Li Wang did encounter some trouble. When he first came to Mount Yufang to ransom the captives, it was all thanks to Wei Ling's influence. Now that the Wei family's military had an incident, Shi Bazong, who was in charge of this area, received the news and started to have thoughts.
This Shi Bazong was surnamed Shi, and he was called Shi Bazong.
Shi Bazong had someone call Li Wang and his son over without mentioning anything specific. However, he asked questions here and there to inquire about Li Wang's relationship with Wei Ling.
Li Wang was an honest man and had never boasted about his connection to Wei Ling except when ransoming the captives. So now he simply said, "Sir Bazong, I've only met Young Master Wei once… He's a friend my son-in-law made when he was out and about."
"Oh, and who is your son-in-law?" Shi Bazong asked.
Before Li Wang could answer this time, Li Changrong rushed to speak, "My brother-in-law is amazing! He's skilled and even knows the young master of Twenty Li Slope!"
After speaking, he glared at Li Wang, feeling that his father was being too honest.
Li Changrong thought that if he could make Cheng Duo sound more impressive, then Shi Bazong wouldn't cause trouble for them. Little did he know that the more he said, the more Shi Bazong became suspicious.
Li Wang was taken aback, "Sir, don't listen to his nonsense. Cheng Duo is actually just a hunter from our village. He doesn't have any great abilities…"
"A hunter?" Shi Bazong smirked, "He seems to have a wide range of acquaintances, both military personnel and businessmen?"
Shi Bazong asked about Cheng Duo's background and became even more certain when he heard that Cheng Duo was not from the local area and seemed to have escaped from famine.
Li Wang and his son didn't understand why he was questioning them about this. They looked at each other, feeling a bit anxious.
At that moment, someone lifted the curtain and walked in. They respectfully went to Shi Bazong's side and whispered a few words. Li Wang took a closer look and realized that it was the supervisor who had praised them when Ding Tou brought things here.
The supervisor had an expressionless face and didn't look at them. Li Wang's heart sank at the sight. His sense of foreboding grew stronger.
Sure enough, the more the supervisor spoke, the brighter Shi Bazong's eyes became. He even burst out laughing in the end, "Good lad, if I achieve something, I won't forget you!"
Shi Bazong patted the supervisor's back, then his face turned serious. He shouted to the outside, "Men, arrest these three!"
Li Wang and his son panicked, "Sir?"
Li Changrong said, "Why do you want to arrest us?"
Weren't they mistakenly arrested in the first place? Did Shi Bazong change his mind?
"I'm not just arresting you. I'm taking you back to camp to claim credit!" Shi Bazong sneered, "Don't you know? Wei Zhenyuan and the entire Wei family's military have joined the Xiongnu. Now, whoever has information about them can get promoted and become wealthy!"
Only then did Li Changrong realize how wrong he had been, "Sir, my father already said we don't really know that Wei family!"
Shi Bazong kicked him in the front and said, "You may not know him, but your brother-in-law might."
Shi Bazong was quite discerning. He could tell that the story about escaping from famine was fake. Obviously, the South was more prosperous, so why would someone flee to the northwest?
He felt that Cheng Duo was a spy for the Wei family. The reason he settled in Yang Village was to find a hunter's identity to hide himself and then work for the Wei family.
It was because of this spy that they got into trouble. He actually married one of the villagers, no wonder he presented the credit to him!
Shi Bazong didn't dare to make decisions on his own, so he immediately dispatched a team of men and planned to escort the captives back to the main camp, awaiting the general's judgment.
Those who came to Yu Fang Mountain were all prisoners, and in their tents, there was no lack of chains and prisoner carts.
Chained again and seated in the prisoner cart, Li Changrong's two brothers' faces turned pale. Along the way, they cursed Cheng Duo incessantly, calling him a lackey of the Rong people and a harmful person!
They did this to show Shi Bazong that they were innocent, but unfortunately, Shi Bazong was too busy to care.
He was clear that even if Li Wang and the others were indeed ordinary villagers who were unaware, their connection with the spy would be enough for the general to take action.
As for himself, he only needed to show his face to the general; he didn't care about their lives or deaths!
Only Li Wang had a despondent expression, remaining silent. He regretted not ignoring his wicked sons' legs and insisting on returning with Ding Tou and the others.
But that didn't seem safe either. Shi Bazong had seen the letter, and he would eventually come to Yang Village…
Li Wang's mind was in chaos. He wanted to pass a message to Yong Ge, but now he couldn't even protect himself and didn't know what to do.
As Li Changrong's two brothers were cursing with joy, a tall figure suddenly appeared at the end of the mountain road, carrying an iron spear like a god of slaughter.
The man sneered, "I should have known better than to come and save you."
He knew it; these two guys would never change!
When he brought supplies, they were delighted, but now that he was implicated, they avoided him. They only wanted the good and couldn't care less about anything else. Why couldn't they be more considerate!
The two brothers were taken aback and then became overjoyed. "Cheng Duo—"
"General Bazong, he's Cheng Duo!"
"So, it's you!" Bazong drew his knife and laughed, "I was worried about not finding anyone, but you actually dare to show up? Cheng Duo, right? I admire you for coming alone. When we meet the general, I will definitely ask him to leave your corpse intact!"
Cheng Duo didn't hesitate and nodded, "Alright, it's a deal."
After all, with the iron spear he brought today, he could just avoid stabbing anyone in the neck!
