Chapter 151: Crushing Lesser Black Mountain

"What is a young girl like you going to do there?" Kou Dagang asked with a cold face.

"Father, I must go. Wouldn't it be fine if I disguised myself as a man?" Kou Peihan pleaded earnestly.

"Father, Little Sister is an excellent archer. Who knows, she might actually come in handy if she goes!" Before their father Kou Dagang could speak, Kou Tong chimed in to help.

In fact, Kou Tong knew Kou Peihan's thoughts very well. This expedition to suppress the bandits at Mount Xiaohei required Zhou Zhi to lead the way, and his little sister was simply worried about Zhou Zhi's safety. Kou Tong doted on his little sister the most. Although he had a poor impression of Zhou Zhi and felt that a country bumpkin like him was unworthy of his sister, since his little sister had firmly chosen him, he decided to support her.

Before Kou Dagang could consent, Kou Peihan made a cute grimace at him, smiled coquettishly, and then pattered out of the hall to hurriedly make preparations.

Kou Dagang shook his head in vexation, utterly helpless. *Ah! This daughter has been pampered and spoiled since childhood. Now that she is grown, her wings have hardened, and she will soon fly away from my side.* Thinking of this, Kou Dagang could not help but feel gloomy and heartbroken.

Kou Tong waved to Zhou Zhi, and Zhou Zhi followed him out of the hall.

After waiting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea in the Kou family courtyard, Kou Peihan came down from the upstairs dressed in blue male attire. Catching sight of the two men, she parted her white teeth in a pretty, charming smile and said, "Let's go! I can finally go out to play again!"

This great beauty was simply too eager for fun. At this moment, she seemed to have forgotten her tender feelings for Zhou Zhi, chatting and laughing instead with her brother Kou Tong about how she would display her martial arts and shoot down bandits upon reaching Mount Xiaohei. Her enthusiasm was so high that she left Zhou Zhi out in the cold.

This feeling of being ignored made Zhou Zhi smile wryly. He silently resolved that once he got the chance in the future, he would properly train and tame this beauty. *Hmph! She should keep her mind focused on her future husband at all times.*

Daomaguan is located northwest of Tang County, sixty li away from the county seat. Kou Tong arranged for two soldiers holding his personal warrant to ride fast horses straight to the pass, instructing the subordinate platoon commander Li Lin to carefully select one hundred soldiers and assemble them before dark outside a small village called Blind Man's Ravine, twenty li away from Mount Xiaohei.

Kou Tong himself, along with five soldiers, Zhou Zhi, and Kou Peihan, would head straight there to wait. Kou Tong was actually a very meticulous person, but upon hearing Zhou Zhi say that there were only twenty-something bandits on Mount Xiaohei, he did not take it too to heart, so he skipped personally selecting the soldiers to save himself the fatigue of the journey.

Kou Tong, Kou Peihan, and the soldiers all rode horses, but Zhou Zhi did not know how to ride. According to Zhou Zhi's wish, he wanted to share a horse with Kou Peihan, as that would make it convenient to grow close, wouldn't it? After all, this great beauty was someone Zhou Zhi yearned for day and night, lingering in his dreams.

Before Zhou Zhi could voice his thoughts, Kou Peihan seemed to have guessed his mind. Her bright eyes widened in mock anger, and she scolded, "Zhou Zhi, you can share a horse with the soldiers! Hmph! So much for the 'Cold-Faced Human Butcher'—what a resounding nickname, yet you don't even know how to ride a horse. Shameless."

A woman's mind was truly hard to guess. Back at the Kou residence, how anxious and worried she had been pleading for him, yet now she had changed her tune and was mocking him with sarcasm. If she really crossed his threshold in the future, goodness knows how Zhou Zhi would manage to live his days.

Their pace was not fast, and amidst chatter and laughter all the way, they arrived at Blind Man's Ravine two hours later. Kou Tong was a local and quite familiar with the terrain at the foot of the mountain; he was merely unfamiliar with the mountain itself.

