Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 43 Fear

Cooperation?

Qiu Heng's proposal made the four of them look at each other in surprise, and they couldn't help but be moved.

This Magpie brother is obviously familiar with the capital city. It is not clear how skilled he is, but at least he is very good at kicking, and he can help them escape from being hunted down.

It shouldn't be a loss to cooperate with such a person.

The four of them exchanged glances, and it was Tao Da who spoke up: "Brother Que, how can we cooperate?"

"From what you said, I know that Yuan Chenghai is used to being heavily protected. Although he relaxed a little after returning to Beijing, he will not let his guard down after the attack during the day. His residence is also airtight..."

The more Qiu Heng spoke, the gloomier the atmosphere became.

"In this case, assassination won't work."

Yuan Chenghai is different from Han Wu. The high-ranking officials who have lived in the capital for a long time have been comfortable for too long, and Han Wu himself is the leader of the imperial guards, so he will ignore these things. However, Yuan Chenghai has made the southeast a mess, and the people are full of resentment. He knows that he is hated.

"Then let's go and file a complaint with the emperor!" Chen San gritted his teeth.

Qiu Heng shook her head: "I'm afraid not."

"We have evidence. A brother once sacrificed his life to obtain the account books showing the thieves occupying a lot of good farmland. However, we don't believe that the court will stand up for the people, so we want to kill the thieves directly!"

Qiu Heng looked at Chen San who was speaking angrily and asked, "So you believe in the court now?"

"What can I do if I don't believe it? Do you think there is any other way?"

Facing Chen San's angry question, Qiu Heng was very calm: "If you don't believe it, then of course don't do it. You can give it a try for small things, but how can you rely on others, luck, or unknown justice for such a big thing?"

She said this because the answer was already written on the paper.

Yuan Chenghai caused trouble in the southeast and provoked civil unrest, but he was only demoted. However, when the civil unrest that lasted for more than a year was quelled, he was restored to favor.

The emperor's favoritism is so unreasonable.

A massive uprising that captured more than 30 counties and almost shook the Ling family's empire, after being quelled, the culprit was able to regain the emperor's favor. How could she believe that a mere account book of occupied fertile land could bring down the thief Yuan?
At that time, Han Wu was still willing to wait for a result, but as for Yuan Chenghai, her idea was very clear: give up all hope and rely on herself to take the thief's life.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Chen San asked impatiently.

Qiu Heng stared at him quietly for a moment.

"what happened?"

"I can understand that you have emotions and are in a bad mood, but I shouldn't be the one to bear the responsibility for your bad emotions. People who don't know would think that it's me who made you feel like a stray dog." Qiu Heng said bluntly.

Who has to bear less than who?

This world is not hers, and the suffering of the people is not caused by her. She seeks help not for personal gain, but if it succeeds, millions of people will benefit, but she is just one of them.

She was already annoyed, and she had no obligation to endure this kind of nonsense.

"Brother Tao, if Chen San is still so emotional in the future, he will only hinder us."

Tao Da's tone became stern: "Chen San, why don't you apologize to Brother Que!"

"I'm sorry." Chen San bowed and calmed down.

In the past, when he expressed his anger, his brothers would comfort him, but this was the first time someone said this.

But what the other party said...seems to make sense...

Although Chen San couldn't bring himself to admit his shame for the moment, he was vaguely aware of this.

"Then let's get down to business. Give up the assassination and the extravagant hope that someone will do justice. Everything depends on ourselves." Qiu Heng looked at the four people, "The first step is to understand the people in Yuan's house, who is more important and can get close to Yuan Chenghai, what these people like and dislike, and who they have grievances with..."

This time Chen San listened patiently before asking, "But how can we understand?"

Qiu Heng looked at the only woman among the four people: "Sanniang, can I call you Sanniang?"

Nie Sanniang nodded.

"You and your sister Si Niang went out for fun, and Yuan Chenghai kidnapped Si Niang. Why didn't he kidnap you?"

Chen San's lips moved and he wanted to speak again, but he held back this time.

Nie Sanniang was silent for a while, then pulled off the black scarf, revealing a plain face.

“Maybe it’s because I’m not beautiful.”

As Nie Sanniang said this, her voice trembled a little.

This trembling was not due to inferiority complex due to his inferior appearance, but guilt towards his sister.

It was she who insisted on going out to play, but it was her sister who fell into the trap, and she was the only one who blamed herself for not being pretty enough. If she had been the victim, at least she wouldn't have been tortured by the guilt she felt towards her sister.

"You acted with everyone else and never revealed your true face in front of Yuan Chenghai, right?" Qiu Heng asked while looking at Nie Sanniang's face.

