Chapter 103: Each Seeking a Way

"Two hundred bandits posing as villagers, leader General Lu, weapons hidden in the Water Spirit Shrine." The handwriting was very scrawled, clearly written in a hurry.

He Lingchuan took the paper and sniffed it, catching the scent of rust: "It's blood."

The few words were simple and easy to understand, but the content was truly chilling:

The villagers were faked by bandits, the leader was called General Lu, and they had hidden their weapons in the Water Spirit Shrine.

Lady Ying gasped, clutching He Chunhua and whispering, "Master!"

Her panic was undisguised.

Were they really so unlucky that the one time they stayed overnight in the wild, they walked straight into a wolf's den? This intelligence was explosive. He Lingchuan saw the grave expressions on his father and brother's faces and rolled his eyes: "Father, we should strike first! There are only two hundred bandits; let's grab our weapons and finish them off!"

"Foolish!" He Chunhua glared at him. "If she says two hundred, is it two hundred? If she says they are bandits, are they bandits? Can the words of a mere village woman be taken as truth?"

He turned to his personal guard, Zhao Qinghe, and said, "Sneak into the Water Spirit Shrine. If there are weapons hidden there, check the quantity."

Zhao Qinghe nodded, pushed the door open, and left.

This man was of average height and average features, truly ordinary when placed in a crowd. If He Chunhua hadn't selected him for the guard unit, He Lingchuan would never have noticed such a person.

With Uncle Hao away, He Chunhua had entrusted such an important task to him, which showed he was both well-acquainted with and trusted him.

He Lingchuan realized once again that he still knew too little about his father.

Lady Ying whispered, "I saw that man surnamed Lu's eyes flashing with malice; he really doesn't look like a good person!"

He Lingchuan thought to himself, you were just wanting to go play at Twin Moon Pool with him earlier.

But he didn't have the guts to say that.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Qinghe returned, his face looking very grim: "The guard of the shrine went to take a leak, so I took the chance to sneak in and look. Under the offering table and in the inner room, there were several crates hidden, covered by curtains. Inside were nothing but swords and axes—a rough count of 140 or 150 pieces. They have been sharpened and have killed people; the blood-stench is very heavy!"

This corroborated the blood letter from the Zhu woman. After all, how could a village of farmers and fishermen have so many lethal weapons?

Zhao Qinghe added, "By the way, the Water Spirit spirit tablet was indeed broken in two from the middle."

Lady Ying's face turned pale: "Since they are bandits, why didn't they flee when they saw the government troops, but instead chose to stay behind by posing as villagers?"

This was the question on everyone's mind.

The mysteries of Immortal Spirit Village were truly a bit too many.

"They have ill intentions." He Yue looked at his father and brother. "The Zhu woman said there are two hundred bandits; no wonder there are an unusually large number of able-bodied men in this village."

"They aren't making a scene, clearly waiting for an opportunity to strike." He Lingchuan's expression shifted slightly, and he asked his parents, "Have you drunk any water in this house?"

"Just after we entered, the master of this house offered the lord water. I had him pour it out and boil it again, and I monitored the whole process," said the steward, Old Mo. "Later, when the servant woman cooked, I also kept watch in the back kitchen; there shouldn't be any problems."

He Chunhua pointed at the blood letter: "What I care about is this—is 'General Lu' a person's name, or does it specifically refer to a general surnamed Lu?"

The implications of the two were worlds apart.

With a hundred people, there are all sorts; a bandit leader having a craving for officialdom and liking to be called General isn't too...

Pfft, it just felt wrong.

"There is only one way to know." He Lingchuan stood up. "I'll go find the Zhu woman."

"She must be under surveillance as well," Lady Ying asked curiously. "How are you going to find her?"

"I'll find her by taking a walk. The village is only this big; how much time could it take to go from east to west?" He Lingchuan laughed. "Besides, I remembered which house she entered earlier; it's not too far from here, just a dozen or so thatched huts away."

