Chapter 26: Utterly Unreasonable!

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Shidai County lay about one or two hundred li from Qingyang County. The distance was considerable, so when Gu Er went to Qingyang to arrange a marriage, it wasn’t for an immediate wedding. Instead, the bride was to be brought to Shidai first, and the ceremony would take place there.

Yet for those on horseback, such a distance was no great matter. One could easily cover it in a day, and if one hurried into the night, it was even possible to make a round trip.

At this moment, Gu Zhang and his nephew Gu Cheng, along with their two attendants—four in all—had just left Qingyang and were following the official road toward Shidai.

Meanwhile, Chief Li and his band silently watched the uncle and nephew grow smaller in the distance as they moved along the road outside the city. Only after the pair vanished from sight did Li Yun and his companions rise from the roadside tea stall and, at an unhurried pace, set off after the Gu family men.

By now, Li Yun’s borrowed horse was no longer with him.

Following behind, Liu Bo grinned as he watched the two receding figures. “Second Brother, who are these men you’ve set your sights on?”

Chief Li rested his hands behind his neck, lazily pursuing after them. “They insulted me,” he replied coolly.

At this, Liu Bo’s brows shot up in outrage. “Such insolence! Second Brother, rest assured—when we catch up with them, I’ll make them pay on your behalf!”

Chief Li grinned broadly. “There aren’t many of them, but be careful. Don’t let us stumble into trouble by underestimating them.”

Beside him, Zhang Hu’s face was calm and he spoke in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Second Brother. Our men are already in place. Now that we know they’re heading for Shidai, there’s no chance we’ll lose them. As soon as night falls, we’ll strike.”

His gaze was fierce. “Just four men.”

Since the last time he’d followed Li Yun and slain several government soldiers, the murderous air about Zhang Hu had become even heavier. Now, in the entire Cangshan Stronghold, only Li Yun could keep him in check.

Chief Li nodded. “With Skinny Monkey leading the way, there’s little chance of losing them.”

Li Yun’s horse had been given to Skinny Monkey, who rode ahead to scout and shadow the Gu family’s party. The others had also been deployed accordingly.

Li Yun and three others walked the official road at a steady pace, not hurrying. Chief Li led the way. After a while, he glanced back at Liu Bo and Zhang Hu and suddenly asked, “Old Eight and Old Nine—how would you like to take up a side job?”

Liu Bo, the sharper of the two, asked, “Second Brother, what kind of side job?”

“To become government soldiers in Qingyang,” Chief Li replied with a grin. “To work for the yamen.”

Before Liu Bo could answer, Zhang Hu shook his head angrily. “Never! Those damned officials only bully common folk. Our Cangshan Stronghold never robs the people!”

Chief Li chuckled, patting Zhang Hu’s shoulder. “It all depends on the person. If you become a soldier and don’t oppress the people, that’s that, isn’t it?”

Zhang Hu looked puzzled and was about to reply when Liu Bo’s eyes gleamed with calculation. “Second Brother, do you think we could?”

“There shouldn’t be a problem,” said Chief Li with a yawn. “But first, we need to deal with what’s in front of us.”

By a twist of fate, Li Yun had come into contact with the authorities—or rather, with Xue Song. Though they hadn’t openly become allies, in truth, the two were already cooperating.

Now that Li Yun was serving as the constable of Qingyang, this identity could be put to good use. In the future, perhaps he could work even more closely with Master Xue.

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Night fell.

Skinny Monkey, Li Zheng, rode up on horseback, dismounted, and approached Li Yun, bowing his head. “Second Brother…”

Li Yun clapped his shoulder. “Did you keep track of them?”

“Yes,” Skinny Monkey replied quietly, glancing at Li Yun. “At dusk, they stopped traveling and checked into an inn in a small town.”

Liu Bo frowned slightly. “Cautious, aren’t they?” He looked to Li Yun. “Second Brother, what now?”

“That town—is it Tangxi?” Li Yun asked.

Skinny Monkey nodded. “It’s Tangxi.”

Chief Li wrinkled his nose. “That’s no mere little town.”

Softly, Skinny Monkey said, “Second Brother, if we wait till tomorrow, they’ll get to Shidai by daylight—and it’ll be much harder to act.”

Chief Li yawned. “Do you know which inn?”

“There aren’t many inns in Tangxi,” Skinny Monkey replied. “I had our men follow them in—we’ll find them for sure.”

