Chapter 119: Conspiracy
The spring nights are warm.
The peach blossoms on Black Bandit Mountain bloomed quietly one after another in the night.
Amidst the swaying moonlight, several figures rushed down the mountain and headed straight for the foot of the mountain.
The path at the foot of the mountain extends infinitely in the night, and the end merges with the darkness.
The shops on both sides of the path were closed.
Only the door of the Black Mountain Restaurant had bright lanterns hanging on it, and a wine flag was fluttering in the wind.
In the rooms on the east side of the second floor, the lights were off.
Moonlight and the fragrance of flowers entered the house. In the dim light, a group of people were discussing in low voices around the table:
"All the Black Mountain cloth and Black Mountain ink are produced here. All the workshops and restaurants in this village are under the command of the village chief Hao Ren and his wife."
"As long as we can control these two, everything will be easy."
"But this village is different from other places. There are many people. I heard that there are people in this mountain who know some martial arts, and there are also patrols. It won't be so easy to attack them."
"This village is quite powerful. No wonder the master sent us to take action."
Styx sneered and cracked his knuckles.
His hands were very thick and big. When he clenched his fists, they were as big as hammers and as hard as rocks.
Mingshui next to him stretched out a pair of identical fists:
"It's not easy for adults to do it, but Hao Ren has two children, so why not start with them?"
Someone echoed, "I heard that the girls on the mountain are very spoiled. Let's capture them first. We might not be able to control them. Then they'll have to confess everything."
"Like this..." Minghe Mingshui instructed his men on the specific details of the action.
They are not reckless young people who have just started out.
Even when discussing in the restaurant room, the voices were kept low.
It was pitch dark, and they even arranged two people to watch at the door to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
The Styx's water was well defended, but a key point was missed.
They didn't recognize where this place was.
When they came to Lingnan twelve years ago, the scene they saw was completely different from what they saw now.
At that time, everywhere was desolate and corpses were everywhere.
Floods and droughts alternated year after year, and there were few living creatures to be seen in this area.
It is not surprising that bandits roam around in places like this and rob people. It is also not surprising that they rob exiled prisoners and death row prisoners. Those who are kidnapped can be cooked and eaten.
Minghe Mingshui felt that if he had not escaped at that time, he would have become the meat on the plate of those bandits.
But this time when they came to Lingnan, they saw lush green fields with red flowers and green leaves.
For a moment, Mingshui felt that the terrain here was somewhat familiar, and he had some doubts.
But after two days of inquiring about the situation, he flatly rejected his suspicions.
There was a harmonious scene at the foot of the mountain. Those people were just honest and kind farmers, and there was no way they could be bandits.
The female owner of the restaurant looked like she had practiced some martial arts, but judging from her age, she was definitely not one of the bandits from those days.
Mingshui secretly laughed at himself, thinking that once bitten by a snake, he would be afraid of ropes for ten years.
Tomorrow they will go and catch those two kids, resolve the Lingnan issue as soon as possible, and leave this damn place.
…
The next morning, a drizzle fell from the sky.
After a spring rain, the small fruit trees on the hillside seemed to have grown taller.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che also grew taller and taller.
They put on the new spring clothes that Lu Chunniang had sewn herself, which were still fitted, soft and breathable.
Murong Di also got new clothes.
When Lu Chunniang came to measure his size, she was very respectful and did not call him "little brother" but "little master".
Later, Murong Di actually received three sets of clothes to change into, and the workmanship of these clothes was no worse than those in the palace.
Murong Di now stood up straight and put on the clothes made by Lu Chunniang, and he already had the shadow of a handsome young man.
"It rained this morning, and the back mountain is a bit wet. Be careful when you walk."
Doctor Yu came out of the pharmacy carrying a basket on his back and gave instructions to Su Zhizhi and the other two.
Su Zhizhi, Xue Che and Murong Di each carried a new bamboo basket.
All the bamboo baskets were woven by Murong Di. Old Man Qin asked Murong Di to weave bamboo baskets every day. Murong Di's speed became faster and faster, and there were several new bamboo baskets in the house.
The four people walked towards the back mountain. Before they reached the woods, they saw Hua Er Niang carrying a small basket as expected.
Hua Er Niang also put on spring clothes.
She has a slim figure and delicate features, and is considered pretty in the surrounding area.
And she has a round face, which makes her look very blessed.
Hua Erniang also drew her eyebrows and put on some powder today, and her face was as rosy as a spring peach.
In comparison, Doctor Yu was too plain, dressed in white, so it was impossible to tell what he was wearing.
