Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 50: Famous Aces in Chushan
Xu Wuliang and Xu Huai walked slowly back to the South Village. It was dusk when they returned to their residence. They saw Su Di standing in the yard talking to Liu Qiong'er. They walked over and asked:
"What are you doing here, Di Niang? Didn't Xu Wukun come to look for you?"
"Brother Wu Kun came to find me. He got angry for no apparent reason and swore to the heavens and the earth that he had fallen out with Xu Wuqi and that he was definitely not pretending to make money from us. He also said that Xu Huai was ignorant and asked us to swear not to harm Xu Huai - when someone said a few words to him, he stomped his feet and ran away in a hurry. I found it strange, so I came to you to ask what happened just now. You said you went to Beizhai to ask Xu Wuqi for the big bow, there was nothing else, so how come someone said that you even smashed Huolu Hall in the past?" Su Di said.
It was only four miles from the North Camp to the South Camp. Xu Huai and Xu Wuliang walked at their leisure and were not in a hurry. However, Xu Xin and others were injured by Xu Huai, so naturally someone got ahead of them and ran to Xu Zhongyu's house to report the news. However, the news had already spread in the South Camp.
"It wasn't as exaggerated as knocking them over," Xu Wuliang laughed. "Xu Huai alone knocked Xu Chen, Xu Xin and 15 other bastards to the ground, and I didn't do anything. In the end, Xu Huai was beaten up by that bastard Xu Wuqi, and we had to run back in disgrace. "
Xu Huai was quite bothered by the fact that he was at a disadvantage after exchanging shots with Xu Wuqi, after all, he had to be faster to attack, but Xu Wuliang felt that Xu Huai had won with honor in defeat.
Before this, Xu Huai had defeated Xu Chen and Xu Xin and fifteen other people in a row, so he had consumed some of his energy.
"How come Xu Wukun said that Xu Huai injured Xu Wuqi?" Su Di asked in confusion, "Xu Huai, you are not injured, right?"
"I'm fine. I was poked by Xu Wuqi with a stick in Huolu Hall. I was a little breathless at the time. I walked back to the South Village slowly with Uncle Wu Liang. Now I'm breathing smoothly. I guess there are only some bruises left," Xu Huai said. "How did Xu Wuqi get hurt? My stick clearly didn't do anything to him."
"Xu Wukun said that after you left, Xu Wuqi spit out blood. Maybe he was holding on without showing any sign before." Su Di said.
" This bastard is cheating us!" Xu Wuliang suddenly realized what was going on and slapped his thigh and shouted, "Wang Xiaocheng said that Xu Wuqi was like a black mountain dog, silent but fierce in biting people. It's absolutely true!"
Su Di was not interested in hearing about the names of Xu Wukun and Xu Wuqi in the past, and asked Xu Huai in surprise: "When did you become so skilled?"
Su Di had been in panic for several days since she learned the shocking truth. She still found it incredible that Xu Huai had suddenly come to her senses. She had no time to think carefully about the rapid improvement in Xu Huai's skills.
"I have been learning the Subduing Python Fist and sword and spear techniques from Master Lu for the past two months..." There were too many things that Xu Huai couldn't explain clearly, but some things could be blamed on Lu Xiong.
"oh……"
Anyone who lives in the mountains for a long time will inevitably feel inferior to himself.
I always feel that people like Lu Xiong are much stronger than them.
Su Di now feels that it is normal for Xu Huai to have made such rapid progress in martial arts after receiving instruction from a figure like Lu Xiong for nearly two months.
…
…
Su Di talked with Xu Wuliang and Xu Huai for a while, and was about to invite them to Xu Wujiang's yard for dinner, when Xu Wukun came over with a large package on his back. Seeing Su Di was also there, he threw the package on the ground and said:
"In Huolu Hall, Xu Wuqi let Xu Huai go. No one stopped him. But the young men who were injured today were almost all from the upper Xu family. How could their families agree to this? Now all the camps are in chaos. Xu Zhongyu and his son Xu Wujun led a group of people to the North Camp, saying that they wanted to bring Xu Wufu out to seek justice. Look at the bad things you have done. How is this going to end?"
