After Rebirth, My Wife Turned Out to Be Myself - Chapter 38

Of course, besides Xu Shengwen, there was another person thinking about Anyu.

That was Xie Wan.

She stood by the table, a large map spread out across the spacious desk.

The map showed the terrain of the entire Lingbei region.

The location of every bandit stronghold was marked on it, in great detail.

Xiao Anyu and Zhou Ning’s next target should be Qianlong Stronghold.

It was the largest stronghold in the Lingbei area. In her previous life, when the Lingbei rebellion broke out, she had led troops to suppress the bandits, and the toughest nut to crack back then was this Qianlong Stronghold.

Qianlong Stronghold had three bosses: the Third Boss was brave, the Second Boss was strategic, and the First Boss was the most righteous. Among the rebel forces at the time, the Qianlong Stronghold contingent was the hardest to fight.

In fact, in the early stages of the rebellion, they had even repeatedly defeated the imperial soldiers.

Later, Xie Wan shot an arrow through the Second Boss’s head and personally slew the Third Boss in battle before finally taking down Qianlong Stronghold.

Actually, she held no animosity towards the three bosses of Qianlong Stronghold beyond their opposing positions.

If anything, she admired them.

Qianlong Stronghold had taken in many common people at the time and became the most popular force among the rebels. But because of this, they also became a target that the imperial court had to eliminate.

Later, after the Da Yue Empire was pacified, she had wanted to recruit the First Boss for her own use, but having personally killed the Second and Third Bosses, she didn’t have the face to ask.

But that battle had also planted a hidden danger that led to her early demise.

Xie Wan touched her abdomen. On this body, there were no longer any wounds that made her feel pain. But if that pain were to fall upon little Anyu, seeing her suffer, she probably wouldn’t be able to bear it.

The current Qianlong Stronghold was no match for the imperial court.

She had given Anyu and Zhou Ning a considerable number of soldiers, precisely for the purpose of dealing with Qianlong Stronghold.

However, the Qianlong Stronghold she fought in her previous life was incomparable to the current one, so she hadn’t given Anyu any clever strategies, only telling her to launch a frontal assault.

That’s right, their advantage lay in troop numbers; a frontal assault was the most reliable method.

Xie Wan gently closed her eyes.

She hoped everything would go smoothly.

Anyu, who was being thought of, had actually already infiltrated Qianlong Stronghold at this moment.

She hadn’t chosen a frontal assault?

Qianlong Stronghold’s terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack; how many soldiers would they lose that way?

Anyu deliberated for several days, and her final decision was to launch an assassination plan. To catch the king, first catch the leader; she wanted to catch them off guard!

With Zhou Ning holding the fort with the army, she would go into the stronghold herself to scout the situation!

Zhou Ning naturally disagreed with this.

But she couldn’t dissuade Anyu, whose mind was made up.

She knew the language of the northern tribes. As long as she carried two boxes filled with weapons up the mountain, it would be simple to use this to infiltrate Qianlong Stronghold.

They had already taken down one stronghold. By now, Qianlong Stronghold must have received news that the imperial court had brought many soldiers to suppress the bandits. At this time, the stronghold must be heavily guarded. The only people who could enter the stronghold, besides the bandits themselves, were the ‘northern merchants’ who smuggled weapons to them.

It had to be said, while Anyu’s plan was bold, if it succeeded…

After killing the stronghold bosses, the stronghold would surely be leaderless. At that point, the imperial soldiers could swarm up the mountain and defeat them one by one. Attacking from both inside and out was indeed a good strategy.

“But if it doesn’t succeed… I’ll only give you two hours. If the time is up and you haven’t sent the signal, I will immediately order a frontal assault.”

“Okay.”

And so, Anyu, carrying two boxes, swaggered up to the mountain gate.

Logically, with the imperial court’s soldiers gathered at the foot of the mountain, Qianlong Stronghold should have been heavily guarded at this time. But strangely, there wasn’t a single person at the stronghold gate.

Could it be some kind of empty fort strategy?

Anyu considered this possibility but then thought that unless the stronghold boss was an idiot, Qianlong Stronghold’s terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack; there was no need for any strategy.

That left only one possibility…

Something had happened at Qianlong Stronghold.

Anyu simply abandoned the boxes and directly infiltrated the stronghold.

