Di Ming

Chapter 110 Destroyed with a Snap of the Finger

The Zhou family villa was located at the foot of Dongshan Mountain, in a relatively isolated area within the village. The surrounding neighbors were all about half a mile away.

Because the area of ​​500 acres of wasteland at the foot of the mountain centered on the Zhou family villa belonged to the Zhou family and was originally intended for the construction of the family cemetery.

Although the Zhou family owned the land, they were not native to the area, but rather registered residents of Nanjing.

This Zhou family villa was built in the countryside to guard the cemetery.

But later, the Zhou family went to Shaanxi to serve as officials and did not return for many years. Even their ancestral home in Nanjing was abandoned, let alone their country villa.
Of course, no cemetery was built.

This is why the Zhou family villa is relatively independent, with its neighbors quite far apart, unlike other houses where the neighbors are all connected.

The area around the villa was relatively open, and more than sixty dark figures rushed to the front of the Zhou family villa without disturbing the nearby neighbors.

Even if the villagers are alarmed, so what? What are the villagers in the eyes of these desperate criminals who are used to robbing, murdering, and arson?
They are pigs and sheep!
Even when the villagers heard the noise, they dared not come out.

A large group of men in black stood at the door, and none of them spoke.

Suddenly one of them made a gesture, and a dark figure threw out a grab handle, grabbed the top of the door, pulled the rope, and climbed up.

He squatted on the wall, which was more than ten feet high, and looked into the courtyard. He saw only a few lanterns in the courtyard, shining listlessly.

Both the master and the servant were fast asleep.

There were no dogs in the courtyard, and no servants guarding the gate.

very good!

He jumped down, skillfully moved the wooden horse blocking the courtyard door, then opened the latch and slowly pulled open the door.

Immediately afterwards, a group of men in black silently rushed into the outer courtyard, making sure to close the outer courtyard door tightly again.

Then, with the help of a lone lantern in the outer courtyard, the group rushed straight to the ceremonial gate (the second courtyard gate).

They soon entered the ceremonial gate and arrived at the central courtyard, which was flanked by side rooms on both sides.

Of course, they didn't forget to close and brace the ceremonial gate as well.

The master is, of course, in the inner courtyard behind the third gate. As long as we break into the inner courtyard, we can kill and rob them, and then set it on fire.

Clean and tidy.

Oh, and the women can't be killed; they have to be taken back to the mountain stronghold.

Several lanterns hung in the central courtyard, making it much brighter than the outer courtyard, but there was still no one keeping watch.

It seems that although these two children have dozens of servants, they are still children after all, and they don't know how to manage a household or control their servants.

There is a grape trellis in the middle of the courtyard, with grapes on it.

Several thieves reached out and picked a few grapes, tossing them into their mouths without even peeling them, laughing silently.

Under the lights, this scene looked like a pantomime.

Just as the more than sixty thieves closed the ceremonial gate and were about to head towards the third gate, a sickeningly loud sound of bowstrings snapping suddenly came from the side rooms.

"not good…"

Upon hearing the sound of bows being drawn, the bandits froze for a moment, and before they could react, a chorus of bowstrings snapped open.

"Pfft—Pfft!"

Nine thieves were hit by arrows at the same time, several of them even being shot in the face!
Moreover, all seven archers among the bandits were hit by arrows.

The two leaders of the gang were both shot straight through the forehead with an arrow, and they collapsed and died with a muffled groan. The gang was immediately leaderless.

Ambush!

The thieves looked around in alarm, only to see two rows of people standing on the second floor of each of the two side rooms, looking down at them and shooting arrows.

There were nine archers, and next to each archer was a child handing him an arrow.

"Crack! Crack!" Just as the thief reacted, the second volley of arrows shot out!

The thieves tried to hide, but found there was nowhere to hide. They tried to open the gate to escape, but it was too late.

"Thud—thud—" Nine more feathered arrows shot down at close range.

Even from a distance of several meters, the bandits' ranks were very dense, and their arrows never missed their mark.

