Inside the carriage, Emperor Yan listened to the pig-like screams of the eunuchs outside, and felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"Alright, alright! Stop howling like a banshee!"
He impatiently interrupted the little eunuch's cries.
Soon, the carriage curtain was suddenly flung open.
Wang Ergou poked his face in with a roguish grin and said, "Oh, there's another one hiding in the carriage? Look at that fair skin, she must be from a wealthy family!"
The Yan Emperor's heart tightened; he knew something was wrong.
Although he pretended to be calm, his brocade robes, even though they were deliberately chosen to be in a low-key color, still looked out of place among ordinary merchants.
"Tie them all up!" Tie Zhu shouted from outside.
Soon, the Yan Emperor was also pulled off the carriage and tied back-to-back with a young eunuch to a large tree.
The ropes were digging into him painfully, and what frustrated him even more was that these bandits, despite their tattered appearance, moved with surprising agility, clearly seasoned veterans.
The little eunuch was still standing there, sobbing and crying, "This servant deserves to die! This servant failed to protect you! Waaah..."
"Your Majesty, wait for me! I will definitely find a way to get you out! I will fight them to the death!" He cried as he twisted and turned, trying to break free of the ropes.
When one plan failed, he tried another, flirting with the group of robbers, but all his efforts were wasted on the blind man.
Emperor Yan's temples throbbed; he felt he had never been so humiliated in his life!
He, the emperor of the Yan Kingdom, was traveling incognito when he was kidnapped by a group of bandits who appeared out of nowhere!
If this gets back to the Yan Kingdom, where will he put his face?
"Shut up! Are you trying to make sure they don't know who I am?" the Yan Emperor roared in a low voice. "Say one more word, and I'll send you to meet our ancestors right now!"
The little eunuch was so frightened by his shout that he immediately fell silent, only daring to sob softly, his shoulders trembling.
Emperor Yan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He did indeed carry the royal token of the Yan Kingdom, and if he were to reveal it, it would be enough to mobilize troops from nearby prefectures and counties.
But……
This is already within the territory of Yunzhou, the domain of that mountain goddess.
If he were to mobilize the Yan army to enter the country, wouldn't that be blatantly provoking the mountain god? This would contradict his purpose of secretly investigating this matter.
No, I can't easily reveal my identity, and I certainly can't disturb the mountain god.
He needs to think carefully about how to extricate himself without making a sound.
Just as the Yan Emperor was racking his brains, the "bandits" not far away began to whisper among themselves.
Wang Ergou kicked a deflated bundle at his feet and spat, "Damn it, this caravan is so stingy! This little bit of junk isn't even enough for the brothers to have a drink!"
Another bandit with a pointed face complained, "Yeah, boss, capturing so many people is useless. We still have to feed and water them. Isn't that a waste of our food?"
Tie Zhu stroked his chin, looking thoughtful: "Hmm, what you said makes sense."
"This batch of goods is really not very good. As for the people, it would be a pity to kill them, but if we let them go, we're afraid they'll report us to the authorities."
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up, and he suggested, "Boss, how about we sell them to the black market to work as laborers?"
"No, no," Tie Zhu shook his head repeatedly. "The situation is tense lately, and the government is cracking down hard. If we get caught, it will be a huge loss."
A man with a scar on his face suddenly slapped his thigh: "Hey! I remember now! Didn't that simpleton from the next village in my hometown say he went to some factory at the foot of a desolate mountain a while ago?"
"I heard that factory is always hiring, providing food, lodging, and wages! They say it's run by some mountain goddess who specifically takes in refugees!"
"Why don't we just send these people to the remote mountains and let them find work in factories on their own? That would give them a way to make a living, and it would save us a lot of trouble!"
The other bandits, upon hearing this, all thought it was a good idea.
"Yeah! The factory in the wilderness! I think I've heard of it before!"
"That's the plan! Throw them out in the wilderness and let them fend for themselves!"
Tie Zhu also thought it was feasible, and waved his hand: "Okay! It's settled then! It saves us the trouble of watching over it!"
The Yan Emperor, standing beneath the tree, overheard their conversation and was immediately filled with turmoil!
Barren mountains? Factory? Mountain Goddess?
Isn't this his final destination?
He was wondering how to sneak into the desolate mountains unnoticed and observe them up close when he never expected that this group of "bandits" would actually offer to send him there!
It's like finding a needle in a haystack, only to have it come to you effortlessly!
The Yan Emperor suppressed his overwhelming joy, his face still bearing the anger of someone who had been captured.
He even cooperated by symbolically struggling a couple of times when the "bandits" came to escort them away.
Soon, the Emperor Yan and the eunuch, along with the other prisoners of the caravan, were half-pushed and half-shoved by this group of "bandits" towards the desolate mountains.
Once they had seen the Yan Emperor and his entourage out of sight and confirmed that they were heading towards the desolate mountains, Wang Ergou and the others finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Phew, finally got rid of that guy!" Wang Ergou wiped the sweat from his forehead; he had been holding back his emotions while acting.
Tie Zhu also looked relaxed: "Yes, Military Advisor Ling's orders have finally been fulfilled."
The scarred man grinned and said, "You know, the Yan Emperor is strange. He thought we could just openly send over a letter of state from our desolate mountain, but he had to sneak over here and cover himself up so tightly, as if he was afraid of being recognized."
"As a result, we encountered two groups of bandits along the way. If we hadn't been following this caravan, Emperor Yan would have been killed by real bandits long ago!"
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