Chapter Eleven

  The biting cold wind had stopped its howling, the clear and cold moonlight shone on Er Long Ling, the mountain stronghold was in a state of complete stillness.

  A figure slowly approached a house shining with a faint red light, crouched at the window to listen for a while, turned around and came to the front door, gently lifted the latch, slipped inside, stopped for a moment, and fumbled to light the candles.

  A woman opened her eyes in the candlelight, let out a startled cry and sat up. The man hushed her and said "don't be afraid". The woman took a closer look, recognized who it was, and fell silent. The man said: "Don't be afraid, what's happened these past two days? Tell me slowly."

  The woman composed herself and said with a quivering voice: "Two nights ago, a group of people came, claiming to be the National Army. They killed all the masters of the house and locked us up here, not allowing us to go out. Tonight, they gave us some money and told us to return home ourselves before leaving. We thought it was too late to leave and wanted to sleep for the night and talk about it tomorrow."

  He sighed and asked: "Is there anything to eat?"

  The woman said: "There is, I have pancakes here, and I'll heat them up for you." She was about to get up.

  "He said: 'No need, I'll do it myself.'"

  Just as I was about to reach out and take the pastry, I suddenly felt a chill in the air behind me. As I was about to turn around, I heard a cold voice say: "Don't move, put your hands on your head, and slowly turn around."

  The man raised his hands, turned around, and in front of him was a thin, dry man with piercing eyes. The muzzle of the gun in his hand was wide open, pointing directly at his own chest. At this time, someone outside the door said "Cat brother, we're here" and two more men came in. These three people were Ye Maozi, Da Long, and Sun Er Gou.

  Ye Maozi, Da Long and Sun Ergou followed Xiao Ming's arrangement, leading people to sneak back to Er Longling and ambush, ordering others to ambush in the distance. The three came to the mountain stronghold. As soon as that person appeared, Ye Maozi followed him, taking advantage of his search for food, Ye Maozi made a decisive move. Compared to Ye Maozi, that person was still tender.

  Sun Erdog chuckled and said: "Let me see what a master looks like, and let the brothers suffer from the cold for half a day."

  Just as he was about to speak, his eyes suddenly fell on Da Long's face and hesitated, calling out "Da Long?"

  Dalong was taken aback and took a closer look at the person, exclaiming in surprise: "Si Bao, is that you?"

  He smiled bitterly and said: "It's me, how could it be you!"

  The big dragon turned his head and said to the night cat: "Brother Cat, it's one of us." The night cat lowered the muzzle slightly.

  Xie Sibao was originally a neighbor of Da Long, and the two were about the same age. They had been practicing martial arts with Zhang Lao since childhood. After his father's death, he lost his land and moved to his maternal uncle's house with his mother. In his spare time, he also went hunting in the mountains and was known as a skilled shooter. Hu Daxia drifted there and took a liking to his good shooting skills. At that time, Sibao's mother was seriously ill, so Hu Daxia gave money to treat her illness. After Sibao's mother passed away, he also spent money on the funeral. Sibao was very grateful. After Hu Daxia became the leader of the gang, he brought Sibao to the mountain and made him a small leader. However, after Sibao saw what kind of person Hu Daxia was, although he didn't leave, he also didn't do anything bad.

  Da Long and Si Bao sighed repeatedly. Da Long hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Si Bao, was that person this afternoon you?"

  Xie Sibao sighed and said, "So you're with them now?" Dalong nodded. Xie Sibao's face turned gloomy, and he coldly said, "It's me, what do you think we should do?"

  Dà Lóng looked at Yè Māo Zǐ and Sūn èr Gǒu with difficulty, Yè Māo Zǐ said lightly: "Dà Lóng, you should understand why the instructor is doing this. Perhaps in his home, it's not a big deal."

  "Four Treasures, you have to come with us. Don't worry, if anyone is to be killed or executed, I, Zhang Dalong, will take the blame!"

  When Ye Maozi and others returned to the mountain stronghold, it was already daylight. Although no one had tied up Xie Sibao, he observed that these people were not ordinary, and it would be difficult for him to deal with any of them, so he gave up his idea of escaping.

