C10 (1/2)

The Liuguan Bridge did not have a bridge.

Twenty to thirty fishermen lived in small groups around the rough pier by the river. There was a family with a large, sloping willow at the water's edge and a fishing boat tied to the tree.

Winter arrived. The night was long and the day was short. As soon as the sun rose, the villagers began to sail away one by one. They began a new day of work, hoping to reap more harvest before the ice froze them. No one came out of the house near the river. There were two neighbors who were normally on good terms with each other. They were shouting across the stone wall.

”Old Li, will you be leaving the ship today?”

The old man's reply came quickly.

”I'm not feeling well these two days, so I won't be coming out.”

After confirming that the old man had nothing to do, the neighbors left.

The village regained its quietness. The old man looked at the two young men with haggard expressions and said, ”The roads and water roads have been sealed off. I'm afraid we can't leave for a short period of time. Yesterday, the Regional Army went to the neighboring villages.”

The young man's eyes dimmed, but there was a trace of determination in them.

”Don't worry, Second Uncle. We will leave quickly and won't cause you any trouble.”

The young man's voice was actually a sweet and melodious female voice. The elder sighed and said, ”Hezhou will probably not be peaceful for a short period of time. With layer after layer of blockades, where can you hide? Besides, it's really dangerous with all of you here.”

The young man frowned and looked at the old man, ”Second Uncle, I have already said that the box is not on us. Also, it is impossible for me to hand it over to anyone else.”

The old man smiled: ”Now that things have changed, we should focus on the big picture!”

The young man chuckled, his attitude cold.

”Second Uncle, don't talk about the big picture. We sisters don't want to know about this! There are some things that you can say clearly, that we sisters risked our lives to exchange for this box, and it's also our sister's life saving talisman. Without this box, we can be treated as abandoned, and at that time, no one will care about our lives! ”

The old man didn't say anything. He looked at the sisters that were dressed in men's attire in front of him. His smile was still the same, but his heart was getting colder and colder.

”En, that's true. Second Uncle supports your idea!” It wouldn't be too late to leave after eating! I'll go and cook. ”

… ….

Zhang Zhou agreed to this task. The main reason was because he couldn't refuse Cao Yi! If he was rejected this time, Cao Yi definitely would not give him any more importance in the future, and his development would inevitably be greatly affected. If he was rejected this time, Cao Yi definitely would not give him any more importance in the future, and his development would certainly be greatly affected, and perhaps he might even lose Cao Yi's protection.

He had analyzed it before. Cao Yi had been hibernating in Hezhou for a long time. It was not as if he had done nothing. Taking this intelligence report for example, it meant that the strength of the intelligence network in his possession couldn't be underestimated. However, Cao Yi's men could not use too much force. The only force that could be trusted was Zhang Xingzhi. This matter was urgent. Cao Yi did not have time to count on the power backing him to help him. Under the circumstances where the enemy and himself were infiltrating into each other, he had no choice but to choose his own clean background.

If such a powerful intelligence network could be developed, why not develop armed forces? Zhang Zhou had speculated about two reasons: First, Hezhou's surface forces were quite strong and sensitive. If Cao Yi revealed too much of his ambition, it would definitely lead to a huge blow. Therefore, Cao Yi could only carefully 'live' in Hezhou. Secondly, he did not need to develop any heavy martial arts. All he needed to do was to acquire the information he needed, because when the time came to act, there would be sufficient strength to support him, such as the army! What could not be resolved by the army's iron hooves?

This also created a scene in which He Zhou Prefecture's government office and the Great Northern River King could be considered as one entity and a local power. The hidden forces, Cao Yi was one of them. It was very possible that he represented the imperial government! This was because only the imperial government valued intelligence. As long as the intelligence was confirmed, the army could make their move then!

The other reason Zhang Zhou was willing to take the risk was because according to Zhang Zhou's understanding of historical events, the Great North River King's methods would not bring about much of a change in the weather. He would definitely finish the game in the end! Since Cao Yi was so patient, he definitely wouldn't stay under others for too long. If he followed Cao Yi, he wouldn't suffer too much. But if he was only thinking of benefits and was not willing to risk his life, how could Cao Yi value him? How could fate be right? He had to risk it all and gamble!

And who were those two women? Zhang Zhou naturally couldn't guess.

They did not directly enter the Liu Guansan Bridge, but instead hid themselves early and let Yang Xiaolang ask about the situation. Yang Xiaolang had a hunting instinct and a pretty good detection ability. He mainly had a young and trustworthy face, so no one would suspect him. Yang Xiaolang, carrying two pheasants with him, strolled into the village to inquire about the situation.

On the other hand, Ma Heizi went to a high mountain peak at the edge of the village to monitor the surrounding situation. These days, the patrolling troops had been running all over the place, so they had to take precautions.

The village was not big, and Yang Xiaolang soon returned. Seeing his surprised face, he knew that he had found something.

”... There was only one family by the river, and they had not left the ship for the past two days. It was said that there was only one old man in that family, and he said that he was not feeling well. ”I also observed that they were lighting a fire and cooking!”

Zhang Zhou pondered for a moment. If Cao Yi's information was correct, then this family was most likely the target they were looking for. According to Yang Xiaolang's description of the environment, he had also decisively made a plan.

