Chapter 111
Jianzhou.
In a big house somewhere.
On the floor, drops of blood dripped onto the ground, gathered together, and then gradually spread out.
Lying on the ground next to the bloodstain was Mr. Hu, whom Li Si had seen on the boat before. He was covered in wounds and was dying.
In front of Mr. Hu was Mr. Meng, who was sitting on an official hat chair, covering his nose with a handkerchief in disgust.
"Drag this eyesore out and bury it!"
Several of his subordinates followed his orders and dragged Mr. Hu away.
Before dying, Master Hu roared, "Jia San, you have failed the Hall Master's trust and wasted all the years of cultivation he has put into you. You will surely die a miserable death!"
Young Master Meng frowned, his handsome brows furrowed, and addressed the assassins who were obeying his orders, "The Hall Master has nurtured us and provided us with shelter, but we, too, have risked our lives for him, risking our lives. This is essentially a matter of equal exchange."
"Now that our number one thief has met with a catastrophic disaster, as the third in rank and the second-in-command of the entire guild, I have a duty to come to this treacherous and dangerous Jianzhou to investigate and discover who exactly was the man who led us into this abysmal and hopeless situation."
"As you all know, my brother met with an accident in Jianzhou, and our sect's downfall also began with that incident. Therefore, I came to Jianzhou not only to seek justice for my brother, but also to find the culprit who framed us and brought us to this state."
"If we don't investigate the cause of our defeat, how can we rise again? I, Jiasan, firmly believe that even if the hall master were fortunate enough to come to Jianzhou, he would also hope to find out the truth of the matter."
"And I, Jiasan, also swear here. Tomorrow, if anyone here is murdered like my brother and his whereabouts are unknown, I will bring the rest of my companions with me to avenge you and make the murderer pay with blood!"
The two rows of assassins in the lobby all bowed to Master Meng and said, "We will follow Master Meng's orders."
Master Meng coughed twice, covering his handkerchief with his hand. He raised his hand, and Yi Shi, who was waiting nearby, stepped forward to receive his orders: "When will the last batch of our people arrive?"
"It will probably take another four to five days."
"So long?" Master Meng was dissatisfied.
"Sir, it's better to be careful."
Master Meng looked at Yi Shi, took off the handkerchief, and folded it in half on his knees. "Have you finished with Hall Master Sun's matter?"
Yi Shi nodded, and Master Meng waved his hand, and the rest of the people in the hall retreated.
"explain."
Therefore, General Yi Shi sent people to sneak into the government office prison and reported the information he got from Master Sun to Master Meng. Master Meng was then able to understand the whole story of how the Puzhou branch was destroyed after the court sent officials from the capital to Fujian, and why Master Sun was imprisoned.
"So, it was Jialiu who was killed," Young Master Meng murmured. "How did he do that? No wonder he stopped associating with Feihong after arriving in Jianzhou."
Yi Shi continued to tell the story one by one, and Master Meng's face became gloomy.
"Master Li, Miss Pei, where did the Shen family hire these masters from? They can't even handle Jia Liu. What kind of people are these two?"
Yi Shi suddenly paused.
Master Meng stared at him.
"Sir, both of them are from Xiaxi Village. We just learned about these two people and can't find anything unusual yet. But, that Pei Liuniang, also known as Miss Pei..."
"Oh, Miss Pei!" Young Master Meng sneered. Seeing Yi Shi stop again, he urged, "Miss Pei, what's wrong?"
"Hall Master Sun said that Jialiu was killed by this Pei Liuniang, and..."
"and?"
"Before Jialiu died, he suspected Pei Liuniang, or maybe she was the one who was our number one thief."
Like thunder cracking the sky, Master Meng jumped up in shock, the handkerchief fluttering to the ground. "Really?"
"Really! Hall Master Sun was also at the scene that day. Seeing Jia Liu defeated, he was shocked and puzzled. He also felt that the swordsmanship used by Pei Liuniang was similar to the swordsmanship taught by our number one sword thief." Yi Shi said, "And Hall Master Sun also mentioned that on the day of Mao San's accident, one of our people died in the Changlai Inn. Jia Liu went to investigate and found that the person who stayed in the inn that night was the biggest suspect. It was one Zhu Siniang, but Zhu Siniang was a false name."
"So, Zhu Si Niang is most likely this Miss Pei." Master Meng clenched his fists. "And Miss Pei is most likely the Wei Twelve that Mao San mentioned? Is it him?"
B10 nodded.
