Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 222 Take action
Zheng Long examined all the items and felt that the jade pendant at the woman's waist was the most valuable.

Although all of this would belong to them, all the wealth they acquired had to be handed over to the church. Now, while no one knew, he could secretly hide some of it.

The woman hesitated, clearly deep in thought.

Xie Yuyan didn't want to take the jade pendant out, after all, it was Wang Yan's personal possession since childhood. Even if these things weren't important at this time, but...

Giving it too easily will arouse suspicion.

The reason she came to Guanxian Caoshi to find these two people was because she discovered black oil in Chen Rong's possession.

At this time, black oil had not yet spread throughout Daliang, but was instead held by the Manichaeans as a sacred object. Black oil was like darkness; when ignited, it could bring light, and this light was long-lasting, which aligned with the Manichaeans' doctrine of pursuing light.

For a long time, Manichaeism used the pretext of selling black oil to recruit refugees and runaways, and then absorbed them into the religion.

In his previous life, during the war in the Great Liang Dynasty, the Manichaeism also rose up and occupied several states in Jiangnan. They not only killed government soldiers but also plundered the people everywhere. Their army grew to tens of thousands of people, and they truly became a scourge to the Great Liang Dynasty.

Given this, Xie Yuyan, who held a high position, naturally had some understanding of Manichaeism.

However, she couldn't be sure if the people selling black oil were truly Manichaeans, or how many of them could be used by her. So she deliberately gave herself away at the market to attract their attention.

If they harbored ill intentions, they would naturally follow her into the woods.

Xie Yuyan subtly pushed the gold ingot forward again, and this movement drew Zheng Long's attention to the characters on the ingot.

Zheng Long squinted and stared intently.

The gold ingot was engraved with an inscription in nine-fold seal script.

As if noticing his gaze, the girl in front of her moved her arm instantly, and Zheng Long snatched the gold ingot into his hand first.

“You…” Xie Yuyan looked at Zheng Long with an anxious expression, “Didn’t you want the jade pendant? Why did you take the gold ingot?”

She instinctively tried to get up and snatch it: "I'll give you the gold ingots as a thank you after you get my family and belongings back."

Zheng Long looked up and saw that the woman was in such a hurry that it proved he had chosen the right item. The hall master had said that some things cannot be judged by appearances alone. The woman's identity was suspicious, and perhaps the inscription on the gold ingot could reveal some clues.

Without further delay, Zheng Long handed the gold ingot to Wang Hu: "Take this back to Mr. Wen and ask him if this deal is feasible."

Wang Hu understood his elder brother's meaning, took the gold ingot without hesitation, and immediately set off. Their lodging was still at a village five miles away. Mr. Wen bought several hundred acres of land to provide them with cover.

When the imperial court inquired, they simply said they were servants in their household, and that's how they evaded several investigations by the court.

After Wang Hu had walked away, Zheng Long stared at Xie Yuyan for a while before saying, "Third Miss, come with me too. If my master agrees, he can bring people to accompany you into the mountains."

Wang Hu was only going to deliver the message first; naturally, he still needed to bring Jiang San Niang back.

Since the person is in their hands, they are not afraid of anything going wrong.

Xie Yuyan looked north: "It will take us half a day to get there. If we are late, I'm afraid my father and brothers won't be able to hold on. Their lives may be in danger, and they will take all our possessions."

Zheng Long laughed and said, "Dealing with bandits is no small matter, so Third Sister must let us make some preparations."

Xie Yuyan frowned and thought for a moment before putting the things away again and following Zheng Long forward.

Zheng Long raised his lips again. This woman was quite bold to leave with a strange man. If she hadn't been desperate, why would she make such a decision?

Thinking this, Zheng Long became increasingly itchy and impatient, wishing he could drag the woman into the forest immediately. However, considering the jade pendant and the inscribed gold ingot on her body, he had to restrain himself for the time being, lest he ruin important matters for the sect. ...

Wang Hu was faster than most people could run through the forest, so he often delivered messages for the sect.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wang Hu returned to the manor.

"Where is the sir? I need to see the sir."

Once inside, Wang Hu shouted loudly, startling Mr. Wen in the study.

Mr. Wen greeted him at the door and, seeing Wang Hu panting heavily, frowned: "What happened?" The imperial court was arresting Manichaeans everywhere, and they were living in constant fear.

“Mr. Wen,” Wang Hu took out a gold ingot from his pocket and handed it over, “My elder brother said we have a big deal to make.”

Mr. Wen took the gold with suspicion.

How did they manage to get this in a place like this?
As he was pondering this, the gold ingot spun around in Mr. Wen's hand. His intention was to distinguish the authenticity of the gold, but he unexpectedly saw the inscription on the gold ingot.

Mr. Wen's expression immediately changed.

In order to spread its doctrines, Manichaeism went to Western Xia, Northern Qi, and even Uyghur, Black Khan, and Tibetan areas. Mr. Wen had been to Western Xia and knew the character "西" (xi).

If he wasn't mistaken, the inscription on it should read "leader".

This is the seal of the "leader" of the Western Xia Dynasty.

Two years ago, Mr. Wen had the good fortune to see the "leader's" seal, and now, looking back, he realizes that it is extremely similar to the one on this gold ingot.

Of course, it's impossible to tell whether they are exactly the same without comparing the seals side by side.

When Wang Hu heard Mr. Wen mention the "leader's" seal, he said with a simple-minded look, "Could it be that the one trapped is the ruler of the Western Xia Kingdom? Otherwise, why would there be a leader's seal?"

Mr. Wen rolled his eyes at Wang Hu: "Does having this make someone the leader? The mark on this gold ingot is just a copy. The person carrying this gold ingot is simply working for the Western Xia royal family."

"This group of people were smuggling goods from Daliang back to Western Xia, but they didn't expect to run into trouble here."

"The Western Xia has also been quite turbulent in recent years. The young emperor has ascended the throne, and the political situation is unstable. In particular, after the empress dowager took control of the government, she began to amass gold and silver wealth everywhere."

"It wouldn't be surprising if the goods were theirs."

Wang Hu's eyes lit up: "There must be a lot of good stuff there. We can't let those refugees get away with it."

Mr. Wen's mind raced: "What's the use of robbing those riches? If we can use this to get close to the Western Xia royal family, Leader Lin will surely reward us."

Wang Hu smiled and said, "That's easy. We'll go up the mountain together and chop up those refugees."

Mr. Wen shook his head: "If I had known earlier, I would have incorporated those refugees into the church first, and this wouldn't have happened today. Now they've become greedy for money and will fight us to the death. We are outnumbered, so we need to make more preparations."

Wang Hu scratched his head, unable to understand his teacher's words, and could only follow instructions.

Mr. Wen said, "Go and get all the black oil; we might need it this time."

There are still dozens of cans of black oil left. If all else fails, we can use fire to burn those people to death.