Chapter 2807 The Substitute Was Forcibly Taken by the Bandit's Wife 12

That night.

After Gu Fanghe finished dealing with the affairs of the village, he ordered his men to summon One-Eyed and the bandits who had participated in the robbery that day.

The room was dimly lit by only one oil lamp.

Gu Fanghe sat in the main seat, his expression somewhat inscrutable in the swaying light and shadow.

"Tell me the details of that robbery again."

One-Eyed dared not be negligent and carefully recalled, "Reporting to the chief, we kept an eye on that carriage that day because its behavior was somewhat strange."

"Logically speaking, that location is close to a mountain valley where wild beasts roam, so ordinary merchants would travel in groups or hire bodyguards to escort them. But that carriage only had four guards, which looks... not quite right."

One-Eyed continued, "We originally wanted to make some money off them. According to the old rules, these fat sheep who have strayed into dangerous places are robbed of their money, and we'll ensure their safe passage, then we're even. But strangely..."

Confusion was evident on the one-eyed face.

"We hadn't even really made a move yet. We just brandished our weapons and shouted a few coded phrases. Those four guards barely fought back before abandoning the carriage and the young master and running away. They ran faster than rabbits in the mountains!"

The bandit next to him nodded repeatedly, "Yes, boss, those guards don't look like they're just for show, but they're completely useless! They have no backbone at all!"

"And then?" Gu Fanghe stopped tapping on the armrest.

One-Eyed scratched his head. "There was only that half-grown page left, trembling as he held up a knife and blocked the young master's carriage. We didn't make things difficult for him, and considering the young master's appearance... we brought him back."

Gu Fanghe listened in silence, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

He originally thought that Jin Chen, living in the Jin Mansion in Nanzhou, must have been a pampered young master surrounded by servants and living a life of luxury, which was why he was so arrogant and couldn't stand being wronged.

Judging from One-Eyed's description, the four guards clearly saw that the situation was not good and deliberately abandoned their master to escape.

If the bandits hadn't only sought wealth and weren't so reluctant to take lives, the consequences would have been unimaginable if Jin Chen and her servant had fallen into such danger.

What kind of guard would dare to so blatantly abandon his master and flee?

Unless they were instructed to do so, or were certain that they would not be held accountable even if Jin Chen got into trouble.

And then, recalling Jin Chen's wistful attitude when she mentioned home during the day...

Gu Fanghe felt a pang of heartache, and his face darkened.

The one-eyed men held their breath, wondering why their leader had suddenly become displeased.

After a while, Gu Fanghe took out a silver ingot from his pocket and tossed it to the one-eyed man.

"Take a few people down the mountain early tomorrow morning and go to Nanzhou City to buy a serving of wontons, and bring back some more exquisite and delicious food."

"Buy the best candied fruits, pastries, and sweets. If there are any skilled chefs in the city, hire one regardless of price."

The one-eyed man took the silver in a daze, then hurriedly replied, "Yes! Don't worry, Chief!"

-

Two days later, Jin Chen moved to the new courtyard.

The new courtyard is very close to the main courtyard where Gu Fanghe usually holds meetings and lives, separated only by a small bamboo grove, a walk of no more than half a cup of tea's time.

The courtyard is filled with flowers and plants, and there is a small pond. Everything is clean and comfortable, showing thoughtful attention to detail.

Throughout Black Mountain Stronghold, anyone with a modicum of insight could see that this Young Master Jin held an extraordinary place in the leader's heart.

As a result, the villagers became increasingly polite to Jinchen, and the mischievous children loved to run to the new courtyard because there were always snacks and candies prepared there.

That afternoon, Jin Chen took A Yan back from a walk in the bamboo forest behind the mountain. As soon as they entered the village gate, they saw a large group of people gathered in the open space, all dressed up and ready to go. They were all carrying knives and arrows, with grim expressions, and the horses they were leading were snorting.

Jin Chen paused slightly, glanced at the group of people, then looked back at A Yan before returning to the courtyard.

Ayan nodded in understanding and turned to walk towards the children who were playing.

A little while later, two slightly older children came running over with snacks in their hands, their faces still covered in sugar crumbs, their eyes sparkling.

"Young Master Jin!" the slightly taller one spoke first, "You were looking for us?"

Jin Chen asked with a smile, "Why is the village so lively today? Are they going to rob some large merchant caravan?"

The two children looked at each other. The shorter one shook his head, still chewing on candy, and mumbled, "My father said we're not robbed of everything."

"We won't rob ordinary people passing by, nor will we rob legitimate merchant caravans. Several major merchant guilds in the Southern Continent pay us tribute every year. We'll ensure they cross Black Mountain Cliff safely and don't fall into the jaws of wild beasts."

"Then what are you robbing?" Jin Chen asked.

“Robbing those heartless, wealthy merchants,” the child counted on his fingers, “robbing caravans connected to the imperial court… Oh! Today it seems there’s an enemy of the big boss, an imperial censor from the court! I heard his surname is Song, how awful!”

Jin Chen's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced out the window.

"I see." He nodded slightly and said to Ayan, "Wrap up the remaining pastries from the small kitchen and let them take them back."

"Yes, young master," Ayan replied.

The two children cheered, "Young Master Jin, you're so kind! The Boss is so kind to you! You're so good to us too, much better than..."

