Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 17 Laojun Temple

After a while, Wang Jinwu and several brothers came back with rice.

The rice they brought with them on the way to Yan was not much, but except for the three-day needs, the rest was given to Li Hu. This rice was enough for Li Hu and others to eat for a few meals, and if they saved some and mixed it with wild vegetables, it would not be a problem to eat for a few more days.

As for Zhu Shenzhu, it was fine. After passing Yangtou Mountain and continuing eastward, he would reach Zhao Village in two days at most. Zhu Shenzhu left himself enough for three days, and when he arrived in Zhao Village, food would not be a problem.

When they saw the rice and grain that were delivered, Li Hu and his group cheered. Not only Li Hu, but everyone looked at Zhu Shencui with gratitude and admiration.

"Sixth Master, these people have unknown origins, so we need to be more careful..." Wang Chuer reminded Zhu Shenzhui softly.

Zhu Shencui nodded slightly but said nothing. Wang Chuer also meant well. After all, Li Hu had just brought people to rob them. But in the blink of an eye, Zhu Shencui not only spared Li Hu's life, but also gave him rice, grain and money. It was normal for Wang Chuer to remind him.

However, Zhu Shenzhui knew in his heart that he was not a pushover. After all, could someone who had the courage to sell contraband salt be a good person?

In the past two years, Zhu Shenzui was able to lead the people of Wangjia Village to do such business, not only relying on his brains, but also relying on the people and knives in his hands.

It is not uncommon to engage in fights with others while doing this business. Zhu Shenzui has taken several lives. Good men and women cannot do this business. Sometimes being ruthless is necessary.

If they were just ordinary bandits, Zhu Shenzui would kill them without hesitation. Even if some of his own men were injured or killed, Zhu Shenzui would not show mercy.

But Li Hu and others were different. Firstly, Zhu Shencui felt from the beginning that Li Hu and others were different from real strong men, and looked more like ordinary people. Secondly, Li Hu's martial arts surprised him. Not only was he not inferior to himself, but his moves also had obvious military shadows, which made Zhu Shencui very curious.

As for the third, it is Li Hu’s loyalty to his brothers.

You should know that Wang Jinwu's knife was already on Li Hu's neck. Li Hu not only did not beg for mercy, but also begged Zhu Shenzui to spare his brothers' lives in exchange for his own life.

Zhu Shenzhui was touched by this kind of affectionate and righteous man and he began to admire his talent.

Since he started smuggling salt, Zhu Shencui has seen all kinds of people. Some of them may look fierce and domineering, but when faced with swords and knives, they will show all kinds of ugly behaviors. Some people beg for mercy, some cry bitterly, and some are even scared to the point of trembling and defecating and urinating on the spot.

But this was the first time that they had encountered someone like Li Hu. Zhu Shenzui was always good at judging people and felt that Li Hu was different from the others. Even though he had stopped them at the intersection and kept saying that they were doing a business with no capital, Li Hu did not attack them directly but only threatened them verbally. Instead, it was Wang Jinwu who took action first.

After learning about the origins of Li Hu and his people, Zhu Shenzui became even more determined to recruit them. It would be more useful to keep such a person than to kill him directly.

Yangtou Mountain is a place that Zhu Shencui and others must pass through to transport salt. It is not a bad thing for Zhu Shencui that Li Hu and others are stationed here.

If Li Hu can gain a firm foothold here, he can help Zhu Shenzui control the road to Yangtou Mountain and serve as a transit station for transporting salt in the future. In this way, no one except Zhu Shenzui can take this road in the future.

In addition, Zhu Shenzhui has been preparing for the future. People like Li Hu have nowhere to go. If they can be completely conquered, it will be a good thing for Zhu Shenzhui.

Apart from these, Zhu Shenzui has other ideas, but it is too early to say now.

Li Hu led everyone forward to thank Zhu Shencui again. Zhu Shencui asked them to stand up with a pleasant face and said a few nice words, which made Li Hu and others even more grateful.

It was almost the afternoon, and Zhu Shenzui and the others would definitely not be able to get out of Yangtou Mountain today. Li Hu hesitated for a moment and invited Zhu Shenzui and the others to go to Laojun Temple to rest for a night, and he would personally send Zhu Shenzui out of Yangtou Mountain tomorrow.

After saying this, Li Hu looked eager and a little nervous, fearing that Zhu Shenzhui would refuse. But unexpectedly, Zhu Shenzhui accepted Li Hu's invitation without even considering it, and this instantly made Li Hu energetic and happy.

Li Hu's group led the way in front, Zhu Shenzui and Li Hu walked in the middle of the team, followed by Zhu Shenzui's men.

It’s not too far from here to Laojun Temple, but the mountain road is not easy to walk on. Fortunately, Li Hu and his people cleared the path on the mountain after settling down at Laojun Temple, so it is not a problem to get all the way there.

