"When was your daughter abducted, and how old is she?"
Xiao Ye asked coldly.
"Your Highness, my daughter is sixteen years old this year. She was kidnapped just two days ago. Those bandits said they wanted me to raise 100,000 taels of gold within three days, and tomorrow is the third day."
As the magistrate spoke, he reached up and wiped the tears from his face.
Were they kidnapped just two days ago?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye felt doubtful. He couldn't help but recall what Emperor Wenjian had told him when he left: these bandits had been running rampant in Langya Mountain for many years and had already suppressed the local government.
The local government dared not resist the bandits in the slightest, and did not even dare to report it. If it weren't for the imperial envoy's discovery, the court would never have known.
If what Father Emperor said is true, then the daughter of the government official is already sixteen years old. How could she have been kidnapped only in the last two days?
Girls typically blossom into beautiful young women by the age of fourteen or fifteen; if the bandits had truly taken a liking to her, they wouldn't have waited until today.
So he secretly glanced at the magistrate again, and saw that although he was sad, it didn't go to his heart.
"But I didn't bring that much gold with me this time. I can only do my best to rescue your daughter while suppressing the bandits. Suppressing the bandits is still the priority."
Xiao Ye sighed, feigning regret.
"Your Highness, this... I have a suggestion. I have some fake gold prepared here. Your Highness can take it to fool those bandits first, and then do your best to rescue my daughter and prevent them from harming her."
At this moment, the magistrate's eyes lit up, and he immediately spoke.
"So you were all prepared."
Xiao Ye looked at the magistrate; it seemed there was something wrong with this magistrate!
The magistrate realized that Xiao Ye suspected him, so he quickly wiped away his tears and explained, "I had no choice. I couldn't gather that many real ones, and I didn't want to see my daughter go untreated, so I had to resort to this."
"I will do my best."
Xiao Ye didn't want to say more, but outwardly agreed to the county magistrate's request.
The next day.
Xiao Ye led 5,000 soldiers up Langya Mountain with great fanfare, and the bandits on Langya Mountain had already received the news.
Therefore, when Xiao Ye first arrived at the foot of Langya Mountain...
There were bandits guarding the area, shouting: "The magistrate's daughter is still in our hands. If you bring so many people up here, don't blame us for killing you without hesitation!"
"So what do you want?"
Xiao Ye, dressed in silver armor, glared fiercely at the bandit leader.
With just one glance, he realized that this man's demeanor was completely different from that of a so-called bandit.
Although he was the crown prince, he had actually been involved in the underworld for many years and had dealt with bandits before.
Despite the bandit's crude attire and deliberate attempt to project an air of thuggery, Xiao Ye's keen senses allowed him to detect a bloodthirsty aura emanating from him that was only found in soldiers.
This is not a real bandit.
Their banditry was all an act.
"You are only allowed to bring a few men to carry those boxes of gold up the mountain with us, and we will release the magistrate's daughter and go with you!"
The tall, sturdy bandit leader, with his dark yellow skin, spoke in a deep voice.
Xiao Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled, "What if I don't agree?"
To send him up alone is clearly a suicide mission.
What makes them think they would take such a risk for the sake of a mere county magistrate's daughter?
But just as he finished speaking, the bandits tied a young woman up from behind and threw her forcefully in front of them.
"Then let her die in front of you!"
The bandit said coldly, followed by the sound of a woman sobbing.
"No, please don't kill me! Please save me!"
The woman curled up in fear, rolled around on the ground twice in a disheveled state, her hair was messy and her face was somewhat dirty, but her delicate features could still be vaguely discerned.
She held her head in her hands, her body bearing the marks of whipping. The white jade belt around her waist had long since turned black, but the jade pendant hanging from it was particularly dazzling.
Even though his clothes were dirty and disheveled, the jade pendant was exceptionally exquisite and noble.
Xiao Ye, standing opposite, only glanced at the woman, but when he saw the jade pendant on her body, his pupils suddenly contracted.
How could this be...?
How did she get this jade pendant?!
Is this my jade pendant?
Or is it just similar?
Xiao Ye's heart was filled with shock, and his gaze was fixed on the jade pendant at the woman's waist.
"Hahaha, beat her! Since they won't agree, then beat the magistrate's daughter to death in front of everyone!"
The bandit leader laughed loudly, and then several bandits pulled out whips and walked from the side to the woman.
Before the whip even touched the woman, she screamed "Ah!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, there was the sound of several stones falling to the ground, and the bandit holding the whip felt a sudden pain in his hand.
After the bandits yelled "Ah!" a few times, the whip in their hands fell to the ground, and they looked angrily at Xiao Ye.
"Your chances of winning a battle on this mountain are slim. Do you really want to court death?"
Langya Mountain has a treacherous terrain, and they have set up many traps in the mountains. If Xiao Ye's people were to fight them here, they would indeed have the advantage and be able to fight Xiao Ye's people to a standstill.
It could even cause Xiao Ye's people to suffer heavy losses.
However, this does not guarantee that Xiao Ye will be killed. Xiao Ye has his own people protecting him, so at most he will be injured, but he will be able to save his life.
Moreover, they will be severely weakened. If Xiao Ye calls for reinforcements again and takes the opportunity to continue the attack, their Langya Mountain will fall sooner or later.
They're saying this now out of wishful thinking, hoping to see how much Xiao Ye values that woman.
Because once a fight breaks out, in the chaos, it will be impossible to take care of the woman.
Sure enough, after a moment's thought, Xiao Ye made a decision that surprised even his own people.
"I'll go with you!"
"Your Highness! This is a trap!"
Seeing that Xiao Ye had agreed, Ye Dong immediately offered words of advice out of concern.
The bandits, however, smiled upon hearing this. "Then hurry up and tell your men to retreat!"
Xiao Ye selected a few soldiers to carry the gold out of the crowd, and ordered the others to stay where they were and obey Ye Dong's orders.
Then, the bandit leader tied up the county magistrate's daughter and took Xiao Ye up the mountain.
After climbing five or six slopes and making more than ten turns, they finally led Xiao Ye to a deep part of a dense forest.
Swish, swish, swish!
As soon as they entered the dense forest, countless arrows began to fly from nowhere, and even sharp knives began to emerge from the ground.
The bandits didn't care about the gold in Xiao Ye's hands at all. After Xiao Ye entered the dense forest, they led the woman to dig a hole deep in the forest and try to escape inside.
While dealing with arrows and knives, Xiao Ye saw that the bandits were about to escape and he was running out of time to handle them.
He suddenly pulled a black whistle from his chest and blew it.
Instantly, a number of people dressed in green surged out from all directions and blocked the bandits.
The arrows and daggers also stopped within a short period of time.
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