Li Xian waited in ambush for a long time, but he didn't see the pursuers coming to attack. Although he didn't know the specific situation, he guessed it must be a good sign.

He immediately returned to the village and on the way, he saw a few horses which had scattered and gone astray into the mountains during the recent fight due to fright.

As horses are valuable, it was natural to take them along.

By the afternoon, he had reached the village entrance. The people of Black River Village were all present. When they saw Li Xian return, they gathered around and with a collective "thud," knelt on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Li Xian frowned slightly.

"For saving our lives, we offer our kowtows. Please, sir, accept them," said Uncle Fu, not rising from his kowtow.

Li Xian said, "I have accepted them, now all of you, please rise."

Only then did the villagers stand up one by one. Li Xian said, "Our activities are exposed; starting today, Mountain Wind Stronghold will certainly come for us."

"If you wish to survive, you need to follow my arrangements."

Uncle Fu bowed, "Sir, feel free to make arrangements, even if it costs my life, I won't hesitate."

Seeing this atmosphere, Li Xian immediately agreed and started making meticulous plans.

First, he had the weapons buried last time unearthed. Then he pointed to the three horses behind him and said, "The village butcher will slaughter the horses overnight, take the meat and sell it at the market."

"Use the money to buy iron nets, if there are no iron nets, fishnets will do. There are many fishermen along Black River, there should be no shortage of fishnets. If there is still money left, buy some iron shields, if not, iron pots will serve as substitutes."

"Once we have these items, I will teach you how to confront the enemy! Even if you don't know martial arts, you can kill the mountain bandits and avenge their bullying."

"By uniting, we only need to scare off the mountain bandits to ensure our safety."

"It's better than enduring such bullying for generations!"

Li Xian's voice was as firm as iron, mature beyond his years, standing there like a towering pillar, giving the villagers a backbone.

As if the current troubles could all be overcome.

Uncle Fu reminded, "Sir, live horses are worth more."

Li Xian shook his head and said, "Live horses are hard to sell and they expose us easily, the risk is too high. Slaughtering the horses and cutting the meat into pieces, then selling it as donkey meat is the fastest way to get money."

He continued with the arrangements.

He took out a geographical map, which was drawn by Uncle Fu. The map covered an area of over ten miles around Black River Village with simple sketches.

Because children often got lost between mountain villages, the villagers needed to search for them, thus this map was created.

Li Xian held the map and marked several points, setting them as "posts" and arranged for people to keep watch day and night.

At any movement, a call out would alert the whole village.

Having done these, the village brimmed with activity.

Li Xian pondered:

"In the end, I'm no different from them, helping them is helping myself."

That night.

Li Xian returned to his small hut, cut open half of the bear's body. Back in the village, he buried a big pot, had people chop wood to start a fire, had people use rice to make porridge, and gather the seasonings.

A big pot of bear meat, steaming hot.

The entire Black River Village, young and old, gathered before the pot. Li Xian called out loudly, "Bear feast, strengthen bear spirit!"

"Fight the mountain bandits!"

After surviving mortal danger, the villagers' everyday grievances and petty squabbles all seemed to vanish like clouds. With each person taking a mouthful of bear meat, a sip of bear soup, and eating rice porridge to fill their stomachs…

In such an atmosphere, morale truly formed.

"Bear feast, strengthen bear spirit!"

"By my grandmother, I've always wanted to fight them; good thing Li Dage came and led us to stand up."

"A good man, better to die than live under their oppression from generation to generation!"

"Yes, we'll do whatever Li Dage says!"

"When the time comes, the older ones will go first, by my mother's, we'll take down as many as we can!"

Who says there are no heroes in the countryside.

A pot of bear meat, a bowl of rice porridge, no longer fears the mountain bandits.

It only needs a leader, needing to be pushed to the brink.

That night, regardless of age, everyone stayed awake all night, implementing the plan.

The butcher at the eastern village gate sharpened his knives, slaughtering horses and cutting meat. The strong men helped hold down the horses and boil water…

The young children, with their small stature, could move better through the mountains. They were placed at various posts to report any movement promptly.

The slightly older youths, with quick wit and strong ability to learn, were gathered by Li Xian to teach the principles of the "Iron Net Capture Evil Array."

"If I didn't hunt down the Pot Immortal, how would I have learned this array."

"If I didn't know this array, how would I dare to go against Mountain Wind Stronghold?"

Li Xian sighed inwardly.

The Iron Net Capture Evil Array doesn't require "martial arts," just coordination. With good coordination, even rural farmers can kill a Martial Artist.

After all, Li Xian had considered.

If he were trapped in the array, he wouldn't escape easily. Even if performed by farmers.

Iron nets wrapping the body, long spears thrusting. Without the lightweight skills like the Pot Immortal's, the strength and vitality of "Rebirth," a single encounter would leave one like a sieve.

But Li Xian didn't just copy it, he simplified the "Iron Net Capture Evil Array" into the "Farmer's Anti-bandit Array," with teams of ten, five, and three people.

Based on his understanding and the current situation, adapting to local conditions.

Black River Village had over a hundred households.

The villagers could barely eat their fill or keep warm, but due to the heavy annual water-grabbing and farming labor, each household had two or three male members.

Counting the women and elderly… there were about four to five hundred people. With full mobilization, that was no small strength.

As for the village women, they were not idle either, being organized by Li Xian to set up traps along the road.

All was proceeding step by step.

...

...

In the village chief's house.

Li Xian said, "Uncle Fu, I need to ask you something."

"Sir, please go ahead," said Uncle Fu respectfully.

"You've lived here a long time, you should have heard something about the five bosses of the Mountain Wind Stronghold, right?" Li Xian asked.

"Yes," Uncle Fu said, "I don't know much about the first boss Ma Knife, but I know something about the second, third, fourth, and fifth bosses."

"Ma Knife is an outsider. But those four brothers under him are local, even from nearby villages."

Li Xian asked, "Please tell me more."

"The second boss Hong Kai is about my age. Decades ago, he was quite active and ruthless. But in the last ten years, he has rarely come down the mountain."

"The third boss Peng Fox, this guy was originally a petty thief from the neighboring 'Peng Family Village'. Somehow, he climbed to the third boss position."

"As for the fourth boss, named Niu Liang, he was originally a fisherman at Black River Port. After killing someone from the Black Water Gang and being left with no way out, he sought refuge at Mountain Wind Stronghold. Due to his rash nature and courage, he gained favor."

"As for the fifth boss… this one is something else, really something else."

At this point, Uncle Fu's face was filled with fear.

"What makes him something else?" Li Xian asked.

Uncle Fu said, "He's only thirty this year, but his cruelty is truly horrifying, he likes to peel a man's skin off alive before killing them."

"Among these bosses, I heard he's the most favored by the head boss. It seems… it seems he has some abilities that are unusual?"

Li Xian felt a chill in his heart.

He had heard Pang Long say that in this world, there are always some beloved children of destiny, whose bodies gradually manifest anomalies as they advance into the Food Essence Realm!

The enemy is extremely strong!

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