Chapter Eleven: Bandits Kidnap and Rescue People

  The river water flows slowly, clear and lively. The autumn colors are rich, under the morning sun, the maple leaves on both banks are even more brilliant red. From time to time, a few red leaves float down to the water's surface with the wind, drifting away into the distance.

  "The Xiangxi red leaves are as beautiful as this, really not bad! An old man in brocade stood with his hands behind his back, standing by the river and admiring the scenery. Seeing the beauty of the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but praise it. In the distance, several sword-wielding warriors were on guard, and it could be seen that the old man's identity was not ordinary."

  The old man was in his sixties, with half of his hair turned silver, a ruddy complexion, and a spirited appearance. He wore a brocade robe that gave him an extraordinary air. What's more, the old man had not dyed his beard, which was rare for this era. From his well-groomed and clean face, it could be seen that in his youth, he must have been a handsome man with a charming appearance.

  "Your Highness!" A middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

  "Hmm?" The old man frowned, clearly somewhat displeased.

  The middle-aged man's heart tightened, and he bowed his head: "Master, Luo Qi knows he was wrong! Third Brother has gone to prepare the boat, and Peng Ze can take the boat northward, avoiding the hardship of traveling by horse and carriage."

  "Hmm!"

  Lu Qi did not rush to leave, hesitated for a moment and asked: "Your subordinate is foolish, I don't know why the master is in such a hurry to return north?"

  The old man said faintly, "In the past, when the country was broken and the family was destroyed, I had been living in exile in Baiyue for nearly twenty years. Now that I am over sixty years old, it is time for me to return to my hometown, after all, fallen leaves should return to their roots! Moreover, Qin Shi Huang has died, Li Si and Meng Tian have also died. The one who succeeded him was not Fusu, but rather the young Hu Hai, with Zhao Gao holding all the power, a eunuch, a eunuch..."

  The old man burst out laughing and continued, "Think back to the glorious days of Qin Shi Huang, how many countries were destroyed and tribes exterminated by him? If he knew that before his bones were even cold, the great power of the Qin state had fallen into someone else's hands, and his children and trusted officials were slaughtered in Xianyang, what would be his feelings? He called himself the First Emperor, foolishly thinking that the throne of the Qin king would last for thousands of generations. I think the downfall of the Qin dynasty is not far off! How can we miss such a grand event?"

  Lu Qi asked tentatively: "Master, are you referring to reviving our fallen country?"

  The old man sighed softly: "Restore the country? How easy is it to talk about, now everything is too early. Leaving for twenty years, the king's tomb may have long been overgrown with weeds, and as a minister, he cannot often sweep and sacrifice, it is...” When he said this, the old man couldn't help but redden his eyes, and the bottom of his eyes had become moist at some point.

  Lu Qi's heart was filled with emotion, the master and the late king had a deep affection for each other, it had been decades, every time he mentioned the late king, the master would be like this. Alas! Thinking of his hometown, Lu Qi stood silently by the side, feeling even more heavy-hearted. Suddenly, his gaze fell onto the river surface, and he exclaimed: "Someone is drowning!"

  The old man was startled and woke up from his contemplation, turned around and looked towards the river. He saw a person floating on the water's surface, with a head of black hair drifting with the current. Immediately, he shouted: "Save him!"

  Luo Qi waved his hand and a warrior immediately set off down the river.

  "The master is a woman and she's still breathing!" Luo Qi reported back after investigating.

  The old man took a closer look and saw that the drowning person was a girl of about ten years old. Although she had been soaked in water for a long time, her skin was white and swollen, but it couldn't hide her delicate and lovely face. A red thread hung around her neck, with a carp-patterned jade pendant hanging on her chest.

  "The old man instructed: 'Treat her carefully and when she wakes up, ask for her name and send her back home.'"

  "Promise!"

  ——————————————————

  "Yu Niang!"

  Yin Xu let out a loud cry, suddenly sitting up on the couch, his whole body drenched in sweat. He took two deep breaths before coming back to his senses, looking around him in a circle, only then realizing it was just a nightmare.

  Just now in his dream, he seemed to have heard Yuniang shouting, and when he turned around, the beauty was by his side. He reached out to grab her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch her, she was just out of reach, a foot away from the edge of the sky. It seemed that many people were holding onto Yuniang, pulling her back with all their might, and those people's faces became more and more ferocious, like little devils from hell. Yin Xue couldn't help but feel extremely anxious, and he suddenly woke up with a start.

  Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, he let out two long sighs, and his heart was still uneasy. What did this dream represent? Wasn't there some kind of warning? Yuniang... was she all right?

