Chapter 100

"Ah?!"

The old woman's eyes showed horror, "Li Siyuan wants to sit by and watch? Could it be... that those messages were released by the Li family?"

"No."

Lu Kang's complexion returned to normal, and he said calmly, "Doesn't the Madam know me? I do things without a single flaw, which is how I've reached today. If I were to transfer my family's wealth, there wouldn't be any movement at all."

"The news of the secret escort was released by me secretly, just to determine the Li family's attitude."

The old woman was full of shock, "Master, why did you..."

Lu Kang waved his hand to interrupt her, looked out the window, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, "Previously, I used a trick that almost caused the Li family to fall into an abyss of eternal misery. How could they let it go?"

"Along the way, in the first few tests, Li Siyuan remained unmoved. I almost thought this matter could be glossed over, but he finally showed his flaws."

"We are just the first layer of cover, and the secret escort is the second layer of cover, just to stir up the greed of the bandits. Even if the Niubei Ridge bandits didn't have any ideas, I would have found a way to create the illusion of a dangerous situation and ask the station for help."

"The Regional Military Commissioner Tang Yang has long since defected to Li Siyuan. I fear he has been watching my movements along the way. Li Siyuan, in order to show his magnanimity, did not liquidate me, but a corrupt official carrying silver home and being killed by mountain bandits—he seems happy to see that happen..."

The old woman found it hard to understand, "Master, since he didn't take action, we can just return home peacefully and carefully cultivate the next generation. The Lu family may not necessarily decline."

"Foolish!"

Lu Kang shook his head, "Li Siyuan is now a high-ranking official in charge of the military and political power of Shanzhou. Why would he need a blade to kill?"

"He doesn't even need to speak. Those who flatter him to seek appreciation will take the initiative to make things difficult for my Lu family. I dare to conclude that within at least two generations, the Lu family won't even be able to get the title of a scholar."

"Without the protection of an official position, no matter how much wealth we have, it will soon dissipate."

The old woman was also accustomed to the darkness of the officialdom and knew how those local officials would stop at nothing to seek advancement, so she felt a bit panicked, "Then... then what should we do?"

Lu Kang didn't answer directly but looked out the window, "Madam, how do you see this official post station?"

The old woman said truthfully, "It is already dilapidated."

Lu Kang nodded, "Since this year, the imperial court has been arguing endlessly about one thing: opening the official post stations to provide accommodation for merchants, and using the silver collected to maintain and repair the official post stations everywhere."

"Those wealthy merchants travel luxuriously; would they take a fancy to this dilapidated post station? The purpose behind it is to raise the status of merchants."

"Now there is a struggle in the imperial court. One side represents the local gentry, insisting on agriculture as the foundation, and the other side is the wealthy gentry from the coast, who believe that commerce can prosper the country and that commerce should not be suppressed."

"The Master Wang I relied on belongs to the local faction, and so did the Li family, but they changed their allegiance halfway and bet all their family wealth on going to sea. Although they were trapped in danger because of this, they also gained the advantage of the times and finally gained the upper hand."

"In fact, even if I gained the position, I fear I wouldn't be able to sit firmly..."

The old woman understood at once, "Does Master mean that the local faction will fall into a disadvantage?"

Lu Kang sighed, "There are some things you don't understand. The imperial court is short of money, and His Majesty's ambition is to rule the world. How could he be bound by the rules and rituals of the ancestors?"

"The general trend has changed. Under a collapsed nest, how can there be intact eggs?"

The old woman was terrified and trembling, "Master, I am a woman and don't understand the affairs of the imperial court. What should our Lu family do?"

Lu Kang said calmly, "Naturally, I have a plan."

"Five years ago, when I was still in office, I helped a Feng Shui master overcome a disaster. To repay the favor, he revealed a secret good burial site to me. After I verified it, I secretly sent someone to behead him."

"That treasure site is extremely extraordinary and secret. After I die, you secretly bury me in the treasure site. If managed properly, it can protect the Lu family's wealth for two generations..."

"I will then leak the news that I died at the hands of bandits, and those red goods will be robbed. Then the station will naturally take action. If the person is dead and the money is gone, the Li family will vent their anger, and they won't make things difficult for you anymore..."

"Over the years, I have secretly laid out plans in Qilu and acquired some industries. After you go back, wait for the situation to calm down, and then immediately move the family..."

"Xiaowen is older, but because he followed me through promotions, there are many flatterers around him. His temperament is unruly, he is fierce in appearance but cowardly in heart, and he is not fit for great use."

"I can still suppress him while I'm here, but after I'm gone, he will surely cause trouble. Even the best Feng Shui will ruin the good fortune. You must not be soft-hearted then!"

"Xiaowu is exceptionally intelligent and has a patient personality; he is the hope of the Lu family. I have entrusted him to a good friend and old acquaintance. You can send him directly to the Taishan Academy then. Yu'er has a gentle temperament and is well-read and polite. You can choose a good husband from the sea merchants to marry her to, to assist Xiaowu..."

