The howls of the savages rose and fell, while the gunfire ceased. Qingmu, unsure what was happening, quickly sent the Boss Coal to fly over and investigate.
"Find Petru and tell him not to linger in battle, but to try and scatter the savages. I want to capture one or two alive."
He recalled what Tafiti had seen in her dream and added, "Be careful yourself. If you see an old man holding something that looks like a scepter with a hook, don't go near him. Come back to me immediately!"
After the Crow flew away, Qingmu followed the direction of the wild man's howls, crossed the stream he had come from, climbed a relatively high hillside, and took out his binoculars to observe.
In the dense forest opposite, the figures of some wild men could be vaguely seen moving about. They would shout twice every now and then, and the shouts varied in length and speed, probably conveying different messages.
He didn't see Petru through his binoculars and figured he was probably hiding, so he wasn't in a hurry. He just followed the small group of savages from a distance, waiting for his chance.
Not long after, the Crow flew back to the Tushu, circling high above, its view obscured by the dense forest. Qingmu saw it looking for him and whistled.
The Crow landed and said that Petru was hiding on the high ground behind the valley. Following the Crow's clue, Qingmu went through the woods and found Petru through his binoculars. The guy had chosen a spot with a good view and was well hidden, covered in branches and tall grass. If the Crow hadn't told Qingmu where he was, even with binoculars, Qingmu wouldn't have been able to spot him.
"How did you find him?" Qingmu asked curiously.
The Crow said smugly, "His little disguise can't possibly escape my eyes!"
Qingmu said, "Alright, stop bragging. You're in the sky, surrounded by so many trees. Even if he didn't disguise himself, you wouldn't see him if he just stood there motionless."
The Crow said, " Guagua, caw, um, I saw Hanran. It's perched on the highest tree."
Qingmu raised his binoculars and saw a thick, tall tree behind Petru's hiding place. Its leaves were red, much like an autumn maple tree, but its trunk was also red, and it stood alone, as if it had been painted on.
Hanran, Hanran was squatting on a branch at the very top of the tree.
"What is she doing in the tree?" Qingmu asked.
"Maybe he's keeping watch for Petru; the higher you stand, the farther you can see," said the Crow.
Qingmu felt that wasn't the case, but he couldn't think of any other reason besides this one.
He said to the Crow, " Petru should have seen me by now. Fly over and tell him to snipe a few of the small group of savages I'm with, but leave two alive for me."
The Crow said, "But he'll give himself away as soon as he fires a shot, and the other savages will surround him."
Qingmu said, "That's the effect I wanted; it makes it easier for me to catch people."
"Won't he be in danger? I just saw wild men all over the mountains over there!" the Crow exclaimed dramatically.
"All over the mountains and plains? That's an exaggeration! This island can't support a large tribe. Petru is carrying a lot of supplies; he's familiar with jungle warfare. He can easily wipe out a group of savages by simply placing a few infantry mines. The only thing to watch out for is traps and the savages' ambushes. Their weapons are poisoned; you should warn him."
"Oh, I don't care whether that Redbeard lives or dies, I'm worried about Hanran, that silly fat cat."
" Hanran should be fine." Qingmu picked up the binoculars again and glanced at the large tree over there. "After you've finished giving your instructions, don't worry about me. Just stay there and wait until Petru has gotten rid of the savages before taking them back to our cave."
"What if those savages chased them all the way to the cave?"
"No, Petru will definitely use a ruse to shake off their pursuit. If he couldn't even do that, he wouldn't be Redbeard!"
The Crow flew away.
Qingmu cautiously followed the six or seven savages ahead. Not long after, Petru received a message from Crow to open fire.
A shot rang out, and one of the savages fell to the ground. The others reacted quickly, all lying down and seeking cover. But they were clearly ignorant of modern warfare and firearms, failing to pinpoint the sniper's location. Furthermore, their hiding places weren't all blind spots; at least two of them were within Petru's line of sight.
The gunshots elicited howls from a large number of savages, who were closing in on Petru from all directions. Qingmu knew that if Petru couldn't escape quickly, he would be in serious trouble once surrounded. Petru could disguise himself, and so could the savages familiar with the environment. As long as he hid along his possible escape route and gave him a blowgun dart, the battle would be over.
Petru fired a second shot quickly, but this time he didn't kill the savage; he only hit him in the knee. The wounded savage fell to the ground, howling in pain. Another savage came to check on his injury, but Petru shot him dead. Another savage came up and tried to drag the wounded man behind some bushes, but he was also shot dead after only two steps.
In an instant, three were dead and one was wounded. The other savages dared not move, hiding where they could not be seen and shouting signals into the distance. Although Qingmu could not understand them, he knew they were calling for help from their companions and reporting Petru's location.
He didn't know if other savages would come to their aid, but he figured they'd learned their lesson and, knowing the gunmen were lying in ambush on the high ground across the valley, wouldn't be foolish enough to come and die. There were three savages left; he had to take them down quickly so Petru could retreat.
Qingmu quietly circled around to the back of one of the savages who was some distance from the other two, and tackled him from the side. He certainly had the opportunity to kill him with one blow, but he wasn't in a hurry. If the other two were killed by Petru, there would be no survivors to capture. So he simply pinned the savage to the ground, pinning him down with his body, grabbing one of the savage's arms and twisting it behind his back with one hand, and grabbing the savage's head with the other, slamming it into the muddy ground beside him, filling his mouth with fallen leaves and dirt, and making him shout loudly.
He wasn't worried about the other two savages because they were far enough away that Petru would have plenty of time to snipe them if they charged. Only one of them had a bow and arrow. Qingmu's position on the ground was calculated; if the savage wanted to shoot, he would have to peek halfway out from behind the tree where he was hiding, and then Petru would also snipe him.
Even if Petru didn't kill him, Qingmu wasn't afraid. He had already drawn his pistol. If Petru hadn't fired before the savage drew his bow, he would kill the savage with his pistol. The only downside to doing so would be that it would attract other savages here, making it much more difficult for him to capture one alive and take it back.
Sure enough, the savage had just leaned out to draw his bow and shoot him when Petru killed him with a single spear thrust before he could even pull back the bowstring. The other savage, armed only with a spear and further away, saw that his companion was dead and dared not charge out.
The savage beneath him struggled fiercely, Qingmu struck him on the back of the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him unconscious, before slowly standing up.
The savage over there held a spear, his face fierce. He thrust the spear tentatively, roaring with each thrust, as if he had encountered Lion in the wild and wanted to scare Lion away with his apparent ferocity. Yet his legs were trembling.
Qingmu realized that even savages could be afraid!