Chapter 595: You, You're Really Becoming More and More Like the Xiao Ming Dynasty

After a brief puzzle segment, the brothers finally found the answer in the inn's backyard.

For safety, the back door that should have been locked from the inside at night had, at some point, become locked from the outside, like a locked gate.

Yes, this is the second piece of life wisdom worth learning: as long as I run away fast enough, the problem can't catch me!

Ai Ge was also slow to realize, and when he finally caught on, it made sense that this group came in with knives to rob, yet in the end they mostly took food, so he thought they were just starving.

Damn it, it turned out the valuable gold and silver had already been taken by the host family, so the bandits had nothing to take and rushed to the second floor to rob the guest rooms.

"Family, we're down and out, why does the local custom suddenly feel so fierce?"

Out of professional habit, they had already started a live stream as a record, and now they couldn't help but grimace at the camera and complain.

After all, the host family fled, leaving everything behind, so this group broke in to gather supplies for their own escape...

First, they are indeed guilty, definitely guilty, but no matter how great the crime, by the rules they, as a few travelers, have no authority to enforce the law.

As for the noble lords with enforcement authority... need not think about it; even if the brothers spent time and effort to hand them over, in the end it would just be a trivial matter.

So in my view, we should just drop it.

"Alas!"

After a brief discussion, everyone reluctantly decided to let the bandits go, keep the goods, owe each other nothing, and end the matter here. Done!

But just as Ai Ge was about to announce this to everyone, a line of comments drifting across the live stream caught his attention.

【Host, look at the hand of the third person on the left!】

"Hmm?"

Ai Ge hummed in confusion, but didn't react immediately; instead he turned his head, pretended nothing was wrong, and glanced.

!!!

Old farmer... old farmer!

Have you ever seen an old farmer whose hands are not even those of a professional, yet are bead‑smooth and jade‑like, like solidified cream?

Sensing something off, Ai Ge immediately strode over, grabbed the man's collar, and lifted him up like a chick.

Following the Foreign Affairs Bureau's training, first gently shake him until his very core is rattled, then ask.

"Tell me, what exactly are you people!"

There's a saying circulating in the jianghu: the descendants of the rich are more likely to remain rich because they have access to more information than the poor.

Ai Ge didn't know whether the saying held any truth, but at least in this barely noticeable little baron domain, the importance of "information" was vividly demonstrated.

Because when the villagers knew nothing and the townsfolk knew a little, the noble lords were already scheming how to profit from the opportunity!

So the people before us are indeed farmers, but not the pitiful, mud‑soaked laborers the four imagined.

On the contrary, they are tenant laborers who have contracts with the local baron, essentially strong men working the fields for the lord.

As strong labor under the nobles, they must work during busy farming seasons, cannot rest during idle times, and must obey the nobles' commands, carrying out various tasks.

If they were in the Northlands, Eastern Lands, or Southern Territories where kingdom influence is stronger, these side jobs could be escorting caravans, temporary security, or daring mining gambles.

But in the Western Frontier, left to fend for itself by the kingdom for twenty years, their idle life is much more colorful.

In their youth, when the lord wanted something, they'd become thieves; when the lord sent people to collect taxes, they'd act as thugs...

In later years... for some reason, this baron domain spawns a fixed group of unknown‑origin, unknown‑location bandits every autumn.

Can't help it, after all it's the lord; the lord's hands are for enjoyment, for wearing gold and silver, for flirting with girls, and must stay clean!

So some dirty, hard work naturally falls to this group who claim to be farmers but hardly know how to farm, more like thuggish black‑glove labor.

Just today, upon hearing that the Western Frontier defense line had been reinforced, the baron immediately summoned these tenants, had them mask their faces, and helped the lord "collect taxes".

Hey! When the war comes, the domain will be looted anyway, so better have the money go into this lord's pocket than the enemy's!

Ironically, this isn't the first time, nor is it the baron's lone brilliant scheme; it's been a local custom for over a decade.