  In the hall, Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming listened to Ye Maozi's account of the capture process, and then focused their attention on Xie Sibao. Xie Sibao stood proudly, with a calm expression.

  Wang Jindong took a look at Xie Sibao, nodded and said: "Hmm, not bad, he's a real man. If it were usual times, I'd invite you for a drink. But now, it seems like that won't happen."

  Xie Si Bao said proudly: "Wang Da Zhang, things have come to this point, whether you want to kill or dismember me, I only ask for a quick death."

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing: "Good fellow, I'll give you a thrill, come on..."

  The words were not finished, and suddenly the big dragon knelt down in front of Wang Jinlong with a thud, saying sorrowfully: "Master, this Xie Sibao is my brother who grew up with me since childhood. He didn't know the situation and hurt us. Please spare his life!" Xiaohu also ran over and knelt down.

  Xie Sibao shouted loudly: "Big Dragon and Little Tiger, stand up, what kind of situation is this!"

  Wang Jinlong said in surprise, "Dalong, what's going on? Get up and talk." Dalong explained the whole thing from start to finish. Wang Jinlong then said to Dalong, "You two get up first, listen to what your brothers have to say, hurry up." Dalong and Xiaohu slowly stood up, their eyes filled with tears as they looked at everyone present.

  Wang Jinlong was in a bit of a dilemma, after all, Da Long and Xiao Hu had worked hard to get up the mountain, it wouldn't be good to reject them now. He shifted his gaze to Xiao Ming: "Officer, what do you think about this..."

  Xiao Ming seemed to suddenly wake up and said: "Master, what's going on?"

  Wang Jinlong thought to himself "You're still pretending", and said: "Since the two big brothers have pleaded for him, I think this matter can be considered settled."

  Xiao Ming rubbed his head and said, "The master's wisdom is good, but it can't be settled like this. Let him go to the back mountain to pick up dung. If he dares to run, use the big dragon whip to ask him. What do you think?"

  Wang Jindong nodded and said to Dalong, "Dalong, did you hear that? Don't you quickly thank Instructor Wang?" The three Dalongs thanked Wang Jindong and the crowd before turning around and leaving.

  Seeing Da Long leave the hall, Wang Jinlong turned to Xiao Ming: "Captain, you've been wanting to keep this person behind for a long time, haven't you?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "This Xie Sibao has a good psychological quality, his shots are accurate and effective. I see that his eyes are clear and determined, he doesn't seem to be a treacherous person. With proper training, he will make a good sniper."

  Wang Jinlong smiled and said: "Then why are you still asking him to pick up dung?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "Let's first grind down his sharp spirit, and let him take the initiative to join us. Wouldn't that be better?" Wang Jinlong shook his head directly. Xiao Ming asked Wang Jinlong to give an order: the matter of Er Long Ling was strictly confidential, whoever leaked the news would be punished according to the rules of the stronghold. At this time, Fei Hu Zhai did not want to become the target of public criticism.

  Hu Daxia was killed, and the Er Long Ling disappeared overnight, causing a huge shock to all parties involved, who were left bewildered and unable to make sense of it. Rumors spread that the National Army had mobilized an entire battalion to wipe out Er Long Ling.

  This time, the big loss of the tobacco dealer Da Pianzi almost vomited blood. He had been cooperating with Hu Daxin for over a year and everything was fine until he suddenly lost all his capital. He didn't believe that the National Army would send troops because there were no prior messages, and he was skeptical about various rumors circulating in the streets. He also suspected Fei Hu Zhai but thought it unlikely due to their lack of firepower, and besides, his men reported that they were busy hauling bricks and tiles from Er Long Ling back to build houses, showing no signs of having made a big profit.

  In response to the various situations that arose during battles, Xiao Ming intensively trained the Flying Tiger team, especially in shooting. These good-for-nothing sons, as soon as they held a machine gun, it was like a burst of fire, not caring about wasting bullets, and when they ran out, they had to spend money to buy more. Single shot, single shot! Zhang Tiezhu and Xin Chengshan also often invited him to give them guidance, keeping Xiao Ming busy from dawn till dusk.

