New and dark light years

Chapter 365 Xiao Chunzhu Returns Home in Glory
Inside the military tent, Li Lin pointed to the map and said, "There are four military towns, two in the south and two in the southwest. Commander Mu and Commander Guo, each of you choose one town in the south. Commander Ji and Commander Zhang, each of you choose one town in the southwest. Once you have chosen your targets, take two thousand men and go there under the pretext of inspecting the town's provisions and pay. Then, with lightning speed, take control of the town commander and try to capture him alive."

The four people had different expressions, but they all nodded.

Li Lin continued, "I will issue official documents together with Prefect Huang. With these documents, you can legitimately enter the military town as magistrates. Remember, try to capture them alive. Only living military town magistrates will have their merits recorded in the annals. If they die... at most, they will be neither meritorious nor demerited."

The four men straightened up and nodded repeatedly.

If it were just Li Lin wanting to deal with the military town chief, as the town's governor, he certainly had that right, but there was a possibility that he was abusing his power and vying for personal gain.

But if even a prefectural governor agrees to this plan, then there must be something extraordinary about it.

"If there are no questions, get to work. Set off within two days, and within half a month, I want to see all four military town commanders brought here to the camp."

"As ordered!"

The four men simultaneously clasped their hands in a fist salute and replied.

After the four men left, Li Lin had his personal guards bring him the military's accounts book for money and provisions.

He investigated slowly by himself, and it took him two whole days.

Most of them matched, and a few didn't, but the amounts weren't large, so they were probably just normal 'losses' and were left alone.

In many cases, such 'losses' are tolerable.

After checking the accounts, Li Lin asked his personal guards, "Have they all set off?"

"The northern troops were the last to leave yesterday," the guard replied.

"That's fine then." Li Lin stood up: "Let the commanders continue recruiting soldiers."

The personal guard clasped his hands and said, "Yes!"

Li Lin then returned to Yulin County; he couldn't stay in the government army camp forever.

……

Two more days passed, and Xiao Chunzhu, leading two hundred soldiers, finally arrived at the foot of Lingxiao Sect Mountain.

The Lingxiao Sect has a grand name, but in reality, it is just a small sect in the martial arts world.

Moreover, the place where the sect is located is just a low mountain, originally called Geling.

After the Lingxiao Sect established its sect here, the surrounding county residents and villagers gradually began to call this place Lingxiao Mountain.

Looking at the familiar scenery around her, Xiao Chunzhu's face showed nostalgia... and resentment.

At the crossroads leading up the mountain, a woodcutter came down.

He was startled to see a group of soldiers standing at the intersection and dared not approach them, even considering running away.

But at that moment, Xiao Chunzhu suddenly called out, "Li Datou, come here!"

The man was clearly startled when his name was called, and then he dared not move.

Where can we go?

Once the officers and soldiers knew his name, they could find out where he lived; they could run away, but they couldn't hide.

Li Datou walked over with a long face, and then realized that the person riding the tall horse looked somewhat familiar.

Xiao Chunzhu laughed and said, "Don't you recognize me? Ah Zhu."

Li Datou's eyes widened.

Looking at Xiao Chunzhu, he still couldn't quite recognize her. Finally, he wiped his eyes and exclaimed, "It really is Ah Zhu! You've... struck it rich!"

At this moment, Xiao Chunzhu was not wearing official robes, but his black satin long gown clearly revealed his identity.

Merchants are not qualified to wear this kind of clothing; only officials are allowed to.

Not to mention the two hundred soldiers who protected him in the middle of the semicircle.

These soldiers, while not fully armed, were all carrying weapons.

Xiao Chunzhu turned her chin over, walked over and gave Li Datou a hug, smiling as she said, "I'm back."

Li Datou's eyes were a little red as he nodded gently.

Xiao Chunzhu asked, "Is your younger sister alright?"

"very good."

Xiao Chunzhu looked at the buildings that were faintly visible on the mountain. He was excited when he came, but now he was no longer in a hurry to go up the mountain.

He wanted to visit his friends and acquaintances in the village first.

“Let’s go back to the village first,” Xiao Chunzhu said with a smile. “I’ll stay at your house tonight.”

“But…” Li Datou hesitated.

"Aren't you welcome?"

"My home is dirty and dilapidated, not worthy of your status," Li Datou said somewhat dejectedly.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I can still sleep well now, just like I used to."

Li Datou finally laughed and said, "Okay!"

Xiao Chunzhu then followed Li Datou back to the village, and the whole village was in an uproar.

Almost everyone rushed over to watch Xiao Chunzhu, but no one dared to get too close.

Two hundred soldiers kept the villagers outside.

When Xiao Chunzhu entered Li Datou's house, she saw a girl with tattered clothes and a sallow complexion come out.

"Sister," Xiao Chunzhu greeted.

He treated Amei as his younger sister, which is why he called her that.

When A-mei saw Xiao Chunzhu, she was stunned for a moment, then her eyes darted away.

She then instinctively took two steps back.

At this moment, Xiao Chunzhu's expression changed: "What happened to your leg?"

When A-mei stepped back, it was obvious that she had difficulty walking.

