Chapter 14: Cottage

The method Chen Luo thought of was not a good solution either. After all, the imperial court was the mainstream in this era.

Becoming a bandit is a choice made by people who are forced to make a living. Moreover, even if they really go into the mountains, they may not be safe. If the group of people behind Eunuch Wei are a little more ruthless, they may directly send a large army to sweep them. By then, the uncle and nephew may not be able to escape, and their fate may be even worse than it is now.

"Looking for these people is not really to become bandits, but to find a way to survive in the mountain strongholds."

Seeing that his uncle was a little hesitant, Chen Luo began to explain.

"It's obvious that Eunuch Wei and his group are up to something big. Disputes involving the royal family are never small. We, uncle and nephew, are just small figures. What we have to do in such a big disturbance is to save our own lives. As for survival, there is no one around here who has better connections than those bandits in the mountain stronghold."

"good!"

Chen Laosan gritted his teeth and agreed to his nephew's idea.

Anyway, it has come to this, how much worse can it get?

So the uncle and nephew immediately turned and headed towards the nearest mountain stronghold. Fortunately, they were all locals in Qingya County and had some knowledge of the nearby mountain strongholds. According to their understanding, there was a stronghold on this barren mountain ridge, called Menghu Stronghold.

After walking along the mountain path for half an hour, when the uncle and nephew arrived at the entrance of the village, it was already completely light.

"stop!"

Before the two of them came forward, an arrow was inserted diagonally at their feet. Looking over, they saw a bandit holding a bow standing at the gate of the village. The man was dressed as a hunter and should be a hunter from a nearby village.

"Please help inform our fellow villager Chen Dahe that he is visiting us."

Chen Laosan smiled, stopped where he was and spoke loudly. At the same time, he took out a purse from his bosom to show that he knew the rules. In the Tiger Village, this money is called a toll. As long as you pay the toll, you are a guest in the village and can get the protection of the village.

When Chen Laosan and his men buried the bodies before, they had dealt with the Menghu Village, so he knew the ways of the place.

When the hunter above saw the money, he quickly turned over and jumped down.

The gate of the village was not very high and could be easily climbed down by someone with skills.

"Not bad, that's on point."

After receiving the purse, the hunter weighed it twice, and nodded with satisfaction after confirming that there was not a small amount. "Chen Luo stood behind his uncle and looked at the hunter. Judging from his archery skills just now, this hunter guarding the gate is not an ordinary person. It is no problem for him to deal with three or five big men alone. I don't know if he has practiced martial arts.

From a gatekeeper, one can roughly see the background of the village.

The fact that Menghuzhai became a well-known stronghold and survived several crackdowns by the government must have been worthy of praise.

"Go in, just follow the road and don't wander around."

The hunter received the money and returned to the village gate.

"Thank you, good man."

Chen Laosan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took Chen Luo into the mountain village.

He was very anxious now. It was already daybreak, and the incident in Qingya County must have been exposed. Whether it was the person behind Eunuch Wei or the magistrate of Qingya County, they were both big shots that the uncle and nephew could not afford to offend. They had to escape the encirclement before the two could react.

After entering the village, the two men did not wander around, but followed the path given by the bandits at the door.

The mountain village has its own rules. Anyone who pays to enter the village must go to pay a visit to the boss first and give him a gift as a sign of respect.

After passing the front hall, there is a martial arts training ground in the middle.

When Chen Luo and his nephew came over, some men from the village were practicing boxing in the yard. Chen Luo took a quick look and found that they were practicing some simple moves, which is commonly known as external training kung fu. This kind of kung fu is OK for ordinary people, but in the world of martial arts, it is inevitable that it will be a little weak. The most important thing is that external training kung fu is the most overdrawn life. It is okay when you are young, but once you get older, all kinds of problems will appear.

After walking a little further, we arrived at the only decent building in the village.

Tiger Hall.

Several bosses were drinking inside and did not move when they saw someone come in. I guess someone had informed them.

"Are you Chen Dahe? Why don't I remember a fellow countryman like you?"

The big boss sat on a tiger-skin chair, leaning against it, his black shirt couldn't cover his muscular body, and he looked ferocious just by sitting there, like a tiger. The bandits beside him were also very imposing, each of them was tall and strong, and they were obviously good at robbing houses.

"The great master is a forgetful man."

This was not the first time that Chen Laosan had greeted this group of people, so he would naturally not be intimidated by a few words from the boss.

He calmly took out the silver that he had prepared long ago from his arms and placed it on the table.

A full thirty taels!

This is money that ordinary people can't earn in a year! That is to say, now we have to rely on these bandits to survive, otherwise Chen Laosan would never be so generous.

"I drank with you two months ago."

After putting the silver down, Chen Laosan stepped back and bowed.

"Very good, very good. I remembered you." The bandit leader who was sitting in the upper seat reached out and grabbed the silver, and said with a big laugh.

Looking at his expression, it seemed as if he really remembered such a friend.

Only he himself knows whether it is true or not.

"Tell me, what do you want from me? Thirty taels of silver is enough for a meal and a drink." The tiger leader said generously.

The meaning of the words was very clear, the price of what one was asking for could not exceed thirty taels.

"We want to leave Qingya County, and we hope that the boss can help us and take us by water."

"Leave Qingya County."

The Tiger leader sat up, and his words were no longer as relaxed as before. The bandits who were laughing beside him also quieted down, knowing that the big brother was thinking about something.

"Have you heard any rumors?"

Menghu is not stupid. In fact, he has been paying attention to the situation in Qingya County for a while. He noticed something was wrong when the blockade started a few days ago. Recently, he has asked all the brothers in the village to withdraw and strengthened the patrol and defense of the village. In the past, Chen Laosan and his men would not run into patrolmen when they entered the village.

"us."

"Uncle San, let me tell you."

Chen Luo took a step forward and pressed down on his uncle's shoulder.

He knew that this matter could not be explained in a few words. Even if it was explained clearly, it would take a lot of time for the Tiger Leader to verify it. By the time everything was clear, it might be too late to escape.

So Chen Luo prepared to use his own method to reason with these bandits.

"You can do it."

Seeing this, Chen Laosan had no choice but to hold back his words and retreat to the side. After what happened last night, Chen Laosan no longer regarded his nephew as a junior who knew nothing.

"The Tiger Master should have felt it too, right?"

As he spoke, Chen Luo deliberately released his aura. With his current internal strength, once his aura was released, ordinary people would be able to feel it clearly.

An expert in internal training?

As the momentum dissipated, everyone in the hall became alert, and some of the leading bandits even reached for their weapons.

They are all desperate criminals who live on the edge of a knife, so they naturally know the significance of a master of internal training.

"Cai made a mistake."

The Tiger Leader narrowed his eyes and clenched his five fingers on the armrest.

(End of this chapter)