If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Tiger Head Mountain is about 30 miles away from Niujia Village.

The bandits who robbed Hu Sai's stronghold were right here. By this time, Niu Er had already found the bandits' tracks in the forest. Perhaps the bandits thought this was their stronghold, so they were not on guard at all. Or perhaps all these small groups of bandits were like this, disorganized and undisciplined, just a bunch of scoundrels.

At this moment, the bandits in the mountain stronghold were singing and celebrating. The loot from their robbery a few days ago was a huge harvest. "Three years without business, then three years of feasting" perfectly describes them.

There are at least dozens of bandit gangs of all sizes in Qingyang County, but because Qingyang County is a remote border area, its local economy is not developed. Such a wealthy caravan is extremely rare.

"Brother, we were able to take down this caravan this time entirely thanks to Niu Bi. You said last time that if we succeed, Niu Bi will be the third leader."

If anyone from Niujia Village were here right now, they would definitely recognize this Niu Bi at a glance.

The second-in-command, One-Eyed Dragon, with a slightly tipsy face, approached the chief with a wine bowl, wanting to seek justice for Niu Bi. You might think he was acting out of a desire for fairness, but that's not the case. Niu Bi had come to join him and was considered one of his men. As the second-in-command, if Niu Bi had become the third-in-command, and the two of them had plotted together, Flying Tiger Stronghold would have been his for the taking sooner or later.

"Don't worry, Second Brother. I, Fei Hu, keep my word. Brothers, from today onwards, Niu Bi will be the third leader of our Fei Hu Stronghold."

Taking advantage of his drunken state, the leader, Flying Tiger, readily promoted Niu Bi to a higher rank. Although Niu Bi had not been with Flying Tiger Village for long, he was indeed quite clever.

The henchmen below raised their wine bowls and cheered. In fact, for them, no matter who was in charge, they just wanted to enjoy the moment and be merry.

Niu Er and his companions heard laughter coming from inside the village, but since they couldn't get close, they could only stay hidden outside and observe.

However, after a day of surveillance, they had roughly figured out how many bandits there were, so they rushed back to Niujia Village before dark.

. . . . .

"Brother, look closely. This group of bandits has about thirty people. They don't have bows and arrows or any other ranged weapons. They're basically a rabble."

Zhou Wu understood what Niu Er meant: his security force was not without a chance of defeating the bandits, especially since the bandits lacked ranged attacks while his own security force was equipped with bows and arrows. After a period of training, they were at least quite skilled at hitting targets from a hundred paces away.

"Alright, let the brothers get some rest. We'll set off early tomorrow morning after we've had our fill of food and drink."

"Yes."

Although he is just a small security team leader, Niu Er is increasingly showing the demeanor of a military general.

That evening, Li Baiwei learned that Zhou Wu was going to suppress bandits, and she couldn't help but feel worried.

"Do you really have to go in person?"

"Bai Wei, this was my idea. If I don't go, how can everyone concentrate on suppressing the bandits? Besides, as long as this banditry is not eliminated, my Niujia Village will not have a day of peace."

In fact, Li Baiwei was only concerned about Zhou Wu. Although the two had not yet consummated their marriage, he was, after all, her husband in name only. Moreover, after spending these days together, Li Baiwei felt that Zhou Wu was someone she could entrust her life to.

Li Baiwei hid in the kitchen, silently shedding tears as she and Yang Chun prepared dinner.

"Is this a lavish meal today?"

Seeing that the atmosphere at home was a bit heavy, Zhou Wu deliberately tried to change the subject.

"Eat up, you've been working hard these past few days."

Yes, Zhou Wu has been busy in the village lately, helping everyone increase their income. He's been incredibly busy, and now he's going to suppress bandits, so Li Baiwei specially prepared a more lavish meal.

Before dawn the next day, the security team gathered at the village entrance, including Zhou Wu and Hu Sai.

"Brother Wu, what's this Hu person doing here?"

Niu Er seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Hu Sai's appearance because he was an outsider.

"His clansmen are in the hands of bandits, so it's alright. The more people there are, the more they can help."

As a modern person, Zhou Wu didn't harbor as much resentment towards outsiders as Niu Er. Seeing that Zhou Wu had already said this, the security team members didn't say anything more.

"Let's go."

After saying that, the group of thirteen people set off towards Flying Tiger Village under the cover of night.

Zhou Wu originally planned to travel through the night and arrive at the village at dawn, launching a surprise attack before the bandits woke up. However, he overlooked one thing: most of the security team members suffered from night blindness.

"Sigh, it's all because we're poor."

Night blindness is actually a manifestation of vitamin deficiency, and it can be improved by eating more fruits and meats in the later stages. However, for now, we can only temporarily devise a new surprise attack plan.

Because of night blindness, it was already bright when the group arrived at Flying Tiger Village.

"It seems we can only wait for an opportunity to act now. Everyone, rest first, and arrange for people to take turns keeping an eye on the stronghold. Report back if there is any unusual activity."

"Yes."

The group found a secluded ravine near Flying Tiger Village, and the security guards took turns keeping watch over the village while the others took turns resting.

However, perhaps it was fate's way of helping Zhou Wu, because around noon, about twenty people from Flying Tiger Stronghold left the stronghold, presumably to go out and rob again.

"Have you counted them? Are you sure twenty-two people went out?"

Zhou Wu asked again, still not entirely convinced.

"Brother Wu, I'm sure. If you don't believe me, ask Gouwa. He counted them with me."

"Yes, Brother Wu, there are indeed twenty-two people."

The two sentries counted twenty-two people, which means there are now only about ten people left in the village, greatly increasing the security team's chances of success.

"Wait another fifteen minutes, until they're far away, then we'll make our move."

Time was running out, so Zhou Wu made the arrangements promptly.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly. Zhou Wu led the security team to the outer perimeter of the stronghold. Upon closer inspection, Zhou Wu discovered that the so-called stronghold was quite rudimentary. It didn't even have a watchtower, and the outer perimeter was just surrounded by some wooden structures about the height of a person. It had virtually no defensive capabilities, at most keeping out small animals.

At noon, when everyone was tired and exhausted, perhaps because their leader was not around, the remaining bandits who were guarding the place went to find a place to hide and sleep.

Zhou Wu and his group entered the village without any trouble. They split up into groups of three and acted separately. Zhou Wu had only one requirement for this operation: he didn't care whether the bandits lived or died, but his own safety had to be guaranteed.

So soon all the bandits in the stronghold died in their sleep. Occasionally they put up a few resistances, but they were quickly defeated in the three-on-one battle.

"Tell me, where are the hostages you took from the caravan you robbed a while ago being held?"

The only survivor was now bound and kneeling on the ground.

"Leader, spare me! Spare me!"

"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point."

"Those Hu people were locked up in the house at the very back of the village."