Crow Wu Qi watched Lin Xie and Zhou Pu walk out of the thatched cottage, reining in his horse. Lin Xie looked down at the carriage and saw bloodstains dripping from it, got on the carriage, lifted up the curtain and took a look inside, where three bloody men were lying, one of whom was the bearded man who had been stabbed by Xi Fei outside the East Splendid Gate and then rescued by Lin Xie. He had several arrows stuck in his shoulder blades, and fresh blood was still flowing from his arm. Seeing Lin Xie get on the carriage, he gave a miserable smile: "I'm troubling you to rescue me again..."

  "Xue Fei Hu and others went out of the city to tread on the green today, with only over a dozen guards following closely behind. In fact, there were hundreds of shadowy guards accompanying them. Before they made their move at Shu Mountain, they had already been tracked by us. We rescued them at Qu Yang Town's East First Trade Street, and it's likely that we also exposed our own trail..." Wu Qi said.

  "I'm afraid I've dragged you all into this... If you're afraid of offending the Xue family, you can just kill us with one sword and hand our bodies over to them. Even in death, I, Ao, will not hold a grudge against you." The bearded man said with a painful smile, completely unafraid of life or death.

  "Clear the dock, go ashore immediately." Lin Mou ordered in a low voice. He saw that the bearded man and the other two were too seriously injured, so he didn't get off the horse carriage. Seeing that the bearded man was still quite spirited, he began to check the injuries of the other two men, not even bothering about his official robes as he stopped their bleeding and treated them.

  The horse carriage went directly from the slide to the dock and pulled up to the ferry, arriving at the prison island dock. Lin Xie and Zhou Pu arranged for someone to take the injured people directly to Wu Yanqing's hut, and sent someone to Jiang Island Prison to fetch medicine. Today, Wu Yanqing, who had just arrived on the prison island, didn't ask many questions and let Lin Xie help do everything possible to save the lives of the three people.

  At that time, the surgical equipment was very simple and there were almost no auxiliary devices. It was impossible to transfuse fluids or blood. Under such simple conditions, Wu Yanqing did a great job in stopping bleeding, dressing wounds and using medicine to save lives. Even so, one person still died of serious injury during the rescue, and the bearded man and another person also fainted due to lack of support.

  Someone was sent from the other side of the river to report, and Xi Feihu led his entourage to the riverbank to request an audience.

  Wu Qi, the crow, saved people in Quyang Town and brought them to the river mouth before dark. It was already lucky that they were not intercepted, but it would be difficult to hide from the Xiao family. Lin Fu wiped the blood stains on his hands with a dry cloth, and didn't even care about the blood stains on his robe. He sent all the medical apprentices away and told Wu Yanqing, who had been busy for an hour without stopping and was slightly tired: "These three people are assassins who attempted to kill Jiang Ning, the Jin'an Hou's envoy. Someone from our island happened to be in Quyang Town buying goods and rescued them. Probably the Xiao family knows that we saved these people, so they're coming over to demand their return..."

  "I'm only responsible for saving lives and treating injuries. I don't care about anything else. My medical skills are limited, and I couldn't guarantee the survival of the other two people," said Wu Yanqing.

  "Please, Mr. Wu, do your best," Lin Xianzhao bowed to Wu Yanqing in response, then turned around and said to Zhou Pu, "We'll head back to the river mouth to see Xia Feihu..."

  "Should we bring more people to the river mouth?" Zhou Pu asked.

  "No," Lin Xian shook his head, "the Xue family's foundation in Jiangning is even shakier than ours. Li Zhuo is about to take office in Jiangning, and others don't dare provoke the Xue family. Does Xue Feihu really think that Li Zhuo would be afraid of them? Doesn't he worry that they'll give Li Zhuo a handle to grab onto? They wouldn't dare cause trouble..."

  Lin Tie didn't mind letting Xie Fei Hu know that he had intervened again to save the assassin who was trying to kill them. After all, when they were in Sheshan, they had privately released a bearded man who lied and said that Lin Tie had killed someone in the mountains. The Xie family wouldn't easily believe such nonsense anyway - what if the Xie family didn't believe him?

