Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 588 Shot by an Arrow
As Master Wu led his men out of the forest, the people hiding around him began to gravitate towards him.

More than half of this group consisted of members from the Wu family's old ranks, while the rest were new followers recruited by Master Wu in recent years. These people came one after another after receiving the news.

Liu Da and Liu Ji mingled among them. After pretending to find Master Wu, the two volunteered to go into the city to inquire about the situation, but in reality, they were reporting the situation of the Wu family to Chunxi.

When Master Wu saw Liu Da, he asked again, "Are you sure you saw Da Lang?"

Liu Da said, "When Xie left the city, my brothers and I followed behind. We saw that the young master seemed to be in the crowd, but... the young master had changed a lot and was trying to cover his face, so we couldn't see him very clearly."

Liu Da said this intentionally, and sure enough, he saw Master Wu frown: "What's wrong, Da Lang?"

Liu Da's eyes flickered slightly. Master Wu's reaction didn't seem like he was putting on an act. If he had long been colluding with the imperial court, he should know very well what Wu Qian's current situation was like, unless... Liu Da looked around. It was for the benefit of the people in the sect.

Perhaps Mr. Wu is suspicious and fears that some of these people might be alienated from him, so he can't tell the truth until the very last moment?

Liu Da said, "Young master is very thin, and his spirits... seem not very good either."

Upon hearing this, Yang Kuan quickly replied, "Impossible. My brothers are all here and will take good care of him, unless something serious happens... However, they will definitely leave the city to send me a message."

"I just received a message that everything is normal,"

Master Wu looked at Yang Kuan and Liu Da thoughtfully.

Yang Kuan said, "You said before that you didn't see clearly, but now you say that Wu Qian is not in good mental condition. Your words are clearly inconsistent. Which one is the truth?"

Liu Da didn't expect to be caught off guard: "I didn't see clearly when we were in the city, but my brother and I followed him all the way to the porcelain kiln. When the young master stopped in front of the kiln, I got a good look."

As he spoke, he looked at Master Wu and said, "I am simply reporting what I have seen to the truth."

Master Wu reached out to stop Liu Da, saying there was no need to continue this argument: "If all goes well, we'll be able to rescue Dalang in a little while. Once we see him, we can ask him all the questions."

"Whoever harmed my son... I will never forgive him."

Liu Da nodded, and Yang Kuan remained silent.

“Take the back road,” said Master Wu. “Follow me.”

The official road is too conspicuous; if you encounter a patrolman, you'll be caught before you even have a chance to make a move.

The Liu brothers followed beside Master Wu, and Yang Kuan's gaze kept falling on the two of them.

After walking for a while, Liu Ji found an opportunity to say to Liu Da, "Brother, what you just said may have aroused suspicion. We need to be more careful in the future."

Liu Da's mind was clearly not on this, and Manager Wu went to the porcelain kiln to rescue people... This behavior made it even less likely that he had any connection with the imperial court or the Xie family.

So, should they make a move against Manager Wu in a little while?
Liu Ji saw the hesitation in his elder brother's eyes: "Brother, don't forget the instructions of the attendant."

That's true. Liu Da nodded secretly. Whether it was true or false, their goal was to get rid of Master Wu and his son, assassinate Madam Xie, and then pin everything on the Wu family.

The group soon arrived at the coal kiln.

The remaining informants reported: "A dozen more guards arrived with Xie's carriage, and there are at least twenty people patrolling inside and outside the courtyard."

"This doesn't even include the workers employed at the porcelain kiln. In addition, the merchants who came today also brought some people, but... if things really escalate, those people probably won't help the Xie family."

When disaster strikes, everyone flees for their own lives; when problems are truly discovered, merchants will only focus on self-preservation.

Master Wu said, "Therefore, do not provoke those merchants. Bring the young master back first, then try to deal with the Xie family. If you don't have a chance to take action against the Xie family, do not linger here. It is more important to leave this place."

He only has one son, and his safety is the most important thing. Everything else can be planned slowly.

Everyone responded.

Master Wu then carefully instructed everyone on how to proceed.

One team went to rescue Wu Qian, while two other teams held off the guards, leaving a dozen or so men behind to cover their retreat.

They all had black oil in their hands.

"As soon as we bring Dalang back, we'll immediately throw the black oil into the porcelain kiln. 'With the porcelain kiln in chaos, we can take the opportunity to find the Xie family.'"

Yang Kuan said, "My men have white cloth wrapped around their arms. Take them away when you see them."

Master Wu addressed the crowd, "Did you hear that clearly?"

The group immediately relayed the message to each other and quickly got everything ready. The first dozen or so people, using the Leaf Village as cover, slowly made their way forward.

At the back gate of the porcelain kiln, several mule carts were parked there, and hired workers were constantly moving porcelain.

They wanted to get closer, but without the cover of Konoha, they would be spotted by the patrolling guards if they went any further.

The believers had no choice but to follow their previous agreement and hide to the side, imitating bird calls to remind Yang Kuan's men that they had arrived.

……

The sound traveled to the back door.

Wang Wu immediately opened his eyes wide in alarm and grabbed Wu Qian, who was holding the porcelain.

Wu Qian was so startled that she almost dropped what she was holding.

Wang Wu whispered, "The backup is here."

Wu Qian's legs went weak, and he nervously looked around.

“That’s right,” Wang Wu said. “This is the code we set up beforehand. Although there are birds in this forest, they won’t be calling out two short and one long sounds at the same time.”

Wu Qian said, "You've been here waiting for this?"

Wang Wu nodded, then pulled Wu Qian aside and instructed him, "When the patrolling guards pass by the back door, we'll go out. You put your things down and run into the woods to the west. I'll stay behind to cover the rear."

Wu Qian's teeth chattered: "Could it be... that government officials are lying in ambush nearby?"

Wang Wu said in a deep voice, "They should have scouted ahead. If there were troops present, they wouldn't have come closer."

Wu Qian, however, did not breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, he asked, "What if there are spies from the Holy Church among the people my father brought, who are planning to take advantage of the chaos to attack us?"

Wang Wu was clearly losing his patience: "How would I know?"

Wu Qian's worries and fears had not dissipated. He even hoped that his father's people would not come, but unexpectedly... they still arrived.

He was now in a predicament where he couldn't back down.

"Come on."

Seeing the patrolling guards heading towards the front gate, Wang Wu immediately pulled Wu Qian along and led him outside.

The two walked to the mule cart, and Wang Wu snatched the porcelain from Wu Qian's arms and gave him a push: "Hurry up."

Wu Qian used the momentum to sprint forward. As he ran, several figures appeared not far to the west; they were the people who had come to meet him.

Wu Qian's fear immediately dissipated considerably. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw several arrows shot out from the forest, heading straight for him.

"Dalangjun."

The Wu family guards cried out in alarm, only to watch helplessly as the arrow fell, and then Wu Qian was hit by the arrow and fell to the ground.

The sudden change left everyone momentarily stunned, but there was no time for them to think further. The Xie family members were alerted and began to shout.

"There are assassins."

I'll only post one chapter today. I'm too tired, I need to take a break.

(End of this chapter)