Chapter 45: Will you scream when you act?
The one-eyed man was so upset that he wanted to kill someone.
Today, the General of Cavalry is entering the capital, and he sneaked into the city early to wait, but not only did the general refuse to see him, even Lord Di who released him from the Ministry of Justice prison and the Prince of Huai who had drunk with him and asked for favors from him also refused to see him.
He was just told to go back to Guikuizhang and wait.
"Damn it, these smiling foxes can't even fart after three kicks. What are they waiting for?"
"Waiting to die, of course."
The sudden sound behind him startled the one-eyed dragon. He jumped up and turned around, drawing his sword. He saw a tall and thin man walking out of the tunnel, wearing a familiar ghost mask on his face.
The one-eyed man recognized the mask and said, "So you are one of the general's brothers. I've seen you before in the prison of the Ministry of Justice."
Of course, the King of Jin heard the temptation and sneered, "It's good that you recognize this mask. The brother before is already dead."
He added, "If he dies, I will die too, and you will die even more."
The one-eyed dragon drew his sword and slashed at him. The King of Jin dodged sideways and shouted, "It was General Wang who wanted you dead. I'm here to remind you not to be ungrateful!"
The one-eyed dragon was suspicious: "I am of great use to the general, why would he want to kill me?"
Prince Jin: "Your use is nothing more than to help him carve out the Ghost Crying Peak, so that he can suppress the bandits and gain merit and hold this place in the name of defending it. Perhaps he is on his way to suppress the bandits now."
Hearing this, the one-eyed dragon snorted and laughed, "The general wants to pretend to suppress the bandits. This has been informed in advance. I think you have bad intentions. Are you here to sow discord?"
General Wang led his troops up the mountain from the north and told him to take his brothers to hide in the dense forest in the south, and that he would send someone to pick them up in two days.
The King of Jin slowly shook his head and sighed, "Our suppression of the bandits is not a pretense. Hidden in the dense forests to the south, where you've reserved your escape route, are four thousand heavily armored soldiers, waiting to wipe you out."
"Heavily armored soldiers?" The one-eyed dragon's face changed slightly: "That's impossible."
King Jin: "You can go and see for yourself."
The one-eyed man was about to go, but after taking two steps, he turned back, squinted his triangular eyes, looked King Jin up and down, and his gaze fell on his seemingly injured hand.
He pushed King Jin aside and wanted to go down to the dungeon to check, and King Jin followed closely behind him.
The one-eyed dragon was alert: "What are you doing here?"
Prince Jin: "Could it be that I guessed wrong? The Great Master is not going to keep me under observation and then go to the dense forest in the south to verify whether there is an ambush?"
One-eyed Dragon: "So what? If you dare to play tricks on me, I will come back and cut off your head to make amends to the general."
The King of Jin smiled and said, "To be honest, I just sent two brothers to look for you. I saw many tender birds in the dungeon and couldn't help but play with them. As a result, one bird was particularly fierce and pecked through the fence."
Then he raised his hands in self-deprecation: "I haven't had enough fun yet. Let me pick one and play while I wait for good news from the boss."
The one-eyed man did not like women, and even more so he looked down upon men who could not even subdue a woman. He spat with disdain, but acquiesced to King Jin's request.
This person seems to know a lot of inside information. If what he said is true, we really can't offend him.
The dungeon has been restored to its original state.
While Prince Jin was dealing with the One-Eyed Dragon, Cong Ying and several other girls carried the bodies of the two bandits to the deepest part of the dungeon, covered them with layers of hay, and squatted on them to conceal their tracks. They then relocked the dungeon's wooden gate and gave the key they had found on the bodies to Wei Yin'er for safekeeping.
She whispered to the girls, "There's a secret passage in this building leading out of the village. I suspect it's on the other side of the building, near One-Eyed Dragon's bedroom. If trouble breaks out later, you'll act accordingly. Hopefully, you can find the secret passage and escape."
Ah He was panicked: "Where's my sister?"
Cong Ying touched her head without saying a word.
Fortunately, the dungeon was dim, and the one-eyed dragon didn't notice the bloodstains on the wall. He shone the torch toward the dungeon entrance and saw that the chains were intact and the girls inside were still huddled together like lambs. He felt a little relieved and said to the King of Jin, "You choose."
Prince Jin stood in front of the dungeon, his eyes sliding across Ying's face without stopping.
The one-eyed man was still staring at him, trying to guess his motives. If he couldn't figure it out, he would always be uneasy.
The King of Jin pointed at Wei Yin'er first and said, "She bit me, so I want her."
A gleam of light flashed in the one-eyed dragon's eyes.
