Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 10: The assassin is also a frightened bird
At dawn, Xu Xin'an came knocking on the door.
To the west of Baijian River, the horse trail is located among the mountains and valleys. It is more rugged than the east side and it is difficult for carts to travel on it. Bulk goods must either be carried by mules and horses or carried on shoulders and backs by people, and it cannot be fast.
They had to follow the horse team and if they wanted to reach Yushan Posthouse, sixty miles away, to rest before nightfall, the journey would be a bit long and they needed to set off early.
"Hurry up and wash up, and prepare some dry food for the road. I'll go and inform Mr. Wang first, so that he won't miss the trip." Xu Xin'an thought that he was the main person on this trip, and was afraid that something might go wrong, so he woke up early and packed his things. Now he woke up Xu Huai and quickly ran to the post station to see if Wang Bin and the others had gotten up and packed their bags.
Although the country has been quite peaceful in the past two years, some horse thieves had already broken into the vicinity of Huaiyuan Town yesterday. Xu Xin'an did not dare to be too careless. He thought it would be much safer to follow the camel and horse caravan.
Xu Wujiang was still sleeping soundly, but the diligent Di Niang had already gotten up to prepare breakfast for them.
Lu Xiong should "take action" against Wang Bing, but Xu Huai was of course not in a hurry. He hesitated for a while before pretending to go to the yard to fetch well water to wash.
Just as he was wolfing down a pound of wheat cakes with pickles, Xu Xin'an came running back.
Seeing that Xu Huai hadn't even prepared his luggage for the trip, he angrily yelled, "Are you a mule or a donkey? Why are you so slow? Do you need someone to whip you?"
"Are we leaving now?" Xu Huai asked hesitantly.
"You fool, are you going to wait until the sun is high before you leave?" Xu Xin'an urged, throwing a set of armor and a sword to Xu Huai, saying, "Put down your bag and let me pack it up. Put on your armor quickly and don't embarrass yourself with your hatchet! Mr. Wang and Mr. Lu have already gone to the ferry. My God, hurry up!"
Regardless of whether there was danger on the road, it was true that they escorted Wang Bing to Biyang City on behalf of the Inspection Office.
Xu Xin'an didn't want to travel with Xu Huai, who had a hatchet on his waist, so he quickly borrowed a set of military uniform and armor from the barracks.
Xu Huai was stunned: What went wrong? Lu Xiong hadn't knocked Wang Bing down yet, and was urging him to leave? Did he change his mind, or did Wang Bing notice it?
Xu Huai has a sturdy build. His gray-black standard military uniform and leather armor are a bit tight on him, but he looks majestic nonetheless.
The narrow-blade iron knife was used by ordinary soldiers and was not of high quality, but Xu Huai liked it very much. He drew out the knife, first held it diagonally behind the left side of his body, then took a step forward and used his wrist and elbow to move the narrow-blade iron knife above his body and chopped it towards the right front side.
Xu Huai's movements were not big, he just wanted to experience the feeling of integrating his spine into the sword's momentum, but he became much more comfortable with it.
"You fool, why are you making so much trouble? Put away your knife and follow me!" Xu Xin'an stuffed the bag of dry food into Xu Huai's hand, dragged him to the stable to get out the horse, and headed to the ferry outside the east gate of the military camp.
In addition to running brothels and warehouses in Huaiyuan Street and Biyang City, the Tang family also ran a tea and medicine business.
Morning tea has not yet been put on the market, but every month tens of thousands of kilograms of Tongbai Mountain specialty medicinal materials are transported to Biyang, and then the medicinal material merchants in Biyang City go south to Jinghu and north to Chuanluo.
The Tang family has been operating in Tongbai Mountain for several generations. They have vast tracts of land and are much wealthier than the Xu family.
The head of the Tang family rarely shows up in public, and his younger brother Tang Tiande is not as skilled as Xu Wujiang in swordsmanship, archery, and boxing, but he is still able to serve as the deputy chief of the Inspection Office.
"Why is this idiot going to the county with you?" The manager of Tang's warehouse asked Xu Xin'an with a smile when he saw Xu Huai leading the horse over.
Xu and Tang are both big families in Tongbai Mountain. Not counting the dependent farmhands, there are at least 800 descendants from the direct and collateral branches, if not a thousand.
However, Xu Xin'an's skills are excellent among the younger generation, and Xu Huai is such a big man with supernatural powers, but he is stupid and clumsy. He is considered a celebrity in Huaiyuan.
After regaining consciousness, Xu Huai felt very unhappy when he heard others look at him like this, but on the one hand, more than a month had passed, and after what happened yesterday, he couldn't help but think that others looking at him like this might not be a cover-up.
