Chapter 29: Greed for Beauty Brings Death

  Unconsciously, it's already deep autumn. The rain-soaked plain blows a gentle cool breeze, letting people who have just tasted the joy of victory feel a hint of winter's breath ahead of time.

  Mr. Lin, who insisted on following the warriors to mobilize the masses, fell ill before returning to You Fei's command post. The warriors who were with Mr. Lin did not notify You Fei and borrowed a quilt from their fellow villagers, using a stretcher to carry the old man along with the troops as they rushed towards the county town. The warriors' thoughts were simple: for an elderly person who had supported and helped them so much, they absolutely had to cure his illness before sending him back home! Although the military doctor said it was just a cold, they still wanted to invite the best doctor in the county town to take a look.

  The troops being transferred were already in disarray, and because it was a secret transfer, the troops were spread out over a large area, so You Fei still didn't know about it for the time being. But this simple matter triggered a chain reaction, stirring up a huge commotion...

  Most of the troops camped outside the county town, only the flying column and the headquarters as well as the guard company were stationed in the courtyard of the county middle school. The masses in the county town welcomed them with open arms, firing firecrackers and hanging red lanterns, making it lively like a festival fair.

  You Fei ordered all personnel entering the city not to casually contact the crowd, and even more so cannot accept any gifts. Form a neat queue and enter the county town. Upon arriving at the temporary department's residence, You Fei had important matters to attend to! Dong Tian Hao still followed closely behind You Fei, while his large team also came to station themselves outside the city. If they could smoothly take over this largest private armed force, it would have a demonstrative effect on other small and big bandit groups. Dong Tian Hao's seven elder brothers all arrived at the primary school, negotiations began immediately. And the gloomy expressions of the seven brothers seemed to be reminding You Fei that these people wouldn't easily accept reorganization.

  The local gentry and villagers continued to arrive at the primary school to offer condolences to the 259th Brigade, with chaotic scenes both inside and outside the city. Meanwhile, You Fei had to maintain good relations with the accompanying troops. The more chaotic it was, the less he could afford to make mistakes! You Fei asked He Tianhao to take charge of receiving the condolence groups in batches. He himself sat down with Jiang Zhuang and began discussing "official business" with Dong Tianhao's family members.

  Dong Tianhao's meaning was very clear, he was willing to join You Fei's 259th brigade, as long as his several brothers were willing. You Fei nodded with a smile, not saying a word, just waiting for the opinions of the other few heads of households. Sure enough, a big man with a full beard spoke up in a loud and clear voice: "This Commander You has not yet given us brothers our reward! How can he think of swallowing up our family business? Even Song Jiang was granted imperial wine before being recruited! We several brothers have also been through blood and water, we're not so easily fooled! Let's wait until we've gotten our benefits, then we'll talk about cooperation. Commander You won't disagree, will he?"

  "Old Six! What are you mumbling about here? With your little brain, you still know what's good for you. Get out of the way! Whoever wants to get something good should speak up themselves, don't stir up trouble for honest people!" Dong Tianhao didn't wait for You Fei to respond before scolding him, leaving this big-bearded Old Six speechless. It seems that Dong Tianhao really does understand his brother's temperament, and this Old Six is indeed an honest man.

  "Hmph! I'm the one who taught Lao Liu that!" A man in his thirties with a goatee and a lean, tall build stood up and said coldly.

  Dong Tianhao said: "Three masters! What benefits do you want? Just speak directly with Lü Bu, no need to beat around the bush. I can see that Brother Lü is a man of his word."

  "Big brother! Isn't this all for you?!" Third Master's expression changed to one of sorrow and despair. "Big brother, it wasn't easy for us to get this team together! We've gathered so many miscellaneous guns, cannons, and bullets, what was the point of it all? Wasn't it just so we could have a few good days, follow you without being bullied by others?! But this time, we used up our ammo, earned our merits, yet you want to give away our family's assets to outsiders. I'm worried for your sake!"

  Dong Tianhao said with a serious face: "Can you live a good life just by surrendering? I don't believe it. If we don't drive the Japanese away, no Chinese can live comfortably. Even if I'm just a small soldier for the touring army, I'm willing to do it. What you think is none of my business. San Dangjia, please leave! But Lao Liu, you'd better follow me, I don't feel at ease with you around."

