A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

The tragic state of the village weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a boulder.

"How can we live like this...?" A woman knelt in front of the collapsed house and cried out in despair.

One sentence was like lighting a fuse.

"Our house is burned down, our food is gone, and the crops in the fields have been ruined. How are we going to survive?"

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have been better off going to the prefectural city with Jinzhu! Even begging in the city would be better than waiting to die in these mountains!" A man named Chen Laosi suddenly raised his voice, his tone full of resentment.

After he said that, several people echoed his sentiments.

"That's right, Jinzhu is so capable, why couldn't she take us with her?"

"We're all from the same village. She's doing well, going off to enjoy herself while we're left here to suffer."

Looking at the dilapidated village and listening to the people's discussions, Chen Defu's wrinkles tightened.

An honest-looking man retorted in a low voice, "You can't say that. Before Jinzhu left, she left us money to buy grain and even taught us how to hide..."

"Hide? Hide in the mountains and live like savages!" Old Chen suddenly stood up, pointing into the mountains. "What will we eat after we run out of this little bit of food? Dirt?"

The complaints grew louder and louder, like a swarm of buzzing flies, making people feel annoyed and restless.

"Shut up, all of you!" Chen Defu roared, and the complainers instantly fell silent.

"Take you to the prefectural city?" Chen Defu sneered, pointing at Chen Laosi, who harbored the most resentment. "Take you to eat shit!"

Chen Laosi's face turned a deep shade of liver: "Uncle Fu, why are you swearing at me!"

"Insult you?" Chen Defu walked up to him step by step, spitting almost onto his face. "I want to beat you up! Tell me, besides farming those few acres, what else can you do? If you go to the prefectural city, who will feed you? Who will give you a place to live? Why should Jinzhu support a good-for-nothing like you who only knows how to complain!"

He looked around and roared hoarsely, "And you all! What did Jinzhu tell you before she left? She told you to stockpile grain and plan your escape routes! How many of you listened? If it weren't for the silver she left behind, if it weren't for the path she devised, you would be the ones lying in the village today, burned to a crisp!"

Chen Defu pointed at himself, his eyes red, "My son and his family left with Jinzhu! I could have left too! Why did I stay? Wasn't it all for you ungrateful wretches? I've been guarding this village, guarding you people, and I've never uttered a single complaint!"

Those words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone. Everyone lowered their heads, especially the few who had complained the most; their faces flushed red and then turned pale, wishing they could disappear into the ground.

Yes, Chen Defu could have left. He stayed for the sake of the whole village.

Chen Defu, panting heavily, looked at the silent crowd, the anger in his eyes gradually subsiding and turning into deep exhaustion.

"I've remembered everything. In this world, survival is the most important thing. Jinzhu has given us a way to survive; the rest of the journey is up to us. Quickly pack your things and hide in the mountains to avoid those beasts coming back."

……

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, on the official road leading to Yongning County, an army was marching silently.

Wang Tianfang followed in the group, his back ramrod straight, his eyes fixed straight ahead, but out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but glance towards the north.

That direction leads to Chenjia Village. I wonder how the village chief and the others are doing. According to Jinzhu's instructions, they should be able to hold out for a while.

"You all better watch yourselves!" Zhang Kui, mounted on his horse, paced back and forth beside the ranks, his face dark. "Yongning County is just ahead, the rebels are right in front of us. Anyone who dares to slack off, don't blame me for my merciless whip!"

The atmosphere within the team became even more somber.

Suddenly, the scout at the front of the column let out a short whistle!

"Enemy attack—!"

Before he finished speaking, arrows suddenly rained down from the dense forest on both sides of the road!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The sound of an arrow piercing the air was sharp and shrill, and screams erupted from the ranks. A soldier walking beside Wang Tianfang groaned and fell straight down; an arrow had pierced his eye socket, splattering blood and brain matter all over Wang Tianfang's face.

The warm, sticky sensation made Wang Tianfang's pupils shrink sharply.

"Raise your shields! Get cover!" Zhang Kui's roar echoed throughout the arena.

The veterans reacted quickly, immediately raising their wooden shields and seeking cover. But the new recruits were completely thrown into disarray, running around like headless flies, becoming easy targets.

"Don't move! Crouch down!" Wang Tianfang shoved a terrified recruit to the ground, then knelt down himself, holding a wooden shield in front of him. His men, who were usually toughened up by him, were also afraid, but muscle memory made them instinctively obey orders, huddling tightly around him.

As the rain of arrows subsided, shouts of battle erupted from the woods, and hundreds of ragged bandits, armed with various weapons, rushed out.

"They're routs from the rebel army!" Zhang Kui roared. "Counterattack! Kill them!"

The battle erupted instantly.

Li San reacted at that moment, grabbed his gun, assumed a standard defensive stance, and shouted, "Don't panic! Hold your ground!"

However, the battlefield is not a training ground.

A burly rebel soldier, without any fighting style, roared and swung a chipped machete down at Li San's head.

Li San's eyes narrowed, and with exquisite footwork, he dodged to the side, his spear flashing as he attempted to stab his opponent. This was a move from his family's secret spear technique, incredibly refined.

But the bandit didn't dodge at all, letting the blade cut a bloody gash on his arm, while the short dagger in his other hand stabbed at Li San's ribs at a tricky angle!

Trading injury for life! This is the most reckless fighting style!

Li San had never seen anything like this before. His proud moves were completely useless against the opponent's frenzied fighting style. He was flustered and had to retreat repeatedly.

Just as he was being forced to stumble by another bandit who rushed up, and was about to be struck in the face by a machete, a dark figure suddenly crashed into him from the side.

It's Wang Tianfang!

He didn't use any fancy moves at all; he simply shoved the bandit who was about to succeed away with his shoulder. The spear in his hand was unadorned; he just used the momentum of his charge to thrust it forward.

Straight thrust!

"Pfft!"

A dull thud as flesh was pierced.

The spear pierced precisely into the heart of the rebel soldier who had ambushed Li San, the tip protruding from his chest, carrying a stream of hot blood.

Wang Tianfang kicked the corpse aside, drew his spear, and without even glancing at Li San, who was slumped on the ground with a deathly pale face, turned to face the next enemy.

Li San sat on the ground, staring blankly at Wang Tian's retreating figure, his mind a complete blank. The superior martial arts he had learned since childhood had been utterly useless in that life-or-death moment.

What saved him was the country bumpkin he constantly ridiculed and targeted.

Zhang Kui kicked Li San in the butt, making him shudder. "On the battlefield, put away your fancy tricks. I know who your father is, but nobody recognizes him on the battlefield."

The battle ended quickly; the routed troops were no match for the regular army.

However, before everyone could catch their breath, a scout rode back from the front like a madman on a fast horse, with two arrows stuck in his body.