Chapter 35: The Muzzle Must Only Aim at the Enemy

Qian Weiguo had been a militia squad leader for many years. He was experienced and knew exactly how to manipulate people's hearts and minds!

Moved by his words, several men from Wulipu rushed eagerly into the cave, carrying their guns. Zhang Yang and the other three hid in the woods, watching clearly.

Zhao Dong was shocked. "They were convinced that quickly? Weren't they scared just now?"

Gao Wen’s face darkened. "People from Wulipu are just like that! To give you an example, during the autumn harvest this year, some of them came to our village to steal grain... We caught them, but they still denied it, claiming the grain was originally theirs!"

Zhao Dong was even more stunned. "Looks like their arrogance and tyranny have lasted more than just a day or two! And they’re not only bullying our Zhangjia Village!"

Gao Wen spoke in a low voice, but clearly full of anger and grievance.

"Our Gaojia Village has fewer people, and the land isn't as fertile as yours... Every year, the grain we hand over isn’t enough, so the share we get is even less."

"There are many girls in our generation; after they marry and leave, our village’s young labor force shrinks even more. There’s hardly anyone capable of hard work, let alone forming a militia team."

"You probably don’t know, during the autumn harvest, our village was so short of manpower that several old men worked themselves sick!"

"Our village people don’t dare to speak about these things, but somehow, the Wulipu folks got wind of it."

"At first, they said they could lend some people to help us, and the elders in our village were so happy that they made delicious food for them... But were they really there to help? They are thieves!"

"They steal during the day, and at night, when no one’s around, they outright rob! They even steal eggs from widows!"

"They’re good-for-nothings!"

Hearing this, Zhao Dong was anxious and joined Gao Wen in cursing them.

Zhang Yang stopped them, “Let’s talk about this later. They’ve all gone into the cave, and our village people are inside too. First, we deal with this; then we’ll figure out how to handle them!”

The three men suppressed their anger and hurried to follow Zhang Yang.

They carefully hid behind a crooked tree outside the cave. Shortly after crouching down, several gunshots rang out from inside the cave.

“See! If we hadn’t come in time, you two would have been ripped apart by wolves!”

“The wolf was lured in by our yellow weasel trap! Even if you hadn’t come, we would have—”

Bang!

A muffled noise echoed inside the cave.

“Damn it, why so much talking?”

“We came all this way to save you two, and you’re still arguing?”

“Just you two, holding two spears, and you dare say you can kill wolves? Who’d believe that?”

“Captain, great news! We’re not coming back empty-handed today! There’s a wolf and a yellow weasel!”

The arrogant laughter of the Wulipu militia echoed inside the cave.

“The yellow weasel’s not dead yet! Hurry, shoot it again!”

“Need a gun to kill that? What a waste of ammo!”

“We wasted plenty shooting those lazy pigs from Zhangjia Village today already. I can stomp this yellow weasel to death with my foot... Ah!”

Another scream was heard, followed by a commotion inside the cave.

Soon after, Zhang Yang saw a small black figure darting out of the cave.

Zhao Dong reacted quickly, raising his crossbow to shoot.

But Zhang Yang shoved him hard, making his arrow veer off and strike a barren rock to the side.

“Yangzi!” Zhao Dong was annoyed but kept his voice low, scolding Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang patted his back, “Saving lives is the priority. Don’t spook the prey.”

Sure enough, a few people ran out of the cave entrance.

Not seeing the weasel, they charged back inside.

“Conserve your strength, let's bring this wolf back to the village!”

“Right! Let everyone see how fierce we are!”

“Let them stop gossiping and saying we loaf around and do nothing!”

“From now on, I want to see who dares talk nonsense!”

But not everyone inside the cave was pleased.

“That’s our wolf!”

“So you’re the talker, huh?”

Sounds of fists and kicks mixed with muffled groans made the four outside clench their fists.

“That’s Zhangjia Village’s wolf... not Wulipu’s...”

The beaten squad member was tough, still struggling for the prize despite his hoarse voice.

“Looks like if we don’t kill you today, this won’t end!”

“Right! Dead men’s mouths are the tightest!”

Bang!

Zhang Yang fired a shot high into the cave.

Zhao Dong, Gao Wen, and Gao Wu were stunned.

“Yangzi! You, you’re not afraid...”

“Since they don’t mind killing anyone, why should I be afraid?”

Zhang Yang raised his gun and fired two more shots into the cave.

This time, silence fell inside.

Zhang Yang peeked out from behind the rock, shouting, “The wolf’s yours! Release our people! If he dies, none of you will leave here alive today!”

The cave fell silent, as if plotting something.

Zhang Yang didn’t want to give them a chance, his voice cold as ice water.

“Everyone inside listen carefully!”

“Put your hands behind your heads and line up to come out!”

“I’ll count to three!”

“If you don’t comply, I’ll fire wildly!”

Finally, a response came from inside.

“We’re coming out now!” It was Qian Weiguo.

After he spoke, he led the militia squad out of the cave slowly.

“Zhang Yang, you said it yourself—the wolf is ours since we killed it. Surely you wouldn’t—”

Swish!

A bullet whizzed past Zhang Yang’s face and struck a tree behind him!

Zhang Yang pulled the trigger, firing a shot that grazed Qian Weiguo’s nose!

“I know you think I’m running low on ammo!”

Zhang Yang roared, “But even if I have only one bullet left, it’s enough to blow a hole through Qian Weiguo’s brain!”

“If anyone else betrays us or breaks their word, Wulipu can get ready to replace its squad leader!”

Everyone tensed up.

Qian Weiguo was the most nervous!

Not to mention the burning pain in his nose, he truly feared a knife in the back!

Having been a militia squad leader for so many years, he had certainly enjoyed many benefits from them...

And now, Zhang Yang was presenting them with such a golden opportunity to remove him...

Who knew if some of them might be tempted!

If even one or two had ill intentions and tried to seize his place, what would he do?!

“Put your guns away!”

“If anyone accidentally fires and hurts someone, I won’t forgive you!”

“Anyone disobeying will be kicked out of the Wulipu militia squad tomorrow!”