I had no knowledge of the deserted island, nor did I know if there were snakes, insects or beasts in the forest. Fortunately, the starry night sky and the moonlight made it not too dark in the forest at night. Lin Yu and Fu Qing took turns resting, but they were quiet. In the early morning, they collected some dew to quench their thirst, went east, and found a small patch of reeds. They pulled them up, and the white roots tasted sweet. Then, they swallowed the remaining two dry cakes that had been soaked in seawater...

  "Theyre gone," Fu Qinghe said.

  Lin tied jumped onto the giant rock, stood beside Fu Qinghe, gazed out to sea, two fast warships and that pirate sailboat towing a painted barge were already seven or eight miles away from the island.

  "Its our turn," Lin Tie said. The Ninghai Town soldiers left, and there were only eight guards on the island who were in the light, but things would be much easier if they were in the dark. He thought to himself, made a brief cleanup with Fu Qinghe, picked up his waist knife, and didnt even throw away the broken knife that was only one foot long, and then moved along the inner edge of the forest towards the soldiers camp.

  Lin Tie and Fu Qinghe hid at the edge of the forest less than a hundred meters away from the campsite, where they remained dormant for the entire morning. Indeed, there were only eight guards. These eight men must have been trusted followers of Ninghai Towns commander, all tall and sturdy men. In the morning, two of them practiced empty-handed combat in front of the thatched hut, without much fanfare, but their skills were evident. The others either lay down or sat in front of the thatched hut, basking in the sun and watching. These eight people should have been the elite of the army.

  "Its a trouble." Fu Qinghe saw the eight people who stayed behind to watch, and his relaxed expression in the morning was gone, with a serious look and furrowed eyebrows.

  "No matter how big the leading official is, those who return to land always have to go back to the barracks first and then send someone disguised as a pirate to contact the family of the meat ticket and extort ransom money - without the meat ticket appearing, the ransom money will not be so easy to get - by the time they finish these things and come back to clean up, its almost ten days later. What we need to do now is just wait patiently for ten days to kill eight people..." Lin said.

  Fu Qinghe thought Lin Xuans words were easy-going, but he also knew that Lin Xuan was not bragging. He had to admit that Lin Xuans quick wit, meticulous thinking, and killing skills over the past two days were beyond his own abilities. Although this made him very curious, it was an undeniable fact. Lin Xuans performance reminded him of a former military commander who was in charge of a secret camp. That person wasnt particularly skilled in martial arts, but whenever the other generals mentioned him, they couldnt help but feel a chill down their spines. Lin Xuans killing skills and quick wit were similar to that persons, and even more impressive. But Lin Xuan was just a scholar who had recently passed the imperial examination - where did he learn all these skills?

  At night, hiding in the forest, Fu Qinghe also curiously asked, Lin Xie only said that he had been pointed out by someone when he was a young man, and its not convenient to reveal the details - in an era where mysticism is rampant, "receiving guidance from a mysterious person in childhood" is too useful, seeing Fu Qinghes deep agreement, Lin Xie also felt that making up more lies to explain would be superfluous. Besides, he thought that Fu Qinghe also had some secrets that were not known to outsiders, everyone has their own privacy, telling some lies doesnt bring any psychological burden at all.

  Until noon, there was one person who was bored and walked to the edge of the forest near the thatched hut. Lin Xie pointed to the depths of the dense forest and said to Fu Qinghe: "First solve this, see if you can lead other people into the forest?"

  Fu Qinghe nodded and followed Lin Xie into the depths of the forest. There was a small path leading deeper into the woods, which must have been left behind by the islanders in the past. However, with two or three inches of decaying leaves accumulated on it, it had not been trodden for a long time, and they could barely make out that it was a path. Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe spent the morning exploring the surrounding terrain.

  If it werent for considering Su Mei and Xiao Mans identities might be exposed at any time, Lin Xuan would have made the preparations more thorough.

  Lin Tie threw the dagger on the road, piled up some rotten leaves, and exposed the handle. It looked like it had been lost for a long time. He and Fu Qing hid behind a tree. The approaching person walked over, saw the exposed handle, didnt think much, and was about to bend down to pick it up when he suddenly felt his neck tighten. He only managed to let out a muffled cry. The wind blew through the treetops, making his cry sound like it was being strangled in his throat, low and dull. How could his accomplices outside the forest possibly hear him? Before he could struggle further, his neck was suddenly snapped with great force.

