Chapter 1635: Huoshan

"This is our branch in Hefei. If you have any matters in the future, you can come find us. If it is within our power, we will certainly not refuse!"

In the south of Hefei City, amidst a row of escort agencies, martial arts schools, pharmacies, and pawnshops, Head Escort Zhao Yunting pointed at the plaque of the Zhiyuan Escort Agency and introduced it to the four young men and women beside him.

"If you all cannot find a livelihood, you can also come join the escort agency. I dare not promise wealth, but you will at least have meat to eat, wine to drink, and a place to settle down. The situation in the south is quite chaotic right now; you should make plans early."

Zhao Yunting spoke very sincerely, and he truly wanted to recruit Wang Yan into the escort agency. The truth was that Wang Yan was simply too capable in a fight; even before he had fully matured, he had been able to kill over ten people in a row to help them break out of a siege. Although their own men had also provided a distraction and Wang Yan had merely found the opportunity to strike with stability, precision, and ruthlessness, that was not something just anyone could pull off.

Especially after he inquired later and learned from the man who had been chatting with Wang Yan that Wang Yan's movements were crisp and efficient, directly disposing of two people. Although it was a sneak attack, the speed was there; truly, three or five ordinary people could not get close to him. He was a top-tier expert. Even within their escort agency, there were few who could trade blows with Wang Yan. As for the outcome of such a fight, that went without saying.

Such a strong man would be sought after anywhere. With him leading, those who followed him would become even more valiant, and their combat effectiveness would increase by at least thirty percent. He was truly the right material for being a bandit, a hooligan, or mixing in the military.

If Wang Yan were to join the escort agency, he would be fully capable of independently serving as a head escort and leading a route's business, which would naturally be a great help to the Zhiyuan Escort Agency.

"Many thanks to Head Escort Zhao for your care. If there is a need, I will certainly come to you," Wang Yan said with a cupped-fist salute, then turned to say, "However, we still have some silver on us, so our livelihood is not a concern. We will settle down for a few days before making further plans."

"Very well, then I will not force the issue. You can stay here to rest and settle in; you may stay as long as you like."

"We still shouldn't disturb you. Head Escort Zhao, we are young and have a restless spirit. Since it is our first time here, we will walk around and see more. When night falls, we will just find an inn, and we will leave early tomorrow morning."

"Then I will not keep you here. The mountains are high and the waters are long; we shall meet again."

"We shall meet again!"

And so, Wang Yan and his group, having identified the place, took their leave and went to find a restaurant to eat and drink well.

"Big Brother, this is so delicious!" Jiang Wuyang laughed foolishly like an idiot, swallowing large mouthfuls.

Zhao Erhu also dug in with his hands, clutching a roasted chicken and gnawing fiercely: "Big Brother, this is what a human life is supposed to be like."

Wang Yan, who was also holding a chicken and gnawing on it, shook his head: "We've barely started. Didn't you see what the Li household was like? Even that kind of household is not something that can be brought to the table in Yangzhou City. Are you satisfied just by eating one roasted chicken?"

Liansheng's face was written with disdain; these three people were too crude and had no table manners at all. She was using her chopsticks, eating one bite at a time. Fortunately, the table was full of dishes, so she didn't have to worry about the food running out if she ate slowly.

It was precisely because of this that she felt these three brothers had something wrong with them...

This was, of course, because the food she had received during her daily training sessions had been quite good. There was always grease and meat.

"Big Brother, I think this city is not bad. Why don't we stay here and seek a livelihood?" Zhao Erhu mumbled.

"A land of gentleness is a hero's grave." Wang Yan accurately threw a chicken bone onto Erhu's forehead, then glanced at Jiang Wuyang, who was showing anticipation. "This Hefei is the seat of a third-grade yamen. Do you know who is a high official and who is a low one? And there are so many wealthy people; do you know who has power? Who is not to be trifled with? If we don't go to provoke them, will they not come to provoke us? Remember, when a person is weak, everything they see in others is a sin!"

"If we accidentally cause trouble, it won't be so easy to resolve. You want to talk about killing? Killing is easy, but have you thought about how to clean up the mess afterward?"

"Of course, we run, Big Brother. We can't just wait for others to come and kill us, right?" Zhao Erhu said in a muffled voice.

"Run? Then tell me, what is the point of staying here to seek a livelihood?" Wang Yan glanced at him and gave him another chicken bone. "If there is trouble, you hack people; if people die, you run. What kind of livelihood can you build that way? You say those officials and wealthy households kill people—why don't they run? They have people, they have foundations, understand?"

"Then we go to the countryside, to the mountains—what kind of foundation can we have there?" Zhao Erhu hesitated for a moment, then said straightforwardly, "Big Brother, I have been thinking for the past two days: we have become mountain bandits, but there is no money there! Even if we rob people on the road outside, we can't rob anyone rich."

