Chapter 151: If Only We Could Find Saltpeter
The moment Yu Yingying’s venomous gaze fell upon Yu Meiyao, her anger exploded into a furious outburst.
Before Yu Meiyao could even finish defending herself, Yu Yingying glared at her and roared:
“Shut up!”
Yu Meiyao, terrified, immediately obeyed, her expression pitiful and tear-streaked.
Watching her act like an innocent victim, Yu Yingying smirked mockingly.
Her eyes then shifted to Madam Lan, who was preparing food for the family.
“You, Lan, and your wretched daughter are both the same—disgusting, manipulative, and two-faced! Always pretending to be harmless, but rotten to the core. You are the reason I lost my leg!”
Lan stiffened, but instead of arguing, she sighed deeply.
“If you need to hate someone, hate me. If I had known you’d recklessly break the branch, I would’ve given you my boots—even if it meant falling from the tree myself. If blaming me makes you feel better, then go ahead.”
Instead of calming her, Lan’s passive tone only infuriated Yu Yingying further.
Her hatred boiled over—but there was nothing she could do about it.
While the men patrolled the area, even seven-year-old Yu Xiaoyun was forced to train daily.
Meanwhile, in the stone houses a kilometer away, the mysterious group remained silent and withdrawn.
They only ventured out every few days to gather food and firewood, keeping their doors tightly shut otherwise.
Yu Luo suspected that they were watching her group’s every move through small windows.
During the day, Zhang Yuan offered to train the others alongside Yu Xiaoran and Yu Xiaoxuan.
Even Yu Haojie joined, embracing the philosophy of:
“Why not learn if it’s free?”
The only exception was Ye Jiamei, who flatly refused.
“I have a hospital and crossbows. I don’t need to fight.”
In reality, she simply preferred sleeping over training.
Yu Luo and Yu Haojie both knew this, but chose not to expose her.
Waiting was agonizing—especially when waiting for an attack.
Just as everyone started to doubt if the Wanli Gang would ever return, on the tenth night, a series of agonized screams shattered the silence.
Every man in the caves leaped up, grabbing their weapons and rushing outside.
Even Yu Zhengqing and Zhang Yuan, still half-dressed, snatched their blades and used light-footed movement to reach the entrance.
The traps had worked.
A group of bandits had fallen in, some impaled on stakes, others writhing in agony.
But there was no time to celebrate—the remaining gang members drew their swords and prepared to fight.
The battle erupted instantly.
Some bandits, cautious of the traps, remained on the sidelines.
When they saw that the cave dwellers were skilled fighters, their hesitation vanished.
They vaulted over the traps with light-footed movement, charging toward the caves.
But before they could reach the entrance, a hail of arrows rained down from the darkness!
Accompanying them were large stones, hurled like deadly projectiles.
At Yu Luo’s cave entrance, three modified crossbows unleashed a flurry of high-powered bolts, cutting down every enemy who tried to enter.
The ambush had thrown the Wanli Gang into chaos.
Their leaders, seeing their forces being slaughtered, were furious.
“You think you’ve won?”
“Our Wanli Gang will never let this go!”
Just as the Third Boss finished his threat, a sudden volley of crossbow bolts pierced his body, leaving him full of holes.
The Second Boss, more cautious, barely managed to dodge with light-footed movement.
Realizing he couldn’t win, he retreated instantly, sprinting hundreds of meters away before stopping.
His heart pounded as he glanced back at the battlefield.
“You bastards! Even if you wipe out Wanli Gang, there will always be someone else coming for you!”
With those final words, he fled toward Fengcheng.
After ten days of fear, the threat had finally passed.
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, the survivors exhaled deeply.
Inside the caves, women and elders, who had been armed with stones and bows, finally relaxed—many even collapsing in relief.
Only the children, blissfully unaware, remained asleep.
Outside, the cold wind swept through, making the exhausted men realize their clothes were drenched in sweat.
Shivering, they hurriedly dressed in warm coats before returning to the battlefield.
“We need to dispose of these bodies quickly. Otherwise, wild beasts will come.”
“I’ll fetch the cart.”
Zhang Yuan immediately volunteered.
The Zhang family men, once outcasts, now took the lead in every task without complaint.
They no longer resented the Yu family, nor did they look down on the Liu and Bai families.
“Good. Women, light torches so we can see better. Be careful when pulling bodies from the traps—don’t impale yourselves on the stakes.”
Working together, they cleared the corpses and loaded them onto wagons.
Zhang Yuan, Yu Xiaoran, and Yu Xiaoxuan then hauled them far away.
By the time they returned, fresh snowfall had already covered the bloodstains.
Though everyone returned to their caves, no one could sleep.
“These people won’t stop,” Ye Jiamei muttered, her voice filled with frustration.
“One of them escaped. He’ll probably bring even more reinforcements next time.”
“Yeah.
If we want to build a safe home, this constant fighting is making it impossible.”
Yu Luo sighed, rubbing her forehead.
She had no problem with hardship—but she just wanted a moment of peace.
“If only we could find saltpeter. We could make explosives and set landmines around the valley. That way, anyone who enters gets blown to bits. Even an army wouldn’t dare approach!”
But for now, they could only hope.
And prepare for the next attack.