"Jinan Prefecture has a rich literary atmosphere and occupies the geographical advantage of a seaport, connecting to Jinmen above and the Jiangzhe region below. It must be the place where our Lu family rises!"

Listening to Lu Kang explaining his funeral arrangements, the old woman felt her liver and gallbladder splitting, and she shed tears and trembled, "Master, why do this, why do this..."

Lu Kang smiled calmly, "In the past, Qin exerted the remaining strength of six generations to unify the Divine Land. The prosperity of a family is not the work of one generation. I have been floating in the officialdom for these years and have long been exhausted. After going back, I don't have much time left, so I might as well enter the game myself and plan a future for the Lu family."

As he spoke, he held the old woman's hand and smiled, "I was born humble, but fortunately, I was pitied by you. You didn't despise my poverty, so I didn't fail you in my life, so I didn't accept any of the concubines you arranged."

"It's a pity that even in my old age, I still have to trouble you. I will go first, and the Lu family will be handed over to you from now on."

"Master..."

The old woman was already sobbing.

Lu Kang said in a deep voice, "Also, the scholar we met yesterday, although he tried his best to hide it, his speech and knowledge were not ordinary, but there was a bandit aura in his eyes. He must be a bandit spy."

"I will use him as a chess piece; you must be careful."

As he spoke, he looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window and smiled, "I was born with poor luck and fought with people all my life. It's a pity that fate is not with me."

"This time, I use myself as a chess piece, and the final move..."

"Twenty years later, remember to burn paper to tell me the result!"

The sky was getting dark, and the campfire was burning brightly in the open space.

Li Yan fiddled with the small wooden box given by Luo Mingzi, took out the things inside one by one, divided the yarrow stalks equally with Wang Daoxuan, and put the thunder fire pills on his body...

Wang Daoxuan looked worried, "Why don't we stay away from Qili Pu first, avoid it for a while, and talk after the matter is over?"

"Can't avoid it."

Sha Lifei just happened to walk over from the inn, shook his head and whispered, "Just got news that a secret escort team was robbed near Ten-Mile Post. They disguised themselves as villagers, but still didn't escape. Several experts all had their heads cut off."

"I fear the bandits have long since come down from Niubei Ridge. They have many people and are powerful. Seeing us pulling a coffin, they will definitely take action. It's better to be here where there are more people and it's safer."

Just then, Wu Mao also hurried over, sat by the campfire, and said helplessly, "Brother Li guessed right, the station didn't send troops..."

Sha Lifei was amused, "It seems Lu is bound to die; we have to stay away."

Li Yan didn't speak but looked at Wu Mao.

Wu Mao smiled awkwardly, "Brother Li, don't worry. If the mountain bandits really come, I will accidentally lose the escort. Anyway, this matter can't be blamed on us."

Li Yan nodded this time, "Uncle Sha, go call Master Zhou and the others. We will form a formation to protect ourselves and wait for the matter to end."

Sha Lifei nodded and ran back to the inn immediately.

Before long, everyone from the Chunfeng Troupe also left the inn. They had traveled far this time, and their wives and children were waiting at home. Those who came all knew some martial arts, and Master Zhou was also a Dark Jin expert. They all held sticks and weapons, looking like they were going to fight for their lives.

With this, the team suddenly grew to more than twenty people.

And other martial artists and merchants also gathered with people they were familiar with.

They naturally also received the news, but the most troublesome thing right now was that bandit spies must have mixed in here, so they could only find people they were familiar with to accompany them.

Li Yan and the others gathered around the campfire, all silent.

Seeing the oppressive atmosphere, the escort Wu Mao rolled his eyes, took off the three-stringed instrument on his back, and plucked it casually—clang~ clang~ clang~.

The sound immediately attracted everyone's attention.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Young Hero Li, don't keep your faces so tight. The martial world is just like this—a journey of wind, a journey of rain, a journey of fighting and making trouble. Just survive these two days and it'll be over."

"Living with a sad face is living, and living with wine and song is also living. When you should fight with blades, fight with blades; when you should be happy, be happy. Why make things difficult for yourself?"

"That's true." Li Yan's eyes softened slightly, and he smiled, "Brother Wu can also do this?"

The escort Wu Mao blinked, "I'm from Yulin and learned it for a few days. Otherwise, how would I have this disguise? Wouldn't I be exposed at a single poke?"

As he spoke, his left hand pressed the strings, and his right hand plucked lightly.

Clang-de-le-clang~ de-er-clang!

Accompanied by the humorous sound of the three-stringed instrument, he sang with a wink:

"At the first watch~ the little nun~ sits steadily in the meditation hall,

Holding~ the little wooden fish~ worshipping Buddha and offering incense,

In the temple~ suffering~ chanting Amitabha,

Guarding the mud platform~ lighting a lonely lamp~ how desolate..."

Around the inn, campfires dotted the area, and the sound of the three-stringed instrument drifted in all directions along with the Northern Shaanxi fast-book singing...

On the second floor of the inn in the distance, a short, stunted man heard the faint singing and spat, "Bah, these fools are quite happy..."

