EBE Chapter 352 Confrontation
Chapter 352 Confrontation
“There’s another path nearby where two servants are dead. They were killed with a single blow. What a ruthless move. We went to check on them, which is why we’re a little late.” Chu Yi sighed, looking down with a wronged expression. “Next time, can’t you tell me beforehand? Aren’t we on the same side? I’m your brother, after all. You’ve really hurt me.”
"Okay, okay, Brother Chu Yi, I was wrong. I'll definitely tell you first next time!" Chen Xuanyu apologized immediately, seeing Chu Yi like this for the first time.
"That's more like it!" Chu Yi rarely put on an act, but seeing that he knew he was wrong, he stopped pretending.
Upon returning to the camp, Wang Erniu learned of the incident and immediately sent someone to report it to the authorities.
Chen Wenfang was both annoyed and amused to see her eldest son covered in thorns. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that he only had some external injuries. Together with Aunt Hu, they carefully removed all the thorns from him and changed his clothes before she felt at ease.
They then boarded the children's carriage to visit the rescued runaway slave.
"This child is really lucky to be alive!"
Chen Wenfang looked at his injured arms, each with a palm-sized wound that had almost severed his tendons. She touched his forehead; he still had a fever, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Give him some water infused with the herbs I picked later," Chen Wenfang instructed Wang Xiaoguang, who was watching the child.
"Understood, Madam!"
Soon after, several officials arrived with men. After understanding what had happened, they quickly dealt with the matter and dragged the body away.
As soon as the man left, Wang Erniu, seeing that the matter was settled, ordered the camp to set off. Halfway through the collection, Wang's adjutant ran over.
"Captain, something bad has happened! A large number of people have arrived, about two hundred in total. Judging from their attire, they seem to be retainers of a certain family, and they seem to have considerable wealth."
"Let's go check it out!" Wang Erniu had a bad feeling; the visitors were up to no good.
The commotion was quite loud, and soon everyone in the camp assembled and rushed to the front in an orderly fashion.
Chen Wenfang sat in the carriage, peering out the window.
Even though Chen Xuanyu was injured, he didn't stay still and squeezed in.
The people who came were all dressed in black robes and carried blue headscarves, and they all carried large swords.
"Mother, that person is still inside!" Chen Xuanyu exclaimed in surprise.
"It's alright, your father will handle it." Chen Wenfang patted his head to comfort him, then nervously squeezed the small crossbow on her arm. What exactly had that child done to warrant such a large-scale operation to demand his release? What should they do? Give him up or not? If they gave him up, the child would surely die.
Xiao Hao and Shiwu both ran out, their little faces serious as they squatted on the carriage, watching a group of adults confronting each other.
Uncle Hu held the horse's reins, winding and turning, unsure of what to do. Xiao Bo had just poked his head out of the carriage when Uncle Hu shoved it back in with his hand.
Lu Xiong and his group all went to the front and stood next to Wang Erniu.
“Captain Wang!” A lean man with fair skin, beautiful eyes, and an extremely handsome appearance spoke up. He was also dressed in black robes with a jade belt around his waist. Although he was not wearing a headscarf, he stood out in the crowd.
"My surname is Song. I am a staff member of the Huang family. I have come here to ask the Commandant Wang for someone on behalf of the Huang family. He is a runaway slave. I hope Commandant Wang will give me some face!"
The handsome man spoke in a clear, gentle voice with a hint of a smile, but his face showed no joy, and his smile did not reach his eyes.
"Excuse me, sir, are you referring to the Huang family of Putian?" Wang Erniu asked, clasping his hands in greeting.
“Exactly! So, can Commander Wang release the prisoners?” Song Mo Ran stood tall with his hands behind his back, speaking softly.
Wang Erniu remained silent. It was obvious that this child couldn't be handed over, as his own children would object.
After waiting a few moments, Song Mo Ran touched his nose, looking somewhat impatient.
"One question: release them or not?"
"Clang!" The people opposite him were eyeing him menacingly, each drawing their swords.
Upon seeing this, Lieutenant Wang immediately made a hand gesture, and the officers and soldiers changed their positions in unison.
The great battle was like a taut string, ready to erupt at any moment.
Wang Erniu remained unfazed, instead offering a faint smile as he looked at him and said, "Mr. Song, I was transferred to Quanzhou to take up my post, and I have been in contact with Lord Ouyang there along the way, and moreover!"
Wang Erniu's expression changed, and a murderous aura emanated from him. "You may not be able to beat us. To put it bluntly, unless you are confident that you can kill all of my more than one hundred people today, tomorrow will be your death day."
The soldiers drew their swords in unison, perfectly capturing the moment.
"You!" Song Mo Ran's expression changed slightly, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "I'm telling you this out of kindness, Commander Wang! No matter how powerful the Ouyang family is, they might not be able to protect you once you get to Quanzhou. You'd better be careful! If you hand over the person, I won't say anything else, but the Huang family will definitely appreciate it! How about it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Song, but I, Wang, have never seen any runaway slaves. I can't possibly have any connection with the Huang family," Wang Erniu replied curtly.
Song Mo Ran took two steps forward, revealing a set of sinister white teeth. "Captain Wang, have you thought this through? With a family to support, life isn't going to be easy!"
"No need for you to trouble yourself, sir!" Wang Erniu was not afraid at all.
The two looked at each other for a long time.
"Fine, Commander Wang, you'd better watch yourself! We'll see!" Perhaps realizing he wouldn't get away with anything openly, Song Mo Ran left with his men.
After everyone left, Wang Erniu breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief too. It was truly unexpected that a child could cause such a big problem.
"We can't stay here any longer. Tell them to pack up quickly, and we're leaving!" Wang Erniu gave the order and led his men away in a hurry.
As darkness fell, Wang Erniu and his companions hurried along, and when they reached a wooded area, birds suddenly took flight.
"Brother! There are people in the woods!" Lü Xiong's hearing was exceptionally sharp.
"Lieutenant Wang, order your men to fire a volley into the woods, then leave immediately afterward, ignore everything else, get through quickly!"
"Yes!"
After a volley of fire from over a hundred people, muffled sounds continued to echo through the woods.
Wang Erniu glanced at the dark forest, dismounted, and sped through.
In the woods, Song Mozhan's subordinate asked, "Mr. Song, what should we do? Should we continue following? This guy surnamed Wang probably knows, he's not even resting."
"Follow him! Let him stay up all night if he dares. If I hadn't known he was so ungrateful, I would have set a trap beforehand and made sure he never came back. Humph! Send a message to Song Er and tell him to stop him ahead."
"Yes!"
Song Mo Ran abandoned a dozen or so wounded men and rode off to catch up.
Further away, Zhao Yang and his two companions watched from a tree.
"Bro, they're fighting like dogs!"
"What's it to us? Let's just watch the show!"
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Wang Erniu and his men were exhausted and their horses were tired. They had traveled to the border of Longyan County, about twenty li away.
"Everyone, cheer up! It'll be dawn soon, and we can go to sleep right away!" Wang Erniu and the others shouted as they tried to stay awake.