Chapter Thirty-Six: Hong Xian Cuts Off the Path

  Three days later, each family packed up their carriages and luggage, gathered at the Wang family's large courtyard. With over a hundred people of all ages, they left Kirin Village in a lively and bustling manner. The villagers and relatives who stayed behind to take care of things saw them off reluctantly until they reached the village entrance.

  The old masters rode horses, the ladies and young ladies sat in sedan chairs, the servants were in front of and behind them, the porters followed closely, and there were more than a dozen horse-drawn carts and mule-drawn carts loaded with trunks and boxes. They went all the way to Tangyin County.

  After walking for a day or two, they arrived at a place called Wild Cat Village. Although it was called Wild Cat Village, it was actually a desolate and uninhabited area. Looking up at the sky, Yue Fei stopped and said to his brothers: "We were in such a hurry to get here that we missed our lodging for the night. The sun is setting soon, and there are no villages or inns nearby. These carriages, mules, sedan chairs, and porters have all been traveling for a day and need to rest their feet. What can we do? Tang Huai and Zhang Xian, I'm asking you two brothers to go ahead and scout out the road, see if there are any villages around, and find a place for us to rest first."

  Zhang Xian and Tang Huai listened, responded with a sound, raised their whips and rode their horses forward.

  Yue Fei led the way in front, while Wang Gui and Niu Gao brought up the rear, protecting the family members and vehicles as they moved slowly along.

  Having walked a mile, only Tang Huai and Zhang Xian came running, arriving in front of Yue Fei and stopping.

  "Big brother, we've walked nearly ten miles and haven't seen any villages. However, if we walk three more miles forward, there's a mountain ahead. At the foot of the mountain, there's a temple dedicated to the god of land. Although the temple is old and dilapidated, it's quite spacious, so many of us can take shelter here for the night. Unfortunately, there's no stove or cooking utensils in the temple, so we can't cook." Zhang Xian said breathlessly.

  "It doesn't matter if there's no cooking stove, we've brought our own food and pot, as long as we gather some dry firewood, we can start a fire and cook." Tang Huai said.

  Yue Fei listened to their words and thought to himself, "When one is away from home, having a place to take shelter from the wind and rain is already quite good, what other choice is there?"

  "Two men in front to lead the way, it's fortunate to have such a foothold." Yue Fei said and shouted towards the back: "Everyone, make an effort, there is a resting place not far ahead."

  Everyone listened and was inspired, following Yue Fei, Tang Huai, and Zhang Xian as they marched forward.

  They arrived at the Temple of Land below the mountain, and Yue Fei ordered the vehicles to be pushed into the temple and settled in the corridor. The ladies and maids were resting in the main hall, and behind the hall there were several rooms with coffins inside, but the houses were dilapidated and difficult to live in. Next to it was a kitchen, with no tiles on the roof, and moss growing on the stove, with many weeds around it. Niu Gao, Wang Gui and others used shovels to remove the weeds, and then brought water, rice, pots, and firewood, ordering the farmhands to light a fire and cook food.

  The sky had darkened, and everyone hastily ate their dinner. Niu Gao held a large bowl and drank several bowls of wine in succession. Yue Fei saw that Niu Gao was drinking non-stop and feared something would go wrong, so he advised: "Brother Niu, don't drink anymore! Clear wine makes people's faces red, and wealth moves people's hearts. In this desolate wilderness, if we're careless, what will happen if we encounter wicked people? Wait until we arrive in Tongyin, then you can eat to your heart's content."

  "Big brother, Lao Niu has been walking for a whole day and is really hungry. Let me eat a few more bowls of rice first. Don't worry, the brothers' skills are not just for show, no bandit would dare to mess with us." Niu Gao said.

  "Brothers, don't be careless. As the saying goes: 'A safe journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' You and I brothers have no luggage, but these outsiders have many trunks. If something goes wrong, how can I explain to them?" Yue Fei said.

  Niu Gao saw that Yue Dage was speaking with a serious face, so he didn't say anything else. But in his heart, he was muttering: "After marrying a wife, Big Brother's courage has become smaller, and he has become more cautious."

  Yue Fei arranged for his family to rest and ordered the servants to guard the horses, carriages and luggage.

  "Zhang Xian and Tang Huai, you two virtuous brothers, tonight you will guard the rear palace. If there is any mishap in the rear palace, it will be your responsibility." Yue Fei said.

  Zhang Xian and Tang Huai responded with a "yes" and went to guard the back palace.

  "Brother Wang Kui, the left wall is damaged and I'm afraid thieves may have entered. You guard the broken place on the left side, if there's any mistake, it will be your responsibility." Yue Fei ordered.

  Wang Gui responded with a sound and went to guard the damaged place on the left.

  "Niu Gao brothers, the wall on the right is about to collapse, you go and guard the right side, just in case. If something happens on the right side, it's your responsibility, no one else's. Remember, don't oversleep, especially in the second half of the night." Yue Fei knew that Niu Gao was a bit careless, so he repeated himself a few times.

