Right in front of everyone, the already dilapidated thatched cottage collapsed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust on the ground.
Shang Luoshu shielded Lu Yinxi behind him. His eyes, cold as ice, swept across the crowd. All the previous pretense of humility and flattery had vanished.
"You're definitely not from Pingqiang!"
If they were really refugees from Pingqiang, how could they possess such extraordinary martial arts skills?
Clutching a machete, Wang Dali's face was contorted with humiliation and anger after being deceived. "You lackeys of the imperial court are all the same! There's not a single good one among you!"
To be honest, Lu Yinxi was a bit confused about the current situation. How did Wang Dali know that she and Shang Luoshu were from the imperial court?
It had only been a day. They shouldn't have revealed any flaws, right?
Shang Luoshu had the same question. But it seemed they wouldn't get an answer at the moment. He patted the girl behind him reassuringly and spoke cautiously, "Master Wang, have you misunderstood something?"
"Misunderstood? Bullshit misunderstanding!"
Wang Cai rushed to speak. Upon learning that Shang Luoshu might be from the imperial court and was even planning to suppress their people, all the hatred he had for Xia Shouzheng for kidnapping his parents was now transferred to these two.
"Xia Shouzheng, that dog official, told us everything! You two are lackeys of the imperial court. You deliberately infiltrated us yesterday to gather information."
It was Xia Shouzheng again!
Both of them couldn't help but change their expressions. Had the information been leaked?
Seeing this, Wang Cai thought he had guessed correctly, and his emotions became even more intense. "Brother Dali, look! Uncle Wang was right!"
"These two are the imperial court's lackeys, planning to wipe us out in one fell swoop!"
Let's rewind the time to the end of the negotiation at the north gate.
After Xia Shouzheng finished speaking, he swaggered back with his men intact.
His purpose for this trip was to use those ten lives to force Wang Dali to meet him. On the surface, it might seem like a show of force, but in reality, he was conveying a message.
The army sent to suppress the rebels was about to arrive, and the vanguard had already reached the area.
As for what the vanguard would do after their arrival, well, let them guess!
Anyway, for the sake of the overall plan, even if the two strangers in Wang Dali's base camp had just strayed in by accident, Xia Shouzheng was determined to incite the crowd to get rid of them.
He hoped Wang Dali wouldn't let him down!
Just as the magistrate Xia had expected, after hearing his words, Wang Dali's men were immediately panicked by the news of the approaching army. Then, following his train of thought, they began to suspect the two new faces in the base camp. Coupled with the fact that Lu Yinxi had indeed been subtly gathering information earlier.
Without a second thought, as soon as they returned, they rushed menacingly to the dilapidated thatched cottage to arrest them.
But Wang Cai wouldn't tell Shang Luoshu all this. All he wanted now was to kill them to vent his hatred.
Glancing at the mental state of these people, Lu Yinxi tiptoed and whispered in Shang Luoshu's ear.
"Brother Shu, there are still many doubts. It's impossible to explain things clearly to them for the time being. We'd better retreat first."
"Okay."
Shang Luoshu had the same idea. "Don't use your spiritual words. Later, we'll retreat directly to the mountain."
The man didn't want to be ruthless to these poor people. Moreover, in order to ensure they could communicate at any time, Fang Qinhu and the others had been lying in ambush on the mountain they had come from. So as long as they entered the mountain, they could retreat.
"Got it."
Touching her nose, Lu Yinxi's expression gradually turned serious, and the atmosphere around them became visibly tense.
"Brother Dali, they're trying to escape."
Wang Cai was the first to sense the change in the atmosphere. Then Wang Dali immediately ordered his men to surround them. But it was too late. Lu Yinxi and Shang Luoshu had already struck first.
With ease, Lu Yinxi snatched a man's weapon, twisted his arm, and then kicked him into the crowd. Immediately, a large number of people fell to the ground.
Actually, Lu Yinxi had originally intended to strike the man in the temple. But halfway through the attack, she realized that this was a living person, not a zombie.
Compared to Lu Yinxi, Shang Luoshu's movements were even more swift and decisive. He could take down one person with just one hand.