Wei Yin'er was personally captured by Lady Wang Shiqi, who was her enemy. The one-eyed dragon remembered Lady Shiqi saying she had a brother outside.
I couldn’t help but think: Could this kid’s surname be Wei?
If his last name was Wei, everything would make sense: his sister was abducted, and he held a grudge against the Wang family, so he went up the mountain pretending to be a general, hoping to sow discord between him and the general...
It wasn't necessarily just a provocation. His ghost mask, the secret code in his clothing, and his intimate knowledge of General Wang made even the One-Eyed Dragon dare not completely ignore his words.
The one-eyed man was proud of his own insight and sneered, "She's no good. You should find someone else."
Prince Jin was getting impatient. He insisted on wanting only her. He glared at her with his triangular eyes and made a move to draw his sword: "If I say no, then it's no. Believe it or not, I will send you two to the west together right now."
King Jin took a step back and said, "You can't kill me. I know a lot of General Wang's secrets!"
The one-eyed dragon glared at him angrily, and the King of Jin could only sigh: "Then I'll change to the prettiest one."
He swallowed his anger and pointed at Congying reluctantly: "Boss, please don't be reluctant."
The one-eyed man took a quick glance and found her indeed beautiful, but he had no impression of her. Thinking it was unimportant, he nodded and asked someone to release her and take her to another earthen building for guarding together with the ghost-faced man.
This guarded earthen building is a simple guest room. There are tables and chairs in the main hall. When you push open the wooden door on the east side, you will see an earthen kang covered with rough bedding.
The two were pushed into the east room and locked. The bandits guarding them stood in the main hall and refused to leave, and seemed to be lying on the door listening to the commotion.
Cong Ying pointed at the door and whispered to King Jin what to do. Her face flushed, and it was unclear whether it was because of anxiety or embarrassment.
Prince Jin's mood was more subtle than hers.
"This is a temporary solution, and requires you to suffer some injustice."
Prince Jin walked towards her and saw that she was tense as if facing a great enemy. All the mixed feelings in his heart turned into amusement.
He lowered his head and asked Congying in a low voice: "Um... can you scream?"
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Wang Zhaoshen led the army, with flags flying and banners waving, and marched towards Guikuzhang in a mighty force.
After about ten miles, the centurion caught up with them and reported urgently, "Princess Chun'an is leading an army of about a thousand men. Their banners are black with golden wolves on them, and they look like the men of the Twenty-Four Guards!"
Upon hearing this, the military supervisor, Prince Huai, had a slightly changed expression: "Xie Xuanlan? Is he crazy? How dare he collude with your Majesty?"
Wang Zhaoshen cursed even more: "I'm not going to dig up his family's ancestral graves. What on earth is there in Guikuizhang that you have to chase me and not let go?"
The Prince of Huai said, "I'm afraid they've become aware of what's happening on the mountain. We absolutely cannot let them follow us up the mountain."
Wang Zhaoshen asked, "What do you think, Your Highness?"
The Prince of Huai Commandery arranged, "Please ask General Wang to stop the noble master here and persuade him to return. I will go to the dense forest in the south first to ensure the safety of the four thousand soldiers."
Wang Zhaoshen thought it would be better to switch places, allowing him to deploy the troops while the Prince of Huai would stay to deal with the noble lady. However, he knew that the Prince of Huai was somewhat afraid of the noble lady and did not want to confront her directly, so he nodded in agreement.
Their arrangements were almost exactly what Xie Xuanlan had expected.
Xie Xuanlan said to Princess Chun'an, "Princess, go and stop Wang Si. I will lead my men to encircle us from the south of the mountain. The terrain is clear within a radius of sixty miles, and only the dense forests of the southern mountain can hide us. If those four thousand heavily armored soldiers are not at the foot of the cliff, they must be in the dense forest."
Princess Chun'an glanced at him and said, "I don't trust you that much, unless your husband goes with you."
Xie Xuanlan thought about it and felt that this was exactly what he wanted. He selected a team of elite soldiers and secretly took a detour with Prince Consort Xuan.
He galloped all the way at full speed, his horse's hooves splashing dust like rain, and he did not avoid the rugged rocks. Except for Prince Xuan who was still able to follow him, the elite soldiers under his command were almost left out of sight by him.
Prince Consort Xuan asked him, "Why are you so anxious, Third Young Master? Are you going up the mountain to save someone?"
Xie Xuanlan denied it, saying, "I'm just itching to do something great."
