frightfiction Chapter 95 Village Chief: Let them go!
Chapter 95 Village Chief: Let them go!
Ling Jiu handed the note to Xie Jin, but Xie Jin didn't open it immediately. Instead, he beckoned to Meng Fuqing with his finger.
After arranging for his old friend to treat the injured villagers, Meng Bochang hurriedly came to the two men.
The things these two discussed were things he couldn't make decisions about; he just listened, knowing that it was good to have a general idea in mind.
After handing his men over to Niu Erqi Liang, Meng Fuqing leaned over and glanced at the contents of the note.
If the waist tag still left them with some doubts, the contents of the note dispelled those doubts.
The words on the note, written hastily, were in running script, strong and vigorous. There were few words, but a lot of content.
The two exchanged a glance, and Xie Jin tossed the note into the nearby fire. "It seems Qingzhou is indeed easy to enter but difficult to leave."
Meng Fuqing had not expected that the bandits in Qingzhou City would be so bold as to recruit refugees passing through Qingzhou to fill their ranks. Given the collusion between the bandits and the Hu people, it was hard not to suspect that this was the work of the Hu people.
“We have too many carriages and horses, which is why they sent two groups of people to go to great lengths to deal with us. We should have been under close surveillance long ago. Now that we have killed many of their people, it will be difficult for us to leave safely.”
Meng Bochang's heart tightened, and his face showed anxiety. He looked up at the two men, who seemed calmer than the other.
He sighed inwardly and continued listening without saying a word.
"What does Miss Meng think?"
Meng Fuqing kicked the fake Jiang at his feet and asked, "We don't have enough manpower, but the bandits have plenty. The guide is here. How about we go to their lair and take their place?"
Meng Bochang was greatly alarmed, but when he looked up again, Xie Jin nodded in agreement, "Great minds think alike."
Meng Bochang: "..."
Oh well, let them be!
He thought it was unreliable to seize Changping Prefecture before, but they still managed to do it.
Thinking of this, Meng Bochang turned and left. He worried he wouldn't be able to bear listening any longer.
After making the decision, Meng Fuqing also learned from the old servant that the fake Jiang Wen's real name was Jiang Bei, that he had grown up with Jiang Wen in the Jiang family since childhood, and that he later became the leader of the Jiang family's guards.
It was precisely because of his betrayal that the Jiang family was powerless to resist, and they were either killed or kidnapped by bandits.
As for the leader marked by Meng Fuqing, he was originally a bandit from Siqing Mountain.
Not all of the dozen or so men who were with the old servant survived. They killed the bandits who were originally bandits, leaving only three people, including the old servant.
It was still early, and the group was exhausted and injured. Even if the situation was critical, they could only rest first.
Before going back to rest, Meng Fuqing told Xie Jin what Meng Linlang had said to Qi Liang.
"Why do I have a feeling she's after you?"
Meng Fuqing looked him up and down. “Shen Lianxing is just a weak scholar right now. She can’t rely on her. If Qi Liang agrees to let her infiltrate my side, she can then gain your trust. In the future, she may be able to get what she wants.”
“I will handle her, you don’t need to worry. After all, if she weren’t useful to me, you would have kicked her whole family out long ago.”
Xie Jin believed that he now understood Meng Fuqing fairly well.
Meng Fuqing shook his head. "I probably won't drive her away. After all, someone with such good fortune is a good person to give away. If she continues to be hostile to me, I'll probably kill her. I haven't thought about it yet because of you. I hope you won't disappoint me."
After saying that, Meng Fuqing went to rest on his own.
When they opened their eyes again, the villagers at their destination were already busy with their own tasks. The women were cooking, and the men were working together to hastily bury the surrounding corpses. After they finished eating, they continued on their way.
The bandit leader's tendons were severed by Mu Feng, while Jiang Bei's chin and legs were reattached. Both of them were tied to the carriage and behaved themselves.
When the two learned that they were to take this group of people to Siqing Mountain, they didn't think of playing any tricks, since besides them, there was also an old servant from the Jiang family who knew the way.
If they become useless, then their time is probably up.
So along the way, whenever Mu Feng asked about Siqing Mountain and the Hu people, the two of them would answer, but they would just stall for time.
Mu Feng learned from the two men that on the day the Hu people conquered Qingzhou, the bandit leader of Siqing Mountain offered them his sincerity—gold and silver treasures, fine wine and delicacies.
