Chapter 1633

The sky darkened, and the fine rain that had been falling for a long time became heavier.

As the rain hit the ground, it made a splashing sound, drowning out the other noises in the city.

However, even with the rain, it didn't delay the nightlife of the wealthy in this city. Restaurants, clubs, brothels, gambling dens, and even some opium dens—the bustle never ceased.

After eight o'clock, a sedan chair emerged from the backyard of the Yixiang Courtyard. A sedan bearer in a straw raincoat walked in front and behind. Beside them was a sword-wielding guard in a straw raincoat, as well as a manager in a raincoat.

To fully demonstrate respect and importance to clients, let alone rain, even if it were raining knives, management would still have to come. In terms of service, there is also a thousand-year heritage. Those who do business with the wealthy know what to do to give their clients a good experience, thereby earning more silver from their pockets...

The sedan bearers carried the chair steadily; this was their profession. Lian Sheng, sitting in the narrow sedan, had a thin figure and rose and fell slightly with the chair.

At this moment, she thought of Zhao Erhu, the childhood sweetheart who foolishly said he would come to save her. She had been the one to take the initiative to tell him the day she was sent away. She didn't know what kind of psychology was at work; clearly, after being cultivated for so many years and having seen so much prosperity, Zhao Erhu, covered in dirt, was not worthy of her.

But that kind of sincere, foolish country boy touched the softness in her heart. Of course, she didn't admire Zhao Erhu that much; she just liked that kind of foolishness...

There was a necessary alley from Yixiang Courtyard to the location of Li the Squire's house. This alley was about three zhang wide, which counted as a small road. Turning into it, one would reach the courtyard of Li the Squire's house.

When the sedan bearers carried the chair to this point, at the corner, a figure wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat rushed out swiftly.

That figure pressed two fingers together, lightly tapped the chest of a sedan bearer, and then, without stopping, rushed straight at the sword-wielding guard, pressing a palm onto the guard's chest.

With a soft thud, the guard retreated several steps, his head hitting the wall, and the next instant he fainted.

Only then did the sedan bearer who had been attacked suddenly let go of his hands, clutching his chest tightly with a ferocious expression, yet unable to make a sound no matter what.

Wang Yan walked easily to the sedan bearer in the back, tapped his chest lightly with two fingers as well, and this sedan bearer also clutched his chest with a ferocious expression.

This tap of his affected the operation of the heart pulse and simultaneously caused a momentary cardiac arrest, surrounding the person with a huge sense of impending death. If they had heart disease, this would basically send them off. If their heart was healthy, they would still need a good while to recover and be weak for two or three days.

"You..."

The manager pointed at Wang Yan, looked at the other two figures holding machetes, opened his mouth to shout, and then, unsurprisingly, was also acupoint-struck by Wang Yan.

"Deep breaths, dizziness is normal; it'll be fine once the pain passes." Wang Yan smiled and comforted the panicked manager, whose pupils were constricted, and reached out to rummage through his body, taking out a money bag.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang stared blankly at Wang Yan. Until Lian Sheng, who had been groaning, couldn't help but lift the curtain, Zhao Erhu finally came to his senses and hurried over.

"Er..."

Lian Sheng had just opened her mouth to call out when Zhao Erhu covered her mouth with his hand, not letting her call out the name.

Kicking the guard who had fainted to make sure he was truly out, Wang Yan glanced at Lian Sheng, who was somewhat afraid, and threw the money bag he had searched from the manager to Zhao Erhu: "If you want to run, go quickly. If you don't run, then watch them well; don't let them run out to report to the officials and ruin the big plan. Wait for me to come out in a while, and then we'll make arrangements."

Having said that, Wang Yan didn't look at Erhu and the others, turned around, turned into the alley, and went outside the courtyard of Li the Squire's house. Under Erhu's peeping, he moved lightly onto the high wall, turned his head to look at Erhu, and then jumped in...

"Big Brother, he doesn't seem to be joking with us..." Jiang Wuyang stared blankly at the wall that was already empty; he really went in.

"So what? More than ten guards, he alone is..."

Hearing the faint barking of dogs, Zhao Erhu gritted his teeth and said, "Courting death! Let's go!"

While speaking, he took off the raincoat from the manager and gave it to Lian Sheng to wear, and then without another word, pulled Lian Sheng and ran away.

