Chapter Thirty-Five: Awakening

But these shackles were coiled tightly, and breaking the chains would not be so easy. Qi Jun had originally intended to proceed step by step, training the villagers to acquire basic self-defense skills and the courage to face bloodshed, then organizing them to contend with the bandits.

But now, this plan was no longer realistic. If the bandits learned that the people of Dongling Village were helping the county soldiers fight them, the inevitable result would be a massacre of the villagers, another tragedy for the village.

“Captain Sun, gather the troops!” Without another word, Magistrate Feng grabbed his warhorse and swiftly mounted it.

In that instant, Feng Qinian’s image in Qi Jun’s mind grew immensely, as if he were a hero prepared to fight the bandits to protect the people.

“Though he is a cunning official, at this moment, his willingness to confront the bandits head-on in a crisis truly shows the composure of a soldier,” Qi Jun thought to himself, watching as the county soldiers were swiftly assembled into marching formation, and couldn’t help but silently praise Feng Qinian.

Yet in the next moment, Qi Jun was nearly dumbfounded by the magistrate's actions, cursing inwardly and retracting his fleeting words of praise.

“Is everyone here? Are the wounded with us? Withdraw, hurry and withdraw!” Feng Qinian swung onto his horse, and Captain Sun glanced helplessly at Qi Jun.

“Sir Feng, don’t leave! Listen to me—” Qi Jun rushed forward, grabbing the reins of Feng Qinian’s horse.

“Whatever you have to say, say it when we get back! If you can't, get on your horse, now!” Feng Qinian snapped impatiently, urging Qi Jun repeatedly.

At first, Feng Qinian had been confident of victory, but last night’s battle had made him soberly aware of his troops’ true capabilities. Even so, he still harbored hope, believing that their original plan might still succeed, and the rich rewards of defeating the bandits had made him determined to take this gamble.

But now, with this unexpected turn, he completely lost hope of defeating the bandits. He figured that if he turned tail now and returned to the county seat, at worst he’d lose his post or be demoted. If he led this handful of men to a head-on clash against over a hundred bandits, and perished, then all would be lost.

Faced with these options, Magistrate Feng made his choice at once. The moment he received the scout’s report, the thought of retreat had already taken root.

If the commanding officer was so demoralized, the county soldiers were even less inclined to fight. At the order to assemble and retreat, any lingering will to suppress the bandits evaporated.

“Sir Feng, I have a plan! We can—” Seeing the magistrate’s determination to retreat, Qi Jun still tried to persuade him.

“I order you to mount up and return to the city at once!” At this point, Feng Qinian would hear no counsel, cutting Qi Jun off without a second thought.

“I am a villager of Dongling Village, not a coward who flinches before bandits!” Qi Jun, eyes reddened, shook his head and faced Feng Qinian with resolute defiance.

“You—very well, you have guts, you’re tough. Then you can die with them!” Feng Qinian, momentarily stunned by Qi Jun’s words, suppressed his anger, spurred his horse, and led the way, whipping up a cloud of dust.

Qi Jun stared blankly at the retreating county soldiers, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and sorrow.

These officials, who just half an hour ago had sworn to the villagers that they would bring the bandits of Panlong Ridge to justice, now turned tail and fled with astonishing speed.

“Sir, what will we do if you leave us?”

“Weren’t you here to deal with the bandits? Don’t go! Don’t leave us!”

“Please, save us…”

The villagers, sensing the shift in the situation, rushed after the departing county soldiers, pleading desperately.

Qi Jun saw a villager clutching the sleeve of a county soldier, begging him to stay, but in his panic, the soldier kicked the villager to the ground and ran after his unit.

Soon, Magistrate Feng and his men were gone without a trace. A blanket of despair settled over Dongling Village, as the shadow of Panlong Ridge once again loomed over every heart.

“Elder, what do we do now?”

“The officials have all fled; we should run too…”

“Where would we run? Hide in the mountains for another day?”

“Freezing or starving to death is still better than falling into the hands of those bandits!”

Qi Jun knew that relying on the county soldiers to suppress the bandits was futile; vengeance would have to be sought by themselves. Though Magistrate Feng had run off, these villagers remained.

“Everyone, quiet! Listen to me!” With this thought, Qi Jun leapt onto the large stone at the village entrance and called out to the assembled villagers.

“Fellow villagers! The bandits are coming, and the officials have abandoned us. Now it’s too late to run.” Qi Jun paused, scanning the faces below, all etched with misery. Yet some villagers raised their heads to look at him, eyes burning with anger.

“Even if we could escape, how long could we hide? Do you all want to live cowering in fear for the rest of your lives? Do you wish for your children and grandchildren to endure this forever?”

Gradually, the villagers calmed, pondering Qi Jun’s words. Many bowed their heads, torn and thoughtful. In their memories, the word “bandit” was an ever-present childhood nightmare. As children, if they cried, their parents only had to threaten, “Cry again and I’ll throw you to the bandits,” and fear would silence them.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone! Bandits are made of flesh and blood too—stab one and he’ll bleed!” Qi Jun, spotting Liu Kui in the crowd, jumped down from the stone and whispered a few words into his ear.

Startled, Liu Kui stared at Qi Jun, eyes blazing with fierce anger, and then strode back into the village. The crowd buzzed with speculation about Qi Jun’s intentions.

Within moments, Liu Kui returned, dragging a bound, one-armed man before the villagers. The crowd erupted in noisy discussion.

“Isn’t that the scarred face from Panlong Ridge? He was the one who led the raid on my goods last time!”

“So he’s a bandit—no wonder he’s tied up so tightly.”

“None of these beasts have a shred of decency—my niece was ruined by them!”

“My cousin from my mother’s side was killed by them too!”

“My leg was crippled by them…”

Feng Qinian’s hasty retreat left no time to concern themselves with the captured bandit leader from the night before, who had been locked up in a villager’s house near the entrance. Qi Jun decided to rally the villagers’ fighting spirit through a grievance assembly, a method he’d seen used in later generations to galvanize people against landlords.

Sure enough, the sight of the bound bandit instantly awakened the villagers’ most painful memories, and the scenes of oppression and humiliation they had suffered at the hands of the bandits came rushing back.

“Beat him to death! Avenge our fallen kin!” a villager shouted in fury.

“Not even skinning him alive would ease my hatred!”

“Kill him! I’ll never let bandits oppress me again!”

At first, the one-armed bandit leader feigned composure, trying to frighten the villagers with a fierce glare, but his bravado was soon drowned by the raging sea of their anger.

“What…what are you going to do?” the bandit stammered in terror, knowing all too well the dreadful backlash of years of accumulated resentment, and realizing what fate awaited him.

He turned and knelt before Qi Jun, pleading, “Brother, I was wrong, I deserve to die! Spare me, I beg you—you promised! You promised!”

“It was the official who promised to spare you, I never intended to let a beast like you go,” Qi Jun replied coldly, for in his mind, this little bandit leader had been a dead man since last night.

The furious crowd surged forward, venting their boundless anger on the bandit.

His agonized screams were quickly drowned by the villagers’ furious curses. Watching the execution, Qi Jun was reminded of scenes from zombie films in his past life.

But now, he felt not a shred of pity for this villain suffering the wrath of the people. He knew his intention had been achieved: a populace awakened and armed in spirit could not be defeated by any force.