Moreover, earlier on the road, Kou Tong had told Zhou Zhi that he would leave it to Zhou Zhi to determine which people on the mountain deserved to be killed and which did not.

In Kou Tong's words, the wicked were to be executed without mercy, but among the bandits, there were bound to be a few decent souls, such as Li Dayin. Such people would be left to Zhou Zhi's discretion. As for that wicked Daoist priest Li Shun, Kou Tong knew Zhou Zhi hated him to the bone, so how to deal with him would also be left for Zhou Zhi to decide.

From this, one had to admit that Kou Tong was being considerate of Zhou Zhi. It was only natural; although it was still uncertain whether Zhou Zhi would become his future brother-in-law, the sheer courage Zhou Zhi showed by venturing alone into the bandits' den commanded his deep admiration.

Suppressing the bandits and earning merit this time was, after all, a gift Zhou Zhi was handing to him. Doing this could also be considered repaying a favor to Zhou Zhi.

The eight of them had waited for less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense when the sky began to darken, and Li Lin led a cavalry troop galloping over. Before Li Lin could even speak upon arrival, Kou Tong began to scold, "Li Lin, are you ignoring my orders? I told you to select one hundred soldiers—how many people have you brought?"

Zhou Zhi had already noticed that this troop was far from numbering just one hundred; there were well over two hundred.

With only twenty-odd bandits on the mountain, how could so many people possibly be needed? This was clearly using a butcher's cleaver to slaughter a chicken—making a mountain out of a molehill.

Li Lin hurriedly dismounted and said with a distressed expression, "Reporting to the Hundred-Man Commander, this subordinate received your order to select one hundred soldiers. But as you know, our Thousand-Man Garrison has over a thousand men. The brothers drill every day with no chance to put their skills to use, so they are all bursting with frustration!

"Since we finally have such a chance to suppress bandits, the brothers are all eager and fighting to come. This subordinate is incompetent! I simply couldn't hold them back, and after much coaxing and persuading, I managed to send many brothers back. This... this is still leaving us with nearly three hundred men."

"Damn you! You can't even handle a trivial matter properly!" Kou Tong cursed harshly with a cold face before finally letting the matter rest.

In truth, although Kou Tong's scolding was fierce, he was secretly quite pleased. Having more soldiers arrive was even better, as it made the bandit-suppression mission appear all the more grand and momentous.

Kou Tong then made some arrangements. Fifty soldiers were left behind to guard the horses, while the rest proceeded on foot toward Mount Xiaohei. Although it was still quite far from the mountain, Kou Tong worried that the bandits might have scouts stationed at the foot, and switching to marching on foot would reduce their target profile. Furthermore, the mountain trails were rugged and difficult to traverse, making horses naturally inconvenient.

There were two paths leading up the mountain. Li Lin would lead one hundred men up one path, while Kou Tong would lead fifty soldiers to attack via the other path.

At the foot of the mountain, Kou Peihan was assigned to lead the remaining eighty or so soldiers to stand guard, preventing any escaping bandits from slipping through the net.

Kou Peihan was deeply unwilling to accept such an arrangement by her brother, especially upon seeing that Zhou Zhi was going up the mountain; she made a great fuss insisting on going up as well. Before Kou Tong could speak, however, Zhou Zhi smiled quietly at her and said, "I know you're worried about me! Rest assured, this fellow hasn't married you yet, so how could he die so easily?"

A single sentence made Kou Peihan's cheeks flush crimson, and she scolded coquettishly, "Hmph! Full of yourself! You brat, why on earth would this young lady be worried about your safety!"

Yet just as Zhou Zhi turned to leave, she murmured softly behind his back, "You brat, be careful!"

Zhou Zhi felt immensely happy inside and nodded heavily.

He knew that although Kou Tong's arrangement was simple, it was airtight. There were only twenty-something bandits, yet the soldiers heading up the mountain numbered as many as one hundred and fifty, all of them seasoned and fierce warriors. This was fundamentally a one-sided crushing defeat waiting to happen.