"Ouch—" Eight thieves were hit by arrows, two of them even took two hits.

The remaining forty-odd thieves were immediately terrified, their souls trembling with fear.

They all came with knives, and there were only seven archers. They hadn't expected to bring so many bows and arrows for a nighttime robbery.

Now, all seven archers were killed right away.

The mountain stronghold did have about ten muskets and two tiger-squatting cannons, which were used to guard the mountain gate.

Because the muskets were too loud, and because they didn't pay much attention to their two children, they naturally didn't carry any firearms.

And so they met their tragic end.

The master's servants were all on the second floor shooting arrows; the master, armed only with longswords, had absolutely no chance to retaliate. They were trapped under the courtyard ceiling, completely on the defensive!

None of them were professional archers, and even if they tried to collect arrows from seven archers, they would be prioritized for shooting by the enemy.

Several people who tried to pick up the bows and arrows were shot dead before they could even do so.

Their only chance to fight back at this point was to enter the side room, go up the stairs, and then engage in close combat with knives.

The problem was that the doors to both side rooms were jammed shut, making it impossible for them to enter, let alone go upstairs to attack.

They were trapped in this courtyard, subjected to arrows fired from above.

The bandits were all desperate men, fierce and ruthless, daring to fight and kill, none of them cowards. But at this moment, they were at a severe disadvantage due to their terrain, and could only be slaughtered in a one-sided manner.

"Swoosh—" The third volley of arrows came down, reaping several more lives.

A thief tried to escape through the ceremonial gate, but found it locked from the outside and couldn't be opened!

The thief who used the grappling hook threw it, but before he could even climb the wall of the ceremonial gate, he was hit by an arrow and fell to the ground, dying a violent death.

"Swoosh—" Arrows rained down, plunging the bandits into annihilation, with countless dead and wounded.

After four rounds of firing, half of the more than sixty intruders had been killed.

"what-!"

"Damn it!"

The remaining thirty or so bandits let out desperate and unwilling roars, scurrying around like headless flies.

They couldn't escape, couldn't get upstairs, and couldn't fight back; they were in a complete dead end.

At this very moment, they actually hoped that the villagers would come to their rescue!
They saw the child.

The young man from the Zhu family sat high up on the vermilion tower, half of him hidden in the darkness, with only half of his small face, which was difficult to discern from the light, showing.

But you can tell... the child is smiling.

"Ah—" The bandits were enraged and their killing intent was as strong as iron. They wished they could fly up and kill that brat from the Zhu family!

Zhu Yin sat smiling in a grand chair, watching with leisure as Lan Cha and the other nine archers shot down the bandits.

"It's too cruel, so many lives lost." Ning Caiwei said softly from behind, "Little Tiger, our hands are stained with the blood of human traffickers, pirates, Japanese pirates, and mountain bandits."

After saying that, she handed over a peeled grape with her little hand.

Zhu Yin swallowed the fresh, juicy grapes as if he had drunk a glass of wine.

"This is called a 'bow bent on a precipice,' a dead end among the thirty-six strategies of a thousand gates."

After interrogating Kong Jiulang, he laid a trap, setting up this perilous predicament.

This is a situation where certain death is inevitable.

He felt like he was playing a video game.

In particular, several Jurchens, including Lancha, were skilled archers who were ruthless, accurate, and fast.

In the blink of an eye, Lancha shot eight arrows, easily killing eight bandits.

Even Galo, this Jurchen girl, fired five arrows with a light bow, killing five people. It's true she used a light bow, but her accuracy was superb; at such close range, every arrow struck the face.

Besides the four Jurchen women who were skilled in archery, Ding Hongying and Li Jiayi were also quite good at archery, and their arrows never missed at such close range.

As Zhu Yin watched the bandits being shot down one after another, a poetic inspiration suddenly welled up within him, and he casually recited:

The cold moon hides a bow to shoot jackals.
The cold star materializes into a sword, slaying the wicked.

