Thief Emperor

Chapter 16: The Knight Li Zhao
"Skinny monkey."

In the village, Li Yun watched Peng Hai and the others leave and said, "Take two people to keep an eye on them."

Skinny Monkey, whose original name was Li Zheng, was the nephew of the old village chief, and therefore Li Yun's cousin.

He is very thin, but has a skill that no one else can match. In the mountains and forests, he can be said to be walking on flat ground. He is the fastest runner in the entire Cangshan village.

He kept a close eye on Peng Hai and his people and would never lose them.

The skinny monkey responded and said, "Second brother, how long will you keep an eye on them?"

"Look at them..."

Li put his hands behind his back and said slowly, "Are you going back to Erlong Mountain? Or, have you met any strange people?"

"After you have found out everything, come back to the mountain immediately. I may not be there by then, so you can discuss this with Lao Ba and Lao Jiu. If the news is urgent, have Lao Jiu report it to me."

The skinny monkey nodded first, then said, "Second brother, where are you going after you go down the mountain?"

"Go out and do some errands."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "I'll be back soon."

The skinny monkey nodded again and asked, "Are we going down the mountain today?"

"Yes."

The head of the Li village stretched and said, "If you go down the mountain first, I will follow you."

The skinny monkey patted his chest and said with a smile: "Don't worry, second brother, I will definitely keep an eye on them."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Yun and warned him, "Second brother, you should also pay attention to your safety. There is a wanted notice for you posted at the foot of the mountain..."

After all, they are brothers from the same clan. In the entire village, Skinny Monkey is the one who supports and cares about Li Yun the most.

Village Chief Li nodded and said with a smile, "Relax, I will be fine."

The skinny monkey nodded, turned around and followed Peng Hai and others.

The village leader Li called together a few leaders and held a small meeting in the main hall.

He sat on the tiger-skin chair, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the outside storm has passed now, but the danger is still there. I need to go down the mountain and settle this matter completely."

"I'll go this time."

Village Chief Li stroked his chin and continued, "We can't say there is no risk at all, so there are some things I need to explain to you all."

"I'm not in the mountain, so the affairs of the village will be handled by you all."

This is basically the same as saying nothing.

In other words, Li Yun did not delegate power to anyone in the village, ensuring that there would not be any major changes in the village during his absence.

"As for work..."

Li Yun said in a deep voice: "Before I come back, no one should go down the mountain to work. If anyone disobeys, he will no longer be a brother in the village."

"The warehouse is still managed by the Eighth and Ninth Brothers."

At this point, Li Yun stood up and walked out: "That's all I have to say. When I come back from this trip, life in the village will be much better. Not only will we not have to worry so much, but there may even be some other jobs to do."

"If I don't come back..."

At this point, Mr. Li frowned, then smiled freely: "Then you two can fight, and whoever wins will be the village chief."

After saying this, he turned around and walked away without even looking back.

Second in command Yuan Zhengming watched Li Yun leave, then looked at Zhou Liang standing beside him and whispered, "Second Master... has completely changed."

The third in command Zhou Liang nodded silently.

"Village leader, it's very different from before."

…………

In the yard, Li Yun put the bag he had packed last night on his back, then looked at Xue Yun'er with a calm expression.

"Let's get going."

Xue Yun'er nodded first, then looked around with some worry: "Should we...should we go down the mountain at night? It's broad daylight, and your men will see you bringing me down the mountain. Isn't it inappropriate..."

Li Dazhaizhu smiled dumbly: "What's inappropriate?"

Xue Yun'er was thinking a lot and said, "Will those people in the village..."

At this point, she didn't know what to say, so she said, "Forget it, it's up to you."

Village Chief Li seemed to understand something and said, "Don't worry, I have the final say on the mountain."

"Besides, in their eyes, Miss Xue is my wife, and they have no right to control where she goes."

In more than a month, Li Yun's status in Cangshan Village has indeed risen sharply. In addition to his personal martial arts, he also used some political tactics.

Even though they were just some crude political tactics, when used in the village, they were already a dimensionality reduction attack.

