After Qin Zhiyang's death, the northwest trade routes were in chaos.
His so-called guarding service is actually just a name. In fact, merchants pay tolls in the name of paying for guards, and the money collected is used to deal with horse bandits entrenched on the business road. When these horse bandits saw Qin Zhiyang's people in the caravan, they naturally refused to rob them.
But once he died, the horse bandits lost their income, and the passing merchants were in great trouble.
"My name is Guo Shan. I used to work for Boss Qin. After working for a long time, I also raised some brothers. Boss Qin was burned to death in a brothel a few months ago. He had no children and no one could take care of him. His business. Brothers have lost their income, but they have to live, right? Originally we wanted to find a place on the business road, but there was no place for us at all. In the past few months, we have traveled to various places, and finally we are here A safe place to stay."
Mu Yun listened to Guo Shan quietly.
After he finished speaking, Mu Yun asked: "Logically speaking, Qin Zhiyang's business should not be lacking for people. If he dies, someone will take over his business, right?"
Guo Shan smiled bitterly: "Take over? Master, why don't you understand? His business cannot be done by just one person. It depends on face. The horse bandits in the entire business line give him face, so that this business can be done."
Mu Yun was silent for a long time and murmured: "Have I heard of Qin Zhiyang's name?"
Guo Shan explained: "Boss Qin is well-known in the west. His people are used by caravans in the Central Plains. You have heard of him. It's not surprising."
Mu Yun didn't want to think about this person anymore, so he stood up from the throne. He already knew several of the leaders in the lobby, and through conversation he could understand that although this group of people were not people who committed great evil, they were definitely not good men and women. However, if he wants to secretly inquire about Li Fenglan's whereabouts, he must have someone, and he can only rely on these people at the moment.
He said to everyone: "Go back and watch your men, don't go down the mountain to plunder... You pick a few smart people to go around the mountains, find out the forces of the surrounding gangs, and then report to me."
"Yes! I obey my orders!"
Mu Yun nodded and found that he was quite talented in management. When he returns to the Hall of Idle People in the future, he will have to reserve the position of chief steward.
Wait, Idle Hall? What's that?
…
Li Fenglan placed a large bamboo bed under the shade of the trees in the yard, big enough for her to roll on it and do backflips.
At sunset, the weather was a little cool. Li Fenglan leaned on the back of the bamboo bed and read a storybook before the sun went down.
Just as he was watching intently, the door was pushed open, two figures flashed into the door, and quickly closed the door. Read the book
Li Fenglan didn't look in the direction of the door, but said helplessly: "You don't have to act like a thief."
Chu Jiaoer whispered: "Didn't Sister Lan say that your identity should be kept secret? What if someone sees us coming here often?"
"Seeing you two doesn't conflict with my identity, right?"
Chu Jiaoer took off her shoes and climbed onto the bamboo bed, approaching Li Fenglan: "What is Sister Lan reading?"
""The Jade Stealer"."
"Let me take a look." After saying that, he and Li Fenglan started reading together.
Chen Ziyang stood by the bed and said dissatisfiedly: "Dumpling, we have business here this time, we can play again later."
Li Fenglan put down her script, looked at her cousin who was even more beautiful than a girl, and asked, "Business? What business can you do with me?"
"Sister Lan, have you heard about this?"
"No, I don't leave the house every day. What can I hear? I just know that the old couple next door had another fight yesterday, and the teapot flew into my yard."
Chen Ziyang shook his head: "A new group of bandits came around Xiangyang some time ago, from the northwest. They are different from other bandits, and their behavior is more ruthless. When we first met outside the city, I was I went to investigate them and ran all day and night, only to come back the next morning."
Li Fenglan raised her eyebrows: "Then what?"
"Their village is called Baiyun Village, but recently, Yaozi Village was massacred."
"Wait a minute, do you want to explain to me the relationship between these two copycats first?
Down? "
"Yaozi Village has been here for more than ten years. There are rumors that Baiyun Village massacred them. But the strange thing is that Baiyun Village only robbed the treasures of Yaozi Village, but released the women who were robbed by Yaozi Village."
Li Fenglan nodded: "Then what?"
Chen Ziyang was a little anxious: "Sister Lan, don't you think it's strange? They are bandits who do all kinds of evil. Money and women have always been the targets of these people. What do they mean by letting those women go?"
Li Fenglan thought for a while: "It doesn't make sense, but I don't know much about these things. If you tell me, I can't think of anything. Did they do anything else?"
