Chapter 194 - 194 Captured
194 Captured
“That’s right! Madam, why did you believe her without asking?” Scribe Tu and Mr. Qian also looked at Li Yu curiously.
Li Yu told them about how she had followed Tu Gang last time and realized that Little Peach had spat in his soup. She smiled and said, “At that time, I felt that there must be some backstory. I didn’t expect her to knock them all down.”
Scribe Tu sighed. “This girl must have been snatched by that dog Tu Gang. That dog is the most lecherous. Back then, because he teased a girl in the village, the clan beat him up and locked him in the ancestral hall. Who knew that the kid actually escaped? Not long after he joined the bandits, he brought people to break the girl’s brother’s legs and snatched the girl up the mountain. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive!”
Mr. Qian said angrily, “We should castrate him first before cutting him into pieces!
Zhou Jia smiled at the two of them and said, “Ruyi will bring them back later. I think they came down the mountain to collect food. After we find their hideout, we might as well deal with the remaining bandits.”
Scribe Tu clapped his hands in agreement and said, “That’s right. Let’s take this opportunity to kill the mountain bandits down the mountain so that we don’t have to snatch the food back.”
At this moment, Ruyi, Iron Pole, and a few bailiffs on night duty returned with the mountain bandits. Scribe Tu recognized Tu Gang at a glance. When Ruyi carried Tu Gang out of the car, he went forward and kicked him. “Son of a bitch, you’re embarrassing our Tu family.”
Ruyi and the others carried the bandits down to the cellar and tied them up. They tied Tu Gang to a bench and splashed a scoop of water on Tu Gang’s face. Tu Gang opened his eyes in a daze and saw Ruyi looking at him with an iron brush. He was frightened out of his wits. “Sir, please spare me this time. I won’t dare to escape again.”
Ruyi fiddled with the iron brush made of iron nails in his hand and asked calmly, “Is that so? Then tell me, why did you bring so many people down the mountain? Are there any others? Where are they hiding? If you dare to fool me, I’ll let you be the first to taste the iron brush.”
Ruyi pressed the iron brush on Tu Gang’s hand and the iron nail pierced into his palm. Tu Gang shouted in pain, “Let me go, I’ll tell you.”
Ruyi picked up the iron brush from Tu Gang’s palm and looked at him sinisterly. Tu Gang took a deep breath and said, “There are 31 of us who went down the mountain this time. Uncle Cai brought us here. The rest of them are living in the stone house at the east end of the village at the foot of the mountain. They’re preparing to collect food tomorrow night.”
Ruyi looked at Li Yu and Zhou Jia, who were sitting at the side, and said, “Young Master, Madam, I’ll bring someone to take a look before dawn.”
Li Yu stood up and said, “Aunt Zhang, Xiaoyu, quickly cut some bedding and tie them to the horses’ hooves. We’ll set off immediately with our men.”
“Yes.” After Xiaoyu and Aunt Zhang agreed, they led everyone to get busy.
Ruyi said to the bailiffs on duty, “Tonight’s operation is a test for you. Those who can pass can officially stay. You can also advance to constable and captain first.”
The eight guards on duty said in unison, “Yes, we will do our best.”
Zhou Jia followed Li Yu back to the house and said, “Yu’er, I want to go with you. My martial arts have improved a lot these days. I’ll use a bow. It won’t be dangerous.”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and hugged him. She instructed, “Xiao Xi, remember not to take any risks. You have to follow behind Ruyi and me.”
Zhou Jia kissed Li Yu and said gently, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.”
The couple tied the sleeve arrows and Zhou Jia went out with Li Yu with the bow. He set off with Ruyi and the others and rushed towards the foot of the mountain.
When they reached the foot of the mountain and entered the village, they saw a stone house at the east end of the village. After Li Yu and Ruyi dismounted, they jumped onto the wall and turned into the courtyard. They opened the courtyard door and let Zhou Jia and the magistrate officers in.
At this moment, someone shouted, “Tu Gang, Brother Tu, are you back?”
Just as Ruyi was about to answer, an old voice sounded from the central room. “No, brothers, quickly take your weapons. Someone is coming.”
Li Yu and Ruyi had already broken through. Zhou Jia followed behind Li Yu and raised his sleeve arrow to shoot at the bandits. Li Yu held the crossbow in her hand and shot at the bandits in the house. With the chug of the crossbow, every arrow hit the vital points. This was the first time Zhou Jia had attacked with Li Yu. After the bandits in the house were eliminated, Zhou Jia stole a glance at Li Yu. He recalled Li Yu’s lightning speed when killing the enemy and her calm gaze. He was extremely proud. This was his delicate wife! When she went into battle, she was like a golden-armored war god!
Before the bandits in the room beside could react, they were dealt with by Ruyi. The bandits in the rooms on both sides of Ruyi and Li Yu’s courtyard were blocked by the guards and killed. In a while, the battle ended. The guards looked at the blood and corpses on the ground and covered their mouths. They ran to the corner and vomited.
Tiezhu smiled at the officers who were holding onto the wall and vomiting. He said with a smile, “Don’t be afraid! After vomiting for the first time, you won’t vomit anymore.”
Ruyi counted 21 people and found all the valuables on the bandits. He handed them to Zhou Jia and said with a smile, “Young Master, use the money and items to repair the city wall.”
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Sure! We still lack money to repair the city wall!”
While everyone was checking the things in the house, Tiezhu found more than a dozen handcarts in the woodshed. There were also a few strong horses and a few big green horses in the livestock shed. The bailiffs carried the corpses of the bandits onto a mortuary wagon and pulled them back to the city.
After entering the city, the sky was already bright. Zhou Jia said to the bailiff, Wang Cheng, “You and Feng Hua’an, place these bandits at the entrance of the county office and let everyone see what the consequences of being a bandit are. If anyone goes up the mountain to be a bandit, it’s best to come down and surrender. Those who surrender will be dealt with lightly, and those who are captured will be punished severely.”
Wang Cheng said loudly, “Yes, sir. We will preach loudly.”
Zhou Jia went to Scribe Tu opposite. Feng Hua’an gestured with his hands and bragged to the bailiffs who came to work about the killing last night. “You didn’t see it. I originally thought that Steward Ruyi’s martial arts were already good. Tsk tsk, I didn’t expect Madam’s martial arts to be like a hero in a drama. She killed people like she was cutting tofu. Her movements were like a storm!”
Scribe Tu slapped Feng Hua’an on the head. “Brat, hurry up and announce what the lord just said. Madam is not someone you can discuss.”
Feng Hua’an touched his head aggrievedly and said with a cheeky smile, “Uncle Tu, be gentler! I haven’t married yet!”
Scribe Tu smiled and said, “You and your glib tongue. When can you get a wife? Everyone, take advantage of the fact that there are many people coming to work early in the morning and tell everyone what Lord Zhou said.”
In front of the county office’s dilapidated house, there was a crowd of onlookers. Everyone looked at the corpses arranged in two rows and listened to Feng Hua’an’s loud shout. They whispered, “Looks like Lord Zhou is indeed capable. Our Qingchuan’s peaceful days are coming.”
Some people pricked up their ears to listen to the bailiff’s shout. They felt as if they had knocked over a bottle of five flavors!