coobybook Chapter 73: Setting a Trap Against a Larger Force
Chapter 73: Setting a Trap Against a Larger Force
Among the crowd, Meng Linlang's shock was the most obvious. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Xie Jin anymore.
Meng Fuqing's cold gaze swept over the crowd, and he spoke up at the right moment: "They are carrying knives, but not kitchen knives or cleavers, so they should not be ordinary refugees. When I found them, they seemed to be watching us, and it is very likely that they were trying to steal something."
They're not stupid. What could two people accomplish? It only means they have more people backing them than we do. At a time like this, is being soft-hearted suicidal?
After her reminder, everyone immediately realized what would have happened to the two if they hadn't been discovered, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
Niu Er also stepped forward and said, "Qing is right. I've been on the battlefield. Those two are obviously blood-stained. In our current situation, we can't be soft-hearted towards anyone."
The Shen family members stood at the back of the crowd, exchanging glances. They couldn't help but feel grateful that this group had taken them with them on their escape; if they had met them a day later, they would have been turned away.
Sure enough, they then heard Village Chief Meng say, “What you said makes sense. After tonight, no matter who comes to ask for help, no matter how pitiful they are, no one can bring them into our group. You can’t see into someone’s heart. What if they stab you in the back?”
In short, anyone who can't stand seeing others suffer should go and suffer with them; our group can't tolerate them!
His words stunned everyone.
The group exchanged glances, and everyone understood what was going on.
In this day and age, kindness is utterly useless. As long as you can live, who cares whether you live or not?
As they were talking, Mu Feng walked up to Xie Jin's side, carrying the message that the two men had just given him.
After obtaining Xie Jin's consent, he said, "They said they used to be mountain bandits in the north. After receiving news that the Hu people were attacking, they disguised themselves as refugees and fled south with the refugees. During this time, they 'helped' many people, incorporated the refugees into their ranks to strengthen themselves, and also made it easier to disguise themselves."
During the day, they lagged far behind us on their journey. It was then that their leader began to watch our carriages, intending to strike while we slept and our watchmen were tired. However, while monitoring us, he was bitten by something, which alerted our men.
Many people looked towards Meng Fuqing, and Xie Jin's gaze also fell on Meng Fuqing.
"It's you?"
Meng Fuqing explained simply: "After I found out about them, I was worried about alerting them, so I tried to make them make a fuss on their own. Anyway, with your men around, I'm not worried about not being able to catch them."
A smile appeared in Xie Jin's eyes.
Niu Er's brothers, having picked up a bandit-like air in the army camp, immediately shouted upon hearing that someone wanted to rob them, "Grab your weapons and let's fight them! I want to see what kind of beasts these bastards are!"
"Their leader must be a wicked guy, pretending to be a refugee. They need to be taught a lesson!"
Niu Er, their leader, glared at them as they became increasingly out of control, "You want to call those guys over? Do you think you can just take their lives? Have you lost your mind?"
The men scratched their heads and dared not utter another word.
"So what do we do?" someone asked in a low voice.
Someone chimed in, "Yes, constantly being on guard isn't a good solution."
Xie Jin asked Mu Feng, "How many people are there in total?"
"There are nearly a hundred able-bodied young men who can fight, but not all of them have weapons."
"Those who have weapons must all be bandits, right?" Meng Fuqing asked.
Mu Feng was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Yes."
Meng Fuqing thought for a moment and said, "Most of the refugees who are taken away in a short period of time will not be able to fully integrate. Once the bandits are dealt with, the rest will not be a threat."
Xie Jin: "Miss Meng is right. I will take people to resolve this. You all need not worry."
“I’ll go too.” Meng Fuqing stepped forward. “Let’s practice archery.”
Meng Bochang and Shan Qiyu immediately stopped them: "Qing girl, you mustn't!"
"Qingqing, how do you know how to shoot arrows?"
Meng Fuqing: "Village Chief, Mother, I'll just hide behind them. Anyway, there are ready-made targets, so I can practice my archery skills. Besides, they're targeting all of us, so we can't leave it all to Young Master Xie and his men to handle. I'll represent Meng Family Village."
