Chapter 24: The Tattooed Face of Ying Bu

  June, plum rain season in Jiangnan.

  Sitting at the entrance of the cave, looking at the heavy rain outside, Yin Xu felt both joy and worry. He was happy that the heavy rain would wash away all the traces of their journey, making it difficult for the Qin army to track them down. Moreover, with the wind and rain, the roads were muddy, and the Qin army could only stop in its tracks for the time being.

  Worryingly, after the rain clears up, how to face the Qin army's siege. He never thought that after a month of inaction, the right colonel Zhou Kang of Kuaiji would lead an army of 30,000 and join forces with An Tong, bringing the total strength to 34,000 people. Although it was said to be the annihilation of all Jiangdong bandits, Yin Xu would rather believe that the Qin army came for him, sometimes he mocked himself in his heart: Zhao Gao, you also overestimate me too much, isn't it just saving the purple-robed mother and daughter? Is it worth being so angry?

  What's so special about that mother and daughter, or rather, the family behind them? That made Zhao Gao care so much. He had asked Fan Qing in a roundabout way, but didn't get the answer he wanted. Fan Qing always evaded the question, beating around the bush. After one or two times, Yin Xu stopped asking too.

  In mid-May, Fan Qing made every effort to transport some grain, grass and medicine from Pengze Waterway. After that, he left and went back to report. Yin Xu asked him to convey his gratitude and then had no further contact. Although he himself had saved the other's life and Fan Qing had given him great help, far beyond the scope of repaying kindness. Yin Xu remembered it in his heart, distinguishing between kindness and resentment, knowing how to repay kindness, this was his principle for being a man.

  As soon as Yin Xu received the news of being surrounded by a large army of 30,000 men, he discussed countermeasures with Gao Yi and Pu Jun. The Qin army had more than 30,000 men, well-equipped and well-trained, how could they be underestimated? After the previous defeat at An Tong, the Qin army would not be arrogant and underestimate the enemy again, it was almost impossible to take advantage of them again. On the contrary, how to avoid the pursuit of the Qin army was the key.

  Fortunately, when the Qin army was stationary before, Yin Xu had already sensed something unusual, as if there was a calm feeling before a storm, so he made preparations in advance. At the same time that Fan Qing sent food, Pu Jun led people to discover a cave in a hidden place, and the area inside the cave was very large, which could accommodate thousands of people. After Yin Xu inspected it, he ordered people to secretly transfer the food supplies there, and what delighted people was a spring in the cave, which solved the problem of water source.

  However, the Qin army was advancing step by step, and their search was extremely thorough. If it weren't for this timely rain, the hiding place would be exposed sooner or later. Nevertheless, Yin Xu wasn't too worried. As long as he could hide for a month or two without being discovered, until the Dazexiang Uprising broke out, his situation should improve greatly. Therefore, apart from concealing his tracks well, all he needed to do was pray that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang would take action on schedule.

  In the cave, a bonfire was burning. Although it was June, after many days of continuous rain, it was inevitable that it would be damp and cold. Moreover, there was also the need for lighting and cooking food. Fortunately, Pu Jun had experience and made preparations in advance, gathering a large amount of dry firewood from the surrounding area. Otherwise, with the continuous heavy rain, they could only gaze up at the sky and sigh.

  Just as they were listening to the crowd of thieves boasting, a brother wearing a raincoat and grass shoes suddenly rushed back in a hurry. As soon as he came in, he panted and said: "Young master, someone..."

  Yin Xuxin's head tightened, and he asked, "What's wrong?" Although the mountain cave was hidden, for safety reasons, they had to set up a few sentry posts outside.

  "There is someone coming from down the mountain, hundreds of people are coming this way."

  "What?" Yin Xu was suddenly startled, had he revealed his tracks, and the Qin army was pursuing him in the rain? After a slight hesitation, he ordered: "Pu Jun, go take a look quickly, everyone get ready for battle."

  Pu Jun was bold and meticulous, with a quick mind and skilled hands, and could be said to be Yin Xu's number one helper. Upon hearing Yin Xu's instructions, he knew the situation was urgent and hurriedly got up and went out.

  The rest of the people were nervous and on high alert, with swords drawn and bows stretched, waiting in a tight formation. It wasn't until a moment later that Pu Jun returned, confirming that the newcomer was indeed one of their own kind.

  This time, Zhou Kang's army arrived, and Jiangdong was in an uproar. The various bandits were pursued and fled in disarray. Moreover, several groups of people were ruthlessly slaughtered by the army, and for a time, the winds howled and the cranes cried out in alarm throughout Jiangdong. The bandits hid in the deep mountains. In Yin Xu's eyes, this was good news. The heroes of Jiangdong were stirred up by the wind, and the opportunities for exchange and cooperation between them increased, so naturally, he could get to know more heroes.

