Consort Zhuang doesn't want palace intrigue; she just wants to raise her child and live a caref

Chapter 358 Catched a Fish

The bandits led the way, winding and turning until they soon arrived at a narrow and rugged path.

Commander Wu stood at the entrance of the path, staring at the narrow road before him, his brows furrowed, and asked with a look of suspicion, "Isn't there any other way into the village?"

One of the bandits bowed respectfully and replied, "Sir, this is indeed the only way in and out of the village."

Commander Wu frowned even more deeply upon hearing this, pondering to himself. He clearly remembered the bandits mentioning that government officials had come to their village to abduct young women and wives. But how could these officials have entered and exited the village along this narrow, winding path? Moreover, the path was so narrow that it was impossible to walk side by side; one person had to follow another closely. To make matters worse, there were ditches two meters high on either side of the path. If one were to slip and fall, while it wouldn't necessarily be fatal, it would certainly result in serious injury.

"Are you sure this is the only way?" Commander Wu's voice was cold and stern. His gaze, like a cold star, pierced the bandits, as if trying to see through their eyes to their true thoughts.

"Indeed, sir, there is only one way," the bandits replied in unison, their voices revealing a hint of tension and unease.

Seeing this, Commander Wu snorted coldly, abruptly swung his arm, turned around and said, "Hmph! Since that's the case, there's no need for you to go to your village." With that, he turned and walked away without looking back, leaving a group of astonished bandits standing there.

Seeing that Commander Wu and his men were determined not to enter the village, the bandits grew increasingly anxious. After some discussion, they finally elected a temporary leader.

The temporary leader approached Commander Wu tremblingly and asked, forcing himself to speak, "Sir, didn't the Queen say she would stand up for us? But we can't even get into this village, so how can we find out what's going on?"

Commander Wu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile, as he replied, "In my opinion, you probably have no grievances at all! With this rugged and difficult mountain path, how could the government officials risk entering the village to abduct people? Even if they did abduct them, they probably wouldn't be able to bring them out! Besides, would you just stand by and watch the government officials take the girls away? If they chase them here, I'm afraid everyone will lose their lives."

Having said that, Commander Wu suddenly drew his sword from his waist, pointed the tip directly at the bandit leader, and said sternly, "Tell me, where is the other road into the village? If you don't tell me honestly, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Faced with Commander Wu's coercion, the bandit leader turned pale with fright, knelt down with a thud, and repeatedly kowtowed, begging for mercy: "My lord, spare our lives! My lord, spare our lives! We really didn't lie, there's only one road into this village, there's no other way!"

Seeing their leader begging for mercy, the other bandits also knelt down and joined in the pleading.

"Zhou Cheng." Upon seeing this, Commander Wu turned to look at one of the generals behind him and called out.

"Here!" Upon hearing the command, a young soldier stepped forward without hesitation, his voice clear and loud.

"Go ahead and scout ahead." Commander Wu issued the order expressionlessly, his tone concise and clear.

"Yes!" Zhou Cheng accepted the order and quickly turned around, his movements swift and decisive.

Zhou Cheng pulled out a set of scouting equipment from somewhere, and the equipment looked quite peculiar. It was not the traditional human scouting, but a tool specially used for scouting—a long iron bar similar to a track, with iron balls of different sizes embedded on it.

The design of this equipment is ingenious, clearly the result of meticulous craftsmanship. Even more astonishing is that this reconnaissance equipment is controlled by a manual mechanism. While not as convenient as modern remote controls, it was a remarkably advanced technology for its time.

If Su Nuannuan were here, she would surely be amazed by the wisdom of the ancients and exclaim, "The wisdom of the ancients is indeed not to be underestimated!"

However, when the bandit leader saw the scouting equipment, his expression changed drastically, and his pupils contracted sharply. He inwardly groaned, filled with regret, regretting that he had listened to Ping San's advice and come to rob this group.

Just as he was lost in thought, the results of the reconnaissance quickly came out.

At this moment, the bandit leader stared wide-eyed at the sharp spikes that suddenly appeared on the narrow path, and thought to himself, "My life is over!" as if these spikes had already pronounced his death sentence.

At the same time, Commander Wu's gaze was also drawn to the spike that pierced the pathfinder. His tiger-like eyes widened, fixed on the bandits before him, a resolute glint in them. Without the slightest hesitation, the longsword in his hand shot out like lightning, piercing straight through the bandit leader's chest.

The bandit leader had no idea that this sudden attack would cost him his life.

"You, you..." The bandit leader struggled to raise his finger and point at Commander Wu. His lips trembled, but he could only utter the word "you." In the end, he could not utter a complete sentence before he breathed his last, unwilling to accept his fate.

Seeing their leader killed, the other bandits stopped pretending and revealed their ferocious faces. They quickly pulled out poison powder they had hidden beforehand and threw it at Commander Wu and his men without hesitation, attempting to poison them to the ground and then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, they were also wondering if the other team had succeeded.

Leaving aside the fact that Commander Wu and his men had taken antidote pills beforehand, and how they planned to deal with these bandits, let's now turn our attention back to Su Nuannuan.

After Commander Wu led all the guards away with the bandits, Su Nuannuan was left with only Zhixiang, Jinse, Tingxue, and Li Desheng.

However, in reality, not only is Yu Wei, who has extremely high combat skills, hiding in the shadows, but there is also a ten-person Dark Dragon Guard squad.

Moreover, Su Nuannuan also possesses a highly lethal musket.

The guards' horses had been cleverly tethered to the back of each carriage by Li Desheng.

Not long after Commander Wu and his men left, not even a cup of tea's time had passed, another group of bandits appeared silently like ghosts.

Su Nuannuan took a closer look and immediately understood; it seemed she had caught a fish.

"Your Highness, this servant will go out and meet them," Tingxue said impatiently upon seeing the group of bandits.