  Da Hu Zi Liu hastily replied with a "Heh heh, I'm following Big Brother!" and took two steps forward to stand behind Dong Tian Hao.

  The other five heads of the family looked at each other and stood behind Dong Tianhao, leaving only San Dangjia alone.

  "Hmph! Leave then! I'm also used to living a life of luxury, but being an official is not for me!" The Third Master said and walked out. You Fei didn't bother with him, only tightly grasping Dong Tianhao's hand, saying: "I've decided, your men won't be reassigned. They'll directly become the new 1st Regiment of the 259th Brigade. How about you becoming the regiment commander?"

  "Good!" Dong Tianhao showed a delighted expression.

  "You, Old Dong, are the leader of this group under me. From now on, I'll be the big boss. All those brothers below can either be officials or bandits, it's up to them. You're the leader, and I'm the big boss - we won't distinguish between officials and bandits, what do you think?"

  "Hmm! This is good! Those rascals below have nothing to say now. For the time being, let's not distinguish between officials and bandits! This is great!" Dong Tianhao said, giving a nod to the other six brothers, who then shouted in unison at You Fei: "Great Master's orders are good!"

  Several people happily piled their hands on top of You Fei and Dong Tianhao's clasped hands.

  At this time, Lin Yurui was arguing with the guard in a fit of rage! Lin Yurui's soft and gentle voice, even when quarreling, sounded so pleasant to hear, and her innocent appearance made the guard's slightly louder voice attract disapproving glances from passersby. However, Lin Yurui's words were indeed impolite, and her target was none other than the person the guard respected the most - You Fei. Before long, the guard's face turned red with rage, yet he was helpless to do anything about it.

  Lin Yuru said: "How can you travel for a long time without saying a word and take away my grandfather? What happened to my grandfather, why don't you let me go in?"

  Lin Yuru spoke again, and the guards didn't dare to disobey orders and let her go find You Fei. But the person who went to inform He Tianhao was slow to return. The guard couldn't explain clearly, scratching his ears and cheeks in distress, when a man walked out of the guest department, with an eight-character beard standing high, a disdainful expression on his face, walking straight towards the main gate. This was the third master.

  San Dangjia walked to the door, and inadvertently glanced at Lin Yurui. His cold face immediately lit up with a warm smile. Lin Yurui's extraordinary beauty moved San Dangjia to forget his previous annoyance. He listened for a few sentences, then asked the guard in a loud and careless tone: "What's going on here? Why is it so noisy?"

  The guard thought to himself, "Who is this guy?!" He didn't even want to bother with this sloppy third young master, but Lin Yuru was really getting on his nerves. The guard then said: "She's looking for our brigade commander, I told her the commander is busy and can't be disturbed. She won't listen, what a pain!"

  The three masters had already come up with a plan, and with a flick of their eyes, they said: "Little brother! This is where you went wrong! This young lady is also concerned about Grandfather's safety, that's why she came to ask. How could you not let him meet the Traveler? I think it's best to let Yu Fei explain clearly."

  The guard rolled his eyes: "Hey! Didn't I tell you that the battalion commander doesn't want to be disturbed? If you're capable, go call the battalion commander out. Hmph!"

  Three Masters thought to himself, "I was just kicked out, and now I'm going back in. Am I not overeating? Fortunately, I had already taken note of this beauty earlier, and she's definitely going down." "Haha!" Three Masters became more and more excited, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Then, pretending to be very enthusiastic, he said: "Miss, what a coincidence! I'm also looking for Touring Master. I just came out, didn't I? He's not here. I was just about to go somewhere else to find him, why don't you come with me? I'll take you there. If we find him, it's good to ask clearly."

  "Oh! He's not here! Then take me to find him!" Lin Yurui agreed to go with San Dangjia without hesitation.

  "Alright! Let's go!" The Third Master took off immediately, and Lin Yurui followed closely behind.

  "Hey! Hey......" The guard was about to call out to Lin Yurui that the captain hadn't left, but after shouting twice, he fell silent. If he called Lin Yurui back, wouldn't that be more trouble? Isn't this looking for unnecessary trouble?!

  The guard stared at the two people who had just left, looked at them strangely, and then stood up straight again. You Fei and Dong Tianhao came out at this time, You Fei had already talked to them and asked them to return to their garrison outside the city first, and other things would be discussed later.