As long as Wang Bing, Lu Xiong and the others didn't reveal the truth, if the assassin found Huaiyuan Town, he would never have thought that it was him who was standing at the Eagle's Mouth yesterday, right?
Xu Huai led the horse to Lu Xiong's side, and the curtains were lowered. He vaguely heard Wang Xuan in the carriage persuading Wang Bing:
"Grandpa, if you're not feeling well, you should listen to Uncle Lu's advice and rest here for two days to recover. This won't delay your trip to Biyang..."
"It's only a two-day journey to Biyang. I just feel a little cold. It's not a big deal to sit in the carriage away from the wind." Wang Bing said in a very weak voice, coughing in the carriage.
Only then did Xu Huai realize that Lu Xiong had drugged him, but what he didn't expect was that Wang Bing had a strong personality. He knew that going to Biyang would be dangerous and his health was in such a state, but he was still unwilling to stay in Huaiyuan Town.
On the one hand, Xu Huai was troubled by Wang Bing's strong character, but at the same time he was secretly glad.
The immediate result was always more acceptable to him than accidentally saving a corrupt official.
But what are they going to do next?
He couldn't just tie up Wang Bing and keep him in Huaiyuan in public, right?
…
…
In addition to the Tang family caravan, many other merchants crossed the river at this time and followed the caravan to Biyang.
Four light carriages; more than thirty mules and horses, most of which were tied with large bags of medicinal herbs; the grooms, guards and accompanying foreign merchants, totaling more than forty people. Such a team meandered along the narrow horse trail, connected from head to tail for hundreds of steps, which was quite spectacular.
Xu Huai rarely had the opportunity to touch the iron knife, and yesterday he was taught by Lu Xiong.
Although he thought there was no need to rush for success, walking along the mountain trails with the team was quite boring. He would draw his sword whenever he had nothing to do, holding it horizontally in front of him, swinging it from time to time, trying to figure out how to better integrate the fundamental principle of taking the spine as the root into the sword moves.
However, Xu Huai did not notice that there were two people at the back of the team who were always staring at him.
"What this kid is demonstrating is the Fu Mang Sword created by Wang Xiaocheng in the army back then. Is he the guy on the cliff yesterday?" The thin-faced man stared at Xu Huai's back with surprise in his eyes and asked his companion in a low voice.
This man was one of the assassins who appeared in Yingzi's mouth yesterday, but this time he no longer had a full beard, and only two mustaches on his upper lip, and he looked very capable.
"Hmm!" The scarred assassin had no beard and was quite fair, but he looked ferocious. He also stared at Xu Huai's back.
Lu Xiong was an old man in the Jingsheng Army. When Wang Bing served in the Jingsheng Army in his early years, Lu Xiong served as his personal guard. The two of them formed a deep friendship because of this , which they had known for a long time. When they set out from Bian Jing, they thought that as long as they got rid of Lu Xiong, there would be no more obstacles.
Yesterday they were stopped in front of Yingzizui Cliff and did not dare to force their way in. To put it bluntly, an unexpected situation made them suspect that Lu Xiong had contacted the remnants of the Jingsheng Army in Tongbai Mountain to protect Wang Bing. Things were far more complicated than they thought, so they sent someone back to Bian Jing to report the news overnight.
At this time, seeing this young man brandishing the sword on horseback, seemingly clumsy but clearly bearing traces of the Fu Mang Sword, how could they not be frightened?
"I don't mind the saying 'There are many heroes in Huai'an', but looking at this soldier, he is not very old, but he wields a knife so powerfully, it's really amazing!" The scarred assassin lagged behind a little and asked the manager of Tang's warehouse in a low voice.
Huaiyuan Town is a small place, and there are usually no major events there. However, the fact that the Chief Censor was demoted to Tangzhou and passed through Huaiyuan was enough to cause people to talk about it for half a year.
Although Xu Wujiang asked Xu Xin'an to tell everyone not to tell anyone about Wang Bing's encounter with the bandits, how could the soldiers under him control their mouths?
The news that Wang Bing was demoted to Tangzhou and encountered bandits in Yingzizui spread in the streets last night.
Of the three assassins, except for one who rushed back to Bian Jing to report the news, the other two changed their clothes and sneaked into the streets of Huaiyuan Town last night. They also found out that Wang Bing would be heading to Biyang with the cavalry of the Tang family warehouse today. They also found the manager of the Tang family in the town and asked to go with the cavalry.
It was very common in Tongbai Mountain for merchants to pay some money to the manager and travel with a caravan with armed guards. They could even not pay and just follow the horse team. As long as their behavior was not suspicious enough to be reported to the authorities, no one would forcibly drive them away.
