Li Daoxuan’s field of vision was actually wide enough to see all of the bandit army.

Zhengjia Village was the first village he had gained sight of, lying merely five to six li away in a straight-line distance from Gaojia Village. Since then, his vision had continually expanded, now covering over ten li around and encompassing several villages.

Therefore, the vast forested areas east of Zhengjia Village in Heyang County were all within his view.

The sight of eight thousand bandit soldiers climbing the mountain together had a touch of absurdity, like a giant swarm of little ants climbing a miniature mountain in a potted plant.

Looking closely, although the bandit force numbered eight thousand, the able-bodied men fit for fighting numbered less than half. Only the leading three or four thousand possessed any combat capability; half the force behind them consisted entirely of the elderly and weak, women and children.

This was a major characteristic of the Peasant Wars of the Late Ming Dynasty. Rebel forces were large, yet they could hardly be considered a proper “army”. Wherever they went, they forcibly conscripted all the local common people into their ranks. Among these conscripted civilians, the elderly and weak, women and children made up a significant proportion.

In battle, they were useless.

They consumed vast amounts of grain, becoming a burden to the bandit army.

This was why the bandit armies sounded formidable, boasting figures of tens or even hundreds of thousands, but their actual combat strength was low. Even with constant, desperate looting, they remained hungry and cold.

To sustain such a massive force, they could only keep moving, perpetually looting, producing nothing, and destroying everything…

Cheng Xu, glowing with confidence, addressed his men: “Don’t be afraid. Though the bandit force is large, most are just a rabble. We only need to defeat those in front; the rear will collapse on its own. Everyone, go find large stones! Bring them all to the cliff edge!”

Xing Honglang rolled her eyes beside him, thinking: That wasn’t what you said earlier! You were clearly planning to retreat. What suddenly got you fired up? What on earth gave you such confidence? It seemed to be that big, dumb-looking oaf saying, ‘The Deity will help,’ and then Instructor He instantly became pumped full of blood. How bizarre.

The militia, over a hundred strong, scattered to find good-sized, manageable stones.

Xing Honglang already had thoughts of retreat herself. But seeing the militia preparing for battle, pulling back now would seem cowardly, showing a lack of loyalty in jianghu. She glanced at her own people – the thirty or forty salt smugglers – and saw they shared similar thoughts. They all seemed hesitant, wanting to retreat but unwilling to abandon loyalty.

“Move stones!” Xing Honglang eventually decided to stay.

The hundred-plus men quickly dispersed, searching everywhere for large stones.

Xing Honglang soon found a head-sized stone and moved to carry it towards the cliff edge. But just as she was about to lift it, she realized her right upper arm couldn’t exert force; if she strained it, the wound would reopen.

She frowned slightly!

At that moment, a man even more burly than her came from the side, picked up the stone effortlessly, and carried it over to the cliff edge for her.

Gao Chuwu had arrived.

Xing Honglang shot him a glance: “Hmph! This dame never needs help from anyone.”

Gao Chuwu, still guilty over the previous incident, didn’t reply. He just turned and went to fetch the next stone.

Soon, the group had gathered a pile of stones.

But…

It clearly wasn’t enough!

Stones of the right size weren’t exactly lying around everywhere. Ones too small were useless – you needed a rock big enough to kill by hitting. Yet, it couldn’t be so large it was unmovable. These constraints on size meant that with ample time for careful preparation, it wouldn’t be difficult. But finding many stones of just the right size in a short period? That was tough.

Cheng Xu glanced at the stones piled by the cliff – fewer than three hundred. A combined shout from the hundred-plus men, hurling them down, and they’d be gone in two volleys. This wouldn’t achieve much.

Xing Honglang said, “Now, there’s no time to cut trees and make rolling logs either.”

Cheng Xu frowned: “What do we do then?”

Li Daoxuan saw their predicament and chuckled. He reached out and brought over a large box filled with disposable chopsticks he’d collected from his long habit of ordering food delivery.

Such a large box of chopsticks, he casually picked one out from it.

He snapped it in two with a twist, crack, broke off a tiny segment just millimeters long. Another twist, crack, another small piece came off. For stubborn sections, he brought out large shears to snip. In no time, he held a full handful of short wooden sticks.

The shorter ones were about 3-4 millimeters long, the longer ones 6-8 millimeters. The breaking was done haphazardly, without any attempt to make them neat. Reaching out, he dumped this entire pile of short sticks into the chest.

Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang were troubled when suddenly, the clouds parted. Dozens of wooden posts, buoyed by an unseen force, slowly descended from the sky, piling up right before them.

Xing Honglang jumped in fright. Her thirty-odd salt smugglers staggered backward in terror.

But Gaojia Village’s militia wasn’t scared. They first bowed deeply toward the sky in unison, then chuckled under their breath: “The Deity surely favors us after all, heh heh heh.”

“Just fretting about finding enough rolling logs and boulders… and suddenly we’ve got so many logs!”

“These posts are the perfect size!”

“So easy to handle!”

Cheng Xu’s spirit came rushing with pride too. Whatever they lacked, the Deity provided? How could they possibly lose this battle? Ha ha ha! He casually picked up a post about arm’s length, placed it by the cliff edge, and laughed triumphantly: “Push this one down the mountain, let it roll… how many foolish bandits would it crush along the way? Ha ha ha!”

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a boom sounded beside him. Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu were hauling an enormous log several times a man’s height. They heaved it to the cliffside, then the two giants grinned foolishly together: “Pushing this one down? Guaranteed to make ’em cry for their parents no doubt!”

Cheng Xu: “……”

The waves behind drive on those before. Cheng Xu thought: Maybe I’d better stick to commanding… Competing with these two blockheads in strength is just asking for humiliation.

Only then did Xing Honglang regain her wits. Stunned, she pointed at the giant pile of logs that had suddenly appeared: “These things… how did they fly down from the sky?”

Cheng Xu turned around: “The Deity bestowed them.”

Xing Honglang looked up at the sky: “The Deity is…”

Cheng Xu: “A divine being, of course!”

Xing Honglang: “!!!”

She’d visited Gaojia Village several times now, often hearing about the Deity. But she’d always assumed this “Deity” was some sort of cult leader — with Gao Yiye being his woman, his so-called “Saint Lady,” typically just there for the cult leader’s… personal entertainment.

Only now did she realize things weren’t quite as she’d imagined.

The Deity truly was a deity!

The Saint Lady truly was a saint lady!

Xing Honglang froze, utterly at a loss about how to handle this situation.

Her salt smugglers, however, didn’t overthink like her. Having witnessed a divine manifestation, their reaction was simple: bow. With a loud shuffling sound, they prostrated themselves flat on the ground.

Cheng Xu chuckled: “Stop groveling. Get up working! Haul all the wood the Deity gave us to the cliff edge. The bandits are getting closer.”