My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

"Whoosh—smack!"

The heart-wrenching howl still lingered in the air above the deep forests of Laoyagou to the west.

A cloud of smoke, as red as human blood and so thick it seemed impossible to disperse, exploded into a bewitching mushroom cloud in the leaden-gray sky!

Hongshitun, the old residence of the Lu family.

Lu Qingshan was crouching down, digging at the heavy, rust-covered iron box at the bottom of the cellar with both hands.

The moment the smoke exploded, his hand movements abruptly froze. His back was taut like a fully drawn bow.

He remained motionless for a full three seconds before slowly straightening his back.

That usually calm and stern face was now completely bloodless. His eyes twitched violently twice, and deep within them seemed to be two dark flames burning at the bottom of an icy pool, chillingly cold.

The green-tailed dog in the corner of the yard had its fur standing on end and was making muffled growls as it frantically scratched at the muddy ground with its claws.

Under the eaves, Lu Qingshan's biological father, Lu Changgui, was squatting on the threshold smoking a pipe.

Upon catching a glimpse of the blood-red light in the west, the old man was so frightened that his hand trembled, and with a "thud," the scalding hot copper pipe smashed directly onto his cloth shoes, burning a charred hole in his trousers without him even noticing.

Lu Changgui's face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled so badly that his teeth chattered.

"Qing...Qingshan! What happened on that western mountain peak? Why is the sky all red?"

"Could it be...could it be that Erniu and the other young men from the village ran into a bear that had become a spirit in the forest, or perhaps they encountered a pack of ravenous wolves?!"

Lu Qingshan didn't even turn his head.

He reached out expressionlessly and yanked open the lid of the heavy iron box.

The box was lined with several layers of thick oilcloth. Lifting the oilcloth revealed two old double-barreled shotguns, polished to a gleaming shine and gleaming with a cold, hard black luster.

Below were three neat rows of thick, golden-yellow single-shot shells, each as thick as an adult's thumb.

Lu Qingshan picked up a gun with one hand, and with a practiced flick and pull of his fingers, the barrel opened with a "click".

"father."

Lu Qingshan's voice was terrifyingly low, revealing not a trace of emotion.

"Erniu brought thirteen men, all of whom were tough young men from the village who had grown up playing in the mountains."

"Click!"

He pressed a heavy slug into the chamber without expression, the metal clanging together with a crisp, piercing sound.

"They carry machetes on their waists and skinning knives in their hands. Usually, three or five wolves would avoid them."

"Click!"

The second bullet went in.

"Although Erniu is a brat, he's not a fool who can't tell the difference between life and death."

"Click!"

The third one.

"If we encounter wild boars or black bears, even if we can't defeat them, we can run all over the mountain and make most of our way back."

Lu Qingshan abruptly slammed the gun shut, turned his head, and stared intently at the blood mist in the west with his dark, cold eyes, saying each word slowly and deliberately:

"To force him to unleash the life-saving reserves my father gave him, leaving him no chance to escape..."

"Only those who have deadly weapons in their hands, capable of wiping them all out in one fell swoop!"

"people?!"

Lu Changgui gasped, feeling a chill run from his heels to the top of his head, and cold air emanating from every bone in his body.

"These days, where would you find someone carrying a weapon and ready to kill someone deep in the mountains? Wouldn't that mean Erniu and his gang...?"

Lu Qingshan did not respond.

He moved with terrifying speed, grabbed a leather bullet belt, wrapped it around his waist twice with a "whoosh" and strangled himself, casually stuck a sharp hunting knife into his boot, and turned around to untie the leather noose around Qingwei's neck.

"Blue Tail, let's go!"

A man and a dog, exuding a strong aura of menace that warned strangers to stay away, strode towards the courtyard gate.

However, just as Lu Qingshan's right foot stepped across the threshold of the old house—

"Waaaaah—waaaaah—waaaah—!!"

A piercing siren shattered the tranquility of Hongshitun!

Mud splattered everywhere at the entrance to the village road. Two green trucks and a Volga jeep with chipped paint rushed over like madmen, and with a sudden stop, they blocked the entrance to the Lu family's old house!

The car door was flung open with a loud bang!

Wang Jianguo, the county public security bureau chief, was the first to jump out of the jeep, his police uniform soaked with sweat and covered in mud.

Behind him, more than twenty armed police officers, each carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, jumped out of the truck bed. They all looked tense and menacing.

"Lu Qingshan! Stop right there!"

Wang Jianguo rushed forward in three strides, his large, iron-like hand firmly gripping the barrel of the hunting rifle in Lu Qingshan's hand.

Lu Qingshan frowned sharply, slightly shifted his body, and his eyes instantly turned icy cold: "Director Wang, move aside."

"Get out of the way? I'm not letting you have your way, you idiot!"

Wang Jianguo's eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. He spat in Lu Qingshan's face and growled through gritted teeth in a low voice:

"Are you out of your mind? You really plan to grab two beat-up hunting rifles and go into the mountains alone to fight someone?!"

Lu Qingshan looked at him coldly: "How did you know?"

"Nonsense! It was your wife, Lin Xiulan, who called me!"

Wang Jianguo ripped open the buttons on his collar and said angrily:

"Your wife took your account book and mobile phone, but the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off! She said the way you were giving instructions was exactly like someone about to be executed!"

"She guessed you must have discovered something terrible had happened in the mountains and were going to risk your life alone, so she immediately called my office!"

"Your wife is much more sensible than you! Our duty as police officers is to protect the people!"

At this point, Wang Jianguo's face suddenly darkened, his expression so grave it could drip water.