In each year's autumn plunder reports, many crimes aren't necessarily done by Deep Forest bandits; a considerable portion are actually committed by Radiant Light bandits.

But this year it's a formal war; the lord, thinking he has an 80% chance of not returning, simply ordered the tenants to give this lord a hard blow.

Who knew the intel was faulty; entering the city they not only failed to get a big score, but instead provoked a bigger one.

"Gui Gui, this sounds a bit familiar to me."

"Damn, isn't this the Wokou?"

"Oh awesome, they haven't even switched from rice to mulberry yet and already have a southeast Wokou problem; I think the Radiant Light is really becoming more like the Xiao Ming Dynasty."

"Alright, my family has raised deer for three generations, which one here is the Fortune King!?"

Probably used to performing, the four kept tossing odd jokes, their attitudes were basically dissatisfied.

So spurred by the comments, they finally bit the bullet, grabbed this thug leader, and went to the local baron to demand an explanation!

When they finally reached the baron castle, whose age was unknown and whose stone walls were so old they were covered in moss...

"Hurry, hurry!"

"One by one, fat‑headed and big‑eared, haven't eaten?"

"Don't slack off! If you delay the lord's important matters, see if I can't kill you!"

Many wagons were parked on the open ground near the castle, and the servants were moving cargo onto the carts under the old steward's command.

Clearly, after plundering the people's wealth, the satiated lord was also preparing to flee with his family, taking the money.

Damn, how can this be tolerated?

But before the four could rush over in three seconds, the thug leader seized the moment and ran over, shouting continuously.

"Uncle, Uncle, quickly save me, the Pioneers are about to overturn the world!"

"Hmm?"

The steward, busy scolding the servants, only then realized that the nephew he had sent out with the tenants to plunder and make a small profit for himself had actually been captured and brought back.

That old fool wouldn't dare delay; he shouted for the castle guards to act quickly and capture those audacious rebels.

Unfortunately, this baron domain is still too poor; even if the baron tries to sustainably drain the swamp, he can't squeeze out much profit.

So the castle's armed force is pitifully small, with only three knights and just over twenty guards.

"Aiding Zhou in cruelty, should be punished!"

These few stinky tomatoes and rotten potatoes are no match for the Pioneers; naturally they have no capacity to resist, vanishing in an instant, obediently falling to the ground.

Thanks, I won't take the second blow until I get this month's commission.

"You... you, what do you want to do!"

The old butler was so frightened on the spot that he could barely speak, and he turned to flee into the castle.

But just as he reached the doorway, he saw someone strolling out of the interior, opening their mouth with a single sentence.

"Stop! What is this frantic disorder, what happened?"

The one who could scold the butler like that was naturally the baron, dressed in pajamas with an indignant face, because the player acted so quickly that he still didn't know what had happened.

"Sir, you..."

Although there's no need to ponder what befalls a noble who has lost his lands, the baron's mood has been bad these past few days.

"Move aside!"

Seeing the old butler trembling like a coward, looking infuriating, he simply reached out and pushed him aside.

Then he saw four Easterners—perhaps the Pioneers—standing calmly in the middle of a field of guard "bodies", as if nothing had happened.

…

I must admit that this Sichuan opera face‑changing is truly an excellent traditional culture; you can meet spiritual inheritors everywhere.

So the baron, who earlier was eager to scold someone, immediately softened, putting on a warm, spring‑like smile.

"Hey, how did four heroic gentlemen end up here? Is there any place that needs my assistance?"

Although his anger was burning, at the crucial moment Ai Ge didn't open his mouth to curse, but instead calmly tossed out a sentence.

"We caught these people raiding the townsfolk throughout the town; may I ask, Baron, are you aware of this?"

No need to guess; after a vague chuckle, the baron replied resolutely, "I don't know!"

Ai Ge naturally wouldn't be discouraged by that, and pressed further.

"Then, Baron, do you know what punishment robbers should receive under the kingdom's law?"