  After sending off Dong Tianhao, You Fei casually asked the guard: "Who was making a disturbance just now?"

  "Yes! This... Miss Lin Yurui came looking for you to ask about Mr. Lin's whereabouts. I didn't let her in, so she made a fuss."

  "Oh? It's Miss Lin. What happened to her grandfather? Jiang Zhuang, go ask someone about it." You Fei let Jiang Zhuang go first and then asked the guard: "Where is Miss Lin now?"

  "The third master came out first and said you weren't there, so he took Miss Lin to find you!"

  "Damn it. That Dong Tianhao's third son is not a good thing." You Fei said while thinking, why did the third master deceive Lin Yurui and say I'm not here? "Ah! Not good! Miss Lin has trouble! They went in that direction?"

  The guard came to his senses and realized that San Dangjia was not up to any good. The guard also became tense, stuttering: "Go, go over there. Just walked not far."

  "Damn it!" Yu Fei cursed and chased after the direction the guard pointed.

  There were still people scattered on the street, and Lin Yuru shouldn't have any problems on the main street. You Fei chased for a while, and found a cold and quiet alley by the road. He hesitated at the entrance of the alley for a second, then ran in. You Fei simulated the thoughts of a pervert and was certain that San Dangjia would be in this alley. Because if he walked too far, Lin Yuru would become suspicious, so the best way was to find a quiet place nearby to do his business.

  The alley is very deep, the stone slab paved street has been polished by the years and is very smooth, emitting a faint glow. On both sides of the alley are the backyards of large households. Only at the very end are there several dilapidated low houses. Go further, and you can't get out, this is a dead end.

  Could it be that You Fei was wrong? You Fei simulated the thoughts of a pervert again, at this time shouldn't choosing an empty house be better?

  As he was lost in thought, it seemed that a few low cries came from the left front, like the sound of someone struggling to make a noise with their mouth covered.

  He fixed his eyes on a courtyard with a half-closed gate at the head of the alley, and Yu Fei rushed in. The courtyard was a small house, and the increasingly weak voice came from inside.

  Whoa! With one kick, a worn-out door panel flew off, and Yu Fei let out a loud shout: "Halt!" as he jumped in.

  The room was very dark, and some parts of a woman's body reflected white light in the darkness. You Fei drew out his pistol, pointing it in that direction and growling in a low voice: "Let her come over."

  "Ha! Ha! Ha!" A burst of ear-piercing laughter, it was indeed the voice of San Dangjia. "You've come in person, Yu Da? How could you point a gun at me? I'm also Dong Tuanzhang's brother, after all!"

  You Fei's eyes had adapted to the bright light in the room, and he saw San Dangjia pinching Lin Yurui's neck with one hand, while holding a gun against him with the other. You Fei was at the brightly lit door, Lin Yurui was still in San Dangjia's hands, the situation was very unfavorable for You Fei.

  "You think you're who? You're the Third Master. If you want to leave, then leave! Why are you doing this on my turf? This isn't good at all! Haha!"

  "Youfei said, putting down the gun in his hand."

  The three masters again "heh heh!" sneered twice, the gun in his hand did not learn to put down like a flying fish, he said: "Since you've met, I'll be honest! I originally planned to take more than half of the people and horses to establish my own mountain stronghold, but now, I've changed my mind. Those people and horses, I'll give them to you, Traveler. And as for me? I want this beauty. Heh heh heh! This is a hero struggling to pass the beautiful woman's pass! This little girl, touch her once, you can't bear to let go! She's really a top-notch product!"

  You Fei took a glance at Lin Yurui's terrified face, turned his back on him and said calmly: "Then I'll thank the Third Master for his gift. Hehehe!"

  You Fei lifted his foot and took a step towards the door, turned around, raised his wrist, "Bang!" A gunshot hit San Dangjia's forehead. San Dangjia's head, filled with filth, was suddenly opened up like a flower. Red and white liquids and fragments splashed out, landing on Lin Yu Rui's face and body.

  Lin Yurui, who had already fallen into despair, suddenly opened her eyes wide. She reached out and touched a piece of flesh with red and white stripes on her face, looked at it in front of her, opened her mouth as if to say something, but didn't make any sound, and then fainted.