Chapter Thirty-One: The Tongue

  As the sky was getting dark, Xiao Tianjian knew that rushing on the night road would be a bit difficult for these people. Most of them had night blindness and if they didn't light torches, someone might get lost easily. So as soon as it started to get dark, he called out to his men to stop and rest in a sheltered spot.

  Although it is already spring, they have been walking along the way and still see desolation everywhere. In many places, the grass and trees have withered due to years of drought, and even though it is already spring, they have not sprouted yet, and there is little vitality left, making people feel uncomfortable at a glance. This year's harvest will be poor even if crops are planted, and with the imperial court continuously increasing taxes, the common people's lives become even more difficult.

  Along the way, they saw that the bark of trees in many places had been stripped bare by refugees, and from time to time, they could still see some skeletons gnawed by wild beasts, leaving only dry bones, which made people want to curse loudly.

  Those new partners also silently watched the miserable scene of this road, and their hearts were not calm from time to time. To be honest, even if they hadn't suffered from war disasters, their days in Zhaojia Village weren't easy either. Except for two big households with leftover grain in the village, they would soon run out of food completely. Every day, they could only rely on digging some wild vegetables and making pancakes with bran or wheat husks to fill their stomachs. Just when they thought this life was unbearable, they suffered from war disasters again.

  Thinking carefully, it's fortunate that Xiao Tianjian took them in. If it weren't for Xiao Tianjian, even if they hadn't encountered the disaster of war, their outcome would have been roughly the same. It was impossible to rely on those two wealthy families in the village to support them. By now, they should have gone out to beg and escape the famine. There's a high possibility that by now, they would have ended up like these starving corpses on the side of the road, gnawed at by wild dogs! Who could have imagined that they would be able to eat their fill every day? So when the new partners saw this scene, they were even more grateful to Xiao Tianjian.

  Although it's already spring, the temperature at night is still very low. These people don't have any good clothes, so camping outdoors like this can only be warmed by a bonfire, and everyone gathers around to keep warm.

  Zhao Erdui was scolded by Xiao Tianjian in the afternoon, and he thoroughly became obedient, although he was somewhat unwilling. This matter still had to be followed through with, and although he was dissatisfied with Xiao Tianjian, he didn't dare say it out loud. After all, he also saw that the vast majority of people supported Xiao Tianjian. If he wasn't willing, he couldn't stir up any waves. Who knows, if he spoke out of turn again, he might not be able to stay here anymore. So Zhao Erdui put away his unwilling thoughts and started to encourage the new partners again.

  Xiao Tianjian had always been paying attention to Zhao Erlu, this guy's performance was the most unpredictable, now seeing him change his attitude, it was a relief. People are all different, some like Zhao Erlu, selfish and greedy, but also flexible, such people may be unstable factors, but they can't be completely eliminated anywhere, as long as he doesn't cause trouble, Xiao Tianjian could tolerate him. Now watching him boast to the new members of the Zhao family about how great they were and how righteous and brave Xiao Tianjian was, Xiao Tianjian coldly smiled and let it go. After arranging the sentry posts, he lay down and fell asleep.

  It's probably because it was their first time out, and they might die tomorrow, so many new recruits couldn't sleep, huddled together whispering about what might happen tomorrow. Zhao Erdui happened to play a role at this moment, as an old man, he boasted loudly, which also comforted the hearts of these new recruits.

  There were several old brothers, listening to them talk, and also gathered together to chat. They also talked about the days when they had only a dozen or so people, infiltrating Liu's village and snatching a lot of grain and weapons. Those new recruits who heard this couldn't help but slap their mouths in shock and admiration for Xiao Tianjian's quick wit and bravery.

  Among them, the blacksmith named Li Shuanzhu heard the excitement and slammed his fist on the ground, shouting: "Great! Palms are really powerful! This method is really clever! I, Li Shuanzhu, admire this kind of person the most. If I can be like Palms in the future, I will be content! Fortunately, we have Palms to take us in this time. From now on, my life as Old Li Iron will be handed over to you, Palms!"

  Damn it, this world doesn't reward good people! I fled with my mother two years ago to escape the war and after much difficulty we finally settled down in Zhaojiabao from Yan'an Prefecture. Before I could let my mother have a few decent days... damn it, I, Li Lao Tie, have come to realize that this world can only be navigated by pulling the cart up the mountain like a peddler! Being honest and relying on making some money from craftsmanship or farming is not enough to make a living!

  "Right, I'm telling you, Second Donkey Brother, tell us about it, what's the story behind our Palm-reading? I look at our palm lines and feel that..."

  Xiao Tianjian lay on the ground, his back to those gathered together chatting, but he wasn't asleep. He was also worried about tomorrow's affairs. Although he had confidence in leading this group to defeat Sha Erbao's gang, after all, they were outnumbered, and he couldn't guarantee a complete victory over Sha Erbao's gang. So he needed to think carefully, once the fight began, how should he proceed?

  Li Gangzhu spoke loudly at first, but as he went on, his voice unconsciously lowered, and Xiao Tianjian could no longer hear what they were saying. However, it was certain that the new partners were inquiring about his background.

