Qi Guanlan was kidnapped
My unserious cousin suddenly became serious, and he's really not used to it.
Qi Mingshuo pursed his lips and looked into the distance. Someone was approaching. He frowned, rode his horse to the guards, and said, "Guard the grain well. Do not take lives unless absolutely necessary."
Following the direction he pointed, there seemed to be a flock of crows, their bodies devoid of any other color, their dark shadows fluttering as they flew out of the forest.
"Anyway, it won't block the way, so why worry?"
As the others approached, Qi Guanlan realized he had spoken too soon. It wasn't a crow, but a black dove, a bird that kills its own kind and eats carrion. It wore a coarse blue cloth robe covering its face, and its eyes were lifeless as it babbled something that made his heart pound.
They actually came to steal his food.
Qi Guanlan's face darkened. He could give it away, but no one dared to take it from him—just a bunch of troublemakers.
"Guanlan, come here quickly," Qi Mingshuo called out.
Qi Guanlan arrived beside the carriage. With a whoosh, the guards drew their weapons in unison, holding long swords and sabers diagonally in their hands, the veins on the back of their hands bulging, the cold light shining so brightly that he couldn't open his eyes.
They drove them away in a blatant display.
Unfortunately, the footsteps in the forest did not stop; in fact, there was a rustling sound, like the friction of a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, its vertical pupils filled with predatory greed, as if it had been bewitched.
The thin, sharp blades emanated a chilling aura, but they ignored them, brandishing iron rakes and plows and shouting, "Grain! Grain, leave it here!"
...
Want food? No way! Qi Guanlan's face darkened, while Qi Mingshuo's eyes gleamed. Under the emperor's nose, refugees are allowed into the city, and there are soup kitchens. How could these people choose to rob?
That's really strange. Were the farm tools they were stolen, or were they just villagers from the neighborhood?
"Kill them!"
While Qi Mingshuo was still pondering, Qi Guanlan, enraged, recklessly gave the order. The person opposite was taken aback, but fearlessly charged forward with an iron sledgehammer in hand.
With a nearly 50% disparity in numbers, and their attacks completely disorganized, the two groups were evenly matched for a time. Even though the guards hated their persistent harassment and wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible, they dared not actually fight back because the Crown Prince had made it clear beforehand.
Qi Guanlan hid behind his cousin and watched him kick one of them away. "You still have the potential to be a great hero."
The saying goes, "To catch the thief, first catch the king." This group clearly knew this, and they rushed towards Qi Guanlan one after another, obviously not even taking Qi Mingshuo seriously. Qi Mingshuo dealt with the surroundings and said irritably, "Do you need to tell me?"
With a loud thud, Qi Guanlan crashed into the carriage. His back ached, and he grimaced, saying, "I'm not praising you. Just kicking won't do. You stood up in a minute, like a ghost soldier. Use your sword!"
Qi Mingshuo clearly didn't listen, and didn't even draw his sword. "Didn't you realize they were ordinary people?"
Qi Guanlan: "This is robbery, which is illegal."
Qi Mingshuo breathed a sigh of relief. His brother's thinking was too simplistic. Ordinary people wouldn't have the guts to commit such a robbery with the entire village's resources. He must have been bewitched. However, he would have to wait until the robbery stopped before questioning him in detail.
Seeing that he still refused to draw his sword and was in a disheveled state due to protecting himself, Qi Guanlan's eyes darkened. He hurriedly climbed onto the carriage and stood at the highest point, which made things much easier for Qi Mingshuo.
Qi Guanlan stood above, occasionally offering reminders. After fighting for so long, the opposing team was clearly exhausted, and their attacks were slowing down. He shouted, "Tie them all up! One tael of silver for each head, and I'll throw you a victory celebration afterwards!"
Qi Mingshuo nodded, and the guards no longer stood guard over the small area outside the carriage. The soldiers who had emerged from the shadows of swords and the mountains of corpses were far superior to ordinary people, and even Qi Mingshuo was able to act freely.
The situation changed drastically in an instant. The villagers near the carriage all squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, and tried to hold the ropes in their hands in despair. Their faces turned ashen. Qi Guanlan sat on the carriage, breathing in the fresh air, watching the show with his chin in his hand. The real fight scene was truly a rare sight.
He glanced casually at the last group, the ones furthest from the carriage. They exchanged a look, and Qi Guanlan's heart suddenly pounded; it seemed the next few had planned this all along.
Bamboo tubes were thrown over their heads as they squatted on the ground, crackling sounds exploding in their ears. Puffs of yellow smoke billowed from the tubes, startling the previously quiet horses. They suddenly reared up and neighed, then galloped wildly in one direction.
Qi Guanlan instinctively grabbed the rope tying the car, and when he came to his senses, he realized that someone was waiting in front of him.
Whether by coincidence or mockery, the sky, which was about to clear up, suddenly darkened again, casting dappled shadows on Qi Guanlan's face. His clear, glassy pupils gradually dimmed. He looked behind him, where all was silent, before his expression changed.
After a stick of incense had burned, the robbers drove the carriage. Qi Guanlan, with his hands bound, followed at the back of the carriage. He was panting heavily as he walked along the bumpy road, his white deerskin boots already splattered with mud.
People gathered around the carriage, discussing how the rice and flour should be distributed between the two carriages, what cooking method would be the best, how much each of them would get, and the strategist who, in his moment of pride, let slip the secret.
The man who volunteered to follow him had messy hair like a bird's nest, swung a riding crop in his hand, and his disdainful excitement was chilling.
"Traitor!"