This boy—if you called him meticulous, he was usually careless; if you called him careless, he could even keep track of where a little woman lived. Lady Ying could only sigh: "Be careful!"

She rarely showed worry for He Lingchuan, and the latter felt a warmth in his heart for no reason, nodding his head.

He Yue, however, said, "These people are holding their positions; they either want to poison us or are waiting for the middle of the night when everyone is asleep to launch a sneak attack! The night is already deep; we might as well strike first and take down Lu Han."

He Lingchuan waved his hand: "Stay calm, wait for me to return."

No one was in the mood to eat now, except for He Lingchuan, who shoveled rice and vegetables into his mouth with flying chopsticks, enjoying himself thoroughly. Having gone through the cruel, bloody battles in his dreams, he felt his mindset for dealing with crises had become much more stable.

Lady Ying sighed: "You can still eat." This child was truly thick-skinned.

"I might have to do some heavy lifting later; if I don't eat my fill, where will I get the strength?" He Lingchuan finished his meal in a whirlwind, taking less than half a cup of tea's time, then wiped his mouth and stood up: "I'm off; delay leads to changes."

He Chunhua watched his back and nodded, then sighed again. Just as he was about to call his wife and son to continue eating, it was reported from outside that Zeng Feixiong had arrived.

As the leader of the personal guard unit, Zeng Feixiong had to come and report his work at regular intervals.

Tonight's incident couldn't do without him, so He Chunhua immediately called Zeng Feixiong in as well.

￥￥￥￥￥

The Zhu woman's house was in the west corner of the village, which was actually not close to where He Chunhua and his wife were staying.

Her husband had died in an unclear manner, and her mother-in-law had gone mad upon waking, crying and laughing. The fierce bandits certainly couldn't leave a mad old woman in the village to attract the attention of government troops, so they killed her with a single blade, threw her body into the lake, and let her keep her son company.

Her father-in-law was distraught and had been taken away along with the young child.

Thus, only she remained in the Zhu household.

She was walking back with her head down when two government soldiers approached her, asking for a cup of water to drink.

These guards lived in the granary, unlike the officials who stayed in civilian houses, so it wasn't as convenient to get hot water. He Chunhua had already instructed the village head to arrange food and water for everyone, but it wasn't ready yet.

Drinking raw water easily caused illness; it was best to boil it. Only in the wild would one drink raw water out of necessity.

"Wait a moment, I'll go boil some water." She carried some fresh water to the back kitchen to boil, but the soldiers kept saying there was no need for such trouble. Waiting for a drink of hot water was not something most people had the patience for.

She was absolutely unwilling to miss such a golden opportunity: "It's fine, I'll need it for the evening anyway."

While waiting, the soldiers stood in front of the house. Perhaps seeing that she was beautiful, they chatted with her for a while, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

But the Zhu woman knew that the bandits around were watching her every move; this was not a good time to call for help or give a hint.

She was secretly anxious, thinking of whether there was any roundabout way, when a few urgent whistles came from not far away. The two soldiers heard the sound and went back to attend to business, not even having time to drink the water.

The Zhu woman was extremely disappointed.

Just then, a person suddenly emerged from the shadows behind the house! The Zhu woman was so frightened she nearly screamed. The man pressed his hand over her mouth and nose with immense strength, whispering, "Shut up, or I'll snap your neck! Understand?"

As he opened his mouth, his foul breath sprayed onto the Zhu woman's face. She looked up and discovered that this man was a fat, burly fellow with a face full of jowls.

The Zhu woman nodded hurriedly.

The fat man let go: "What were you trying to do just now? Trying to warn that family of corrupt officials, weren't you?"

"No, no! It's not like that!" The Zhu woman shrank her head. "The village head and his lackeys have been bullying me; they even beat me up three months ago. I, I just wanted to take this chance to vent my anger."

(End of chapter)