A-mei didn't speak, but simply took two steps back. Li Datou said from the side, "His bones were broken by Master Long... and because there was no money for medical treatment, this is what happened."

Xiao Chunzhu's face turned cold, and then she gritted her teeth and shouted, "Senior Brother!"

He understood; his fellow disciples in the sect were venting their anger on someone they knew.

“Amei’s leg was broken, what about you?” Xiao Chunzhu looked at Li Datou.

Xiao Chunzhu didn't believe that Li Datou, a man, would be unharmed, since he even hit women.

"They beat me up too, but I'm tough, so I was mostly unharmed. It was just some superficial injuries, and I'm all better now."

Xiao Chunzhu looked at the girl next to her and said, "Don't worry, little sister, I will have someone help you heal your leg."

The girl looked up at him and nodded gently.

Then Xiao Chunzhu took out some loose silver and said to the soldiers beside her, "Go and tell the brothers to set up camp at the village entrance, and then go outside and buy some meat from the villagers. We can't force anyone to buy or sell, understand? Also, cook us a whole table of dishes."

The guard took the loose silver and immediately ran out.

"Big Head, this is your home, why are you more reserved than me?" Xiao Chunzhu laughed. "Sit down, everyone, and tell me how you've been these past few days."

Li Datou was a little nervous, so he just casually picked out some unimportant things to talk about.

Xiao Chunzhu didn't mind. He tried to find topics to talk about and chatted with Li Datou, occasionally adding a few words to Amei's chat.

The dishes were ready in no time.

When the fragrant chicken and duck were served on the table, even the usually indifferent A-mei couldn't help but look over and subconsciously swallowed.

"Let's eat something first, I'm a little hungry," Xiao Chunzhu said with a smile.

The three sat down at the table. At first, Li Datou and Amei were hesitant to touch their chopsticks, but after a few bites, they couldn't stop eating.

Eat non-stop.

Xiao Chunzhu watched them with a smile, only occasionally touching her chopsticks.

Before long, all the food on the table was eaten by the two of them.

The girl wiped her mouth, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Chunzhu was no longer distant.

At that moment, a guard outside said that a group of martial arts practitioners were requesting an audience, claiming to be disciples of the Lingxiao Sect.

"Let them come over," Xiao Chunzhu said calmly.

He learned this tone and manner of speaking from Li Lin.

In Xiao Chunzhu's view, Li Lin was the person with the most "official authority" in his mind.

It was a kind of imposing presence, almost tangible. You looked at the other person calmly, even somewhat gently, yet you felt that their attitude towards doing things was as unfathomable as a mountain or a deep abyss.

Soon, a group of soldiers escorted five men dressed in blue and white robes into the room.

Xiao Chunzhu knew the leader very well, extremely well.

The man was extremely surprised when he saw Xiao Chunzhu: "Third Junior Brother, it's you!"

Long Chen was utterly shocked.

He heard that a group of soldiers had arrived at the foot of the mountain, so he led his men down the mountain to see what was going on.

If possible, he would also try to get on their good side.

Unexpectedly, the leader of these officers and soldiers was actually an acquaintance of his.

Xiao Chunzhu, the third junior brother who has been expelled from the sect.

Xiao Chunzhu looked at Long Chen, his heart filled with rage.

Long Chen played a significant role in his expulsion from the Lingxiao Sect.

Despite his anger, he didn't show it. Instead, he imitated Li Lin's posture and mannerisms, and then his tone, saying, "Long time no see, Young Hero Long."

Young Master Long!
Upon hearing this, Long Chen knew that Xiao Chunzhu's intentions were not good.

The situation was similar for his fellow disciples behind him.

Long Chen forced a smile and said, "Third Junior Brother, are you still blaming me..."

"Stop, do not address me like that." Xiao Chunzhu straightened her body, her tone flat, with an air of official business: "Young Master Long, please go back and tell your sect leader that I will go up the mountain tomorrow to discuss important matters with him."

Seeing Xiao Chunzhu speaking in official jargon, Long Chen's expression darkened even further.

He barely managed to maintain a smile: "Okay, I... I understand."

After saying that, he left with several fellow disciples.

As their fellow disciples left, they couldn't help but look back at Xiao Chunzhu from time to time.

After everyone had left, Xiao Chunzhu's body slumped slightly.

I don't know why, but even though the actions and tones are very simple, he always seems to have a lot of difficulty imitating them.

Li Datou, watching from the side, whispered, "Azhu, you look so impressive, just like a high-ranking official in a play."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chunzhu finally smiled happily.

He said, "Big Head, come with me tomorrow, you and A-mei. I'm already a commander, and I have several junior brothers following me. Half of them have already become captains. If you learn from me, you might even become a captain in the future."

Li Datou looked surprised and then asked, "Where's my sister?"

“Of course she’ll come with us,” Xiao Chunzhu said with a smile. “From now on, A-mei will be my own sister.”

Ah Da Tou smiled, then turned away and wiped away his tears.

He has actually had a very tough year... a very tough year.

Beneath his clothes were bruises of all sizes, both old and new.

Even more than half of the firewood they chopped had to be handed over to the Lingxiao Sect.

He really didn't want to stay in this place anymore.

It would be best if we could get out there.

(End of this chapter)