Chapter 217 Fire?
The man glanced at Lu Yong, then shrank back slightly and whispered, "Yes, it's Master Hu. He's here with the people from the village."
Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent.
Shang Ruyi's heart sank.
no……
From seeing Hua Ziying practice archery yesterday, to the eagerness of those around her today, and then to Xiao Yuansui's words just now, "He'll break in the next moment," a faint hope rose in her heart, hoping that he would really appear in the next moment.
But to his surprise, it wasn't him standing outside the mountain gate.
It wasn't him...
The fact was right in front of her, and although she had been mentally prepared for it, it still seemed to sting her particularly hard at this moment.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and tried her best to calm herself down. When she looked around, she saw that some people's expressions were obviously different from before. Lu Yong, who had been holding a knife and ready to fight, burst into laughter. He sheathed his knife as he laughed and pointed at Xiao Yuansui, saying, "Good, the people from the village are here. Let's see what excuse you have this time!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Go, go and bring them in!"
The people behind him immediately followed, and they walked out in a grand and imposing manner.
Shang Ruyi stood at the door, watching them leave. She then turned to look at Xiao Yuansui, who was still standing in the center of the hall. His expression changed several times, as if he had thought a lot in that instant. Someone behind him walked up to him and whispered, "Boss, what should we do?"
Xiao Yuansui composed himself and said, "Since you've come, we should greet you properly and not break the rules."
After saying that, he had someone tidy up the lobby and then left with his men.
Just as he reached the door, he spotted Hua Ziying and Shang Ruyi. Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes, as if he had remembered something. He walked over to Hua Ziying and whispered a few words to him. Hua Ziying nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment. When she looked up, Hua Ziying's figure had already disappeared into the noisy crowd.
Xiao Yuansui said, "Young Madam, would you like to come with us?"
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly, "If I don't go with you, Young Master Xiao won't feel at ease with me, will he?"
Xiao Yuansui smiled, seemingly quite pleased with her "sensible and understanding" manner. With a wave of his hand, he led her out of the main hall and towards the city outskirts.
Along the way, some people whispered amongst themselves, while others wore gloomy expressions, but clearly, none of them seemed quite satisfied with this unexpected visitor, "Master Hu." Shang Ruyi walked quite a distance before finally asking softly, "Who exactly is this Master Hu?"
"Hu Jinfeng, the strategist of Wanggangzhai."
"military adviser?"
Shang Ruyi raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she had immediately figured out something.
A strategist, in most cases, represents the leader of a region. A leader's achievements depend on two factors: his decisiveness and the wisdom and vision of his strategist. However, judging from the way Xiao Yuansui acted before joining Wanggang Village, Shang Ruyi couldn't see any wisdom or vision in the strategist there, to the point that she had never even heard of Hu Jinfeng. On the contrary, after Xiao Yuansui arrived, Wanggang Village changed its ways and began to take ambitious measures to conquer the world.
Therefore, the two are not on the same path.
Now, it all depends on Hu Jinfeng's attitude towards Xiao Yuansui.
If he is a broad-minded and tolerant person, then everything is fine; but conversely, if he is a narrow-minded and jealous person, then things will be different—
Thinking this, she chuckled to herself and continued walking forward.
They had traveled this road before and were quite familiar with it, but walking on mountain roads in heavy snow was inevitably a bit of a hardship, especially after leaving Cangcheng. The cold wind whipped up huge snowballs that hit their faces, making them feel like they had been beaten up for no reason. The already anxious mood gradually intensified in the hearts of those around them.
After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the mountain gate.
The place was now packed with people, and the noise was almost enough to shake the entire Huangtuling Mountain.
At this moment, it was hard to know whether to be glad that Kou Yunliang had already led the remaining troops away because of what happened that night. Although they hadn't gone far, if they were still here and saw the chaos, who knows what kind of trouble they would cause.
Shang Ruyi spotted Master Hu—Hu Jinfeng—at a glance.
He was a very thin, somewhat monkey-like middle-aged man with a mustache. Because he was so thin that his mouth was pointed, he looked like a giant rat that had become a spirit, which suited him quite well with Xingluo Granary City, which was built around granaries.
At that moment, he was listening intently to what Lu Yong was saying beside him, stroking his beard and nodding repeatedly, his small eyes, which gleamed with a cunning light, glancing at them from time to time.
After Lu Yong finished speaking, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
But immediately, Hu Jinfeng put on a big smile, cupped his hands and bowed to Xiao Yuansui who had approached, and said politely and even warmly, "Second Brother Xiao, it's been a long time since we last met."
Xiao Yuansui stepped forward and politely cupped his hands in greeting: "Master Hu, I didn't expect you to come."
