After sleeping for an hour, Zhong Lin was awakened by Little Stone's call. He shook his head, dazed for a moment, then the two set off again, taking a detour before returning to the main road.
There were still refugees on the road, but this time Zhong Lin had smeared some tree sap on the meat bags to mask the smell.
The effect was quite good as they didn't encounter any more refugees trying to rob them on the road.
About two hours later, they finally reached the hill that the middle-aged man had mentioned. Compared to the two hills they had previously crossed, this one was taller and able to conceal people.
Zhong Lin gathered his spirits, placed the bow and arrow within easy reach, and began to push the wheelbarrow up the mountain step by step.
"The mountain bandits are coming."
Calls echoed from ahead, and soon they saw many people running down from the mountain top. Pushing and shoving caused a great commotion, with some unfortunate souls falling and rolling down the slope, either crashing into trees or rolling all the way down.
Zhong Lin's expression changed. He immediately tossed the wheelbarrow to the side and grabbed the bow and arrow in hand.
Little Stone also jumped off the wheelbarrow, tightly clutching the bag of food in his arms.
It was fortunate that most of the smoked meat in the bag had been consumed over the past few days. If not, Little Stone wouldn't have been able to carry it with his strength.
Zhong Lin turned and ran towards the dense forest on the left, with Little Stone gritting his teeth and closely following behind.
The child of a poor family becomes mature early. The "well-versed in life and death" Little Stone knew crying wouldn't solve anything; the only thing to do was not to drag his second brother down.
A short while later, the two entered the dense forest, hiding behind a large tree, watching the refugees frantically fleeing in the distance.
Zhong Lin frowned, whispering, "Stone, you hide well. I'm going out to take a look."
"Be... be careful, second brother."
A trace of fear flashed in Little Stone's eyes, but he still nodded heavily.
Zhong Lin looked at Little Stone, obviously only five or six years old, who in his previous life might have just started elementary school or hadn't even graduated from kindergarten. A look of pity flashed in his eyes as he reached out to pat his head.
"Don't worry, second brother will be fine. Stay here and wait for me, don't go out."
With that, he swiftly darted out of the dense forest. He needed to figure out what was happening on the mountain. This path was a must-take route to Black Mountain County. If they detoured, who knows how long it would take or what dangers they might encounter, so he had to find out.
Zhong Lin grabbed a refugee fleeing down the mountain, raising the hatchet in his hand and placing it against the man's neck.
"Good... kind hero, spare my life."
The refugee was so frightened by Zhong Lin's sudden appearance that he thought a mountain bandit had chased him down. He fell to his knees with a thud, a stench of urine coming from his crotch.
"I have an eighty-year-old mother above and a baby needing care below; kind hero, spare my life."
Zhong Lin's face turned dark, such familiar lines.
"Shut up, answer what I ask you. How many bandits are on the mountain?"
The man was stunned by Zhong Lin's question, but feeling the cold hatchet on his neck, he quickly said, "I don't know either. Those mountain bandits are hiding in the forest on the mountain, demanding we all leave some money to pass. If we don't, they come out to kill. I was too scared, so I ran."
"Oh, oh, oh, thank you, kind hero, thank you, kind hero."
Zhong Lin used the same method on a few other refugees, and the information he gathered was basically the same. They only knew there were mountain bandits on the mountain but didn't know how many.
"This is troublesome."
Zhong Lin's expression turned grim.
Although this hill wasn't a necessary route to Black Mountain County, detouring could bring unknown experiences or perhaps more mountain bandits, so without other safe routes, the current one seemed the best option.
As Zhong Lin was thinking, many refugees at the foot of the mountain gathered together.
Zhong Lin's eyes brightened as if he thought of something. He quickly returned to the dense forest, took Little Stone in his arms, and ran over.
"Village Chief Zhang, have you thought it through?"
The one speaking was Zhu Jie from Zhu Family Town, who had previously invited Zhong Lin. At this moment, dozens of ox carts and their owners were gathered on an open ground, discussing strategies.
Village Chief Zhang's face was solemn as he said, "The bandits on the mountain are actually just a group of rebels taking advantage of the situation. They know this hill is a necessary route to Black Mountain County, so they block the road to rob. Although they're nothing more than a motley crew, even if we force our way through, we'd suffer heavy losses."
"Isn't it simple? If they can gather rioters, we can also gather refugees. As long as we rally these refugees to attack uphill, we can take advantage of the chaos to pass through," Zhu Jie said casually.
If Zhong Lin heard these words, he would be grateful for not accepting this man's invitation earlier. The notion of gathering refugees to attack bandits, simply put, was to use the refugees as cannon fodder, and the casualness of his words showed his sinister nature.
"I agree with Brother Zhu's method."
An elder stood out and scanned the crowd before saying, "We could first talk with the bandit leader. If the demand isn't too much, we can negotiate. If talks fail, we force through."
The group exchanged glances and nodded. They preferred to negotiate before fighting since bladed weapons don't have eyes.
After further discussing specific details, they began rallying refugees to push towards the mountaintop again.
Zhong Lin, carrying Little Stone, followed in the crowd inconspicuously, his eyes vigilantly observing the surroundings, ready for battle or escape at any moment.
Not long after, they reached the mountaintop. Zhu Jie stepped forward, cupped his hands, and shouted, "Which one of you is the Grand Master, come out for a chat."
After a while, a black-faced man emerged from the woods. This man, with a full beard, a broad back, and a fierce look, gave the impression of a notorious figure.
"I am the Mountain Tiger here, if you have something to say, spit it out."
The voice was full of savage ferocity, intimidating the mountain forest.
"Greetings, Master Mountain Tiger. We are but refugees, hoping you can spare us. Here are three hundred large coins as a gesture for your tea," Zhu Jie said with a humble demeanor, showing none of the ruthlessness he displayed earlier when he proposed using the refugees as cannon fodder.
The bandit leader chuckled coldly, "Hmm! Just three hundred large coins to send me off, feed a beggar? Even if I agreed, my brothers wouldn't. Right, brothers?"
"Yeah! Are we a charity?"
"Just three hundred large coins aren't enough for our brothers to drink."
"They look down on us!"
In no time, the bandits were howling and spewing all sorts of foul language.