Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 608 Determination
Xia Dalang suddenly went from a promising young official's son to a criminal being hunted by the imperial court, and all his efforts and ambitions vanished in an instant.

How could he not hate him?
His family was destroyed, and he couldn't even save his wife and children.

He has endured until now only because of the hatred in his heart. All his knowledge and learning are useless now, he has devoted all his energy to revenge. He can't touch the court and the Wang family now, so he will deal with the Xie family first.

Moreover, according to information obtained from the employer, this Xie family member is not as simple as she appears on the surface. After arriving in Bianjing, she may have been intentionally plotting against the Xia family.

Otherwise, why would a small-time merchant be implicated in such a big matter?

Therefore, dealing with the Xie family is definitely the right thing to do.

Xia Dalang said, "The most important reason why Xie Yuyan is where she is today is her rhetoric, which has won over too many people."

In this respect, Xie Yuyan was no different from the leader of that demonic sect.

Xia Dalang only regretted that he had been sent away from the capital and was not by his father's side at the crucial moment, which made his father careless and thus allowed the Xie family and the Wang family to plot against him.

“We need to hurry,” Xia Dalang said. “If we trap Xie Yizhi and the Demon Sect’s men here before they arrive, it will be a great help to the Demon Sect.”

If he hadn't suddenly received the news, he would never have imagined that Xie Yizhi was related to the demonic sect, or even that Xie's identity was questionable.

The arrest of the third manager enraged the master. Having entrusted him with so many men, he had to deliver results. The most advantageous course of action for the master was to find a way to incite conflict between the Demon Sect and the Wang and Xie families.

If he can demonstrate his abilities to his employer, he will be more likely to be valued by them in the future.

Perhaps he is the new third manager.

……

Tang Xing brought another person back from the woods.

“This man was already injured when he was put into the woods,” Tang Xing pointed to the man’s back, where blood had already soaked through his clothes, and even Tang Xing himself was covered in blood. “His wife and children are in the hands of those people.”

The man did the same, going into the woods to ask them for help.

Chen Rong opened his mouth as if to ask something, but then thought about it and closed his mouth again.

Tang Xing knew what he was thinking and said directly, "I heard screams coming from outside the woods. His wife and children must have died."

Those people didn't give the villagers a chance to ask for help at all. In other words, those people's lives were meant to force them to watch those people die tragically before their eyes.

Until I couldn't hold back any longer, I rushed out of the woods.

The sound came from the tree again; more people were being released into the woods.

"You beast!" Chen Rong cursed again. "If you've got the guts, come and fight! What are you doing bullying those villagers?"

But those people just won't come, so what's the use of getting angry?

"I'll go this time." Without waiting for anyone to speak, Chen Rong turned and rushed into the forest.

Tang Xing's face was grim. Innocent villagers were being killed one after another, and even if they died at the hands of others, it was still related to them. They certainly couldn't turn a blind eye, so even if they didn't rush out, they would be disturbed and their minds would be disturbed, thus wasting too much energy.

With no time to rest, the bandits attacked the next day, and the bandits had no strength to fight back.
Based on that alone, those people have already won.

The old soldier whispered, "Why don't we let everyone take turns resting?"

Tang Xing shook his head: "After something like this happened, who could sleep at night?"

Cries and pleas for help filled the air, and the fear of being attacked at any moment made it impossible for them to rest, even when ordered to. This time, it seemed there wasn't much of a commotion. Just as Tang Xing was starting to worry, footsteps approached, and Chen Rong came out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Chen Rong, but their expressions quickly changed because Chen Rong was holding a child.

The two old soldiers immediately surrounded the child and began to check on him.

"Don't look," Chen Rong said. "He's dead. He's bled to death." He thought that if he could find the villagers who had been driven over quickly, he would have a chance to save him.

He ran fast enough, but it took him a lot of effort to find the child. The child stood there silently, and Chen Rong picked him up and started running almost without hesitation.

He wasn't even afraid of anyone lying in ambush; he was determined to fight with all his might.

But when his arm touched the child's back, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Something wet was dripping down his arm; it was blood.

“He also asked me to rescue his sister,” Chen Rong said, “saying she was impaled on a pole.”

The old soldier gathered around the fire and tore open the back of the child's clothes, revealing a bloody hole from a spike. Considering what the child had said, he deduced that both children had been impaled on poles.

“I almost couldn’t hold back,” Chen Rong clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot. “Those people deserve to die.”

The old soldier thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go to the yamen (government office) and have them bring troops over?"

Tang Xing had already considered this: "We can go look for them, but it won't be of any use... This place is too far from the county government office. Even if the government office sends troops immediately, it will take until dawn to get there." Moreover, he knew the way the government office was located. By the time the official documents were obtained and the reports were submitted layer by layer, the bandits would have already run far away.

The sound came from the tree again.

Like the clamor of a death knell, it struck the hearts of everyone.

“No,” Chen Rong finally couldn’t hold back any longer, “I’m going to kill those beasts. You stay here… I’ll go over there myself.”

He would kill as many as he could, even though he knew there might be no return. But looking at these corpses, he felt as if they had all died at his hands.

“Come back,” Tang Xing stood up and stopped Chen Rong. “What’s the point of you going like this? Do you want to trade your life for another? What if they’ve set a trap over there? You’ll only be throwing your life away.”

Chen Rong's eyes were about to blaze with anger: "Then what are we going to do? Keep waiting here? This is just the beginning. They still have plenty of time. By tomorrow morning, the whole village will have been slaughtered."

“I didn’t say we were going to wait,” Tang Xing said. “Even if we’re going to fight our way out, we need to come up with a safe approach. If we’re going to take action, we have to take them all down.”

Chen Rong looked at Tang Xing in astonishment, and the old soldiers were also stunned.

"Are you serious?" Chen Rong asked. "You want to fight your way out?"

Tang Xing nodded: "Now let's discuss a tactic immediately." After saying that, he turned and walked towards the campfire.

Chen Rong hesitated for a moment, then quickly caught up with Tang Xing: "How many men are we taking?"

“Take everything,” Tang Xing said without hesitation. “Don’t worry about the goods and mule carts.”

“Then…” Chen Rong said, “If they come in and steal the goods, won’t all our efforts be for nothing? And what about Madam…”

Tang Xingdao said, "I made this decision because I thought of Madam. Madam wouldn't abandon those villagers. When I came here, Madam said that human lives are more important than goods."

(End of this chapter)