The crimson hue dimmed the light of day.

At nine years old, he already possessed a chivalrous spirit.

With a snap of the fingers, the scoundrels vanished in an instant.

Laugh as I watch the bandits perish swiftly.

The lamplight reflected the clear, innocent face like a mirror.
Who knew that a child's heart could be as cold as autumn frost?

As Ding Hongying listened to Zhu Yin's new poem, she felt a chilling and desolate aura, and she shot out a fierce arrow!
The autumn wind blows, the lamplight flickers, and the fallen leaves flutter.

The sounds of arrows piercing the air, bowstrings whistling in the wind, the dying cries of bandits, and the mournful chirping of autumn insects, all intertwined with the clear, childlike voice reciting poetry, created a heart-wrenching and terrifying dirge, carrying a sorrowful and blood-soaked atmosphere.

The bandits lying on the ground, listening to the clear, childlike voice reciting poetry from the red tower, futilely reached out their hands towards the source of the poetry, their faces pleading.

But the poet recited his poem with a calm expression, without a trace of pity.

After several more rounds of shooting, only six or seven bandits remained. They all threw down their weapons, knelt down, and surrendered, kowtowing repeatedly.

Zhu Yin waved his hand and coldly ordered, "Leave two alive, kill the rest."

At the command, a few arrows whizzed by, and only two survivors remained, paralyzed with fear on the ground.

Sixty bandits were shot dead!
"Uncle Tiger, this is so boring," Ding Hongying said with some dissatisfaction. "It would have been so much better if we had just fought each other directly. I could take on ten men. Now look what happened, they were all killed by arrows."

Hearing his niece's complaints, Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Hongying, don't be impatient. Tonight, you'll have another chance to show your skills against ten men."

After saying that, he took two prisoners into custody to interrogate them for information about the mountain stronghold.

As expected, Green-Headed Monk did not come down the mountain in person, but waited for news on the mountain.

Only thirty-odd bandits remained in the stronghold; the main force had been wiped out at the Zhou family's villa.

However, Green-Headed Monk was known as having unparalleled bravery, and with a large sword in hand, he was invincible.

However, Green-Headed Monk loves to drink, and tonight he's completely drunk, so he's easy to deal with.

The stronghold also imprisoned a group of women and a group of laborers wearing shackles.

After interrogating the two prisoners, Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei began to discuss their options.

There are two options right now.

The first step was to report to the authorities and receive a reward. Since the bandit leader, Green-Headed Monk, wasn't among those killed, the reward wouldn't be much.

The reward offered by the government was five taels of silver for the head of each bandit, which was much less valuable than the heads of the Tartars and Japanese pirates.

Sixty heads can only be exchanged for three hundred taels of silver.

Moreover, once the matter is reported to the authorities, everyone far and wide will know what a great thing Zhu Yin has done, and the martial prowess of his household servants will be completely exposed, which is definitely not a good thing.

Therefore, reporting to the authorities and going through the procedures is not worthwhile.

That leaves the second option: strike while the iron is hot, launch a counterattack, storm the lair, eliminate the thieves, rescue the people, and seize the stolen money!
Do great things and make a fortune quietly, without ever flaunting it or seeking rewards.

At Zhu Yin's command, sixty corpses were loaded onto carriages overnight and transported one carriage after another to the mountain stream behind the villa, where they were thrown into the rushing river below.

This narrow ravine is only two or three zhang wide, but the water is very deep and the current is rapid, like a white dragon rushing along the foot of the mountain.

It is a small tributary of the Yangtze River, originating from the Yangtze River in the west and flowing northeastward into the Yangtze River.

Sixty corpses were thrown into this deep ravine and were quickly washed away. By dawn, they would surely reappear on the river to the northeast.

This deep ravine at the foot of Dongshan Mountain is truly an excellent place to dispose of a body and cover up the crime.

