The next morning, after everyone had eaten their fill, Bai Yuan set out.
Back in Bai Family Fortress, he had once served as a militia instructor. Organizing people—especially large crowds—was something he was exceptionally good at.
He immediately split the Gao Family Village militia into two detachments.
One half boarded the flat-bottomed boats, sailing north into the Yellow River, then circling along the waterway toward Xiaolangdi, aiming for the base of Eagle's Beak Mountain.
The other half marched on land alongside the refugees, leading more than ten thousand displaced people straight toward Eagle's Beak Mountain on foot.
In straight-line distance, Hengshui Town was only a dozen or so li from Eagle's Beak Mountain.
But there were no official roads.
Only barren hills, tangled brush, ravines, and wild terrain.
Travel was exhausting.
Fortunately, the Gao Family Village militia took the lead—cutting through undergrowth, chopping paths through hillsides, building makeshift bridges over streams. They quite literally carved a road out of the wilderness so the common folk behind them could pass.
The vast procession moved steadily forward, stretching endlessly across the land.
Eagle's Beak Mountain was surrounded by water on three sides—east, north, and west—forming a massive peninsula with an area of over five hundred hectares.
Its coastline twisted and turned, dotted with countless bays and small headlands. To the north, within the Yellow River itself, lay Danzhuyu Island, creating a naturally complex, maze-like waterway.
Halfway up Eagle's Beak Mountain, deep within dense forest, sat a concealed stronghold.
The Yellow Turban Fortress.
It had first been built by Yellow Turban rebels in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, destroyed by government forces, rebuilt by later bandits, destroyed again, and rebuilt yet again.
As long as river pirates existed, Yellow Turban Fortress would never truly vanish.
The pirate currently occupying it was none other than Capsizing Dragon—the same man who had clashed with Bai Yuan twice and been beaten senseless both times.
Among the Xiaolangdi bandits, he was the strongest.
He controlled the prime location of Yellow Turban Fortress and commanded more than two hundred pirate soldiers.
Normally, he split his forces: half guarded the fortress while the rest roamed the river, robbing merchant ships, fishermen, and riverside villages.
With the Yellow River flooding and spreading in all directions, his hunting grounds had expanded enormously.
This morning, Capsizing Dragon had just awakened.
He sat on a tiger-skin chair, his expression dark and ugly.
Two consecutive defeats had crushed his prestige among the Xiaolangdi pirates.
After yesterday's retreat, several pirate chiefs had openly sneered at him. Their disdain wasn't even hidden.
Capsizing Dragon knew very well what that meant.
The next time those men gathered, they might not recognize him as leader at all.
They might even band together, storm Yellow Turban Fortress, and seize his position outright.
The thought made his molars ache with hatred.
And all of it—
All of it—
Was Bai Yuan's fault.
As he brooded, plotting revenge, a subordinate hurried in.
"Boss! Bad news! Those strange flat-bottomed boats have reached Xiaolangdi. They're circling this area, like they're searching for something."
Capsizing Dragon sneered.
"Looking for me?" he said contemptuously.
"Hah! Do they think we're that easy to find?"
"How many times have government troops searched this place?" he continued.
"Did they ever find us?"
"Even if they do stumble upon the fortress, we'll just abandon it, hide in the mountains nearby, and rebuild once they leave."
His subordinates laughed loudly.
Indeed—when had the Xiaolangdi pirates ever feared government patrols?
A few boats meant nothing.
They walked out, calmly covering the fortress walls with branches and leaves, restoring the camouflage.
From the river, visibility was limited. From afar, it would look like nothing more than dense woodland.
Soon, a flat-bottomed cargo ship passed along the shoreline below.
Gao Family Village militia stood on deck, scanning the mountainside carefully.
Just as the pirates expected—
They saw nothing.
Capsizing Dragon snorted coldly.
"The government is blind, but we see everything," he said smugly.
"This is called 'the enemy is in the light, I am in the dark.' We're unbeatable."
The pirates burst into laughter.
"Boss even knows idioms!"
Capsizing Dragon puffed out his chest.
"So what if I do? I'm a hundred times better than those pedantic scholars who only know how to quote them!"
Somewhere far away—
"Achoo!"
San Shier, back in Gao Family Village, sneezed violently.
"Huh?" he muttered. "Who's talking about me? Am I that popular?"
The flat-bottomed ship sailed off.
The pirates felt no pressure at all.
Before long, another flat-bottomed ship appeared, again searching the shoreline. This time, it didn't take long before they found several small sampans hidden among the reeds at the foot of the mountain.
The militia cheerfully towed them away.
The pirates exploded in anger.
"Boss! Those bastards are stealing our boats!"
Capsizing Dragon waved dismissively.
"Don't panic. Just a few boats. Losing them doesn't matter—we can always build more."
"As long as the fortress isn't discovered, we're safe."
The flat-bottomed ship soon left again.
Once more, Yellow Turban Fortress remained undiscovered.
Capsizing Dragon was feeling quite pleased with himself.
"The test of endurance has begun," he said smugly.
"Let's see how many days they keep searching. They can't look forever."
He was still savoring his confidence—
When a subordinate suddenly screamed.
"Boss! Look—look at the land!"
Capsizing Dragon turned his head.
And froze.
At the southeastern foot of Eagle's Beak Mountain, a vast sea of people had appeared.
Ten thousand.
More than ten thousand.
A surging mass of common folk, climbing the mountain like an unstoppable tide.
Capsizing Dragon sucked in a sharp breath.
"What… what the hell is this?"
"They're the refugees we robbed before!"
"It's the people from Hengshui Town!"
"Damn it—why are they here?!"
"They're helping that man in white search the mountain!"
Capsizing Dragon's face turned pitch black.
This—
This was truly disastrous.
Government troops weren't frightening. Even if they found the fortress, they lacked the manpower to wipe everyone out.
But ten thousand civilians?
If they spread out, climbed from all directions—
Discovery was only a matter of time.
Capsizing Dragon finally understood what it meant to enrage the masses.
What government soldiers couldn't do—
The common folk could accomplish with terrifying efficiency.
Both land and water were sealed.
There was nowhere left to run.
"This is bad," Capsizing Dragon said hoarsely.
"We must retreat."
His subordinates panicked.
"By land or by water?"
Capsizing Dragon looked toward the river—flat-bottomed ships still patrolled slowly.
Then he turned toward the mountain—where ten thousand people climbed relentlessly.
In that instant, his confidence collapsed completely.
"By water!" he barked.
"On land, they've got half their troops and ten thousand people. Our two hundred men can't fight that."
"Going by water… there's still a slim chance!"
A subordinate cried out, "Boss! We don't have enough boats for all two hundred brothers!"
Capsizing Dragon clenched his teeth.
"Then—then go by land!"
Orders contradicted orders.
Even the chief had begun to panic.
The Yellow Turban Fortress—
Once untouchable—
Was now a trap.