Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 16 Night Raid

"Ah ah ah..."

"How did this little puppy turn out like this? What the hell."

"It ate some kind of poisonous grass. No one knows Little Huang better than me."

"You know nothing. You think you know everything."

"What the hell is 'what the hell'?"

"Brothers, stop arguing. When I see Little Huang like this, I suddenly want to write a poem."

"You write a poem about 'what the hell'. You don't even know many big characters."

"Big Gui, you shouldn't say that. Look at the leader. He always talks big, but when it's crucial, he strikes with precision. What a demeanor! I have reason to believe that martial arts and literature are related!"

"You're right, Jiulang. Keep it up. No one knows you better than me."

"Thank you, Brother Xigou. I'll write the poem for you later."

"I don't want it, thanks."

"Ah ah..."

As night fell, Huang Dagui, Bai Jianxi, and Han Jiulang were extremely curious about the changes in Little Huang's body. They played with him, holding his leg and teasing him.

"Dinner!"

Xin Zhuo carried the stewed potatoes and radishes and walked towards the meeting hall. His gaze shifted between Little Huang and the three men, with a mysterious look in his eyes.

"Second-in-command, Seventh Sister, it's the leader who's cooking again. How wonderful!"

The three men stood up, their faces bitter, and called for Cui Ying'er and Han Qiniang inside the house.

The cured meat had already been eaten, and the dinner of stewed potatoes and radishes had a unique taste.

The thieves gathered in the hall, eating coarse rice and vegetables, with the sound of gulping and chewing filling the room.

Xin Zhuo ate slowly, his eyes occasionally scanning the people.

When they were halfway through the meal, Huang Dagui suddenly sprayed rice grains all over the floor and stared at Xin Zhuo, shouting, "The food is not right, leader... you!"

This shout was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, causing the meeting hall to buzz.

Cui Ying'er and the others looked at Huang Dagui, then at Xin Zhuo, their faces changing drastically, showing disbelief and confusion, because they also felt uncomfortable in their bodies.

Then, the figure of the leader in front of them gradually blurred...

"Plump..."

The five of them fell to the ground.

Xin Zhuo stood up, rubbed his nose, and moved the five of them into a row, staring at them for half an incense stick's worth of time.

No change.

Presumably, just like Little Huang, it takes time.

Outside, the moonlight was bright, illuminating the entire village.

He moved a bamboo stool and placed it in the courtyard, picking up the book "Strange Tales from the Ancient Temple" and reading it carefully.

Time passed second by second.

Soon it was the fourth watch of the night!

Cui Ying'er and the others behind him still hadn't moved, taking longer than Little Huang.

Xin Zhuo had no sleepiness, instead his eyes were bright and shining. When he saw an exciting part, he couldn't help but applaud, "What a Mrs. Liu! Such amazing skills! I wonder if the Crown Princess read this part that day, was it like the Yellow River flooding, or was her heart calm?"

...

At the foot of the mountain.

The mist had also dissipated, and in the bright moonlight, two groups of people were three hundred meters apart, one side dressed in black with a waist knife, the other side in coarse clothes with a rusty sword, clearly distinguished.

"Second-in-command, with Old Xin gone, our brothers have suffered. Now that he's dead, it's time for revenge. The bastards in Fulong Village must be fast asleep by now. Even if they're not, it doesn't matter.

You take ten brothers to launch a surprise attack. Kill the men and capture the two good-looking women. You and I will each take one. How confident are you?"

Sun Wu looked back at the man behind him, his face covered in stubble, with a face that didn't match his name, Li Qing.

"Let the leader know that I, your brother, am at the eighth rank. With Old Xin gone, who can be my opponent? Relax! Let's go!"

Li Qing grinned and led ten lackeys straight to the mountaintop.

On the other side, the constable Chen Jing looked at the bandits of Menghu Fort who had already taken action and calmly said, "Ge Qi, Zhu Zhu, the two of you take a few skilled men and follow them."

The constable named Ge Qi couldn't help but be stunned and asked, "Why?"

Chen Jing said in a deep voice, "The bandits of Menghu Fort don't stay in their own lair, but instead come to the foot of Fulong Peak. They couldn't be persuaded to surrender, but now they want to help the government eliminate Fulong Fort. Don't you find it suspicious?"