"Come here, what is this thing?"
Xu Huai was going to cause trouble today, so the chaos in the villages was all within their expectations. Xu Wuliang squatted in front of the big package and untied it. He found a blue-black iron armor inside. He jumped up as if frightened and asked,
"Hasn't this wart armor been put down in the coffin and buried with Xu Huai's father a long time ago? You, my grandson, wouldn't go and dig up Xu Huai's father's grave right now, would you?"
The Dangxiang tribe was good at forging armor, and they could forge iron armor plates to reduce the thickness by two-thirds. In order to distinguish them from ordinary armor plates, the armor forgers would deliberately leave a small piece unforged, and this small piece would eventually bulge out, like an iron wedge, and the armor plates would be connected to form a armor, and the armor would be densely packed with small iron wedges, just like warts on a person's face, hence the name "wart armor".
When Xu Huai was listening to Lu Xiong's explanation of the world's weapons and armor, he mentioned that the Wart Armor was a rare and famous armor in the world, which could block the frontal shot of the Shenbi Crossbow within thirty to fifty steps.
Unfortunately, this armor came from the Dangxiang, and only a small amount was seized by the Western Army. Every set of wart armor is a coveted heirloom in Dai Viet.
He didn't expect that there was a wart armor in Yuhuangling.
"Bullshit, how could such a fine armor be buried in a grave? I said that back then just to deceive you. In fact, when Xu Wuqi and I were on guard duty, we quietly took out this wart armor from Xu Huai's father's coffin, and it has been hidden in Xu Wuqi's house all these years..." Xu Wukun said.
"Fuck you, you guys cheated me so hard - did you beg for this from Xu Wuqi?" Xu Wuliang asked.
"Bullshit, I don't know what bad ideas Xu Wuqi is giving Xu Wufu. He hasn't come back yet. I stole this wart armor from Xu Wuqi's house. I know where he hid it, but if he knew I stole it, I don't know how much he would hate me," Xu Wukun said. "However, this was brought back to Tongbai Mountain by Xu Huai's father from the Jingsheng Army, so it should be passed on to Xu Huai. If he wants to complain, let him complain. I'm not afraid that he will have the nerve to come and ask for it. Xu Huai is so brave. Wearing this armor should make the aggressive people in the camps a little more cautious. But you guys are doing something stupid. You really can't harm Xu Huai again."
"Do you really want to know?" Xu Wuliang asked, "Aren't you afraid of being dragged into this and unable to escape?"
Xu Wukun glared at Xu Wuliang and pretended that he would only feel good if he punched Xu Wuliang in the face.
…
…
"...This is how things are. Many things can be said to be coincidences, but this is how things are." Xu Wuliang told Xu Wukun every detail he knew.
"Ah!" Xu Wukun sat down on the ground, and after a while he came to his senses and asked, "You mean Xu Wujiang and his men are hiding in Jinshagou, and Xu Huai is not stupid anymore?"
"Haha, if he was stupid, he wouldn't have dragged so many people into this fire pit!" Liu Qiong'er felt so resentful when she thought of the past that she couldn't help but sneer as she leaned against the door frame.
Wang Bing and Lu Xiong were trapped in Tongbai Mountain. It would be understandable to say that the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army were destined to suffer this disaster, but she was dragged in for no reason and didn't know how she would survive the danger of being cut by thousands of swords and knives.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but want to poke Xu Huai's villain.
"I don't know how smart he is, but he has figured it out a long time ago. Otherwise, how could he sweep away so many little beasts with just a long stick? You still look at people with old eyes, and you deserve to suffer." Xu Wuliang laughed.
Xu Wukun stared at Xu Huai in disbelief for several times, then asked:
"Xu Wufu knew that the assassin intended to target us, the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army, and he colluded with Deng Gui to frame Xu Wujiang and others?"