Qianlong Stronghold truly lived up to its reputation as the largest stronghold in Fenghe Commandery. The houses were built row after row. If someone unfamiliar stumbled into this stronghold, they might think they had entered a village or town.

But upon reaching this point, she finally understood why there was no one at the stronghold gate.

Because a house not far away was on fire, igniting a large area.

And it wasn’t just one house on fire; fires had started in all directions.

All the people in the stronghold had rushed to put out the fire, so naturally, there was no one at the gate.

It was currently the spring drought, and the weather was dry. If the fire wasn’t extinguished in time, it might burn down the entire stronghold in less than half an hour. If the mountain fire spread, the entire mountain would suffer.

Anyu narrowed her eyes. She thought, since the fire had started in all directions, it was clearly not a natural disaster but a man-made one.

Just as she was thinking, several people rushed towards Anyu.

A group of people was chasing behind them.

“Those are the ones who started the fire!”

“The boss said, catch them and bring them back for sacrifice!”

“Damn guys, daring to set fire on the mountain!”

The few people fled, but were forced to stop when they saw Anyu.

“Big Sister, someone…”

“It’s a little girl, don’t hurt her.” The leading woman’s face was pale. She clutched her chest, as if still heavily injured. After glancing at the simply dressed Anyu, she withdrew her gaze.

And a young man accompanying the woman was also running out of breath. “Big Sister, let’s run down the mountain. I’ve calculated the time; the imperial soldiers should be arriving at the foot of the mountain soon. Once we get down the mountain, these bandits will be too busy to deal with us.”

“They’re catching up, damn it, there are too many people in this stronghold!” the slightly more robust man shouted. “Big Sister, I’ll carry you.”

“You run,” the woman waved them away, drawing her sword and holding it in front of her. “Listen, the escort agency at home will be handled by the second brother, and the third brother, listen to your second brother in everything.”

“Big Sister!” the two shouted simultaneously.

The woman sneered, “At worst, I’ll be captured and be a bandit’s wife for a few days. When I kill him, I’ll come back and make you the stronghold leaders.”

“Hahahaha—I just like a fiery woman like you.” A deafening shout made everyone turn their heads.

The pursuing bandits also cleared a path. “First Boss!”

The newcomer was dark and burly, wearing a sleeveless vest on his upper body. Several scars adhered to his bulging muscles, looking very ferocious.

And he held a broadaxe in his hand. As his tall, strong body walked, it seemed even the ground trembled.

Anyu narrowed her eyes. This was the First Boss of Qianlong Stronghold, and her target for this trip.

Yang Biao’s tiger-like eyes widened, and he held his broadaxe horizontally in front of him. “Originally, if you had obediently become my wife, nothing would have happened. But your subordinates dared to set fire in my mountain… Today, none of you will escape. None of you lay a hand on them; I will chop these people to death one by one.”

“Then I’ll face you!” The robust third brother behind the woman stepped forward. “If my Big Sister wasn’t injured and happened to be captured by you, do you think my Big Sister couldn’t beat you?”

The second brother also nodded and cursed, “Crude bandit.”

“Seeking death!!” Yang Biao was instantly enraged and swung an axe at him.

“Third Brother! Don’t meet it head-on!” the pale-faced woman shouted, clutching her chest.

The third brother seemed to have some skill indeed. He dodged the axe and reversed the sword in his hand, slashing towards Yang Biao.

The two began to fight.

But clearly, although the third brother was brave, he was ultimately younger than Yang Biao. After several exchanges, he was already showing signs of decline.

“Third Brother, don’t fight him head-on!”

Seeing this, Anyu felt she couldn’t just sit by.

She had originally planned an assassination, but who knew plans would change so quickly?

Given the current situation, it was actually more advantageous for suppressing the bandits than a successful assassination would have been.

Moreover, she had to save these people.

So, while the fight was ongoing, no one noticed Anyu, who was hiding behind the few people, quietly taking out the signal flare she had hidden in her chest.

She pulled the cord—

Whoosh.

Bang!

After a sound rising into the air, the signal flare exploded in the sky.

The commotion was too great. For a moment, everyone looked over.

Even the First Boss, holding the axe, didn’t miss it.

“Boss, they fired a signal flare! They’re calling for reinforcements!”

“Third Brother! Now’s your chance!”

