Chapter 382: Finding the Traitor

Chen Fenghe listened and deliberately said in surprise, "Huh? That's strange. Those bandits are all using the name of Huling Village, and they even have tokens as proof. My friend runs a carriage and horse business. He originally thought that he would give ten taels of silver first, and then give everyone a few taels of silver every month for tea and water, hoping that they would not be robbed again in the future. Who would have thought that those bandits would completely ignore it and still rob the carriage and horse business every now and then. My friend had no choice but to find me and asked me to meet the boss. What's going on? Could it be that this incident was not done by Huling Village?"

Boss Ding asked, "You just said those bandits took the token from Huling Village? Are you serious?"

Chen Fenghe said, "Of course it is true. This is the token that those bandits accidentally left behind. Big Boss, please take a look."

This token was actually a token that Chen Fenghe feigned suspicion about, suggesting that the thieves who robbed the goods and money might not be from Huling Village, but rather some petty thieves in disguise, and that it would be best to report them to the authorities and have them arrested. A few days later, the thieves who had been robbed returned with the token. Otherwise, the Huling Village token would never have fallen into the hands of others.

Boss Ding took the token and examined it for a moment, his expression turning serious. "This is indeed a token from our Huling Village. But...how did you get it?"

Chen Fenghe simply said that it was accidentally left behind by bandits.

Boss Ding pondered for a moment and said, "I understand what happened, brother. I will definitely get to the bottom of this matter. If it is really the brothers from our village who secretly robbed the contraband without my permission, I will definitely give an explanation to your friends!"

The second-in-command stepped forward anxiously and whispered, "Boss, how could you believe this man's one-sided story? Maybe he forged the token and deliberately came here to blackmail us!"

Chen Fenghe glanced at him calmly and said, "Second Master, are you saying that the First Master can't even tell the authenticity of the tokens from his own village?"

As expected, Boss Ding looked a little surprised.

The second-in-command hurriedly said, "Boss, I wouldn't dare. What I mean is... it's also possible... that one of our brothers accidentally lost the token, and it was picked up by another bandit, who deliberately pretended to be from our village..."

Chen Fenghe then said, "That's a possibility. However, I've heard rumors that only certain leaders of Huling Village are eligible to obtain the token. Furthermore, each leader holds a subtle difference in the token. If we can first find out which leader lost the token, then we can investigate whether it was lost or someone in the village robbed the goods without authorization, which would make it much easier to find out."

Before Boss Ding could say anything, the Second in Command immediately said, "Boss, can I take a look at that token? Perhaps I can recognize who it belongs to..."

Boss Ding looked at him strangely, then handed him the token.

The second in command took the token and looked at it while deliberately walking slowly to a steep cliff next to him. Then he suddenly lost his grip and the token slipped out of his hand and fell to the bottom of the cliff.

He cried out in a lost voice: "Oh no!"

Boss Ding and Shen Fenghe both hurried over. The second in command turned around and apologized, "Boss, I... I lost my grip and the token fell off the cliff... I don't think anyone from our village did this! There's no need to suspect your brothers because of an outsider."

Boss Ding was speechless.

Chen Fenghe said calmly, "Second Master's intentions are truly good, but what I just said about everyone's tokens being subtly different was actually a lie. Second Master is so anxious to destroy the evidence, could it be that he knows something? For example...did you do all this secretly without First Master's knowledge?"

The second in command was furious when he heard this: "You... are slandering me! How could I possibly do such a thing! Besides, the things your friends were robbed of were pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks. It's absolutely impossible that someone from our village did this! We only rob people of money! First in command, you must never trust an outsider so easily..."

Chen Fenghe looked at him and sneered, "We've only ever robbed people of money? Are you admitting that you've robbed my friend? Boss, what I just said about the pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks we robbed was also a lie. In reality, we've always been robbing people of money."

Upon hearing this, the second in command's face turned pale and he quickly covered his mouth before trying to make amends, "What's so strange about that? Isn't it much easier to rob money than to rob goods? We...we've always been more robbed of money..."

Having said that, the second in command couldn't help but look at Boss Ding with a guilty conscience.

Boss Ding's face darkened, and he suddenly said coldly, "Capture the Second In Command immediately!"

Before he finished speaking, several skilled fighters immediately captured the second in command.

