No, not a gunshot, but two. I turned to look. Wang Dong was sitting there just fine, and Qian Fugui hadn’t pulled the trigger either. Where did the gunshots come from? And so close?
I sensed something was wrong. The troops on the mountain might have caught up.
Qian Fugui reacted first. "Boss, it’s people from the mountain. We’re outnumbered and will be at a disadvantage. We should retreat first.”
He had already started to consider himself one of us. If he were captured by Wu Guodong’s men now, there would only be one outcome. He understood this perfectly.
Following that, many shouts came. I said to Wen Siqiang and Qian Fugui, "Let this bastard live a few more days. We’re leaving.”
We couldn’t fire now. Gunshots would quickly attract the enemy.
The three of us, not daring to delay, grabbed our guns and ran down the mountain.
I heard the shouts from behind. They must have discovered the bound Wang Dong. Then, I heard urging voices again. I knew they had figured out what was happening and were pursuing us with all their might.
They were right behind us. Running might not be enough, especially since they outnumbered us and were armed. If we were exposed in an open area, we’d become their targets.
I told them, "Listen to me. Let’s retreat into the woods. We’ll figure out how to get out after they pass.”
Our car was parked in the small town. They would likely find the car. If they found the vehicle, they would definitely not let us go, which would make our situation even worse and escape more difficult.
Our phones had been confiscated, we had no money, and we were in a foreign land. How would we get back? Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
I never expected that after saying I’d go into the tiger’s den to get the tiger’s cubs, I wouldn’t even get close to its tail, but instead, we’d be running from them.
We lay down in the grass, not daring to make a sound. We watched as five or six soldiers, armed with guns, walked down the path, with Wang Dong following behind, gesticulating.
He was shouting loudly, offering a reward of 500,000 yuan for killing us, shared among everyone, with merits awarded!
It seemed he couldn’t spend this 500,000 yuan unless I died. This was a good plan. The soldiers charged forward as if they had been injected with stimulants!
I exchanged a look with them. They understood, stood up, and we put some distance between ourselves and them, then followed them down the mountain.
I suddenly had an idea. Since we might have become targets in front of them earlier, why not use this opportunity to make them targets for us from behind? Down the mountain, there would be a large open area where we could hide on the mountain and shoot them.
Judging by the number of people earlier, it was only six or seven. If we could lure them up the mountain, we could then seize the opportunity to run down and get the car.
I told them, "Load your bullets, prepare for battle!”
They understood, quickly picked up their rifles, and followed me forward, looking for suitable positions.
We were already close to the foot of the mountain. Through the gaps in the large trees, we could see the outside. After descending the mountain, another two or three li would lead us to the town where our car was parked.
I was the first to spot a small high ground. The three of us ran up. As expected, everything below was visible.
I said, "Lie down. Wait until they’ve descended a distance before firing. Try to hit them, but it’s okay if you miss. The main goal is to draw them here.”
Having a distance would buy us time. After they approached, we could find an opportunity to descend.
They ran down the mountain, with Wang Dong urging them on. The group desperately rushed towards the town.
I judged it was about time and told them to shoot. Their rifles had long range, and this distance was well within their effective killing range.
Qian Fugui, having been a soldier, expertly pulled the trigger. I saw someone fall to the ground, but it wasn't Wang Dong. It was another soldier. Wang Dong was standing by the side of the road and dodged the bullet.
Wen Siqiang fumbled with his rifle for quite some time before firing. He missed, but it startled them all. They quickly took cover and observed our position.
I said, "Keep shooting, but don’t spray. Aim before you fire.”
Qian Fugui fired another shot, which landed in front of the soldier who had taken cover, kicking up a lot of dust.
This was a good tactic. Even if we didn’t hit them, the kicked-up dust would obscure their vision and prevent them from pinpointing our location.
I said, "Keep shooting at where they’ve taken cover. Wait for my command to withdraw.”
They nodded and continued to fire at them. Although Wen Siqiang wasn’t accurate, his general direction was correct. Gunfire erupted, and dust flew everywhere.
I felt it was about time and told them, "Follow me, we’ll descend the mountain from another location.”
I wanted to play a stratagem of luring the tiger out of its den.
After the gunfire stopped, we didn’t leave immediately. I watched them stay down for a while before getting up. Once they confirmed we weren't shooting anymore, they cautiously began to ascend the mountain under Wang Dong’s command.
I said, "Qian Fugui, fire two more shots to make them think we’re waiting for them here.”
Qian Fugui aimed at Wang Dong and fired. The bullet whizzed past Wang Dong’s ear, startling him so much that he immediately dropped to the ground. Seeing this, the others also quickly took cover.
I said, "Wen Siqiang, it’s your turn. Qian Fugui and I will run to the right. You fire two more shots to pursue us.”
As I spoke, I gestured for Qian Fugui to get up and follow me. Wen Siqiang, seeing us leave, fired another shot at Wang Dong and his men. I called out to him, "Fire one more shot, we’ll wait for you here.”
Wen Siqiang fired another shot and quickly came to find us.
After we three regrouped, we estimated the path down the mountain and continued walking sideways. We walked for about five to six hundred meters before stopping. I said, "This is fine, we’ll descend from here.”
The slope was relatively gentle, but the dense undergrowth made the descent difficult. We didn’t have machetes, so we had to use our rifle butts to clear the way, moving down little by little.
Gunfire erupted from where we had been earlier. I assumed they had reached our previous position and were now searching the mountain.
We struggled our way down to the foot of the mountain. Before us lay a vast expanse of rice paddies. We ran towards the village along the narrow paths between the fields.
The rice stalks had already headed, reaching about waist-high. With the cover of these rice paddies, even if they stood on the mountain, they wouldn’t be able to spot us for a while.
The rice paddies here were small, with paths connecting them. We ran through them, our feet sinking slightly. Time was of the essence. Even a few minutes’ difference could mean escaping this ordeal.
The gunfire on the mountain continued, which somewhat put my mind at ease. Even if they reacted now and descended, we would have almost reached the town.
Suddenly, they both stopped moving. I was perplexed. We were only a few hundred meters from entering the village, so why did they suddenly stop?
I looked up and gasped!
At the end of the rice paddies, many people holding knives and forks were standing at the edge of the field paths, waiting for us with predatory gazes!