Unparalleled Duo

"Is it too late for that?" Huang Donglai was more thoughtful, "We've already walked so far, and without horses, by the time we get back, it'll already be dark. The Magistrate will probably be asleep. Are you planning to beat the drums and appeal for justice in the middle of the night?" He paused, "Even if you really go to the authorities in the middle of the night, and the Magistrate doesn't dare to turn against you, by the time he dispatches troops, it might be tomorrow evening or the day after. By then, the bandits would have already exacted their revenge and fled... Also, are you certain the Magistrate has the authority to dispatch men here? Isn't this place chaotic because it's on the border of several districts and no one manages it well?"

Sun Yixie, hearing this, thought about it and agreed, "So what do we do?" He was also frantically scratching his head, "I've just entered the jianghu, and I've run into such injustice right on my doorstep. If I can't handle this, how will I ever survive in the jianghu later on?"

Huang Donglai thought for a moment, "Otherwise... let's escort Miss Wang back to the village first; we can see the situation there and think of a plan on the way."

"That's all we can do now," Sun Yixie sighed.

Ms. Wang was extremely grateful to the two young heroes and after resting a little, weeping, she led them on the road.

The journey was silent, and after half an hour, they reached the entrance of Nanyuan Village.

Before they could enter the village, a group of villagers, young and old, brandishing pitchforks and clubs, rushed out and surrounded them.

It turned out that the two lackeys whom Sun Yixie had scared off earlier had returned to the village out of resentment. They told the villagers, "Ms. Wang has hired thugs claiming they will annihilate Zouma Village. If this reaches the ears of our leader, he will surely personally lead men here to massacre everybody in the village. If you are wise, you'll bind MS. Wang and that thug and bring them along with the compensation money and grain to the village entrance tomorrow at this time. Otherwise, tomorrow will be the day of death for your entire village."

After saying that, the two went back to their stronghold and exaggerated the day's events to their leader, including speaking ill of Sun Yixie and the villagers. Bandits, having nothing else to do on a normal day except rob men, dominate women, and plunder goods, were naturally not opposed to making a trip to the village the next day.

On the other side, the villagers were at a loss...

There were some bold villagers who quietly suggested capturing and silencing the two bandits, but others dissuaded them, arguing that the outcome would be the same. Zouma Village would notice their men missing in the village and still come to seek revenge, potentially escalating the situation.

Thus, after the bandits returned, the villagers gathered urgently to discuss and decided to wait for Ms. Wang to return and clarify the situation before deciding what to do.

This set the stage for the current situation.

Of course, these villagers were not unreasonable; after Ms. Wang had explained the situation, they eased their hostile stance.

After all, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai were performing righteous deeds, and although the villagers might not be grateful, they wouldn't stoop so low as to harm them; moreover, the long-standing fear and hatred toward the bandits of Zouma Village had accumulated, and many in the village were already prepared to risk everything in a desperate fight with Zouma Village.

After Sun and Huang exchanged a few words with the villagers and learned more about the situation, Huang Donglai quickly came up with a plan.

He pulled Sun Yixie aside and whispered, "Brother Sun, I have a plan."

"Oh? Let's hear it," Sun Yixie said.

"You know I use poison, right?" Huang Donglai asked.

"Of course, I know," Sun Yixie said, "but from what the villagers said, there are more than fifty bandits in Zouma Village, and the stock you carry probably isn't enough to take down everyone, right?"

"Brother Sun, you're thinking too much," Huang Donglai said, "The poisons and antidotes I carry are high-grade goods, made from very expensive materials, meant for crucial moments to protect myself; I don't carry much, and even if I did, I wouldn't use them in an area-of-effect manner against the bandits."

"So why mention using poisons at all?" Sun Yixie asked.

"I can use the readily available ingredients at the village pharmacy to make some cheap, mass-produced poisons for setting up traps and ambushes," Huang Donglai replied.

"Oh?" Sun Yixie suddenly realized, "That could work well. They wouldn't even reach the village before the entire force is wiped out then, ha-ha-ha!"

"Don't celebrate too early," Huang Donglai cautioned. "I spoke with the shopkeeper at the pharmacy. The variety and the quantity of medicinal herbs in a small village like this are limited, and it's impossible to make a poison that spreads through the air to kill. Moreover, it's uncertain how much of the poison they would inhale, so traps could only weaken their combat ability at best, not kill them all."

"So how useful is this exactly?" Sun Yixie asked again.

Huang Donglai thought a moment and responded, "I've found out that besides their leader, the martial skills of those bandits are quite mediocre, and they basically have no Inner Strength, just know some moves..."

"Hold on... what do you mean by 'also'?" Sun Yixie interrupted.

"Ah, don't sweat the details," Huang Donglai impatiently waved his hand, indicating for Sun to not interrupt and continued, "Based on my experience, these weaklings, in a one-on-one fight with a sword against a villager wielding farm tools, have about a 70 percent chance of winning... Now, this village has over a hundred people, excluding women, children, and the elderly, we can probably muster around forty able men. If they fight to the death, it won't be easy to wipe them out.

"The gang from Zouma Village is surely aware of this, so I expect they'll bring at least forty men tomorrow to ensure they have enough force to intimidate and fight.

"But they won't expect to encounter poison traps on their way; by the time they arrive, at least twenty would be poisoned… and these weakened fools, let alone fighting, will hardly be able to stand. Any adult man could knock them down."

Sun Yixie understood the implications, "Ah, in that case, when they arrive tomorrow, you handle their leader, and I'll lead a band of strong men in a charge. We can surely put up a fight."

"You're right," Huang Donglai said, "What do you think? Isn't this plan viable?"

"It certainly is, Brother Huang has some tricks up his sleeve," Sun Yixie also timely flattered his brother.

"Good, if you think there are no issues or loopholes, I'll go and discuss it with them," Huang Donglai said.

"Hold on a moment..." At this moment, Sun Yixie seemed to suddenly think of something, "Although your plan is good, I feel there's room for improvement based on this foundation."

"Oh?" Huang Donglai was curious. "What better idea do you have?"

Sun Yixie's eyes darted around, revealing a sly smile, "Well... I have a strategy—'Change the game.'"