  "Alright, all of you hurry up and go to sleep! We still have work tomorrow! Stop chattering around! One incense stick's time for the shift change, whoever is dead asleep will feel the pain of my military club!" Xiao Tianjian turned over and scolded those people.

  As soon as they heard this, they immediately dispersed with a loud noise, each of them crawling to the ground and not daring to speak again.

  But just as everyone had lain down, a whistle was heard from afar, and everyone scrambled to their feet again, grabbing their respective tools with tense faces.

  Soon they saw a man leading a horse walking up close, it turned out that Shi Rang had found them.

  "Is there any news about Sha Er Bao from the Mountain God Temple?" Xiao Tian Jian asked Shi Yan as soon as he saw him.

  Shi Yan smiled and suddenly a person fell off the horse, that guy thudded heavily to the ground, his nose making a dull hum, it turned out that Shi Yan had tightly plugged his mouth with a piece of cloth, and also tied a strip of cloth around the back of his head, he couldn't even spit.

  "Here's a small fry who won't shame the mission, I've caught one of Sha Er Bao's underlings for you! You can interrogate him directly!" Shi Yan kicked the guy on the ground, causing him to groan in pain again.

  Xiao Tianjian was overjoyed, it seemed that choosing Shi Rangang as the scout was indeed the right choice. He actually knew to go and grab a tongue to come back and ask questions, this way he could understand the situation on Sha Erbao's side.

  The crowd swarmed up, Tie Tou stretched out his hand and lifted the captive to Xiao Tianjian's face, and pulled out a piece of tattered cloth from the captive's mouth.

  The captive, seeing so many people surrounding Xiao Tianjian, was instantly frightened and his eyes were filled with a terrified expression. He knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to Xiao Tianjian, banging his head against the ground repeatedly.

  "Spare my life, good sirs! Spare my life! I'm just a humble servant, I didn't mean to offend you noble gentlemen. Please spare my life, I'll willingly serve as your horse or cow, please spare my life..."

  Xiao Tianjian stood in front of him, and in the darkness, with the light of the bonfire, a circle of red halo appeared on his body, making him look even more tall and majestic, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

  "Look up and answer, don't be like a turtle hiding in its shell! You're a man, aren't you? Are you really so afraid of death? I promise you, as long as you honestly answer my questions, I won't take your life. But if you don't, then don't blame us for being ruthless!" Xiao Tianjian said coldly to the captive.

  "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, good sir! Thank you, good sir. You just ask and I'll tell you everything I know. I wouldn't dare deceive you in the slightest!" The captive was quite quick-witted and immediately knelt down, then stood up straight to answer Xiao Tianjian.

  The interrogation went unusually smoothly. This guy really had an answer for everything, and whatever he knew came out like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, without any concealment at all.

  After interrogating the little guy, Xiao Tianjian felt much more at ease. It turned out that Sha Erbao was not a big shot after all, but just a local ruffian from the Quanyang area. In previous years, when there were riots and disturbances in this place, he took advantage of the situation to join in the chaos. Later, when the rioters moved on to other places, he felt that his hometown was familiar and didn't want to follow them, so he stayed behind. Over the past two years, he gathered a group of people and set up a gang in Quanyang, becoming a leader and relying on extortion and kidnapping for ransom to make a living. He had managed to get by comfortably, but the government troops were focused on dealing with large rebel groups like Gao Yingxiang's, and no one paid attention to small gangs like his. Moreover, Sha Erbao was an unscrupulous person who didn't have any grand ambitions, and after two years of mixing around, he hadn't achieved anything significant, just occupying a village that had been affected by war and living a comfortable life.

  He had fewer than a hundred men under his command, some of whom were local rascals and others who had been forced to join him. They weren't very powerful and didn't dare to mess with the larger villages, so they just did some small-time business, occasionally kidnapping people for ransom or extorting money from them to get by.

  For his subordinates, this Sha Er Bao is not much better. Except for the twenty or so people who are close to him and can eat their fill, the rest of the subordinates often go hungry, barely surviving. There's really no fighting power to speak of. The captured person was one of the peripheral members, never getting any good opportunities. It's always them doing tasks like standing guard outside Guzhuang. So today, after being knocked unconscious by Shi Rong and brought back, this guy didn't even think about refusing to confess. He immediately told Xiao Tianjian everything he knew.

  Yesterday, after they kidnapped three of the Zhang family members, Sha Er Bao detained Zhang Fu Zi. He didn't believe a word that Feng Gou Zi said and thought he was being deceived. He also suspected that Zhang Fu Zi must have some wealth as a merchant, so he released Shi Ran and Feng Gou Zi to go back and find Zhang Fu Zi's family members to pay the ransom! As for Zhang Fu Zi, they didn't treat him harshly, just tied him up and threw him into a cellar. The captive also said that he was willing to lead them to Gu Zhuang tomorrow to rescue Zhang Fu Zi.

  That's all I have to say! This afternoon is guaranteed to update another chapter!

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