Chen Ziyang nodded heavily: "Yes, there is something else, and this matter is even more strange. There is Xiaoyao Village thirty miles south of Baiyun Mountain. There are many people in this village, but most of them are desperate farmers. Their fields have been destroyed. They were occupied or bullied by village bandits before they fell into bandits. Xiaoyao Village was also attacked by Baiyun Village some time ago, but this time it was different. Baiyun Village did not kill anyone, but incorporated the bandits. Some people who wanted to be good, they even I was given severance pay.”
Li Fenglan became interested: "Maybe these people want to learn well. This is a good thing."
Chen Ziyang shook his head: "I don't believe it. A dog can't change its habit of eating shit. They must be planning some big move."
Seeing the serious expression on his underage cousin, Li Fenglan wanted to laugh: "What do you think they are doing?"
"Pretend to be benevolent and expand your manpower. When the time comes, unite the underworld in Xiangyang!"
Li Fenglan couldn't help but laugh: "Who is so boring? It's not a story, but it also unifies the underworld. Do you know why the mountain bandits, water bandits, and horse bandits are not very powerful?"
"have no idea."
"The Bai Dao cannot tolerate too much underworld forces. If they show up, they will be killed. The Bai Dao has always been stronger than the underworld, and has allowed them to do evil for thousands of years. Why do you think it is?"
"Why?"
"There are no thieves in the world. Do rich families still need someone to look after their homes and homes?"
"Of course you don't need it."
"Yes, if the underworld is gone, the white way will be meaningless. The relationship between the two parties is such an awkward one... If the Baiyunshan group just wants to take the right path, then that's okay. If they want to become bigger and stronger, then wait. All they have is destruction.”
Chen Ziyang said: "If they can't think about it and really become bigger and stronger, and then we go to annihilate them, how many people will die?"
Li Fenglan picked up the script again, waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about them. You can't stop others from committing suicide."
"But I can't watch innocent people die in vain."
Li Fenglan put down her script again: "What are you going to do next?"
"How many times have I told you? Don't call me Panpan! I'm already fifteen!"
"Okay, Ziyang, what are you going to do?"
Chen Ziyang squatted beside the bed and whispered: "They are recruiting more people, and I want to break into their ranks."
Li Fenglan rolled up her notebook and hit him on the head, teaching him a lesson: "Are you crazy? Are you going to work as an undercover agent in a bandit's camp? Do you know how dangerous it is? You are the only one in your family, what should you do if something happens to you? Your father His body is like that, you want him to have white hair and send him to black hair?"
Chen Ziyang said harshly: "Our family's motto says that as a warrior, you must act bravely and never let innocent people die!"
Li Fenglan turned to Chu Jiaoer and said, "Go back and tell your aunt to keep an eye on him for the next few days. If he dares to leave the city, tell the family."
Chu Jiaoer replied: "Sister Lan, I understand."
Chen Ziyang stomped her feet angrily: "Sister Lan! I came to you just to ask you to help me make suggestions! Why don't you support me?"
"Nonsense, are you supporting you to die? It's okay to bully two or three local gangsters with your three-legged cat swordsmanship. But if something happens in the bandit village, you will die without knowing how. Have you ever been in the world? Have you ever been in contact with them? How many people are there? What do you think Jianghu is? What is the underworld? Are you talking about love and treating guests to dinner? How dare you be so crazy without any experience? "
"Aren't you afraid of nothing just after you came out of Chaolan Valley last year? You provoked so many people just after you came out
Man, I can’t even provoke a bandit? "
"Are you more powerful than Jade? Are you more capable of killing than Amber? Are you smarter than me?"
"Why am I so bad? Didn't they both learn my swordsmanship? How bad can I be?" After saying this, he turned his back to Li Fenglan and squatted on the ground angrily.
Li Fenglan patiently persuaded: "Your swordsmanship is no longer the same thing as Jade and Amber's, it's just somewhat similar in appearance. Zhu Mingyu, you know, right? He's so powerful that he doesn't dare to think of being as tough as you. Sister, I know you want to We should hoe the strong and help the weak, but there is an old saying that goes well: if you are poor, you will be alone. You can't change anything now, so you might as well settle down and hone your skills, and wait until you have the strength in the future."
Chen Ziyang said nothing.
Li Fenglan touched the top of his head: "My dear brother, are you really angry?"
He slapped Li Fenglan's hand away: "I'm not angry."
