At the border fortress in the desert, more than five thousand bandits charged fiercely toward the Border Army camp not far away, wrapped in thick clouds of dust.
The earth itself seemed to tremble. They kicked up a trail of sand and dust behind them, savage, unrestrained smiles plastered across every face.
"Hahaha, kill!"
These bandits from the grasslands were highly skilled in mounted archery.
Before they had even reached the border fortress's military camp, someone drew a bow and fired a flaming arrow, striking the foremost camp tent with precision.
The next moment, countless flaming arrows rained down from the sky, blotting out heaven and earth.
In an instant, the entire military camp turned into a sea of fire. Thick smoke billowed upward, waves of heat rolled over them one after another, as if it were an inferno.
Amid the chaos, cries of alarm rang out from within the camp.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"It's the grassland bandits! The bandits have come!"
"What?! How is that possible?!"
Yet there were even more screams. Some were engulfed in flames from head to toe, rolling desperately on the ground as they tried to put out the fire on their bodies.
However, the flames on those arrows had been lit with grease. Once they stuck to someone, they were difficult to extinguish.
They had never imagined that their side would suffer a surprise attack from bandits while Thousand Commander Yuan Xiao led the troops out on campaign.
They also could not understand how all the Wu Li Army's open and hidden sentries along the way had failed to send back the news of the bandits' attack, allowing these fierce bandits to charge right up to them in broad daylight.
Li Qing was equally stunned. He had just filled his stomach in the Kitchen Hall and returned to his camp tent. Before he even had time to sit down, he heard the sound of flaming arrows falling.
Then sheets of arrows came raining down, blotting out heaven and earth, frightening him so badly that he nearly hid in another world on the spot.
"How is it possible? There are no idea how many hidden and open sentries along the way. Why was no news sent back? Did all of them betray us?" Li Qing muttered uncertainly.
The possibility that they had all betrayed them was minuscule—basically impossible.
That left only one possibility: these bandits knew the locations of every hidden sentry along the way and had cleanly uprooted them all.
The imperial court's reinforcements for the border fortress were still on the road and could not possibly arrive in time. Yet the bandits had launched a surprise attack at precisely this critical juncture—the timing was far too perfect.
"There's a traitor in the Border Army."
At the thought of that possibility, Li Qing shuddered all over, his scalp prickling numb.
"Run! Run!"
"Go to Wangyuan City! Run toward Wangyuan City!"
The chaotic cries outside reached Li Qing's ears, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
Run?
Could they really escape? The bandits had come on horseback, while Wangyuan City behind them was at least dozens of li from the Border Army camp. Even an Outer Strength expert might not be faster than a horse.
If they scattered and fled, they would most likely be heading down a dead road. The ground behind them was flat as a millstone; there was no way they could get away. They could only become living targets.
"Damn it, this was too sudden. There wasn't even the slightest warning. I didn't even have time to prepare!" Cold sweat beaded across Li Qing's forehead. He did his best to calm himself and swiftly considered what would be best to do now.
"Plans can't keep up with changes. I'll take some food and seek refuge in the Eternal Night World!" Li Qing clenched his teeth and finally decided to go to the Eternal Night World.
He immediately charged toward the granary, intending to bring enough food to last him quite some time.
Many camp tents had caught fire, but the area around the granary alone had not begun burning.
When Li Qing saw This Scene, the corners of his mouth could not help twitching.
These bandits clearly knew where the granary was. When firing their arrows, they had deliberately avoided this area.
They had such complete intelligence. If there was no traitor in the army, Li Qing would chop off his own head.
Everyone else fled in blind panic toward Wangyuan City in the rear. No one had any mind to notice the state of the granary; they only wished they could run as far away as possible.
Li Qing kicked open the tightly shut doors of the granary. Yet before he could begin moving the food, he saw someone he had not expected—or perhaps someone he should have expected.
"Fatty Wu? Why are you still in the granary?" Li Qing was dumbfounded.
Inside the granary, a plump, round figure sat atop a pile of air-dried cured meat strips, constantly stuffing food into his mouth.
"I... I saw there was no fire here, so I hid here from the flames." Wu Chong's voice trembled, and even the fat on his face quivered along with it.
"Idiot! These bandits came to loot food supplies. If you stay here, aren't you seeking death?" Li Qing shouted.
Wu Chong opened his mouth blankly, then said indistinctly, "Then what should I do? I can't run fast. Wangyuan City is so far away. Before I could run there and tire myself to death, those bandits would probably catch up to me."
This dead fat man understood the situation clearly enough. He was calmer than those soldiers and knew that two legs could not outrun a horse's four.
Li Qing could not help complaining in his heart.
Before he could speak, Wu Chong said in despair, "I'm dead either way, so I might as well be a well-fed ghost here!"
"I'll eat! I'll eat, eat, eat!"
Li Qing was both amused and exasperated. This guy was at death's door and still thinking about eating. He truly did not know what to say.
"Fatso, if you want to live, listen to me!" Li Qing grabbed Wu Chong and hauled him to his feet. Then he spoke rapidly. "Do you remember where my master was buried?"
"Run straight to that cluster of graves right now. Find any grave and hide there. The bandits probably won't search that place!"
As soon as he heard These Words, Fatty Wu's eyes immediately lit up.
"Right! How did I not think of that?"
The moment he learned there was a way to survive, Wu Chong's fat body instantly erupted with unimaginable survival instinct. He sprang to his feet and asked, "What about you? Why are you still staying here? Hurry and run with me!"
"You go first. I'll grab some food and follow right away!" Li Qing patted Fatty Wu's body, signaling him to run quickly.
"Alright, then remember to take more dried meat. Don't let those damned bandits get it for free!"
After saying that, Fatty Wu's round body seemed to exert every ounce of strength it had, and he actually began running at high speed, darting out of the granary in a flash.
Then, as if recalling something, Li Qing hurriedly shouted after him, "Fatso, remember not to crawl into my master's grave!"
Li Qing did not know whether Wu Chong had heard him, but he could not worry about that now. He directly hoisted a huge pile of grains and flour and dried meat inside the granary, closed his eyes, and began this large-scale transport.
He planned to move enough food to last a long time, then hide in the Eternal Night World for a while and wait until the storm here had passed.
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