When Ren Xiaosu returned to the battlefield, there were only the corpses of the enemies left in the valley. Not long after Wang Congyang escaped, the fierce bandits from the north were defeated.
Most of the bandits had fled into the wilderness and were nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng were frantically thanking the shadow clone. "Master Xu, I didn't expect you to personally help us. Thank you so much!"
When Ren Xiaosu heard the gratitude, his eyelids twitched. He did not receive a single gratitude token.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu wanted to lay his cards on the table. That was not Xu Xianchu's shadow clone, but his own shadow clone!
But Ren Xiaosu held back in the end because he had not figured out how to explain it to Xu Xianchu.
Ren Xiaosu said to the shadow clone, "Old Xu, go back and tell Commander Zhang that we've defeated a major bandit group in the valley."
There were only three major bandit groups in the valley, and one of them had already been wiped out.
The bandits that escaped might have pledged allegiance to other bandit groups, but they had definitely won this battle.
When Jin Lan heard this, he wondered if Ren Xiaosu was asking Xu Xianchu to go back and claim credit for them.
Ren Xiaosu said, "Ahem, I'll get Old Xu to go to Stronghold 178 and make everyone proud. Who knows, the commander might let y 'all join Stronghold 178 if he's happy. Do you know what to do?"
While Ren Xiaosu was waiting for everyone to thank him, he heard Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng bow 90 degrees to the shadow clone. "Thank you, Master Xu!"
Ren Xiaosu was speechless.
Were they fucking rebelling?!
Yang Xiaojin walked over from the wilderness, looking exhausted. She had contributed greatly to tonight's battle. If not for her, Jin Lan and the others would probably be dead by now.
Yang Xiaojin looked at Ren Xiaosu and asked, "How many of our men were killed or injured?"
The excitement on Jin Lan's face immediately faded. He sighed and said, "More than a hundred of our brothers died, and the houses we just built are gone as well. There are casualties among our fellow villagers as well."
"Treat our brothers' injuries first." Ren Xiaosu took out ten bottles of black medicine and handed them to Jin Lan. "Take out the bullets. This is a secret formula passed down from my ancestors. Just apply it directly on the wounds. One bottle is enough to apply five or six times. Don't take it orally."
Of course, winning a battle was gratifying, but what about after the victory? The dead would not come back to life.
Zhang Yiheng stood on the devastated wasteland with a confused look in his eyes. The refugees were crying in the distance.
Most of the mud houses of the refugees had been knocked down by the steam locomotive. Not a single brick house was left standing, and even the canals had been crushed into a mess.
It would be good if half of the crops that had just been sown could sprout.
Zhang Yiheng slowly made his way through the crowd. Some of the injured brothers were crying out in pain, while the uninjured ones stood by their sides and comforted them in a low voice.
When he walked up to a refugee, a child suddenly cried and shouted at him, "It's all your fault! You guys attracted those bandits by staying here!"
But before Zhang Yiheng could say anything, the child's mother suddenly slapped him. "Don't speak nonsense!"
The child's mother looked at Zhang Yiheng and said, "I know you're all good people deep down. I don't blame you!"
Zhang Yiheng was stunned for a moment and did not say anything.
Ren Xiaosu called out to him, "Do you regret it?"
Zhang Yiheng was stunned on the spot. He suddenly said, "Actually, I'm not that sad. After so many years, we all know what the world is like. It's common for people to be separated by death. I didn't even cry when my father passed away."
"Then what are you thinking about?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
Zhang Yiheng said firmly, "I'm just thinking that if we were stronger, would we be able to stop them from suffering like this?"
Ren Xiaosu really looked at him. "The houses we built have all collapsed."
Next to him, Jin Lan said, "Even if they've collapsed, we can still rebuild them. I've checked, and the brick kiln is fine!"
"Even if something happens to the brick kiln, we can still build another one. We can build two or even three more!" Zhang Yiheng's tone suddenly turned firm.
Ren Xiaosu sized up the bandits. Actually, these bandits did not have any strong points. Most of them had never been to school and were illiterate. As bandits, they could not even use a gun properly.
But when Ren Xiaosu went to flank the rear, the bandits were not scattered. Now, they had a glimmer of hope in these dilapidated walls.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized that these bandits might still be useless today, but from this day onward, their fates would really start to change.
On the same day, Jin Lan took the lead and moved the wounded to the mud houses that were still intact. Some of the refugees also took the initiative to take care of them.
At first, they thought it would be very difficult for the wounded to survive. That was because the bacteria in the area had become very terrifying. If there were any wounds, there was a 90% chance that they would get infected, even if it was early spring when the weather was very cold.
After Ren Xiaosu was pecked by a sparrow, he got infected.
But they were shocked to discover that the black medicine Ren Xiaosu gave them was really effective. As soon as it was applied to their wounds, everyone said it did not hurt anymore.
Moreover, the wounds started healing the next day. The effects were very fast!
Everyone looked at Ren Xiaosu with increasing admiration.
Especially when Jin Lan and the others mentioned that Ren Xiaosu had gone to attract the enemy's firepower by himself, everyone's eyes lit up.
In Jin Lan and the others' opinion, this was the respect that Ren Xiaosu had earned by risking his life. Therefore, their admiration for him was sincere.
With the refugees helping to take care of the wounded, Jin Lan and the others had the time to start making bricks again. They dug out all the usable bricks from the ruins and started working on the brick kiln again!
Yang Xiaojin, who was next to Ren Xiaosu, said, "Do you feel like these people have become even more alive? Their eyes are filled with hope."
"I feel it." Ren Xiaosu said with a sigh, "It's probably because there can't be construction without destruction. These people are being reborn."
"I'm going to teach them how to use firearms. There should be a few among them who are quite suitable to be snipers. They're calm and can take hardships," Yang Xiaojin said.
For the rest of the day, Jin Lan and the others would look for Yang Xiaojin to sound her out. They asked her when they would be learning how to use firearms and when they would be selecting snipers.
The battle made them realize their shortcomings. But most importantly, the powerful suppressive firepower Yang Xiaojin displayed in the battle was too terrifying.
Although everyone knew it was basically impossible for them to achieve what Yang Xiaojin had achieved, becoming a sniper was definitely everyone's dream right now.
As for someone like Ren Xiaosu who could surround all the enemies by himself, that was something that was too far-fetched for them. Jin Lan, Zhang Yiheng, and the others did not even dare to think about it.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, "When the situation here stabilizes, I'm going to make a trip back to the stronghold and find an opportunity to bring Liuyuan and the others here."
Yang Xiaojin said with a smile, "You've decided to settle down here?"
"Mhm." Ren Xiaosu nodded. Then he suddenly said, "Have you decided?"
Yang Xiaojin was stunned. She put her hands in her pockets and walked into the distance. "I'm in a good mood today."
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