knife

Chapter 390 Highway robbery is still more fun

Yang Lixin stared blankly at the things being unloaded from the two cargo ships.

It's all good stuff.

Each of these items represents a strategic resource that they desperately need.

The people who moved were overjoyed.
The person who returned with the stolen goods was beaming with pride.

Everyone stared at Yang Lixin, preparing to receive praise and rewards from their leader.

But Yang Lixin's expression grew increasingly grim.

"Are all the people on the ship dead?" His voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Several escaped!" said the old man wielding the iron mace. "The shopkeeper's surname is Jiang. He was tricked away by He Yiming of the Canal Gang."

Yang Lixin swallowed hard, looked at the old man, and said, "He Yiming tells you to rob, so you rob; he tells you to kill, so you kill?"

"Boss, these are all good stuff! He Yiming even took away the one with the highest martial arts cultivation. Let them handle it. We just need to kill a few small fry, bring the stuff back, and they only want 10% of it! How can we not do such a good business?" The old man said smugly.

Yang Lixin kicked the old man, knocking him to the ground.

"You bastard, is your brain filled with shit? With just a few people on the boat, can't the canal guild operate on its own? Why should we share such a huge amount of profit with you? Such a big matter, and you didn't even tell me before you dared to make decisions on your own?"

"It's just a business deal, boss, why are you in such a hurry?" A limping man walked over, helped the old man up from the ground, and said with dissatisfaction, "The little demon is dead, and the person who killed the little demon has escaped!"

Yang Lixin had a headache.

These people were his old brothers, and now they had gotten themselves into big trouble. He didn't know if he could save their lives.

"You guys said that the two young men and women on the boat ran away?" he asked.

"Yes, one of the guards wielding a sword was incredibly powerful. He was originally only at the peak of the eighth rank, but during the fight with us, he actually advanced to the ninth rank. All our injuries were caused by this guy. But later, when everyone attacked together, we finally managed to drive him away!"

Yang Lixin didn't care at all about this so-called level nine expert who advanced on the spot; he only cared about the lives of the two young men.

Do you know who those two young men are?

"Who cares who he is!" The old man stood up, dusted himself off, and said disdainfully, which angered Yang Lixin so much that he kicked him again. However, this time the old man was on guard and quickly dodged to the side.

"The man is Han Zheng, son of Han Tan, the governor of Ruyin County. The woman has an even bigger background; she's said to be the cousin of Jiang Qian, the Empress Dowager of Southern Chu," Yang Lixin roared. "If anything happens to either of them, we'll be in deep trouble. That He Yiming set a trap for us! You bunch of idiots, you were easily fooled. If this doesn't go well, it could ignite a major war between the two sides. Don't you understand?"

"Fight if you want, who's afraid of who?" the old man snorted.

Yang Lixin laughed in anger: "If you have the guts, go say that to the General. Don't you know that the General is negotiating with Han Tan right now? Our biggest enemy right now is not Southern Chu, nor Ruyin County. If Han Tan finds out that his eldest son died at our hands, do you think there's any point in negotiating? Not to mention that woman surnamed Jiang!"

At this point, a hint of fear finally appeared on the old man's face.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of going to war with Southern Chu; he was afraid of General He Zudao causing him trouble.

"Would the General really make things difficult for his brothers who have risked their lives for a few Chu people?" the burly man leaning on his cane asked hesitantly. "Besides, we didn't kill those two. They escaped!"

"So do you think He Yiming might follow you to find those two people, kill them, and then claim that you did it?" Yang Lixin said angrily.

"This is a frame-up!" the old man jumped up.

"Can you explain yourself clearly? Did you kill everyone on those two ships? Some escaped, right?" Yang Lixin sighed, pointing to the mountain of supplies in front of him. "The evidence is overwhelming, you can't even give me a chance to argue!"

"What, what should we do?" The old man was a little confused.

"What should we do?" Yang Lixin snorted and waved his hand. A group of guards rushed in and pinned the old man with the iron mace and the lame man to the ground.

The two men tried to struggle, but Yang Lixin stepped forward and, with a wave of his hand, they all collapsed to the ground. "Bear with it for now! If we find those two men, and they're still alive, then everything is fine. But if they're dead, then we'll have to send you to the General for disposal. Whether you live or die is up to the General." Yang Lixin said helplessly, "I can't make that decision!"

Watching the group of people being led away, Yang Lixin turned to an old man who had been sitting silently to the side, and shook his head, saying, "Old Ke, I'm sorry you had to see this. Most of my brothers are from the underworld, always unruly and reckless, daring to do anything. This time they've gotten themselves into big trouble, and if things go wrong, they might lose their lives. But I can't just watch them die!"