Qi Guanlan was annoyed and started cursing. But after he felt good about it, he was suddenly hit on the head. Qi Guanlan glared at the culprit, his eyes flashing with a cold light, sharp and intimidating.
The man with the messy hair shrank back, realizing what was happening. Enraged, he lashed out with his whip and yelled, "What are you glaring at me for? You were so arrogant before, but you'll get what's coming to you!"
"Take it easy, he's the princess's son, our brothers' lifeline. Don't really anger him to death!"
Another burst of laughter erupted.
The familiar whip struck him hard. Qi Guanlan squinted, feeling a burning pain on his back and arms. It turned out that his mother used a clever technique when she hit him.
The sharp tip of the whip swept across his cheek, leaving a whip mark on his fair and handsome face for the first time. Qi Guanlan gritted his teeth, staring helplessly at the hemp rope in his hand. He had walked a long way without stopping for a moment, and his calves began to ache, his feet feeling cold.
In the past, he would have kicked them and fought these thugs. Now, he could only glance at them and remember their dark, emaciated faces. There was even one who had been lying in bed, pale and unable to get out of bed just a few days ago.
His wife demanded two taels of silver from Wen Ruo in one go, and his fur coat was also at his house, worth at least ten taels. Wen Ruo said that ten taels was half a year's worth of household expenses for her family. People are never satisfied.
They were actually from Huangshi Village.
"In remote and impoverished areas, wicked people often emerge." Qi Guanlan felt a lump in his throat, unable to swallow his anger. His face turned pale and then red. How could he be asked to settle this gang of thieves? Damn it, let whoever wants to do it do it. Even if he gets a hundred beatings, even if he's drowned in spittle, he will never do it.
"So you turned to banditry, risking the extermination of your entire clan, sacrificing your parents, wives, and children, just to steal two cartloads of grain that rightfully belonged to you?"
The man with the messy hair instantly changed his expression, and his gaze turned somewhat menacing.
Qi Guanlan straightened his back, his face indifferent.
His words were like a bomb; the people who were laughing and joking just moments before instantly changed their expressions, and even their messy hair was pulled away.
Qi Guanlan relaxed and finally had the time to look around. His feet were almost numb from walking. The mountains in front of him looked pitifully small, like looking through a small gap in a rolled-up book. The cold wind was close at hand, and there was complete silence all around, with only the sound of the wind whispering in his ears.
The mountain road stretched on and on. Qi Guanlan's lips parted slightly, unsure of what to say, feeling a profound emptiness in his heart.
I miss the days when Wen Ruo was by my side.
Not everyone can cheat and swindle. Even now, when asked to smile or flatter, his lips feel as if they are sewn together, and he simply cannot open them. It turns out that what Wen Ruo does is so difficult. It turns out that if the roles were reversed, he really couldn't do it.
Qi Guanlan was captured, and Qi Mingshuo was extremely anxious. The Imperial Guards split up to look for the carriage tracks, leaving only two guards to guard the villagers. When asked why, they refused to speak. Before even starting to suppress the bandits, they had already encountered stubborn villagers. Qi Mingshuo began to regret his actions.
An hour later, the Thousand Feather Army arrived, led by what Guanlan had mentioned as the fake, refined deputy general, Lian Yan.
When Lian Yan heard that the grain supplies had been stolen by the people and that Qi Guanlan had disappeared while protecting them, he burst out laughing.
His broad shoulders stretched his scholar's robe without a single wrinkle, his sunken eyes gleamed with a sharp light, and his loose eyelids concealed the disdain in his eyes. He looked around with a playful expression. "The Thousand Feather Camp has an imperial decree. The matter of suppressing the bandits cannot be delayed. We shall take our leave now."
Qi Mingshuo instantly understood his younger brother; this guy was really annoying.
He threw down the branch, walked over to Lian Yan, pushed aside the guards, and kicked him. Lian Yan had already noticed the pretty boy beside him; seeing him approach, his body tensed immediately, and he slightly strained, ready to watch the show.
The armor was indeed a bit uncomfortable. With a feint, Qi Mingshuo swept his knees, and Lian Yan fell to his knees with a thud. He couldn't believe he had ever been humiliated like this before, and his face instantly turned into a riot of colors.
Qi Mingshuo stood with his hands behind his back and smiled. The Imperial Guards only needed one glance to show their tokens and said, "What, even the deputy general says that the Crown Prince is lying? Or are you going to disobey the imperial decree?"
Lian Yan broke out in a cold sweat, pressed his head to the ground, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes. "This humble general dares not."
"Go after them! Make sure Guanlan is safe. If there are any losses, don't come back."
The sound of iron cavalry thundered as they approached through the water. Qi Guanlan turned around abruptly—the Thousand Feather Camp had finally arrived!
Soldiers in armor, wielding long spears, surrounded the chariot and its occupants, with tall horses blocking the front. Only the leader, dressed in an oddly shaped white scholar's robe, made Qi Guanlan realize for the first time that his slender, fox-like eyes weren't so unpleasant.
The surrounding chatter was sharp and grating, making Qi Guanlan feel like he was being pricked by thorns. Hearing the last part, he couldn't help but sneer. Now they knew fear, but it was too late. The Imperial Guards had only managed to win by surprise with the smoke bombs, who would have thought that they had the same trick up their sleeves?
The villagers were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. With less than ten people left, fighting was out of the question. Their fearful eyes all fell on Qi Guanlan. Qi Guanlan was a spoiled brat who was afraid of death. As long as they detained him, their lives would be safe.
"Young Master Qi, what happened to your face?" Lian Yan asked casually. The man with the messy hair, feeling guilty and anxious, pulled out a dagger and held it to Qi Guanlan's neck.
"Let us leave, or we'll kill him."
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