A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

The night is dark.

Chen Mo remained hidden behind the tree, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Before long, they heard the bandits below say, "There's no one here. Go to sleep, we have to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Maybe I misheard?"

Hearing these words, Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He slowly moved his feet and headed towards the cave.

After a while, he returned to the cave, found his bow and arrows, tied them to his body, calmed his horse, and then headed back towards the bandits.

For the sake of the village, and for his own safety, he had no intention of leaving just like that.

Returning to where he had been hiding, Chen Mo looked towards the campfire once more.

At this point, the bandits had stopped moving.

Chen Mo gripped the bow and arrow tightly, then examined them carefully.

Once the leader of the bandits is dealt with, the remaining three can be taken down one by one.

But when Chen Mo looked more closely, he was suddenly startled.

Now, only three people remain by the campfire.

One is missing!

Chen Mo looked into the shadows, but could only see the figure of that bandit.

not right...

Chen Mo was about to stand up, preparing to find another hiding place.

Just then, a series of noises came from the bushes beside them.

Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind blew by!

Chen Mo reacted quickly and instinctively dodged to the side, thus avoiding the fatal blow.

The blade grazed his shoulder and struck a tree trunk beside him.

Chen Mo immediately took several steps back and fired an arrow at his opponent.

With a clang, the arrow was blocked by the opponent.

When the bandit's sneak attack failed, he roared again and slashed at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo quickly dodged, but this time, he tripped over the vines under his feet and tumbled down.

Not long after, he fell heavily onto the open ground next to the campfire.

He had just stood up when he saw the bandits surrounding him.

The four bandits, holding knives, approached Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nervously raised his bow and arrow, aiming at the four bandits.

If this arrow is fired now, the enemy will likely swarm in.

"I knew there were people there!"

The bandit who had launched the sneak attack earlier shouted triumphantly.

"Second brother, you didn't believe me just now, and you almost got ambushed by this kid."

Chen Mo stared intently at the bandits before him, gripping his bow and arrows nervously.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to ambush us?"

The burly man at the head of the group sized up Chen Mo.

He was clearly the leader of these bandits.

"Second brother, don't waste words with him, just kill him to avoid the news leaking out."

The young bandit next to him shouted and continued to approach Chen Mo.

Chen Mo's heart tightened, and he slowly retreated.

If we fight head-on now, we won't have any advantage at all.

"Everyone, wait a minute!"

He quickly released his grip, indicating that he did not want to do it.

"What? You're about to die, do you have any last words?"

The bandit leader scoffed.

"Are you all heroes of Qingfeng Village?"

Chen Mo countered with a question.

Upon hearing this, the four bandits all became more wary.

"Who exactly are you?"

One of the bandits asked.

"I am merely a hunter who happened to be passing through this area."

Chen Mo responded calmly and did not draw the bow again.

"A hunter?"

The bandit's face was fierce.

"My home is in Shannan Town. I often come here to hunt. I just happened to run into you all today because I didn't have time to go down the mountain. I've heard of Qingfeng Village's reputation, and seeing it today, I can see it's truly extraordinary."

Chen Mo praised.

A direct confrontation won't work now; we have to rely on strategy.

These people are all desperate criminals and will definitely not let Chen Mo live. To be honest, he will only die. He can only stall for time and then find a way to escape.

"A hunter?"

The young bandit scoffed, his tone full of suspicion.

"In this desolate wilderness, where would a hunter come from in the dead of night? Second brother, this kid must have overheard our conversation and knows we are from Qingfeng Village. Keeping him alive is a potential threat. Let's kill him quickly."

"That's right, they might be government spies, disguised as hunters to gather information."

Another bandit echoed this sentiment.

Upon hearing these words, Chen Mo couldn't help but frown.

The worst-case scenario still happened.

The burly bandit leader's eyes were filled with murderous intent as he gripped his knife tightly.

"No need for nonsense. Since you've run into us, it's just your bad luck today. Don't blame us for being ruthless."

Chen Mo gripped the arrow again, knowing that negotiation was now futile.

"My lords, before you kill me, may I say a few more words?"

Chen Mo continued.

"Enough with the nonsense, brothers, let's go!"

The bandit leader shouted.

Seeing that the bandits were about to make a move, Chen Mo immediately shouted, "Gentlemen, I have intelligence about the government troops. I hope to make a deal with you heroes."

Upon hearing this, the four bandits immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Intelligence from the government troops?"

The bandit leader looked puzzled.

"I just heard that you heroes are currently in a standoff with the government troops. The intelligence I have can help you avoid the main force of the government troops, and may even make a great contribution to Qingfeng Village."

Chen Mo spoke again.

As for what kind of intelligence it was, Chen Mo didn't know.

But now, in order to survive, the only option is to appease the bandits in front of them.

"Second brother, don't listen to his nonsense. This kid is clearly just trying to stall for time."

The young bandit shouted again.

"Let him talk; it's not too late to kill him after he's finished."

The bandit leader waved his hand, signaling his men not to make a move.

They've been looking for horses for several days now, and if they go back empty-handed, they'll definitely get a scolding from the boss.

But if we can actually obtain some intelligence about the government troops, we might be able to get a reward from the chieftain.

"If you dare to lie to us, I'll make sure you die a horrible death."

The bandit leader threatened.

"I wouldn't dare," Chen Mo replied, feigning panic. "I have only one condition: after revealing this information, I hope you heroes will spare my life and let me descend the mountain, okay?"

He knew very well that negotiating such terms with bandits was simply impossible.

"If your information is true, I might spare your life. Tell me first, what is this information?"

The bandit gripped his knife and pointed it at Chen Mo.

If Chen Mo dares to play any tricks, he will be the first to step forward and kill him.

"Okay, I'll talk, I'll talk..."

Chen Mo put away his bow and arrows, his mind racing.

He had already seen through the bandits' intentions. Even if he revealed some useful clues, these people would never let him go. They just wanted to extract information first and then kill him to silence him.

"In Lingtou Village at the foot of the mountain, there are now more than a hundred government troops stationed, all of whom are elites under General Zhao. I heard that they will be going up the mountain to suppress bandits soon."

Chen Mo put on a timid appearance.

"More than a hundred people?"

The bandit leader frowned, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

"How did you obtain this information?"

"Didn't I just say that I often come to this area to hunt, so I'm very familiar with the troop movements of the government forces?"

Chen Mo responded calmly, discreetly observing the bandits' movements...