinciding with the path of the government troops and civilians.
Zeng Feixiong and others were running back and forth, trying to maintain order, but it was chaotic.
No one made any demands of He Lingchuan, not even Lady Ying, who had earlier told him, "Go to the front and help your father."
The front of the line was the safest.
After seeing the ominous divination from the water spirit, no one blamed him.
He Lingchuan watched Zeng Feixiong's retreating figure, clenching his fists.
The water spirit's prophecy lingered in his mind.
If his great calamity truly was tonight, then this life-or-death moment wasn't the time to show off.
But what if it wasn't?
Next time, or the time after that, would he still retreat?
If the calamity was ten years away, would he have to retreat for ten years?
Hiding behind others might be easy, but could he be sure the blade wouldn't eventually fall on him?
(End of Chapter)