"Finally, we have meat to eat."
Liu Ce removed the dead giant snake from the gun tip, sat in front of the fire pit and began to cut open the snake skin with the gun head, took out the snake gall and threw it aside, then pulled down the snake skin as a whole, stabbed the snake body with the gun tip and wrapped it around the gun rod for several laps before putting it on the fire pit to start smoking.
The woman hastily pulled her daughter into her arms and thanked Liu Ce with a thousand thanks. The three big men were also momentarily stunned, the three of them looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what to say...
"I say, you little guy is quite interesting, different from other officials and soldiers..." The burly man with a curly beard looked at Liu Ce in front of the fire pit and muttered a sentence. Liu Ce glanced at him and said slowly: "Dont pretend to be dead, come and sit down." Then he beckoned to the mother and daughter, indicating that they should also come over...
Three people, gritting their teeth in pain, supported each other and sat down in front of the fireplace. Liu Ce put their weapons under his feet. Before he could confirm his judgment, he didnt believe anyone. It turned out that after witnessing the three people serving food to the mother and daughter behind the stone statue, Liu Ce changed his mind and decided to subdue them first before making any plans. Originally, he had no bottom line in his heart, thinking of taking advantage of their unpreparedness to stab and rob the rice, but unexpectedly failed and turned into a group fight. Fortunately, his own strength was solid, and the three people on the opposite side were unable to fully utilize their weapons in this terrain, so they narrowly won.
Liu Ce and the three of them exchanged words, only to discover that these three were originally indeed Jing Bing, a bandit. The big man with the curly beard was called Yang Kai Shan, Xiao Qi was his cousin, Yang You Huai, and the scar-faced man was called Feng Ying. After the bandits occupied Gao Yang City, they killed people and set fires within the city, doing all sorts of evil deeds. The three of them couldnt bear to watch it anymore, so they went to find their leader to reason with him, suggesting that they only rob the wealthy and not harm ordinary civilians. However, they were scolded by the leader and even threatened. The three of them became more and more angry, and took advantage of an opportunity when escorting grain supplies to kill the officials in charge of transporting grain, snatching several bags of white rice and a few mules before fleeing. Along the way, they encountered Bao Ers mother and daughter being chased by bandits, so they fought off the bandits and rescued them. From then on, Bao Ers mother and daughter followed the three of them for nearly a month.
Yang Kai-shan finished speaking, then threw two pieces of dry firewood into the fireplace, indignantly saying: "The military discipline of the government troops is corrupt, and the bandits are cruel and lawless. The ones who suffer are all ordinary civilians with no power!"
Yang Youhui nodded after listening: "Bandits kill civilians! Government soldiers also kill civilians! Is there still justice in this world?" He paused for a moment, looked at Liu Ce, and saw that his expression didnt change, so he continued: "If it werent for the governments constant oppression, numerous taxes and levies, peasants work hard all year round but cant even eat their fill, and still owe a huge debt that they cant repay in their lifetime, what else can they do but become bandits?"
Feng Ying remained silent, but his eyes revealed his disdain for the government and its army. In his view, the bandits were detestable, but the government soldiers were no better. The bandits had done terrible things, but the government soldiers had done similar deeds. Looking at Liu Ce, he rubbed his still slightly sore abdomen and clenched his fists tightly...
Before long, the snake meat was half-cooked and a savory aroma wafted from the temple. Liu Ce picked it up and weighed it with his fingers on the snake meat for a few times, then tore off a piece and started eating. Afterwards, he handed the meat to Bao Ers mother and daughter...
Liu Ce stood up and glanced at the rice on the ground, silently saying "waste". Then he picked up the large pot rack from the ground, holding a bag of rice to Yang Kai Shan and others: "Go out and fetch some water, eat your fill first." After that, he kicked the weapons back to them...
Yang Kai Shan and the other two were also stunned, unsure what trick Liu Ce had up his sleeve, and hesitated about whether to pick up their weapons...
"Pick up your weapons, I only want half a bag of rice." Liu Ce looked at them with a calm expression and replied, "I barely believe you, because the mother and daughter have been following you for a month and are still alive, which means that you guys still have some humanity."
After hearing these words, the three of them hastily picked up their weapons and put them away, looking at Liu Ce who was pouring rice into the pot. Yang Kai Shan spoke up, saying: "Young brother, I think youre quite skilled with your hands, why dont we form an alliance? In these chaotic times, its good to have someone to rely on."
"Big brother, how can you believe the government soldiers? Have you forgotten why we joined the outlaws in the first place?" Yang Youhuai pulled Yang Kaisan back to stop him.
"Shut up, this little brother is different from those officials soldiers. If he hadnt spared us, would we still be standing here talking? Yang Kai Shan waved his hand, "Moreover, one more person means one more guarantee! Old Feng, say something, what are you doing just standing there?"
Feng Ying still stood beside him without speaking, but her expression towards Liu Ce had eased a lot...
Liu Ce listened to their conversation, sneering coldly. Just as he was about to speak, Baoer walked up to him and timidly handed him the leftover snake meat, her eyes revealing a hint of pleading light. Liu Ce bent down, stroking his somewhat pale face, and it seemed that something had struck his heart, only then did he understand why he was so indifferent - because in the end, he never considered himself a member of this world, which is why he could face its cruelty with a cold eye. Looking at the poor girl in front of him, who had experienced such things at such a young age, it was truly heartbreaking. "Officer, I know youre a good person, and Yang brothers are also good people, lets all be together, its better to have someone to take care of each other..." The woman mustered up the courage to say this to Liu Ce, she fully understood that if Liu Ce and Yang Kai-shan were partners, she and Baoer would have an added layer of safety.
Liu Ce didnt say a word, he just stroked Baoers face for a long time, as if making up his mind. He stood up and asked the woman, "What do you call yourself?" The woman replied, "My humble name is not worth mentioning, before we escaped, everyone called me Qing Jie...". Liu Ce said, "Qing Jie, trouble you to boil some water and cook rice, lets eat our fill first." Then he turned around and cupped his fists in greeting to Yang Kai Shan and the others: "I am Liu Ce, former sharpshooter of the 4th battalion of the Lei Ting army. Since Brother Yang invited me, I will join you all in this chaotic world to support each other. But let me say something ugly first, if there are treacherous women or indiscriminate killings of innocent people, dont blame me for being ruthless."
As soon as they heard the three big words "Thunderbolt Army", Yang Kai and his two companions couldnt help but take a cold breath. No wonder this young mans marksmanship was so precise, previously Yang Youhuai and others didnt believe it, thinking that Liu Ce had simply been lucky (in fact, he really was lucky) to win, now it seems that the other party indeed has some real skills.
"Alright, since Brother Liu is willing to join us, thats even better. The three of us have always hated those kinds of despicable people who would steal from others, and we would never do such a thing." Yang Kai patted his chest and let out a loud whistle, causing the armor on his chest to rattle loudly. The other two...
