In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

No sooner had the bandit leader finished speaking than screams were heard coming from underwater.

The voice was familiar. The bandits looked closely and saw that all their men who had been lying in ambush underwater had been killed by a group of soldiers who had suddenly appeared. Moreover, the large net they had set up underwater in advance had been destroyed in pieces.

Seeing that things were getting worse, the bandit leader couldn't help but roar in fury: "Aaaaah, I'm going to kill you all! I'm going to kill you all!"

The bandits following behind also roared angrily, looking as if they wished they could tear the man to pieces. They wanted to wait for Zhao Zexuan's group's boat to get closer before making their move, but they had no chance at all.

An arrow flew swiftly toward the bandit leader, who was enraged and did not notice it. By the time he did, the arrow had already struck him squarely in the chest, and he fell to the ground with his eyes wide open, dead the next second.

The bandits were stunned by the sudden turn of events. They were furious, but they had no chance to be angry in the next second. Countless arrows shot at them, and the next second, screams of their companions rang out beside them.

The bamboo raft did not get close, so the bandits on the mountainside could not fight back. They could only endure the attack and were forced to hide in a sorry state.

With their leader dead, even if the other bandits present wanted to hold on, their morale had already been dampened, and their resistance was insignificant under the barrage of arrows.

As more and more of their companions died under the rain of arrows, some clever bandits began to have second thoughts. Under the cover of their companions, they ran as fast as they could towards the mountains behind them, thinking that if they survived this rain of arrows, they would always have a chance to make a comeback in the future.

But they don't consider that others are well aware of their plans, and whether they would let it go so easily.

Watching the bandits flee in all directions, Zhao Zexuan and Wang Zong on another boat exchanged glances. The next second, Wang Zong led his soldiers up the mountainside on a bamboo raft to search for them.

The bandits were driven back and fled, and the chaotic scene suddenly quieted down. If it weren't for the bright red bloodstains still on the water, no one would believe that a fierce conflict had just taken place here.

The people who lagged behind were unusually quiet, watching the movements on the mountainside with tense expressions.

In this quiet atmosphere, a sound coming from a distant ship stood out.

"Nephew, nephew, could you please ask someone to lend a hand? Our boat is sinking!" The Pei family head had already recognized Zhao Zexuan's identity, so he shouted loudly with a mixture of surprise and joy.

Zhao Zexuan also noticed the Pei family's presence. Seeing that their boat had indeed taken on a lot of water, he silently nodded to them and then instructed the soldiers waiting nearby to lead men to help.

One by one, members of the Pei family were taken off the boat by soldiers. Zhao Zexuan only glanced at them and then paid no more attention, as he was observing the situation on the mountainside.

Not far from the mountainside, one could faintly hear the sounds of fighting and the occasional screams of bandits coming from inside; the battle inside was very tense.

The screams that kept coming were ringing in everyone's ears, and everyone's faces were pale. They were even more uneasy after seeing the water that was stained red with blood.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the fighting stopped. Wang Zong led his soldiers out of the forest and stood on the mountainside to report, "General, all eighty-seven bandits who had fled have now been executed."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zexuan said to Wang Zong and the others, "Thank you all for your hard work. We will be stationed here tonight."

The last sentence was spoken by everyone present, which excited the people sitting on the bamboo raft. They had been drifting in the water for too long and longed to feel the solid ground beneath their feet.

The bandits were standing on the mountainside, and most of their arrows were shot inwards, so the inside was still a mess, with traces of blood still wet on the ground.

Of course, it was impossible to go ashore like that. Putting aside the possibility of startling people, it was also unsafe with arrows scattered everywhere. So everyone waited for the soldiers to clean up the scene before climbing the mountain.

Once the bamboo raft was transferred to land, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, and couldn't help but sigh, "It's always more reassuring to have your feet on the ground."

Who can argue with that? Only when your feet are on the ground do you feel alive. At this moment, no one cared about what had just happened. They simply found a place to sit down and catch their breath.

The outside had calmed down, so Su Li left the cabin and moved with the others to the mountainside, where she found a clean place to stay.

Zhao Zexuan was still dealing with the aftermath. This group of bandits had committed many atrocities on this mountainside, and many people had been persecuted by them.

Having just returned from patrolling the surrounding area, Wang Zong reported something to Zhao Zexuan—a somewhat troublesome matter.

The matter wasn't particularly difficult to handle, but it depended on how to handle it for the best outcome. So, after hesitating for a moment, Zhao Zexuan went to Su Li and asked her for help.

Looking at Zhao Zexuan, who seemed somewhat conflicted, Su Li asked directly, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Zhao Zexuan did indeed have something he wanted Su Li to help with, so he said, "Let's talk somewhere else. I really do have something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Upon hearing this, Su Li did not hesitate and followed Zhao Zexuan to a slightly secluded place.

"A soldier reported that they found a cage containing women, which was the work of those bandits. The women are currently emotionally unstable, and I'm afraid that if the soldiers go in, it will further agitate them," Zhao Zexuan said cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Su Li realized Zhao Zexuan's purpose and said, "You want me to go with you and talk to them."

Upon hearing Su Li's words, Zhao Zexuan quickly explained, "It's not that you're going alone; we're going with you. However, we need you to represent us and comfort them. Those women have been tortured terribly, and they react strongly to the sight or sound of men's voices."

Su Li believed Zhao Zexuan's assurance. Of course, she also sympathized with the women who were being tortured, so after thinking for a while, she nodded and said, "That's feasible. I'll go with you to take a look, but I can't guarantee that they will listen to me."

Zhao Zexuan nodded and said, "Don't worry, we've done our best regardless of whether it works or not. After all, those women are pitiful. If we can help them, we should."

***

After turning several corners, we finally arrived at the so-called prison. In fact, the small, dilapidated wooden hut in front of us could hardly be considered a proper prison, but it was precisely because of the existence of this wooden hut that the women inside had their hopes dashed, making their lives worse than death, as if they were living in hell.