Jiang Wuyang looked left and right, finally kicked the manager, who was glaring, in the stomach, and hurried to catch up.

But they hadn't run far, just as they were about to turn onto the main road, Zhao Erhu, who was pulling Lian Sheng, stopped abruptly.

"Big Brother?"

"Erhu?"

Jiang Wuyang and Lian Sheng asked.

Zhao Erhu stood for a good while, perhaps two or three minutes; conflicted, he finally relaxed.

"Go back!" he said firmly. "Lian Sheng, you wait here; Wuyang and I will go back and see."

Lian Sheng nodded softly, just said "okay," and watched Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang run back...

"Big Brother, how come you..."

Zhao Erhu looked at the location of Li the Squire's house in the distance and said: "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be so smooth. I saw his moves were crisp and clean; he must have practiced boxing. Even if he couldn't beat so many people, based on his ruthlessness, it's possible he could run out and make them afraid to chase.

Even if they did chase, he would definitely make them afraid. By then, seeing the two of us, as long as we can hold them off for a while, they would have to lose more people, so we should be fine. If he really succeeds, we'll have struck it rich. Even if he doesn't, based on his ability to see our intentions today and the things he said, as long as his brain is normal, he can accomplish something. Either way, we brothers don't lose."

Zhao Erhu was not brainless; it was just his personality that made him straightforward, which didn't mean he lacked wisdom. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to build such a large bandit force later, nor could he have made so many people willing to follow him and risk their lives.

Jiang Wuyang suddenly realized: "Big Brother, you are really amazing. You haven't read books, yet you speak so reasonably. If you read books, you would definitely be able to be an official."

"Officials are all people in their tens of years; how old am I? Let's just lick blood from the edge of a knife and work hard to make money."

The two stared nervously at Li the Squire's side, feeling that every minute and every second was incredibly difficult and agonizing.

Finally, a creaking sound pierced through the rain curtain.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang subconsciously gripped the machetes in their hands, their hearts thumping with excitement, their blood flowing rapidly, and adrenaline beginning to secrete; they were clearly prepared for battle.

Just at this moment, Wang Yan strolled out from the main gate.

"Not bad." Under their bewildered gazes, Wang Yan smiled, "Carry the sedan in. We are staying at Li the Squire's house tonight and leaving early tomorrow morning. Hurry up and act; don't let people see."

So Erhu hurried to call Lian Sheng back, and watched the guards and manager help the sedan bearers carry the chair. These people hadn't recovered yet and couldn't exert strength, so even with four people carrying the chair, it was slow, and it took a while before they carried the sedan into the courtyard of Li the Squire's house.

Creak~

The heavy gate closed and the bolt was dropped. Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang both let out a long sigh; this was the tension from outside being released. Although it was raining, one couldn't guarantee that someone wouldn't pass by and see, and that would be a disaster.

However, just as they let out a sigh, it was immediately raised again. This place was Li the Squire's house. This place had Li the Squire's dozen or so brothers.

Selling salt and doing business all required fighting. Clearly, Li the Squire and his brothers were not easy to deal with; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to gain a foothold in Yangzhou City and have a certain reputation.

Ah~

An exclamation interrupted the hundred turns and thousand twists in their minds. Zhao Erhu hurried over and hugged Lian Sheng's shoulders: "What's wrong?"

"... Blood! On the ground... it's all blood!" Lian Sheng trembled.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang lowered their heads and sure enough saw the blood mixed in the rainwater on the ground.

Without waiting for them to ask, Wang Yan said with a smile: "It's dead dogs. Didn't you hear the dogs barking earlier?"

The three looked in the direction Wang Yan pointed and sure enough saw two big dogs lying on the ground without moving; the blood around them was particularly thick.

"Tie them all up. There's rope in that house. Afterward, bring them to the central hall. Everyone is there."

Listening to Wang Yan's instructions, after tying everyone up and bringing them to the central hall connected to the backyard, the three of Zhao Erhu saw several powerful men groaning on the ground, as well as a pile of women and male servants huddled in the corner, adding up to more than twenty people.

The women were fine, but the male servants were bruised and swollen, hissing in pain. Those powerful men were miserable; their limbs had all been broken, and they lay on the ground like dead people.

At this moment, Wang Yan was sitting on a chair, smiling as he looked at a man on the ground whose limbs had been broken.

"Li the Squire, now we can talk. Tell us about the money, gold, silver, and valuables in the house; give yourself a chance."

