Chapter 49: Undercurrents (The Childhood Sweetheart General Must Save the Beauty~)
Zhu Zhao’s nose broke out in a layer of sweat.
The kitchen knife flashed; the hand holding it was trembling.
The two young men guarding the door looked at each other. The knife was passed between them. The timid one handed it to the one with slightly more guts, but still, neither was willing to do the deed.
Outside the bungalow, the bandit minion shouted lazily:
“Done yet? Dawdling over chopping a hand!”
In the rain, further away, another minion called out.
“Crooked Neck! Are you playing this card or not!”
“Calling souls, are you? Playing, playing, playing! Wait for me to win back my capital this round, Daddy will make you lose until you can’t afford underpants…”
It turned out the bandits were holding cards, taking a break after the looting.
The two young men before them—Ying Xi judged they were likely farmers just kidnapped to the mountain, considered for grooming into bandits.
In an instant, Ying Xi’s mind became snow-bright: So, personnel redundancy and laziness are common in all institutions; the stronghold is no exception. With many people on the mountain, there will be bandits who don’t want to work, passing tasks to those below.
Bandit Chief Dong Gu’s astuteness had also become the stronghold’s biggest loophole!
Ying Xi leaned over and once again held Zhu Zhao’s right hand.
The Emperor’s original intention was to escape with the Teacher if things went south.
However, in Zhu Zhao’s heart, it turned into worry and reliance, the student wanting to share adversity with him.
[System Prompt: Host behavior is proactive, consistent with dating system rules. Reward granted!]
[Charm +500, Dishi Favorability +5, +5, +5, +5…]
The numbers jumped continuously before his eyes.
Where Ying Xi couldn’t see, Zhu Zhao’s determination to get Ying Xi out became firmer, his thinking sharper than ever before.
The Dishi asked hoarsely, “Which village’s farmers are you from?”
Truly a high official who had seen the vast world.
Seeing that his limb was about to be severed, Zhu Zhao could still calmly chat, scaring the two young men so much their kitchen knife almost hit the floor.
Neither dared to make a sound.
Zhu Zhao spoke again, “The Court will inevitably eradicate the Luoshan bandits. If I die, other commissioned officials will take my place. The British Duke, Xie Qianli, is currently stationed in Luoxian with five thousand Longwu troops. He will inevitably launch an attack. Whether to wallow in the mire or turn back to the shore—have you thought it through?”
Worthy of the Chief Amnesty Envoy who took down over a dozen bandit strongholds through negotiation!
After Zhu Zhao spoke, the two farmers looked shaken, their grip on the knife becoming even more unstable.
In the Heluo area, once the main battlefield for quelling rebellions, countless rumors about the Xie father and son circulated.
In the rumors, although Xie Qianli wasn’t described as having three heads and six arms, feats like lifting cauldrons were definitely included. What was impossible about flattening a bandit stronghold?
The two farmers looked at each other:
“This…”
“Has the Lord been to our village?”
Outside the bungalow, Crooked Neck couldn’t wait and walked toward the house while cursing. “F*ck his mother, killing a chicken is a small matter, yet Daddy has to do it himself!”
Seeing a turn of events, Ying Xi quickly said, “We just returned from Changzhuang Village; all the villages have been in communication!”
As luck would have it, the two were exactly farmers from Changzhuang Village.
The young man on the left lost his voice. “Brother Shuangzhu, the Lord came from our village! I am San Jinzi. Did the Lord see my mother and grandma?”
The Luoshan bandit held cards in both hands, a machete at his waist. Seeing the two hadn’t moved yet, he cursed a few profanities.
Shuangzhu—these two were in the probation period for becoming bandits. One thought leads to Buddha, one thought leads to demon.
The handle of the knife in Shuangzhu’s hand was squeezed hard.
He looked at the bandit, then at Zhu Zhao’s right hand, eyes red and seeping with blood vessels. Shuangzhu couldn’t decide which side to join.
Zhu Zhao, with his photographic memory, stimulated Shuangzhu: “Shuangzhu, your wife and child are still alive. To save your life, she collapsed crying before this official. Your wife wore ultramarine clothes, a peach-red skirt with swastika patterns, and a velvet flower. Your son is only two weeks old and has a hair whorl on his forehead…”
Only when meeting outsiders did the wife dress like that.
These two court officials weren’t bluffing.
In that instant, it was as if the long-missed relatives were standing right before his eyes through Zhu Zhao’s description.
Shuangzhu’s arm trembled violently, the knife light flashing in his hand.
He couldn’t be a bandit! His wife and son would never be able to lift their heads! Even death was better than this—he would die standing!
“Jinzi, fight the robbers!”