Although the two of them started late and took a detour, their pace was not much slower than that of the Prince of Huai. At the southern entrance of the Ghost Crying Mountain Valley, they ran into four thousand armored soldiers who were packing up and were about to be led by the Prince of Huai to quietly move to the cliff at the bottom of the mountain to hide.
Xie Xuanlan whistled at him, and when Prince Huai saw him, his face turned green.
Collaborating with bandits and secretly storing weapons and armor were capital crimes, and even a prince of high rank would inevitably be stripped of his title and punished. The Prince of Huai was instantly enraged and panicked, his rage growing stronger. Seeing that only Xie Xuanlan and Prince Consort Xuan were present, he couldn't help but harbor murderous thoughts.
Xie Xuanlan spoke before him: "Cousin, you are here to catch the stolen goods, right? It seems that I am not as fast as you, so you got there first."
Prince Huai: “……?”
Xie Xuanlan ignored the dense mass of soldiers behind the Huai Jun Wang as if they were nothing. He rode his horse slowly towards him and said to him in a low voice, "Cousin, I at least call you cousin, and in the future I will call you brother-in-law. Our two families are so closely connected, why make such an awkward scene? Since I dared to come here, there must be more than one person behind me."
Prince Huai was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xie Xuanlan: "As long as you give up the idea of relying on the Wang family, now follow me to the mountains to suppress the bandits. The credit for finding the private soldiers and suppressing the bandits will be yours. If there is any guilt, your master will bear it for us."
Without his father, King Ying, to guide him, Prince Huai was at a loss for a moment.
After thinking about it for a while, he actually felt that what Xie Xuanlan said made a lot of sense.
Xie just didn't want to be replaced by the Wang family, not necessarily to take her own life. Compared to being reported and becoming a prisoner, betraying the Wang family and keeping herself safe were obviously better choices.
After pondering for a while, the Prince of Huai made up his mind and followed Xie Xuanlan's words, saying, "Indeed, I was just about to encircle and suppress the bandits from the south. I didn't expect Wang Zhaoshen to have hidden his own soldiers here. He truly has ulterior motives."
Xie Xuanlan smiled and said, "Leave the private soldiers to Prince Consort Xuan for inspection. You and I will go up the mountain now."
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"Don't touch me, let go!"
"Help, help..."
From inside the door came the sounds of a woman crying and screaming, and occasionally cloth tearing and tables and chairs colliding. Two bandits, lying on the door of the east room, listened with great interest. They tried to take a look through the crack in the door, but saw the quilts on the earthen kang bulging, blocking their view.
At the beginning, Cong Ying couldn't let go and her shouting sounded dry, which sounded like fake acting.
Prince Jin had no choice but to grab her arm and drag her onto the earthen kang. With a cold face, he pretended to strangle her neck and tear off her clothes. Cong Ying was frightened by him and suddenly learned how to cry and shout at the top of her lungs.
Prince Jin cooperated by shaking the bedding and tearing the cloth.
This scene was really absurd. It went on like this for nearly half an hour. Cong Ying cried louder and louder, but Prince Jin gradually couldn't bear it anymore. He thought that if the one-eyed dragon didn't come back, he would kick the door down and kill the two bastards who were eavesdropping.
However, the changes came faster than the one-eyed dragon.
Xie Xuanlan and the Prince of Huai each led a select group of elite troops and stormed the stronghold from the dense forests to the south. Like a madman, he slaughtered anyone he saw, wielding his sword and arrows like chopping melons and vegetables. Although outnumbered, the bandits knew he was not to be trifled with, and gradually turned to attack the Prince of Huai. The Prince of Huai shouted and yelled from behind, but Xie Xuanlan didn't even turn back and rushed straight into the stronghold.
Following Jiang Congying's crying, he kicked the main door of the earth building to pieces.
The two bandits first saw a cold star-like flash of knife light, and then saw the person wielding the knife behind the light. Before they could open their mouths, their heads rolled down along the blade.
Immediately afterwards, Xie Xuanlan swung his knife to cut off the lock of the east room's door, and the entire fir door fell inward. Through the dust that was stirred up, he saw the scene on the earthen kang.
The man wearing a ghost mask was suppressing Jiang Congying and plotting against her, while Jiang Congying's clothes and hair were disheveled and her face was covered with tears. The look in her eyes suddenly became extremely frightened when she looked over.
Xie Xuanlan's heart suddenly tightened.
She must have been terrified.
So he quickly drew his bow and arrow, aiming at the ghost-faced beast. Just as he was about to release the bowstring, he saw Jiang Congying rushing in front of the man and shouting:
"Stop! Don't kill him!"
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Author's Note: Xie Xuanlan: A hero saves a beautiful woman! Wait...that's not right. [Joker]
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