Chapter 171 Chaos
The group looked bewildered: "The second-in-command told us to wait here, so we'll just wait here. What if we mess things up? Shut up and stop giving orders."
Jiang Mi was leisurely and carefree. These bandit leaders hadn't received much education and were quite easy to fool. She could easily outwit them with a few tricks. Why hadn't she caught them all these years?
Logically speaking, bandits in Linshui County should be easier for the government to catch, but the fact that they've been able to operate for so long suggests there might be something going on.
"By the way, with bandits and robbers so rampant in your Linshui County, doesn't the government do anything about it? You must have quite a lot of bounties on your bounties, right?"
One of them said smugly, "You have no idea how powerful our boss is. His connections are incredible, far beyond what ordinary people can match. You know, the magistrate of Linshui County..."
"Shut up!" another man shouted. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you can just tell strangers these things? This woman just came up the mountain today. Who knows what her background is? What if she's a spy sent by the government? You two stay here and keep watch. I'm going to go outside and check the situation. No one is allowed to do anything reckless."
It seems that the person who spoke this time was one of their leaders. After speaking, he gave Jiang Mi a wary look and left the cave. The others stood there, stunned, and dared not say anything more.
With so many people around, Jiang Mi couldn't very well go out to check on things. Judging by the time, Xiao Maozi should have reached the halfway point of the mountain by now, and the second-in-command should have entered the first-in-command's cave.
"Second Master, the First Master is already asleep. If you have anything to say, please come back tomorrow."
The second-in-command was stopped outside the cave. He angrily said, "Back in the day, I was very close to the boss. We were together day and night, and even slept in the same bed at night. How come you're looking down on me now?"
The man saw the second-in-command's gloomy expression and wondered what was wrong with him today; he suddenly seemed like a completely different person.
"But... the chief has already gone to bed with Miss Liu. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to go in at this time? Or should I go in and inform them for you?"
The second-in-command was already intoxicated and only thought that this was the perfect opportunity; he didn't care about anything else.
"No need, I'll go in myself. My brother won't blame me; we're the best of brothers."
After saying that, the second-in-command went straight in. The man didn't dare to stop him and could only watch helplessly as he went in, looking completely bewildered. The two men the second-in-command brought with him each grabbed one of the man's arms and shouted, "Good brother, let's have a chat. Don't bother the two leaders. Don't you know how close they are?"
"Yeah, let's have a chat, it's been a long time since we've had a drink and a chat. Come on, brother, it's on you."
The man sensed something was wrong and tried to turn around, but the two men pulled him away, and he couldn't stop them.
The second-in-command entered the cave and found it quiet, without even a snoring sound. Were the two of them sleeping soundly?
The second-in-command quietly pulled out a knife from behind him and slowly walked towards the stone bed, where a person was lying with the blankets bulging. It was unclear whether it was Zhang Yi or Yang Liu.
He took a closer look and was just about to make a move when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him: "Good brother, what are you doing sneaking around here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
The second-in-command was startled; his legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground. Luckily, he braced himself with his hands. He composed himself, turned around, and forced a smile: "Big brother, what brings you here so suddenly? I came to see if you were asleep."
Seeing the strange look on his face, Zhang Yi understood and deliberately asked, "What else could I be doing here in the middle of the night? But what are you doing here instead of sleeping?"
The second-in-command gave an awkward smile: "I missed you. I just had a dream that we were climbing the mountain together, so I wanted to come and see you. Back then, we ate and slept together. Have you forgotten?"
Zhang Yi smiled faintly upon hearing this: "Yes, although those times were tough, they were indeed very happy."
"Of course I haven't forgotten. You didn't come over tonight just to sleep with me, did you?"
The second-in-command, in a fit of desperation, said, "Yeah, I just felt that the old days were better and wanted to come and reminisce with you, but who knew you would suddenly appear from behind me? What, are you so wary of me too?"
Zhang Yi glanced at the bed, where Yang Liu was trembling as she looked at them.
"You came to see me, and you were acting so suspiciously. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to assassinate me in the middle of the night."
Having his secret exposed, the second-in-command broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that tonight's operation had failed and could not continue. He could only look for another opportunity later. However, after this incident, Zhang Yi would definitely be wary of him.
"Brother, you must be joking. How could I possibly kill you?"
Just as Zhang Yi was about to mock him, a commotion arose outside. The two men's expressions changed. The second-in-command was about to go out to see what was going on when Zhang Yi grabbed him and questioned, "Are your men causing trouble outside?"
The second-in-command looked completely bewildered: "No, I specifically told them not to make any rash moves... They're your men, aren't they?"
Seeing that he had accidentally let something slip, Zhang Yi sneered, "You said you didn't have any ulterior motives, but you've already said it yourself. What did you tell your men to do? Stop right now."
The second-in-command was about to go out to check when Zhang Yi grabbed him. He could only helplessly explain, "I said it wasn't me. I didn't order my men to act. What did you do? And you're trying to pin it on me. Zhang Yi, you've always been cunning and deceitful. Only you would resort to such underhanded tactics."
Zhang Yi shoved him aside and strode out, with the second-in-command quickly following after him.
Suddenly, a group of people appeared outside. They looked quite skilled and were capturing all of their men alive. Some of them were still struggling. When they saw them come out, someone shouted, "Boss, Second Boss, these are government officials! The government officials are coming! Run!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi turned and ran back to his room. He packed his important belongings and was about to leave when he saw Yang Liu staring at him blankly. He asked, "Are you coming with me, or going back with the government officials?"
Zhang Yi didn't particularly like Yang Liu, but since this woman had been with him before, he couldn't just ignore her completely. If she didn't want to be with him anymore, then going back wouldn't be a problem.
Yang Liu lowered her head, also pondering this question.
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