Speaking of which, the affairs of Yongtai Prefecture were also related to the evil man who killed the disaster-stricken people that night.
The leader of that group of evil n was a person nad Elder Cao, and he had been leading those villains in killing the disaster-stricken people and robbing them. He had never failed and had grown emboldened enough to set his sights on Yongtai Prefecture.
Yongtai Prefecture is the intersection of the four expressways of Great Chu, and it has always been an important location in the north of Great Chu, guarded by a garrison army. Elder Cao originated from the border army, and Peng Changyong, the Troop Commander of the garrison army of Yongtai Prefecture, was also from the border army. The two had a sort of camaraderie, so Elder Cao sent a letter to Peng Changyong, proposing to collaborate on a big raid to plunder all the wealthy households in Yongtai Prefecture that hadn’t fled the famine, and to split the loot evenly between them.
Elder Cao even promised Peng Changyong that he didn’t have to do anything—just make sure when they attacked the prefecture and were looting, that Peng Changyong’s garrison army arrives a bit late.
After feigning refusal twice, Peng Changyong agreed to the plan.
Once the deal was struck, the night before last, Elder Cao led over a thousand of his evil n into the prefecture, slaughtered the wealthy households clean, and even killed the Magistrate of Yongtai Prefecture.
Unfortunately for Elder Cao, he underestimated Peng Changyong.
Peng Changyong was a man of imnse ambition; he not only wanted the wealth of the town’s wealthy households, but also the life of the Magistrate, and furthermore, he coveted the military rit of eradicating bandits.
By the ti Elder Cao had finished slaughtering the wealthy households and the Magistrate, and was in the midst of counting the money and won they had robbed, Peng Changyong led the garrison army into the prefecture, killing all of Elder Cao’s over a thousand minions and decapitating them.
Upon hearing this, Gu Dafu was so moved that he was on the verge of tears, exclaiming repeatedly, "Well done, well done, those villains deserved death. They had the lives of countless disaster victims on their hands; half of the villagers in our village died at their hands."
Now that they were killed by the garrison army of Yongtai Prefecture, it truly was a case of retribution.
Uncle Tian and Aunt Tian were also in tears with joy; their son Da Qiang was killed by that group of villains, and both Dahua and Erhua were captured by them.
Thinking of Dahua and Erhua, Aunt Tian quickly asked Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, what about the girls who were captured by those villains? Is there any news about them?"
She wanted to rescue Dahua and Erhua, to save her daughters from the hands of those beasts!
Gu Damu, from Gu Dalin’s family, also had daughters captured by that group of villains. Hearing Aunt Tian’s words, she hurriedly looked at Qin San Lang, eagerly waiting for his response, eyes filled with anticipation.
Gu Jinli, watching their hopeful eyes, knew that their disappointnt was inevitable.
That Peng Changyong was clearly no good person; he was even crueler than Elder Cao. Even if Dahua, Erhua, and Cuiniu weren’t dead, after Elder Cao’s group of evil n were wiped out, those girls would have been captured by Peng Changyong and left for his soldiers to enjoy.
Qin San Lang avoided their gaze and continued, "Peng Changyong wanted military rit, and after killing off Elder Cao’s batch of villains, he felt the number of heads wasn’t enough, so he ordered his soldiers to kill innocents to inflate their accomplishnts."
This was the reason why the disaster victims were desperately running back.
"Kill innocents to inflate accomplishnts!" Third Grandpa heard this statent and was so scared that his hand trembled, "These, these damnable people, how could they dare?"
To kill citizens and claim them as bandits for military rit—such things were only heard by him from the elderly when he was a child, sothing that only happened in the chaotic tis when dynasties were changing.
Qin Er Lang scoffed coldly, "Why wouldn’t they dare? This place is remote and far from the Emperor’s reach, and the Magistrate is dead. Who would know what they have done? It depends on how they report it."
When Qin Er Lang said this, a swift glimr of murderous intent flashed through his eyes.