Boss Li watched Lian Sheng, dressed in fine clothes, walk in, then looked at the two half-grown boys, and could only sigh, telling the fiend sitting there where the money in the house was hidden.

Of course, it was impossible to tell the truth about everything; there were always places where silver notes were hidden. But this was clearly wrong and ignorant. They had such a large business, yet they were still reluctant to part with these floating assets in the house.

So, under the fearful gazes of the three of Zhao Erhu, Wang Yan communicated slightly with Li the Squire, making him repent and offer up those hidden things as well.

"Look, didn't I tell you? You can live well if you risk your life." Wang Yan gave each of them a hundred-tael silver note and said with a smile, "Actually, it's not as difficult as you think. You said Li the Squire had more than ten guards, but there were only three good hands in this mansion. The reason six are lying there is that three were servants who wanted to perform well for Li the Squire; they had no ability."

The three looked at each other; in their hands were light yet heavy silver notes, on the ground lay big figures who were once unreachable, and in front of them was a peer smiling and talking to them.

Erhu looked at the silver note, then tucked it into his clothes and asked: "Have you practiced boxing?"

"Learned a few moves."

"You're lying. How could a few moves be so powerful?" Jiang Wuyang looked very wise, "Brother Yan, can I learn?"

"Of course, otherwise how can you risk your life better? How can you get ahead and live a good life? Once we settle down, I'll teach you two how to practice boxing."

The social contradictions of the Qing Dynasty had always been significant, especially since the Opium War. When the environment is unstable, it is dangerous, so one must protect oneself; practicing boxing and forming societies was inevitable. Although it wasn't as grand as the Boxer Rebellion yet, such organizations existed.

Either in the village, or running a security firm, or opening a martial arts school, or perhaps underworld organizations, etc. This era was just like this; some smoked opium, some practiced boxing, and some practiced while smoking...

Wang Yan waved his hand, interrupting Jiang Wuyang's excitement, "Search their house, see if there are any suitable clothes or the like, and take two sets for backup."

The people in this mansion were all shivering there; the three walked straight to the back house with trepidation...

Early in the morning, before the sky was bright, the city gate was already bustling. People inside the city were waiting to go out, and people outside were waiting to come in. Donkey carts and horse-drawn carts loaded with various goods lined up in a long queue. People who were familiar with each other started chatting, all speaking of bitter tears.

There was no peaceful place in this era. Big fish eat small fish. Businessmen who looked like they had a bright future were not easy either; at least, few of those queuing here early in the morning were comfortable...

Finally, the city gate opened.

In the crowd, there was a group of four, none of them old. There was also a boy pushing a wheelbarrow, with a girl who could be considered beautiful sitting on it. They followed the flow of people and slowly left the city.

Lian Sheng sat on the wheelbarrow, curiously looking at the land outside, which could be called desolate. Green water and green mountains were the gains of a hundred years of struggle to the modern era, but not all of it was present at this time. The only greenery was grass. As far as the eye could see, it was hard to find even some shrubs.

But Lian Sheng watched with great interest. After she was sold into the city, she had never come out again. She compared what she saw with the image in her memory.

Perhaps because she had reached a broader world, her mood was involuntarily relaxed, and her three-inch bound feet swayed leisurely...

"Big Brother, where are we going?"

Zhao Erhu pushed the wheelbarrow seriously and turned his head to look at Wang Yan, who looked very comfortable beside him.

"Where did you originally plan to go?"

"Go home and take a look, then ask the people in the village who is willing to follow me, and take them out to be bandits."

"Where to?"

"Into the mountains."

"Within a radius of three hundred miles, where are there any mountains?"

Jiang Wuyang interjected: "Big Brother, we are from Luzhou Prefecture in Anhui. There is the Dabie Mountain there, which is very deep. Once we hide in the mountains, the government can't do anything about us."

Wang Yan nodded: "Then let's go and see first."

At this time, the Heavenly King Hong had already started making trouble, and had already created momentum in the south, but the common people here didn't know it yet. They didn't know where their three meals a day would come from; they couldn't care about those big events, but they didn't know that their lives were all tied to this matter.

The Qing court killed, the Taiping Army killed, as well as famine, plague, chaos caused by war, etc., all added together, tens of millions of people died in more than ten years, affecting hundreds of millions.

The mountains are indeed a good place...

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