"It's him!"
Master Meng took out a letter from his sleeve with trembling hands and unfolded it. It was the last letter Mao San had sent him.
According to the letter, Mao San recognized a junior who was not yet twelve years old when he was on a mission in Geyan, Jianzhou.
This junior should have died while carrying out the mission, but he did not expect that he would see this living person again in such a far place like Jianzhou.
The reason why Mao San was able to recognize this man, Wei Shier, was because he looked like a good girl, and when he went out, he was used to dressing up as a girl as a hidden chess piece to confuse others.
We met unexpectedly today. This Wei Twelve was also dressed as a woman, but as Mao San had been secretly observing the younger generation for a long time, he quickly recognized her. After deliberately striking up a conversation and hearing her voice, he became even more certain that this person was Wei Twelve.
The person who should have died did not die and actually hid in the south.
So Mao San and his two companions decided to visit Wei Shier at night and bring the traitor to justice.
This was a private letter sent from Mao San to Jia San. No one among the number one thieves knew about Wei Twelve. They probably thought that it would be easy for the three of them to deal with a killer named Wei Xu, and that they could easily capture him and bring him back for interrogation, so they did not report it.
However, they did not expect that Wei Twelve was so capable that he killed all three of them.
And this letter from Mao San did not reach him directly.
At that time, he was also on a mission and had no fixed residence, but after hearing the news that A-di was missing, he became worried and asked Jialiu, who was in charge of the investigation, to track down A-di's whereabouts.
Afterwards, the number one thief got into trouble and was hunted down by the imperial court, and even the main hall was burned down.
Everyone was busy escaping and no one paid attention to the letter.
It was later, when Master Meng completed his mission and returned to the capital, he sneaked into the place where he used to hang out and found his own residence, and only then did he finally see the letter from Luochen.
At that time, he had a vague guess that perhaps everything was related to this Wei Twelve.
But Jianzhou was far away in the south and he could not reach it.
It happened that the hall master appointed him as the manager and asked him to take the remaining members of the No. 1 Thief to flee to the south of the Yangtze River, so that they could preserve their manpower, recuperate, and wait for an opportunity to act again. So, he decided to lead his men all the way south to Jianzhou in Fujian, one to investigate the whereabouts of his younger brother, and the other to clean up the mess.
"Not yet twelve, there actually is such a person!"
Master Meng laughed twice, then started to cough dryly. He clenched one fist and coughed for a long time before slowly sitting down.
"Wei Shier, a mere traitor named Wei Xu, actually turned the entire Tianzi No. 1 Thief upside down. A century-old foundation was destroyed, all because of a tiny ant! Ridiculous, hateful!" Master Meng gritted his teeth. "Yi Shi, tell me, has my brother been killed by Wei Shier?"
Yi Shi remained silent and said nothing.
Master Meng closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and then opened them. "Investigate Wei Shier thoroughly. What did this Pei Liuniang do in Jianzhou? Who did she associate with? When the last group of people arrives, capture them all. Then, chop their bodies into pieces and bury them with my brother!"
"Yes!" Yi Shi accepted the order and was about to leave, then asked, "Then Master Sun is still waiting for us to rescue him, sir?"
"Master Sun!"
Master Meng sneered, "This incompetent man, who couldn't even defend the Puzhou branch, has revealed so much information about us to the authorities. What's the point of rescuing him? Send someone to make the trip so he can go on his way easily and avoid further torture in prison!"
*
On Dunzi Island, orange grove.
It's time for the first batch of oranges to ripen.
Gu Ran later asked Manager Xu to buy him 200 more orange trees of these early-maturing varieties, so the output was higher than last year.
Because of the extra guys Li Ji brought to the island, and because of the expansion of orange tree planting and the hiring of many people, picking oranges this year was particularly quick and easy.
As soon as the merchant ship of Fusheng Trading Company left the nearest Dunzi Island ferry, cargo ships of orange traders from other places arrived.
Nowadays, many people know that Dunzi Island is the place where Gu's second mother planted orange trees. It happened to be the orange harvest season, so they came to ask when passing by along the river. After learning that there were still oranges on the island that had not been ordered for sale, they immediately came to contact her.
For many merchants who transport oranges from the south to the north, the first batch of early-ripening oranges is often the most critical batch of goods.
Therefore, Gujia tangerines are quite popular this year. Sometimes, fresh tangerines are immediately bought and taken away by customers who come to the island as soon as they are picked from the trees.
