Is it the atmosphere of the army?

Lei Zhonglian gripped the spear tightly in his hand.

Looking at the people pouring out from all directions, some riding horses and some running, it looks chaotic.

These people were dressed in tattered clothes, looked ferocious, and were holding various weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds.

"Leave some money for the journey, leave some money for the journey."

They shouted strangely and waved the weapons in their hands.

"Master Fang, these people don't look right." Lei Zhonglian said.

Although his father's death was sudden, Mr. Fang was not frightened by the scene because he had followed his father around since he was a child. Even when surrounded, he remained calm.

"What's wrong? There are many bandits in this area." He said, "But it doesn't matter. They want money, and we want a way out. Let's just live in peace."

After hearing what Master Fang said, the person in charge came forward to deal with the bandits.

Lei Zhonglian also asked the escorts to prepare for defense.

"If anything goes wrong, don't fight hard. We only want to save our lives, not fight for pride or money," he ordered.

The escorts all nodded, and some of the younger brothers even laughed.

"Brother Hualien, everyone knows this, why did you specifically remind me of this?" they said.

Repeatedly reminding someone about something that does not need to be reminded means that the person is nervous and uneasy about the matter.

Lei Zhonglian looked at the bandits that were looming around him with a gloomy expression.

“These people don’t look right to me,” he said.

The escorts also looked over, somewhat puzzled.

"These bandits have been here for many years, so it's nothing unusual. Sometimes there are more, sometimes there are fewer. The situation has been bad in recent years, so more of them have become bandits." Someone said. "But they are just looking for money, so there is no need to risk their lives."

"We are not afraid even if they fight to the death." Someone else laughed and said, "Many of these people can't even hold a knife steadily."

In the past, the bandits relied on their numbers, but not many of them had martial arts skills, so if a fight really came to a head, the escorts would not necessarily suffer a loss if they did not have an absolute advantage in numbers.

This is reasonable. But this time he felt something was a little strange when he looked at these people.

Their voices, shouts and movements may seem chaotic, but there's always a strange sense of order in them.

At this moment, the negotiator let out a scream and fell off his horse.

"Catch the hostage, he's a fat one!"

The cry also came.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Fuck them! These people have big appetites and are not afraid of dying." The escorts shouted. They deployed their troops to fight.

As they moved, the thieves over there came in like a tide, shouting loudly.

"Kill."

"Kill."

"Kill."

These words rushed into Lei Zhonglian's ears, and he felt as if he was struck by lightning.

I know what's wrong.

Their voices were so orderly that even the chaos was deliberately chaotic. Soon they were gathered together and unified into a force like an overwhelming force.

And what they shouted was kill.

If it was a bandit, at most he would shout "Go!" or make meaningless shouts. If he charged forward shouting the word "kill", there would be only one scenario.

That's on the battlefield. That's the soldiers.

Lei Zhonglian once joined the army and went to the north to follow Duke Cheng. However, because his parents were old, he had to give up halfway out of filial piety.

He had been to the battlefield, killed enemies and trained with his comrades. Although the time was short, the feeling was deeply rooted in his bones.

These people, these people are not thieves!

"Retreat quickly, don't fight back, don't form a battle formation, quickly protect Master Fang and retreat." Lei Zhonglian shouted.

But it was too late.

"So those people are not bandits, but well-trained soldiers?"

A female voice sounded softly in my ears, and at the same time a bowl of hot tea was handed over.

Lei Zhonglian's tense body relaxed a little and he took the hot tea to warm his cold hands.

"Yes." He said in a hushed voice, "The government later caught those bandits, and they admitted that they did it. There are witnesses and evidence, but I can be sure that those bandits are not bandits."

"The evidence is just your feeling at that time?" Miss Jun asked.

Just like when they saw the woodcutter, their first feeling was that their hair stood on end.

Because they have all seen officers and soldiers, especially those who have been on the battlefield and seen blood.

But this is just a feeling, just like the instinct of animals when facing danger, it can only be understood but not expressed in words.

Lei Zhonglian lowered his head, looking sad and angry.