The baron's complexion froze; he glanced secretly at the nervous butler beside him, then lifted his chin and said calmly.

"According to the law... the ringleader should be hanged!"

"Alright, thanks for the legal briefing!"

Ai Ge immediately lifted the thug leader, turned, and headed toward the nearby gallows.

The old butler, having no children, relied on this nephew for his old‑age support; seeing this, he was nearly fainted with anxiety.

"Sir!"

Just as he was pleading for mercy, the baron raised his hand to block and shouted,

"Hold on! Hero, where are you taking him?"

Ai Ge turned back, puzzled.

"Of course, in accordance with the kingdom's law and your order, we will execute the bandit leader by hanging."

The baron pretended to be puzzled.

"Eh? Who said he's a bandit leader? Hero, you can't casually defame a respectable young man."

?

Oh, so you were crouching right here!

Since the muddled hammer plan's activation condition was ruined by the baron, Ai Ge could only release the thug leader, who was trembling like soggy mud.

He grabbed a handkerchief to wipe his hands, then suddenly asked another question.

"Then, Baron, who do you think leads this gang of thieves?"

"I... haha, just kidding, how could I possibly know?"

The baron wasn't foolish and didn't fall into his trap.

The old butler was even smarter, and simply pointed at his nephew, scolding him.

"Charlie, I knew you kid always hang out with that old scoundrel Jie Ke, getting into trouble!"

"Jie... Ke?"

The thugs were all bewildered by that line; gods above, who is old Jie Ke?

"Jie Ke! Can't you hear me scolding you? Come out!"

He gave the idiots no chance to undermine him; as the butler kept shouting, his tone suddenly shifted.

"Huh? Damn, where is old Jie Ke? My god, where is that damned big scoundrel, where is he!"

???

!!!

Now everyone understood and started chattering in a chorus.

One said old Jie Ke went to the restroom, another said he ran to Liu Ying Alley; those who didn't know might think Jie Ke could create a shadow clone.

In the end, because the thug leader was the butler's nephew, who usually had the chance to read, he stepped forward and unified everyone's account.

"Uncle! That damned old liar Jie Ke vanished halfway; he's probably fled with the money we stole!"

Ha, I must say it was an incredibly spectacular drama.

With the three parties cooperating, they could not only conjure a bandit leader out of thin air, but also make him vanish again!

But this trick works on others; it can't fool the wandering poet with thousands of spectators as a think tank.

A few of them even laughed in anger, laughing with the baron for a while, until the atmosphere dropped to a freezing point, and Ai Ge lowered his voice.

"So, Baron, you really intend to protect them?"

It had to be said that the baron's rank was higher, but he could keep his smile undiminished on his face, while his words gradually turned cold.

"What the heck, I, the baron, am the master of this land; everything that happens on this land is naturally for me to decide."

"Fine."

Nodding his head, Aige, who seemed to have made up his mind about something, said nothing more, not even paying attention to the bandits, and directly led his brothers away.

"Hmph, insolent commoner!"

The baron, angry and with yellow urine, had just been tucked in by the maidservant and was about to sleep when he was called up; upon opening his eyes, he still saw the steward's old face, naturally making him furious again.

"Hey… what are you looking at, get back to work!"

After such an incident, still shaken, everyone with their own worries kept busy until late at night before they finished loading the goods.

Too bad, they were just a bunch of coarse servants; no matter how hard they worked, it was useless, for the lord's escape plan did not include them.

However, they, knowing full well, didn't think they had a chance, and with sore waists and aching backs, they returned to their respective dormitories.

But just then, a fast horse suddenly came galloping from afar; the messenger, out of breath, handed the letter to the steward, asking him to deliver it to the lord's bedside.

Just as the baron had been tucked in by the maidservant and was about to sleep, he was called up; upon opening his eyes, he still saw the steward's old face, naturally making him furious again.

Although vulgar curses had risen to his throat, after seeing the letter's contents clearly he still swallowed them all down.

He raised his head, eyes wide with anger.

"What are you staring at, let's go!"