Gao Yiye looked serious: “Gao Sanwa skipped class; that’s just childish immaturity. After the Deity laughed, he would still have Gao San Niang reward him with a serving of bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat. As the Deity put it, that’s called giving him a complete childhood.

But our militia is no place for childish play. Here, no playful attitude is tolerated, especially in my class, which is more critical than what Instructor He teaches. If you don’t listen properly and breach any rule, it will be handled by military law—no mercy!”

Ground Rabbit was startled, but deep inside, there was a tiny sliver of disbelief. How could a minor mistake trigger the Deity himself to descend and punish him? That seemed overly exaggerated. The Deity was a celestial being overseeing countless matters—why bother watching a mere small rabbit like me?

The Saint Lady must be trying to scare me!

Li Daoxuan saw his expression and knew this fellow didn’t take it seriously.

This wouldn’t do!

Those who possessed power must have superior character.

Otherwise, the dragon-slaying boy becomes an evil dragon.

He lifted the box lid, reached out his hand, and placed it on Ground Rabbit’s back.

Gao Yiye saw the Deity’s large hand already behind Ground Rabbit and knew this fellow was about to face punishment. She couldn’t help but smile: “Ground Rabbit, you’ve angered the Deity. Prepare for punishment.”

Ground Rabbit saw her smile—earlier she had worn a stern face while lecturing, but now she suddenly beamed. He assumed she was joking and brushed it off completely.

Just then, a tremendous force abruptly shoved him from behind.

He couldn’t resist it at all; pushed forward by that force, he flailed and landed face-first with a thud—eating dirt.

This wasn’t the first time he’d been beaten by the Deity!

Such a beating was an honor only he had experienced in all of Gaojia Village—truly a unique privilege.

Scared witless, Ground Rabbit lay flat on the ground, unmoving, and yelled aloud: “Deity, spare me! I was wrong, I was wrong!”

Gao Yiye laughed heartily: “Do you know why you were wrong?”

Ground Rabbit: “I do. I’ll listen attentively to the Saint Lady’s class, and pay full attention.”

“Good. Get up now.”

Gao Yiye wiped away her smile, resuming her stern expression: “Everyone, repeat after me: act strictly as commanded.”

The militia group chorused in unison: “Act strictly as commanded.”

Gao Yiye: “Take nothing, not a needle or thread, from the citizens.”

The militia group repeated it together—their voices resounding across the entire village.

Ground Rabbit also cast off his lazy demeanor and echoed it loudly alongside the others.

Though he’d been set on becoming a forest hero by joining up, he was also born of impoverished good citizens. Listening to the slogans one by one, he suddenly thought—hey? These rules made perfect sense—they all protected ordinary folk.

If I followed them dutifully, wouldn’t that turn me into a true hero?

At that thought, he shouted with immense enthusiasm.

Li Daoxuan nodded inwardly. Good, this was right. Discipline was the soul of a fine army. As for fighting strength, he could cheat to compensate for it, but discipline—even cheating couldn’t aid that—it relied solely on these little people themselves.

With a creak, the door of the plastic mansion swung open. Xing Honglang stepped out, stretched mightily, and glanced down at her arm—it felt recovered quite well.

Before arriving in Gaojia Village, she’d used her own forest hero remedies, but they weren’t effective at all—days passed with no improvement, the wound even growing putrid. Yesterday, after scraping off the pus and reapplying the “miracle drug” Gao Yiye had given, her arm truly felt far more comfortable.

Her spirits soared high!

Standing on the northern slope, she peered down at Gaojia Village and spotted the militia group instantly—standing rigidly, hearing the Saint Lady lecture, then chorusing periodically in full force: “Do not damage the crops!”

“No harassing women!”

Hearing those slogans, Xing Honglang found it quite amusing. The Gaojia Village Militia was interesting; they weren’t practicing martial arts early in the morning, but these strange slogans instead? After listening closely, she thought these slogans actually made some sense.