The Hu people had been suppressed and beaten by the Xie family for many years, so even after they invaded Qingzhou, they still felt uneasy. Thinking that Qingzhou was not far from the capital, they took advantage of a hearty meal and wine to ask the bandit leader to let them take in the refugees who had fled from the north.
In the event of a defeat, if the Hu army flees to Qingzhou, these refugees can be used to hold them off for a while, buying them time to escape.
Bandits coveted the valuables carried by the refugees, while the Hu people coveted the large number of refugees. After some back and forth, the two sides reached a cooperation agreement.
"I didn't expect those barbarians to become so clever. I've never seen them so cunning before," Mu Feng couldn't help but complain to his brother.
Mu Sheng smiled and said, "After fighting so many battles, they must have learned some basics. Compared to the current imperial court, the barbarians are not weak."
Mu Feng nodded in deep agreement.
After walking all morning, the group finally emerged from the overgrown road onto a relatively flat path leading to Siqing Mountain, which was just wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through, and they were able to move at a faster pace.
To prevent bandits from guarding the foot of the mountain, Xie Jin sent people to scout ahead. When the group was still three miles away from the foot of the mountain, they turned into a relatively flat mountain forest.
This trip was not told to the villagers other than Meng Bochang. The village chief was a thoughtful person and worried that telling them would cause panic among the villagers.
Therefore, the villagers only knew to follow Xie Jin and his group forward, but they did not know what they were about to face.
Cui Miao'er kept turning back every ten steps in the crowd, her absent-minded appearance distracting Yao Shanyun, who would occasionally glance at her.
"Why are you always looking back? Is gold falling from behind?"
Cui Miao'er looked anxious. "Mother, it seems like my father and the others haven't caught up."
Yao Shanyun knew that her in-laws had been following the convoy all the way, but how could she find them now?
He could only say, "Your father and the others aren't clueless kids. Maybe they just haven't caught up yet. Let's wait and see."
Cui Miao'er understood that her mother-in-law's words were already a concession, so she had no choice but to give up for the time being.
Unfamiliar with the bandit stronghold, Xie Jin only brought Qi Liang, Niu Er, and a few of his brothers, while Xie Jin led six men, including Mu Feng, to the front of the river. The group planned to cross the dense forest to reach Siqing Mountain.
Just before leaving, as Meng Fuqing was checking the weapons he was supposed to bring, Meng Linlang calmly walked up to Ling Jiu and said that she wanted to see Xie Jin.
Having been instructed, Ling Jiu didn't ask any further questions and directly brought the person to Xie Jin.
Xie Jin's carriage was a certain distance from the villagers, but he was still worried and signaled to his men to prevent others from getting close before saying to Meng Linlang, "Speak."
"I wonder if you are heading to Black Tiger Stronghold this time, young master?" Meng Linlang asked directly.
Xie Jin asked casually, "So what if it is?"
According to the captured bandit leader, the bandit stronghold here is indeed called Black Tiger Stronghold. The current leader is not a burly brute, but someone who suddenly wandered here three years ago. He single-handedly took on the entire Black Tiger Stronghold, killed the previous leader, and took the position himself.
“I once had a dream about Black Tiger Stronghold. The chief of Black Tiger Stronghold was always searching for someone. In the dream, we rescued many refugees along the way, and one of them was the person he was looking for. It was only because of this person that we were able to leave Qingzhou smoothly.”
Xie Jin nodded slightly. "Go down."
Meng Linlang was astonished, not understanding why there was a shortcut, but Xie Jin did not press her for an answer.
"Do you know who he's looking for? It's the very person who died at Meng Fuqing's hands..."
Xie Jin suddenly turned to look at her, his eyes seemingly frosty. He approached Meng Linlang step by step and asked in a deep voice, "Since you knew, why didn't you say so earlier? Why did you hide your desire for protection?"
Meng Linlang retreated step by step in fear, opening her mouth to explain, but under Xie Jin's oppressive aura, she couldn't utter a word for a moment.
Xie Jin stopped in his tracks. "After all this time you still haven't learned to obey. Perhaps I should find someone to properly teach you, Ling Jiu."
Ling Jiu appeared in front of Xie Jin in a flash. Xie Jin's expression returned to normal. "She's in your hands now."
"Yes."
Knowing that Xie Jin was held up by Meng Linlang, Meng Fuqing and the others waited in place for a while. When they saw that Xie Jin was coming, they led the group to rush towards Siqing Mountain.