Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 642 Catching a Turtle
Xia Dalang was even more panicked than Xu Shu. He had just seen that everything was ready and he was waiting for the Demon Sect and Xie Yuyan to fight, but he did not expect that it would be their people who were attacked first.

The change came too suddenly. Before he could figure out what was going on, Zheng Wenhuan led him to flee into the mountains.

"what is going on?"

When everyone stopped to catch their breath, Xia Dalang looked at Zheng Wenhuan.

Zheng Wenhuan frowned: "You ask me? How would I know? We were just doing what you told us. You told me to bring the people from the Demon Sect here to deal with the Xie family, but who knew they would turn around and attack us?"

Xia Dalang asked, "Was it done by the Demonic Cult?"

Zheng Wenhuan said, "Who else could it be?"

Xia Dalang's face was grim, and a look of dejection flashed in his eyes: "Logically speaking, it's impossible. I had everything planned out. Where did things go wrong? Was it internal strife within the Demon Sect, or was it bribed by Xie Yuyan?"

Zheng Wenhuan said, "The internal strife within the Demonic Sect is all because of Xie Yuyan, isn't it? There must be Xie Yuyan's men around that leader." They were negligent and didn't investigate carefully, which led to this result.

Xia Dalang clenched his fists so tightly he almost crushed his knuckles: "Where are the people from the caravan?"

“I sent someone to check,” Zheng Wenhuan said, “but they were taken away long ago.”

The person he had painstakingly captured had been rescued, and Xia Dalang felt a tightness in his chest, almost unable to breathe.

"How could Xie Yuyan have accomplished all this in just five days?" Xia Dalang still couldn't understand how Xie Yuyan had managed to cause internal strife within the Demon Cult and then make its members obey her orders.

“It’s a pity I have too few people to mobilize,” Xia Dalang said. “Otherwise, I could have taken her down the first time she came.”

Zheng Wenhuan said, "What's the use of saying all this now? Let's think about how to get out of here!"

The village head was being supported by his two sons and was panting. Hearing that the people chasing them were from the Xie family, he trembled all over. He had tortured many people in the caravan. If the Xie family caught him, how could he possibly survive?
But now it's too late to regret.

"Someone is catching up."

The patrolmen warned them, and the group had no choice but to continue. They had planned to leave from the other side of the valley, but when they got closer, Xia Dalang saw torches lit up, indicating that there were guards here as well.

They made thorough preparations to capture Xie Yuyan, intending to trap him here after he rushed in. They specifically chose a place with its back against a cliff, and the only way out was through two valleys.

Now... I feel like I've trapped myself in a cocoon.

As dawn broke, Xia Dalang's heart grew increasingly gloomy. The Xiang Army's delayed arrival must mean something had happened. The Demon Sect was preoccupied with its own troubles, and now no one could help them.

Using the light, Xia Dalang saw a shoe on the ground and suddenly realized that this was the place where they had captured the caravan.

"Get out of here!" Xia Dalang suddenly shouted. "Go quickly!"

To repel them, the caravan threw away all the stones in the surrounding area. If they were surrounded there, they would have nothing to fight back against the attackers except their weapons.

No sooner had Xia Dalang finished speaking than a whooshing sound came from the forest, followed by a volley of arrows rushing towards them.

In his panic, Xia Dalang could only hide behind a rock.

After the arrows passed, some people rushed up to kill them.

Xia Dalang watched as Zheng Wenhuan fought with those people. In just a short while, Zheng Wenhuan was at a disadvantage, clearly no match for them.

Seeing this, Xia Dalang took a deep breath and prepared to leave quietly in the chaos. But just as he was about to take off, someone suddenly grabbed his foot. Xia Dalang was startled and looked down to see the village head.

The village head had been struck in the leg by an arrow, and he trembled violently, looking at Xia Dalang with a pleading expression, clearly hoping that Xia Dalang would take him away with him. A cold glint flashed in Xia Dalang's eyes. He reached out as if to help, but as he approached the village head, he suddenly covered the village head's mouth and nose, and thrust the dagger in his hand toward the village head's heart.

The dagger pierced the flesh, and blood gushed out immediately. The village head stared wide-eyed, struggled a few times, and then died completely.

Xia Dalang drew his dagger and was about to leave when he heard someone scream, "He's here! He's here! Come and catch him! Catch him!"

Xia Dalang was startled and looked up. The person shouting was the son of the local official. In the chaos just now, he hadn't even noticed that there was another person hiding nearby.

With that shout, Xia Dalang's whereabouts were exposed, and people immediately surrounded him.

“This is… Xia Mengxian’s eldest son.” Sang Mo recognized Xia Dalang. He had been a bodyguard for the Wang family and knew all the sons of prominent families in the capital.

The guard's face changed, and he could barely breathe. Only two words flashed through his mind: "It's over."

The wanted criminals are here, so there's no way he can clear his name.

Xie's resistance against the imperial army was a serious crime of treason, but now that Xia Dalang has been captured, it is equivalent to clearing her name. If she makes a scene at the yamen, she will not only be innocent, but also be credited.

Thinking of this, Liang, the guard, risked being stabbed and turned to pounce on Xia Dalang, intending to end his life. However, it was too late. Sang Mo swung his hand and struck Xia Dalang on the neck, knocking him unconscious. He then tied Xia Dalang up with rope and threw him to Su Man, who was standing nearby.

Right under Liang's nose, Xia Dalang was taken away by Su Man.

Unable to silence Xia Dalang, Liang Jianya had no choice but to flee to save his life. He disregarded everything else and was about to run away when Sang Mo blocked his way.

"How dare you defy the government! Are you plotting a rebellion?"

Liang Jianya's words could scare away ordinary people, but they couldn't frighten Sang Mo. Sang Mo swung his knife at Liang Jianya, who only managed to parry once before feeling a sharp pain in his hand, and the blade fell to the ground.

On the other side, Zheng Wenhuan was also slashed in the right leg and staggered to the ground.

Both men were captured. As they struggled, they saw a figure slowly approaching. The woman was dressed in men's clothes, and her face had a touch of heroism and solemnity. It was Xie, whom they had been plotting against.

Liang, the guard, wanted to open his mouth to threaten Xie, but for some reason, he suddenly couldn't speak, as if he had suddenly lost the courage to resist.

"Take him away," Xie Yuyan said calmly, "and send him to the yamen."

Liang, the prison warden, stared wide-eyed. He hadn't expected Xie to dare take him to the yamen. Wasn't she afraid the magistrate would protect them? At the same time, a glimmer of hope welled up in his heart, wishing that things would turn around once they got to the yamen.

……

As dawn broke, Xu Shu led her people back to the camp where they had previously stayed.

Not daring to get too close, Xu Shu ordered someone to scout out the situation. As soon as the person was sent out, Xu Shu saw people and horses running around in the camp.

“They are the Xiang Army,” Elder Zhou said. “They are wearing armor…that’s right, they are the Xiang Army.”

Xu Shu's heart, which had been pounding, finally sank completely at this moment.

The Privy Council gave orders to the local militia, so logically the local militia should have secretly helped her.

Xu Shu said, "Let's see. Maybe they're not here to arrest anyone."

As soon as Xu Shu finished speaking, she saw several believers being bound and led out.

(End of this chapter)