Clang! Clang! Clang!
The men by the river were busy working when they suddenly heard the urgent sound of a gong coming from the village.
" Why are those damned bandits here?!"
The men immediately picked up their hoes and hatchets and ran frantically into the village.
Qin Feng, who was squatting on the top of the kiln to check the fire, felt his scalp go numb. The first thought that flashed through his mind was that the bandits from Cat Mountain had come!
What should he do?
Qin Feng subconsciously glanced at the back of the mountain.
However, he immediately abandoned this thought.
If he escaped, what would happen to Guan Hanyan and Tang Dongdong?
What about Runniang and Xiao'e?
No, even if he wanted to escape, he had to bring them along!
Thinking of this, Qin Feng turned around and ran into the village.
His house was not at the village entrance, so it would take time for the bandits to find him.
He had to leave with Guan Hanyan and the others before the bandits found his house!
With this thought in mind, he gritted his teeth and ran.
"How did they come so quickly? Didn't Brother Liang say that his brother was watching Cat Mountain?"
Qin Feng felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
The brick kiln was not close to his house. When Qin Feng rushed into the courtyard, there was no one in the workshop.
When bandits entered the village, they had the habit of killing people to establish their authority. The men went to the brick kiln, the women worked in the workshop, and there were only children in the village.
Therefore, the moment they heard the gong, the women ran out crying, ready to look for their children.
Zhang Mancang was in the blacksmith shop, frantically reloading arrows into the quiver.
Tang Dongdong and Runniang were busy burying the money bag into the stove. Guan Hanyan was holding Little E, trembling slightly.
Little Er's face turned pale from fright, but she kept her mouth shut tightly, not daring to make a sound.
All the children in the village knew that crying children would be beheaded by bandits.
"Chief, it's still far from the autumn harvest. Why are the bandits here?"
Seeing Qin Feng return, Guan Hanyan immediately found her backbone." Could it be that the bandits have changed?" she asked anxiously.
Even a rabbit would bite when it was in a hurry. It was already very difficult for the commoners to survive. Under normal circumstances, the bandits would only come to the village once a year to collect grain. If they collected grain twice, they would force the commoners to fight with them.
Last autumn, the bandits of Tieguan Mountain had already come to collect the annual grain. If there were no unexpected circumstances, they would only come again this autumn.
When bandits came to collect grain in spring, the most likely scenario was that the bandits of Tiegan Mountain had been killed by other bandits, and the new bandits were here to establish their dominance.
Inform all the villages that the people collecting the annual grain in the future will be changed.
" Didn't we switch to bandits? Come and get the crossbows. We'll go to the back of the mountain immediately."
Qin Feng didn't have time to explain to Guan Hanyan about his bald head. He rushed into the shop and grabbed his crossbow.
When he got his hands on the crossbow, Qin Feng felt a little more at ease.
If he really couldn't escape, he could at least resist.
There were also a few sets of crossbows on the table. They were made by Zhang Mancang during this period of time for Guan Hanyan and Tang Dongdong. The style was the same as Qin Feng's.
Under Qin Feng's request, the girls had never stopped training during this period of time. They only changed the training venue to Zhang Mancang's house.
The results of the training were also very good. Tang Dongdong's hit rate from twenty steps away had reached more than 95%.
What surprised Qin Feng the most was Runniang. Because she was busy cooking every day, she had the least training time. She looked weak, but she was especially talented. Her 20-step target rate was second only to Tang Dongdong, which was more than 90%.
Most importantly, her shooting speed was 30% faster than Tang Dongdong's.
Zhang Liang said that if he trained well, Runniang's archery skills would soon surpass his.
On the contrary, Guan Hanyan and Xiao'e's results were very average. They often missed the target within ten steps.
"Mancang, let's go to the back mountain."
Qin Feng loaded his crossbow and shouted at Zhang Mancang who was still busy.
"Brother Feng, my brother went to the county government to deliver goods. My mother and sister are at home. I can't leave."
Zhang Mancang shook his head and grabbed a crossbow." You guys should leave quickly. Otherwise, when the bandits come, you won't be able to escape."
Without waiting for Qin Feng's reply, he hugged his crossbow and limped out of the courtyard.
Qin Feng knew that Zhang Mancang was trying to attract the bandits 'attention to buy time for himself.
"He really has a tendon!"
Qin Feng scolded Zhang Mancang, but he was touched." Hanyan, I'll go help Mancang. You guys run into the mountains."
After saying that, he picked up his crossbow and chased after Zhang Mancang.
Tang Dongdong seemed to have realized something. He gritted his teeth and rushed into the blacksmith shop to pick up a crossbow." Sister Hanyan, you guys go. I'll go help Brother Feng."
" Sister Hanyan, it's the bandits 'turn. We just need to pay the annual rations. Why do we have to go to the back of the mountain?"
"Why is Brother Feng still holding a crossbow?" Run Niang asked in confusion. Bandits will kill if they see weapons."
In the past, the annual grain of the bandits was a mountain that could crush people to death. However, now that she was in charge of cooking, no one knew how much grain Qin Feng had better than her.
It was easy to pay the annual rations of a few people.
Why did Qin Feng look like he was going to fight the bandits to the death?
"I don't know."
Guan Hanyan was the same as Runniang. She couldn't understand what had happened.
"Then what should we do?" Runniang asked.
"A husband and wife follow each other. If the leader wants to fight the bandits to the death, I have to follow."
Guan Hanyan also rushed into the blacksmith shop." Little Er, follow Runniang to the back of the mountain. If your brother-in-law and I don't go to find you, you can go back to Guanjia Bay to find your parents. Do you understand?"
"Sister Hanyan, I'm not going to the back mountain. I want to go with you."
Runniang, who had always been firm, also shook her head.
"I'm not going to the back mountain. There are wolves in the back mountain. They will eat Little Er."
Xiao Er also cried and shook her head." I'm not going back to Guanjia Bay either. Sister-in-law won't give me food. I'll starve to death."
"You guys…"
Guan Hanyan stomped her feet." Forget it. If our leader dies, none of us will survive. It's better to be killed by bandits than to starve to death. If you don't want to leave, then let's go together."
...
Qin Feng and Zhang Mancang ran to the village entrance and saw the villagers surrounding a few people riding horses from afar.
However, there was no conflict. The village chief seemed to be still smiling.
The green-robed young man riding at the front seemed to be laughing as well.
"Are all bandits so approachable nowadays?"
Qin Feng felt that the atmosphere was a little off.
Shouldn't bandits be crying and shouting when they entered the village?
What was going on?
It was simply strange.
Could there be a problem with the host's memory?
The bandits were not here to rob, but to send warmth to the countryside?
Qin Feng turned his head to look at Zhang Mancang and found that he was also dumbfounded.
Oh, it seems like there's something wrong with these bandits, not with the host's memory.
No!
Since when did bandits have such good warhorses and such neat armor?
"Cough, Qin Feng, you're finally here."
The village chief also saw Qin Feng's puzzled expression. He shouted from afar," The children in the village have mistaken you for someone else. They mistook the noble for a bandit. Put down your arrows quickly. Don't dare to hurt the noble."