Shuangzhu swung the knife horizontally, aiming straight for the bandit’s neck. Blood sprayed; Ying Xi closed his eyes, blood foam splashing onto his face.
Tian Tong screamed wah-wah inside his head in fright.
Just as the bandit was about to scream, San Jinzi, blood boiling with excitement, hurriedly covered the bandit’s mouth from behind. The bandit whimpered a few times and went limp.
The two peasant men panted heavily and dropped the knife.
With a thud, they knelt toward Zhu Zhao. “Official Lords, my family and wife—” “Are my grandma and mother okay?”
The situation didn’t allow for catching up.
If Crooked Neck didn’t return soon, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of other bandits.
Zhu Zhao immediately ordered, “Untie the ropes!”
Once the ropes were untied, the two felt light all over. Sure enough, there was movement from other bandits.
San Jinzi picked up the kitchen knife, Shuangzhu picked up the machete. Just as they were about to fight for their lives, Ying Xi said, “Charge out, open the Yangzi Pit first—”
The Yangzi Pit was opened!
Bright light shone into the cramped cave entrance.
Shuangzhu raised his hand and the ropes broke. San Jinzi distributed whatever sticks and clubs could be used. The team of two became a dozen.
A dozen men charged into the yard, beating the bandits relentlessly without pause.
The bandits couldn’t parry and wailed. Good citizens, when pushed to desperation, each slit their throats.
The Yangzi Pit area was isolated. This riot rose and ended without alerting bandits in other areas. Everyone’s eyes were blood-red.
But even escaping the Yangzi Pit, how could they escape the bandit-infested Luoshan?
Shuangzhu and the others lost their direction again.
Dropping weapons and sticks, the crowd faced the envoys: “We have been persecuted by Dong Gu and his thieves for a long time. When will the foot of the mountain send troops? What should be done on the mountain next? Envoys, please save us…”
Night fell.
On the shaded side of Luoshan, Xie Qianli and Lian Qing tied their horses to trees. Hiking up the mountain, they moved in stealth.
Lian Qing wiped the water off his face and crouched. The two silently hid behind cover, observing the bandit stronghold in the distance, shadowy and lit with orange lantern light.
The rain had just stopped. Occasionally, a night owl called in the mountain forest—three long, two short.
That was the Longwu Army’s code, reporting positions. Reinforcements lay dormant nearby, scattered like stars in the sky.
Lian Qing suddenly heard hoofbeats. From far to near, two bandits rode past inside the stronghold.
The horse’s saddlebags were bulging, carrying things.
Who were the bandits delivering gifts to?
Lian Qing and Xie Qianli each fired an arrow, piercing the bandits’ throats; the bandits made no sound.
Lian Qing intercepted the horse, took a token from the saddlebag, and retreated several steps. “Hand, hand…”
It wasn’t dismemberment he feared.
He feared it was the severed limb of the Emperor or the Dishi.
Xie Qianli suddenly became so gloomy he was unwatchable. Inside the token box, wrapped in kraft paper, was a blood-seeping letter—Dong Gu extorting the Emperor.
“Little Emperor, hear the decree. Daddy chopped off your Amnesty Envoy’s hand! Send one hundred thousand taels of silver quickly to buy his life!”
Signature: Written by someone for Lord Dong after getting drunk.
How arrogant.
Daring to ask the Emperor for ransom.
Back in the Qingniu Army, this character hadn’t shown himself.
Inevitably, after the rebellion was quelled, this person had nowhere to go and freely unleashed his barbaric nature.
Lian Qing was horrified. “Is this hand Mister Zhu Zhao’s?”
Xie Qianli’s heart was heavy. Picking up the hand to examine, the severed limb showed a lifeless pallor.
Xie Qianli frowned. “No. The hand belongs to someone else.”
“Emp—”
Stared at with overwhelming oppression, Lian Qing finally used his brain and touched it. The severed limb was slender, but the palm still had thick calluses from knife handles. This was a martial artist’s hand.
Lian Qing: “Fake! His Majesty and the Mister are still safe!”
This was the happiest thing Lian Qing had heard all day.
Xie Qianli fingered the letter, analyzing with extreme order:
“Being able to substitute the plum for the peach and fool the bandits shows His Majesty currently holds the upper hand.”
“No movement inside the stronghold means they are trapped, not yet out of danger.”
“This letter was just sent out; the bandit chief Dong Gu is still drunk.”
Xie Qianli’s fingertips pressed hard across the paper!
His tone was grim: “Capture the thieves by capturing the king. Kill Dong Gu.”
With General Xie speaking, naturally, Lian Qing had no objections.
Only, Lian Qing wasn’t clear on how to kill the bandit chief. “Take the brothers and charge in? Save the Emperor and cut a bloody path?”
