Chapter 308 : Menghu Mountain (1)

Master Yang and Yu Zhi only had their eyes on the ginseng. They didn’t even make any movements towards the other boxes.

Yu Zhi looked at the jewellery boxes and asked, “Master, which jewellery box that Miss Han said that she wanted to bring back?” They looked all the same to him!

Master Yang already felt powerless even to criticise this stupid apprentice of his. He swept a glance, pointed to a small box of yellow pear wood carved with begonia flowers and said, “That’s the one. Wait for Zijin to come over tonight and let her take it back.”

After thinking for a moment, Yu Zhi nodded and said, “Master, since we have taken these things out, how will Miss Han fill them back up!”

Master Yang grumpily said, “Is this kind of thing you should be worrying about?” That girl was full of tricks. Surely she could solve it without any problems.

Zijin didn’t quite understand Yuxi’s behaviour. “Miss, since the Menghu Mountain is dangerous, why don’t we just follow Master? Miss, I heard that the great leader of Menghu Mountain was forced to go up to the mountain as a bandit because officials had ruined his family. So, the bandits’ number 1 great leader especially hates the officials.” Zijin was worried that this great leader would make things difficult for her Miss.

Yuxi responded, “I am not an official.” It was not that the Imperial Court did not want to exterminate the bandits, but it was just that their hideout was easy for them to defend and difficult to attack, and the bandits inside were not afraid of dying. Therefore, they hadn’t been shot down after many years of fighting. Of course, Yuxi wouldn’t believe those rumours. If the Imperial Court set that mind in doing so, wouldn’t they be able to beat them down? Not to mention if Yun Qing had asked her Er Ge to fight, he would have been able to destroy the bandits in no time. If no one from Imperial Court hadn’t exterminated them until now, there must be something fishy going on. Of course, it was accurate that there were too many bandits around, and they could still appear again after being exterminated. Once ordinary people couldn’t make a living, there would go into the woods and become bandits!

Zijin persuaded, “Who knows if he will lose his mind and take his anger out on Miss! Miss, I think it’s better to follow Master and Fourth Brother Yu!” *A skilled person and *a master were two different concepts.

Yuxi responded with a wry smile, “Don’t think I don’t want to, but I just can’t go with them right now!” If she could, she would naturally want to follow Master Yang. It was the safest way to leave this dangerous place unnoticed, but it was already too late.

Zijin asked coldly, “Is Miss implying that someone is watching us?” If someone were watching them, then, wouldn’t that mean Old Man and Fourth Brother Yu have been discovered when they went out to fetch those things?

Yuxi said, “I can’t exactly say that we are being watched, but if Master Yang and Yu Zhi had taken more people with them when they left, they would have been spotted by someone. Even if they are good at martial arts, each of them can’t beat two persons simultaneously. With all the fishes and dragons mixed in together in this place, their lives will be in danger if they are not careful. It’s better to follow Chief Huang and the others as they are so many people that can protect us. At least there will be no danger to their lives.” If she followed Master Yang and his disciple, she would be targeted as soon as she stepped out of the inn gate. There was no way for her to predict what would happen in the future. But she knew that a random bandit could put her to death once she was unprotected. She did not dare to take such a risk. For her, losing money would only be a minor thing, but her life would be much more significant.

Zijin was a bit puzzled as she asked, “Miss, how can you be so sure that the people of Menghu Mountain will not harm you?”

Yuxi said with a smile, “Didn’t you hear Chief Huang say that the bandits of Menghu Mountain still have their morals and only want money, not other people’s lives?” Of course, it wasn’t that the bandits of Menghu Mountain didn’t kill people, but for them, killing corrupt officials and evil gentry was chivalry, while robbing wealthy merchants and passing caravans was the act of robbing the rich to help the poor. Yuxi didn’t know how to evaluate such behaviour, except to say that the bandits of Menghu Mountain were better than horse thieves. The horse bandits would kill and rob at the same time. At least the people of Menghu Mountain could still let people have their life.

Zijin felt very uneasy. These bandits could turn hostile as fast as one flipped over a book. However, she also knew that Yuxi was right. “Miss, I’m just worried that they will turn against us.”

Yuxi shook her head and said, “No, since Chief Huang said that the people of Menghu Mountain still have morals, they won’t take our lives. At most, they will rob us of all our things.” It was safer to follow Chief Huang’s group than to run away with Master Yang.

Master Yang and Yu Zhi went out early the following day and did not return until night. When Chief Huang saw that Yuxi didn’t say anything, he pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Da Maotou was somewhat baffled by the situation. “Chief, these two men touched the carried goods last night, and today they are gone. Could there be something wrong here?”

Chief Huang replied, “Mind your own business.” Yesterday, Miss Han asked him to cover up for Master Yang and his disciple when the two men took something from the carriage. Now that the two, master and disciple, were gone, Miss Han must have known about it in advance. Since that was the case, there was no need for them to be bothered about it.

It rained for three days until it finally cleared up, and the caravan set off again.

Looking at the big sun hanging in the sky, Yuxi asked Chief Huang, “I heard that this place is more than two hundred miles away from Menghu Mountain?”

Chief Huang nodded and said, “We have to spend the night here today. We will not reach Menghu Mountain until tomorrow. Don’t worry, Miss. Everything will be fine.”

Yuxi nodded and said, “I hope we can cross Menghu Mountain smoothly.” After Menghu Mountain, they would be under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi, where the banditry was not as severe as it was here. With so many people protecting her, she was not worried.

