Qishan reluctantly watched as Gong Shuwu led the group away.
"Tsk tsk, what a pity," he murmured.
Shen Tang leaned against her forehead, her body warm and sticky with sweat, dampening her inner garments. A faint blush had crept onto her cheeks, obscured by the radiant glow of the campfire, masking the subtle abnormality of her complexion.
"What's the pity?" Shen Tang forced herself to focus, attempting to clear her mind.
"Those constables," Qishan replied with a smile. "Ordinary low-level officials dealing with a couple of grown men, led by a third-rate leader. Though their strength may be lacking, serving as a junior instructor to teach new recruits would have been no trouble."
All taken out by Gong Shuwu in one go, wouldn't that be a loss? Shen Tang massaged her temples, her voice cool. "Those few mouths to feed couldn't compare to Gong Shuwu. They had a grudge, and if it wasn't them, who else would have died? It's not a loss..."
"Reasonable words, indeed not a loss when considered this way," he agreed.
Afterwards, Lin Feng, who was next to Shen Tang, shook slightly. From the perspective of the young girl, Qishan's expression was too eerie and terrifying. His eyes were filled with genuine delight, gazing at Shen Tang as if she were a delectable delicacy to be sneaked in the quiet courtyard, not at all like a decent person.
She pursed her lips and moved closer to Shen Tang's side. In no time, her shoulder suddenly felt heavy. Startled, she turned her head, only to see a dark top of the head, a few strands of rebellious hair sliding across her cheek as she turned, bringing a tingling sensation. Due to the proximity, she could even smell the faint scent of alcohol in the breath.
It turned out Shen Tang had fallen asleep, her head leaning against Lin Feng's shoulder, and Zhai Le noticed the situation and reached out to grab Shen Tang's other shoulder, relieving Lin Feng's embarrassment—she was still young, and Shen Tang's weight was overwhelming for her.
Qishan stood up to assist Shen Tang.
"Incredible, already asleep?" he remarked incredulously. Just now he was saying such words...
With closed eyes and steady breaths, faint snores audible upon closer listening, she was indeed asleep.
Completely unexpected, she fell asleep in an instant.
Yawning, he said, "It's good that she's asleep."
He continued to drink, worrying that Qishan would live several years less.
Qishan sighed, bent down to lift the soundly sleeping Shen Tang onto his shoulder, and carried her into the carriage.
In disbelief, he clicked his tongue and hoisted the soundly sleeping Shen Tang, who had no awareness, onto his shoulder and carried her into the carriage.
He instructed Lin Feng, who followed behind, "You don't need to attend to her here, go get some rest."
Lin Feng hesitated. "But..."
Qishan chuckled. "How can an eight or nine-year-old child take care of others? Go and rest, replenish your energy, and we'll talk about other matters during the day."
Just by looking at Lin Feng's attire, one could tell that she had only experienced being taken care of by others before. Taking care of an energetic drunkard, even adult men couldn't keep up, let alone her. Seeing her weary expression and pale complexion, it was clear that she was in poor condition, so it was better for her to rest instead of forcing herself to prove her usefulness.
Lin Feng looked stubborn, pursed her lips, and chose to sit in the corner of Shen Tang's carriage instead of another carriage.
Seeing her stubbornness, Qishan found it difficult to insist further.
Unexpectedly, the drunkard was now surprisingly well-behaved when asleep.
Hmm...almost too well-behaved, if not for the slight rise and fall of the chest, one might think the person was already at peace.
Qishan stared for a while, ensuring she wouldn't suddenly jump up and cause trouble, then breathed a sigh of relief. Before leaving, he didn't forget to cast a protective "wise bodyguard" spell on Shen Tang, ensuring her protection while also preventing mosquito bites, allowing her to sleep more soundly.
After getting off the carriage, Gong Shuwu returned covered in blood.
It goes without saying that those few were most likely truly at peace now.
As soon as he arrived, Gong Shuwu suggested, "The location of the bandit's den has been identified. For tonight's raid, most of their elite forces have been taken out, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Sir, shall we take it down tomorrow?"
Because Zhai Le was present, there were some things he couldn't say.
Capturing the hidden bandit's den would provide them with a base, and after that, they could loot the taxes and find a place to settle. The city within Xiaocheng's territory was the territory of the county magistrate and was not safe.
Qishan pondered.
He waved his hand. "It's not appropriate."
Gong Shuwu was surprised. "Not appropriate?"
He had questioned those bandits and knew that many of Lin's properties had been looted by the bandits. If they didn't recover them, wouldn't that be to their advantage?
Qishan shook his head. "We can't wait until tomorrow."
Gong Shuwu asked, "Act tonight?"
"Yes, acting tomorrow might bring about unforeseen circumstances."
As for what "circumstances," he did not say.
Among those present, only Chuyao knew.
This "circumstance" naturally referred to his family's Fifth Young Master.
Through the previous drunken mishap, the two knew that the Fifth Young Master not only had a poor tolerance for alcohol and poor drinking habits, but also forgot what he did when drunk. In other words, he only remembered getting into fights with the hooligans, and denied everything he did after the fight.
This naturally included recruiting hooligans and finding bandits for bad luck.
Chuyao grinned at Zhai Le. "Tonight, I'll trouble Zhai Xiaolang to hold the fort. When Fifth Young Master wakes up tomorrow, there will be heavy thanks."
Zhai Le didn't find anything inappropriate about this statement.
Just curious, he asked, "Don't you need me to help?"
Chuyao said, "The bandits' den is only left with the old, weak, sick, and disabled, not a cause for concern. With Gong Shu's prowess, it's enough to handle it. These hooligans haven't truly returned to their senses, and the Fifth Young Master is still drunk, so someone must stay here to watch over them to prevent them from getting brave and rebelling."
Upon hearing this, Zhai Le understood.
Gong Shuwu, a ninth-rank official, couldn't handle a den of elite bandits who had lost their senses, that would be laughable. Not to mention that Sir Qishan would accompany him. With this lineup, even if they were to take on a bandit stronghold with a thousand people, it would not be in vain.
So he agreed to the arrangement immediately.
The most tired person among them
should be Chuyao, who had been out of the literary world for many years and had been worn down by various tasks in the back kitchen of the Moon Palace. His physical and mental strength were not as good as before. After arranging everything, he took a nap outside the carriage where Shen Tang was sleeping, closing his eyes to rest his mind.
But he hadn't closed his eyes for long when he heard some commotion nearby.
Even Zhai Le, who was farther away, was alarmed and looked over.
Chuyao frowned, gesturing for Zhai Le not to move for the moment, then lifted the curtain of the carriage. By the light of the campfire, he could barely see the situation inside the carriage. Lin Feng was curled up, trembling, her shoulders quivering.
Chuyao asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Lin Feng stuttered, "Light, there's light..."
"What light?" Lin Feng pointed at Shen Tang, shivering. "The master's seal, just now there was suddenly light flying over, I-I'm afraid..."
Although her body was very tired, her mind was very excited. Lin Feng couldn't fall asleep at all, curled up in the corner, chin against her knees, staring blankly until her eyes began to blur and darken. Just when she thought she could fall asleep, the seal suddenly flew up.
She vaguely saw a stream of light rushing towards her.
She was startled, instantly awake.
Chuyao frowned. "Are you sure it's not the literary aura left by Qishan?"
Lin Feng bit her lip. "It's not literary aura..."
The literary aura was black and white, she knew that.
But just now, that light was golden...
Long and slender, like some kind of creature.
Lin Feng touched her forehead, feeling nothing unusual. She even doubted whether she had made a mistake due to her confusion...