“Good.” Chief Li nodded, drawling, “Then let’s go—find ourselves a place to stay as well.”

……

In Tangxi Town, the moon was hidden and the wind was high.

Chief Li changed into dark clothes, wrapped his face in black cloth, and, together with Liu Bo, Zhang Hu, and Skinny Monkey, slipped silently into Tangxi. The others waited nearby to lend support.

With no town wall, it was easy to skirt the night watchmen. They soon arrived at the entrance to the Zhou family inn.

Skinny Monkey Li Zheng produced a small iron plate from his shirt and gently worked the latch from the door’s gap. With a push, however, the door didn’t budge.

He looked back at Li Yun, keeping his voice low. “Second Brother, there’s a brace against the door.”

Chief Li’s expression was calm. He glanced at Liu Bo. “Remember what I showed you earlier?”

“I do,” Liu Bo nodded.

“Good.” Li Yun said quietly, “Step aside.”

The others quickly made way. Chief Li took two steps back, crouched, then hurled himself sideways at the door.

With immense force, the door brace remained intact, but the doorframe splintered and panels tumbled loose.

The tremendous crash startled the inn’s occupants. Someone called out in alarm, “Who’s there?”

Li Yun’s face was impassive. He spoke in a low voice, “Go!”

Liu Bo nodded, then shouted, “This is Erlong Stronghold settling a private grudge! If you don’t want to die, mind your own business!”

At those words, all movement in the inn abruptly ceased.

Liu Bo and the others strode inside.

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This was a small-town inn, with only a handful of rooms. In fact, besides the four from the Gu family, only three or four others were staying there that night. Zhang Hu moved nimbly, heading straight upstairs and kicking open a door.

By sheer luck, he found himself in Gu Cheng’s room. Zhang Hu, a torch in hand, stepped forward and grabbed Gu Cheng by his collar.

Second only to Li Yun in strength within Cangshan Stronghold, Zhang Hu lifted Gu Cheng one-handed. After a glance at his face in the torchlight, Zhang Hu grinned and punched him hard in the stomach.

The frail Gu Cheng couldn’t withstand the pain and fainted instantly.

Elsewhere, Li Yun was opening doors. In one room, he found Gu Zhang.

More experienced in the ways of the world, Gu Zhang had already drawn his sword, gripping it with both hands.

Li Yun sneered, not even glancing at the blade. He picked up a chair from the room and hurled it at Gu Zhang with all his might.

With Li Yun’s strength, the impact was thunderous. Instinctively, Gu Zhang raised his sword to block, but was knocked to the ground, his sword clattering away.

“Help! Help!” he cried out in terror after the blow.

Li Yun ignored him and slipped away.

Liu Bo strode in, quickly knocked Gu Zhang unconscious, and slung him over his shoulder.

The Gu family’s two attendants, mere errand boys with no stomach for a fight, cowered in their rooms and dared not come out.

Liu Bo and Zhang Hu, each bearing a captive, left the inn. Once outside, Liu Bo shouted, “The damned Gu family has caused Erlong Stronghold heavy losses! If you want them back alive, bring five thousand strings of cash to Erlong Stronghold for ransom!”

With that, the two disappeared swiftly into the night.

The rest of the Cangshan men withdrew just as quickly.

In the large, silent town, not a soul dared to interfere.

Clearly, this was not the first time such an incident had occurred.

Li, bringing up the rear, untied two horses outside and kept watch for mishaps. To his surprise, apart from the briefly struggling Gu Cheng, the entire operation went without a hitch.

It was almost too smooth.

Once out of the town, Zhang Hu and Liu Bo mounted up and rode off, with Li Yun and Skinny Monkey following behind.

“Skinny Monkey,” Chief Li said, shedding his disguise and tossing it into the woods. He clapped Li Zheng’s shoulder and spoke softly.

“After you bring them back to the stronghold, ride toward Erlong Stronghold and leave the Gu family’s horses nearby. Don’t take them up the mountain.”

“Then, check out Erlong Stronghold. If there’s no one there…”

Li Yun whispered a few more instructions in his ear, ending with, “When bringing those two up the mountain, make sure to blindfold them.”

Skinny Monkey nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, Second Brother—I’ve got it all down.”

He looked up at Li Yun. “Aren’t you coming back to the stronghold?”

“I am, of course I am,” Li Yun replied with a smile. “You ride ahead. I’m not in a hurry; I’ll walk back slowly.”