Looking at Yuan Lang in the tree through her binoculars on her roof, Qin San Niang couldn't help but smile. She thought to herself that these two people still had some conscience. Just for that reason, all her trouble hadn't been in vain.
As the light rain pattered down, Shiligou was plunged into complete darkness.
In the city, at the Tiankelai Inn, in the top-tier room on the second floor, a man dressed in black, close-fitting clothes, was asking for instructions from the person seated at the head of the table.
"Your Highness, Luo Hui has disappeared without a trace. What should we do next?"
Xiao Zigui's hand tightened suddenly as he held the pen. He raised his handsome eyebrows and said in a calm tone, "No trace? Find the place where they disappeared. We need to find them alive or dead."
"yes!"
After the man in black left, another shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere. "Master, are you really planning to cooperate with that woman?"
"Just a stupid woman, she's not even worthy of mentioning cooperation with me. But how did she find out about this? Don't you think we should investigate? I don't want this to happen again, or you know the consequences." Thinking of Xie Yuyan, Xiao Zigui felt a wave of disgust. A thing sold to his lecherous father, she actually dared to negotiate with him? How utterly ridiculous! His Zhennan Prince's harem was not a place for such trash to covet.
The man in black felt a chill run down his spine and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, I will certainly grind that gossipy person to dust. I guarantee that such a thing will never happen again. However, that woman has some connections, and if she enters the Prince's residence, I'm afraid she will cause you trouble."
"You can handle this matter as you see fit," Xiao Zigui said casually. "Just make sure nothing goes wrong before she enters the Prince's residence. Let her see the sun for a few more days; that won't hurt. By the way, you need to keep an eye on things over there secretly."
After saying that, Xiao Zigui fell silent.
"Rest assured, Master, I will take my leave!" After saying this, the shadowy figure disappeared in a flash.
Just past midnight, the light rain gradually stopped. The moon peeked out from behind the dark clouds, casting a cool, clear light, and the weather grew even colder.
Boss Lu wrapped his coat tighter around himself, gripped the gong in his hand, and reminded the patrolmen behind him to watch their backs.
The burly men knew he was skilled in martial arts and that he had come from the north, having escaped from bandits several times along the way. They understood the habits of mountain bandits better than they did, and they greatly admired him.
"Brother Lu, it just rained tonight and the roads are difficult to travel on. Will the bandits come?" a young man asked. He thought the weather was too cold, and the bandits probably felt cold too.
Elder Lu remained vigilant, observing his surroundings. He said, “Don’t be so careless. We only know the weather is cold and the roads are muddy, but those bandits are cunning. They specialize in ambushing us when we’re off guard. We encountered a band of roving bandits on the road before. They followed us for three days, like training a hawk, until everyone was exhausted and on edge. Then they disappeared for two days, and just when we thought we were safe, they launched a major counterattack. Luckily, there were many strong men in our group, so they only managed to steal some food; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!”
"Oh dear, these bandits are really cunning!" The young man next to him exclaimed, his heart tightening. "We really have to keep a close watch and not let these bastards take advantage of the chaos!"
"Indeed, I think tonight is dark and windy, perfect for committing murder, so we really need to be careful."
"Hehe, you little rascal, have you been listening to too many opera scripts? You're even spouting off a whole set of them."
...
After chatting for a while, everyone was no longer sleepy and their drowsiness was gone.
The patrol team was divided into four groups of nine people each, with three people forming a small group, and each group was assigned a specific area.
The patrol group led by the eldest member of the Lu family was responsible for patrolling the area around the workshop. This area, near the village entrance path and next to a small hill, was the easiest place to overlook.
About an hour later, Shiligou fell into a deep silence, the night covering the earth like a dark tent.
A group of people arrived quietly, all dressed in dark clothes, and the leader was the bandit leader.
"Boss, when do we make our move?" Chen Xiong grabbed the reins, his cunning eyes gleaming.
It was quite a coincidence that the village they were ordered to attack was also Shiligou! He had heard that there was a wealthy family in Shiligou who owned a shop, so their wealth was considerable, and he also heard that the woman was quite attractive.
"What's your rush? Let's see if anyone's around first. The higher-ups said we have to be careful this time. We're on a search for someone, so we don't end up being unable to walk past any pretty girls! And let the men below keep a close eye on us too!" The bandit leader said, glancing at him sideways.
For him, taking money to solve problems for others and getting some extra benefits along the way would be even better!
"Don't worry, Guang'an is a native of Shiligou. No one knows the situation here better than him," Chen Xiong said, glancing to his side and behind him.
Chen Guang'an received the other person's gaze and hurriedly ran to the front of the horse, somewhat out of breath.
"Boss, that woman's house is down this slope, over there in that row of brick and tile houses. Her family is very wealthy; they even run a business in the county town! But that woman is formidable, and she has a scarred-faced man who's also quite skilled in martial arts..."
"Hmph, no matter how capable she is, she's still just a woman! I'd like to see just how hot she is!"
Chen Xiong quickly forced a smile and said, "The Boss is incredibly brave!"
The bandit leader was quite pleased, and happily twitched his mustache as he said to Chen Guang'an, "Don't worry, kid, you have a son, right? Don't worry, I won't hurt your son!"
"Thank you very much, Boss!" Chen Guang'an quickly expressed his gratitude.
He was still somewhat uneasy. He had mentioned to Chen Xiong how formidable Qin San Niang and Gu Qingshan were, as well as the extremely intelligent scholar, but Chen Xiong hadn't taken it seriously at all. Listen to this! A woman, a scholar, and a burly man—how powerful could this combination be? Even if they were powerful, could they compare to over a hundred burly men? It was utterly laughable!
After escaping from the forest last time, Chen Guang'an was terrified and had no choice but to hide in the deep forest. Luckily, he didn't become a meal for wild animals.
After finally calming things down, they wanted to escape from the dock, but unexpectedly, the boat was hijacked by bandits.
I really don't understand why these mountain bandits would take on a side job, like notorious thieves? It's just too unlucky!
Fortunately, a number of people had died in the bandit group, and they were recruiting soldiers at the right time. To save his life, Chen Guang'an volunteered to join the bandits. To show his sincerity in joining, he had to kill people! So, he also had people on his hands, and naturally, he dared not return.
Now, as he approached his hometown, he felt apprehensive. Having witnessed Qin Sanniang's extraordinary abilities, he was still afraid and only thought that if things turned out badly, he would run away as soon as possible.
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