"That's right, Big Brother. Second Brother is right. That place is very poor; it can't compare to Hefei here." Jiang Wuyang chanted like Sha Seng.

Wang Yan shook his head, hating that they were not living up to his expectations: "Must mountain bandits necessarily be in the mountains? Hiding in the mountains is only to avoid the government's clearing operations. If no one is hunting us, can't we be wherever we want? As long as we can run to the mountains and escape with our lives, that is enough. Understand?"

Liansheng's eyes lit up: "So we are going to act as tyrants in the small towns below. If we succeed, we will have a foundation and can come to a big city like Hefei to make a fortune. Even if it doesn't work, we can just walk away and hide in the mountains. Is that it, Big Brother?"

"Look at that, someone who has been trained is different." Wang Yan nodded with satisfaction. "Later, find a scholar to give you two some lessons. People must read more books. Otherwise, you will be just like the two of you—knowing nothing, capable of nothing, and when you encounter a problem, all you know is to pull out a knife and hack people. It's hard to last long that way..."

Saying they would leave the next day, in reality, the four of them stayed in the city for a few days. They all took baths, shaved their yin-yang hairstyles, and washed their clothes, easing the shock of running out of Yangzhou—at least, it was an easing for Zhao Erhu and the other two.

Wang Yan, on the other hand, went out all day to stroll around and chat with people, creating an investigative report on Hefei County—what businesses there were, how much trade there was, what the demographics were, as well as the power divisions within the city and the various resources of the surrounding counties, and so on.

It sounded simple, but it was meticulous work. If you want to do things, you must first understand them, and only then can you take action and reap rewards. Whether it is lurking, spying, or investigative statistics, all require such reports; this is the prerequisite for decision-making.

However, just as he had told Erhu and the others, Hefei was the seat of a third-grade yamen, the political and economic center of Anhui Province, where the essence was gathered, unfathomably deep and complex; it was not a place he could mix into clearly right now. Or rather, the cost-effectiveness was too low.

And so, after resting, the four of them set off again, walking slowly for two days until they reached a small village under Liu'an. This place was located between Liu'an and Huoshan, right at the foot of the Dabie Mountains.

This village was not large, with only a few dozen households and over two hundred people, all relying on the barren land to scratch out a living.

"Is this how you recruit people to be mountain bandits?"

In a mud house, Wang Yan lay on a wooden bed, fiddling with a short-stemmed pipe and smoking dry tobacco. Fortunately, the sunlight was good, passing through the window paper and illuminating the room, making it appear filled with swirling smoke.

This place was the old house of Zhao Erhu's family; his parents were gone, and now it belonged to his eldest brother.

Zhao Erhu lowered his head, speechless.

He had spoken very well earlier about coming back to raise a force to become a bandit, but he was not welcome at home. He had found a few young men around his age, around sixteen or seventeen, but naturally, not a single one was willing to work with him.

As for Liansheng, she went home to see her old mother and came back after not saying two sentences. After all, it was her parents who had sold her at the time, taking the silver from her sale to buy a wife for her brother, and having left when she was so young, it was hard to expect her to have any feelings for her family...

After a long time, Zhao Erhu said: "I thought everyone's life was hard, and if I took the lead, they would certainly be willing to follow. I didn't expect them to be so cowardly..."

"This has nothing to do with courage. Look at our coarse cloth attire; what we say has no persuasiveness. Not to mention that you are asking them to join you in a beheading offense—even if you wore silk clothes from the Li household, it wouldn't work. I thought you had a few brothers at home you could entrust, but it turns out it was all your daydreaming."

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, making Zhao Erhu blush even more.

Jiang Wuyang asked: "Big Brother, what should we do then?"

"Don't add trouble to the villagers. Let's make do here for now, and tomorrow morning we will go to Huoshan. I heard that it is in the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains and counts as a county seat. Whether we hold a few gaps or retreat into the deep mountains, we have choices; it is a good place to establish a foothold. Let's go there and stand firm first."

The three of them naturally had nothing else to say. The next morning, after eating the steamed buns made by Zhao Erhu's eldest brother, Wang Yan left two taels of broken silver.

And then, to the astonishment of Zhao Erhu's eldest brother, they left the small village.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

"It's nothing, just two taels of broken silver; is that even money? Your brother and sister-in-law are not bad people; they scolded you, but they didn't let us go hungry."

Chatting like this, the group arrived at Huoshan.

This place was located in the upper reaches of the Pi River, with the terrain sloping from southeast to northwest, with abundant rainfall and moderate cold and heat. Because of the good climate, the land was relatively fertile. Moreover, there were many terraced fields, and the amount of land was not small. With over a Battalion Commander and several thousand people, it counted as a lower-grade county.