”It doesn't make sense to cook at this time. We don't know if we should take action, but we can't waste time. Xiao Lang, ambush you in the forest near the water at the back of the courtyard. Thirteen, you know how to swim. Before we start moving, you have to be responsible for secretly controlling the boat. If we succeed, it won't be convenient for us to return to the city by land. Nan Qi and Ninth Brother, come with me to capture them! ”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Old Man Li looked. Due to being drugged, the two girls that were limp by the wall had faces full of anger and it attracted bursts of sneers from Old Man Li.

”Do you think that I won't believe you just because you called me Second Uncle and gave me the chance to? Do you really think that I will believe you just because you said that the box is not here?” You are all too childish! Things are so important, and the situation is so urgent. It's impossible for you guys to do so, and you don't dare to casually hide.

Old Li looked at the box in his hand and felt a sense of pride in his heart. Nothing was more attractive than real money and money!

He placed the box in his bosom and continued, ”You are still young, and it's a pity that you all died. However, after thinking about it, you all must die, or else it will be destined to be troublesome. I will take good care of your little sister. In the future, I might be able to rely on her to make a fortune! ”

After Old Li finished tidying up everything, he put on a pair of iron glove-like equipment. Zhang Tie held it for a few times and tested it out. After that, he slowly walked to the wall and squatted down, preparing to pinch the throats of the two people.

Just at this moment, the sound of something hitting the ground sounded out in the courtyard. Old Li was shocked and stood up. Through the gap in the window, he saw that three figures had already descended into the courtyard.

”You're courting death!”

He didn't have any plans to escape at all, so he directly leaped and broke through the window. He wasn't afraid in the slightest when facing the three saber-wielding men who had just entered the hospital.

The three of them saw an old man with a face full of killing intent rushing out. After landing on the ground, they immediately lunged over! There was no need to waste words. At the front, You Nan was the first to slash out without hesitation. Old Li did not care about how quick and violent the young man's sabre technique was. He did not dodge and instead used his hand to slap against the sabre that was coming at him. There was the sound of stone hitting as he forcefully smashed the sabre's body. You Nan seven was startled, Old Lin's blade also arrived, causing Old Li to have no choice but to give up. The opportunity to kill his opponent, he punched, once again bending Old Lin's blade! You Nan Qi, who had retreated quickly after waking up, shouted loudly: ”There's something fishy about him!” Zhang Zhou, who was one body position slower than You Nan, had already leaped out from the gap between You Nan and her. Zhang Zhou, who was one body position slower than You Nan, had already leapt out from the gap between You Nan and her.

Yang Xiaolang ran over and, after confirming that the old man was dead, kicked the old man's body into the river. Then, he went inside the house to meet Zhang Zhou and the others.

Zhang Zhou shook a girl's shoulder and asked, ”Is the box available?”

Pointing at the outside, Zhang Zhou thought to himself, ”It's okay, it should be on that old man. I didn't have enough time to figure out the situation outside, so I raised my head and saw Yang Xiaoluo walking in from the back door. He said,” There's something on that old thief, find it quickly! ”

”AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I've already thrown his body into the river! ”

Then Zhang Zhou shouted, ”F * ck me!” He had already jumped out.

Zhang Zhou was sitting in the cabin, having changed into a clean set of clothes and put on a blanket. Only then did the chilliness lessen a little. If it were not for the fact that he was physically fit in this world, he would probably catch a cold. Even Zhang Zhou was frightened by the thought. He did not expect the river to be so deep. In his desperation, he had neglected the fact that he was a landlubber.

It was fortunate that everyone else knew how to swim and appeared so quickly. Thus, they did not let this criminal arrest Zhang Zhou and end his life at the fork in the river that led to the Liu Guansan Bridge.

After dealing with the situation, no one dared to stay any longer. Lin went to find Ma Heizi, arranged the horses, and went back to Hezhou by land. Zhang Zhou and the others, along with two ”handsome” prisoners, boarded the boat. The main river should have been sealed, so with Qu Thirteen's familiarity with the river tributaries and his ability to control boats, it wasn't difficult for him to avoid the patrolling. According to the plan to take a detour back to the west of Hezhou, then to find a road back to Hezhou.

Fortunately, the box was sealed well and there were no accidents. Yang Xiaoluo was not in a good mood because of his self-blame. He had to be coaxed and persuaded by Zhang Zhou to let the matter go.

Zhang Zhou looked at the box in his hand and the hundred thousand taels of silver that he had found on the body of the deceased.

This operation was definitely a victory, a success. Once the box was handed over, everything would be fine. However, Zhang Zhou found it difficult to deal with these two beautiful and graceful women. Directly killed? Zhang Zhou couldn't do it. It wasn't because of Zhang Zhou's greed for their beauties or the experiences from his previous life that he had become accustomed to this kind of woman. Such a woman was something that only people of equal value and wealth could control. His appearance wasn't bad, but he definitely wasn't the type to make girls scream. He was more or less a bit despicable. However, he had no interest in women who loved his money. He was rich now, but he didn't develop a rich mindset. Besides, these two women were figures who could swindle a hundred thousand taels of silver from the Manor Lord. A top swindler might not be able to keep his EQ intelligence hidden. Rather than being on guard at all times, it was better to stay away from them. However, if he were to let it go like this, it would bring about a lot of trouble!