Chapter 243

Li Li Banfeng squatted by the mountain road for a full day, robbing several carts of grain, livestock, cloth, and daily necessities.

When robbing a cart of miscellaneous goods, Li Li Banfeng even specifically exchanged insights with the robbed farmers:

"Look at this snow cream; the quality is clearly not good. I'm an expert in this area; the peddler is my junior brother!"

Xiao Yeci and Lu Lu Chunying pushed the small carts back and forth to the cave, piling it full of food and supplies.

The children ate until their bellies were round, and Xiao Yeci took out needles, thread, and a tape measure from the pile of sundries to make clothes for the children.

These children only had one set of clothes, which were covered in mud and dirt when they escaped; having hidden in the deep mountains and old forests for more than a month, their clothes were full of holes, and they couldn't bother to sew or wash them, looking truly ragged.

This was a decent thing to do; Li Li Banfeng had robbed so much cloth specifically for making clothes for the children.

After dinner, Li Li Banfeng asked about the origins of this group of children one by one.

A child named Xiaosuo met a medicine candy seller while playing outside the courtyard; the man said business was good today and gave him candy for free, asking him to help draw a crowd.

After eating the candy, Xiaosuo fainted; the medicine candy seller told him to follow, so he followed all the way and ended up on a carriage.

Once on the carriage, he couldn't go home; if he dared to move, the candy seller would beat him to death.

Several other children had very similar experiences; some met sugar-figure blowers, some met peep-show operators, and some met puppet show performers.

These were common methods used by the Jiang Xiang Society to abduct children; whether in the Outer Provinces or Puluo Province, Li Li Banfeng had heard of similar things.

As for the remaining few children who were sent to this place by their parents, Li Li Banfeng couldn't understand it.

Their parents were from out of town and didn't have money to settle in Jingde Village, so they exhausted all their savings to send their children to Jingde Village, just so the children could receive the Sage's education and have a chance to get ahead.

"Don't your parents come to visit you?"

The young children didn't say a word.

An older child shouted: "My dad came once; I told him I wanted to go home, and he slapped me twice; I never saw him again."

Children growing up here were used to being tortured.

Children abducted here were forced to suffer torture.

How should these children who were actively sent by their parents be counted?

Li Li Banfeng was in deep thought when he suddenly heard Lu Lu Chunying shout: "Mom, those scoundrels are here to steal food again!"

As soon as Li Li Banfeng walked out, he saw more than a dozen half-grown teenagers standing in the distance, confronting Lu Lu Chunying.

A teenager of thirteen or fourteen, holding a bamboo stick in his hand, shouted at Lu Lu Chunying: "We don't have time to waste words with a runner like you; call your boss out to talk!"

Xiao Yeci walked out of the cave.

The teenager clasped his fists at Xiao Yeci and said: "Walking the rivers and lakes, we hold the banner of the Patriarch, relying on loyalty as heavy as a golden mountain,

Big Sister, you're doing well (making money), you've eaten all the delicacies of the mountains and seas, so give us junior brothers a bowl of soup to drink!"

Others followed behind, making a racket, and Xiao Yeci was both angry and annoyed, looking at these children, not knowing how to respond for a moment: "Oh my, you little bastards, coming out to steal things and still talking so annoyingly!"

Li Li Banfeng walked out of the cave and responded very seriously: "Fellow brothers on the path, which line are you sliding on?"

Seeing Li Li Banfeng, the group of half-grown boys shrank.

They didn't know what Li Li Banfeng's cultivation was, but seeing an adult man, they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts.

The leading child braced himself and replied: "We are disciples under Seventh Master; if you haven't heard of Seventh Master's name, go ask around our place!"

Seventh Master?

Li Li Banfeng was stunned for a moment, then thought about the child's accent and asked: "Are you from Sea-Eating Ridge?"

The child nodded and said: "Great Master has a good eye!"

Li Li Banfeng said: "Throw a vine!"

The child thought for a long time and replied: "Corner, corner, corner..."

Li Li Banfeng laughed.

He must have wanted to say "Corner-Head Vine."

