In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"Whoa—"

Lei Laohu suddenly pulled on the reins and raised his right hand high.

The caravan behind them stopped abruptly. The men also sensed the unusual atmosphere and reached for the daggers at their waists, their eyes warily fixed on the army formation ahead.

Lei Laohu dismounted, suppressing his unease, and put on the obsequious smile he was used to in the martial arts world. He strode towards the barricades in front of him.

"Oh, my esteemed soldiers, you've worked hard!"

Lei Laohu was still more than ten steps away when he clasped his hands together and shouted with a big smile.

"I am Lei Laohu from the Yaozhou Sihai Caravan. This time, I'm transporting a batch of official salt for the Yanjing County government. May I ask what official business you gentlemen have set up here?"

A captain from the Zhechong Prefecture standing behind the barricades glanced coldly at Lei Laohu, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

The captain was a burly man with a hideous scar on his left cheek that stretched from the corner of his eye to his chin, making him look like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

"Official salt?"

Scarface smirked, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, like a broken gong.

"Are you blind?! What kind of official salt is this in Yaozhou? My intelligence reports that a gang of vicious bandits are using the county government as a front to smuggle salt here!"

Lei Laohu's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

The other party is clearly lying through their teeth, trying to label this batch of legal government salt as "smuggling".

In this desolate wilderness, if the soldiers of the Zhechong Prefecture say you are smuggling, then you are smuggling. Even if they report it to the governor, the governor may not dare to offend these arrogant and fierce soldiers for the sake of a caravan.

"Sir, you've completely misunderstood!"

Lei Laohu quickly pulled out a thick stack of documents from his pocket and held them high above his head.

"This is the travel permit issued by the Yanjing County government, and also the new salt coupons, which bear the official seal of the county magistrate! Please take a look, please take a look!"

The scarred captain didn't even glance at the document, but simply gave a wink to a soldier next to him.

The soldier strode forward, snatched the document from Lei Laohu's hand, and without even glancing at it, tore it to shreds with a "rip" sound before casually tossing it away.

Paper scraps fell like snowflakes from the bottom of the valley.

Lei Laohu's face turned ashen instantly. He clenched his fists but dared not make any move.

Tearing up the official travel documents was a blatant slap in the face.

It wasn't just Lei Laohu's face that was slapped, but also that of Magistrate Yang.

"you……"

Upon seeing this, the hot-tempered mule caravan men behind Lei Laohu were instantly enraged and drew their knives, ready to rush forward.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Lei Laohu suddenly turned around and let out a deafening roar, glaring at the impulsive men.

He knew very well that the group opposite him was a ruthless field army.

If his few hundred muleteers, armed with short knives, dared to charge the army formation of Zhechong Prefecture, the enemy wouldn't even need close combat; a single volley of powerful bows and crossbows would be enough to turn them into pincushions.

More importantly, once they take action, it will be tantamount to "armed resistance against the imperial army," a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of their family!

Even if Magistrate Yang had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't protect them.

After dismissing his men, Lei Laohu turned around, took a deep breath, and lowered his posture to the lowest possible level.

He bowed slightly and managed a weak smile.

"Sir, this captain..."

Lei Laohu took out two heavy gold ingots from his sleeve and handed them over without making a sound.

"We brothers are just trying to earn a living through hard work. Since the officer says he wants to inspect, then so be it. This is just a small token, consider it as a few bowls of wine for the brothers to drink and ward off the chill of this valley. We hope that you, Captain, will be lenient and do us a favor."

Scarface looked at the gold ingot handed to him, a greedy glint in his eyes, but he did not reach out to take it.

"Lei Laohu, do you think I'm a beggar?"

Scarface suddenly turned pale and kicked Lei Laohu hard in the chest.

The kick was powerful and heavy. Lei Laohu was caught off guard and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Boss!"

"What are you doing! Just because someone's a soldier doesn't mean they can beat people up!"

The men of the caravan were in complete uproar, drawing their knives and advancing with bloodshot eyes.

"Clang—"

Behind the barricades, fifty soldiers from the Zhechong Prefecture simultaneously drew their swords, while the spearmen in the front row raised their spears in unison, the tips pointing directly at the caravan.

The archers in the back row drew their bows and nocked their arrows, the cold arrowheads locking onto Lei Laohu's men.

"Anyone who dares to step forward will be killed without mercy!" the scarred captain shouted sternly, his voice filled with murderous intent.

Lei Laohu clutched his aching chest and struggled to his feet. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and held down his brother who was trying to rush forward.

"Don't move!" Lei Laohu gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and turned to the scarred captain. "Captain, what exactly do you want? Draw a line!"

Scarface snorted coldly, slowly walked up to Lei Laohu, and looked down at him.

"The military order I received is to thoroughly investigate the smuggling bandits in the Fallen Soul Valley area."

The scarred captain said, enunciating each word clearly, "Since you are suspected, this batch of salt, along with these mules and horses, must all be seized and taken back to the Zhechongfu camp for rigorous inspection!"

"Seize it?" Lei Laohu laughed angrily. "Sir, this is a full three hundred cartloads of refined salt! Worth tens of thousands of strings of cash! You just seize it with a single word? Do you know how much influence is involved here?"

"What do I have to do with it?" Scarface Captain asked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Let me tell you, in this Yaozhou territory, besides the laws of the Tang Dynasty, the military orders of our Zhechong Prefecture are the highest! Don't think that just because you're a mere caravan leader, even if that Magistrate Yang himself came, I'd still arrest you without hesitation!"

The scarred captain waved his hand sharply: "Men! Confiscate all the salt carts and mules! Anyone who dares to resist, execute them on the spot!"

The fierce soldiers of Zhechongfu immediately surged over the barricades like a tidal wave, forcibly snatched the reins from the muleteers, and began to take control of the salt cart procession that stretched for miles.

Several men who refused to let go were struck on the head with the back of a soldier's knife, bleeding profusely and falling to the ground groaning in pain.

Lei Laohu watched as the salt carts his brothers had painstakingly transported were stolen one by one, and his heart bled. But he knew that he absolutely could not fight them head-on now.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood dripped from between his fingers into the soil.

"Let's go!" Lei Laohu gritted his teeth and forced out the word, "Back to the county town!"