"Are you suggesting... it's a feigned plan?"

"In short, the bandits of Menghu Fort cannot be trusted. There may be some shady dealings between the two forts. If they seek revenge, then so be it. But if they conspire together, kill them if you can, and ambush them if you can't."

"But the deserters from E'lang Fort said that there are experts in Fulong Fort. Brother, I..."

Ge Qi hesitated. It took a lot of money to fill the vacancy of a constable in his family, so naturally he valued his life.

"Ge Qi, you're unexpectedly so timid. It's really laughable."

The female constable Zhu Zhu coldly smiled and said, "I heard that the old thief Xin from Fulong Fort has already died after sparring with someone. All that's left are a bunch of nobodies. Who knows what despicable things happened between E'lang Fort and Fulong Fort? Now is the time for us to make achievements."

The people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are fierce, and women hold high positions. There are many female constables and female shopkeepers. Zhu Zhu has been a constable for three years and has achieved a lot, so she is very proud.

"Well... alright! Let's go!"

The two constables took ten skilled men and headed straight for the mountaintop under the cover of night.

...

It was still early in the morning, before dawn. The moon had already shifted to the west, but it was even brighter and more radiant.

Li Qing led ten lackeys and quietly arrived at the entrance of Fulong Fort. The process went smoothly, so smoothly that it was unbelievable.

At this time, the fort was pitch black and quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing and the "Justice for Heaven" banner fluttering at the entrance.

Li Qing glanced at the dozen or so thatched cottages in the fort. He had been here before. Last year during the New Year, he brought people to give pork to the old man Xin. He was somewhat familiar with this place.

Although it was unusually quiet, he had no worries. Without the old man Xin, the fort was just a group of weaklings.

"Leave the women, kill all the men!"

He whispered to his subordinates, then walked into the courtyard and couldn't help but stop.

There was someone in the courtyard, a teenager in his teens, sitting on a bamboo stool, reading under the moonlight. It was hard to notice without careful observation.

Li Qing couldn't read, but suddenly a line from a play came to his mind: "Lips like vermilion, eyes like lacquer, face like piled jade, what a handsome young man."

He had heard that the old man Xin had a grandson who studied, but he didn't see him last time. He must be the one. The old man Xin looked like a bear, how could he have such a beautiful grandson?

However, why was he reading in the courtyard in the middle of the night?

"The handsome young man in the courtyard must be the grandson of the old thief Xin!"

At this time, Ge Qi and Zhu Zhu, the constables, had also arrived and stood behind a row of maple trees, silently observing the courtyard.

"This young man doesn't seem to have any martial arts skills. As a thief, reading late at night, could it be that he still wants to achieve fame?" Ge Qi couldn't help but laugh, finding it as ridiculous as when he himself wanted to achieve fame.

Zhu Zhu said coldly, "Born as a thief, there's only one path to death. Whether he reads or not doesn't matter! Huh? The bandits of Menghu Fort are about to take action. It seems they do have a grudge."

Ge Qi glanced at the courtyard and slightly averted his gaze. He couldn't bear to look directly at it. "Regardless of whether they have a grudge or not, if they take action, it saves us the trouble. It's just a pity for this young man."

In the courtyard.

Li Qing tightened his grip on the Thunder Hammer and walked step by step towards the young man.

Suddenly, he stopped again.

Because the young man raised his head, there was no panic on his beautiful face, just a glance at the group of people, followed by a smile.

Yes, he smiled, and it was a very beautiful smile.

How could he still smile?

Li Qing was stunned. Could there be an ambush?

"Menghu Fort?"

Xin Zhuo, who didn't know that he wasn't popular with women but was appreciated by two big men, asked softly.

In fact, when Li Qing and his group had just arrived outside the fort, he had already noticed them. But apart from sitting and reading, there was nothing else he could do. After all, there were still five people lying dead behind him, and he couldn't just leave them behind and run away.

The group of fierce-looking, ragged men in front of him were clearly not government officials. After practicing his inner strength, he could vaguely sense the surging Blood Qi in their every move.

The leader was strong, but not as strong as Chai Donghu.

This made him breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's right! I am Li Qing, the second-in-command of Menghu Fort. Remember my name even after death!"

The Thunder Hammer swept through the moonlight and smashed down.

(End of this chapter)