Xie Qianli replied, “Assassination.”
Obviously, if the drunk and cunning stronghold master could be beheaded, the Luoshan Stronghold would surely be leaderless.
At that time, whether the remaining bandits were killed or granted amnesty would not be a problem.
However, the Longwu Army was better at confronting two armies, storming cities, and fighting with wide-open maneuvers, distinct from special agents.
Although the former commander Xie Ji also believed that more elite warriors could be selected from the army to form a team specifically for infiltration and assassination missions.
But due to various constraints and fearing the Emperor’s suspicion, this matter had been shelved until now.
Lian Qing was fearless, gripping his knife. “No matter, let’s do it! I’ll charge with the General!”
Just as that rush of hot blood reached the top of his head, in the dense forest, the bushes made a faint rustling sound.
Rustle, rustle…
But clearly, there was no wind just now. Lian Qing’s ear tips twitched, thinking it was a bandit’s secret sentry, and he drew his blade. “Who goes there!!!”
The arc of the blade illuminated a patch of ground.
Lian Qing didn’t see clearly who that figure was at all. The other party was close to him at first, then became distant, finally retreating to more than ten steps away from the two.
Lian Qing struck a stance, daring not to sheath his blade.
He spared a glance to notice his own General. He saw Xie Qianli not only unmoved but standing with hands behind his back.
And that black shadow kowtowed from afar, bowing his head deeply to the British Duke in an extremely respectful posture.
Lian Qing raised an eyebrow.
The moonlight, not particularly bright at the moment, illuminated Xie Qianli, still upright, draped in the colors of the night.
Yet suddenly, a sense of awe rose in Lian Qing. He dared not ask. General Xie had always acted openly; he didn’t know which road’s figures he was commanding this time?
Lian Qing could only stand like a block of wood, maintaining that knife-gripping posture, watching for changes.
The black shadow opposite put down an envelope, pushed it forward, had no communication with them, and then leaped away!
Lian Qing watched that ethereal movement technique, stunned. Only when he was sure the black shadow was far away did Lian Qing approach.
He vigilantly picked up and opened the item on the ground. The back of the paper was crisscrossed with lines.
“It’s a map,” Lian Qing unfolded it toward Xie Qianli, murmuring low. “General, drawn on the map is… the rough terrain of the bandit stronghold…”
After the fierce battle at the Yangzi Pit, including Ying Xi himself, everyone was distributed weapons. The villagers stripped the bandits’ clothes and quickly changed into them to facilitate movement in the stronghold.
Strike first to gain the upper hand.
Zhu Zhao arranged for Shuangzhu to chop off a hand from a bandit whose hand shape resembled his own. He then had Shuangzhu take that hand to report back to the scribe.
Shuangzhu and San Jinzi usually did coolie work for Crooked Neck and the others. When they came before the scribes, the scribes simply assumed Crooked Neck and his crew had gambled until their eyes were red again and didn’t suspect a thing.
Luckily, San Jinzi could read. He memorized Dong Gu’s ransom letter and reported back to his superiors, saying: “The Envoy’s life is worth one hundred thousand.”
These two also found out: “Dong Gu went mad after getting drunk and wrote a letter to give the Emperor a decree. He drank while having the scribe write for him, and in the end, splashed ink all over the scribe’s face.”
Ying Xi suppressed a cold sneer.
Before his eyes, a wildly arrogant desperado was vividly presented once again.
With the military force in their hands, forcing their way down the mountain was impossible.
But Dong Gu was drunk, plus Shuangzhu and the others had defected. The latter knew something of the bandit stronghold, and the farmers were eager to return home… these conditions were enough to give Ying Xi the guts to take a risk.
If the bandit chief died, the Luoshan bandits were complex; without a leader, they would amount to nothing.
At that time, the Court would lead the army to surround the Luoshan Stronghold, and they would surely be able to rescue all the people!
Ying Xi finalized the decision. He pulled Zhu Zhao’s palm from behind and, in the Dishi’s palm, heavily wrote the word “Kill.”
Zhu Zhao was scratched until it tickled and hurt, his mind unsettled. Palpitations passed hurriedly, but he had no time to attend to other things.
Zhu Zhao said to the villagers, “We must take a chance under the cover of night to work together and behead that scoundrel Dong Gu.”
Shuangzhu and the others looked at each other, feeling that indeed, risking their lives was the only way now. Each nodded.
“We listen to the arrangements of the two Envoys!”
Ying Xi secretly ordered Xie Qianli to move troops via decree. The Longwu Army immediately stood by at the foot of the mountain.
A messenger pigeon flew into the firmament.
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