My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 72 This person is not right
When the group arrived at the entrance to Sandang Valley, they dismounted. The road ahead was too flat, with no place to hide their bodies. If they went directly through, they would definitely be discovered. They decided to leave their horses there and take a detour to the west, climb to a higher place, and observe the situation from there.

Li Mi was the first to dismount his mule and talk to several local soldiers about the road ahead.

Li Xuanba was carried off his horse by Liu Chounu.

Li Xuanba said in a low voice, "Old man, remember to keep an eye on that dark-faced man later. If he makes any unusual moves, you can take him down at any time."

Liu Chounu was taken aback. "My lord, is there something wrong?"

"Those who are worthy of praise have a reputation that is not undeserved, and scholars who attach themselves to them are not without merit." This comes from the Records of the Grand Historian. He subconsciously said "a reputation that is not undeserved," but then quickly changed it to "a reputation that is not undeserved" as said by the villagers. I think that's a bit off.

Liu Chounu was somewhat confused. He really didn't understand what the difference was, but since his master told him to keep an eye on things, he did so.

Li Mi was unaware of the conspiracy behind him at that moment. He was carefully leading the warriors behind him along the mountain path. He was bending over, yet he was very agile. The path here was very difficult to walk on, right next to the mountain, with a cliff on the other side. In many places, they had to jump over.

Zhang Du carried Li Yuanji and jumped over the broken road several times. Li Yuanji was too scared to look down. Li Xuanba was fine, though, as he could walk on his own. They climbed higher and higher until they finally reached a relatively open flat area. The terrain here was very high, and they could see the situation in the distance.

Li Xuanba frowned, sensing something was wrong once again.

If thieves were operating here, wouldn't such a crucial place be guarded? This place is practically a natural watchtower; from here, you can even see roads miles away. Wouldn't thieves know that? But if even the thieves who live here don't know about this place, how did this dark-faced man know?
Once suspicion arises in anything, the doubts will only multiply.

Li Xuanba immediately became extremely vigilant. He looked seriously at the people around him and said, "Gentlemen, be prepared."

Everyone lowered their heads, but Li Mi ignored them, pointing into the distance, "That's it! That's it!"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

Sure enough, in the distance, one could see many simple thatched huts with many people going in and out. However, the distance was too far to see clearly, but one could barely make out that they were people. Li Xuanba squinted and stared at them for a long time.

Li Yuanji suddenly spoke up: "Brother! If they're not thieves, then they're definitely not good people who set up camp in this desolate place!"

"We can go down and catch them before they notice us!"

Li Mi trembled.

There are certainly no bandits down there.

This is a private coal mine owned by the Zheng family. They won't randomly arrest people outside; they are quite cautious.

The law does not prohibit private coal mining, after all, the technology is not good, and most coal mines are scattered, so it is not easy for the government to monopolize them.

However, allowing mining did not mean that it could be done secretly. The taxes on iron and coal mines were quite high, reaching an exaggerated rate of almost one-third during the time of the sage.

Li Mi felt this was a good achievement. The sage liked it most when others helped him solve his economic problems. The local governor helped discover the coal mines that the powerful clans had hidden, and punished them by making up the difference in their income. This brought the sage huge profits.

Another suggestion was to reward the governor and send him to a place with more mineral resources so that he could continue his efforts, while also encouraging other local officials to bring benefits to the sage!
Would a sage who gets angry with his ministers over money refuse?

As for Li Yuan, he needed to prove that neither of the two families would show any mercy to him, and that they would definitely go all out.

All of this happened so naturally.

However, things didn't go quite as Li Mi had planned. These brats weren't afraid of the people on the other side at all. Instead of quickly informing Li Yuan to come and arrest them, they actually wanted to go themselves?

Do you know how many people are on Zheng's side?
If a real fight breaks out and the Duke's two sons are also involved, the Duke of Tang will definitely investigate to the end and fight to the death. In that case, he will have created a powerful enemy for his lord out of nowhere. Although his lord is not afraid of him, he is, after all, an old noble from Guanzhong, and is not the same as those young kids who are willing to follow him.

