The height wasn’t much of a challenge for Su Qing, especially with the scattered plants and trees on the cliff face. Aided by the trees and climbing vines, she reached the withered tree in just a few moves. After reinforcing the dead wood with more vines, she straddled it and picked the Lingzhi.

Although this Lingzhi wasn’t quite a hundred years old, it was close. Su Qing stored the Lingzhi in her space and was about to head down when she heard loud shouts in the distance, accompanied by several gunshots.

Hearing the shouts and gunshots, Su Qing couldn’t help but feel surprised. Her location was already deep in the heart of Da Hu Mountain, a place that was practically uninhabited. She never expected there to be anyone else here besides her. ’And they’re in a gunfight!’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Su Qing immediately decided not to rush down. Instead, she remained seated on the withered tree, gazing in the direction of the sounds.

Because Su Qing’s vantage point was high enough, she quickly got a clear view of the situation. Three people were using rocks and trees for cover, periodically firing shots behind them. Farther away, several others were also using trees for cover, locked in a standoff with the first group. The two sides were exchanging fire, and the sounds of gunshots and faint shouts drifted over from time to time.

’Who are these people? Having a gunfight in the middle of Da Hu Mountain!’

Su Qing frowned. She didn’t make any rash moves, instead remaining hidden on the cliff to watch how things unfolded. ’If neither side consists of good people, then I definitely won’t get involved,’ she thought. ’It’s just...’

As she watched, Su Qing thought she spotted a somewhat familiar face among the group farther away.

But the distance was too great for her to see clearly. So, she simply took control of a climbing vine and had it sneak over in that direction. When she saw the man’s face through the vine’s perspective, Su Qing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ’Well, what do you know. Isn’t that the police captain from Chuncheng? His surname is Qiao, I believe.’

’Chuncheng is nowhere near Da Hu Mountain. I can’t believe he came all the way out here to arrest people. That means the ones chasing with him must be police officers.’

Since the group in the back were the good guys, then the three being chased up front were definitely the bad guys. Su Qing’s gaze locked onto the three men who had their backs to her.

"B-Boss, why won’t these damn cops... let us go!" At that moment, the three men were growing agitated. One of them, panting for breath, spoke to a man in his thirties beside him.

’Damn it, these cops had been chasing them through the mountains for three days, and they couldn’t shake them. Now, to top it all off, they were locked in a direct standoff. If they didn’t end this soon, who knew how much longer these cops would stay on their tail.’

"Hmph. I refuse to believe they have many bullets left." The man they called "Boss" was surnamed Sun. Normally, people called him Brother Sun. The two men with him now were his most trusted confidants, and the three of them addressed each other as brothers. Right now, Brother Sun wore a sinister expression. He spoke with narrowed eyes, then fired another shot toward the opposition.

"Right," the other man added. "We’ve got plenty of ammo, that’s for sure. I refuse to believe those cops have more than we do."

And on Qiao Wensong’s side, they were indeed running low on ammunition.

"Captain Qiao," a team member whispered to Qiao Wensong, "we’re almost out of bullets. What’s the plan?"

Qiao Wensong’s brow was tightly furrowed. The five of them had been tracking the men for three days in these mountains. Unfortunately, the trio had superior firepower, which is why they hadn’t been able to capture them yet. To make matters worse, three of his own team were already injured. If this dragged on, the situation would become unfavorable for them.

"Stay under cover and conserve your ammo," Qiao Wensong ordered. "In a moment, look for an opportunity to circle around and flank them from behind. Right now, a direct confrontation is not a good idea."

’It’s clear the enemy has more ammunition. Once we run out, we’ll be completely vulnerable. We have to find another approach.’

"Hey, over there! You’re about out of ammo, aren’t you?" Brother Sun shouted in Qiao Wensong’s direction, his eyes narrowed. "Let’s make a deal. You let us leave, and we promise not to hurt you. How about it? This is the best outcome for everyone. Deep in these mountains, your superiors will never know the details. You can just go back and say you never found us. How ’bout it?"

"That’s right," another man yelled toward Qiao Wensong’s group. "You guys need to learn to be flexible! If you keep insisting on this, you’ll regret it. We’ve got more than enough ammo. Once you’re empty, do you really think you stand a chance of getting out of here alive? Our boss is offering you a way out. We all go our separate ways—it’s a win-win for everybody. A happy ending, right?"

Qiao Wensong narrowed his eyes, just about to order his team to find a chance to get behind the three men, when he suddenly saw one of them lunge out from behind his cover. Quick as a flash, Qiao Wensong fired a shot, hitting the man squarely on the right wrist. An instant later, a team member beside him also fired, hitting the man in the thigh.

"AHH—" The criminal who had suddenly tumbled out screamed in pain. He was utterly bewildered. ’I was hiding perfectly well, so how did something suddenly trip me and make me fall out into the open?’

"Third Brother!" Seeing his man suddenly stumble and get shot, Brother Sun was stunned. He fired several shots toward Qiao Wensong’s position, screaming, "Motherfucker!"

"ARGH—" Before Brother Sun could even finish his curse, the other criminal who was firing at Qiao Wensong’s group also stumbled out into the open. He was instantly hit by a follow-up shot from Qiao Wensong’s side, which struck him in the leg.

"Second Brother!" Brother Sun was so shocked his heart trembled. ’What’s happening to Second and Third Brother?’

"Boss, something’s not right! Something hit my leg from behind and I stumbled out," the second-in-command yelled to Brother Sun from the ground. "They set up an ambush!"

"Me too, Boss! They’re fighting dirty!" the third man roared. "These cops are playing dirty tricks! Shit!"

"Fuck!" Brother Sun cursed in a rage and fired several more shots wildly in Qiao Wensong’s direction. "You damn cops have no honor! If you’ve got any balls, fight us head-on! What kind of skill is it to use cheap tricks from behind?"

As he spoke, Brother Sun looked behind him again, on high alert. But he saw nothing. A chill ran down his spine. ’Are we being attacked from both front and back? But where are they? Where is the person behind us?’

Meanwhile, Qiao Wensong and his team were also baffled. They had heard the criminal’s shouts. ’Could it be... that someone is helping us?’

"Captain Qiao, it looks like we have backup!" one of the officers said to Qiao Wensong, his voice filled with sudden excitement.