  Slowly, Xie Sibao and the others became familiar with each other. During their free time, they also came to watch Fei Hu Dui's training. In surprise, he pulled Da Long and asked: "Da Long, what are you all doing?"

  "Let's practice martial arts."

  "Training is like this, you can't even surpass Hu Dajia!"

  Dà Lóng smiled and said: "Sì Bǎo, you don't know, this is the instructor's special combat method. Guess how many people we sent to take down èr Lóng Lǐng? Just thirty of us, not a single injury!" Seeing that Xiè Sì Bǎo didn't quite believe him, Dà Lóng continued: "That day you were lucky and didn't run into the instructor, or else we two brothers wouldn't have met again!"

  "How come Instructor Xiao is so formidable?"

  Dà Lóng looked at Xiè Sì Bǎo and asked: "How does your kung fu compare to mine?"

  "It's almost there."

  "I've fought with instructors before, one encounter and I'm dead!" Da Long sighed.

  After watching for a few more days, Xie Sibao finally couldn't help but ask Dalong: Can you talk to the master and instructor about letting me participate in training too? I don't have any other intentions, I just want us brothers to be together.

  Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming burst out laughing. Xiao Ming told Da Long: "Tell him, from now on, he doesn't have to pick up dung anymore. You're in charge of taking him for training."

  Wang Jinlong was drinking tea in the hall when Xiao Ming walked in. Wang Jinlong motioned for Xiao Ming to sit down and asked, "How do you have time today, Instructor?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "I had some free time, so I went to Xiao Yue's place to check on her homework, and then stopped by here for a cup of tea."

  Wang Jinlong poured tea for Xiao Ming, handed it over and said: "Let them do what they should do themselves, don't work too hard, or you'll exhaust yourself. By the way, how's Xiaoyue's studies going?"

  Xiao Ming sighed with a bitter smile: "This girl, doesn't study diligently, but is very interested in fighting and killing, completely different from her father!"

  Wang Jinlong sighed: "This girl, always staying in the mountain village is not a way out, I have to think of a way to let her live like other children."

  "It's almost New Year's, shouldn't we prepare some goods for the festival?" Xiao Ming broke the topic.

  "Let Mr. Ji handle this then, what's wrong, Instructor wants something else?"

  "This way, Mr. Ji doesn't have to spend money, I think it's more suitable to take those kids out for a trip, train them and broaden their horizons."

  Wang Jinlong thought to himself, "You're indeed born to be a bandit. It's only been a few days and you're itching for action again." "What are your plans, Instructor?"

  "Not yet, isn't this coming to discuss with the master of the house?"

  Wang Jinlong had long understood that Xiao Ming would not come to drink tea with him for no reason, and as soon as he heard the transition to the main topic, he became interested and asked: "The instructor must have a goal, let's hear it."

  Xiao Ming smiled and asked: "Does the master know if there are any Japanese businesses around here?" Wang Jinlong shook his head.

  Xiao Ming said: "Shi Men! That's the distribution center for daily necessities in several provinces. Er Gou ran Ma Bang went there during his time, and there were several large Japanese trading companies. I've also been there before, it was very prosperous, so I think we should make our move there."

  Wang Jinlong thought for a moment and was somewhat worried: "Officer, this is several hundred miles away. What if something happens and we can't get there in time?"

  Xiao Ming shook his head and said, "Don't worry about the master of the house. Let's first send Night Cat to make a preliminary reconnaissance, get a clear understanding of the situation. I'll bring the Flying Tiger Team with good weapons and set out afterwards. I'll leave someone outside to provide backup. Since Shi Men doesn't have city walls, even if things go wrong, they can't stop us."

  "When are you planning to leave?"

  "If there are no other instructions, let the old cat lead someone to go first tomorrow, and we will set off three days later." Xiao Ming said, "This is a chance to make a fortune, and we must seize it early!"