Chapter 47: Hijacking (Part 1)

  As soon as they saw the two of them, everyone else couldn't help but burst out laughing. Gao Yuan was also a bit bewildered. What kind of relationship did these two people have? Were they good friends or rivals?

  "Wu Hongyin said: 'What are you laughing at? Can't I join the army?' Then she turned to Wu Lie and said: 'Father, take me to General tomorrow, let me join the army, I can also accompany Yinghong.'"

  Just as Wu Lie was about to speak, a flurry of footsteps echoed outside, and under the escort of several younger brothers, a young woman almost ran in, crying out from afar: "Master Wu, this time you must save us."

  At a glance, the person who came was unexpectedly Lin Wenqing, but at this time her hair bun was loose and she had a look of panic and loss.

  Wu Lie was also startled and hastily got up from the high platform, went forward to meet him, and said: "Wen Qing, what happened?"

  Lin Wenqing rushed forward a few steps, knelt down in front of Wu Lie, and had already become speechless with sobs. "Master Wu, this time we can only rely on you to save us, Huan'er...Huan'er he..." Before she could finish speaking, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

  Although the atmosphere of this era is more open, the distinction between men and women is not as strong as in the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but it has not yet reached the openness of modern society. Although Li Wenqing had fainted in front of Wu Lie, Wu Lie was also hesitant about whether to go and help her up. Fortunately, at this time, Li Yinghong and Wu Hongying also hurriedly jumped down from the high platform, rushing to Li Wenqing's side in three or two steps. Li Yinghong pulled Li Wenqing up from the ground, holding her in his arms, saying: "Sister Wenqing, Sister Wenqing, what happened? What's going on?"

  Wu Lie also let out a sigh of relief, and hastily ordered his family to bring over a soft couch. He also called over several maidservants to help Li Yinghong and Wu Hongying together, seven hands and eight feet, lift Lin Wencheng onto the couch. They poured another bowl of wine and fed Lin Wencheng a few mouthfuls before he slowly came to.

  Li Yinghong happily said: "Wen Qing sister, are you awake?"

  Lin Wenqing was also stunned for a moment, saying: "Yinghong sister, I didn't know you were here too." Turning his head again to see Wu Lie, he hurriedly struggled to sit up from the soft couch, saying: "Wu Gongzhu, please, save Huan'er. Huan'er has been taken away by someone."

  Wu Lie was also shocked, he was originally a former subordinate of Lian Po, and Lian Po and Xiang Yu were sworn brothers, Wu Lie had great respect for Xiang Yu. Now that Xiang Yu's only descendant was Xiang Wenqing, Wu Lie took good care of him too. Because he had connections in both the black and white societies of Zhao Guo, Xiang Wenqing's business could run smoothly to a large extent thanks to Wu Lie's care. So when he heard that Xiang Wenqing's child had been kidnapped, Wu Lie was anxious and hastily said: "Wenqing, don't worry, let's talk slowly, what happened to Huan'er?"

  Lian Wenqing was about to speak again, but his voice choked and he couldn't say a word for half a day. At this time, someone said: "Master Wu, the lady is now in a state of extreme anxiety, let me speak instead."

  At a glance, it turned out to be Zhou Shan. And Lin Wenqing also nodded and said: "Alright, Zhou Shan, you come tell the master of the martial arts hall."

  Wu Lie also seemed to know Zhou Shan and hurriedly asked: "Zhou Shan, what's going on? How did Huan'er get kidnapped?"

  After Li Mu left, Lin Wenqing stayed in the villa outside the city and received the 100,000 stones of grain that Li Mu had given her. This could alleviate the relief of the disaster victims a little bit, and Lin Wenqing also felt slightly relieved. Therefore, she brought Er Jue Luo Huan back to Handan.

  But when they were still five or six miles away from Handan, a group of bandits suddenly appeared, about a dozen or so, all dressed in gray and masked, wielding bronze long swords, and ambushed Xian Wenqing's party on the street.

  Lin Wenqing was also a wealthy household in Handan, and his family naturally had many guards. He brought about 40 or 50 people with him on the trip. Because they were trained by retired soldiers from the army, they were indeed quite skilled. However, this group of gray-clad men, although fewer in number than the guards, had extremely high martial arts skills. The guards were no match for them and were quickly defeated, with over 10 people killed. Ye Luohuan was also taken away by the gray-clad men. The entire process happened in a very short time. This group of gray-clad men then completely disappeared without a trace.

  After saying that, he looked at Lin Wenqing and said, "Madam, I haven't left out anything important, have I?"

  Lian Wenqing also nodded and said, "It's about these." Then he turned to Wu Lie and said, "Wu Gongzhu, this time it can only rely on you. Investigate who kidnapped Huan'er and how much gold is spent, I don't care, as long as Huan'er is safe and sound."

  After the man in grey retreated, Wen Qing felt that this attack was a kidnapping for ransom, which wasn't uncommon. Since Wu Lie had connections with both sides of the law in Zhao Guo, Wen Qing hurriedly came to find him and asked him to step forward to resolve the situation.

