Chapter Seven Conditions

  The cold wind grew stronger and stronger, blowing on the fires that had been lit everywhere, making the flames dance high and low.

  The horse thieves were still gathered outside the rifle range of the convoy, and most people had already dismounted to rest. Only on a high ground, dozens of torches illuminated, and dozens of horses gathered together, seemingly discussing something.

  More bandits were silently watching the circle of people and horses outside the convoy, some of whom had not yet died. They were wailing and moaning in high and low voices, adding a few more somber and murderous atmosphere to this grassland cold night.

  No one dared to collect the bodies, and the intense firepower had just left the bandits who participated in the impact still reeling.

  A dozen or so culprits secretly gathered together. Following the ruts of a cart from afar, they advanced. In this place which was quite far from the nearby towns, they suddenly launched a surprise attack at night, hoping to swallow up the silver goods worth millions in one gulp. Then disperse and scatter, passing the winter! They were extremely familiar with Da Shenggui's usual methods of operation and believed they had an absolute grasp on things!

  Unexpectedly, Dasheng Kui broke the rules of goods going out of the mouth that had been passed down for over 200 years this night. He set up a tight circular formation! Moreover, the scout horse discovered their trail in advance, and the final volley of foreign guns was fired, causing these fierce bandits to fall over each other!

  In the midst of this silent confrontation, dozens of figures suddenly emerged from the convoy. All the horse bandits became tense, and many of them mounted their horses, holding various foreign guns*. The horses neighed, thinking they were about to charge again, but were restrained by their owners, circling around in a group.

  Just then, a loud and rough voice shouted: "Don't worry, masters outside! We're friendly brothers who have come to rescue our injured friend!"

  Under the strange gaze of the bandits, dozens of people rummaged through the pile of corpses and found some living bandits. They were immediately bandaged and given hot water on the spot. The bandit leaders who were discussing on the high slope suddenly rushed out with a few horses. When they reached the edge of the range of the foreign guns, one of them shouted: "Is it Brother Wang Wu from the Willing to Help Bureau inside? Brother Wu, we appreciate your kindness! However, our brothers' food and clothing depend on this convoy, Brother Wu, even friendship can't be considered!"

  A torch flashed in the team, and a big man climbed onto the top of the car. The big knife behind his back had already revealed his identity. Wang Wu shouted loudly: "We are on the same line, each of you is a master, can't we give way to each other? We are all rivers and lakes men."

  Xu Yifan crouched under the carriage, watching Wang Wu and Ma Zei exchange blows. The relationship between the escort agency and the bandits was indeed strange. On one hand, they were fighting fiercely, but on the other hand, they still had to maintain a facade of friendship. It was really laughable... But being in this situation himself, he could only roll his eyes. He whispered from below: "Ask them their names! How many are there?"

  Wang Wu shouted again, summoning his inner strength: "I, Wang Wu, am blind and do not know which esteemed masters have arrived. I cannot greet each of you individually. Another day, I will surely send a heavy gift to the masters' stronghold!"

  Wang Wu's voice echoed around him in a loud and clear tone, "Attention, all units!"

  "Great!"

  "Kanto is great!"

  "Look! The grass is flying, and the grandpas are here!"

  "Both sides have arrived, and we've met with Master Five!"

  Wang Wu furrowed his brow and turned back to whisper to Xu Yifan, "The bandits from Kouwai, Rehe, and Lianjiang have all arrived!"

  Xu Yifan also whispered: "Do as I say!"

  Wang Wu turned back, shouting: "I've seen all the masters! Everyone, our caravan still has General Uriya Sutai's official family members. If we rob them, it's equivalent to killing officials and rebelling! General Uriya Sutai will surely anger Master Shun, and everyone's food outside will be hard to eat..."

  Before he finished speaking, the horse bandits shouted in unison: "I don't obey the imperial court's control, damn it, whether it's round or flat..."

  "Old Five, I'm giving you face because we're fellow wanderers of Jianghu. What's with the sudden appearance of Lian Shun?"

  "Damn it!"

  Wang Wu raised his voice: "It's precisely because of our friendship in the jianghu that I, Wang Wu, am advising everyone. We all make a living from the jianghu, so it's not worth provoking the imperial court! As the leader, I have a responsibility to protect the caravan. However, if we fight to the death, won't we just be killing our own brothers? I've discussed this with Da Shenggui Han, the shopkeeper, and we're willing to offer each of your families a sum of money to buy your way out. We'll also provide silver for the burial of those who have fallen. If you all agree, I, Wang Wu, will be eternally grateful! In the future, when you arrive in Beijing, consider it as if you were guests of mine!"

  A loud noise came from Ma Zei's place and the pot exploded. The murmurs of discussion rose and fell, and more than a dozen family heads couldn't stop drinking.

  Everyone in the team held their breath, waiting for the horse bandits' decision. Xu Yifan also felt cold sweat on his palms and quietly wiped them on his pants. Suddenly, he felt a warm breath on the back of his neck. Turning around, it was the restless little beauty who had also squatted behind him.