Faster than words could tell, the third brother, taking advantage of the First Boss’s distraction, plunged his sword into his chest.

But before joy could set in, a clang echoed in everyone’s ears as the sword tip struck metal.

The third brother’s face tightened.

Not good…

The First Boss had already recovered and struck the third brother with a palm.

The third brother narrowly dodged but was still hit by the palm’s force, staggering back several steps.

“Third Brother!” The woman quickly supported her brother, her expression heavy. “Are you okay?”

“Big Sister, this guy…”

Everyone looked up.

They saw the First Boss tear open his vest, revealing the metal armor he wore underneath.

“Hahaha, I’ll chop you all to death today!” Yang Biao laughed loudly, swinging his axe forward twice, charging straight at them.

The woman’s face turned pale. Just as she was about to push her brother away and step forward, she suddenly heard a sound of something cutting through the air pass by her ear.

Whoosh—

Thud.

It was the sound of an arrowhead entering flesh.

Yang Biao, who was about to charge at them, suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Ugh…”

He lowered his head and saw his thigh, pierced by a crossbow bolt and bleeding profusely, in disbelief.

Crossbow…

Whose crossbow…

“Boss, it’s that little girl!”

Yang Biao suddenly looked up. Anyu’s crossbow was already reloaded.

She smiled at him.

Then came another whoosh.

“Ugh—”

Yang Biao’s body swayed violently, nearly falling.

Everyone was stunned.

Both legs, pierced through.

“Boss, how are you!”

“It’s nothing… This little girl, her aim isn’t good… Didn’t hit a vital spot.” But rage was already burning in Yang Biao’s heart. “That girl is from the imperial court! Kill her for me!”

A mechanical crossbow, no mistake, she’s from the imperial court!

The bandits took the order and looked up, intending to charge towards Anyu.

But in that instant, the crossbow bolt in Anyu’s hand shot out rapidly—

Whoosh.

Thud.

This time, it hit squarely between the eyebrows.

Yang Biao’s eyes widened. The rage on his face hadn’t had time to turn into fear before the short, small crossbow bolt had embedded itself between his brows.

Boom—

His massive body lost its support and fell straight backward.

And Xie Anyu, who had effortlessly pierced Yang Biao’s brow, finally let out a soft breath. She said with a smile, “Looks like my aim isn’t bad after all.”

Anyone who said her aim wasn’t good would at least have to have better aim than her.

This left everyone dumbfounded. By the time they reacted, Anyu had already stepped in front of the few people.

Facing the crowd of bandits, she showed no fear, narrowing her eyes and smiling. “By Her Majesty’s command, I am here to suppress the bandits of Qianlong Stronghold. Those who surrender now will not be killed.”

She was too young. Although her crossbow skill had stunned everyone, now that they had reacted, the bandits were filled with rage. How dare a little girl like you come up the mountain alone and say those who surrender won’t be killed?

The second-in-command among the bandits immediately shouted, “Everyone listen to my command! Kill this little girl and avenge the boss!”

“Charge! Kill her!!”

Xie Anyu’s expression suddenly turned cold.

“Avenge the boss…” The bandit shouting behind the second-in-command suddenly stopped.

Because before his eyes, a line of bl00d flashed past. The next second, the second-in-command had slowly fallen down, and before him was the little girl’s cold face and the bl00d-stained dagger in her hand.

She hadn’t even blinked before slitting the second-in-command’s throat.

Almost no one noticed how Anyu had struck, except for the few people from the escort agency, especially the Big Sister. She saw Anyu’s movements clearly—

This little girl, who didn’t look very old, was very skilled.

No… she should say, extremely skilled.

“Is there anyone else who wants revenge?”

Anyu scanned the surroundings. To be honest, most people had gone to fight the fire. The ragtag group in front of her, she could fight a hundred of them.

No one dared to speak.

“I… I don’t want revenge, don’t, don’t kill me!”

With the first person putting down their weapon, it awakened the fear in everyone’s hearts.

And so, they all disarmed.

Anyu asked in a low voice, “Where are your Second Boss and Third Boss?”

“Wh-what Second and Third Boss?” The bandits looked up blankly. Their Qianlong Stronghold didn’t have any other bosses.

Anyu: ?

In the brocade pouch, Her Majesty wrote that Qianlong Stronghold had three bosses, didn’t she?