Now, most of the older generation leaders in the village have already submitted to Li Yun, and the second generation of the village are even more obedient to him. The two of them didn't have much luggage to pack, so they quickly left the small courtyard one after the other. No one dared to stop Li Yun, and the two of them left the main gate of the village openly.

Village Master Li had walked this road down the mountain countless times, and he could even walk down the mountain with his eyes closed. However, Miss Xue had no experience walking on mountain roads, and she walked tremblingly.

After all, there are no stairs to walk on at this moment.

When they reached some dangerous places, Li Yun had to lend her support. In the second half, she really couldn't walk anymore, so she had to be carried by Li Yun down the mountain path.

Although there was no one around and no one else would see them, this intimate action still made Miss Xue's cheeks slightly blush.

But Li Yun had no other thoughts.

After all, his ideas are different from those of this era. For him, this kind of behavior is relatively normal.

After about an hour, almost noon, the two finally got down the mountain and saw a flat road.

Li Yun put her down from his back and asked, "Miss Xue, do you know which direction Qingyang is?"

The blush on Xue Yun'er's face finally faded away, and she shook her head in confusion when she heard that.

Village leader Li had no choice but to pull her to the official road. After asking a passerby for the direction of Qingyang County, the two of them officially set out on the road to Qingyang County.

The journey was about a hundred miles long. Village Chief Li had no status and could not stay in a decent inn. Fortunately, Li remembered that there was an inn where they could stay, so the two of them finally had a place to stay.

After getting up early the next morning to travel, Xue Yun'er had blisters on the soles of her feet and could no longer walk. With no other options, Li Yun hired a cart. The two of them sat on the cart, and the driver drove them to Qingyang.

In the afternoon, the two finally arrived at the gate of Qingyang County. Li Yun paid a few copper coins and got off the car. He patted the mud off his butt and complained: "It's a vegetable truck. It's all mud."

Miss Xue did not respond, but looked up at Qingyang City in front of her, and could not help but reddening her eyes.

Li Yun followed her gaze and looked towards the small county town in front of him. After looking for a while, he was suddenly startled and murmured, "I've been here before..."

Xue Yun'er turned her head and looked at him, a little curious: "When have you been here?"

Li Yun rubbed his temples, then slowly said: "Two months ago."

He looked at Xue Yun'er and murmured, "I saw her in the city in March..."

He did not continue.

Because in the memories he saw, Village Chief Li had indeed been to Qingyang County and met Xue Yun'er, and fell in love with her at first sight. At that time, he even told the bald man who was traveling with him that he must take her back to be his wife.

Later, after making inquiries from various sources, he learned that she was the daughter of a county magistrate and would be getting married soon.

"It turns out that they didn't just pick anyone to rush up the mountain..."

Mr. Li muttered to himself.

Xue Yun'er, who was standing by, poked him, looked at the gatekeeper, and asked, "What should we do now?"

Li Yun came back to his senses and took a look at the small county town.

The city wall was not high and he could easily climb over it.

There shouldn't be too many yamen runners in the city. If he wanted, he could even bring people with him...

Ahem...you're thinking too far ahead.

Mr. Li looked at Miss Xue and said with a smile: "I don't have a household registration, so I can only rely on you, Miss Xue."

"You have to... make more noise."

"Otherwise I can't get in, and I can't explain anything clearly."

Xue Yun'er lowered her head, clenched her fists, and then nodded heavily.

She took several deep breaths and then walked quickly towards the city gate.

After being stopped by two yamen runners, the county magistrate's daughter spoke in a calm but loud voice.

"I am the daughter of the county lord."

She turned around and looked at Li Yun, her voice getting louder.

"This is the hero who saved me."

Li Yun, who was behind him, smiled and nodded, speaking with a distinct foreign accent.

"My name is Li Zhao. I was passing by your place and happened to save Miss Xue."

Xue Yun'er suddenly turned around and looked at Li Yun.

Li Yun's words were obviously not spoken with the accent of Qingyang or Cangshan.

In this way, the identity of the passing "knight" seems to be more confirmed.

The two yamen runners looked at each other and stepped aside.

"You two... please."

(End of this chapter)