The ravine and stream were less than half a mile from the Zhou family's villa, and it only took half an hour to dispose of all sixty corpses. Before dumping the bodies, some intact bandit night clothes were also stripped off. All the knives were also left behind.

Some of the leaders even had padded armor underneath their clothing. Unfortunately, all of them had been shot in the face, and the padded armor provided no protection whatsoever.

Several sets of padded armor were also stripped off. Possessing armor privately is a serious crime, but Zhu Yin already had several sets of armor, so hiding a few more wouldn't matter.

Besides, how many of those powerful families didn't secretly hoard armor and crossbows?

The law... hardly anyone takes it seriously anymore.

It was only just past midnight, less than half an hour before the bandits attacked.

The sleeping villagers could never have imagined that more than sixty bandits who had been committing evil deeds for many years had sneaked into the village from the east mountain during the night, only to be captured and wiped out silently by Zhu Yin.

"Let's strike under cover of night and catch them off guard!" Zhu Yin didn't want to wait a moment longer. "We must succeed before dawn!"

Ding Hongying said, "Uncle Hu doesn't need to go. He's too young to fight. Leave everything to your niece."

Zhu Yin shook his head: "That won't do. If I don't go in person, I'm afraid something will go wrong."

Just kidding. Uncle is young and his fighting skills are indeed low, but he's the brains of the group.

Without your uncle, can you manage?

"My lord, I'll go too!" Murong Gou Dan volunteered. "I've heard that Baohua Mountain is a big mountain. I'll see if I can find any fledglings. I'm sure I can."

He had always wanted to raise falcons and homing pigeons, to do his part for his master and to show his presence.

Zhu Yin nodded, "Alright, Gou Dan will go too. Kangxi, Kangxi and Qianlong, you two will go as well. You're almost twelve years old, it's time for you to fight and hone your courage."

When Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong heard that killing people was a way to toughen one up, they both smiled.

"Thank you, Lord!"

The stench of blood still lingered in the courtyard. The cold moon emerged from the sea of ​​clouds, its light as frosty as it bathed Zhu Yin's short but upright figure.

Ning Caiwei draped a jacket over Zhu Yin's shoulders, helping him fasten the belt as she said, "Little Tiger, it's cold in the mountains."

The little tiger snapped its folding fan shut, pointed confidently to the east, and said in a childlike voice:
"The enemy is at Baohua Mountain, let's move out!"

……

Led by two prisoners, Zhu Yin and more than a dozen others crossed the bridge and entered Dongshan overnight.

The two prisoners had their mouths gagged and their hands tied behind their backs, so even when pointing the way, they could only use their feet to point.

Nearly two hours later, around the eighth quarter of the hour of Chou (丑牌), the group, moving like cranes and deer on the narrow mountain path, traversed mountains and ridges, and finally reached the western pass.

If it weren't for the prisoners leading the way, finding this place would have been really difficult.

At this checkpoint, four armored bandits are on night watch.

The checkpoint was located on the most treacherous mountain path, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. If they tried to force their way in, Zhu Yin and his men would not be able to get through at all.

The road here is very narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side; even with a large number of soldiers, they cannot stand in a straight line. The towering pass is difficult to attack if it is guarded by only a few people.

Unless they disregard casualties. Unfortunately, the local government troops are cowardly and afraid of hardship; who would be willing to risk their lives for a band of mountain bandits?
As planned, the group, dressed in the black clothes of thieves, arrived at the checkpoint together. Then, the two prisoners shouted:
"The wolf caught the sheep, but deliberately didn't eat it."

Several people immediately stood up behind the checkpoint, one of whom said, "Why don't you eat?"

One of the prisoners replied, "We want to play all night."

Someone on the other end immediately replied, "Was it successful? How come only a dozen or so people came back?"

Another prisoner replied, "Chief Qian and his gang succeeded, stealing a lot of silver and a lot of women. They might as well stay there and have some fun before coming back."

The person opposite laughed and cursed, then opened the gate to the checkpoint.

According to the bandits' rules, no lights were allowed at night; they could only open the door upon hearing a code or sound.

