Liu Xiuhong's back froze for a moment, then her voice drifted out.
"Thank you, Aunt Lin."
She turned around and walked towards Linjia Village, but stopped after taking two steps.
"Liu Hong'er, don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this."
Liu Xiuhong walked away without waiting for Liu Hong'er's reply.
Upon hearing this, Liu Hong'er immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing her like this, Song Anxin asked her, "After Black Wolf regains his civilian status, what do you plan to do with Aunt Tietou? Will you tell her directly or just take the child and leave? But I must remind you, Aunt Tietou is a decent person."
Liu Hong'er said, "Second Sister-in-law Lin, I know that Lin Gangzi's mother is very good to me and Mingzheng. I don't want to hurt her. I... I don't know what to do then... I'll think about it some more."
Seeing Liu Hong'er's conflicted expression, Song Anxin ultimately said nothing more.
In the afternoon, a hearty laugh echoed from the office of the Ningdu County government.
"Haha, this Lady Hui really is like a pillow delivered to this magistrate who is about to fall asleep."
As Yan Shuping spoke, he handed the letter in his hand to Master Fan, who was standing next to him. Master Fan was overjoyed when he saw it.
"This Lady Hui is truly a capable person; she actually persuaded the bandit leader. Now we don't have to worry anymore."
Yan Shuping's eyes darkened, and he tapped his fingers on the table.
"This time we will wipe out the bandits of Lianshan in one fell swoop. Someone, send someone to find Song Xuezi."
And in a room in the mountain stronghold.
"Second-in-command, are we really going to betray the leader like this?"
"Yes, after all, we're brothers who've been through thick and thin together, even in the mountain stronghold."
Black Wolf looked at his closest brothers and said:
"The leader is no longer the same leader. More than ten years ago, we had no choice but to become outlaws. Although we are bandits, we still have our own code of honor and never take lives lightly. Since Jackal took over the position of leader, he has become more and more ferocious and has gone against our original intention of establishing Lianshan Village with the leader."
I ask you, can you really go with jackals and tigers to massacre a village? Can you bring yourself to kill those innocent people?
Four or five men remained silent. They looked at each other, then nodded emphatically. One of the men stepped forward and spoke.
"Second-in-command, we're following you. We don't want to become executioners who slaughter innocent civilians."
The next day, around dusk, Song Anxin, along with Qingshan, Qingfeng, and the other two, waited at the foot of the mountain not far from the village entrance.
Not long after, a carriage appeared on the main road and slowly drove towards them. Apart from the driver, there were no county soldiers with him. The carriage stopped in front of them, and the people who got out of the carriage were Magistrate Yan, Master Fan, and Lin Fenghe!
Song Anxin: "......." You kidnapped my son again!
"Mother," Lin Fenghe called out obediently.
Yan Shuping noticed the way Song Anxin was looking at him, and chuckled as he looked away, saying, "Hui Ruren, you know, the scenery in the mountains at dusk is really quite nice, hehe."
Song Anxin smiled and said, "Yes, it will be even more interesting when a group of burly men with knives suddenly emerge from the mountains."
Yan Shuping's smile froze instantly. Master Fan paused for a moment and immediately took a step back behind Magistrate Yan. The four of them, Qingshan and Qingfeng, immediately stepped forward to protect Song Anxin and Lin Fenghe in the middle.
Yan Shuping: "..."
He twitched his lips and said, "Madam Hui, there's no need to worry. The county soldiers are all nearby and will certainly not put you and Scholar Song in danger. Besides, I'm not bad at fighting either."
She didn't know the magistrate's skill level, but she had already anticipated the ambush of county soldiers nearby. After all, she knew she should bring Qingfeng and a few others with her, since the other side was, after all, bandits, and it was always better to be cautious in case of any unexpected events.
As dawn broke and the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) arrived, a slight noise came from a part of the forest. Song Anxin and her group looked in that direction and saw Black Wolf leading four or five men with broadswords at the foot of the mountain.
The two groups stood at a distance, sizing each other up.
“Black Wolf, these are Magistrate Yan and his advisor Fan from Ningdu County. They have followed your instructions and have not brought any county soldiers. You and your brother should be relieved now.”
Black Wolf raised his hand: "Brothers, put your knives away."
The two sides slowly approached each other, and then stopped.
Black Wolf spoke first: "Magistrate Yan, I know you. Can you really restore my brothers to their status as law-abiding citizens and stop pursuing us?"
Magistrate Yan said, "As long as you help us wipe out the bandits of Lianshan Village and eliminate the danger to the people, you will be able to atone for your crimes and make amends. This is naturally not a problem."
"How would you like us to assist you?" Black Wolf asked.
"I heard you're planning to loot the village soon?"
Black Wolf's expression turned grim: "This is not what we expected."
Yan Shuling said with his hands behind his back, "Whether it's what you think or not, you, including the mountain chief, are going to take action. We must take advantage of this opportunity to go up the mountain and wipe them out. Tell me, how many people are in your mountain stronghold, where is your stronghold located, and what is the terrain like?"
Since Black Wolf had chosen to cooperate with them, he didn't hide anything and explained carefully: "The Lianshan stronghold has over six hundred people, including nearly five hundred men excluding the elderly, women, and children. The stronghold is located in Lianshan..."
Yan Shuping, Song Anxin, and their group were all shocked. A mountain stronghold with over six hundred people! This Lian Mountain Stronghold was indeed a large stronghold, and its location was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Lian Mountain Stronghold was more troublesome than they had imagined.
Everyone looked troubled. At this moment, Lin Fenghe spoke up: "Magistrate, why do we insist on going up the mountain to wipe them out? This mountain is the territory of the bandits, who are more familiar with the terrain than we are. It would be disadvantageous for us to attack them. Since they have the idea of looting the village, why don't we turn the tables on them and trap them in the village?"
Master Fan's eyes lit up: "Yes, what Song said is right. We don't necessarily have to go up the mountain. The villagers all have cellars in their courtyards. We can let them hide in there."
Yan Shuping looked at Lin Fenghe with eyes full of joy and asked Black Wolf, "Has your leader chosen which village and when will you take action?"
Black Wolf said, "We haven't decided which village yet, but it should be in the next few days."
Yan Shuping smiled and said, "Then let's choose for him."
Three days later, in Linjia Village, Ningdu County, at midnight.
The village was completely silent when suddenly a large group of figures appeared in the mountains surrounding Linjia Village.
The young man leading the group had a fierce expression. He looked down at the village below, then fixed his gaze on a large mansion at the end of the village.
"That mansion must be where Madam Hui lives."
Black Wolf said, "Yes, I heard that Madam Hui's family has many treasures bestowed by the higher authorities, and Quanqing wine also belongs to her family. The winery is located in the village."
The eyes of the jackal and tiger were filled with greed and bloodlust.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com