  Looking at her small face tightly closed, big eyes staring round. This Jianghu dialogue, for this little beauty who yearns to be a man, seems more stimulating than anything else. The fear and tension just now, at this moment, seem to have been thrown away to the ends of the earth. Xu Yifan also noticed that her hand was still tightly grasping his hem.

  "He said in a low voice: 'Go back, aren't you afraid?'"

  Little beauty blinked her eyes: "Not afraid... following you is better than following my brother. You have more ideas and are braver." At this time, the tone was again innocent. Xu Yifan subconsciously glanced at Er Dezi who was lying on the high platform. He rolled his eyes, great, I've become a babysitter.

  But being trusted by this little beauty... isn't bad.

  The bandits' discussion seemed to have reached a conclusion, as the first man shouted loudly: "Fifth Master, we're not unwilling to give you face. But with over ten of our brothers gathered here, and so many casualties, we can't open up the caravan, and we can't account for it! We also need to get through the winter... how much silver is Da Shenggui prepared to pay as a toll?"

  As expected... Xu Yifan secretly smiled in his heart. The undead can take the money. These gathered scapegoats. Indeed, they cannot resist this temptation. Seeing that they cannot launch continuous attacks, it is clear what their bottom line is. For Ma Fei, making a quick buck and leaving has always been the best choice.

  "Everyone draw a plate!" Wang Wu laughed and said.

  The leader of the horse thieves drew a circle with his whip: "This cargo is worth one million, we'll give Five Elder face and ask him for half. Hand over 500,000 silver coins and we'll let him go!"

  Wang Wu shook his head: "Everyone's family is wise, who carries so much silver on the road? These are all worthless goods. They're only valuable when they reach the port. I'll make a decision for Da Sheng Kui, let's gather two million taels of silver. Consider it as everyone's hard-earned money. What do you think?"

  "Get out of here!"

  "Exchange one hundred lives for twenty thousand taels? When we are begging for food?"

  "We're not afraid of being beaten! This broken fence, we can easily break in!"

  The leader of the horse thieves raised his hand and sneered from a distance: "Fifth Master! Find someone to talk to you! This haggling is too much, it doesn't take our brothers' lives seriously! We are waiting for your arrival, Fifth Master!"

  Wang Wu Teng jumped down from the cart, his face already red with anger. Seeing Boss Han hurry over, he managed to squeeze out only one sentence: "I'm going!"

  Xu Yifan stood up, pressed down on him and slowly shook his head: "Wu Ye, you can't go. Everyone knows you're the backbone of the Huiyou gang. If they capture you, they'll be even more daring to attack this caravan."

  Wang Wu was now completely convinced of Xu Yifan. Seeing that Manager Han also disagreed with him going, he said anxiously: "What to do then?"

  Xu Yifan furrowed his brow, as if making the most difficult decision. Finally, he slowly said: "I have two questions. First, how much silver can the Fifth Master and Manager Han give at most to buy their way out?"

  Wang Wu immediately said, "This team of goods is worth 12 million. The escort fee is 5% of the total value. We have a friendship discount of 600,000. I don't want any of it. For the dead and injured, I'll take care of them myself when I get back." Han Zhanggui smiled, "How can we let Master Wu suffer this loss... The 600,000 taels of silver, if you can deliver them to Suiyuan, I won't deduct a single cent. As for the road expenses, I can cover that. There's 1.3 million in cash in the caravan, all from last winter's income in Mongolia..."

  He walked to a large vehicle, opened the bundle of fur tied on it, revealing a paulownia box inside. He knocked on it and laughed: "I've got everything! This road is worth buying! We spent 1.3 million to buy Ba Duo Dong's life, this lesson is worth it!"

  Looking at the old man who was also standing unsteadily, Xu Yifan couldn't help but widen his eyes. This is the demeanor of a great merchant! In the era he experienced, which was still in the cruel stage of primitive accumulation, merchants and swindlers were basically equated in the minds of the masses. And everyone forgot that in ancient China, merchants were actually the ones with the broadest vision and who valued credit the most. Even when foreigners first started trading with China, they marveled at the demeanor of Chinese merchants and how they would always fulfill their promises, no matter how large the amount involved, without fail. Drawing up written contracts was something that even slightly reputable merchants wouldn't deign to do.

  Such a tradition, why was it lost instead?

  Decades of turmoil have lost not only the nation's vitality, but also some good things we once had.

  Such an idea, but it was just a flash. What surprised Xu Yifan at this time was that Old Han, the boss, could actually make such a decision! Was he just a branch manager of Dashenggui?

  He just nodded and asked in a low voice: "I understand the first question. The second question is, what is the attitude of the horse thieves outside the mouth towards the Living Buddha?"

  Wang Wu and Zhang Er were still puzzled, but Old Han was staring fixedly at Xu Yifan. Then Wang Wu muttered: "The horse thieves outside the pass, they don't want to offend the Living Buddha, or else the Mongolian herdsmen could fight them to the death... what do you mean by this?"

  Xu Yifan smiled: "Find me a lama's robe, I'll go."