Chapter 32: The Wind and Clouds Gather, the Army Arrives at the City Walls

  Kui Er led the people with wind rudders, and protected Lu Da Hai and Lu Xiao Tian in the core. In a silent and swift manner, they flew away. The soldiers guarding the city of Putian County saw that they were people with wind rudders, and without saying another word, opened the city gate to let them out.

  The crowd headed south for about ten miles, and Lu Dahai followed Kui Er to a shaded area behind a peach grove not far from the official road. As they approached, Lu Dahai saw that it was a temporary camp set up here.

  Everyone stopped about a hundred paces in front of the camp. Chui-erh made a hand gesture to his own men, and immediately one of them rushed out from the ranks, not even going to the main entrance to call out, but instead using his footwork to glide over the stockade like flowing clouds and running water. The soldiers guarding the camp were completely unaware.

  Lu Dahai couldn't help but feel a lingering fear in his heart. Fortunately, he had seen through the ambush tactics of those two men earlier, otherwise at this moment they would have turned over not only the camp here, but also the stockade of the Shi family village, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

  Lu Dahai thought to himself, and the gate of the camp was creaked open by the soldiers inside. The officer guarding this place also hurriedly followed the person who had just come out with the wind rudder and rushed out. Looking at Lu Dahai and Kui Er on this side, he quickly welcomed everyone in. In an instant, the camp had also prepared horses for the wind rudder.

  Lu Dahai took a look and saw that everything was ready, so he ordered Chui'er to pass down the order, letting the wind rudder crowd put on the officials' and soldiers' travel gear outside, and uniformly remove the face masks from their faces.

  When everyone was dressed up and ready, Lu Dahai couldn't help but smile when he looked at this team again.

  Heh, it's indeed a case of dressing up a monkey as an official, and it does make him look somewhat refined. However, he still exudes an aura of banditry. But Lu Dahai doesn't care about that much. Dressing up as an official is just to deceive the public; what he truly relies on is not only the banditry hidden beneath his official robes but also the ruthless energy deeply buried in his heart.

  "Master Jia, everything is ready. Shouldn't we..." Qi Er reminded him from the side. Lu Dahai immediately came back to his senses and led the Wind Rudder crowd to mount their horses, shouting in a hoarse voice: "Depart!"

  In an instant, the sound of horseshoes was like thunder, and the three columns of troops galloped up to the pass with a loud rumble. The horses were urged on, and in just one hour they had entered the territory of Huayin County.

  Lu Dahai stopped his horse at the boundary stone of Huayin County and said to the helmsman, "Once we arrive under the city wall, you will all be my personal soldiers. All actions will follow my orders."

  The crowd all nodded in agreement and applauded.

  Lu Dahai nodded to Kui Er to follow him, and the two rode their horses to the side of the road. Lu Dahai tightened his reins, his body slightly leaning towards Kui Er, and said in a low voice: "According to the scouts' reports, Huayin County is now heavily guarded, and we will definitely be suspected when we enter the city."

  Kui Er didn't know what play Lü Da Hai was singing, why he had arrived at the city gate but then started to retreat. For a moment, he didn't know what to say, his heart suddenly hoping that Lü Da Hai would continue speaking, best if there could be some kind of turning point.

  Lu Daihai also saw the activity in Kui'er's heart, but instead became even more silent, just quietly staring at him with his eyes. Just as the two were staring at each other, Kui'er finally couldn't bear it anymore and said in a low voice: "Then... we can't go back, right?"

  Lu Dahai smiled to himself, intentionally teasing Lele to see his reaction. "You're right," he said, "I think the supervisor's methods are too harsh. Let's head back." With that, he prepared to ride his horse back to the official road.

  Kui Er saw this and immediately became anxious, without saying another word, he first grabbed Lu Da Hai's reins to steady him, then forced a smile and said: "Master Jia... Master Jia, since you've come all the way here, are you going to leave with your tail between your legs?"

  Lu Dahai actually wanted to enter the city more than him, and what he was doing now was just a "desperate" strategy. Firstly, he wanted to test whether his psychology had changed halfway, so as not to make trouble when entering the city. Secondly, he had calculated it over and over again on the way, and the time spent was already late, if they continued to drag on, I'm afraid that Putian County would have noticed, now there is only a risk of being cut off, using the method of cutting the tangled hemp with a sharp knife. And this requires probing into the thoughts of Kui Er to see if he is determined enough.

  Lu Dahai heard him so anxious, and instead wanted to provoke him even more, saying: "You don't know the supervisor's orders. If we go and are slightly careless, I'm afraid we'll end up with no return, our bodies separated from our heads..." As he spoke, he pulled on the reins and was about to leave again.

  Kui Er was thoroughly anxious now, and the pros and cons were clearer to him than ever. If he went back like this, General Jia would definitely shift the blame for retreating at the critical moment onto Kui Er's shoulders. Not to mention the various tortures in prison, he might even end up dead. On the other hand, if he went, there might still be a chance, and besides, Director Meng wouldn't send someone incompetent to do this task, would he?

  With this in mind, Kuai Er's behavior became particularly obvious. Not only did he want to keep Lu Da Hai from leaving, but also persuade him to enter the city.

  "Master Jia, don't worry," said Chai Yu, pounding his chest again. "We are here to escort you, and we will go through thick and thin for that purpose. No matter how dangerous it is, I will definitely protect you with my life."

  Lu Dahai listened and shook his head repeatedly, saying: "That's what they say, but..."

  Qiu'er saw Lu Da Hai and still refused to give in, her heart racing with anxiety, breaking out in a cold sweat. Before he could finish speaking, she interrupted him: "Don't worry! Master Jia, don't rush to speak, but think about it, if we let them in, can the treasury not be surnamed Jia? You tell me, isn't that right?"

  Lu Dahai took one look at him and knew that the "urgent general" method had reached its boiling point, and there was such a good opportunity to step down. If he really dragged it out any longer, he would be anxious too. So he put on a greedy face and said: "Alright... we can consider it settled then. When we get to the city walls, just watch my signal." After that, he hastily mounted his horse and left.

  Kui Er saw Lu Da Hai hastily mounting his horse and rushing onto the official road, and coldly laughed at that figure's back, thinking to himself, "He's truly a greedy evil spirit."

  Putian County

  "Governor! Governor, something's wrong!" A soldier rushed into the courtyard with a pale face, rolling and crawling, and shouted before entering the house.

  Meng Du was just tidying up and preparing for bed when he was startled by the sudden shout, and his sleepiness instantly dissipated. His heart suddenly turned from shock to anger, and he opened the door to scold him.

  All he saw was that the newcomer's clothes were disheveled and his hat was askew, but before he could even shout at him, he heard the man exclaim: "It's all over! General Jia has been killed!"

  Meng Dujuan's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard it, suspecting that he had misheard something. But then the man spoke again: "General Jia was killed in the adjacent courtyard of his residence."

  Meng Du grabbed the soldier's chest with one hand and lifted him up, shouting: "Fart! How could he be dead for no reason!"

  "The little one dare not speak nonsense. Not only did General Jia die, but also the night patrol reported that the two brothers of the Lu family died in the wilderness outside the west city gate."

  "Ah?" Meng Dujuan's heart was now in a panic. If the Lu brothers were dead, then who were the two people who returned that night? So, the intelligence brought back from Shi Family Village was also false.

  His mind turned to this, Meng Dujuan's heart suddenly became icy cold, with a bad premonition that lingered in his head and couldn't be shaken off. Meng Dujuan immediately shouted at the people waiting around him: "What are you waiting for? Go find Qiu Er for me quickly!"