Soon, this batch of oranges were sold out, and the remaining ones were naturally oranges of inferior quality.
The oranges of inferior quality will be handed over to Yang Jinling, who will be responsible for further selection: the pulp will be used to make orange jam and canned oranges, while the beautiful orange peels will be dried.
As the orange grove expanded, several more drying platforms for orange peels were built near the big house. Even orange jam and canned oranges were opened in two separate workshops, so the female workers hired temporarily by Yang Jinling would never have to worry about having no place to work.
Because I've seen more people coming in and out of the Dunzi Island ferry recently, many people have come to ask, "Hey, why is it so busy here lately?"
"What else? Our Gu family's little orange has a good harvest of oranges!"
"Sold it for a lot of money?"
"Well, we're the guys, how do we know if the sale is profitable? As long as we can get paid as usual, that's all that matters."
"Hey yo!"
There were also some curious people who wanted to go to the island to take a look. At this time, the guards of the ferry - Li Si and Luo San were responsible for the security of the ferry.
Dunzi Island is now a private island with private property. In addition, these are the most important months for the orange harvest, so it is impossible for the hired Li Si and Luo San to let anyone onto the island without permission.
Whenever they saw someone rowing a small boat approaching the ferry, they would ask their purpose. If they could not explain clearly, they would not be allowed to land.
"What do you do?"
"Isn't there an orange grove on this island? Can't I take a look?"
"There is an orange grove on this island, but it's not a wild orange grove. It's the Gu family's orange grove. This island also belongs to the Gu family. If you want to go to the island to see the orange grove, you can, but you have to get permission from the Gu family. Otherwise, no one can come up."
"Hey, she's just Mrs. Gu, what's so great about her? Just be flexible..." Someone disagreed and immediately stepped off the boat.
"If you take another step, don't blame us for using force. We will report you to the police and have you escorted back to the government office!" Li Si and Luo Sanzheng drew out their swords.
"Tsk!" These people retracted their feet in fear.
"Don't try any tricks, just go back obediently. There's also Hero Li on the island. If you run into Hero Li, he won't be as polite as us. He can pierce your heart with just two strikes of his sword!"
"Yes, you are invading private land. Landing on the island is equivalent to burglary, which is a serious crime!" Luo San said, pointing to the side of the ferry where a tall and conspicuous sign had been put up: Private deserted island, please do not enter or leave at will!
Those who wanted to go to the island secretly at the ferry left in disappointment.
This is the situation on the ferry side. As for those who landed on Dunzi Island from other directions, the terrain in other places is not as easy to walk on as that on the ferry side. Sometimes people who sneaked up saw that the island was difficult to navigate and were afraid of danger, so they returned home in disgrace. On the other hand, Li Ji and Uncle Liang each led a team to patrol in different directions, so even if there were people who wanted to come to the island to cause damage, they could be discovered and captured.
Dunzi Island still has a reputation as a deserted island. Many people still remember that there were miasma, poisonous snakes and insect pests on the island. People who went to the island now landed from the ferry, thinking that this was the safest way to go. Other places were dangerous. It was not worth going to the island and getting injured or dying for some oranges. It also curbed thieves to a certain extent.
Besides, if you want to steal on Dunzi Island, you first need a boat to row to the edge of the island. This way, incompetent criminals are eliminated. As a result, the guard team led by Li Ji and Uncle Liang only caught two kittens that intended to steal fruit before the New Year. As for after the New Year, all the oranges had been picked, and the island was cold, so no fool would be willing to go to the island.
Back to the ferry that day, Li Si and Luo San drove away those who wanted to go to the island privately. As they watched them rowing away, Li Si spotted a familiar face.
In just a blink of an eye, the man seemed to have disappeared.
"Brother Luo? Did you see someone on one of the boats just now who looked like someone who was not to be trifled with?"
"Who? Which one?" Luo San immediately looked at the small boats that were getting farther and farther away on the river.
"I just took a quick glance and it looked familiar," Li Si said, shaking his head. "Now I can't tell which ship it was on."
"Not easy to mess with? How do you mean not easy to mess with?"
"That person has the same aura as Master Meng and his companions whom we met on the boat when we came to Jianzhou."
After Li Si finished speaking, he exchanged glances with Luo San.
Are you here to explore Dunzi Island?
However, Dunzi Island is just the orange grove of Mrs. Gu. Why are they here to explore Dunzi Island?
Then I thought at the same time: Oh no, this is bad!