The steward received the bribe last night and was very enthusiastic about the two foreign merchants. He said, "Ha, you said the Xu family is a stupid donkey. This idiot is born with supernatural power. He can knock down a bull with his two arms. It's just that he is a little stupid..."
"Ah?" The scarred assassin looked behind Xu Huai in surprise. First, the Tang family's steward had no reason to lie to him. Second, Xu Huai was brandishing a sword on horseback, and everyone else looked as if they were afraid that he would lose control and wanted to stay away from him. He said, "We have traveled a lot and have seen a lot. The sword moves this soldier is wielding are extraordinary. Don't you see that there is something wrong with his brain?"
"Xu's Subduing Python Fist, Subduing Python Knife, and Subduing Python Spear are extraordinary. It is related to this fool. His father brought them back to Huaiyuan from the Jingsheng Army..."
Tongbai Mountain is not small, but the fact that Xu Wuxuan served in the army in his early years and returned home to pass on the Mang Subduing Fist and swords and spears to his tribesmen has long been spread throughout the mountains and hills and is no longer a secret.
The journey was boring, and the steward was happy to chat with the generous guests, especially when he knew something about something.
"But when it comes to the Subduing Mang Knife, this fool has not even started yet, and with his brain, I'm afraid he will never be able to start in his lifetime. The Subduing Mang Knife and Subduing Mang Spear of Tongbai Mountain are best among Xu Wujiang and his friends. Even the slightly thinner Xu Xin'an beside him is a good player among the many young men in Huaiyuan Town. This fool is far inferior in other aspects except for his extraordinary strength. However, with his size, he will be able to get a military salary in the future in the Inspection Office. If Xu Wujiang hadn't refused to let him go, the warehouse would have wanted to hire him - let alone other things, at least he can be used to scare people. Look at his size, he is as strong as a calf!"
There was no need for the scarred assassin to ask any more questions, as the talkative warehouse manager was eager to reveal the entire Xu family's ancestors.
Just after noon, the scarred assassin learned that more than 30 members of the Xu family, including Xu Wuxuan, had unclear ties with bandits in their early years. They were incorporated into the Jingsheng Army when Wang Xiaocheng was the prefect during the Xihe period.
Fifteen years ago, the Jingsheng Army disbanded some of its old soldiers and recruited new ones to fill the vacancies. Eventually, more than a dozen members of the Xu family returned to their hometown with Xu Wuxuan.
Xu Wuxuan died within two years of returning home, leaving behind a stupid son. The other Xu clan members who returned home were mainly taken in by Xu Wufu, the head of the Xu family, as farmhands. They formed an extremely powerful militia in the Huaiyuan Mountains. The Fumang Fist, Fumang Knife and Fumang Spear then spread among the Xu clan members and farmhands of other surnames who defected to the Xu family.
Xu Wujiang is the cousin of Xu Wuxuan and a member of the Xu family's side branch. Although he did not join the army, he learned martial arts since he was a child in Tongbai Mountain and was famous for his bravery when he was a teenager. He later learned the Fumang Fist and the Fumang Sword and Spear, and was extremely skilled. He represented the Xu family and entered the Inspection Office as a section chief.
No matter how insignificant the military positions at the Jie level were in the bureaucratic system of Dai Viet, in Tongbai Mountain, Xu Wujiang represented the Xu family in the Inspection Office and was a top figure.
The scar-faced assassin and his accomplice looked at each other and could see the shock in each other's eyes:
Lu Xiong escorted Wang Bing to Yingzizui. First, the remnants of the Jingsheng Army came to support him at the cliff head, and then Xu Wujiang led the military soldiers in the camp and rode over soon. Now they heard that the Xu family had such a deep connection with the Jingsheng Army. What should they think?
Was it that the entire Xu family was bribed by Lu Xiong and wanted to protect Wang Bin, or was it only the old members of the Jingsheng Army who were bewitched and participated in this?
No matter which one it is, there must be a lot of people who are willing to protect Wang Bin, but why are there only two people accompanying Lu Xiong to escort Wang Bin to Biyang City?
Are you intentionally showing weakness?
When both of them thought of this, horror filled their eyes: this was a trap to lure them.
The Tang caravan was traveling to Biyang this time. In addition to eight or nine armed guards equipped with swords and bows, the other twenty grooms were all strong young men - this was due to the fact that Huaishang valued martial arts and the powerful influence of the Tang and Xu families in Tongbai Mountain. However, the two assassins were not familiar with the situation in Tongbai Mountain, and at this moment, they all had murderous looks in their eyes.
The two of them used an excuse to fall behind, and when they passed a fork in the road, they turned into the fork while the people in front of them were not paying attention, and sped away...