Ke Wuji pulled out his large pipe from his waist, lit it with a tinderbox, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke before asking, "General Yang, how do you want me to help you?"

“My men said that Young Master Han and Princess Jiang have escaped into the deep mountains. He Yiming will definitely go looking for them. I would like to trouble you to take some men into the mountains and hope that you can protect the two of them!” Yang Lixin said.

“Going is no problem, but whether we can find the person is another question. Whether we can get there before He Yiming is an even bigger question. Finding the body won’t help!” Ke Wuji said.

“If they’re dead, then there’s nothing we can do but capture He Yiming and his men first.” Yang Lixin frowned and said, “I’m going to see the General right away to see if we can take this opportunity to wipe out the Cao Gang! We were originally planning to cooperate with them, but He Yiming is clearly using us with ill intentions this time. He’s putting us in a very difficult position!”

Ke Wuji tapped his pipe on the ground a few times to clear the ash, then stood up and said, "I'll take some men into the mountains to search. Hopefully, it's not too late. Although He Yiming's canal gang isn't as powerful as before, it's still a force to be reckoned with. It's best if they don't turn against us; if they do, there will be endless trouble. The canal gang and the people along the river are too closely intertwined; we can't just kill everyone, can we?"

"These matters can only be decided by the General!" Yang Lixin said with some distress. "I really can't handle these affairs well, and they give me a terrible headache!"

“At first, it all seems difficult, but as long as you keep moving forward, General Yang will eventually realize that there is great fun in it!” Ke Wuji laughed. “This is much more interesting than being a bandit leader before, and it will also give you a greater sense of accomplishment! If you succeed in the future, General Yang, you will be a founding father. At that time, you will still have to learn how to govern the country.”

“It always felt so far away!” Yang Lixin said somewhat bewilderedly. “I used to think I was so powerful, but now that I’ve come out into the world, the more I understand, the more I realize how weak I am. And it’s not just about having a sharp knife. This incident is proof of that. There are traps everywhere, and hidden arrows everywhere. It’s impossible to guard against them all! Old Ke, to be honest, sometimes I really want to go back to the past and be a happy highwayman! Stop a fat sheep, shout, ‘This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll,’ and after getting the money, I’d go with my brothers to eat meat in large chunks, drink wine in large bowls, and go to brothels. When the money runs out, I’d just go find another fat sheep. How carefree that would be!”

Yang Lixin, a former bandit leader and now a rising star in politics, is clearly lost and has lost all confidence in his future.

Ke Wuji was speechless.

"General Yang is certainly content with what he has, but there's no going back in this world. Once the first step has been taken, there's no turning back!"

"Yes, we can only move forward step by step, with thorns and obstacles at every turn!" Yang Lixin said dejectedly.

"General Yang, I'll head over there now. You should contact General He as soon as possible. We need him to make the decision. If those two die, we'll have to prepare for war!" Ke Wuji said, tucking his pipe into his waistband.

"Thank you for your hard work, Professor Ke!"

As they walked out of the Huai'an Prefectural Governor's Mansion, Lu Xiong and Chen Wan came to greet them.

"I've got work to do!" Ke Wuji exclaimed with delight.

"It seems something's happened. I just saw several of Yang Lixin's trusted aides being taken out tied up!" Lu Xiong said. "Is there some internal strife?"

Ke Wuji said, "He Zudao is colluding with Han Tan of Ruyin County. If Han Zheng dies here this time, the two families will fight. Haha, Han Tan is the Empress's trusted lieutenant."

"What do we do?"

"If Han Zheng is dead, then we don't need to do anything," Ke Wuji said. "If nothing's wrong, we'll see him off!"

Lu Xiong chuckled.

Chen Wan didn't laugh, but whispered, "Elder, I saw that mark on the street!"

Ke Wuji was taken aback: "You didn't see wrong?"

"How could I be wrong? That person summoned you to meet him!" A hint of fear flashed in Chen Wan's eyes. What happened that night had left a deep shadow on her, and she still trembled whenever she thought about it.

Ke Wuji became excited; reinforcements had arrived!
Lu Xiong and Chen Wan were unaware of the man's true identity, so they were somewhat afraid. However, to them, Li Dachui was their true leader, and they were determined to follow him to the very end.

He Qingqiu's son has successfully cultivated the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Based on these two points alone, he can win over many centrists within the sect.

"Come on, this one's here. What do we have to be afraid of? Even if that woman were to stand in front of me right now, I wouldn't be afraid at all!" Ke Wuji said with great pride.

(End of this chapter)