  Really want to go back and take a look, for the sake of one's own safety, in order not to bring trouble to Yuniang, yet cannot go back. Wandering inside the bamboo shed, Yin Xu can only comfort himself, "Dreams are opposite, nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong!"

  "Master!" This was the respectful title that everyone used to address Yin Xu, showing his unique position. As the number of people grew, Gao Yi felt that Yin Xu should have a special title, so they all changed their mouths and called him Master.

  Yin Xu remembers the term "Gongzi" is a title for the sons of royal and noble families, such as Mengchangjun, Pingyuanjun, Xinglingjun, and Chunshenjun, the four nobles of the Warring States period. Why do people not call them that? Yin Xu can only reluctantly play the role of "Gongzi Wangsun".

  "What's wrong?" Yin Xu was shocked and pushed open the door, Zhou Da was already waiting at the entrance.

  "Boss, I've found several horse-drawn carriages about five miles west of here. More than twenty families are following them, and it seems like they're escorting an official."

  "Oh?"

  "It's estimated that there are goods on the truck. Pu Jun has already led people to prepare on the east side, please Boss go over." Zhou Da Xi was beaming with excitement and full of anticipation.

  "Alright!" Yin Xiu immediately set off with his sword, to survive, they had no choice but to plunder. Of course, it's still the same principle - bandits have their own code of conduct, for ordinary merchants and travelers, they would only take away a portion of their valuables, these days are not easy for anyone, leaving some food for others to eat. If they were corrupt officials, evil gentry or tyrannical landlords, then sorry! They would be wiped out completely.

  For example, this time the other side had several horse-drawn carriages, obviously a fat target, which is why Zhou Da and Pu Jun were so concerned. Of course, the other side has a family following them, with armed forces protecting them, so they must be careful in their actions. First, they need to figure out the rough identity of the people coming, determine whether to rob or not? And then how to rob? Of course, according to needs, traps, tripwires, or ambushes can be set up in advance, taking advantage of geographical advantages, just in case.

  The ambush site chosen this time was Maolin, as the name suggests, the trees on both sides of the official road were dense, with a wide and flat space in between, offering an open view and suitable for concealment.

  When Yin Xu arrived, Pu Jun was already prepared and stepped forward to report: "Young master, several layers of horse-trapping ropes have been laid out front and back, and there are still several traps ready for use. The brothers on both sides with crossbows and arrows are all ready and can take action at any time."

  "Good!" Yin Xu nodded in approval and instructed, "Don't rush into action for now, investigate clearly first and act accordingly, remember not to harm the innocent."

  As they spoke, several horse-drawn carriages came into view, swaying slightly as they moved, with about twenty knights following behind, their swords at the ready and scanning their surroundings vigilantly. Zhou Dafu caught sight of them from afar, his eyes wide with wonder, swallowing hard, and thought to himself that with such heavy security, the people and goods in the carriages must be extremely valuable.

  Pu Jun stared intently, thinking of ways to deal with the sword-wielding general, trying to minimize his own casualties.

  At this moment, the urgent and heavy horseshoes came, and the ground seemed to tremble slightly. Yin Xu and Pu Jun looked at each other, reaching a consensus in an instant - wait and see.

  The guards of the convoy were also shocked and quickly drew their swords to guard, one of them shouted: "Hurry up and escort the lady and miss away, the rest follow me to block the enemy."

  There is a woman in the car!

  The carriage suddenly accelerated, with ten family members guarding both sides, rushing forward. The remaining dozen or so people immediately turned their horses around, drew their swords, and blocked the middle of the road.

  In the blink of an eye, a group of brown knights rushed over, and Yin Xu looked around to see about fifty or sixty people. Without any courtesy, the two groups immediately drew their swords and clashed, the sound of blades ringing in their ears.

  Although the family was brave, they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and were tightly surrounded. They watched helplessly as dozens of brown-robed knights rushed past them, charging towards the carriage, their hearts filled with anxiety. Each one used all their might to wield their swords, hacking and slashing non-stop.

  Yin Xu saw clearly that the brown-robed knights were taking advantage of their numbers to bully the few, and a group of family generals were fighting to protect their master. Suddenly, Gao Yi on the side exclaimed in a low voice: "Enemy troops are coming!"

  Are those military horses? Aren't those brown-robed knights soldiers?

  Yin Xu made a swift decision and shouted loudly: "Halt! Saving people is urgent!"

  The thief who originally intended to rob the wealth ended up helping people, things in life are unpredictable!