Chapter 153: Operation (XI) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
While the Zhai brothers were worrying about the divination, the culprit had already gone far enough away. The old man raised his hand to lift the brim of his straw hat, tilted his head slightly, and glanced at the tax collection line behind him, which had long since disappeared from sight. A youthful vitality that did not match his age appeared on his old and haggard face. He said, "I didn't expect Xiaofang to be here too."
If Zhai Le were still alive at this moment, he would also be surprised.
He traveled to Xiaocheng and had few friends with whom he could exchange courtesy names. How did this old man, whom he had only met once, know him?
The shepherd boy twirled a simple, rough bamboo flute in his fingers.
In a mature tone: "Unexpectedly, good things often go awry."
The old man smiled and asked, "With the unexpected arrival of Xiaofang and Zhai Huan, should the plan still be carried out as scheduled?"
The shepherd boy retorted, "Otherwise what? Ha, Zhai Xiaofang and Zhai Yuewen are still too green. Young Master Shen is nothing to fear."
Seeing the shepherd boy's confidence, the old man shrugged.
There's something I don't quite understand.
The shepherd boy replied in a cold, childish voice, "Ask away."
The old man frowned in confusion and said, "You're only twenty-four or twenty-five, and that Zhai Huan is already twenty. Even if he's younger than you, let's say twenty-one or twenty-two. Why do you always speak so old-fashionedly? It's as if you're two or three generations older than Zhai Huan?"
"Why does Young Master Shen like to take advantage of Zhai Xiaofang? Who is that 'son' you mentioned who 'loved wine and could drink three large jars at a time'? Your reasons are my reasons."
The shepherd boy's question immediately stumped the old man.
Why could that be?
Naturally, it's all about bringing joy to fathers. Men and women alike all have the heart to be fathers.
The old man was smiling when his expression suddenly froze.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed back into the kind and benevolent old man. Without needing a prompt, the shepherd boy understood, picked up the bamboo flute he had been playing with, and began to play. Due to the material of the instrument, the sound of the flute wasn't particularly outstanding, but the player's skill was still evident.
An old man, his grandson, and an ox leisurely returned to the village.
This is an abandoned village located deep in the mountains.
The other houses had been uninhabited for a long time; some were gnawed by insects and ants, rotting and collapsing, while others were destroyed by slippery ground. The entire village was deserted and desolate, without a trace of human habitation. Only the old house at the entrance of the village remained relatively intact, with two neglected and wildly growing orange trees planted behind it.
The old man, leading the old ox, pushed open the creaking old door.
The scout, who had been following the old house, watched for a while. Seeing a faint light emanating from the dilapidated windows, and then, after a quarter of an hour, wisps of smoke rising from the chimney, he finally turned and left, relieved. Inside, the old man standing by the window, observing the outside world, nodded to the shepherd boy.
The shepherd boy said, "It should be Zhai Huan."
Zhai Le didn't see through his disguise at all. As for that Commandant Yang, he was hesitant by nature, mediocre in talent, and had an arrogant and contemptuous attitude towards ordinary people. He would never have taken the two grandfather and grandson, who seemed to pose no threat, so seriously.
Not to mention sending scouts to follow and track them.
The only possibility is that Zhai Huan became suspicious.
"Zhai Huan? If he had suspicions, why didn't he stop him then?"
The old man felt a sense of relief.
They really have been staying here for the past two days, and there are indeed two orange trees in the backyard. The village originally had more than thirty households, and it was quite lively. However, times have been tough, and the able-bodied men have either been forcibly conscripted into the army or have been forced to leave to seek their fortune elsewhere.
The remaining elderly and children endured their fate, waiting to die. After many twists and turns, it gradually became an ordinary, deserted village.
“Naturally, it’s because the enemy has become complacent that they’re more likely to slip up. Rather than alerting them, it’s better to observe and wait.” The shepherd boy had clearly figured out Zhai Huan’s actions. He said calmly, “He didn’t see through my disguise and couldn’t figure out our identities—whether we were innocent bystanders, scouting parties for thieves, or simply thieves ourselves…”
The two used old firewood to start a fire and boil water, eating some simple dry food.
He showed no sign of being anxious.
Except for the unexpected heavy rain outside, everything else was in line with the plan of the shepherd boy and Chu Yao, including the slippery ground.