" From the three secret letters from Chen Tong to Deng Gui, Xu Wufu knew that Wang Bing was being chased by assassins sent by Cai Ying when he encountered bandits in Yingzizui, and it was just that I, Uncle Seventeen, Xin'an and others happened to be there and scared the assassins away. Whether it was Xu Wufu, Deng Gui, or the county officials, they could be sure that we were involved with Wang Bing. Therefore, he was instigated by Chen Tong and conspired with Deng Gui to murder Uncle Seventeen and others; in their eyes, I was just an insignificant person."
Xu Huai stood up and said,
"As for the assassin targeting the old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army, it was mainly because Miss Liu overheard Zheng Hui and others' secret discussion in Yuehonglou that she knew about it. Of course, it is not ruled out that Xu Wufu had guessed this a long time ago, but it is obvious that he thought that as long as Uncle Seventeen and others were sacrificed and the assassin successfully assassinated Wang Bing, the situation would be settled. It is impossible for the assassin to create trouble specifically for some insignificant old soldiers of the Jingsheng Army..."
"Perhaps that's what Xu Wufu thought. No wonder he was so anxious to withdraw all his men back to Yuhuangling!" Xu Wukun figured out many of his doubts at this time.
"Is it possible to win over Xu Sheng, Zhou Jing and others?" Xu Wuliang stared at Xu Wukun and asked.
After Xu Wuliang married into the family, he had little friendship with the other old soldiers who stayed in Lutai Village. Xu Wukun was the one who knew the inside story best and had a good relationship with everyone else.
Seventeen people, including Xu's descendants and small families in Yuhuangling, returned home from the Jingsheng Army.
Among these seventeen people, except Xu Wuxuan who died early, Xu Wuliang married into Huaiyuan Town, and eleven others including Xu Wuqi, Xu Wukun, Zhou Jing and others have depended on Xu Wufu for their livelihood over the years. In addition, there are four others including Xu Sheng who have some wealth and have established their own businesses.
Xu Wuliang thought that if he could gather together, together with their sons and nephews, even if three to five hundred soldiers dared to come and suppress them, they would never return.
Xu Wukun smiled bitterly and said, "So many years have passed, and everyone has gotten used to living comfortably. Do you think there are still a few people who have the courage to risk everything? You have seen what Xu Wuqi has become today! To be honest, I was so angry because I was afraid that you would harm Xu Huai. I didn't think about getting involved with you before! Now, putting aside these old feelings, do you think Xu Sheng, Zhou Jing and the others will choose to stand with Xu Wufu and wait for the assassin to kill Wang Bing and the situation to calm down, or will they choose to follow you on this hopeless road of no return?"
Xu Huai sighed inwardly, knowing that Xu Wukun was right.
The assassin's target is Wang Bing, but he is hesitant to take action because he is frightened by their deliberate confusion. He cannot see the real situation here, which leads to so many complications.
From this point of view, even though Xu Wufu was somewhat cruel in framing Xu Wujiang and had no clan loyalty in his heart, his choice was not problematic.
This also determines that even if they reveal everything, the other former soldiers of the Jingsheng Army will almost certainly choose to wait and see.
Xu Wujiang decided to lead all the Wuzu soldiers to escape and hide, in fact, he was also waiting for subsequent developments!
"What's your choice?" Xu Wuliang stared at Xu Wukun and asked.
"What can I choose? I want to return this wart armor secretly and pretend that I have never heard of it. Are you willing? I've dragged you into this pirate ship!" Xu Wukun complained.
"Cai Ying tried every means to hunt down Wang Bing. In the final analysis, he was afraid that Wang Bing would make a comeback and become his enemy. Don't you think that if everyone can protect Wang Bing from death this time, when Wang Bing makes a comeback in the future, won't there be wealth and glory waiting for everyone?" Liu Qiong'er said.
After Liu Qiong'er said this, Xu Huai could see that Xu Wukun was in a better mood. He thought that his father's generation were young and hot-tempered when they became bandits, and they were poor and had no way out, so they were willing to give up everything. But Xu Wukun now had a family and a business in Nanzhai, and the concerns in his heart were completely different from those in his early years.
Xu Wukun was able to steal this priceless wart armor from Xu Wuqi, which showed that he was extremely partial to him. Even he had all kinds of concerns. How many people would not be cautious when becoming a bandit at this critical moment?