Jin Chen looked at him with a smile: "What are we competing in?"

The child blinked and murmured softly, "Better than...better than the guests who came before."

After saying that, he grabbed the pastries and ran off in a flash.

After they had run far away, Ayan approached Jinchen and asked, "Young Master, don't you think the people in the village seem to be very reluctant to mention a certain person in front of you? Is it... that Young Master Ruan?"

Jin Chen snorted, "It's not important."

-

Night had fallen, and the moonlight was obscured by thin clouds.

Jin Chen sat in the courtyard drinking tea, which was freshly brewed and had a fragrant aroma.

Ayan is putting fish into the pond. They were all caught by the children of the village in the mountains, and they are all beautiful.

Jin Chen lowered his eyes, took a sip of tea, and was about to get up and go back to his room when he suddenly frowned and looked in a certain direction.

Jin Chen called out, "Ayan."

Ayan responded, "Young Master?"

"It's late, you should go and rest," Jin Chen said calmly. "I'll wait here for the Boss, you don't need to serve me anymore."

Ayan, without suspecting anything, obediently agreed and turned to go into the side room.

Jin Chen picked up the teacup again, brought it to her lips, but did not drink it.

He glanced around, taking in all the sounds coming from his surroundings.

【Hey! Assassin!】Zero rolled around on alert.

Jin Chen got up and walked slowly toward the side door.

The courtyard returned to silence.

On the courtyard wall, three dark figures crouched under the eaves, exchanging hand gestures.

After waiting a while and seeing that Jin Chen hadn't returned, one of them lowered his voice and asked, "Where is he?"

The other two shook their heads.

The leader of the men in black frowned and made a gesture.

The three jumped off the roof and landed silently, clearly demonstrating their skill.

They drew their swords and looked around the courtyard.

Just then, three bamboo leaves flew through the air and struck the back of the three men's necks.

"Ugh!" The three of them groaned, almost dropping their knives.

They were all highly skilled individuals. Although they were startled by the sudden attack, they remained calm. However, this was, after all, Black Mountain Stronghold, and there would be no benefit in continuing the fight.

The leader made a decisive decision and shouted, "Retreat!"

With a light tap of his toes, he leaped over the courtyard wall in a few bounds and sped down the mountain.

Jin Chen strolled out slowly, gazing intently in the direction where the three had disappeared, and followed them.

The man in black hurried along, not daring to stop, and fled straight down the mountain.

Two figures were already waiting in the woods at the foot of the mountain; one was leaning against a tree with a sword in his arms, while the other stood with his hands behind his back.

Upon seeing the two men, the man in black immediately knelt down and whispered his report.

Jin Chen stood on the hillside, looking down in the moonlight.

[They are the second main character's love interest, Ruan Shutong's two bodyguard brothers, Chu Yi and Chu Ming.] Ling Gungun reminded, [Neither of them are good people!]

[By the way, host, you recently used a Body Tempering Pill, so it's best not to do it yourself.]

"Young master, we infiltrated and found that the young master of the Jin family is not dead. Instead, he has been taken in by the bandit leader Gu Fanghe and is being treated very well."

"Not dead? And still alive and well?" Chu Ming raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement on his face. "What's Gu Fanghe up to?"

Chu Yi scoffed, "What else could it be? It seems that the bandit leader really hasn't forgotten Shu Tong. He sees someone who looks somewhat similar and treats them like a treasure, keeping them as a keepsake."

Chu Ming stroked his chin, a calculating glint in his eyes. "If that's really the case, then things will be easier."

Jin Chen recalled the child's words from earlier that day, saying that there were many ferocious beasts in the mountains. A smile appeared on her lips as she turned and left.

Before long, a beast's roar came from the depths of the forest, shaking the mountains and startling countless birds into flight!

"Roar!"

Immediately afterwards, a large, agile, and colorful figure pounced down.

It was a terrifyingly large tiger with piercing white forehead and bulging green eyes, its jaws wide open.

"Damn it! This godforsaken place!"

Chu Ming's expression changed. Even though he was skilled in martial arts, he was still taken aback when he suddenly encountered such a powerful figure in the mountains.

Chu Yi reacted quickly, pulling him behind him, his longsword already drawn.

Startled, the tiger crouched low, growling menacingly as if about to pounce.

"Mount up! We can't stay here any longer!" Chu Yi made a quick decision.

Although the group possessed high martial arts skills, engaging in combat with ferocious beasts in this terrain was by no means a wise move.

However, the commotion and tiger's roar had already alerted the Black Mountain bandits patrolling the nearby mountains.

"what sound?!"

"A tiger's roar! It's in that direction!"

"Quick! Go over and take a look!"

Torches flickered in the distance and quickly converged in this direction.

Chu Yi and Chu Ming's expressions turned even uglier. They could no longer care about anything else, so they mounted their horses and cracked their whips hard.

"go!"

Several fast horses immediately galloped off in the opposite direction from Black Mountain Village.

[Host, it's one thing to scare them by luring the tiger, but why did you also alert the patrols?] Zero Rolling asked, somewhat puzzled.

Jin Chen turned around and rushed back as if he had come.

[Let them know that Black Mountain Village is not a place they can come and go as they please, and save them from having some unsightly rats lurking around in the future.]