After walking for more than half an hour, we finally arrived at the place. From afar, we could see the broken walls and dilapidated roof of the Laojun Temple. Looking over, just as Li Hu said, there were many people busy at the Laojun Temple. Most of them were old people, women and children, and there were only a dozen young and strong people.

Seeing Li Hu and his group coming back, the people who stayed behind in Laojun Temple came forward happily to greet them. But when they saw Zhu Shenzui and his group following behind them, they instantly showed a look of panic on their faces.

However, someone soon explained to them what had happened. After learning the consequences, everyone felt relieved and stepped forward to pay their respects to Zhu Shencui, thanking him for his kindness.

Li Hu pointed around and introduced the surroundings, then invited Zhu Shenzhui to come into the temple and sit down. Zhu Shenzhui looked around and nodded with a smile, and asked Wang Chuer and others to find an open space to temporarily camp and rest. He called his cousin Wang Jinwu, and the two followed Li Hu into the temple.

Laojun Temple is a Taoist temple that has been around for some time. It is located in a remote area and no one knows where the previous keeper went. There has been no incense burning here for a long time, and no one knows when it became dilapidated.

The entire temple is not big, occupying an area only about the size of a courtyard. Most of the surrounding earth walls have collapsed, and even the main hall is in ruins.

Fortunately, Li Hu and others came here and made some repairs, otherwise in two years this place would probably be in a state of disrepair.

The Laojun Temple is just a small temple with only one main hall and two side halls. Now people live here. The clay sculpture of Laojun in the main hall, which is the Taiqing Hall, has disappeared. No one knows whether Li Hu moved it away or it disappeared when he came. There are fewer bricks and tiles on the roof of the hall, and the broken places are temporarily covered with straw mats and branches, so that it can barely be lived in.

As the leader, the main hall is Li Hu's residence. Not only Li Hu but also his family and brothers live here.

After entering, Li Hu personally brought out a few simple wooden stools, wiped them twice with his sleeves and asked Zhu Shencui to sit down. Zhu Shencui did not hesitate and sat down directly, then looked around.

"How can we still live here when it's so run down?"

"It's better than having no place to stay. I'll fix it after some time and think of a solution after we get through this winter." Li Hu said with a wry smile. It's hard to live in this world! Besides, they finally found a place to stay, so it's good to have such a place.

"That's true." Zhu Shenzhui nodded. The winter in the north is very difficult to endure, and there are more than a hundred people including Li Hu. If they have to sleep in the open air, I'm afraid not many of them can survive. Having a place to live, although a little shabby, is better than nothing.

"Sixth Master, please have some tea." At this time, a young man brought over a bowl of tea.

After saying thank you, Zhu Shenzhui took the tea bowl. It was just an ordinary coarse porcelain bowl, and the edges were cracked in many places. The tea inside was not a good tea, not even a regular tea. Smelling the tea and looking at the floating leaves, Zhu Shenzhui recognized that it was tea made from persimmon leaves from the mountains.

Zhu Shenzhui didn't care either. He just raised his hand and took a sip. The tea tasted very bitter, but he didn't care at all. After taking another sip, he put the tea bowl aside.

Seeing Zhu Shenzhui drinking the tea openly, the young man looked happy and a little admiring.

"This is my son Li You. You'er, your father was able to come back alive today thanks to Sixth Master's mercy. Why don't you kowtow to Sixth Master?" Li Hu pointed at the young man.

No wonder Zhu Shenzui felt that this young man looked somewhat similar to Li Hu. It turned out that he was Li Hu's son.

Li You looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. He was not short, just a little thin. There was a delicateness in his features that Li Hu did not have.

"Li You thanks Sixth Master for showing mercy. I will definitely repay Sixth Master for your kindness!" Without saying anything else, Li You knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhu Shenzhui. This kid was really honest. His head banged on the bluestone slabs on the ground with a bang. Zhu Shenzhui didn't react for a while. When he stood up to stop him, Li You had already kowtowed three times.

Zhu Shenzhui quickly pulled Li You up, shook his head and smiled bitterly at Li Hu, saying, "There's no need to do this. I've already said it before, we won't talk about the past anymore."

"That won't do!" Li Hu said sternly, "Sixth Master not only let bygones be bygones, but also left money and food for us. I can't repay such a great kindness even if I die. What's the point of asking my kid to kowtow to you? As long as Sixth Master says a word, I will go through fire and water without any problem!"

"You're too kind. Since our acquaintance is fate, I always like to make friends with heroes, not to mention that Brother Hu once fought against the Mongols at the border. Even if we have fallen to this point today, what Brother Hu has done can still be called remarkable! Now that the misunderstandings have been resolved, we are brothers. There is no need to be polite, no need to be polite..."

Zhu Shenzhui said this, but he was happy in his heart. He was right about Li Hu. He was indeed a man of loyalty and righteousness. He did nothing wrong in letting Li Hu go today.

(End of this chapter)