Upon hearing this, Niu Er also stepped forward and said to Xie Jin, "If you have any extra bows and arrows, young master, I, Niu Er, can also help. My aim is pretty good!"
His brothers also wanted to go, but he stopped them with a single look.
He knows his brothers best; sometimes they are too reckless, and it would be bad if they did something wrong.
Xie Jin nodded and smiled, "In that case, please, both of you."
He then said to Shan Qiyu, who looked worried, "Please rest assured, Madam, I will protect Miss Meng."
Having witnessed Xie Jin's group's strength and hearing Meng Fuqing's words, Shan Qiyu nodded despite his continued worry.
After making a decision in a few words, Meng Fuqing took the newly acquired bow and crossbow and followed Xie Jin and his group toward the bandits.
Leading the way were the bearded man and his companions. Their restraints had been removed, and they were walking unsteadily, but they dared not stop for a moment.
The group following behind them were all armed with bows and arrows; if they dared to run, they would be riddled with arrows.
Xie Jin and Meng Fuqing were at the back of the group, talking.
“Meng Fuqing, I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re lucky, every time I see you I get into trouble; you’re unlucky, every time I spot danger and escape unscathed. It’s really… a bit amazing.”
Meng Fuqing glanced at him sideways and said, "Then you are really unlucky. You have been wanted by the imperial court and have never even shown your true face."
Xie Jin's brow twitched slightly. "You want to see my face?"
Meng Fuqing shook his head. "I've seen your portrait."
"To be honest, if I were to walk around the city gate in disguise, the officials might not be able to recognize me even if they compared me to a portrait."
Meng Fuqing asked honestly, "Then wouldn't your disguise be pointless?"
Xie Jin: ...
"I was just worried about being too flashy."
Meng Fuqing had nothing to say to such a narcissistic person.
The group moved at a considerable pace. After entering the woods opposite the official road, the people following behind the two bandits distanced themselves from them and concealed their presence.
After walking for nearly fifteen minutes, we finally arrived at the bandits' lair.
Xie Jin grabbed Meng Fuqing by the waist and used his lightness skill to place Meng Fuqing on a thick tree branch.
"Practice your archery here and wait for someone to come."
After saying that, he leaped down from the tree and disappeared into the darkness.
Niu Er, waiting under the tree for Xie Jin to arrange his affairs: ...
Is he not worth Xie Jin's time to say a word or something?
Left with no other choice, he looked around, observed the terrain, and found a hiding place.
Under his boss's watchful gaze, the bearded man said tremblingly, "Boss, they're all fast asleep. Even the night watchmen are starting to doze off. They could be..."
The man he called "boss" had a long scar on his face running from his temple to the corner of his mouth. After giving his two subordinates a fierce look, he interrupted them, "Where are your knives? Didn't I tell you to come back and report, why are you both back?"
The bearded man swallowed hard, then whispered in a trembling voice, "Boss, run! They're coming!"
Boss Wu suddenly stood up, his tiger-like eyes wide open, "How many people have come?"
"Ten, fifteen."
All the bandits were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, well done!" Boss Wu patted the bearded man on the shoulder. "Well done!"
He knew that his two men had been captured by the group he had his eye on and had probably been interrogated, but he figured that since the other side only had fifteen men, the bearded man and his gang must have been playing a trick and understated their numbers.
Boss Wu picked up his broadsword and shouted, "Brothers, charge with me!"
The bearded man, genuinely advising his boss to run away: ...
"Boss, they're really strong, we might not be able to beat them..."
The bearded man was getting anxious, but his voice was drowned out by his brothers' echoing voices, and he couldn't wake up his boss at all.
Meng Fuqing, perched in the tree, twitched her ears and overheard almost the entire conversation between the bandits. She loaded her crossbow, and when she saw figures in her line of sight, she raised her crossbow, aimed, and fired the bolt with a 'whoosh'.