  "Big brother, you've worked hard enough, just take a good rest! In this peaceful world, what bandits are there? Moreover, with us brothers keeping watch, there's nothing to be alarmed about. If anything goes wrong, I, Niu Gao, will take responsibility alone." Niu Gao muttered to himself as he walked over to the right corridor, tied up the black dragon horse to a pillar, held the pair of crescent-shaped blades in his hand and leaned against the railing, soon falling asleep in a daze.

  Yue Fei knew he had a great responsibility, so he came to the gate and closed the two large gates. He then picked up a stone incense burner weighing several hundred kilograms from the front steps of the temple and used it to block the door. He placed the Li泉 gun by his side, wore his battle robe, sat on the threshold, looked around in all directions, and quietly listened to the movements around him.

  It was around twenty o'clock, the sky had no moon, only a few stars twinkling, the broken temple surroundings were dark and gloomy, from afar, occasionally came one or two wolf howls that made people's hair stand on end.

  Yue Fei plucked up his courage, summoned his spirit, and gazed out at the vast night sky.

  At around three o'clock in the morning, a distant noise was heard, and after a while, a team of people on horseback with torches came rushing this way.

  A group of people stopped in front of the temple gate, and the leader shouted loudly: "People inside, listen! If you know what's good for you, open the door and hand over your gold, silver, and treasures. We'll spare your lives. If you want to keep your money but not your lives, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

  The first one finished speaking, and another one continued: "Brothers, don't let Yue Fei go."

  Yue Fei was shocked upon hearing this. He thought to himself, "I'm still young and haven't had any feuds with anyone, how did the bandit recognize me? And how could he say such a thing?"

  Through the door crack, Yue Fei looked out and saw that person clearly in the firelight. He was none other than Hong Xian, a central military officer under Liu Shi Guang, the governor of Xiangzhou. Originally a bandit, Hong Xian had been promoted by Liu due to his abilities, but he remained treacherous and greedy, resenting virtuous and capable people. Having lost a martial contest to Yue Fei and been dismissed by Liu, Hong Xian vented his anger on Yue Fei.

  A few days ago, he heard that Yue Fei was going to return to his hometown of Tangyin, and this was a must-pass route. He made preparations for revenge and gathered his former partners, led by his two sons Hong Wen and Hong Wu, and chose this mountain head in front of the village and behind the store, resuming their old business and starting to rob and plunder again.

  Yue Fei stood guard at the main gate, thinking to himself: "This gang of robbers is just a motley crew, not worth mentioning. As the saying goes: 'It's better to resolve grievances than to create new ones.' I have no deep grudges against them, so there's no need for violence. My brothers are guarding all around, as long as I guard the gate and don't let them in, that's enough. Once dawn breaks, they'll naturally leave."

  Cowherd, who was guarding the right side, was dozing off when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. He sat up with a start, rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked out of the window to see a group of robbers shouting.

  "Big brother is indeed clever, and there are actually bandits lurking about. I wonder what kind of skills these bandits have? We're just about to head to the capital for the martial arts competition to contend for the top prize, but we don't even know our own abilities yet. Tonight's a good opportunity to practice on them." Niú Gāo thought this, and with his hands holding twin maces, he burst through the broken wall, mounted the Black Dragon Horse, and charged out, shouting loudly: "Where did these pests come from? Dare to be reckless in front of Old Man Niu's face? First ask if Old Man Niu's twin maces agree or not!"

  Several robbers came up to fight, and Niu Gao struck one robber with a single blow, causing his brains to burst out. With another blow, he knocked off the head of another robber. Wang Gui was also a hot-tempered person who loved to join in the excitement. Seeing that Niu Gao had killed two robbers in a row, he thought to himself: "If I go out late, all the robbers will be killed by Niu Gao, and I won't be able to try out my big knife." With this thought, he raised his golden-backed chopping knife, broke through the broken wall on the left, and charged out on horseback. His hand rose and fell with the knife, and heads rolled down.

  Hong Xian saw Niu Gao and Wang Gui kill several of his subordinates one after another, and he was so angry that smoke was coming out of the seven orifices. He held up his three-pronged spear and rushed towards Niu Gao. Hong Wen and Hong Wu's two branches of Fang Tian painting halberds simultaneously attacked Wang Gui.

  "Hong Xian, it turns out you're a loudmouth, and I'm your ancestor. Today you ran into me, and there's no good outcome for you." Niu Gao said, dancing with his iron rake, directly attacking Hong Xian.

  Wang Gui also shouted loudly: "You two bastards come together, if Grandpa spares one of you, it won't be considered Grandpa's skill."

  Yue Fei had originally planned to let the matter drop, but unexpectedly these two reckless fools had already started a big fight outside and even killed several people, so the feud became more and more deeply entrenched.

  "No! I have to go out and persuade them, lest they harm innocent people."