"Big Brother, is there no problem here?" Jiang Wuyang asked naively.

"Killing people here is not a big problem, as long as the killing is done low-key, we don't have to run away." Wang Yan replied as a matter of course.

The four of them walked for most of the day and finally saw the county seat surrounded by low mud walls. The mud walls were over two meters high, preventing people from climbing directly over, and at the city gate, there were a few gate officials and soldiers guarding the city. There were also a few hooligan-like men in short-sleeved attire.

"You few, where are you from? What are you doing here?" The minor official's attitude was arrogant; he raised his head to look once, then stopped looking at them, continuing to drink his tea.

"I heard there is a war in the south. This place is surrounded by mountains on all sides; it is a good place to hide." Wang Yan took two taels of broken silver out of his pocket. "Please, officials, have a drink."

The minor official sneered: "Who would want to kill you? You're still carrying a few broken knives, though the little lady is quite pretty. Go on in."

And so, the four of them thanked him and entered the small county seat.

Before they could even look at the environment inside the city, the hooligans at the entrance gathered around.

"You few, whether you want to eat and stay, inquire about news, gamble, or find women, we know it all. I just heard you say you want to settle down in Huoshan, find a house, and then set up a few dozen mu of fertile land, or open a shop to establish a livelihood—that is always necessary. I wonder, little brother, what do you think?"

Wang Yan asked with a smile: "I wonder who is in charge in this city?"

"Need you ask? Of course, it is our County Magistrate. Who else could be bigger than his old self?"

"I am asking which wealthy household here has the most money, and who you give your tribute to."

"What do you mean?" The little hooligan frowned, looking wary.

"Of course, it's that whoever has money, we go to show favor, and whoever is powerful, we sell our lives to. This big brother, don't you think that is the logic?"

"Extremely so, extremely so. You are a sensible one." The little hooligan laughed loudly, very arrogantly.

And so Wang Yan said: "How about this, let's be straightforward. You take us directly to the boss behind you. We will pay a visit, listen to the boss's teachings, and it will be better for us to establish ourselves here."

The little hooligan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Liansheng, his eyes rolling around, and he laughed: "Little brother, it's not that your brother won't help you, but our boss is a big figure in Huoshan who can drink and laugh with the County Magistrate. Is he someone just anyone can see?"

"Understand, understand. Brother, take this little token of sincerity to make things convenient for your younger brother. We truly want to work for a big figure."

The little hooligan looked at Liansheng again, took the silver, and laughed: "Easy, easy. Then follow me."

He turned back and gave a wink to the lackeys behind him, and these lackeys understood and dispersed, vaguely surrounding the four of them.

"Big Brother?" Zhao Erhu couldn't help but grip his knife tightly.

"It's nothing, they are just afraid we will get lost, right, this big brother?" Wang Yan was very understanding.

"Exactly, exactly, little brother. You are the one who understands reason. Let's go."

This county seat was not large, but it had everything. There were shops for daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt; besides that, there were small markets in the city, and gambling dens, opium dens, and brothels were not lacking. There was even a martial arts school...

Wang Yan and his group followed the few hooligans to the backyard of a gambling den facing the street. Everyone entered the courtyard, and the hooligans behind them tightly closed the main gate.

"Big Brother!" Zhao Erhu's eyes were red.

Jiang Wuyang was also trembling a bit, clutching his knife handle tightly: "Big Brother, aren't we just walking to our deaths?"

Liansheng gripped her handkerchief tightly, not making a sound. She knew that the more noise, the more danger. At the same time, she also knew she would not die; it was just that her fate was relatively unknown...

"Steady." Wang Yan waved his hand. "If I were walking to my death, we wouldn't have lived until now."

Having said that, he ignored the others and walked into the room, carrying his knife.

As soon as he entered, he saw a tall, burly man with a big beard sitting at a desk, listening to the little hooligan's report.

The little hooligan heard the movement and saw Wang Yan enter with a knife, immediately shouting in anger: "Are you tired of living? Who let you in?"

That wasn't all; he was about to move forward to kick him.

Wang Yan slapped him flying, then suddenly drew his knife.

The big-bearded man, who had drawn a dagger to get close, stopped in his tracks. Seeing the knife held horizontally across his neck out of the corner of his eye and feeling the coldness of the blade, he very politely threw the dagger aside.

"This friend, anything can be discussed. We are meeting for the first time, with no grudges or enmity; why must we dance with knives and guns and ruin the harmony? I heard you want to settle down here, right? I can help you. Let's have a good chat; put the knife down."

"Can we really chat?"

"We can chat!"

Wang Yan put down the knife, raised his leg, and kicked, sending the black boss flying back to hit the wall, landing on a stool...

?? Daily thanks to the big brothers who tipped, voted for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1636 =====