novelAbuy Chapter 315 Slap in the Face
Chapter 315 Slap in the Face
The patrol station was new, but also very rudimentary, as if it had been hastily established.
The company only had a dozen or so archers. Five or six of them were killed in the wild. The rest had already scattered after receiving the news. Their weapons were scattered all over the ground, but they looked like nothing more than ring swords, wooden spears, and even iron rulers. None of them were new. It was unknown where the government had bought them from. Even the female tiger seemed to look down on them.
The department only had one leather armor, which was said to have been made by the newly appointed inspector himself.
The female tiger glanced at everyone and finally handed him over to a refugee boy named Xue Quji, because his physique was the most suitable and he was also the most handsome, with fair and tender skin, which showed that he had not suffered any hardship when he was young. The female tiger was overjoyed.
The firewood was piled up all over the patrol station, but the female tiger and her gang did not leave in a hurry. Instead, they sat down leisurely, took the remaining rice, noodles, pickles, and cured meat in the patrol station, ate a hot meal, and then started making pancakes to prepare dry rations for the next leg of their journey—a ration for twenty-three people.
Yes, their group has grown to more than twenty people. In addition to the seventeen people who set off initially, there are two guides who came after landing in Jiangning County. During the journey from Jiangning to Huashan, four more people joined them—according to them, they were deserters from the Zhenjiang Wanhu Prefecture who had fled when they were besieging the Huashan bandits.
More than twenty people spent the night openly inside the patrol office.
On the morning of the 22nd, they set fire to the patrol station, completely unconcerned about revealing their whereabouts, and then headed straight into the mountains towards Baohua Temple. Along the way, the traces of battle were still very clear.
Deep within the dense forests of the valley below the mountain path, the faint outlines of Yuan soldiers' blue battle robes and scattered banners could be seen. It was clear that when the army withdrew, those responsible for cleaning up the battlefield had been lazy, only clearing the mountain path and failing to send anyone down into the valley to search for and bury the corpses. Or perhaps they did send people, but missed many.
The group had only walked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn when they spotted more than ten corpses in the distance, already badly decomposed. They couldn't help but whisper among themselves. The tigress, long accustomed to such sights, roared, "Never seen dead people before?"
Some people were unconvinced, but when they saw the female tiger clad in iron armor and moving with incredible speed, they were speechless.
There were others who were also quite strong, but when they saw the thick-backed broadsword on the shoulder of the female tiger that was almost identical to that of Bi Si, they shut up. Not only was she strong, but she also had martial arts skills. How could they compare?
After walking silently for half an hour, Baohua Temple came into view in the distance.
The mountain gate was crooked, with one of the two wooden doors lying on the ground and the other hanging on the hinge, creaking in the wind.
The four golden characters "Baohua Temple" on the lintel are missing half of one side, and the paint has peeled off, revealing the grayish-white wood underneath.
The courtyard wall was full of gaps, bricks and stones were scattered all over the ground, and some places were haphazardly piled up with stones, only to be smashed open again.
In the small square outside the mountain gate, several monks dressed in brand-new robes were directing craftsmen to move timber.
They were sent by Dalongxiang Jiqing Chan Temple to prepare for the reopening of Baohua Temple. The leader, whose Dharma name was Huiming, was in his early forties, fair-skinned, and held a string of sandalwood prayer beads. He stood on the steps, frowning as he watched the craftsmen work.
"Tear that wall down and rebuild it." Huiming pointed to the crooked courtyard wall, his tone impatient. "And the Buddha statue in the main hall, the base is cracked, find some stonemasons to repair it."
A young novice monk next to him nodded and took note.
Several constables from Jurong County government office leaned lazily against the wall, some dozing, some chewing dry rations, while a man who looked like a squad leader squatted beside a stone lion, tapping pebbles on the ground with his scabbard. They had been on the mountain for more than half a month and were already bored.
When the footsteps came from the mountain path, no one paid any attention until a group of fierce-looking men with sharp blades appeared outside the mountain gate.
Leading the group was a woman, burly and muscular, clad in iron armor that rustled as she walked. She carried a thick-backed machete, its blade as wide as a palm, with black stains still clinging to the edge.
Behind him followed more than twenty men, each carrying a weapon; some carried knives, some carried bows, and some carried a triangular flag with a crooked tiger head drawn on it.
"Who is it?" Huiming subconsciously took two steps back, almost dropping the sandalwood beads in his hand.
The female tiger ignored him, her gaze sweeping around the courtyard before settling on the few constables who had just stood up by the wall.
"Just these few?" she sneered. "Is this all the Prince of Zhennan has left to guard the gate? Who do you think you are? Kill them!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than he leaped forward.
Just as a constable drew his iron ruler, he was slashed across the shoulder by a thick-backed cleaver, screaming in agony as half his body was covered in blood.
After killing the man, the female tiger kicked him away, then pounced on another constable.
The constable turned and ran, but he was too slow. The tigress slashed him across the back, and blood immediately stained his clothes. The constable staggered a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground.
More than twenty men rushed up and quickly took down the other constables, leaving only one alive. The whole process took less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.