Li Fenglan felt that those words just now were too shocking. Chen Ziyang was still young and needed encouragement rather than blind denial.
"Well," Li Fenglan said with a smile, "I'll give you an idea. You don't have to be an undercover agent, but you can still investigate them."
When Chen Ziyang heard this, he immediately lost his temper, turned around and asked, "Really? Say it quickly!"
Li Fenglan thought for a while: "Have you ever heard of visiting a camp?"
"Visiting the camp?"
"Go to Baiyun Mountain at night and stay away to see their defense situation."
"That's it?"
Li Fenglan hit him again with her script: "Are you stupid? Can you draw inferences from one example? First find out their defense situation, and then see who they have contact with."
Chen Ziyang felt a little aggrieved: "They are all bandits, who can they associate with?"
"Didn't you just say that? They don't go down the mountain to rob now. How can the bandits support themselves if they don't rob? Those gold and silver treasures robbed from other villages must be replaced by rice, flour, grain and oil, right? Will the bandits go down to the mountain to purchase in such a big way? ? It must be sneaky, you go check this out first."
Chen Ziyang stood up and said excitedly: "Sister Lan! I know!"
As he said that, he was about to walk out.
Li Fenglan asked loudly: "Why are you going!"
"Didn't you ask me to investigate?"
"I didn't ask you to go tonight! Have you made preparations? Have you brought dry food? Have you brought water? Have you brought sobriety pills, healing medicine, and detoxifying herbs?"
Chen Ziyang scratched the back of his head and said sheepishly, "No..."
Li Fenglan jumped off the bamboo bed, stepped on the stone floor with her bare feet, and asked, "How is your Qinggong?"
Chu Jiaoer said with a smile: "He is very bad at Qinggong. When he was a child, his family taught him Qinggong but he refused to learn it. What's the matter with a manly man? If he can't beat him, he just runs away."
Li Fenglan sneered: "She looks so much like your cousin... I'll teach you two body movements, and learn them well."
Li Fenglan taught Tangmen's silent steps to Chen Ziyang, and Chu Jiaoer on the side also followed suit. Chen Ziyang's understanding of Qinggong was really poor, so Li Fenglan thought it was just right. If he couldn't learn this skill, he wouldn't be allowed to go up the mountain, which could delay him for a few days. For a child, with just a few quarters of hours of heat, he might not want to go up the mountain anymore when his blood subsides.
After teaching for a long time, it was already dark. Li Fenglan stretched out, looked at the sky, and said with a smile: "It's already about this time. Just finish your meal here. I'm telling you, sister, I I just learned a dish recently, have you guys taken it orally...where are you?"
When I turned around, the two children had already disappeared. Sister Mulan was a nice person, smart and interesting, and she talked very interestingly... But the food was overcooked and her stamina was so strong that she couldn't relax after a meal for three or four days.
…
A few days later, Chen Ziyang was ready and decided to leave.
Of course, he thought he was ready. Li Fenglan taught him Qinggong to the extreme, and he only prepared dry food and water. He thought healing medicine was too troublesome, so he simply didn't bring it. It fully demonstrates all the rough and rough flaws that a boy of fifteen or sixteen should have.
"Sister Lan! Sister Lan!"
Li Fenglan, who was taking a nap on the bamboo bed after nightfall, was awakened by the girl's cry. She opened her eyes and
Opening his eyes, he looked at the sweaty Chu Jiaoer in front of him and asked, "Jiaoer, what's wrong? You're in a panic."
"Plate... plate!"
"What's up with him?"
"Pan went to Baiyun Mountain! He sneaked out alone! Now uncle and aunt are looking for him! Sister Lan! What should I do!"
Chu Jiaoer was so anxious that she almost cried. She and Chen Ziyang were childhood sweethearts, and she knew all the problems with this boy. He acts impulsively without paying attention to the consequences. He was taught a lesson by his family after he came back after investigating the incident in Baiyun Village last time. This time, he still didn't remember it.
Li Fenglan angrily slapped the bamboo bed and said to Chu Jiaoer, "Wait for me for a while, I'll go change clothes."
Li Fenglan returned to the room and changed into neat dark clothes, then took out two square scarves and threw them to Chu Jiao'er.
"Jiao'er, come with me. Remember... no matter what kind of conflict you encounter, even if Pan Pan is beaten to death, don't be impulsive. Just listen to my command. Do you understand?"
Chu Jiaoer nodded vigorously.