Seeing this, the Second in Command asked anxiously, "Boss, you...what do you mean? Why would you rather trust an outsider than your own brothers?"

Boss Ding sneered, "Has our village ever only robbed people of money? And you're so eager to destroy the token, yet you still dare ask me to trust you. Well, for the sake of our brotherhood, I'll give you a chance. Take out the token you have and let me see it."

The second-in-command naturally couldn't produce it, because his token had just been "destroyed" as evidence.

He had originally thought of saying it was lost after a few days and making a new one, but unfortunately he didn't have time.

"Boss, I...I accidentally lost it..."

"It was lost, what a coincidence! No rush, let's go back to the village first. Once we get back, we'll immediately search the second-in-command's room! If we find the stolen money, I'll see how you can still argue!"

As he spoke, Boss Ding turned around and asked Chen Fenghe, "I wonder if you would be willing to come with us to the village. After we investigate thoroughly, I will apologize to you."

Shen Fenghe did not refuse.

Everyone quickly returned to the village, and sure enough, they found banknotes and silver coins in the second in command's house, which totaled to more than a thousand taels!

Boss Ding sneered: "You still dare to quibble?"

The second in command's face finally showed a ferocious look, and he hissed, "That's right! It was me who did it! I've said it countless times, with so many of us brothers, and we're all skilled, it wouldn't be difficult for us to rob even those wealthy families with guards in the city! But you, the first in command, are too conservative. For years, you've insisted on sticking to those inexplicable rules, robbing only a few things from this mountain! If you had listened to me earlier, we brothers would have made a fortune and lived a life of luxury! If you hadn't told us to rob elsewhere, I would have taken the brothers who were willing to do it. What's wrong with us?"

After hearing this, Boss Ding said coldly, "Bah! You ignorant thing! You only see the thieves eating meat, but you don't see the thieves being beaten! And you still go to rob the rich in the city? Do you know that those of us who do this kind of business are guilty of capital punishment if we are caught! In this area, 'gangsters rob gangsters', and the government can turn a blind eye for some benefits. But if you dare to blatantly rob the city, I'm afraid even the government won't be able to protect you! Your actions are costing the lives of our brothers in the entire village! I will not forgive you today!"

As he said this, he ordered his men to take the second in command away and deal with him later.

Then, he turned around and asked, "Brother, these banknotes belong to your friends. I will return them in full as a token of my gratitude for saving our brothers from the jaws of death!"

Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "I'm extremely grateful to the boss for being so sensible. I'll take care of the money on behalf of my friend and give him 100 taels as a thank you to the brothers in the village!"

Boss Ding wanted to refuse, but after Chen Fenghe repeatedly pushed him, he finally accepted it.

Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "I have another unwelcome request, and I hope the boss can help me."

After hearing this, Boss Ding patted his chest and said, "If you have any questions, just tell me. If I can help, I will definitely help."

Shen Fenghe stated what he had requested and then left.

Boss Ding also felt sorry that Shen Fenghe refused to join their village.

Two days later, it was the day when the driver named Zhang was in charge of escorting the car. Chen Fenghe quietly mixed in with Boss Ding's men and ambushed them in a grove of trees that were often robbed.

The journey there was still safe and sound. After the silver and goods were paid, they were returning to the city with the payment from the customer. When they passed through a small forest, seven or eight masked bandits suddenly came out, showed the token of Huling Village, and wanted to rob the money.

Coachman Zhang pretended to plead for a long time, but the bandit refused to budge and finally took out the silver and money he had on him.

The bandit took the banknote, laughed and said he would come back to bother him in a few days. It was obvious that he thought the carriage and horse business was being taken advantage of.

Just as they were about to retreat, a group of more than 20 people suddenly emerged from the darkness and surrounded the seven or eight bandits and the driver's men.

"Damn it! I want to see what kind of scoundrels dare to use the reputation of my Huling Village to rob money! They don't want to live anymore! Brothers, kill them for me!" Boss Ding said coldly.

Before Boss Ding's men could move, the seven or eight bandits glanced at each other and suddenly fell to their knees, trembling, "Please spare our lives! We...we were all bribed by the coachman Zhang to pretend to be bandits. He said their boss was a sucker and it was easy to cheat him out of his money, so he bribed us to pretend to rob him and then divide the money among us...Please spare our lives!"