The two of them worked in tandem. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, most of the people in front of them had been knocked down. Only Wang Dali, Wang Cai, and a few people behind them remained.
Everyone was clearly intimidated by their martial arts skills.
They could understand that the man named Lu Dashu was so agile. But his wife, a woman, how could she also be so skilled?
At this moment, this woman with extraordinary martial arts skills had an even more audacious idea.
Staring at the few people not far away, Lu Yinxi, who had now taken the initiative, suddenly licked her lips. "Brother Shu, what do you think of kidnapping that Wang Dali?"
Munching on the dry rations angrily, Ling Yin crouched pitifully under a tree root. She had already cursed Hongrui a hundred times in her heart. What getting drowsy during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival? It was all a lie!
People who practiced martial arts usually had better hearing than ordinary people. As early as the first time Ling Yin woke up ahead of schedule, Hongrui had been on alert. In the following days, she had been pretending to be asleep to see what this little girl was up to.
Sure enough...
"Don't just eat the dry rations. Drink some water too."
Hongmei handed over the water bag. After a few days, she found this little girl quite interesting. Maybe the Fourth Miss would like her.
Although Ling Yin really wanted to refuse stubbornly, she couldn't withstand the scorching summer heat. She took the water bag and gulped down a large mouthful.
I'll drink up all your water! I'll piss you off!
While Ling Yin was lost in her own little emotions, Hongrui's expression suddenly turned solemn.
Hongmei immediately noticed something was wrong. She got up and walked over to her. "Hongrui, did you notice something?"
"The people we've been waiting for are here!"
When Fang Qinhu saw Shang Luoshu and Lu Yinxi, he was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the two masters to come up the mountain so early. Especially His Highness the King of Jing. It had only been a short time since he left, and now he was back.
Fang Qinhu was about to ask when he saw the master dragging another person up.
What the hell was going on?
Fang Qinhu couldn't sit still anymore. He immediately stepped forward.
"Your Highness, Fourth Miss, this..."
"This is Wang Dali!"
After a brief introduction, Lu Yinxi handed the tied-up Wang Dali to Fang Qinhu. Then she quickly drew the saber from his waist and pressed it against Wang Dali's neck.
"Confess everything you've done!"
"Spit! Lackeys of the imperial court!"
Wang Dali spat on the ground and turned his head, refusing to cooperate.
Lu Yinxi wasn't in a hurry. Instead, she sneered, "You call us lackeys of the imperial court. Then what are you? A hero who saves the people of Yangxian from the fire and water?"
She emphasized the word "hero", making it sound extremely ironic in this situation.
This time, it wasn't that Wang Dali didn't want to speak, but that he was so choked that he couldn't utter a word.
Seeing this, the girl raised her eyebrows and continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't say anything. But think about the lives of those people down the mountain and your son, Wang Xiaobao. Do you understand?"
A blatant threat!
Wang Dali just fell for this trick. Although he wished he could kill Lu Yinxi with his eyes, he had no choice but to nod.
The girl completely ignored his hostile gaze and immediately asked the first question.
"Let's start with you. Why did you rob the Yangxian granary and openly rebel against the imperial court?"
"The imperial court doesn't treat us as human beings. Why can't we rob the grain?"
The suppressed emotions flared up again. Then Wang Dali told them everything that had happened in Yangxian in the past few months, which was exactly the same as what Ling Yin had said.
"We robbed the grain, but our families fell into Xia Shouzheng's hands. He wants us to hand over the grain, and we want him to release our people and reduce the taxes. We've been at a stalemate, which has led to today's situation."
"After all, it's all because of the imperial court! In such a year of disaster, they still want to increase the taxes. Isn't this forcing us common people to death? Otherwise, how could we have ended up in this situation?"
"Really?"
Lu Yinxi sneered with a raised lip. Her upturned eyebrows and sharp phoenix eyes made her look like a malicious villain again.
"Putting aside everything else, I only want to ask you. You're just an ordinary farmer. How did you come up with the idea of robbing the granary? Even if you did come up with the idea, how did you know where the granary was?"