Chapter 0005: Mountain Road

Li Jincheng could not help but exclaim, no wonder the village has been able to exist peacefully for so long amidst this chaotic world, as the surrounding bamboo actually serves as a very good natural barrier. Outsiders would fundamentally be unable to find their way into the village without a local guide. Of course, all of this is predicated on the condition that the outsiders do not possess any weapons.

What Li Jincheng needs to do now is to strive to buy time for the village. Even if the village has no power to resist, at least there is the option to hide.

When it comes to fighting against these bandits, Song Fei and his companions are not particularly skilled. However, when it comes to concealing their tracks, these young hunters, who have grown up leaping around the mountains, can confidently claim the second place; there is likely no one who would dare to claim the first. For a hunter who may encounter prey at any moment, hiding their tracks is simply a matter of course.

This is precisely the aspect that allows Li Jincheng to breathe a sigh of relief. There are quite a number of young and middle-aged men in the village, and every household possesses at least some sickles or similar tools. If it were merely scouts or vanguards, they would most likely be lurking or conducting reconnaissance outside the village, and would not be so hasty in launching an attack on the village.

Therefore, just now, Li Jincheng directly entrusted this matter to them to handle

Although they usually grow up in the mountains and fields, having fought with wild beasts since childhood, even when encountering large wild animals like wild boars, they have the ability to escape if they cannot win. However, this does not mean that Song Fei and the others have the capability to contend with enemies. After all, they are still young and have grown up in this peaceful mountain environment, unable to comprehend the reasons behind violence and killing, which naturally leads to their inability to understand the actions of the current mountain bandits.

Even if they are merely a ragtag group of soldiers, they are still an army, and the combat quality they demonstrate in opening up this mountain road cannot be overlooked by Li Jincheng. More importantly, even the able-bodied villagers in the village would find it difficult to put up a fight against some thuggish soldiers!

Li Jincheng suddenly remembered something, and he paused for a moment, turning back to say softly: "Quickly go and clean up the footprints and other traces we left on the open ground just now"

"Chen Ge!" Song Fei was momentarily taken aback, but then he saw Li Jinchen pick up a few stones and throw them onto the road. Song Fei and the others vaguely understood something and instinctively held their breath. The entire mountain was filled only with the howling wind and the rustling sound of bamboo leaves.

As long as the blades are sharp enough, what do these bamboos amount to?

Although he did not know the origins of these bandits or their intentions towards the village, Li Jincheng understood from the traces they left behind today that these bandits posed at least a potential threat to the village. Moreover, the fact that these bandits chose to carve out paths in the mountains instead of using the main roads, and even went so far as to disguise the paths they had created, further heightened Li Jincheng's vigilance

Brother Chen, it has been cleaned up, and there should be nothing noticeable. We have also covered the footprints in the muddy area with leaves!" Li Qiu walked over quickly and said in a lowered voice. Zheng Qing and Song Fei also approached cautiously, afraid of making too much noise

"Follow me, be careful." Li Jincheng said softly, slowly stepping forward, paying close attention to the changes in his footsteps. In this deep mountain forest, there are many dry branches and fallen leaves; stepping on them carelessly could easily cause a noise. In the silent empty mountains, even the slightest "crack" of sound could potentially cause chaos throughout the entire mountain.

At that moment, Song Fei let out a low cry, startling Li Jincheng and the others, who were on high alert, nearly causing them to strike with the various weapons in their hands. It was only when they clearly saw Song Fei's gesture that they finally breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoeing over while trying not to step on the dry branches and fallen leaves beneath their feet, in order to avoid making too much noise

Have you found anything over there?" Li Jincheng shouted, trying to keep his voice low.

Behind several bamboo stalks, many bamboo plants have been directly cut down, thus creating a path that leads straight to the mountainside. The reason these bamboo plants are placed here is naturally to serve as a form of concealment. Passersby on this mountain road, unless they are particularly observant, would not notice the hidden intricacies even if they walk right beside these bamboo plants. The reason these bamboo plants are placed here is naturally to serve as a form of concealment. Passersby on this mountain road, unless they are particularly observant, would not notice the hidden intricacies even if they walk right beside these bamboo plants.

After all, in this chaotic world, the elderly tend to be quite vigilant. Relying on mere vanguards or scouts, even if these mountain bandits possess extraordinary abilities, it would still be difficult for them to cause any significant harm to the village

Seeing that there was no movement along the mountain path, Li Jincheng took the lead and stepped forward. This mountain path was not wide; it was evident that it had been hewn out with knives and axes, allowing only one or two people to walk side by side. Moreover, there were no traps set along the mountain road, indicating that the bandits had also put in considerable effort to create this path. This further suggested that the number of bandits was likely small, and it was highly probable that they were scouts or vanguards.

As we moved forward step by step, the entire mountain path once again became narrow

For them, it had never occurred to them that one day they would face the threat of an enemy

Stones fell to the ground one after another, producing intermittent dull sounds, yet there was not a trace of movement around. Li Jincheng furrowed his brow and then said in a low voice: "There should be no traps, but everyone should still be cautious and not panic."

Considering that these bandits are likely to have a background as soldiers, Li Jincheng urged Song Fei and the others to clean up any footprints and other traces they had left behind as thoroughly as possible. Otherwise, even if they managed to retreat safely along this path, the footprints could easily attract the enemy's attention. At that point, it is not only possible that these seemingly shrewd bandits would become aware of their exposed whereabouts, but it could also hasten their actions against the village

The bamboo forest stretches endlessly towards the distance, and in some areas, the bamboo grows so densely that it is impossible to see any possibility of passage through it. These bamboos resemble walls, offering no other options to the creatures of the mountain except for the path that Li Jincheng and his companions took earlier.

All of this clearly indicates what these bandits are after, and it further proves that these bandits are certainly not a disorganized mob. Firstly, it is possible that there are skilled individuals leading and guiding them; secondly, it is also possible that these bandits, as the villagers have said, are a group of scattered troops

Although Li Jincheng is a time traveler, he is fortunate that the memories of the previous Li Jincheng are still intact, allowing him to quickly master the essential skills for survival in the mountains. Behind him, Song Fei and the others are clearly not facing this situation for the first time; they are all cautious, carefully surveying their surroundings while following Li Jincheng, choosing to step on areas free of dead branches and leaves. If that is not possible, they directly push aside the branches and leaves with their hands or kick them aside with their feet.

Once their large contingent rushes into the village, this tranquil mountain village may face a catastrophic disaster

Song Fei and others took a gentle breath, clearly realizing that the situation before them had long exceeded their expectations. No one had anticipated that they were so close to these thieves.

This... this is the way to the village! Song Fei instinctively wanted to follow this road forward, but was quickly stopped by Li Jincheng's quick reflexes.