Not only must the code words match, but the voices must also be familiar to one's own people.

As soon as the gate opened, a crouching tiger cannon could be seen, pointing directly at the mountain road below the pass.

As soon as the door opened, several thieves on night watch appeared, and Lancha and the others drew their bows and shot arrows, one of them hitting Lancha in the face!

"Ugh—" The bandits guarding the gate didn't even have time to scream before they fell backward.

The arrow pierced the brain, and death was swift, leaving no chance to struggle.

Several guards were shot dead, but the bandits sleeping soundly above were completely unaware.

……

Deep within the mountain stronghold's main hall, in the Buddhist shrine, the Green-Headed Monk, who claimed to be a great bodhisattva, was fast asleep, snoring loudly.

Perhaps he was the son of a Western missionary, which is why he had a lot of body hair, with a tuft of curly hair on his chest.

Even the few remaining sparse hairs were brownish-yellow.

Amidst the rustling sounds, a pale-faced woman crawled out of the bed, carefully stepped over the Green-Headed Monk's body, and limped quietly off the bed.

Then, she crouched down and rummaged under the bed for something. But after searching for a long time, she still couldn't find the dagger she had hidden earlier.

Instead of finding the dagger, they touched a furry little thing and heard a "squeak" sound.

mouse!

The woman felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't help but scream.

"What's going on?!" The green-headed monk, awakened by the noise, sat up abruptly, glared at the woman who had crawled under the bed, and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Rat..." The woman's expression turned pale, it was hard to tell whether she was frightened by the rat or by the Green-Headed Monk.

"What are you yelling about! Useless slut!" The Green-Headed Monk's sweet dream was disturbed, and he became emboldened by evil. He kicked the woman, who screamed and rolled a long way away.

Green-headed Monk got out of bed and looked under the bed. He didn't see any mice, but he did see a glint of cold light.

"Hmm?" Green-headed monk became suspicious and reached out, touching a dagger.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Green-headed monk held a dagger, grinning maliciously at the woman, his green eyes like those of a wild beast.

The woman trembled all over, "No, no, please, Bodhisattva, spare my life..."

Green-headed Monk was always cunning and suspicious, so how could he believe her lies? He reached out and grabbed the woman's hair, pulling her sharply into his arms.

At the same time, he plunged the dagger into the woman's heart, then skillfully reached out and pulled out her still-beating heart.

The woman's blood sprayed all over Green-Headed Monk, but he didn't even flinch.

The woman didn't utter a sound, collapsing limply to the ground like a lamb being slaughtered.

Green-headed monk placed his heart on the plate and grinned maliciously, "Over the years, there have been men and women who wanted to kill me, but unfortunately, I've slaughtered them all."

"You dare to plot against me? You're asking for death."

"Hmm, a man's liver and a woman's heart. We're just missing a man's liver. We'll kill a male laborer this morning, take his liver and this heart, and stir-fry them together to have with some drinks."

Green-headed Monk kills people like chickens. Over the past ten years, no one knows how many people he has killed or raped.

Everyone says that a murderer should pay with his life, but he's still alive and well, isn't he?

It's clear that national laws and retribution are all nonsense.

Nothing is harder than the knife in your hand.

The Green-Headed Monk killed someone, then lay down and went to sleep as if nothing had happened. The strong smell of blood and the gruesome corpse in the room didn't bother him at all.

But before he could fall asleep, he heard footsteps outside.

Are they back?

Green-headed Monk stood up, and just as he reached the door, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The noise wasn't loud enough; it didn't sound like they were returning. The footsteps were deliberately concealed, and there was no laughter or chatter—they didn't seem like their own people!

Green-headed Monk was always suspicious. He rushed to his weapon rack, not even having time to put on his armor, and grabbed the heavy broadsword, shouting loudly:
"There are soldiers!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than shouts of killing and screams of agony came from outside.