Under the oil lamp, he was writing and drawing, and all the targets suspected of escorting secret goods were on it, with Li Yan and Wu Mao prominently among them.

After looking at it again, he put away the paper, blew out the candle with a 'pfft', and then jumped out of the inn window, leaping onto a large tree on the side.

Like a nimble cat, he stepped on the thick tree trunk with both feet, used the force to roll and land, his movements swift and silent.

!.

It was remote and dark here, and no one noticed him at all. He passed through the weeds and climbed up the mountain along the dried-up riverbed, moving fast, and disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye...

The night was deep, Zhongnan Post.

"Someone's been killed!"

The shrill cry woke up the entire post station.

"Who is it?!"

The guards Feng Ping and his companion pushed the door open and happened to see a figure jumping over the wall. Their faces changed greatly, but they didn't pursue, instead rushing toward Lu Kang's room, and were stunned on the spot.

The post station manager had also been awakened and hurried over with people carrying lanterns. When he saw the scene in the room, his eyes went black, and he almost fell.

In the room, Lu's wife and daughter were crying their hearts out.

And Lu Kang was slumped in a chair, a dagger stuck in his heart, his head tilted toward the window, having long since lost his breath, his eyes looking neither sad nor happy...

"It's that scholar!"

Feng Ping roared, remembering Lu Kang's kindness in recognizing his talent. He turned to rush out, but seeing Lu's wife crying and fainting, he had to grit his teeth, "Cheng Si, Wang Da, you go chase, the rest follow me to protect the Madam!"

"Yes!"

Two guards rushed into the night.

Feng Ping's right hand trembled as he stepped forward to close Lu Kang's eyes.

He gritted his teeth and blamed himself constantly, secretly thinking that the Master had been shrewd his whole life, so how could he be deceived by that scholar at the end, treating him as a confidant after a few words and wanting to talk all night.

I should have been guarding by his side...

"Hahaha!"

In the night of the ancient road, two fast horses were like the wind.

On the horses were the two bandit spies from the inn.

"Third Brother, no, Young Master is wise!"

"Hmph, what old fox? Wasn't he played in the palm of my hand? With this list, not a single secret escort will escape!"

"Young Master, that... we killed the Left Assistant Minister, what if..."

"There's no 'what if'. Lu sent people to ask the station for help, but unfortunately, no troops were sent. He was depressed and drunkenly revealed this matter to me. Otherwise, how would I have taken action in advance? Didn't you see..."

"The one who took his life wasn't us... Hahaha!"

"Quick! Release the pigeon and tell Big Brother to take action tonight!"

Clatter!

The pigeon flapped its wings and flew into the night.

Generally speaking, pigeons are active during the day and return to their nests to rest at night. Any pigeon that can fly and transmit messages at night has been specially trained.

Those who are proficient in this method are all experts among experts.

And what they didn't know was that in the stable of the post station's back courtyard, there was also a pigeon that took advantage of the night to fly toward the Yingpan Post station...

The night was deep and quiet, and the campfire crackled.

It was already the second watch, and around Changfeng Inn, many people had been nervous all night and couldn't bear the sleepiness, falling into a deep sleep.

Of course, no one dared to be careless in this situation. Almost every team left someone to keep watch, and even set up warning traps in the darkness in the distance.

These were all martial arts methods, and their only role was to give a warning.

Li Yan had taken a small nap in the first half of the night. At this moment, he was full of energy, sitting by the fire with his Guanshan blade on his knees, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.

Suddenly, he sniffed, stood up abruptly, used his Dark Jin, and slapped the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum.

Boom!

The drum sound was like a thunderclap in the dark night, waking everyone up.

"The mountain bandits have come down the mountain; if you don't want to die, fight for your lives!"

Li Yan shouted angrily, then signaled the team to be on alert.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Many people in the teams woke up with a start, hurriedly drew their blades, and looked around in a panic, "Where are the bandits? Where are the bandits?"

However, the surrounding mountains and fields were pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

In a distant team, a man from the car transport agency was nervous for a while, and seeing no movement, he cursed, "There's no one here, damn it, who's talking nonsense there..."

Whoosh!

Before the words fell, an arrow flew from the darkness and entered his brain directly through his eye socket.

The man didn't even grunt before falling straight to the ground.

"The bandits are here, watch out for hidden arrows!"

This moment completely exploded the pot.

Like a signal, messy arrows shot from the darkness in all directions, as if they had been surrounded by an army.

Fortunately, many teams were well-prepared; some picked up wooden boards, and some held iron pots to block the arrows shot from the darkness.

Li Yan's team was even more fully prepared.

Master Zhou led the Chunfeng Troupe to dismantle the lids of the opera troupe's equipment boxes to protect all sides.

But in the current situation, they could only be beaten passively.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Uncle Sha, you protect the team. There aren't many people shooting hidden arrows; I'll go slaughter them!"

After saying this, he immediately retreated and disappeared into the darkness.

Soon, several screams sounded from the opposite side...

(End of chapter)