"Who?"

When Captain Zhang saw someone appear on the mountain road, he immediately shouted, and the officers behind him hurriedly raised their bows and arrows.

"Brother Zhang, it's me."

When Zhang Kui saw that it was Xue Qianqian, a look of joy appeared on his face and he hurriedly went to greet her.

"Qianqian, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Those bandits let me go. Brother Zhang, you don't have to search the mountain anymore. Let's go down the mountain."

Zhang Kui frowned slightly, "Qianqian, this won't do. They are bandits who kidnapped you and killed two officials. This is a serious crime. I must bring them to justice before I can give an account to Lord Xue."

Xue Qianqian said hurriedly: "Oh, I will tell my father and won't let him blame you. Those bandits knew you were coming and ran away long ago. It's a waste of time for you to go up."

Xue Qianqian said as she pulled Zhang Kui's arm back.

Zhang Kui was immediately flattered. He admired Xue Qianqian because she was beautiful and the daughter of a county magistrate. If he could marry Xue Qianqian, he could work less for many years.

Xue Qianqian had never shown any regard for him before, but now she was pulling his arm. This had taken their relationship a big step closer.

Xue Qianqian insisted on going down the mountain, and Zhang Kui was definitely willing.

The bandits in the mountain were able to kill two officers. They are quite powerful. If a fight really breaks out, there will be casualties on his side.

Now that Xue Qianqian has returned safely, I can report back.

The righteous words he just said were only for his subordinates to hear, after all, he was the head of the police.

Wu Shun, who was standing by, became anxious when he saw Zhang Kui was about to go down the mountain.

He accepted bribes from Pei Zhong and promised to take people to uproot Yiyun Village. Now that they were about to arrive, how could he give up halfway?

He hurriedly said, "Captain, we'll be here soon. Now that the young lady is safe, we can move more freely. We've wiped out the bandits, and it's a great achievement for us."

Zhang Kui said calmly: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"I dare not."

"Qianqian said that the bandits have already escaped, so there is no need to go, let's get down the mountain!"

Zhang Kui waved his hand, and all the officers felt relieved. They were not well fed these days and did not have much strength. If a fight really broke out, no one could guarantee that they would not die.

There's only so much salary every month, there's no need to work so hard. Besides, now that Xue Qianqian is back, there's even less need to go up there.

Seeing this, Wu Shun had no choice but to follow him down the mountain.

Xue Qianqian looked back at where Pei Yun was hiding, with mixed emotions.

She felt like she was dreaming these past few days. She originally thought that she would be in trouble after being kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountain, but who knew that she would live a fairy-like life.

Not only did she eat the meat, but she also took a bath. This was something she had never dared to think about in the past. She remembered Pei Yun's thoughtfulness towards her, but she didn't know if they would meet again in the future.

Pei Yun heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Xue Qianqian had persuaded the official to come down the mountain. It seemed that the sugar-coated bullets of the past few days were effective on the county magistrate's daughter.

He didn't hold a grudge against her for tying her up the mountain.

If these officials really went to the mountain stronghold, he would have no choice but to inform his brothers to run away.

…

At the foot of the mountain, County Magistrate Xue Wenju kept pacing back and forth with an anxious look. He had been extremely worried ever since he learned that his daughter had been kidnapped by bandits.

I could already imagine my daughter being tortured, and the most terrifying thing was that during this famine year, there was cannibalism.

Women are said to "not envy sheep", which means that if you eat women's flesh, you will no longer envy eating sheep's flesh.

The delicate skin and tender flesh of one's own daughter are the best food in the eyes of a hungry person.

Those bandits were extremely vicious and my daughter fell into their hands...

"Sir, Zhang Kui will definitely be able to rescue Qianqian, don't be too anxious."

Next to Xue Wenju, the county lieutenant Wang Zhiyuan, who was wearing official uniform, spoke.

"County Lieutenant Wang, do you think my daughter will..."

Wang Zhiyuan was about to speak when he saw the officials coming down the mountain. He was shocked and said hurriedly, "They are coming down."

Xue Wenju also looked over, and when he saw Xue Qianqian at the front, a look of joy appeared on his face.

"father."

Xue Qianqian ran over, feeling a little excited.

"Qianqian, are you okay?"

Xue Wenju grabbed Xue Qianqian's shoulders and looked her up and down carefully, his eyes full of pity and fear.

His voice trembled slightly. "Let Dad take a good look. Are you hurt anywhere? Did those villains give you any trouble?"

Xue Qianqian shook her head and said, "Dad, I'm fine. They didn't make things difficult for me."

"That's good. That's good."

There were some things Xue Wenju couldn't ask his daughter, so he asked his wife to ask him when he got home. He looked at Zhang Kui and asked, "Where are the bandits who kidnapped my daughter?"

Xue Qianqian hurriedly said, "Dad, don't pursue it anymore. They treated me very well and took good care of me. It was just a misunderstanding that they kidnapped me and took me up the mountain."

"Misunderstand?"

Xue Wenju frowned, "Qianqian, why would you speak for the bandits? Now that we know they are in the mountains, we must catch them all in one fell swoop."

"Dad, they are very kind to me. If you insist on catching them, I will die in front of you!"

Everyone was stunned. It was too bizarre that the county magistrate's daughter threatened to die in order to protect the bandits.

In the past, when they rescued kidnapped women from bandits' dens, they all hated the bandits to the core. But why did they speak well of the bandits when it came to Xue Qianqian?

Some officers with dirty thoughts secretly wondered whether Xue Qianqian was pleased and conquered by the bandits.

Xue Wenju also found it incredible to hear his daughter say such words.

He wanted to scold her, but he couldn't bear to do so. Seeing his daughter's stubbornness, he felt a headache.

Wang Zhiyuan whispered, “Sir, since Qianqian has returned safely and doesn’t want to pursue responsibility, why don’t you just listen to her.”

Xue Wenju heard this and backed off, "Forget it, since those bandits didn't make things difficult for you, just don't bother with them for now."

Xue Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief, as she had completed the task assigned to her by Brother Pei.

But she thought of something else and said, "Dad, didn't I write to you and ask you to pick me up at Shuangtou Mountain? Why are you here?"

"Letter? I didn't receive any letter."

Wu Shun's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. When the skinny monkey delivered the letter, he intercepted it. If they wanted to investigate, they could find out.

Xue Qianqian's eyes showed doubt. Could it be that the letter was not delivered?

Xue Wenju did not ask about the letter, but said: "Your mother has been very worried these days, her eyes are swollen from crying, let's go back quickly and let your mother feel at ease."

Xue Qianqian became anxious when she heard this, and pulled Xue Wenjuan away.

A group of officials hurriedly followed, with Wu Shun walking at the back. When no one was paying attention, he slipped into a villager's house at the foot of the mountain.

This villager was the contact between him and Pei Zhong.

After explaining the matter, Wu Shun said, "Hurry up and tell Pei Zhong that I have already done the job for him. Pei Yun is lucky, so it's not my fault. Tell him to prepare the remaining money and I will come to collect it another day."

"If he dares to go back on his word, don't blame me for being rude!"