  The neck was strangled by Fu Qinghe, but the broken neck was Lin Xies - Lin Xies principle was to kill as many enemies as possible without startling them. He stretched out his hand and probed under the nose of the approaching person, confirming that he had become a corpse, and said to Fu Qinghe: "Try to cover it up, there is still an opportunity for stealthy killing..." He picked up the broken knife on the ground and bit it in his mouth, put the corpse on his shoulder and drilled into the dense forest. After walking about 100 meters, there was a big pit on the side of the road under a broken tree, which was washed out by rainwater and filled with rotten leaves. He threw the corpse into it and covered it with many rotten leaves; Fu Qinghe followed his orders to clear away the traces as much as possible from behind.

  Everything was ready, Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe slipped back to their original position.

  After a long time, the seven people left in the thatched hut felt that their companion had been gone for some time. One of them turned around and looked around: "Xiao Gui, this damn guy, whats he doing? Wont he get lost or something?" The others burst out laughing. The middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader was a thin-faced man. He stood up, feeling that something was off. He kicked the two people at his feet: "You two go take a look." Seeing the two people getting up and leaving, he shouted after them: "Bring the food, I have to remind you every time..."

  Watching the two people walking towards the woods with knives, Lin Xuan asked Fu Qinghe: "Are these two handed over to Master Fu?"

  Fu Qinghe nodded and said, "No problem."

  "After shaking off the pursuers, gather at the thatched cottage...". Lin Tie said, and then walked west along the edge of the forest.

  The other party has already raised suspicions, and it is impossible for Fu Qinghe to quietly take out the two people this time. Let Fu Qinghe ambush the two and attract the attention of others in front of the thatched hut. As long as Fu Qinghe can smoothly deal with these two people and successfully attract others to chase into the dense forest, he will have a grasp on sneaking behind the thatched hut to take care of one or two remaining guards.

  Lin tied to the west moved a hundred and ten meters, just heard a miserable cry from the depths of the small road, followed by the sound of fierce fighting with weapons, knowing that Fu Qinghes sneak attack was successful and was entangled with another person.

  There were still five people left in front of the thatched hut, who heard the sound of fighting and immediately picked up their weapons from the ground and rushed towards the forest. The leader, a thin-faced man, stretched out his hand to pull back a young man: "Ergou, you stay here, be careful..." and led the other three into the forest.

  Only one person was left by the thatched hut, what a good opportunity! Lin Tie didnt care about Fu Qinghes situation on the other side, and looked at the person who stayed behind, anxiously staring in the direction of the fighting sound, quickly circling to the back of the thatched hut.

  The grass shed was a bamboo frame, and it had been abandoned for a long time. The walls and roof were made of thatched reeds, with holes everywhere. Lin Mou wanted to make some noise to attract the attention of the person behind the grass shed, so he crawled in through the broken hole. Su Mei and the thirty abducted children were sitting inside, looking miserable, but they hadnt been tied up. Whether it was pirates or government soldiers, these underage abductees were like sheep waiting to be slaughtered, and a single hunting dog could keep an eye on them. Moreover, there were eight burly men guarding outside, so they werent afraid of the children causing any trouble; besides, the island had no boats, so they werent worried that the children could escape.

  Su Meng and Xiao Man saw Lin Fu holding a knife in his hand, with another broken knife in his mouth, bursting through the wall hole. They were naturally surprised and delighted. Yesterday, they saw the soldiers change into pirate clothes and continue to sail out to sea, so they knew things were going in the worst direction. Although they knew that Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe would not easily let them go, they also knew that with just the two of them, it was impossible to confront 80-90 soldiers. The key was whether Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe had successfully followed them out to sea... The boat was so big, hiding two people without being discovered was very difficult... At this time, seeing Lin Fu come in with a knife, they didnt care if they had truly escaped danger or not, the tight string in their hearts relaxed.

  Those meat tickets saw the pirates who appeared yesterday suddenly breaking in through the wall, and some people subconsciously shouted.

