Behind the house, by the charcoal kiln, the bald man, who was resting with his eyes closed, listened intently as Zhiwen and the others honestly recounted their experiences before going up the mountain to Ye Laoda's son, his thoughts filled with complex emotions.
This kid has a better ability to apply what he's learned than anyone else, and he's also very bright.
Almost immediately after hearing about Zhiwen and the others' backgrounds, the bald man noticed Dazhuang's meaningful gaze.
With a touch of scrutiny and understanding.
He seemed to have guessed what the chieftain had given him before leaving.
The bald man didn't dare to ask, secretly praying that the kid wouldn't expose his true intentions, considering his wholehearted devotion to Boss Ye and his dedication to making money.
Suddenly, the bald man's nose twitched, and his expression changed drastically.
There are many varieties of sleeping powder, and their smells vary, but the key ingredient inside is almost the same for all of them.
He quickly gave a soft 'shh' to his men, telling them to shut up, then lowered his voice and pointed to the bamboo house: "Attack together."
Da Zhuang quickly pulled a few impatient teenagers to the back, his mind racing:
Tonight, when we were opening the charcoal kiln, someone inexplicably showed up. Was it a mole from the mountain stronghold, or one of the bandits who were driven down the mountain earlier?
Before even leaving the path, Dazhuang unconsciously shook his head, dismissing the unreliable guess.
When he saw several men in black robes about to push open the door and enter, he narrowed his eyes: Mother said that the reason why Doctor Su was so shameless in wanting to live in the valley was not because she threatened him with force, nor because he had nothing better to do, but because... villains were about to come knocking on the door, and Doctor Su had no choice but to temporarily hide in the valley.
While Da Zhuang was pondering for a few breaths, the bald man led his men and charged over in a commotion.
The man in black seemed to have scouted the area beforehand, not expecting so many bandits to be there at night. He was stunned for a moment before being knocked to the ground.
But the men in black were clearly prepared. They swiftly fired hidden weapons, injuring several bandits, and then launched a few smoke bombs, momentarily blinding everyone before turning and fleeing with agility.
The bald man narrowly dodged the hidden weapon by sidestepping, and was about to pounce to grab the person when the wooden door surrounding the bamboo house was suddenly pushed open, and Ye Wenxue's voice arrived before Ye Wenxue even appeared:
"My child, Mommy has come to take you home."
The bald man stopped chasing after them and glanced at Da Zhuang, who was hiding at the back of the crowd: "..."
He went into the bamboo house to open the window and let the air out, and woke up Grandpa Xu. The timing of opening the charcoal kiln could not be wrong.
When Grandpa Xu was woken up, his mind was still foggy. He looked at the bald man who had woken Xu Lin up again and asked in a daze, "Huh? Why do I think I heard a scream?"
The bald man, unsure whether the Xu family was lucky or unlucky, sighed, "You heard me right, just go out and see for yourself."
Grandpa Xu helped the awakened Xu Lin out the door, and was immediately startled by what he saw: "What are these... these inhuman beings?"
The bald man walking in front didn't respond. Looking at his bewildered subordinates and Da Zhuang standing behind Ye Wenxue praising her, he felt a strange pang of sadness.
If he didn't have to maintain his dignified image in front of his underlings, he would have long ago knelt down beside Ye Wenxue and begged for her protection!
Not only him, but many of the bandits who had seen Ye Wenxue privately speculated that even their leader might not be able to defeat Ye Wenxue...
You need to find a reliable backer, right?
The bald man's eyes gleamed, and after a moment he stepped forward eagerly: "Boss Ye, you take a rest, leave these people to me?"
As soon as Ye Wenxue pushed open the door, she bumped into several men in black. She almost thought something had happened to Dazhuang, then she thought that the Xu family had probably been tricked by her, and finally she remembered the bald man and his gang.
"There are only five people, and you can't even handle them?"
The bald man, feeling quite aggrieved by the question, replied, "The dozen or so brothers I brought are all skillful and quick-witted, but they're a bit lacking in fighting..."
The group of bandits kept their heads down and dared not utter a sound.
Most of the men in the mountain stronghold who knew how to fight had been sent by the former leader to kill people and had been driven down the mountain by the eldest brother.
Only those good-for-nothings who only know how to eat are allowed to stay in the mountain village.
Dazhuang peeked out, feigning ignorance, and asked the bald man, "If you kill them, won't you also be driven down the mountain?"
The bald man shook his head: "What my brother meant was that we shouldn't indiscriminately kill innocent people. This kind of thing, where people come to our door to harm us, doesn't count."
He was the one who led the team to deal with the thugs who followed Ye Wenxue with the intention of robbing her last time.
Da Zhuang said "Oh," ignoring how the bald man dealt with the five people he had captured, and ran to Grandpa Xu, who was about to retreat back into the house: "Grandpa Xu, can we start opening the kiln now?"
Old Master Xu reluctantly withdrew his gaze, his voice trembling as he spoke: "Yes...yes, let's go take a look at the charcoal kiln."
Grandpa Xu took the initiative to hold Dazhuang's hand to bolster his courage.
Before leaving, Da Zhuang helped Xu Lin, whose eyes were lifeless, and also called Zhi Wen and the other three.
The others looked at the bald man who was delivering punches with such force, then at Ye Wenxue, and realized it was none of their business, so they followed him to the charcoal kiln.
Ye Wenxue moved a stool over and sat down. After the bald man had finished beating her, she slowly asked, "Who sent you?"
The group gritted their teeth and remained silent.
Ye Wenxue didn't mind, and smiled as she raised her chin and nodded at the bald man: "Torture him or not, then we'll take his bones apart one by one. I'm curious to know the difference between charcoal made from human bones and charcoal made from firewood."
The bald man felt a chill run down his spine and shuddered violently. Just as he was about to step forward and do as he was told, the younger-looking man in black quickly begged for mercy:
"It is...it is the prefect of Tanzhou..."
Before he could finish speaking, another man in black slapped him hard on the head, and he was gone in an instant.
The bald man's eyes narrowed, and he quickly looked at the other people, only to see the other men in black bite open the poison sacs in their mouths and collapse to the ground, their faces ashen.
The bald man turned around blankly to look at Ye Wenxue: "Prefect? County Magistrate? Or acting Prefect?"
Ye Wenxue sighed: "Which one of these can you handle?"
Is that even a question?
You can't handle any of them?!
The common people will not fight against the officials, especially since he is a bandit with a bad record.
The bald man fell silent.
Ye Wenxue instructed him: "Go check the quality of the charcoal first, then bury the person far away, so as not to frighten the Xu family."
The bald man responded sullenly, his eyes flickering as he looked at Ye Wenxue.
Ye Wenxue: "?"
The bald man rubbed his hands together and said with a fawning smile, "Boss Ye, why don't you take over our stronghold? If you say east, I'll never go west, just say it..."
"Can't you come up with something new?" Ye Wenxue scoffed. "Your older brother hasn't been down the mountain for long, and you're already thinking of abandoning darkness for light?"
The bald man vaguely guessed what he meant, and his expression froze for a moment. "Which side is dark?" he asked.
"I just wanted to find another powerful backer."
Besides, if Boss Ye were to take over the stronghold, I'm sure my elder brother wouldn't disagree or blame him.
Before he could finish speaking, Ye Wenxue shook her head: "No, I have to set a good example for the kids at home. I can't be a bad person."
The bald man hesitated, then said, "You've never been lenient when it comes to killing people."
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