Liu Hong'er looked up, her face showing surprise.
"Second, second sister-in-law, how...how did you know?!"
Black Wolf looked somewhat surprised: "Lady Hui, you actually recognized me! Why aren't you afraid?"
“Why should I be afraid? If you wanted my life, you wouldn’t have let me go last time, and you certainly wouldn’t have reminded me to take my family away this time,” Song Anxin said.
Black Wolf cupped his hands in respect: "Madam Hui has such a magnanimous spirit, I, Black Wolf, admire her."
It turned out that the bandit leader was called Black Wolf. Song Anxin continued, "You want Hong'er to leave, but you also want me to evacuate from here." She paused, her eyes darkening, "Are you planning to loot the entire village from your stronghold?!"
Black Wolf's eyes widened suddenly. How could Lady Hui know this?!
Seeing his expression, Song Anxin knew that her guess must be correct.
Liu Hong'er said anxiously from the side, "Black Wolf, you can't do this. Didn't you tell me you never kill people and that you only became a bandit because you had no other choice? Why are you doing this? The people in the village have been very good to me and Mingzheng. I won't allow you to hurt them."
"Do you think I want this! Hong'er, listen to me, take the child and leave here immediately."
Song Anxin narrowed her eyes slightly. She was right, and she was also right about the black wolf. The reason she was so bold as to confront him was because she felt that the black wolf did not seem like the kind of vicious and ruthless bandit who wanted to kill people.
She said, "Black Wolf, if you don't want to, why don't you stop them?"
Black Wolf was speechless: "I, I..."
Song Anxin didn't wait for him to say anything and went straight to her guess:
"Let me guess, is there some problem within your mountain stronghold, or is the bandit who led you before... dead?"
Although it was a guess, Song Anxin spoke with absolute certainty.
Black Wolf was immediately taken aback: "Lady Hui, how...how could you have known!"
Song Anxin said calmly, "I heard that more than ten years ago, the bandits of Lianshan only robbed passing caravans of their money, not of human life, and did not rob ordinary people. Now, more than ten years later, their behavior is completely different from before."
Black Wolf's eyes darkened: "Wife Hui is indeed clever, but there's nothing you can do even if you guessed it. The current leader is extremely vicious, and his brothers are very supportive of him. Our attempts to stop him are completely useless."
Song Anxin didn't respond to his question, but changed the subject and asked Liu Hong'er: "Liu Hong'er, the reason you got pregnant with his child and then followed Lin Gangzi to Linjia Village was because of his bandit identity, right?"
Liu Hong'er was taken aback, then replied truthfully, "Sister-in-law Lin guessed correctly. Actually, I was originally a girl in a brothel. Later, I met Black Wolf. Black Wolf treated me sincerely, and I also fell in love with him. So, the two of us pooled our money and had him redeem me."
But when I went with him to Lianshan Village, I discovered he was a bandit. At that time, I was already pregnant. I had already spent half my life in the mud; I didn't want my child to be born into the mud, nor did I want him to be born a bandit. I wanted him to grow up upright and honest. So, I carried Black Wolf down the mountain and found Lin Gangzi, this gullible fool.
As Liu Hong'er spoke, she became somewhat agitated: "Black Wolf, if you really care about me and the child, please don't come looking for us anymore, and don't ruin our current life. I beg you."
Black Wolf's expression shifted: "I'm sorry, Hong'er, I... I shouldn't have lied to you, but Mingzheng is my child after all, and I can't bear to part with you."
Liu Hong'er broke down in tears: "I can't bear to part with you either, and I don't want the child to be without a father, but what can I do? Waaaaah..."
The burly man, Black Wolf, was at a loss. He didn't know how to comfort Hong'er, and could only turn his head and sigh heavily.
"Hong'er, I'm sorry, now that I'm a bandit, there's no turning back."
Song Anxin looked at them and already had a plan in mind. Seeing that the time was right, she spoke up:
“Who says there’s no turning back, Black Wolf? I do have a way to make you a law-abiding citizen, so you can live peacefully with Hong’er and Mingzheng in the future.”
The two of them looked at Song Anxin at the same time.
"What! You want me to betray Lianshan Village? No way! I can't betray the brothers of Lianshan Village!"
After hearing Song Anxin's idea, Hei Feng immediately stood up and refused.
Song Anxin said coldly, "Black Wolf, although your Lianshan stronghold was once a bandit group, it still had its own code of honor and bottom line. Now your stronghold is no longer the same Lianshan stronghold with loyalty and righteousness. Your brothers have long since changed. If you continue to follow them, your hands will be stained with blood sooner or later. You say there is a group of brothers who, like you, uphold bandit honor. Are you sure they want to live such a life of licking the blade?"
"You're not just doing this for Hong'er and Mingzheng, you're doing this for your true brothers too!"
Black Wolf looked conflicted. Although his brothers had changed, they had once been loyal and devoted to each other.
Liu Hong'er said anxiously, "Black Wolf, this is the only chance for our family of three to be together openly. Sister-in-law Lin's idea is definitely not wrong. Are you going to abandon me and Mingzheng for your so-called brothers?" She said fiercely, "If you do this, don't even look at us mother and son anymore. We mother and son will consider you dead!"
Black Wolf was momentarily stunned. He looked at Liu Hong'er's tear-filled eyes, and after a moment, he finally made up his mind and said:
“Alright! Madam Hui, I agree. But I don’t trust those government officials, I only trust you. I hope you can be present when we discuss this, and I don’t want to see any county soldiers.”
Song Anxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, she would have really asked Qingshan to detain the black wolf and send him to the government. Although he was not the mastermind, he was still a man with a sense of justice, but she could not joke about the safety of the common people.
She said, "Okay, see you here at 7:00 AM tomorrow."
After Black Wolf left, Song Anxin began to deal with Lin Gangzi and Liu Xiuhong. Lin Gangzi was a fugitive and naturally had to be sent back to the yamen. As for Liu Xiuhong, Song Anxin had Qingshan untie her and let her go wherever she wanted.
After being freed, Liu Xiuhong rushed to Lin Gangzi.
"You bastard, you filthy thing! Why didn't you just die on the street! You're a rotten maggot in this latrine..."
Liu Xiuhong cursed and slapped Lin Gangzi hard. Lin Gangzi was tied up and gagged, so he could neither resist nor make a sound. He could only struggle and mumble.
Liu Xiuhong stopped hitting him only after she had run out of strength to vent her anger.
Then, looking dejected, she walked up to Song Anxin and knelt down: "Second Aunt Lin, I was blinded by greed and harmed Song Tongsheng before. I'm sorry!"
After saying that, she kowtowed twice and turned to leave.
Looking at her blank back, Song Anxin finally sighed and said, "Liu Xiuhong, your mother has been waiting for you at home."
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