  "Damn it, whats going on? Youre all going to get chopped up!" The man who was keeping watch outside was getting anxious about the fight in the woods, and when he heard another commotion coming from the thatched hut, his anger reached a boiling point. He kicked open the door, ready to rush in and vent his frustration, but suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. As he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a smiling face, and could still hear the sound of blood spraying out of his arteries and his own weapon falling to the ground.

  The head was not severed, but the arterial spray was very powerful, almost half of the thatched hut was splattered with blood. The panic of these children who had never seen blood before, being held captive for six or seven days and constantly in a state of terror after being splattered with warm blood is imaginable.

  "Whats going on, shout again and Ill chop you all!" Lin Tie swung his blood-stained knife, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd, as if the next knife would really come down, instantly silencing the crowds commotion.

  Little savages face was splattered with blood, and she was at a loss for what to do. Seeing Lin Xie put on a stern expression again, pretending to be a pirate, she couldnt help but scold: "Lin Gongzi is here to scare people again." Looking at the corpse with its neck still gushing blood beside Lin Xies feet, she didnt dare to walk over, but said to the two young men beside her: "Big Brother Lin has come to save us, not a pirate..."

  Lin Mo didnt know when he had upgraded from a useless scholar to a kind and familiar "Big Brother Lin" in Xiao Mans eyes. Seeing them being locked up with these thugs for two days, they seemed to have become more familiar with each other. With their help in calming the crowd, he restrained his fierce expression and walked to the corner of the wall to observe the enemy situation outside.

  "I almost got exposed with Xiao Man, but they helped us cover it up," Su Mei explained why she and Xiao Man were familiar with these young men. She didnt like the bloody atmosphere either, but was much braver than Xiao Man. Walking to Lin Mous side, not seeing Fu Qinghes figure, she asked worriedly, "Where is Fu Bo?"

  Lin Tie looked out from the gap in the grass wall towards the forest behind, but the four officers and soldiers who had chased into the forest did not return, and there was no sound of fighting coming from the forest. He said to Su Mei, "There are still four guys, Master Fu has temporarily led them away." Then he turned his head to look at those meat ticket boys and said to Su Mei, "You tell them, we havent escaped danger yet, dont move while sitting here. Whoever moves will harm everyones lives, Ill finish him off with one knife first." When saying the last sentence, his eyes were sternly looking at the crowd of children. He wanted to lure the guards into the grass shed to kill them, in order to make the four pursuers think that there was only one enemy on the island, Fu Qinghe, before they entered the grass shed. Otherwise, in an open area, he and Fu Qinghe might not be able to deal with the four skilled soldiers, and the key was to protect Su Mei and the two girls and these boys.

  All the young men held their breath and didnt dare move. A half-grown boy stood up and asked, "Does Brother Lin need our help?"

  "Are you daring enough to kill someone?" Lin Xie asked.

  "Dare!" The young man replied firmly.

  "Then stab him two more times." Lin Tie handed over the broken knife, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and let the young man pass by to stab the corpse twice, to see if he really had the guts to kill.

  Killing someone is easy to talk about, but actually taking a life is incredibly difficult, let alone for these pampered and bookish young men.

  The young man was stunned for a moment, and he didnt expect Lin Xie to test him right away. Seeing the corpse lying on the ground, his heart was filled with unease and he hesitated. Lin Xie did not continue to make things difficult for him, patted his shoulder and said: "You stay here and help me keep an eye on the woods behind, if someone comes out, notify me, remember not to make a loud noise..."

  Lin Tie picked up the weapon on the ground, this weapon was quite unusual. He had noticed it with Fu Qinghe hiding in the dense forest that morning, it looked like a paddle knife, and Fu Qinghe also told him it was a paddle knife. However, it was very different from the paddle knives he saw in pictures from later eras. The entire knife was about chest-high, with the blade and handle divided roughly in half. The blade was narrow and long, resembling a snakes head, and there were sharp side blades on either side of the blade, making it look more like a bayonet or an enlarged version of a military dagger from later eras. There were blood grooves on both sides of the blade...