  The Xie family has been causing trouble in the southeast for ten years, and tens of thousands of young men from the southeast have died in battles. The number of people who have lost their loved ones is also in the tens of thousands. Although the Xie family has surrendered and been granted land and titles, it cannot change the fact that they have made countless enemies in the various counties of the southeast. Xie Feihu's foothold in Jiangning is not yet stable, and he does not even have the qualifications to be as arrogant as Lin Xie.

  Two months ago, Lin Xie was not afraid of the Xiao family's open provocation, but he was worried that the Xiao family would use their potential influence in Jiangning to secretly harm them. At this time, they had already established a foothold at the river mouth and were also on guard against assassins sent by Wang Xueshan who might harm Zhao Qinnian. A bald head with many lice is not afraid of being bitten, Lin Xie was not too worried that the Xiao family would secretly harm them now.

  At this time, due to the situation, the imperial court was forced to accept Xie's surrender and enfeoffment, but secretly they would never relax their vigilance against the Xies. Gu Wu Chen, representing the Chu Party which was gradually gaining power in the central government, came to Jiangdong as Vice Censor-in-Chief, and it was impossible for him to compromise with the Xies, who had been fighting in the southeast for ten years and finally became a marquis of Jinan. Lin Xie still had some understanding of the situation, and he could usually get along with Xie Fei Hu, but he would never really get along with the Xies. Moreover, even if Gu Wu Chen knew that they were secretly harboring assassins who were unfavorable to the Xies, as long as there was no clear evidence or handle for the Xies to grasp, Gu Wu Chen would just turn a blind eye.

  Xue Feihu's reckless behavior gave Li Zhuo and Gu Wudian, who were about to take office in Jiangning, a perfect excuse to completely eradicate the Xue family's hidden influence in the southeastern provinces.

  Lin Jie took Zhou Pu and four guards to return to the river mouth by boat. The river mouth did not issue an alert, nor did it transfer the 40 newly selected Wuwei troops to Caotang to boost morale.

  Da Xiao Erye took people to Longjiang Shipyard, Cao Zi'ang wanted to secretly guard against, Lin Jingzhong waited for Lin Fu at the bamboo dock. In recent days, things have been happening one after another, and Lin Jingzhong's courage has also been tempered. He briefly told Lin Fu about the situation here and accompanied him ashore.

  Lin Xie stepped onto the river embankment and saw Xue Fei Hu surrounded by more than 20 riders guarding the grass hall, all wearing armor and holding sharp weapons. Even Xue Fei Hu wore a suit of dark-colored rhinoceros armor, looking exceptionally brave and powerful. For ten years, the Xue family's rebellion had been notorious for its brutality, and Xue Fei Hu was known for his martial valor. To be honest, many people were surprised that the Xue family had sent him to Jiangning as an envoy to gather intelligence. With a gloomy face, he waited solemnly for Lin Xie's return from Prison Island. Meanwhile, Song Jia stood out among the armored warriors in her red attire, looking lovely and charming. The men surrounding the corner of the building held up bronze mirrors to reflect the firelight onto the grass hall, making it as bright as day.

  "Old Crow himself is guarding the corner tower, and he has spotted over a hundred warriors from the Xiao family lurking outside the fence." Lin Jingzhong reported to Lin Xuan.

  "Are you afraid?" Lin Xian asked with a smile, "The elite of the She family are not to be compared with the miscellaneous soldiers and brave warriors of the East City Guard. If She Fei Hu really dares to make trouble, even if I were to transfer all the prison guards to the river mouth, we still wouldn't be able to stop the She family's hundred or so elite from slaughtering everyone here..."

  “……” Lin Jingzhong was slightly stunned, he didn't have a very clear concept of the soldiers' combat effectiveness. The other day, he saw that this side had organized the refugees and strong men to make a loud noise, successfully intimidating the 500+ soldiers from the East City Garrison and even capturing more than 500 city people like catching fish in a barrel. Naturally, his confidence was overflowing, thinking that the soldiers on this side were invincible and wouldn't be afraid of anyone who came. This side had organized hundreds of refugees and strong men, with more than twice as many people as the luxurious family's warriors outside the fence. Lin Jingzhong didn't expect that in Lin Xuan's heart, it was still so unbearable. Lin Jingzhong could only say with a hint of embarrassment, "You're not afraid, I'm not afraid either."

