“So many people died in her hands. It seems that this woman is not simple. If we were to attack rashly, all these people might die in her hands!”


  “6, 5…”


  As Chu He counted, she tightened her grip on the sniper rifle. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

  “Give the order, Captain!”


  The leader clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with unwillingness and shame. After hesitating for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and said, “Retreat!”


  A hoarse voice sounded from the team. “Retreat!”


  “Retreat!”


  The team immediately retreated until they were more than a thousand meters away. Through the sniper scope, Chu He was certain that the team had left. She collapsed on the ground and leaned against the wall, trembling.

  This empty fort strategy finally had these people fooled. In reality, Chu He and Gu Jinglian had run out of ammunition. That RPG rocket launcher was their last resort.

  It could be said that they had run out of ammunition and food by the time they reached the signal tower! As they left the battle zone, Chu He could clearly feel that there were troops pursuing them all along the way.

  Only, they did not have any ammunition. Before the fully armed troops, they had lost all their military strength!

  An ancient account has it that on one occasion, there were many enemies going after one person. Where that one person was concerned, there was a lack of preparedness. However this lack of preparedness created a misconception that there was an ambush and thus the enemies retreated in fear.

  During the era of the Three Kingdoms, when Sima Yi’s army closed in on the western city, Zhuge Liang had no troops to defend himself. However he opened the city gate and played the zither in the city tower. Sima Yi suspected that there was an ambush, so he immediately retreated.

  This is the origin of the empty fort strategy.

  Chu He did not expect that at the last moment, the empty fort strategy worked in her favor to scare the soldiers away. She was nerve-wracked as she was counting down just then. She was worried that these people may not be fooled, and would barge their way in. They might even be captured before rescue came to them.

  Becoming captives was the best case scenario. If they were treated as spies and their throats were slit, the three of them could forget about returning home!

  Gu Jinglian climbed to the top of the pagoda and saw Chu He leaning against the wall looking petrified. He walked over, hugged her, and gently stroked her hair. He laughed and said, “So there are times when you’re afraid of death too.”


  “I’m not afraid of death.” Chu He clenched her fists. “I’m just afraid of Baby Chu losing the both of us.”


  Gu Jinglian was stunned. He held her shoulders stiffly and gently consoled her. “It’s alright. It’s over…”


  “Uh huh…”


  “Chu He, let’s go home.”


  “Mmm, let’s go home. Baby Chu is waiting for us…”


  Gu Jinglian smiled at her, only to realize that tears were welling up in Chu He’s eyes. She was deeply emotional!

  He kissed her again. This kiss was short but warm!

  An FC-1 Owl Dragon plane tore through the clouds and arrived.

  Gu Jinglian carried Linxi and boarded the plane.

  Chu He held onto the support handle of the cabin, strands of her hair dancing around her forehead. Occasionally, it would get into her eyes, but it didn’t hurt.

  She pursed her thin lips tightly and suddenly frowned. The sky in the distance gradually brightened. The beautiful sunrise that she had been looking forward to finally materialized before her eyes.

  Eight kilometers away, smoke rose from the coconut trees. That was the place where she and Gu Jinglian fought.

  It was hard to imagine that the two of them, alone and with a child, actually managed to carve out a bloody path!

  This, she contemplated in hindsight, was probably the greatest achievement in her life!