"Your surname is Niu; do you know Pancake Village?" Almost every family in Pancake Village had the surname Niu.

The child nodded and said: "The Niu family heroes, have good fortune, have ambition; that's my uncle."

Li Li Banfeng laughed.

How did this kid come to this place?

"Were you kidnapped by human traffickers?"

Niu Niu Guangda shook his head and said: "I was sent by my dad; he said to let me learn real skills."

Li Li Banfeng looked at the other children: "Are these children here with you?"

"They are not from Pancake Village, but like me, they were all sent to Jingxian Village by their parents."

Jingxian Village, this was another group of children who escaped from a village.

Li Li Banfeng nodded: "Call all your people here; there's food to eat here!"

Niu Niu Guangda hesitated for a moment and asked: "Great Master, I haven't asked for your honorable name yet."

Xiao Yeci pulled Li Li Banfeng: "Benefactor, the rivers and lakes are dangerous; some things can't be easily told to others."

Easily told to others?

Do you know my name?

Xiao Yeci actually didn't know Li Li Banfeng's name either, just like them.

Li Li Banfeng looked at Niu Niu Guangda and said: "My surname is En, and my name is Benefactor."

His surname is En...

Niu Niu Guangda turned back and looked at the few children beside him: "Has anyone studied the Hundred Family Surnames? Is there a surname En?"

Niu Niu Guangda brought more than a dozen children to live in the cave next door that night; Li Li Banfeng shared quite a bit of food with them, but he also made the principles clear to them.

"Food and drink aren't given for free; you all have to put in effort for me tomorrow."

Niu Niu Guangda was a sensible teenager and stood up straight to Li Li Banfeng: "Without merit, one shouldn't receive rewards; we all understand this principle. If Benefactor hadn't given us a bowl of rice to eat, even if we could survive today, we would be starved to death tomorrow.

Since Benefactor has given the order, we will hand over these lives to Benefactor; climbing a mountain of knives or descending into a sea of fire is all up to Benefactor's word."

Upon hearing this, Li Li Banfeng was silent for a moment and said: "There are two things I want to make clear to you,

First, your lives are your own; don't hand them over to anyone,

Second, don't make promises about mountains of knives or seas of fire casually; only do what you are capable of doing; don't cheapen your promises, and don't cheapen yourselves; do you understand?"

Niu Niu Guangda didn't quite understand, so Li Li Banfeng spoke as plainly as possible: "I'm going to do some proper business tomorrow; have you ever done things like robbing?"

Niu Niu Guangda didn't dare to boast.

A young man nearby, named Fang Fang Lianfu, with eyes shining like torches, looked at Li Li Banfeng and said: "Benefactor, we have thought about things like robbing before..."

Niu Niu Guangda kicked Fang Fang Lianfu; this made it sound like they only dared to think about it and didn't dare to do anything.

"Benefactor, we can do proper business; I'll take a few brave ones to follow, and you can give us a few pointers on the side."

Li Li Banfeng shook his head and said: "You don't understand what kind of people should be robbed and what kind of people can be robbed; you don't need to do the actual work.

Find a few with strength who can push carts and wait on the hillside; once I finish the proper business, you go and bring the things back; if you can handle this little matter well, it counts as you not dropping the chain."

The next day, Li Li Banfeng took everyone to rob the mountain road again; after robbing for three consecutive days, the news spread to dozens of surrounding villages.

Most villagers didn't dare to go up the mountain alone, but their sincerity to the Sage couldn't be broken.

If their sincerity was broken, their sincerity was broken; without sincerity, where would the hope of seeking knowledge be?

The villagers discussed it, and six villages joined together, sending sixty strong men to escort the villagers to deliver grain up the mountain.

These six villages made a great show of force; the day before departure, the village prepared a wine banquet to see off the sixty strong men.

On the day of departure, the six villages each raised a large flag to clear the way at the front of the team; the six flags were respectively written with the names of the villages: "Jingde," "Jingxian," "Musheng," "Mingde," "Sixian," and "Zhong Huaien."