Su Zhizhi's eyes turned into two small crescents as she smiled: "Sister Hua looks really beautiful today."
Doctor Yu's expression began to become unnatural again:
"Did you tell her that you were going to collect herbs today?"
Su Zhizhi, Xue Che and Murong Di looked at the sky and the trees, pretending to be stupid and not saying a word.
Hua Erniang snorted and lied with her eyes open:
"What's wrong? You're allowed to go to the back mountain, but I'm not? Maybe you knew I was going to the back mountain today, so that's why you went there."
Doctor Yu was speechless when faced with Hua Erniang's accusation.
He did not argue with Hua Erniang and walked towards the forest with the medicine basket on his back.
The forest was slippery and the grass and leaves were still wet with rain.
Murong Di pushed aside the wet branches and leaves beside him, and a few drops of water splashed on his face unexpectedly.
Murong Di doesn't like rainy days very much.
It was always gloomy on rainy days in Chang'an Palace, and it was even colder in Minghui Palace.
Su Zhizhi walked in front, the bamboo basket on her back swaying.
She turned around and said to Murong Di:
"Brother, if you can't walk steadily, just hold on to the basket on my back."
Su Zhizhi was used to walking on mountain roads, and her steps were as flexible as if she were walking on flat ground.
She was glad it rained today.
My parents mentioned last night that it would be nice to have a few rains soon, and it started raining this morning.
There are many benefits to rain.
"When it rains, the seeds in the ground will sprout, the crops in the fields will grow, the grass on the hills will grow more, the trees will be greener, and the flowers will bloom more..."
"This way, we'll have more food to eat, the cattle and sheep in the village will have more grass to eat, and more herbs will grow on the mountains..."
Su Zhizhi counted the benefits of rain.
She thinks that sunny, rainy or frosty weather is all good weather. There is no bad weather, only things that are not suitable for doing.
Murong Di listened to Su Zhizhi's mumbling, then looked up at the tree above his head. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he actually felt that the leaves were greener.
Doctor Yu didn't care about the weather, and his eyes searched the clumps of grass on the ground.
His eyes fell on Su Zhizhi's feet and he paused suddenly:
"Zhizhi, don't move!"
Su Zhizhi, who was about to walk away, froze in place as if struck by a needle:
"Doctor Yu, I'm not moving. I'm frozen!"
Doctor Yu walked towards Su Zhizhi:
"Turn to the left and put your foot down."
Su Zhizhi did as she was told, and at the same time she saw Doctor Yu coming over and squatting down to dig herbs.
It was a herb with long oval leaves covered with a layer of fine hairs.
Doctor Yu carefully dug out the herb, and the smile in his eyes showed that he was very satisfied with the growth of the herb:
"This is Fire Charcoal Mother, which has the effect of brightening the eyes and removing cataracts."
Before Doctor Yu put the charcoal mother into the herbal medicine basket, Hua Er Niang handed over a net bag.
There is a huge spider in the net bag, with bright colors.
"Finally, I caught a ghost spider. Its venom can cause blindness if extracted. No matter how many charcoal plants you eat, it won't help."
Hua Erniang raised her chin at Doctor Yu and put the ghost poison spider into a small pot she carried with her.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che looked at the strange aura between Hua Erniang and Doctor Yu, and counted down silently in their hearts:
Three, two, one—
As expected, the two people's arguing voices were heard:
"Hua Qianjiao, if you want to catch a poisonous spider, just catch it. Why do you have to step on that ground bile?"
"Why are you asking? You make it sound like I did it on purpose."
"Have you ever done something unintentionally?"
“…”
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che, who were already used to this scene, squatted down to dig something, and also brought the newbie Murong Di with them.
Su Zhizhi: "Brother, I'll teach you how to dig wild vegetables."
Xue Che: "Brother, I'll teach you how to dig herbs."
Murong Di felt that he was the younger brother who was being taken away.
The forest is a mixture of dark and light green.
Many of the trees are over a hundred years old, with well-developed buttress roots and dense branches and leaves.
The best place for people to hide.
There is an old banyan tree not far ahead. A gray ribbon hangs among the green leaves, which is not conspicuous.
Su Zhizhi was digging wild vegetables when she was halfway attracted by a colorful butterfly.
"Brother, Che, this butterfly's wings are so big."
Su Zhizhi chased the butterfly.
I chased him until I reached the old banyan tree.
Her cheerful steps and the red hairband on her head were all within the sight of the people in the tree.
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