Master Meng said that he came to Jianzhou to seek revenge, but it couldn't be that his enemy was on Dunzi Island, right?
When it was almost dusk and they changed shifts, the two of them immediately reported the matter to Li Ji, who then went to find Gu Ran and Pei Liu.
"What? Who killed whose brother?" Gu Ran didn't understand.
"Mr. Meng's enemy killed Mr. Meng's younger brother." Pei Liu kindly explained to Gu Ran.
"Has anyone among us ever killed Master Meng's younger brother? No one, right?" Gu Ran was completely at a loss.
Now all the rare early-ripening oranges have been sold out, and I am just thinking of taking a good rest before the next wave of harvest. Why is Master Meng coming here to seek revenge?
Li Ji stroked his chin and said, "My nephew said that Master Meng has been ill for a long time, and his guards are all full of evil spirits. They are probably stained with blood. They are not to be trifled with."
"No matter how difficult he is, is there anyone more difficult to deal with than the number one thief?" Pei Liu sneered, then smiled faintly and said to Gu Ran: "Sixth Lady, no matter who that Mr. Meng is, if he comes for our island, I have me, so we are not afraid."
"But we also have to find out the details of Mr. Meng." Gu Ran said.
"I understand." Pei Liu turned to look at Li Ji. "Since his men have reached the vicinity of Dunzi Island, I'm afraid they've already reached the county town. Tomorrow, you arrange for Li Si and me to go to the county town to investigate and find out where this Young Master Meng came from."
Li Ji nodded.
"Okay, I'll go too."
"Sixth Lady?"
"Mr. Meng is here seeking revenge. I must find out why he's targeting my Dunzi Island," Gu Ran said. "Perhaps we can help him find the real murderer of his brother? Wouldn't that turn enemies into friends?"
Li Ji suddenly thought of something, "If so, then the so-called brother that Master Meng mentioned is the evil villain we killed a while ago?"
Gu Ran was stunned, and Pei Liu's face gradually darkened.
"From my nephew's description, although Mr. Meng was ill, he exuded a particularly strong murderous aura. And considering they couldn't even conceal their murderous aura, doesn't he seem like the most evil thief in the world?"
"Moreover, the news that Liu Niang and I killed the evil thief has spread throughout Jianzhou recently. It is not impossible that the evil thief's accomplices will come to seek revenge."
"No way?"
Gu Ran felt a chill in his heart.
It hasn't been long since they wiped out the number one thief in the world. How dare you come?
"Well, if that's the case, it's not good for you and Liu Niang to come forward. I'd better go and investigate. By the way, I can go to the county government office and talk to the county magistrate about this matter. The government has not yet wiped out all these evil thieves. If it is really because of the Shen family's affairs and those assassins come to seek revenge, then the government is also obligated to help us." Gu Ran said.
"It's okay, I'll go with you."
So the next day, Gu Ran and Pei Liu took a boat to the county town. After the boat docked at the pier, they went to Uncle He's stall and had a bowl of roasted grass jelly.
Now, Gu Ran’s work of growing fairy grass and konjac has been handed over to the Wu family.
Not only that, the villagers had seen Village Chief Wu's family planting fairy grass and konjac, and knowing that they could sell them for money, they also came to Village Chief Wu and wanted to learn how to plant them.
These two products were the result of cooperation between Village Chief Wu and Gu Ran, so he came to ask Gu Ran.
Gu Ran thought that if someone in the village wanted to learn how to grow crops, it would be possible.
Because He Qinghuan, who went to Damao City to study, sent her a letter saying that the He family's grass jelly shop in Damao City had also opened. Although it was just a small shop, they were the only one in Damao City that could make grass jelly. In addition, Damao City was much more prosperous than the provincial capital and had more people, so their business was very good.
According to He Qinghuan, once the business of the store stabilizes and the reputation of He's herbal grass jelly is established, and they have saved enough money, they want to expand the store.
The only pity is that I didn’t see any fairy grass in Damao City. As for konjac, there was very little of it, and it didn’t even grow as well as in Jianzhou. When I dug them out, they were all very small. If you want good konjac, you still have to transport it from Jianzhou.
Gu Ran felt at first glance that according to He Qinghuan's personality, when he made a lot of money in the future, he might open a branch in Damao City. It would not be impossible for him to have people plant more fairy grass and konjac now.
If we wait until the demand in Damao City increases before preparing the ingredients, it will be too late.
So they agreed to let Village Chief Wu teach the villagers to plant fairy grass and konjac, but there were not many, only two families.