  There were three to four hundred people in this row, who escaped after being pursued by the Qin army, relying on the terrain. Although they narrowly escaped, they did not dare to stay in the original place for a long time, and took advantage of the heavy rain to escape overnight, hiding in the mountains for four or five days, almost exhausted.

  As they arrived at this place, one of the locals knew that there was a cave here. Everyone was overjoyed and thought it would be great to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain and rest for a few days. However, when they arrived, they found out that someone had already taken the place.

  Yin Xu looked around at the crowd entering the cave, and saw that the leader was a man in his thirties, with a robust build, piercing eyes, and a black tattoo on his face. Yin Xu knew this was called a "黥" (a type of ancient punishment), and this person's identity was self-evident.

  A man with a scarred face entered and saw Yin Xu and others, looking somewhat stunned. He wanted to speak several times but stopped himself, his sharp eyes involuntarily falling on the long swords in their hands. Yin Xu saw this and knew what he was thinking, so he spoke loudly: "Greetings, everyone! We were forced by circumstances to flee to the mountains, and now that the government troops have surrounded us, we had no choice but to hide here."

  Upon hearing this, the man with the scarred face relaxed slightly and smiled: "Fellow travelers, we too have had a similar experience. We escaped from the Qin army's pursuit and came here to take shelter from the rain, not expecting to meet all of you brothers."

  Yin Xu clasped his fists and said: "May I ask how to address you, big brother?"

  The tattooed man replied politely: "I am Ying Bu, you can also call me Qiu Bu."

  "Ying Bu?" Yin Xuhu's body shook, and he thought to himself: This person is the famous Ying Bu. In his previous life, he had some knowledge of "The Records of the Grand Historian", Ying Bu was originally a prisoner in Mount Li, later escaped and became a bandit in the Yangtze River area, then surrendered to Xiang Yu's uncle and nephew, and became the number one fierce general under his command. After the destruction of Qin, he was enfeoffed as the King of Nine Rivers. Later, he had a falling out with Xiang Yu, defected from Chu to Han and was appointed by Liu Bang as the King of Huainan. Together with Han Xin and Peng Yue, he was known as one of the three great generals of the early Han dynasty. However, his achievements were too great and threatened the emperor, so in the process of Liu Bang eliminating kings of different surnames, he was killed on charges of treason.

  The face that had been branded was the best proof, and Yin Xu believed he was Ying Bu. He didn't expect to travel back to the end of the Qin dynasty and see a famous historical figure like Ying Bu in such circumstances. (Actually, Pu Jun was the first one, but Yin Xu still didn't know he was the historically renowned General Pu.)

  Looking at Yin Xu's expression, Ying Bu felt shocked again and asked: "What? Did brother know about me?"

  Yin Xu touched the back of his head and thought to himself: It's inevitable to be excited when meeting a famous historical figure, this is probably a common problem for all time travelers! He smiled lightly and said: "General Ying Bu, your name is renowned, I've naturally heard of you before. I didn't expect to have the fortune of meeting you today, it's truly an honor."

  "Huh? Ying Bu said in confusion: Do I have such a loud reputation? Maybe others really know the name of Ying Bu, the scarred face. He politely said: "Brother, you're overpraising me, it's just that circumstances forced me to mix and eat, where can we talk about fame? Otherwise, I wouldn't be chased by the Qin army and end up in such a sorry state!"

  Yin Xu smiled and said, "Brother Ying is too modest. Everyone has been through a lot of hardship on the road, so come in first to warm up by the fire and rest! Later, I'll cook some food for everyone to eat."

  Gao Yi, Pu Jun and Lu Ming were all a little puzzled in their hearts. How could the young master be so polite to this scar-faced man? It was indeed strange.

  Ying Bu's subordinates had been rushing around for days, and were now suffering from hunger and cold. When they heard that they could roast meat and eat a meal, they were all extremely excited. It just so happened that Yin Xu and others were cooking porridge, and the aroma wafted out of the cave, making everyone's mouth water as they huddled together with their chests pressed against each other's backs.

  Ying Bu didn't expect Yin Xu to be so polite, and he clasped his fists in gratitude: "Thank you so much! I'm deeply grateful! By the way, I haven't asked for your esteemed surname and given name yet, brother?"

  Yin Xu slapped his forehead and laughed: "I actually forgot to defend my own home, Younger brother Yin Xu, no need to be polite, Big Brother Ying."

  Yin Xu?

  Suddenly a burly man appeared beside Ying Bu and bellowed in his hoarse voice, "Are you Yin Xiang, the one from Dong?"