  After hearing the whole thing, Wu Lie was also shocked and did not expect such a thing to happen. He knew that Luo Huan was Lin Wenqing's only son, so this matter was very serious. Therefore, he said: "Wenqing, don't worry, I will do my best to help you find Huan'er back."

  Li Yinghong also said: "Wen Qing sister, don't worry, I'll go back and tell Father right away, we must find out this group of people and bring Huan'er back."

  Lin Wenqing felt slightly relieved and said: "Master Wu, Xinghong sister, thank you both."

  Wu Lie said: "Wen Qing, you go to the inner room to rest first, let Zhou Shan stay, we discuss how to find Huan'er." Turning his head again, he said: "Ying Hong, Hong Ling, you two accompany Wen Qing."

  Lin Wenqing responded with a sound, then accompanied by Li Yinghong and Wu Hongying, he went into the inner room to rest.

  The others also gathered around, and Wu Lie asked: "Zhou Shan, after these people took Huan'er away, did they leave any words behind?"

  Zhou Shan shook his head and said, "There was no explanation at all, they just grabbed the young master and ran away."

  "They ran in what direction."

  "It's southwest."

  Wu Lie nodded and immediately said: "Gong Qi, you immediately gather your brothers, first seal off the scene, then head in a southwest direction, investigate a distance of 100 li, see if there are any suspicious places." He also called over another disciple, saying: "Zhao Ping, you quickly go to Handan City to ask around, visit several gangs to ask around, see if there are any suspicious points."

  Zhao Ping and Nangsong Qi hastily responded with a "yes" and were about to leave when Gao Yuan said, "Wait a minute."

  Wu Lie Dao said: "Gao Da Ren, do you have anything to say?"

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Martial arts master, I have a few words to ask Zhou Shan first."

  "Sir, may I ask?"

  Gao Yuan Dao: "How many of you were killed this time?"

  "Twelve people have died and another eight are injured."

  "The other side had several people killed."

  "There were only two people."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Master Wu, please send someone to bring all the corpses here, including the weapons they used, and have them all brought over."

  Wu Lie immediately ordered someone to do it, and Gao Yuan said again: "Zhou Shan, do you remember that when this group of gray-clothed people took away Huan'er at that time, was Huan'er with Madame Wenqing?"

  Zhou Shan nodded and said, "Yes, at that time, Madame Wenqing and the young master were both in the carriage. We were scattered, they directly broke open the car door and snatched the young master from Madame's side."

  Gao Yuan said: "That is to say, if they could capture the lady, or kill her and Huan'er on the spot, it would be entirely possible. At that time, you would have been completely unable to rescue them."

  Zhou Shan's face turned slightly red, but he still nodded and said, "Yes."

  At this time, the people in the martial arts hall also carried all the corpses up. Gao Yuan first examined the dead house slaves, carefully turning over each of their wounds. Then he went to check on the two gray-clad men who had been killed.

  Now, of course, the gray cloth covering their faces was torn off. These two people were both around thirty years old. Gao Yuan said: "Master Wu, let someone come and take a look, does anyone recognize these two people? Also, find an artist to paint their portraits."

  Wu Lie hastily agreed and called his disciples to handle it. Gao Yuan then examined the wounds, hands and feet of the two men, including the bronze swords they used, even more carefully than when he checked the household guards. After the painter arrived, Wu Lie arranged for another room and had the painter draw portraits of the two men, also calling his disciples to identify them.

  Wu Lie asked: "Gao sir, have you found any clues? Could it be Wen Qing's enemy or a competitor?"

  Gao Yuan shook his head and said, "It doesn't seem like the work of an enemy. From Zhou Shan's account, this group of people had the opportunity to kill Madame Wenqing and Huan'er, but they didn't. They only took Huan'er away and even let Madame Wenqing go, which suggests that it's unlikely to be the work of an enemy."

  "Then is it for extortion? Thinking of extorting some gold."

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Just now, I examined the corpses. Among the twelve dead house guards, ten were killed with a single sword stroke, and only two were hit by two strokes, but the wounds were neither deep nor shallow, just right. The sword injuries were smooth, obviously the killers were skilled in swordsmanship. And on the fingers of those two dead men, there were thick calluses, at least they had practiced sword fighting for over ten years. So the other dozen or so people should also be about the same. To mobilize a dozen or more skilled swordsmen, it's probably not an ordinary person, only a wealthy and powerful family like the Gao family can afford to raise so many skilled swordsmen."

  Wu Lie also nodded and said: "Even in my martial arts school, at most only a dozen or so such swordsmen can be found."

  Gao Yuan said, "From their actions, it's clear that they only captured people without killing them. They must have some demands for Madame Wenqing, but it won't be just about extorting gold from her. There must be something else. However, this means that at least Huan'er is temporarily safe and won't be in danger of losing her life. We can still think of ways to slowly investigate."

  After hearing Gao Yuan's explanation, Wu Lie also felt slightly relieved. At this time, the painter had already finished drawing the portrait, and the disciples of the Wu family had also identified it, but no one recognized it. Gao Yuan said: "Master, you can first follow your arrangement to investigate, including these two portraits, as well as the fabric of their clothes and the bronze sword they used, which are all directions that can be investigated."