If the Gaojia Village Militia could truly live up to these slogans, they would be far better than those undisciplined “forest heroes” running around now. Morals were declining in the world; few true heroes remained on the rivers and lakes, only a bunch of worthless thieves.

At the same time…

The most renowned hero under heaven, Bai Shui Wang Er, was leading six thousand righteous soldiers north from Yijun County into the territory of Luochuan County. The Patrol Officer of Luochuan was just about to go out to meet him in battle when he heard that Bu Zhan Ni of Luochuan had returned from Huanglong Mountain and entered Luochuan County from the west.

The Patrol Officer of Luochuan had no more soldiers under him than Cheng Xu, the Patrol Officer of Chengcheng— just around a hundred or so ragtag troops. Hearing the news that tens of thousands of bandits from two armies had entered his territory made his entire body go numb.

Who should he fight first?

After agonizing over it left and right, he decided he still had to fight Wang Er first. As long as he could eliminate Wang Er and topple this banner of the world’s number one rebel, all the bandits out there would naturally be terrified out of their wits!

Meanwhile…

Hong Chengchou, Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor, recalled his troops and withdrew from the entrance to Huanglong Mountain. After all, he was a man with property and responsibilities; his official duty was supervising grain transport, not guarding mountain passes.

How could he possibly stay garrisoned at the Huanglong Mountain entrance all day and night, guarding against bandits slipping out?

As soon as Hong Chengchou recalled his troops and retreated, the main road from Huanglong Mountain leading to Yichuan County lay open once again. How could Yichuan’s Zuo Guazi miss such an opportunity? He quickly led his bandit army back to Yichuan County to move at ease all over his own turf; this was like a fish returning to water.

The entire province of Shaanxi was thrown into disarray.

Xing Honglang had no idea that the so-called forest heroes had all turned mad. Within Gaojia Village, all one could feel was an atmosphere of calm. She strolled down from the northern slope and was halfway down when she ran into Cheng Xu.

Cheng Xu cupped his fist towards her: “Miss Xing.”

Seeing he seemed to be coming specifically for her, Xing Honglang couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Oh? Instructor He, you have business with me?”

Cheng Xu smiled: “Yes, I wanted to ask Miss Xing to lend me two people.”

Xing Honglang looked very surprised: “You command a militia, and nearly a thousand villagers you can mobilize anytime. Just the Saint Lady ordering it would suffice; how could you possibly be short of people?”

Cheng Xu: “There may be many, but not a single one is much use.”

Xing Honglang: “What kind of people do you need?”

Cheng Xu: “Scouts!”

Hearing this word, Xing Honglang suddenly understood.

So it was scouts!

Scouts, since ancient times, were always undertaken by elite soldiers. Not only did they need exceptional individual combat ability, they also required agile minds, sound judgment, expertise in archery and horse riding, along with ample experience.

This wasn’t the kind of talent that could just pop up in any village militia.

Cheng Xu said with slight awkwardness: “None of those under my command are fit to be scouts. The bandit army from Heyang County could arrive at any moment; I’d hate for them to be right under my nose before I realize they’re here.”

Xing Honglang: “So you set your sights on my people?”

Cheng Xu said: “Miss Xing’s underlings have all spent years on the rivers and lakes. In terms of keen observation, broad experience, and agile wits, they are far superior to the bunch under my command. Since you’ll be recovering from your wounds at Gaojia Village for a few days anyway, lending me two seasoned men during that time actually enhances your own safety here too, doesn’t it?”

Xing Honglang nodded. That made sense. While she was recovering here, deploying scouts would contribute to her own security. She turned and instructed: “Call Old Zhu and Old Zhang over.”

Cheng Xu chuckled: “Have your men take two of my soldiers with them. Let them learn the ways of scouting.”

Xing Honglang was both amused and exasperated: “Now you’re trying to steal techniques right here from me?”