Then Li Wang and his son witnessed a one-sided massacre, a truly deadly display, and arrows were occasionally shot from the roadside woods to support Cheng Duo… In just the time it took to finish a cup of tea, there wasn't a single survivor in Bazong's small team.
When had Li Wang and the others ever seen such a scene? Their courage was about to break, and Li Changrong and Li Changgui trembled while hugging each other.
Could they take back their words now? Was there still time?
Li Changrong felt warm liquid splashing on his face, and when he wiped it off with his hand, he was covered in blood. He couldn't help but scream, "Ah—!"
"Shut up," Cheng Duo sternly commanded, "If you attract anyone else, I'll send you along with them."
Li Changrong trembled all over when he was glared at by Cheng Duo. He couldn't control himself and ended up wetting himself.
Li Changgui hugged him, and of course, his pants got soaked too, causing a foul smell to linger around.
Cheng Duo glanced at them with disdain, then used the spear to pry open the gaps in the prisoner cart. With a soft "click," the wooden cage opened.
"Cheng Duo." Yong Ge also climbed down from the tree at this time. Although he looked a bit uncomfortable at the sight of the dead bodies on the ground, he tried to put on a nonchalant expression, not wanting Cheng Duo to feel sad.
After all, Cheng Duo killed people for him and saved his father.
"Cheng Duo, are you hurt?"
"No," Cheng Duo shook his head. Actually, he had a scrape on the inside of his arm, but he didn't want to worry Yong Ge, so he didn't mention it.
"Yong Ge, why are you here too?" Li Wang's face turned pale. When he suddenly saw Yong Ge, he had an urge to shout, "Run!"
His mind was buzzing, and he didn't even react when Yong Ge helped him down and Cheng Duo cut the chains on his feet.
"Don't be afraid, Father. Cheng Duo isn't as scary as you think." Yong Ge patted his father's back. Seeing his father trembling with fear, hands shaking uncontrollably, he suddenly felt that he wasn't as scared as before.
Li Wang: "…"
Compared to how Cheng Duo dealt with his two wicked sons, he was indeed quite gentle with him.
Yong Ge was about to turn around according to his father's gaze, but Li Wang suddenly covered his eyes, "Don't look!"
Cheng Duo was busy changing the two wicked sons' pants and then throwing the bodies down the cliff.
If one ignored the mess and blood on the ground, the scene was actually quite funny. Li Wang had been hoping for someone to teach these two wicked sons a lesson, and the moment he thought about how they had blamed Cheng Duo and Yong Ge for their actions, he felt no pity for them at all!
They deserved it!
Li Changrong and Li Changgui had tears on their faces, and their movements were a little slow. Cheng Duo's iron spear quickly struck them when they were slightly delayed. They couldn't seek help from their father and Yong Ge because those two didn't care about them at all. If they called for help, Cheng Duo would only punish them more severely.
But surprisingly, after seeing so many corpses, they seemed to have gotten used to it.
Moreover, when they were changing their pants just now, they found some silver on the two soldiers. If Cheng Duo hadn't been glaring at them, they might have been tempted to take some "dead man's money"…
Li Changrong and his brother were typical cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong. When Cheng Duo was scarier than the dead, they could overcome anything.
After dealing with the bodies and hastily cleaning up the scene, Cheng Duo told Yong Ge, "We shouldn't stay here for long. Let's hurry and leave."
Yong Ge quickly helped his father up and asked, "Father, can you walk?"
"I can!" Li Wang gathered his thoughts and noticed the quiver behind Yong Ge. "You were the one shooting arrows just now?"
"Yes, I learned from General Wei. Father, how do you think of my archery?" Yong Ge looked at his father expectantly, hoping to hear some praise.
But Li Wang stared at him and hushed him in a low voice, "What are you saying? Aren't you afraid he'll get angry?"
It was obvious who "he" referred to.
"He was quite angry at first." Yong Ge recalled the scene where Cheng Duo forbade him from interacting with his elder cousin and smiled, but he quickly turned serious when he sensed Cheng Duo's gaze as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Li Wang was startled and unconsciously gripped Yong Ge's sleeve tightly. Yong Ge didn't want to scare his father any further, so he told the truth, "Father, in fact, General Wei is my elder cousin."
"What are you saying, what elder cousin?" Li Wang didn't understand.
"Father, don't get agitated. Let's talk while we walk…" Worried that Cheng Duo would rush them, Yong Ge supported his father as they walked and explained the situation, finally comforting Li Wang, "Father, don't worry, I won't abandon you. You will always be my father."
Li Wang listened and felt somewhat dazed. He nodded silently.
He didn't doubt Yong Ge's filial piety. After more than a decade together, Li Wang knew his son better than anyone else.
The regret for Lord Jin Ti was real! At that time, Yong Ge's biological father was probably searching for him. He was such a good person, but he didn't even get to see a resolution before he died…
In comparison, Li Changrong and Li Changgui didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Yong Ge's father was actually a general! However, this general had already been accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! Even if they said it didn't matter now, it was probably too late!
Li Changrong and Li Changgui thought of the bodies they had thrown down the cliff and lowered their heads in despair…
Cheng Duo glanced at them; it was too early to completely despair of these two. When they reached Jiupan Stockade, he would hand them over to Wei Ling for training. If they didn't train properly, these two wouldn't be able to leave the military camp!
That's right; Cheng Duo was leading them to Jiupan Stockade. News of Shi Bazong's disappearance could only be kept hidden for three to five days at most. To avoid exposing Yang Village, he decided to take action in advance.
(T/N: Timely arrival of Cheng Duo… ( ͡❛ ₒ ͡❛) )