Chapter 61 The Bandits Arrive
Chu Xiujie was surprised that Lin Anyuan would suddenly make a move, and he didn't even sense any killing intent before the move was made.
If it weren't for his instinctive reaction, he would be dead here today.
Touching the wound on his neck, Chu Xiujie laughed in anger.
"Kid, you're ruthless. I remember we have no grudge against each other, right?"
He'd kill someone at the slightest provocation; he was even more ruthless than him.
"To prevent future troubles." Lin Anyuan frowned. He hadn't succeeded the first time, and the man was already on guard when he tried again.
"You're ruthless. I'll remember you."
Chu Xiujie gritted his teeth in anger, and when he saw someone coming, he quickly left.
His master urged him to return today, and he only made this trip because he valued talent. Now, he felt like killing this brat.
"Lin Anyuan, what are you doing standing here?" The village chief came over with his cane and frowned when he saw Lin Anyuan.
He thought he saw two people just now; could it be that his eyes were playing tricks on him?
"I'm going home. Is there something you need, village chief?" Lin Anyuan asked the village chief.
"The tax collectors who were supposed to come didn't show up. Did something happen?" the village chief muttered. "I heard that those officials were bandits in disguise?"
"I heard from the county government that it was an imposter. Village Chief, I'm going home now," Lin Anyuan said as he walked home.
"Stop idling around all day, do something productive to support your wife and daughters." The village chief shook his head as he watched his retreating figure.
The village is buzzing with gossip again today. What good is Lin Anyuan's good looks if he can't even keep a woman?
"Lin Anyuan, you're back? Come and have some chicken soup."
Ye Wan was having dinner with Da Ya and San Ya when she saw Lin Anyuan return. She went into the kitchen and served him a bowl of chicken soup.
“Someone came today, a regular customer of mine. I met him when I was gathering herbs for Er Ya in the mountains. He gave me a bottle of medicine, came in, drank a bowl of water, and left. He’s quite a strange person.” Ye Wan said, taking out the medicine.
"Take it to the clinic tomorrow and ask if Er Ya can use it."
Lin Anyuan took it and smelled it. "No need to ask, it is indeed a top-quality wound medicine."
Ye Wan paused for a moment, "That's good. Er Ya is most afraid of having a bad face."
"Have some soup." Lin Anyuan was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't notice Ye Wan's unusual behavior. He lowered his head.
Rumors are circulating that Prince Jing has rebelled. Is it true or false?
If that's true, then Min County is Prince Jing's granary, and the imperial court should have sent troops there immediately. Why has there been no movement for so long?
After drinking the soup, Lin Anyuan went inside for a moment and then came out again. Looking at Ye Wan sitting in the yard, he said in a low voice, "You've gone to a lot of trouble with the three children."
"I promised you, so of course I'll keep my word," Ye Wan smiled.
"Lin Anyuan, tell me the truth, do you... have another identity?"
He was halfway through his sentence when suddenly a rapid gong sounded outside.
"What happened?" Ye Wanxin's heart tightened, and she looked outside into the courtyard.
"fine."
No sooner had Lin Anyuan finished speaking than someone shouted loudly.
"Oh no! The bandits are here!"
"Bandits? That's fake."
Ye Wan recalled the two tax collectors from last time. They said they would come to collect taxes the next day, but nothing happened.
This is not the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
The bandits really came, and they entered the village in broad daylight. They started burning and looting, but didn't kill anyone yet.
The second-in-command arrived, leading a group of brothers from Snake Mountain. The second-in-command liked to gather people together and kill them all at once.
"The whole village must be here! Then we can just wipe them all out at once!"
The second-in-command looked at the hundred or so men with a menacing expression.
"Second Master, please hear me out." Lin Anyuan stepped out from the crowd.
What are you doing here?
The second-in-command looked impatient with Lin Anyuan, while the first-in-command had been thinking about this pretty boy all day long.
Thinking to myself, this is a perfect opportunity to get rid of this pretty boy.
“These are all unarmed civilians. Instead of killing them, Second Boss, why not take them up the mountain and let them cultivate the land? In time, the brothers on the mountain won’t even need to come down. With land and people to work, First Boss and Second Boss can just keep them in line.”
The second-in-command held up the knife in his hand, stroked his chin, and thought, "Isn't that a local tyrant? Interesting."
"Fine, I'll give you face and take all these poor bastards with me!" The second-in-command laughed heartily.
Isn't this more interesting than killing people? Take them up the mountain and play with them slowly. Why did they only know how to rob women before? This pretty boy is actually quite clever.
The villagers looked terrified.
Lin Anyuan looked at the villagers and said, "If you believe me, fellow villagers, let's go up the mountain today. The sooner the better."
"Lin Anyuan, these people are all bandits..." The village chief stammered, unable to finish his sentence. If they went up the mountain with bandits, weren't they bandits too?
I don't know how Lin Anyuan got to know these bandits, but at least the bandits haven't killed anyone yet.
But not killing now doesn't mean we won't kill in the future.
“Bandits are known for their loyalty; if they promised not to hurt anyone, they won’t,” Lin Anyuan said.
The second-in-command, who hadn't gone far, sneered. "Loyalty is nothing! Do you really think he's some kind of bodhisattva?"
"I didn't expect Lin Anyuan to know bandits?"
"Bah! Isn't this asking us to become bandits too?"
"Stop talking! Do you want to die?!"
The crowd went from initial panic to whispering amongst themselves, each person cautiously observing Lin Anyuan.
"Pack your things, let's go up the mountain too." Lin Anyuan looked at Ye Wan as if he couldn't hear the surrounding conversation.
"Can't we run now?" Ye Wan lowered her voice. Once we're up the bandit mountain, it'll be difficult to get down.
“Where are you going? The county will be in even more chaos.” Lin Anyuan looked at Granny Wu not far away and nodded to her.
Because of Lin Anyuan's words, the second-in-command had a new idea. Everything that could be taken from the village, including grain and livestock, was taken along and carried by the villagers, so the brothers on the mountain didn't have to lift a finger.
Ye Wan threw her ten chickens into her spatial storage, along with Daya, Erya, and Sanya, and the little bit of food left in the kitchen; there was nothing else.
"Ye family, you didn't bring anything?" Aunt Wang asked Ye Wan as she approached.
Ye Wan held Sanya in her arms, saying, "There's nothing much at home, as your aunt knows."
She never flaunted her wealth; even when Aunt Wang sold sweet potatoes for her, no one knew how much money she made.
Aunt Wang glanced at Ye Wan and couldn't help but say, "You should darken your face a bit more and try to keep your head down."
"Thank you, Auntie. I thought you were ignoring me because of what happened last time." Ye Wan smiled. She wasn't stupid; she naturally understood why Aunt Wang was talking to her.
Aunt Wang whispered, "I just got a little irritated when I heard about taxes. Once we're up in the mountains, we're hoping your husband will take good care of us, especially my two daughters-in-law..."
The two daughters-in-law of the Wang family are both quite good-looking, although not as good-looking as Ye Wan, but they clearly forgot to blacken their faces.
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