She was also afraid that if she planted too much, if He Qinghuan's store didn't go well, she would have to consume all the cactus and konjac she grew by herself, and she had no plans to expand this side business for the time being.
When talking about the supply of fairy grass and konjac, we have to mention the use of windmills.
Nowadays, her family's windmill is left untied, whether there is wind or not, and is allowed to rotate slowly by itself. It is like the wheel of a stone mill that slowly rotates to grind the dried konjac slices.
When it rains, she will ask Village Chief Wu to help put the rotor back on the small windmill under the big windmill, which will save her a lot of effort. The konjac powder sent to Damao City can also be supplied on time and in full quantity.
Gu Ran and Pei Liu were eating roasted grass jelly at the stall, and Uncle He and Aunt He came over from time to time to exchange a few words.
Thinking that the stall was right at the dock and that there were usually many boat passengers coming and going, Gu Ran also asked about the recent situation at the dock: "The autumn harvest is over recently, so there must be more people coming to the county town, right?"
"A lot, of course." Uncle He nodded vigorously. "Hey, at this time of year, many people take advantage of the good harvest to come out to do business and pay taxes. The number of people coming and going at the dock is probably double the usual number."
"So there are not only locals, but also people from other places, right?"
"Yes, yes, of course, rice merchants and fruit merchants also come to our county to buy goods." Uncle He remembered that Gu Erniang's family was now a well-known orange producer in the county. Last year, she brought oranges to the dock in a small boat to sell and asked them to help her hawk them. He immediately laughed and asked, "Are your oranges selling well this year, Erniang?"
“It sells well.”
"Why don't I see you bringing the dock to sell?"
"The first batch that matured has already been ordered by merchants from the north, and the next batch hasn't arrived yet!" Gu Ran laughed. "Oh, right, we have a few customers we haven't worked with yet. They're from the capital. They placed orders last year and said they'd be coming for the harvest around this time. Calculating the date, they should be arriving around this time. Uncle He, have you noticed any people from the capital who have recently come from Jianzhou?"
"Hey, people from the capital? There are so many people at this dock every day. Who knows who is from the capital? There's nothing carved into their heads!"
"They look unfamiliar?" Gu Ran glanced at Pei Liu, who was sitting quietly by the side, and then repeated the description he had heard from Li Ji. "I heard they are all roaming the martial arts world with murderous auras. The leader is also sickly and looks like he won't live for many days!"
Second Uncle He thought about it seriously and said, "Hey, hey, hey, you said it's a stranger, and it looks like a short-lived ghost?"
"ah?"
"Then I think I met one. He didn't look like someone from Jianzhou at first glance. He kept covering his face with a handkerchief and coughed every now and then, looking like he was about to burp at any moment." Uncle He said, "Yes, he brought a group of guards with him. I don't know if he has a murderous aura, but I know he's not someone to be trifled with. This guy must be quite important. Is he a client of your Gu family's Xiaoju?"
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t!”
According to Uncle He's description, they are probably the group of people like Master Meng.
But even if he asked this, Gu Ran couldn't admit it. What if Second Uncle He was too enthusiastic and thought that he was really his customer? What would happen if he saw Young Master Meng approaching and greeting people?
"Uncle He, how come you suddenly remember it so clearly?"
"Well, wasn't it because they got off the boat that day and wanted to find a place to rest and catch their breath, so they came to my stall and had a bowl of roasted grass jelly. They even commented that it was not delicious at all, and I made a note of it." Uncle He thought about it, still indignant. "Who at this dock doesn't know that our He family's roasted grass jelly is uniquely delicious, right, Er Niang?"
Gu Ran chuckled.
"Not mentioning this young man, I'm afraid he's the son of some wealthy family?" Uncle He asked, "Like the Shen family, who moved to Yongchang County from somewhere else?"
"Why do you say that?" Gu Ran and Pei Liu were stunned.
"Well, that day he said that about our roasted grass jelly, I got angry and looked at them a few more times. Then I memorized the appearance of this group of people pretty much. Then I found out that every other day, one of their guards, like the leader, would come to the ferry to pick us up."
"To pick someone up?"
Were they the same group that Li Si had seen, arriving in separate batches? Or were there other assassins rushing to the county town?
"Yes, there are always about four or five people every time, all looking exhausted. I've picked up three groups of people so far."
Gu Ran:!
Then he looked at Pei Liu: You can’t be that unlucky, the three groups of people who came later are all the number one thief, right?
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