He hurriedly said, "How could I let you two gentlemen risk your lives because of our matter? When I came here earlier, I saw a large number of people moving around in the village, probably several hundred, all armed and tall. They are not easy to deal with."

He even exaggerated a bit.

Li Yuanji, however, was not afraid at all. He pointed triumphantly at Li Xuanba beside him and said, "You have no idea!"

"My elder brother is born with superhuman strength and is invincible. Everyone agrees on this. Let alone a few hundred people, he can handle even a few thousand!"

Li Mi looked at Li Xuanba in astonishment. "Your brother's skinny arms and legs, he probably can't even beat you, right?"

Li Xuanba had been observing Li Mi's expression, and upon hearing Li Yuanji's words, he deliberately raised his head, saying, "That's right. I've been practicing martial arts all along, and few can rival me. Perfect timing, while they're not paying attention."

Li Mi sensed something was wrong.

He was so cautious just a moment ago, but now he's suddenly become arrogant?
As expected, he's become suspicious of me; this kid is testing me!
Are you afraid that I'm in cahoots with those people, or that you've plotted to lure him over there?
At this moment, Li Mi quickly considered a solution. He looked at Li Xuanba with surprise and said hesitantly, "My lord, it's not that I don't trust your bravery, but they are standing on high ground and have bows and arrows. I'm afraid many people will die or be injured. I really can't bear to see everyone killed by the bandits because of my brother."

"If we could gather more men, the bandits would be afraid and might come out and beg for mercy."

Li Xuanba resumed his previous demeanor and looked around. "Let's go down first. There's only one exit here, and it's easy to get blocked."

He led the group back the way they came. Li Mi rubbed his calves from time to time, complaining in a low voice, but his pace slowed down more and more. He kept moving back from the lead position, and no one noticed this. They just walked down the mountain seriously.

After descending the mountain path, you'll reach the same grove of trees you just saw.

Li Xuanba didn't turn around, but stared at the place where they had left their horses in the distance, and walked quickly towards it.

The group walked among the trees, their expressions tense, glancing around.

Li Mi followed leisurely at the very back of the main force.

I should go now.

I don't know how the Duke of Tang raised his youngest son. He is so suspicious and cautious, not at all like a child. His behavior just now showed that he had noticed something was wrong. If we don't leave soon, something terrible might happen.

He darted behind a large tree and hid, then lowered his body and fled quickly to the right.

"Om~~"

Something flew over Li Mi's head, and Li Mi's whole body stiffened. A sharp arrow flew over his head and deeply embedded itself in the tree trunk directly opposite him.

Turn around.

Li Mi slowly turned around.

Liu Chounu stood not far away, holding a bow and arrow in his hand. He had not drawn the string, but he was ready to shoot.

Li Mi looked terrified. He clutched his belt and explained, "I really couldn't hold it in anymore, I just needed to pee. I..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly rolled over and hid behind a tree, then sprinted forward at full speed.

"Oh!"

He had only run two steps when he bumped into something and fell heavily to the ground. A dark figure pounced on him and pinned him down. It was a local soldier under Li Xuanba's command. Another person rushed out from the left to help hold him down.

Liu Chounu watched as the two men held Li Mi down, put away his bow and arrows, and laughed, revealing his gritty teeth.

Soldiers dislike fighting alone the most.

After Li Xuanba instructed him to keep an eye on this person, he found two people to assist him.

Sure enough, this guy is cunning; it was the right thing to bring two more people.

When Liu Chounu and the other two brought Li Mi to Li Xuanba, Li Mi was crying loudly.

"My lord! Spare me! I will never dare to bother you again! Please don't hurt me! My brother is waiting for me!"

Everyone looked at them with some surprise and uncertainty.

(End of this chapter)