As expected, what was recorded in the book was true. Yuan Chenghai loved beautiful women very much and valued beauty to the point that if he set his eyes on a woman, he would steal someone's wives and concubines.

But if a girl is not pretty enough, he won’t even look at her twice.

"No. We had no chance to get close to him when we were in the south." Those who tried to get close were killed.

"How does Yuan Chenghai treat Si Niang?"

Nie Sanniang stared at Qiu Heng: "Brother Que, just tell me what you think."

"If he is still okay with your sister, why don't you go and find him——"

"No, that would be like sending Sanniang into the tiger's mouth!" Chen San objected.

Nie Sanniang's expression changed: "Brother Que means——"

"You are Si Niang's biological sister. It is reasonable for you to come to her house after losing your sister. Yuan Chenghai will definitely not let her go. So you just need to stay and accompany your sister and take care of her." Qiu Heng paused and emphasized, "Of course, the premise is that Yuan Chenghai still cares about Si Niang."

Does the bastard care about his sister?
Nie Sanniang recalled that on the way to Beijing, she saw Yuan Chenghai chatting and laughing around Si Niang. Si Niang was like a puppet with its strings cut, not moving at all, and she felt that he cared about her.

At least I still care about it for now.

"Okay, I'll go!" Nie Sanniang quickly made up her mind.

"Sanniang!" Chen San was a little anxious, "Then you are also trapped? What if the thief bullies you?"

Nie Sanniang was very calm: "If the thief had any interest in me, he would have robbed me right away."

Chen San was speechless.

"What will happen after I stay with Si Niang?" Nie Sanniang asked Qiu Heng seriously, "Looking for an opportunity to take action?"

She could tell that the person whose face was hidden in front of her was very young, but he had more ideas than those of them who had been acting recklessly.

Qiu Heng shook her head: "We must give up the idea of taking direct action. You went to Yuan Chenghai's house for your sister. Yuan Chenghai may not care about you, but he will definitely be on guard against you getting close to him. He cherishes his life like this, not just for you, but for everyone."

"Then what can I do?"

"As I said just now, get to know the people around him. Since Yuan Chenghai is not easy to deal with, maybe we can find an opportunity through others."

Nie Sanniang nodded, her eyes shining: "I understand."

"What about us?" Chen San asked.

"The three of you should lie low for now. It's difficult to assassinate Yuan Chenghai, but with your skills, hiding yourself shouldn't be difficult, right?"

There are too many people in the prosperous and wealthy capital, and the lack of a curfew has broken the boundaries between the streets and the city. Peddlers walking the streets, traveling merchants coming and going, brightly lit night markets, brothels open all night long... While it has created a lively atmosphere, it has also made it easier for some people who cannot be seen in the light to do things.

Such an environment provides convenient conditions for hiding.

After discussing some details, Qiu Heng said goodbye to the four people: "I'm leaving first, and I'll wait for your news."

"Brother Magpie--" Chen San shouted.

Qiu Heng looked at him.

Chen San pointed at his face and said, "We don't know what you look like yet. Will it be inconvenient to cooperate with you in the future?"

At this time, Tao Da and Liu Er, who had been silent all this time, also showed their faces. Only Qiu Heng still concealed her true appearance.

Hearing this, Qiu Heng raised her hand and touched the black scarf on her face: "Remember my name is Que, and just remember my voice. I'm sorry that I can't show my true face for now."

Chen San frowned: "This is not fair."

He is not venting his emotions, but talking about the facts.

"It's fair." Qiu Heng answered without anger, "You have nowhere to go, but I have a family, status and a way out. It's unfair for me to be the same as you."

Chen San was silent.

Tao Da bowed and said, "Brother Que is right, let's proceed according to the plan."

Qiu Heng waved her hand, and with the four people watching, she jumped up and down a few times and climbed over the courtyard wall.

After a long while, Chen San sighed: "This guy named Que is really good at Qinggong."

"It's our luck to meet him tonight. Chen San, please be more polite next time." Tao Da said.

"I see. Sanniang, are you really going there tomorrow?"

"Ah."

"just in case--"

Nie Sanniang was tired of listening to it. "Stop talking nonsense. What if Yuan Chenghai suspects that I have other intentions and wants to kill me? Then I will die. So many people have died. One more person won't make much difference. If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't be here."

"Who's afraid of death?" Chen San lay down, surrounded by the rich smell of grass, as if he had returned to his childhood when he was herding cattle with his brothers.

At that time, they liked to lie down and be lazy like this.

"I'm afraid the bastard is not dead..." The young man's throat tightened and his voice lowered.

I’m just afraid that the thief won’t die.

(End of this chapter)