“What’s so surprising about that? Brother Xiao, it’s been months since you left Wanggang Village. All the brothers have been missing you terribly. When they heard I was coming, they all asked me to give you their regards.”
"Thank you very much. Please give my regards to all the brothers for me when you get back."
"This is nature, this is nature."
Hu Jinfeng smiled and said, "But—if they could meet, that would be the best."
Xiao Yuansui's eyes flickered, and he said, "If my brothers are willing to come to Xingluo Warehouse, I would naturally be happy."
Hu Jinfeng said, "Getting here wasn't easy."
How could that be?
“We’ve been waiting outside this mountain gate for so long, we’re practically frozen, but the people on the mountain refuse to let us through. Brothers, I’m afraid you don’t have the patience to wait here.”
"Oh, so Master Hu is upset that I was negligent. It's like this, we've been going back and forth with the imperial forces several times recently. If it weren't for the strict guard, I'm afraid Xingluo Granary would have changed hands long ago."
"I see,"
Hu Jinfeng laughed and said, "I thought all these people were on guard against us!"
Xiao Yuansui glanced at him, then at Lu Yong and the others standing beside him with clearly provocative expressions, and still calmly smiled and said, "Master Hu's words are too distant."
After saying that, he waved his hand, and the guards who were stationed on the mountainside had no choice but to withdraw.
Hu Jinfeng and the others then showed satisfied smiles. Xiao Yuansui said, "It's windy and snowy here, let's go into the city to talk."
So, with a wave of his hand, Hu Jinfeng led his men into the mountain along with Xiao Yuansui and the others.
Shang Ruyi naturally turned back with the others, but as she left the mountain gate, she subconsciously glanced outside again. However, amidst the falling snow, Luokou Ferry and even the entire surrounding valley were deserted. The entire Huangtu Ridge was as silent as a lifeless frozen wasteland.
Nothing she hoped for happened.
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A short while later, they returned to the council chamber.
The place had been cleaned up, and the tables and chairs that had been kicked over had been rearranged. Xiao Yuansui led Hu Jinfeng and the others inside to sit down, while the men they brought were temporarily lined up outside the door. Although the ranks were fairly orderly, their arrangement in the city inevitably gave people a sense of murderous intent, especially since these men all had gloomy faces, exuded a murderous aura, and carried swords at their waists.
After Hu Jinfeng entered the hall, he carefully looked around the spacious council hall and then looked at the seat at the top, which was obviously the leader's seat. At this moment, Xiao Yuansui slowly walked forward and sat down.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
Then he said, "I never imagined that Brother Xiao would find such a different world after leaving Wanggang Village. This place is much more impressive than Wanggang Village."
After sitting down, Xiao Yuansui placed one hand flat on the table and said with a faint smile, "This place was originally where the imperial army was stationed, so it is naturally built differently from other places. After we move in, we are just temporarily borrowing it."
"I see,"
Hu Jinfeng laughed and said, "I'm afraid Brother Xiao will get used to the grandeur of this place and won't feel comfortable returning to the village in the future."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of many people in the hall changed.
Xiao Yuansui remained calm and waved his hand. Immediately, a group of people came in and served hot tea and some snacks. Xiao Yuansui said, "Master Hu has come in a hurry, and we haven't had time to prepare. Let's have some hot tea and snacks first. Later, we will hold a banquet to welcome you all."
Hu Jinfeng glanced at the food on the table and sneered, "Brother Xiao is indeed living a good life. But how can I eat when I think of the brothers in the village still suffering and starving?"
Xiao Yuansui immediately frowned: "What do you mean by that, Master Hu?"
Hu Jinfeng stood up and said, "Three days ago, the granary in the village caught fire, and all the stored grain was burned. Seeing that the brothers are running out of food, I suppose you wouldn't just stand by and watch us die, would you, Brother Xiao?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuansui's expression immediately turned serious: "What? The village is on fire?"
"good."
"Were other places burned as well?"
"No, only the grain warehouse caught fire, and the fire was extinguished in time, so it did not spread to other places."
"oh……"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuansui seemed to have thought of something, but he seemed unsure, and glanced at Shang Ruyi with a flickering look in his eyes.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi's hands, hanging at her sides, were inexplicably covered in cold sweat. She silently and gently pinched the hem of her clothes, twisting it between her fingertips and pulling it hard.
Xiao Yuansui thought for a moment, then asked Hu Jinfeng, "So, the grain that was sent back before was also burned?"
"Before?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Jinfeng seemed to find it a joke and immediately sneered, "Second Brother Xiao, I don't understand what you're saying. When have you ever transported grain back?"
"What?!"
Xiao Yuansui was startled and suddenly stood up: "What did you say?!"
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