Chapter 194 – Unconvinced? Keep It to Yourself (3)
【Host V】: No need to rush, letting one fish go is just to lure in more foolish fish to the hook.
She scoffed and leaped down, landing nimbly on the ground, her steps light as she departed.
With the enemy in the light and herself in the dark, she held the upper hand at all times. Thanks to the dense trees of Hejian County, concealing her form was quite convenient, especially since Jiang Pengji knew how to leave no trace, moving through the forest like a dragon gliding through the sea.
“Not good! Not good! Leader, we’re under attack!” The surviving attendant rushed toward the crowd, panting heavily, his lips turning pale while he continuously whispered, “We’re under attack! Two brothers were just killed!”
What?
Under attack?
And two people were killed?
The leader abruptly sprang up from his small stool, took two steps forward to close in on the surviving attendant, and barked, “What enemy attack?”
Gasping for breath, the attendant finally managed to narrate, “Just now, I was getting water with two others by the pond when suddenly two dark figures flashed by and launched a surprise attack with arrows… We were caught off guard, and the other two… were shot through the head and died!”
“Died?” The leader widened his eyes in disbelief, then a surge of violent rage filled him. His men had been ambushed and killed outside! It must have been those bandits from around Hejian, truly audacious. “And you just came back like this!”
Tears welled up in the surviving attendant’s eyes as he said, “Leader, I wanted to fight those two beasts for revenge, but… but I need to protect my own life and warn the brothers! We can’t let our brothers die in vain. If others find out that our Meng family army was ambushed and killed by two bandits, where would we put our faces?”
The leader listened with a grim expression, his hands clenched into fists. He suddenly pulled out his whip, his anger already reaching its peak.
“These rabble are too arrogant!” The leader gritted his teeth in fury, rallying twenty men. “We’re going to avenge our brothers!”
Jiang Pengji, no longer suppressing her senses, could hear their conversation from this distance, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
The audience in the live stream, benefiting from the System, could also clearly hear those words, instantly flooding the chat with laughter.
【Bone Momo】: What a wild imagination, it’s like he saw it all firsthand! He doesn’t even know where the Host is, but he swears he saw two dark figures. Does he really think it was because the Host shot two arrows at once? That logic is hilarious!
【Old Driver Alliance】: Wait for the Host to get another triple kill, and will they say the attackers were five?
【Mu Yuqingfeng】: Of course that’s how they’ll spin it! If they don’t exaggerate the danger, how will they explain their cowardly behavior of running away, leaving two brothers’ bodies behind? They’re still too young. If they had a thicker skin, they’d probably claim a whole bandit stronghold was staring at them while they heroically fought their way out…
【Everyone Raise Chestnuts Together】: Hahaha, I’m loving the comments above!
Jiang Pengji felt pleased as she waited. Although she wasn’t used to wielding the ancient bow, it was just like ambush sniping.
Compared to stationary sniping, she preferred to shoot and move. A bow and arrow couldn’t compare to a sniper rifle—the former’s speed and destructive power were too low. Staying in one place only screamed the enemy’s location.
【Host V】: @Old Driver Alliance, I think I can take your suggestion.
Jiang Pengji drew out three arrows from her quiver, pulling the bowstring back to its full moon shape, her whole body perfectly still, eyes narrowed slightly with a sharp glint, waiting for the perfect moment. Five people remained to guard the horses and luggage, standing in a seemingly loose but actually vigilant formation.
The previously shaken survivor was still there, tripping over himself earlier, making him look quite disheveled.
His companion reassured him, “Look at you, you’re scared silly from just two bandits. The leader has already taken men over, right? With the leader around, not to mention two attacking bandits, even an entire bandit stronghold could be wiped out!”
The surviving attendant still trembled a bit, mud smeared on his forehead, a cut bleeding and mixing with the dirt.
He forced a smile, about to express his thanks, when suddenly a shadow blocked out the sunlight above him.
In the next moment, a heavy warm object fell onto him, catching him completely off guard.
Warm, red blood dripped down onto his face, nearly splattering into his eyes.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Due to positioning issues, Jiang Pengji couldn’t shoot two arrows at once; one arrow, two kills was tricky, so she opted for rapid fire.
“E-enemy, enemy, enemy attack—”
The attendant shoved away the body of his comrade, their head pierced through, regaining some brightness in his vision. However, he was greeted by four more bodies that hadn’t had time to react before passing on, while a horse munching grass beside them remained completely calm, unaffected.
It seemed the four arrows that had claimed their lives simply flew in from thin air, not a trace of killing intent!
Jiang Pengji glanced at the almost shattered expression of the surviving attendant with satisfaction, her eyes darkening as she turned back toward the pond.
At this time, the leader had already brought his men to the pond where the incident occurred, two bodies floating alone, blood coloring the surface, and the arrows that had pierced their brains still stuck in them. The leader’s expression darkened as he ordered someone to retrieve the bodies.
Pulling out one of the arrows, he didn’t even care about the splash of colorful liquid on himself.
He inspected the arrow but found no special personal markings, it truly seemed like bandits were responsible?
The leader pondered, “Search the surroundings for any signs of other people’s movement…”
After checking, the result was regrettable—those two attackers seemed like phantom ghosts, there were no footprints or signs of activity on the ground. The leader, distrusting of this, inspected himself and found the facts indeed true!
At this moment, someone couldn’t help but murmur, “Seeing two dark figures, could it be ghosts?”
“Shut up, what ghosts in broad daylight?”
Though some rebuked, many still felt a shiver run down their spines. Suddenly, a chill breeze swept through the forest, making their skin crawl.
“Leader, we can’t find any evidence here, nor signs of other bandits… Should we keep searching?”
The leader snapped an arrow in frustration, still baffled as to why there were no traces. How did the attackers do it?
Ghosts?
Hah, only a fool would believe that.
The leader persisted in his search, but eventually had to concede and return.
All twenty-eight fine horses still stood in their original place. If they were stolen now, they’d be in real trouble…
Wait!
The leader abruptly paused his steps and shouted, “Oh no! The old trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain!”
