My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 115 Let's go to the mountains!
Li Jiancheng walked up to the man in a few steps and stared at him intently.

"I won't hide it from you. My name is Li Jiancheng, and I am the eldest son of the current Duke of Tang. I am willing to let you go because I have heard of your reputation and know that you are a man of your word. But if you do anything evil again in the future and I find out, I will definitely not forgive you!"

Zhai Rang was truly shocked. He had initially guessed from the size of the group that they were relatives of a high-ranking official, but he never expected them to be from the very top of the family, the Duke's family.

Upon hearing that the other party was going to let him go, Zhai Rang was extremely excited and quickly bowed deeply to Li Jiancheng.

"Thank you, sir!!"

"I will absolutely remember your instructions, young master. I will lead those people up the mountain and never cause trouble again."

Li Jiancheng nodded and asked everyone to make way.

"Alright, let's hurry up and leave quickly."

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhai Rang had no idea from which friend this young master had learned his name, but he dared not ask any further questions. He could only remember the young master's name and wait for the opportunity to repay him in the future.

He thanked them three times and kept bowing.

Li Jiancheng led the rest of the group away, with Li Xuanba following behind him.

After everyone left, Zhai Rang's accomplice rushed over to help him up. The two of them looked quite disheveled and limped away into the distance, walking faster and faster.

The accomplice, hardly believing he'd been released, exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, we must leave before those important figures change their minds!"

"Don't talk nonsense! They are our benefactors! How can you say such things about them?"

Zhai Rang reprimanded him.

He was brave, broad-minded, sincere, and chivalrous, which is why everyone respected him.

They walked for a long time, and the path on both sides gradually widened. Just as they were escaping the farm and preparing to enter the path on the left, a person suddenly jumped down from the side and blocked their way.

Zhai Rang was taken aback. He looked up and saw that the person blocking his way was the young man he had fought with yesterday!
Zhai Rang had a bad feeling. Could it be that this fellow was holding a grudge about yesterday's events and wanted revenge?

This person was naturally Zhang Du.

Zhang Du stared at him for a moment before coldly saying, "Go south from here, and there's a Wild Buffalo Mountain. There are plenty of game in the mountain. Also, there's a village there. You can take your people there to seek refuge. The people in that village don't rob people; they're all kind-hearted. If they don't accept you, just say that the people who gave you dates in the south sent you there."

As Zhang Du spoke, he took something out of his pocket and tossed it to them.

Zhai Rang was quick and caught it immediately.

There were actually three large pancakes.

Without waiting for their reply, Zhang Du leaped to the high spot he had just been standing on and quickly disappeared into the night.

Zhai Rang stared blankly at the pancake in his hand, muttering the man's words, as his companion helped him into the path.

The two dared not rest and walked all night. When dawn broke, they finally felt a little more at ease and stopped to rest. Their companion went to fetch some water, and the two ate some bread, quickly finished it, took a nap, and then continued on their way.

The two were quite lucky. They were originally heading back to their temporary camp, but they encountered their men halfway there. On this rural road, the only ones who would dare to travel so recklessly were thieves.

When these people saw Zhai Rang alive, they were extremely excited and jumped down to hug him. Even the burly men with full beards started to cry.

Zhai Rang calmed everyone down and instructed them to find the rest of the followers.

That night, the group of thieves regrouped at the camp.

After Zhai Rang was arrested, the group almost broke up. Some suggested rushing to rescue him, some suggested devising a plan to intercept him, and some suggested impersonating government officials to trick him out. In the end, they couldn't agree on anything and almost went their separate ways. If Zhai Rang had arrived a day later, they probably would have scattered.

Zhai Rang gathered everyone together, lit a campfire, and recounted what had happened after he was captured.

“The gentlemen who captured me were not bad people. They originally came with cavalry to pursue you, but after hearing about our usual deeds, they let me go and told me not to do evil in the future.”

As Zhai Rang spoke, he raised his voice again, "Some people advised me to rob the nearby villagers, but I didn't agree. Now you know why, right? If we had listened to you and robbed our fellow villagers everywhere, making a bad reputation, would we have survived this time?" Zhai Rang said this intentionally. He had all sorts of people around him, many of whom were bandits who had come to seek refuge. They had brought up similar topics in the past. They didn't want to deal with people who were not easy to mess with; they preferred to target small villages that had no defenses.

Upon hearing Zhai Rang's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

Someone else asked, "Brother, we can't rob these villagers, and we can't rob the wealthy families either. The grain we risked our lives to steal this time isn't enough for us to eat through the winter. What should we do?"

Zhai Rang looked up, his eyes bright.

"Let's go to Bison Mountain."

Everyone was quite surprised, "Wild Buffalo Mountain?"

"Isn't that in Xingyang?"

What are we going over there for?

"Just listen to me."

"Perhaps this is a great opportunity for the brothers!"

Zhai Rang was highly regarded, so no one objected and everyone was willing to go.

Zhai Rang ordered his men to pack their things and set off quickly.

When Zhang Du came to tell him that he could join the mountain stronghold, Zhai Rang realized something. Why would a dignified Duke have heard of his name? That young man was obviously also sent by the Duke's family. Why did he send him to Wild Buffalo Mountain?

Zhai Rang, after all, was a law officer in the prefecture, unlike ordinary thieves. After thinking about it, he had a bold guess in his mind.

After this sage ascended to the throne, the years of forced labor caused great turmoil in various places, and the signs of chaos were already very obvious. Even in Dongjun, many important figures were secretly making preparations, such as harboring refugees, forging weapons, and stockpiling grain and fodder in case of emergency.

He knew that the Duke of Tang was serving as the Prefect of Xingyang, and that the Duke was so famous that it was hard for an official from Dongjun not to know about it.

The only explanation Zhai Rang could think of was that the Tang family was also making preparations. Like other powerful clans, they were building a camp somewhere, hiding refugees and weapons, and he had probably been chosen by them! These things couldn't be said openly, so they sent someone to convey the message!
Thinking about it this way, many things seem to make sense.

For Zhai Rang, this was a good opportunity. If he could serve the Duke, he might be able to clear his name of the crime of being a thief and regain his innocence!

He couldn't wait to lead everyone there. Along the way, his enthusiasm infected the others. They didn't know why Zhai Rang had become so confident, and he often talked to them about important things to come. But they were happy because their elder brother was so confident.

They moved extremely fast. As a qualified band of outlaws, speed was essential. The main reason they had grown to their current size was their mobility, which made local governments reluctant to bother with suppressing them, and they simply pretended not to know about this group.

They traveled for many days, and finally, before sunset that day, they arrived at Xingyang County.

They were also new to this place and unfamiliar with the area, so they dared not act rashly. They could only send people disguised as merchants to inquire along the way and move little by little toward Buffalo Mountain.

Several more days passed, and Zhai Rang finally got a clear picture of the surroundings. At dusk that day, Zhai Rang led the group into the Wild Buffalo Mountain.

The terrain here is extremely steep. There are many mountains in Henan, but such steep mountain roads are rare in Dongjun. They walked carefully. After passing Jijiaokou, they continued to explore, feeling their way in all directions. Only after they had passed that section of the road did they relax a lot. It was completely dark, but they dared not go any further and could only find a place to rest.

The next day, it was bright and clear.

Zhai Rang yawned and slowly opened his eyes.

The next moment, a spear was aimed at his neck.

He looked up and saw a dark-skinned young man holding a spear, watching him warily. The surrounding high places were also full of people.

The men who were ordered to keep watch were now tied up, gagged, and wriggling.

Who are you?!

The young man spoke up and questioned him.

(End of this chapter)