Master He Yifan knew exactly who had kidnapped him. He replied, "I've seen two of those people before. They're bandits from Qingping Mountain."
My He family is a shipbuilder, and we often buy timber from the south. This time, the bandits from Qingping Mountain robbed our timber. I sent my steward to try to buy it back with money, but he came back and told me that the leader of Qingping Mountain Stronghold wanted me to go in person.
Because the bandits in Qingping Mountain only seek money and are not willing to kill people, I brought Jin Yang and a few guards to Qingping Mountain.
Unexpectedly, he was kidnapped by the group of people on the way. They sent a manager back to report that they wanted a ransom of 30,000 taels.
Jinsong brought the ransom, but they took the money but refused to release the person. Thanks to the girl and Hu Zhuangshi's help, we were able to escape danger."
He Jinyang asked, "Where are you all going?"
He Zhengchu replied, "We are from Changming County and plan to live in Anzhou City."
The three of them, father and son, were all delighted. He Yifan said, "We're going back to Anzhou too, so why don't we go together? Once we get to Anzhou, you can all stay at my He family first." If they could go together, they would be safer.
"Yes! Can you tell me about the situation at Qingping Mountain?"
He Yifan nodded. "Qingping Mountain is the largest mountain in Anzhou. To the north of the mountain is Baitou Mountain, to the south is Anzhou City, to the west is the Haihe River, and to the east is the official road. We are currently located in the northeast; the bandit stronghold is on the southeast side of the mountain."
Kang Yueran was puzzled and asked, "It's next to Anzhou City in the south, and the bandits are living in the southeast? I heard that the bandits have lived in the mountains for many years. Doesn't the Anzhou government care?"
"The eldest leader, Li Hu, has a sworn brother who works in the Ministry of War and is a member of Duke Lu's family. Duke Lu is the current Empress's brother and is incredibly powerful, with few daring to offend him.
In addition, Li Hu did not harm ordinary people, and only sought wealth from merchants without taking lives, so all the successive Anzhou governors turned a blind eye to Li Hu.
"Is the cottage big?"
He Yifan pondered for a moment, "I don't know the exact number, but I heard there were 300 to 400 able-bodied men alone, and if you include women, children, and even a thousand others, there's no one to count."
He Jinsong said, "I heard that the village is recruiting disaster victims recently. A young and strong man can bring two relatives to the mountain."
He Jinyang asked doubtfully, "Doesn't the village always refuse to admit outsiders?"
Being a bandit sounds bad, but being a bandit in Qingping Mountain is very profitable, because not only can you have food to eat and money to earn, but you also don’t have to go down the mountain to rob or fight with others.
"I'm not sure. I heard it from the victims when I stopped to deliver the ransom."
He Zhengchu looked into the distance and said, "Since the stronghold is in the southeast, we can't go any further. We have to go around to the west."
He Yifan hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard there are wolves on the west side of the mountain. We can only go west from here, not to the top of the mountain, but around the foot of the mountain on the west side."
Kang Yueran looked at the carriage. Going west would probably take another day. Plus, with three more mouths to feed, their food supply would be a bit tight. They'd have to hunt some animals to replenish it. "Then let's go west!"
Having already offended the bandits of Qingping Mountain, it is safer to go west than to take the official road. Besides, there is no guarantee that you will encounter wolves.
He Zhengchu said, "It's almost dawn. Yuan Chen and I will be on guard. You guys should get some sleep."
Hu Dacheng was already fast asleep, and Kang Yueran was also tired, so she leaned against a tree and closed her eyes.
There was no road to the west, so we had to follow the outer edge of Qingping Mountain. The path was bumpy and tree-lined, making it difficult to navigate with a donkey cart. As we began our journey south, the sun was already setting in the west.
Kang Yueran found a relatively flat place to rest for the night. Seeing that there were no disaster victims around, she asked Huang to cook porridge.
Water was running low, and food needed to be replenished. Kang Yueran tied up everyone's water bags and took them with him, saying he was going to find water and hunt.
Hu Dacheng and Kang Yuanchen wanted to follow, but Kang Yueran disagreed. The reason was easy to find: to prevent a surprise attack by bandits.
She walked all the way up the mountain, and after leaving everyone's sight, she entered the space and first filled everyone's water bags with water from the spiritual spring.
Hu Dacheng had returned the crossbow arrow to her. She washed it, reapplied anesthetic on it, and then put the arrow in the warehouse.
The warehouse that we spent money on is quite effective. Generally speaking, anesthetics will lose their effectiveness quickly when exposed to the air, but after being stored in the warehouse for several days, the effect is still great.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw the white tiger wandering around in the space, so she took it with her. It didn't make sense for the owner to be left alone in the space while they were fleeing famine and had no food to eat.
As soon as the white tiger came out of the space, he shrugged and said, "Master, there are wolves nearby!"
Kang Yueran paused and asked, "How much?" Is she so unlucky?
"One!" After saying that, it roared to the left, and the wolf immediately turned around and ran away.
Kang Yueran bent down and patted Baihu's head, "You are still somewhat useful."
The white tiger was very happy and took the opportunity to show off, "Master, you take a rest, I will help you catch prey."
Kang Yueran nodded with satisfaction, feeling the relief of a grown-up son. "Okay, be careful!"
The white tiger ran away, and Kang Yueran was not idle either. She squatted down and looked around for mushrooms and wild vegetables. It was not good to go without vegetables and fruits for a long time, and as for the vegetables grown in her space, forget it, let's not talk about them.
After digging for more than a quarter of an hour, Kang Yueran heard another tiger roar.
She ran quickly in the direction of the sound, complaining in her heart as she ran, thinking that she had raised it for so long in vain, and it couldn't even deal with an animal?
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