  Lin Xie had learned Sanda in elementary school, and after joining the army, he also learned grappling and close combat with short blades. However, he never actually learned traditional cold weapon techniques like swordsmanship or spear fighting. Even if he had learned them back then, they would have been useless anyway - who could have predicted that he would cross over into an era where cold weapons reigned supreme? The straight-backed, straight-bladed waist knife in his hand was only good for self-defense, and it would be difficult to use it to engage a strong enemy head-on and emerge victorious. On the other hand, this paddle-like sword reminded him of the slashing techniques that were popularized in modern military camps for close combat, and using those techniques with the paddle-like sword was barely manageable.

  Lin Tie inserted the broken knife into the young mans hand and said, "Keep it, for yourself and for them. Sometimes you have to kill people. Theres no such thing as being afraid or not." Since these young men were all captured from Chongzhou County School, he must have had prestige among this group of young men. He asked again, "Whats your name?"

  "Chen Enze." The young man replied as he took over the broken sword.

  "Good name." Lin tied patted his shoulder and let him continue staring outside from the gap in the wall, then asked that group of young men, "Who else is not afraid?"

  "I."

  "I."

  Two young men heard Lin Xie ask this, quickly got up from the ground, as if regretting that they had let Chen Enze take precedence earlier. They stood up and introduced themselves: "My name is Hu Qiaoguan." "My name is Hu Qiao Zhong."

  "We are cousins, I am his elder cousin." said Hu Qiaoguan, who looked like only fifteen or sixteen years old.

  The two brothers looked very similar, but Hu Qiao had a small mole between his eyebrows and slightly thicker eyebrows, which made them somewhat distinguishable.

  There were other young men eager to try, Lin Mou waved his hand and indicated that two people helping him would be enough.

  "Follow me, take some sand from outside and sprinkle it on the blood to reduce the smell of blood," Lin Mou held a paddle knife in one hand and a waist knife in the other, and walked out of the thatched hut. He let Hu Jiaoguan and Hu Jiaozhong, two young men, carry the disassembled door panels and bring some soil into the thatched hut. When he approached the thatched hut earlier, he saw that there were still two bows placed on the outside field. Probably, the four people who chased Fu Qinghe thought that the bow and arrow would not be useful in the forest, so they didnt bring them. Otherwise, with the bow and arrow in their hands, relying only on the defensive power of the thatched huts grassy walls, it was feared that one arrow could pierce several people at once. At that time, he could only take Su Mei and Xiao Man, two women, and this group of young men to drill into the forest first.

  Lin tied up the bow and arrow bag in front of the thatched hut, and directed two young men to carry sand into the thatched hut and sprinkle it on the blood. The thatched hut was leaky all around, and the bloody smell quickly dissipated a lot.

  "Lin Ge, someone..." Chen Enze, who had been sticking to the wall and looking out, turned back to warn.

  Lin tied up and Su Mei walked over, Su Mei exclaimed: "Its Fu Bo..."

  Fu Qinghe sprinted along the edge of the forest, extremely fast, his body shrinking and advancing like a leopard, its hard to imagine that a man in his fifties could be so agile, truly getting better with age. Only after entering the grass shed did Lin Xie discover that he had added another mouthful to his left front shoulder and the back of his hand.

  "Are there still a few people?" Lin Xuan asked.

  "There are three more," Fu Qinghe said, "they cant catch up with me, and theyll probably be back soon."

  "Fu Ye is really formidable." Lin Xuan praised, the four people who chased into the forest later were all good hands, and unexpectedly Fu Qinghe met them in the forest and killed one person to escape.

  "Brute force." Fu Qinghe said, this is his true words, the tactics were all carefully planned by Lin Xie, in order to kill five people so smoothly, he was only slightly injured. If it was a head-on attack, in front of eight elite soldiers, Fu Qinghe didnt think he had a chance to win alone, so he said that what he used was brute force. Fu Qinghe temporarily didnt let Su Mei and Xiao Man help him re-bandage his wound, saw the bow and arrow in the corner of the wall, and said: "Good stuff!" He walked over, picked up the bow, tried the string, took three arrows, one on the string, and two in his mouth.

  Lin Mou had never used a bow before, so he wouldnt rashly use it to shoot at the enemy. He didnt know that Fu Qinghe was an expert with the bow until he saw him confidently holding only three arrows, and knew that what followed would be easy.

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  P.S: Collect and red tickets are welcome