Standing behind the large flags were six middle-aged men; these were carefully selected from the village, had seen the world, were sharp-eyed, and had experience in the rivers and lakes.

At the time of departure, the strong men first shouted: "He Wu!"

The people of the rivers and lakes call themselves "Lao He"; this phrase means: "We are people of the rivers and lakes, keep your distance!"

Sixty people formed two teams, guarding the villagers delivering grain and supplies in the middle.

Crossing the bridge at the front, the middle-aged man at the front shouted: "Xiao Xuan Liang Zi, Ma Sa Zhe, He Wu!"

This phrase has two meanings: one is to let their own people walk faster, as there might be an ambush here.

Second is to warn the robbers setting the ambush that they are experts and have long been prepared.

When they were about to go up the mountain, they shouted again: "Dang Zi, Ba He Zhe, He Wu!"

The meaning was the same as before.

Crossing a hill, everything was peaceful, and the villagers delivering grain sighed: "To roam the rivers and lakes, one must understand the rules of the people of the rivers and lakes; relying solely on hard fighting definitely won't work."

These few strong men who had walked the rivers and lakes also felt a bit proud; the Sage's disciples usually looked down on their kind, but now being able to exert some strength for the Sage could be considered earning back some face for themselves.

Another mountain was ahead; everyone rested for a while and walked up the mountain along the mountain path, their formation not loosening in the slightest.

Halfway up the mountain path, dozens of young women suddenly walked down from the mountain.

A strong man shouted loudly: "Hua Liang Zi Ren Hai Le, Ba He Zhe, He Wu!"

This phrase means: there are many people on the opposite side, be careful!

This is truly the style of people of the rivers and lakes; they didn't lower their guard just because women were coming.

The women stopped in front of the crowd, smiling, and didn't walk away.

The villagers of these villages had all been educated by the Sage, so naturally, they wouldn't fall for a beauty trap; the leading strong man stepped forward and clasped his fists: "The Patriarch rewards a bowl of rice; sisters have eaten all over the world, so brothers will just eat one line; sisters, please leave brothers a mouthful of rice to eat."

The women didn't leave, but all took out their weapons.

The strong man frowned; it seemed this principle couldn't be explained clearly today.

"Sisters, do we really have to break the plate today? Good words have been spoken to no avail, so let's crack the whip; you are all experts, and we are not novices; let's pick up our weapons..."

Bang!

A girl swung a stick and knocked the strong man down.

Dozens of girls behind her stepped forward together, carrying sticks and hitting them on the head.

These girls were Li Li Banfeng's paper people; in front of cultivators, they couldn't be said to be able to fight, only to play a containment role.

Seeing such a large formation today, Li Li Banfeng thought there should at least be a few cultivators here.

Never did he expect that these people were all white lambs.

The girls fought for a minute, and sixty strong men, along with a group of villagers, were all beaten away.

Li Li Banfeng collected all the paper people, brought them back to the Leaving Suishenju, and let them disperse themselves.

Niu Niu Guangda took a group of half-grown boys and, according to Li Li Banfeng's instructions, collected all dozens of carts of things.

These few villages had spent their life savings, and the things still couldn't be delivered; they should give up now, right?

Three days later, more than two hundred people came to escort grain and supplies up the mountain.

This time, they weren't strong men, but old people over sixty.

The old people walked up the mountain while crying and shouting, accusing the robbers of their cruelty.

If Li Li Banfeng were present, he would definitely have to advise them a few words.

Cruelty is as it should be; if you aren't cruel, how can you rob?

Both soft and hard methods had been tried, but they were useless.

Several villages discussed it, and this matter had to be handled by the Sage's disciples.

The sincerity for the Sage was robbed by the robbers, and the Sage's disciples couldn't just watch!

But the Sage's disciples weren't so easy to talk to; if things didn't go their way, they would beat people.

The villagers were very sincere; they were willing to be beaten and scolded, all for the sake of their sincerity to the Sage.

They knelt in front of the Sage's disciples and didn't rise, just begging them to inform the Peak of Sages of the situation encountered in the village.

Now it was the disciples' turn to be in a dilemma.