"And Lu Qingshan, listen up! Just twenty minutes ago, the Provincial Public Security Bureau issued me a top-secret notification!"

"There's a gang of five fugitives from overseas who committed a major crime on the border, and they're incredibly armed! They've been on the run for a while, and their last trace disappeared in the area around Hongshi County!"

Wang Jianguo stared intently into Lu Qingshan's eyes, his finger pricking at the lingering red mist in the western sky.

"Your wife's premonition, the provincial department's report, and this signal arrow from the sky—it all comes together perfectly!"

"Lu Qingshan, these people are ruthless killers! This isn't some village brawl! Now, put down your guns immediately, and the whole team will follow my command!"

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze instantly.

Lu Qingshan looked at Wang Jianguo, who was covered in sweat, and his cold expression did not diminish in the slightest.

He didn't loosen his grip on the gun, but spoke in a frighteningly calm voice:

"Director Wang, they are holding more than a dozen of my brothers, Lu Qingshan, and more than a dozen lives in their hands."

"Laoyagou has seventy-two bends and ninety-eight potholes. There was a torrential downpour yesterday, and now the forest is filled with toxic vapor that makes it impossible to see even a meter away."

"No matter how accurate your officers are, they'll be blind in that old forest. If the other side lurks in the shadows and fires a burst of bullets, you'll just be sitting ducks."

Wang Jianguo's face turned pale and then red after being rebuked by Lu Qingshan's words.

He wanted to retort, but looking into Lu Qingshan's unfathomable, fearless eyes, the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.

He knew Lu Qingshan's methods in the mountains; this kid was practically a wild beast in the forest.

After a full five seconds of silence, Wang Jianguo stomped his foot and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"I'm making an exception today!"

"You're coming into the mountains with us! But you must follow orders. If anything happens, you're absolutely not allowed to act recklessly on your own, understand?!"

Lu Qingshan raised his eyelids slightly: "Okay. Get in the car."

"Wait, if you're not going to be the first one, bring the person up!"

With a wave of Wang Jianguo's hand, the police officer yanked open the back door of the jeep, and a middle-aged man wearing shiny handcuffs and covered in sweat was pushed out.

It was Sun Jianguo, the head of the forestry security department, who had been detained recently for embezzlement and bribery.

As soon as Sun Jianguo landed and saw Wang Jianguo, he looked at him like a drowning dog seeing a lifeline, bowing low with a fawning smile and saying in the most obsequious way:

"Director Wang! Director Wang, don't worry! Our forestry farm explored Laoyagou years ago. Although we haven't been there much since, I can still find all the secret passages and abandoned dugouts with my eyes closed!"

"If you promise to let me atone for my crimes through meritorious service, I guarantee I'll lead the police officers to take a shortcut, sneak up behind those bastards without them noticing, and catch them completely off guard!"

Lu Qingshan opened the car door and gave Sun Jianguo, who was spitting as he spoke, a cold look in his eyes as if he were looking at a dead man.

Without saying a word, he took Qingwei and climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep.

"Let's go!" Wang Jianguo waved his hand and climbed into the car.

The engines of the three vehicles roared like wild beasts, kicking up clouds of yellow mud as they sped toward Laoyagou in the western mountains!

……

More than half an hour later, at the foot of the mountain.

The rain had just stopped, and the air in the mountains was damp and chilly.

The entire Laoyagou was like being trapped in a giant steamer, with thick white steam swirling and billowing among the trees, making visibility frighteningly poor. Looking five meters ahead, all you could see were dark shadows of trees.

The vehicle couldn't get onto the muddy mountain road at all, so everyone had to get out and, armed with guns, grope their way deeper into the mountains.

"Woof! Woof woof! Woof—!"

Suddenly, Qingwei stopped abruptly, its fur standing on end, staring intently at a depression in front of it, barking wildly and aggressively!

Without any hesitation, Lu Qingshan suddenly raised his right hand high and clenched his fist!

"Whoosh!"

The more than twenty police officers behind them stopped almost at the same moment, skillfully cocked their guns, and quickly pressed themselves against the boulders and old pine trees beside them, their dark muzzles pointing straight into the depths of the thick fog.

Lu Qingshan crouched low, trudging through the mud, and walked step by step to where the blue-tailed beast was barking wildly.

In that muddy, waterlogged patch of grass, floated a straw sandal torn to shreds.

The straw sandals were soaked with thick, dark red blood.

Lu Qingshan squatted down, stretched out his rough fingers, rubbed them in the mud next to his straw sandals, and smelled them.

The smell of blood was mixed with a pungent smell of gunpowder.

His gaze slowly shifted to the right of a red pine tree trunk that was as thick as two people could hug.

He pulled out a short, skinning knife from his boot and used the tip to sharply pluck a fresh, splintered piece of wood from the tree trunk.

"Ding!"

"Ding!"

Two extremely crisp metallic clanging sounds.

Two finger-length, gleaming bronze bullet casings spun and fell onto the damp moss, their bottoms still radiating a faint warmth from the gunpowder.

Wang Jianguo, along with two police officers, quickly surrounded them.

"Qingshan, what's going on?" Wang Jianguo asked in a low voice.

Lu Qingshan picked up a spent cartridge case, handed it to Wang Jianguo, pointed to the distinctive threads and letters on the bottom of the case, and said in the simplest terms:

"Director Wang, look at the thickness of this primer and the cartridge case."

"The double-barreled shotguns we use for hunting in our forest farm fire iron pellets or large lead balls. They can fire a wide area, and the barrels are so thick you can fit your thumb inside."

"And this is probably a proper submachine gun."