Lu River, An Zhou Prefecture, government office.
The magistrate was chatting with the state leader in charge of the troops.
“This Chen Feng injured the An Lin Magistrate and disappeared for several months in a row. Now, he has reappeared. I must capture him this time.”
The An Zhou Magistrate’s tone was solemn.
The spread of the story of the single spear flattening two mountains also alarmed the officials of Lu River.
He had been wanted here for several months. Now that his traces had finally been found, the An Zhou Magistrate immediately came out with a response.
When the leader heard this, he frowned and said, “It’s just that Chen Feng disappeared again the moment he appeared. I don’t know where he went, so it won’t be easy to capture him.”
The magistrate said in a deep voice, “Since that Red Cloud Mountain was helped by Chen Feng, they are accomplices. Now that they have expanded wantonly, we have to eliminate them to uphold the dignity of the Imperial Court.”
“This… Red Cloud Mountain has annexed Tiger Head Mountain and Huang Dang Mountain. There are a total of 20,000 to 30,000 people now. This bunch of outlaws are too powerful. I’m afraid I can’t take them down with just my state’s troops.” The commander’s tone was hesitant.
“With such a great outlaw stronghold in the Lu River, the various states have to send troops to get rid of them. My An Zhou Prefecture can send out 6,000 people, so I’ll temporarily hand them over to you to command. We’ll meet up with the troops of the other prefectures and break through the bandits in one go.”
The magistrate was solemn as he replied.
When the commander heard this, he bowed and said seriously, “I definitely won’t disappoint the magistrate!”
…
Lu River, An Zhou territory.
There were no clouds for thousands of miles, and the sun was blazing. The world was like a steamer.
Zhou Jing and the others walked on the road, all wearing straw hats.
Other than Zhang San and the other three personal guards and the captive Lin Song, the other four were all powerful people. They did not look like people to be trifled with, and anybody they encountered along the way would subconsciously make way for them.
“Brother, Wenshui County is ahead.”
Hong Dingxian pointed ahead.
Zhou Jing looked out, and the outline of the county city could be vaguely seen in the distance.
Wenshui County was in the corner of the Lu River, not far from Jiangchun.
After everyone left Red Cloud Mountain, they walked and stopped, crossing many prefectures and counties before arriving.
Zhou Jing turned around and looked at everyone, “This is Brother Hong’s hometown, so he is the most familiar with it. Big Brother, you’re experienced and prudent. I feel you should bring Brother Hong into the city to investigate the situation.”
“What about you, Second Brother?” Guo Haishen was curious.
Zhou Jing touched his chin, “I’m wanted everywhere in the Lu River. My appearance is eye-catching, and I’ll be easily recognized by the officials. It’s better to wait outside… Although Brother Hong is from here, he’s been away for many years. Perhaps he can blend in.”
Hong Dingxian first touched his bald head. “When I committed a crime and left my hometown, I still had hair. Later on, I shaved my head to hide my whereabouts. The county officials probably won’t recognize me.”
“That can’t be better.” Zhou Jing smiled. Then, he instructed, “Go into the city and check if the county magistrate and county lieutenant here are still Brother Hong’s enemies back then. At the same time, visit the people and ask which other aristocrats are bullying the city.”
“Second Brother, are you going to attack them together?” Fang Zhen was very interested.
“Since I’m already here, I might as well get rid of them.”
Zhou Jing nodded in response.
There were not enough troops in a small county, so he could come and go as he pleased.
Moreover, to him, the low city walls of the county city could be scaled over at any time. He could completely sneak in silently at night and not pass through the city gate, so he did not plan to enter the city in broad daylight.
After the few of them finished discussing, they split up. Guo Haishen and Hong Dingxian entered the city first, while Zhou Jing and Fang Zhen brought the others to find a wine tavern outside the city to rest.
There were no other customers in the tavern for the time being, thus Zhou Jing, Fang Zhen, and the others occupied two tables. They asked for food and wine and ate casually.
Although Lin Song was a captive, other than his hands being tied with hemp ropes, he did not suffer any humiliation on the way. At this moment, his complexion was not bad.
“Hero, are you really bringing me back to the Wu Mountain Sect?”
He looked at Zhou Jing and spoke hesitantly.
Zhou Jing held the wine bowl and glanced at him, “Do you think I’m lying to you? I said that I would bring you over to ask for money, so I naturally will keep my word.”
Lin Song’s expression was a little dubious.
When he was taken away from Tiger Head Mountain by Zhou Jing, he was quite flustered. He did not know why Zhou Jing wanted to bring him along.
Later on, when he heard Zhou Jing’s plan on the way, he was stunned.
This hero actually wanted to tie him up and bring him to Jiangchun, return him to the Wu Mountain Sect, and ask for a ransom?
Lin Song had never seen such an arrogant kidnapper, directly pulling the hostage to someone else’s house to negotiate!
It would have been fine if it was an ordinary family, but their Wu Mountain Sect was a large sect in the martial world. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den.
Although he knew that Zhou Jing’s martial arts were extraordinary, his actions were too arrogant. He simply did not take their Wu Mountain Sect seriously. He had asked many times along the way, but he still could not believe that this was something a normal person could do.
Lin Song was really curious about Zhou Jing’s motive. Perhaps he felt that Zhou Jing was quite easy to talk to on the way, so he could not help but ask,
“Sir, I don’t understand. You just want money. Why do you have to put yourself in danger?”
Zhou Jing smacked his lips and said casually, “There’s no harm in telling you. I want to challenge the experts of the world and snatch the title of the number one in the world. Your sect master is famous, and I want to fight him. It’s that simple… As for the many disciples of your Wu Mountain Sect, heh, they’re just useless.”
Lin Song could not help but be a little angry, “You’re so arrogant. Be careful, maybe that sewage will drown you.”
“You’re quite interesting. You call your sect a sewer, and even think of us kidnappers.”
Fang Zhen clicked his tongue in wonder.
Lin Song was naturally depressed when he got insulted like this. He only said gloomily, “I have a request. Can you bring me back and not publicly announce my affair with the daughter of the Sect Master?”
“Oh? Didn’t you say you wanted to announce that yourself?”
Everyone raised their eyebrows in interest.
Lin Song said helplessly, “I originally wanted to write a letter to the Sect Master, so that only one person would know. However, if you bring me back with great fanfare and publicize this matter, it will damage the reputation of the Sect Master’s daughter and she will be mocked by our fellow martial artists.”