"Yes, no one believed me." He said in a low voice.

Everyone thought he was trying to shirk responsibility.

Because he repeatedly claimed that it was the officers and soldiers who did it, that it was a long-planned plot, and that this was a tragedy and an injustice, and he refused to admit that he was incompetent.

It was much more honorable for the escorts to be unable to defeat the officers and soldiers than to be wiped out by a group of bandits.

Miss Jun didn't say anything.

Fang Chengyu, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.

"What did my mother and grandmother say?" he asked.

"The first wife couldn't stand any stimulation at that time..." Lei Zhonglian said, "The old lady said."

As he spoke, he raised his head and glanced at Fang Chengyu.

"She said I was lying, she said, that's impossible," he said.

Why not?

He was not convinced, so he did not leave and stayed in Deshengchang, just to find out why.

Miss Jun looked at Fang Chengyu, and Fang Chengyu was also looking at her.

Miss Jun smiled and said nothing.

"I've read the records of the time, and I've also read the files of the government's investigation into the incident." Fang Chengyu looked at Lei Zhonglian and said gently, "There are indeed no signs of officers and soldiers involved as you said, and there are no soldiers stationed around Yangcheng. If they were transferred from other places, it would be impossible for so many people to leave without leaving any trace."

Lei Zhonglian looked at him with some surprise in his eyes.

This young master actually knew what happened back then and had even read the case files.

Did he also have doubts about his father's death? Otherwise, why would he go to the case file? Everyone knew that he was killed by bandits.

"I'm a patient, and I have nothing else to do, so I just read books and think about random things." Fang Chengyu saw his thoughts and said with a smile, "And at that time, Duke Cheng was already stationed in the north, and the officers and soldiers of the three northern routes were all under his command. You don't believe the investigation of the government here, and you don't believe that my grandmother is ignorant, but you should believe that Duke Cheng is strict in governing the army, right?"

Yes, who could easily mobilize the Duke’s troops without leaving any trace?

"So you see, that's why my grandmother said it's impossible." Fang Chengyu said in a gentle voice.

Lei Zhonglian looked sad.

Yes, it should be impossible, but he really couldn't be wrong, so why?

It was really as others said, he was so frightened that he had hallucinations, and couldn't face the death of so many fellow disciples, so he made excuses to comfort himself.

"But Uncle Lei, you are right about one thing." Fang Chengyu said.

Lei Zhonglian raised his head suddenly and looked at him.

"My father's murder must have been premeditated." Fang Chengyu said, "And Uncle Lei, you are someone our Fang family can trust, so I asked you to escort me this time."

believe?

Do the Fang family believe him?

A light flashed in Lei Zhonglian's eyes.

"Master." He called out in a trembling voice.

Fang Chengyu nodded with a smile.

"Let us hurry on now," he said, "lest we be discovered and our escape be in vain."

It turns out that the young master was not abandoned by the Fang family, but was chosen to protect him.

Lei Zhonglian looked at Fang Chengyu with a look of sudden realization.

"Young Master, could it be that your illness was also caused by someone..." he asked.

Fang Chengyu nodded.

So that's why he left Yangcheng so suddenly and without anyone noticing and headed for such a faraway Runan.

Lei Zhonglian felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

"I didn't expect that the old lady and the first wife turned out to be..." he murmured.

It turns out they have always believed in him.

That’s not necessarily the case. Fang Chengyu glanced at Miss Jun and realized that it was she who believed in him.

Miss Jun smiled.

"But now I have to trouble you to help me into the car. You have to take care of the two of us who have difficulty moving. This is something no one expected," she said.

Lei Zhonglian couldn't help but laugh.

At this time, knowing the deep hatred that both his father and himself were killed, he could still be so calm and indifferent.

This made him feel ridiculous for being so self-pitying in the past.

"Okay," he said, "Master and Madam, let's get going now so that those bad guys can't find us."

…

There was a crisp snap.

The shopkeeper Song smashed the pink porcelain teacup on the table to the ground with an angry look on his face.

"What a bunch of rubbish, how could it take so long to find them?"