The newly appointed patrol officer Fang Wushang led over a hundred soldiers left by Cheng Xu and began patrolling villages along the border between Chengcheng County and Heyang County.

The shared territory between the two counties was vast, stretching in a long, meandering line.

Fang Wushang had no idea where the bandit army might attack from. He could only send scouts out for reconnaissance, bribe mountain hunters for information, and simultaneously dispatch people to gather intelligence from villages along the border.

Beisi Village, Shijia Gou, Bangou Village, Beipo Village, Quangou Village, Li Family River Village…

Fang Wushang’s figure appeared everywhere!

This new patrol officer was quite diligent—calling him a model worker wasn’t an exaggeration.

But he was an “air-dropped official,” unfamiliar with both Chengcheng and Heyang counties. Unable to guess the bandits’ route, he sought advice from Liang Shixian: “Magistrate Liang, you arrived months earlier. Can you tell me where they’re most likely to enter Chengcheng County?”

Liang Shixian was also new, but he had to respond when asked.

He needed to think carefully!

Liang Shixian, knowledgeable in many matters, immediately activated strategic analysis mode in his mind. Maps of Chengcheng and Heyang, possible bandit routes, and village distributions spun like a kaleidoscope in his thoughts. Finally, with a “ding,” his focus locked onto one location on the map.

Quangou Village!

Quangou Village sat directly between Chengcheng County and Heyang County—the shortest straight-line path. It had to be the bandits’passage.

Thus, Fang Wushang stationed himself in Quangou Village. He ate provisions provided by the village’s wealthy households and gathered militias organized by several local gentry. Soldiers and civilians united, waiting to resist the bandits.

…

Zhengjia Village.

The north-south mountain range resembled the 38th Parallel drawn with stationery on a middle school desk, splitting Chengcheng and Heyang counties in half.

A boy’s hand never dared cross that line, but a girl’s hand could reach over freely.

Zhengjia Village lay exactly on this 38th Parallel.

Two salt smugglers, Old Zhu and Old Zhang, sat on a hillside beside the boundary with two rookies from the Gaojia Village Militia, gazing at the lifeless woods on the eastern slope.

Three years of drought hadn’t killed all the trees, but they stood spiritless.

The spring wind swept over the ridge, carrying an early chill. The lightly dressed salt smugglers shivered, but the two Gaojia Village militia rookies seemed unfazed.

“You usually eat well, huh? Not even afraid of the cold,” Old Zhu remarked.

“Heh, thanks to the Deity’s blessing, we eat decently,” a militia rookie grinned. “After joining the militia, it got even better. The Deity said high-intensity daily training requires excellent daily meals—otherwise nutrition falls short.”

Old Zhu asked, “What’s nutrition?”

“Dunno!” The militia rookie laughed. “Why bother about that?”

Old Zhu chuckled, “True. As long as the food’s good, why fuss.”

The militia rookie pulled two air-dried beef sticks from his coat and handed them to the salt smugglers. “Chew on these for fun. Blessed by the Deity.”

The two smugglers eagerly accepted. Air-dried beef sticks—damn fine stuff. One bite felt like heaven.

Suddenly, Old Zhu’s expression shifted. He tucked his half-gnawed beef stick into his clothes and whispered, “They’re here. Bandits.”

The militia rookies followed his pointing finger.

At the foot of the slope, the vanguard of a troop appeared. They marched in a single-file formation, dressed in ragged clothes and wielding a chaotic array of weapons—pot lids and shovels included.

The two militia rookies were startled: “Dammit, they really came. Why must these bandit armies come to us? Wouldn’t it be better for them to go to where Patrol Officer Fang is guarding?”

Old Zhu went “heh” and said: “No wonder they’re heading here. I saw a familiar person.”

The two militia rookies: “Familiar person?”

Old Zhu whispered softly: “The guy who injured our boss. That guy’s name is Erchun. Not long ago, we ran into him at a small village near Heyang County. We fought him there. With thirty or forty of us, we beat his three hundred men, and the boss even got a slash into Erchun. However, that fellow was also a tough nut. He wounded the boss’s arm.”

The two militia rookies were startled: “So what should we do now? We’re high up, they’re low down. Should we grab some rocks and drop them on them?”

Old Zhu laughed and scolded: “Don’t say stupid things. We are scouts. We only handle reconnaissance. Deciding to fight, or how to fight—that’s not for scouts to order. What we must do is leave three people to keep watching them, and have one of them go back to report.”

The two militia rookies also learned a lesson. One raised his hand: “I’ll go back and report.”

“If you go, you won’t learn anything.” Old Zhu waved his hand: “Old Zhang, you go back and report. I’ll keep training these two rookies.”

Old Zhang grinned widely: “Got it, I’ll head back first then.”

He sprinted off with big strides, pattering and thudding toward the direction of Gaojia Village.

…

Old Zhu continued leading the two rookies, watching the bandit army slowly crawling up the eastern slope. His eyes locked tightly onto the leader at the center of the bandit army—Erchun. That guy still had cloth wrapped around his arm. Seemed like his injury hadn’t healed yet.

…

Li Daoxuan was holding a bowl of braised beef noodles, eating the noodles while mulling over the entertainment issue.

After some deep thinking, he had mostly formed a plan.

Comic books!

People who grew up in the seven­ties and eighties, when they were kids, had all seen a thing called comic books.

These comic books were only palm-sized. They held almost no text at all. The story got told completely with pictures. That let folks who couldn’t read much watch with great pleasure.

Not only could they provide entertainment, they also offered some educational value.

He whipped out his phone fast and called his dad: “Dad, I’d like something from you.”

“What?”

“Comic books. When I was little, I saw them in the house. You have the complete set of Yang Family Generals comic books, right? Do you still keep them now? I want to see them.”

“They’re preserved well. This is your dad’s treasure.”

“That’s good. Then I’ll pack them up and take them away.”

“Hey, I can give them to you. But handle them carefully. If you ruin a page, I’ll break your legs.”

“Understood. I promise I won’t ruin them.”

After hanging up, just as he was about to leave to hail a taxi and go to his dad’s place to pack up the comic books, he suddenly spotted a little person dashing in from the cement road in the top right of his view. That was heading toward Zhengjia Village.

Looking closer, that little person was a salt smuggler under Xing Honglang’s command. He had been sent out as a scout. Li Daoxuan couldn’t recall the name. With over a thousand little people in the village, he only remembered those who were “Jian Zai Xian Xin.” Most others were a blur.

Li Daoxuan felt a slight stir inside: “Seems the He Yang bandits have arrived!”