  “……” Lin Xian smiled lightly, having the courage to be the first step in training elite soldiers. Strict and bitter training as well as a large amount of actual combat experience are all essential conditions for elite soldiers. The Qin Chengzu family has been dominating the Huai River region for ten years, naturally considered elite. The She family has been at war in the southeast for ten years, after being enfeoffed with land and titles, they still managed to retain over 10,000 soldiers. These tens of thousands of soldiers are naturally all battle-hardened elites. The guards brought by She Feihu to Jiangning are even more elite among the elites. The prison guards have only had two months of training, and the robust warriors on this side of the river have only received some drilling. If they can defeat the She family's elites in a frontal battle, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

  "Look at the couple, with more than 20 guards, daring to come to the fence and ask for punishment. It's clear they have this confidence too..." Zhou Pu said with a smile, "He probably doesn't know that on our side, we really have the confidence to tear off their faces and kill the couple."

  The thirty or so Huai fishermen who followed Da Xiao Jia to Jiangning to escape the disaster had been openly and secretly fighting against the government in Huai for many years, and were all skilled in martial arts. The imperial court withdrew its elite troops from the southeast to the central and northwest regions to suppress bandits, forcing them to retreat from Huai and seek refuge on Changshan Island. Although most of them were incorporated into the shipyard as sailors under Da Xiao Jia's command, ten of the elite were incorporated into the Wuwei cavalry. With this cavalry at hand, if they really wanted to kill Xi Fei and her husband within the courtyard walls, there was an 80-90% chance that the more than 100 elite troops outside the courtyard walls would not be able to rescue them in time.

  "Why so bloody?" Lin Xuan shook his head and smiled, striding towards Xi Fei Hu with a wide step, saying loudly, "Young Master and Young Madam have gone out for a spring outing, isn't the spring scenery wonderful?"

  Xue Fei Hu didn't know what method He Kou used, but he had actually projected the lanterns from the distant corner tower onto the grass hut, making it as bright as day. He looked at Lin Xie's face, which was smiling with extreme hypocrisy, yet not a hint of surprise or panic could be seen in his smile. In his heart, he hated him to death. Of course, he didn't dare order He Kou to be killed, but brought people over just to add some pressure to Lin Xie's heart and increase the chips for negotiation to get the assassin to surrender. However, seeing how calm Lin Xie was, he knew he had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

  "Are you ready for the banquet?" Lin Xuan, who was hiding in the thatched cottage, poked his head out to look at Liu Yue'er and Xiao Man, beckoning them over and asking, "At noon, we couldn't keep Young Master Hou and Young Madam Hou for lunch, so now is not the time to be careless. You two quickly go prepare, it's rare for us to have noble guests coming from the river mouth this evening..."

  Liu Yu'er and Xiao Man responded in unison and paid their respects. At least in front of outsiders, the two women got along harmoniously and tacitly returned to the Huishou Hall.

  "Lord Lin is indeed courteous," Song Jiayan smiled and said, "The assassin that Lord Lin killed for me at Sheshan last time was discovered by the Xia family's dark guard today, intending to harm me and Feihu. Unexpectedly, they escaped from them, but my family's guard found out that they were rescued by someone in Quyang Town East Head and escaped to this side of the river. May I ask if Lord Lin has discovered anything?"

  "Didn't you finish them off last time?" Lin Mou asked Zhou Pu with a feigned puzzled expression, then laughed and said, "I was just wondering why one of the three blood people looked so familiar earlier. It's really not worth it, if I had known they dared to oppose the Xiao family, I would have left them for Young Master and Madame Xiao. Young Master and Madame Xiao also know that whenever there are dead bodies here, it's always a hassle. The people I sent to Quyang Town to purchase goods brought them back but they died on the way, and earlier, I really wasn't careful and accidentally let them fall into the Chao Tian Dan River. I'm afraid by now the river has washed their bodies tens of miles downstream... If Madame Xiao wants the bodies, I'll immediately send people to fish them out..."

  Song Jia's face turned pale with anger, Lin Xuan said the three of them had already silenced him beforehand, could they really turn the river mouth and prison island upside down to search? This rascal was living off a wealthy family and didn't dare make trouble at the river mouth, not denying that someone had indeed rescued him back.

  ***********************

  P.S: Red envelope, red envelope.