156: Return to the village

Early the next morning, Lin Yue woke up early; he hadn’t slept soundly here.

He got up and walked outside, only to find Song Yi sitting there waiting for him.

“You’re awake?” Song Yi asked.

“What are you doing here?” Lin Yue asked, a hint of joy on his face.

“Let’s talk,” Song Yi said, stirring the firewood with a stick, trying to make the room warmer.

“Have you decided to follow me?” Lin Yue asked curiously.

“What terms can you offer me?” Song Yi asked.

Lin Yue pondered for a moment, then said:

“First, I can protect the safety of your village.

Second, I don’t need you to do anything for Great Qin; I only need you to protect my Fief in times of crisis and train a team of Assassins for me in your leisure time.”

“What do you need Assassins for? Who do you want to assassinate?” Song Yi asked, puzzled.

“I don’t intend to assassinate anyone; I just want to protect myself,” Lin Yue said.

Song Yi didn’t believe him, but he couldn’t discern the truth from Lin Yue’s face, so he told him, “I’ll send someone to look at your Fief first, then make a decision.”

“Alright, I’m heading back anyway. Will you come with me?” Lin Yue asked.

Song Yi shook his head and said, “I’m afraid of another Mountain Bandit attack. You take some people from the village.”

“That works too.” Seeing Lin Yue nod, Song Yi opened the door and walked out.

Watching Song Yi’s departing back, Lin Yue secretly rejoiced; he was eighty percent successful!

Soon after, Song Yi brought three men—an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man—into the room.

“These are Old Man Qin, Abin, and Xiaowei. The three of them will return with you,” Song Yi told Lin Yue.

Lin Yue’s face twitched twice, and he said somewhat unnaturally, “Alright.”

“Do you have horses to ride?” Lin Yue asked.

It would take half a day to ride from here to the village. If the three of them didn’t have horses, they might not reach the village before dark.

“No!” The three men shook their heads. “But we still have three donkeys in our village. They’re slow, but they’ll get us there.”

“Okay then.” Lin Yue nodded and walked directly into the courtyard to lead out Da Huang.

Under Song Yi’s gaze, the four of them embarked on the road to the Fief… As the sun set, Lin Yue and the three men finally arrived at the village.

The moment the three men saw the village, they looked like country bumpkins entering a city, their eyes wide with wonder.

This village was clearly a paradise, far surpassing their dilapidated village in terms of scale, population, and facilities!

Lin Yue didn’t stop but led the three men directly to Mother Han’s tavern.

Stepping into the tavern, Lin Yue saw Feng Cai sitting alone, sipping wine, while Mother Han was placing a plate of beans in front of him.

“Feng Cai!” Lin Yue laughed.

Feng Cai, who had just picked up a bean and hadn’t put it in his mouth yet, was so startled that he dropped it on the table!

In the village, only one person dared to address him like that!

“My Lord!” Feng Cai immediately turned around, saw Lin Yue’s figure, and exclaimed in surprise, “When did you return?”

“Just arrived. Came straight to find you,” Lin Yue laughed.

“My Lord, please sit down. I also just arrived here after finishing my duties,” Feng Cai explained, quickly giving up his seat. Then he looked at the three men behind Lin Yue and asked, puzzled, “Who are these three?”

“Hmm…” Lin Yue was momentarily unsure how to explain, so he turned to the three men and said, “The three of you can wander around nearby. That way, you’ll see the true state of the village.”

The three men exchanged glances, and finally, Old Man Qin said, “Then this old man respectfully accepts.”

“Alright, Feng Cai, bring three pots of wine for them to warm themselves.” Feng Cai nodded, brought three pots of wine, and handed them to the three men, who didn’t refuse, smiling and cupping their hands as they accepted them.

Lin Yue watched the three men walk out of the tavern, then told Feng Cai, “Find a few people to keep an eye on them.”

Feng Cai nodded and walked aside to give instructions to a few Guard members.

“Good relationship?” Lin Yue laughed.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. My Lord, please don’t tease this old man,” Feng Cai’s face uncharacteristically reddened, and he calmly picked up the bean that had rolled onto the table and put it in his mouth.

“Haha,” Lin Yue laughed, then recounted Song Yi’s story to Feng Cai in detail.

“A Third-rate Military General?” Feng Cai was a little surprised!

“Yes, so moving an entire village here is worth it. I looked, and their village doesn’t have many households left, only about four or five hundred people,” Lin Yue said.

“The number of people isn’t the problem. After all, My Lord, you’ve just been promoted to Viscount, and if we expand into a town, we can accommodate many more people.

If this Song Yi can join us, our village’s defensive strength will greatly improve!” When discussing serious matters with Feng Cai, Feng Cai immediately regained his usual imposing demeanor!

Mother Han, sitting at the counter, propped her face with her hand, gazing at him with infatuation.

“Speaking of defensive strength, have there been many Mountain Bandits lately?” Lin Yue asked.

He didn’t want the tragedy that befell Song Yi’s village to happen to his own.

“My Lord, rest assured. With Wang Hu and his men, most of the nearby Mountain Bandits are already ours.

But there are still some clueless Mountain Bandits who come to plunder, but before they even get close to the village, Hou Da wipes them out,” Feng Cai laughed.

“How is Wang Hu’s strength now?” Lin Yue asked curiously.

“With the help of Hou Da and Zhang Wenfeng, Wang Hu has developed very quickly. He currently commands over thirty thousand troops and has occupied most of the forces around Heya City,” Feng Cai said with a proud look.

“Commanding thirty thousand troops?” Lin Yue looked surprised. How much time had passed?

“Yes! Mr. Jiang Gan stayed at Black Tiger Stronghold for a period some time ago, and Wang Hu’s strength has greatly increased. Moreover, the strength of these thirty thousand Mountain Bandits is far greater than before!” Feng Cai said.

“Where is Jiang Gan now?” Lin Yue asked.

“Mr. Jiang Gan returned once a month ago and went traveling again half a month ago,” Feng Cai said. “He is now very famous in Heya City and even has a certain reputation in Liaodong Commandery.

This old man once heard Mr. Jiang Gan mention that someone seemed to have recommended him for an official position, and Mr. Jiang Gan was considering it.

He also told me not to reveal his identity and to pretend not to know him when outside.” Feng Cai said cautiously, then lowered his voice and said, “My Lord, do you think Mr. Jiang Gan would…”

“No, you can rest assured,” Lin Yue shook his head. The last time he saw Jiang Gan, his loyalty had already reached 80 points. Although he hadn’t seen him for so long, he didn’t believe Jiang Gan would betray him.

As his status increased, smart people like Jiang Gan would be even clearer about their own value.

Moreover, Jiang Gan’s current travels were something he had agreed to before.

“This old man was rash,” Feng Cai said.