Everyone hearing this began to panic, with Mrs. Chen, who was terrified of death, shuddering, "Then, what should we do? That Troop Commander isn’t going to co and kill us, is he?"
Their heads are now military rits, worth a lot of money.
Mrs. Chen’s two sons, Gu Dewang and Gu Defa, heard her words and turned pale with fright, hurrying to hide beside Gu Dagui, clutching his arm tightly.
Gu Dagui was so annoyed that he hit Mrs. Chen’s shoulder and scolded, "What are you blabbering about? Do you really think you’re that valuable? Do you think a Troop Commander would bother to co into the mountains to kill you just for your head?"
Mrs. Chen couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Her sons, Brother Wang and Brother Fa, were only eight and six years old, respectively. If they were to be frightened by her words and sothing bad happened, he would tear her apart.
Mrs. Chen cried out, "But I’m just scared. Have you heard what Brother Qin said? How terrifying that Troop Commander is, even crueller than those Evil n, and how greedy he is for glory. What if he really does co into the mountains to kill?"
Gu Jinli said, "Aunt Gui, rest assured, there are still many displaced villagers out there. If anyone’s going to die, they’ll be the first. Once they are all killed, Peng Changyong will have accumulated enough military rits, and we won’t have any trouble."
Mrs. Chen, upon hearing this, imdiately let go of her worry: "Oh, Xiao Yu is so smart. Indeed, we have a cave to hide in, unlike those displaced villagers out there, who are easy targets, pitiful."
Upon hearing Mrs. Chen’s words, a wry smile twitched at the corners of Gu Jinli’s mouth. As expected, as long as others were worse off than herself, she felt better.
Aunt Tian, still worried about her two daughters, upon hearing what Qin San Lang had said, cried, "What can we do? Can we still go to Yongtai Prefecture to save Dahua and Erhua?"
Qin San Lang was silent for a while, still shook his head, and told her, "Aunt Tian, Yongtai Prefecture is now under Peng Changyong’s control. It’s filled with his soldiers. If we go there now, it’ll be a dead end, and also..."
Qin San Lang stopped talking and glanced at Elder Qin.
Elder Qin knew that what was to co was not suitable for a young man to say, so he turned to Uncle Tian and Aunt Tian and said to the couple, "Don’t look for them anymore. Just take good care of the two children you have left... Those won who were taken away, without Elder Cao and those Evil n, they still have Peng Changyong and his n."
This was spoken very bluntly, and those who had been through it all understood.
Hearing this, Aunt Tian was stunned for a mont and then wailed loudly. Fearing her cries would attract outsiders and bring disaster, she fiercely covered her mouth and sobbed softly.
Gu Damu, Gu Dalin, Old Mrs. Yan, and Ms.Yan, thinking of the girls from their families who had been taken away, also couldn’t help shedding tears.
Everyone found it hard to bear watching them cry, yet they could do nothing to help. They could only let them cry, perhaps after this, they would be able to let go completely.
Qin Er Lang was impatient with their crying and, pulling Qin San Lang along, left the cave.
Seeing this, Elder Qin said to Third Grandpa, "Brother Gu, I’m going out with Er Lang and San Lang to have a look around, in case the displaced villagers discover this cave."
After saying this, without waiting for Third Grandpa’s response, he stood up and followed Qin Er Lang and Qin San Lang.
Gu Jinli frowned upon seeing this. What were the three Qins up to now?
She rembered what Qin San Lang had just said, and then thought of the displaced villager Qin San Lang had caught when they ran into the Dead Tree Forest... It seed that Qin San Lang had caught more than just one villager; he had also captured soone with a status. Otherwise, Qin San Lang wouldn’t be so well inford about the affairs between Elder Cao and Peng Changyong.
The three Qins were leaving, probably to et the person of status they had captured.
Gu Jinli didn’t voice her speculation and had no intention of seeking confirmation.
As she had said before, the Qin family had their secrets, and all she wanted to was to ensure that her family survived. As long as the Qin family didn’t jeopardize their lives, there was no need for her to delve into their affairs.
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