At this moment, Zhu Yin outside was also a little depressed. He had originally planned to sneak in while Green-Headed Monk was asleep and kill the enemy in his dream.

Who knew the other person would wake up so quickly, and we were alerted so soon.

"Kill!" Zhu Yin shouted, and immediately led Ning Caiwei and the three children out of the mountain gate, hiding in the cave below the pass.

Since the attack failed and a hard-fought battle was inevitable, he couldn't show up.

At this moment, as dawn broke, the thieves in their dreams were awakened. But before they could even put on their clothes, Ding Hongying led Li Jiayi and the other three into the fray, where swords flashed and shadows danced.

Before the thieves could react, seven or eight of them were cut down by the five men.

A dozen or so musketeers rushed toward their muskets in a panic, and arrows from Meh, Niman, and Galo pierced straight into their faces.

Even the fastest musket takes a while to load and fire; how could we possibly have enough time?
They were still loading when they fell one after another to arrows and blades.

The remaining dozen or so thieves finally charged in with knives.

The oil lamps in the mountain village were also lit.

"Well done!" Ding Hongying shouted, leading Li Jiayi and the other four, and charged forward with great fighting spirit. As soon as the two sides clashed, a bloody scene ensued.

Meh and Niman threw down their bows and arrows, and fiercely drew their swords to charge forward.

Only the young girl Galo still held a light bow, aiming at the bandits and firing at close range.

With a sword in hand, Ding Hongying was a match for ten men. What's more, she had six swordsmen and an archer to help her.
Moreover, they were all wearing padded armor underneath.

Although the dozen or so ruthless bandits were fierce, they were defeated in just one exchange and could not be stopped at all.

At the same time, Green-headed Monk also rushed out wielding a large sword and engaged Lancha in battle.

One man wielded a large knife, and the other a spiked club.

Green-headed Monk was the son of a foreigner. He had green eyes and a strange appearance, which startled even Lancha when he first saw him.

However, once the two clashed, the Green-Headed Monk, who was known as "unmatched by ten thousand men," was at a disadvantage.

Green-headed Monk was indeed fierce and powerful, a match for ten men. He was tall, strong, and wielded a long weapon, so Ding Hongying was probably no match for him at this moment.

Unfortunately, his opponent was Lancha!
Lancha was a wild Jurchen, and even the Jianzhou Jurchen and Haixi Jurchen acknowledged that the wild Jurchen were more fierce and brave than them.

The Yeren Jurchens are a completely hunter-gatherer people. Lancha had been fighting wild beasts in the forest since he was very young.

Moreover, Lancha was one of the few strongmen among the wild Jurchens.

With a spiked club in hand, and if he were to don iron armor, he would be an absolute match for a hundred men, capable of charging into battle and killing generals.

"This scoundrel is incredibly strong!" After only one exchange, the usually arrogant Green-Headed Monk was filled with fear.

His fear caused his will to crumble, and he no longer dared to fight.
After struggling for several rounds, seeing that he was about to be defeated, he immediately threw down his broadsword and turned to run away.

Right now, escaping is the priority.

Green-headed Monk moved quickly and was skilled at escaping; he was about to reach the eastern gate of the mountain.

Lancha did not pursue, but already had his bow in hand.

As he skillfully drew his bow and nocked an arrow, he spoke in Jurchen:
"Because of the blessing of Lord Cuohazhan, my archery skills have also been blessed by the gods."

The translation is: Sorry, but my archery skills are also amazing.

With a whoosh, an arrow struck Green-Headed Monk squarely in the back of his leg, exiting through his knee.

"Ouch!" Green-headed monk cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Seeing that the Green-Headed Monk was subdued by Lancha, Zhu Yin brought Ning Caiwei out and said with a smile:

"Blonde hair, green eyes, he really is mixed race."

"Didn't you want to kill me and rob me? Well, I've delivered myself right to your doorstep."

P.S.: Will my monthly vote ranking drop out of the top 500 by the end of the month? Goodnight. Thank you.

(End of this chapter)