The shepherd boy appeared calm, but inwardly he was also very nervous.
If Commandant Yang chooses to clear away the mud and rubble, the chances of the tax silver being fake will skyrocket, and they will have no choice but to try to get closer and test its authenticity.
If it's true, they'll launch a forceful attack. Once they cross this section of the official road, it won't be easy to intercept them, and they'll likely be surrounded by the tax-collecting troops. If it's false, they'll have worked in vain and have to go home to wash up and sleep.
If they choose to take a detour, that's exactly what they want.
This bumpy, muddy road was not only slippery and difficult to traverse, but also extremely narrow. To pass through, the tax-collecting procession had to stretch out in a very long line, making it impossible to cover both ends in case of an enemy attack. Even with powerful martial artists present, it would be difficult to form a proper battle formation.
The advantage has vanished.
Most importantly, it can also greatly deplete the soldiers' physical strength.
Hehe, don't even think about leaving before dawn.
The heavy rain made it even more difficult.
Thinking of the things Chu Wuhui had done with Gong Shuwu, the shepherd boy was very much looking forward to seeing what Yang Duwei's expression would be when he finally made it halfway through the journey only to find that the mountain path was slippery again.
That must be a grumpy and ferocious face.
Emmm...
His guess was pretty accurate.
Darkness had fallen, and the rain had not stopped. When Commander Yang received the intelligence from the scouts ahead, his face turned ashen, like a wild horse galloping into the darkness. Even the color of iron-blue was not enough to describe his square face at that moment.
Just then, another scout rode back on horseback.
Report back to the grandfather and grandson who were herding cattle.
This is exactly what they've done—they've run right into the line of fire.
Commander Yang was seething with anger, and everything seemed wrong to him, especially Zhai Huan, who had come up with these terrible ideas and started showing off his newfound skills. He even suspected the most casual passerby was a fox spirit, wondering why Zhai Huan was so suspicious.
The only saving grace is that the slippery surface wasn't too bad and could be cleaned up.
When Commandant Yang looked at his subordinates and asked if they should clean up the area, he roared at the top of his lungs, "If we don't clean it up, are we supposed to take a detour?"
Which way to go?
Is it too much trouble to turn around?
The subordinate official was reprimanded and looked dejected.
Clearing the slippery ground didn't take long, but the tax collection team was forced to stop. The soldiers were initially relieved to be able to rest and catch their breath, but they quickly realized their mistake. The cold rain fell on their skin, cooling the heat radiating from their bodies after strenuous exercise. A cool breeze sent shivers down their spines, raising goosebumps, and leaving their limbs cold and stiff.
This muddy road is difficult to walk on even during the day, let alone at night.
Left with no other option, Commander Yang could only find a relatively open and flat place and order the entire army to rest on the spot.
The soldiers scrambled under the tax trucks to take shelter from the rain.
Those with martial courage activated their martial energy to resist the bone-chilling cold. Those without martial courage could only endure it, relying on physical means such as shivering and gathering in groups to keep warm. This half-day was more tiring than the previous few days combined, and soon several thunderous snores could be heard.
Zhai Huan felt increasingly uneasy.
Even if the grandfather and grandson are innocent, the "Tun" hexagram that appeared when the scholar cast the divination was a truly unlucky one, which meant there was big trouble ahead.
|ω)
1. I just realized that Brother Zhai Huan hasn't chosen a name yet. I'll create a character while I'm at it, which is also a way of taking notes.
To add to that, Zhai Huan, courtesy name Yuewen, is a scholar of the third rank in the Literary Mind system.
(At first I was quite satisfied with this character, because according to the naming rules, I planned to add the character "喜" to my brother's name, since "欢喜" (joy) goes well with it. But then I felt that "喜" was too down-to-earth, so I changed it again. But...emmm, as I read it, I realized something was wrong.)
P.S.: I think I've truly fallen in love with mechanical keyboards. I tried switching back to my laptop's on-screen keyboard, and it just felt strangely awkward and uncomfortable... It's really odd. I searched online and found that the polka-dot mechanical keyboard is so cute (*▽*), but it's so expensive, around 500-600 yuan, even a little over 1000 yuan...
(End of this chapter)
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