Chief Huang said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Miss. We will go through it smoothly.” As a matter of fact, even though Chief Huang spoke out these words, his heart was a little heavier. The day before yesterday, he had sent Da Mao to Menghu Mountain to seek a meeting with the bandits’ second leader, wanting to greet him first so that their group could cross Menghu Mountain smoothly. Still, to his surprise, Da Mao could not enter the mountain fortress. This situation made him feel a little more worried, and he didn’t know what was going on inside the bandits’ hideout.

That night, they had to stay out for the night. After dinner, Luo Shuigui approached Yuxi and said, “Miss, tomorrow when we cross the Menghu Mountain, I think there may be a fierce battle.”

Yuxi nodded her head in agreement. “There are two to three thousand bandits in Menghu Mountain, so we can’t beat them with our strength. If they want wealth, we will have to give it to them.”

Luo Shuigui added, “I’m afraid that they won’t only want wealth. They probably want a few of our people.”

Yuxi’s face changed as she asked, “What do you mean? Are they like the horse thieves who will snatch women to be brought back to their hideout? Didn’t Chief Huang say that they were very moralistic?” It seemed that there would still be an error in one’s judgement after all.

Luo Shuigui answered, “I was worried that there might be an eventuality. It was only this afternoon that I found out that the wife of the third leader on Menghu Mountain was originally a young miss from an official’s family. She passed by Menghu Mountain one day and was snatched by the bandits’ third leader.” Luo Shuigui was worried that the bandits would also take a liking to Yuxi and steal her as their leader’s wife.

How could Yuxi not understand Luo Shuigui’s implication as she said, “If they want money, why don’t we just give it to them? If they want something else, then we will fight them to the death.” She loved her life, but she would rather die if forced to marry a bandit.

When Luo Shuigui heard Yuxi’s words, he knew what to do next.

After sending Luo Shuigui away, Yuxi sighed. “I can’t relax even for a moment.” During the few days she stayed at the inn, she had asked Han Ji to ask for information on the bandits, but all she found was positive news, not even a single negative one. This information, coupled with the words of Chief Huang, had made her lower her guard.

Zijin grabbed Yuxi’s hand and comforted her, “Miss, I will protect you.” If these people dared to target her Miss, they would have to step over her.

But Yuxi shook her head and said, “This is only the worst possible outcome.”

Zijin said, “Miss, why don’t we have Zisu pretend to be you tomorrow……” Before she could finish her sentence, Yuxi shook her head and rejected her idea.

Yuxi said, “Pretending won’t work.” The other part must have known about her height and all that. She was half a head taller than Zisu; hence anyone could see through Zisu at a glance. Yuxi truly regretted this situation. She should have found someone with a similar body type to follow her so that the other person could be her stand-in.

At the same time, Yun Qing had won another battle, and everyone celebrated their victory with drinks that evening. Of course, those who had families had gone home, and those who gathered for drinks were all bachelors and those whose families were not in Yu City.

As they were drinking, Han Yi entered the room and muttered to Han Jianye. Han Jianye told Yun Qing, “Someone has come from the capital, so I have to go out for a while.”

Yun Qing looked at Han Jianye for a moment and said, “Let’s go together!” There should be news about Han Shi at this time.

Hearing that Yuxi was leaving on the first day of the second lunar month, Han Jianye looked at the messenger and asked, “Why did the news come only now?” It had been more than a month since then.

The man answered with a sobbing face, “We met bandits on our way.” Those bandits had robbed them of their horses and money, so they were lucky to get here this quickly.

Han Jianye ignored him and read the letter written by Han Jianming. After reading it, he handed it to Yun Qing while saying, “There are bandits all along the way. That girl has come with so much dowry, making her too dazzling. It will not be a safe journey for her group.” How could twelve large carts of dowry not be that flashy?

Yun Qing said, “I’ll send someone to support them!” He and Han Jianye had military duties, and neither could leave, so they could only send someone to meet them.

Han Jianye asked, “Then, who are you going to send?”

Yun Qing answered, “Pick twenty men from the military camp and have Xu Wu bring those men to support them.” Xu Wu was Yun Qing’s personal bodyguard, and his martial arts skills were excellent.

Yun Qing felt that with more than twenty men to support, plus Yuxi’s original escort, it would be enough for the caravan to reach Yu City safely.

Han Jianye thought for a moment and suggested, “Don’t let Xu Wu go. Just let Han Hao take the men to meet them! Xu Wu should stay by your side.” Han Jianye had been in Yu City for so long. How could he not know that Yun Qing’s life was always in danger, and Xu Wu was Yun Qing’s most capable bodyguard?

Yun Qing said, “There is no harm in that. There are still Guo Xun and the others!” Back then, Huo Changqing had adopted many orphans. He had fed and clothed them, and he also taught them martial arts to give Yun Qing a boost. Xu Wu, Guo Xun and the other four were the most outstanding martial artists among them all, so they became Yun Qing’s personal guards.

Seeing this, Han Jianye did not refute him anymore. “Then, that’s fine.” He hoped that Yuxi could be safe all the way.

Yun Qing waited for a while, and when he noticed that Han Jianye wouldn’t say anything else, he asked, “You haven’t told me which road Miss Han will be using?” There were many roads, and he should tell those he sent to pick them up which way to go! The letter didn’t even mention which route would Han Yuxi take.

Han Jianye smiled and replied, “My fourth girl is cautious in nature, so she must have taken the official road!” Although there were also bandits on the official road, it was much safer than other minor roads.

The messenger, who had been trying to lower his presence, heard this and said, “Second Master is right. The Fourth Miss is taking the official road.”

Yun Qing frowned. Taking the official road would inevitably involve passing through Menghu Mountain. Although it had been rumoured that the bandits of Menghu Mountain were moralists, bandits were still bandits, and the so-called moralism was just a cover-up. The only thing he could do was send Xu Wu on his way as soon as possible.