Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 102 Awakening
After an unknown amount of time, Meng Liulang finally opened his eyes.

The blow to the back of her head was merciless. Her head was still spinning. When she opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Mo's familiar face.

Where is Pei Qinghe?

Memories of the moment before he fainted flooded his mind, igniting a fire within Meng Liulang. He tried to get up but couldn't move. Looking down, he discovered his hands and feet were tightly bound with hemp rope. Meng Liulang grew even more enraged: "Who dares to tie me up?"

Xiao Mo coughed and said, "It was Sixth Miss who did it."

Meng Liulang looked up and glared at him fiercely: "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and come over here and untie the ropes!"

Xiao Mo took a step back: "Before the Sixth Miss left, she instructed that the young master's ropes not be untied. She wanted the young master to lie down and think things through."

Enraged, Meng Liulang struggled desperately to get up from the bed. The ropes binding his wrists and legs tightened further, leaving him like a fish caught in a net, utterly disheveled: "You bastard! Whom do you listen to?"

Xiao Mo sighed with a bitter face, "Normally I would listen to the young master. But before the general left, he specifically instructed that as soon as the young master enters Pei Family Village, he must listen to the sixth young lady."

Meng Liulang: "..."

"Sixth Miss has led her people into the mountains to wipe out Qingfeng Village." Xiao Mo took the initiative to explain, "I'm sorry to trouble you, young master, to make do in this house for a while. Once Sixth Miss returns, she will release you."

Meng Liulang was so angry that he started cursing.

He cursed Xiao Mo for betraying his master, cursed his own father for being blind and trusting the wrong person, and occasionally cursed Pei Liu for being cold-blooded and ruthless.

Two heads popped in.

A round-faced, sweet-smiling little girl, and a handsome, aloof, cool boy.

"Are you insulting my cousin Qinghe?" Pei Xuan's voice was sweet and adorable. "If you keep insulting me, I'll get angry! I'm scary when I'm angry, I'll hit you!"

Pei Feng was much colder, his words piercing Meng Liulang's heart: "With your skills, you wouldn't last fifty moves against my cousin. If she wanted to beat you up, she could have done it openly, why resort to sneak attacks? You're far too arrogant!"

They both wanted to go into the mountains to fight bandits, but they were too young and were left in the village, which made them very depressed.

The siblings mocked Meng Liulang, saying, "If it weren't for the fact that the Beiping army had sent you food and weapons, my cousin Qinghe wouldn't care whether you live or die."

"A bunch of soldiers need to eat and drink every day. Do you think our Pei Family Village's food will fall from the sky?"

Meng Liulang couldn't possibly argue with two children, so in a fit of anger he turned his head to the inside.

Pei Xuan and Pei Feng chattered away for half a day before leaving.

The five hundred soldiers were too embarrassed to sit idle, so the next day, under Mao Hongling's command, they felled trees, moved bricks, and farmed the fields.

The soldiers knew perfectly well that their sixth young master was acting foolishly and impulsively. Miss Pei was saving not only her sixth young master, but also their lives.

The situation outside is chaotic. It's uncertain whether these 500 men can even get out of Youzhou, let alone rescue the general.

A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years. First, you must survive; then you can make plans.

The soldiers worked hard, and Mao Hongling was generous with the food, specifically instructing Fang to slaughter two fat pigs in the kitchen every day.

Pei Yun insisted on going into the mountains, and Mao Hongling was left behind to guard Pei Family Village. Mao Hongling was not as ruthless as Pei Yun, but she was meticulous and cautious.

The refugees had long since returned home and made no unusual moves; some even kept a watchful eye on the soldiers. Occasionally, someone would privately report that a few shameless soldiers were flirting with women in the fields and villages.

With Pei Qinghe's encouragement and support, more and more women in Pei Family Village were getting married and taking in husbands. Two of the young wives of the Pei family had also taken in men before the new year. The refugees were afraid that if a strong and burly soldier took a liking to one, they would be left without wives. Mao Hongling was well aware of the refugees' schemes. After praising them a few times, she turned to the Pei family women and said privately, "The soldiers of the Beiping Army are skilled and tall. If anyone takes a liking to one, ask them privately if they're willing to marry into the family."

Zhou, whose skills were mediocre, did not go into the mountains this time and stayed in the village. Upon hearing this, Zhou coughed awkwardly: "They are from the Beiping Army. If I marry into the family, will I have to stay in Peijia Village?"

Mao Hongling smiled and said, "Of course."

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to poach troops from the Beiping Army like this?" another woman asked in a low voice.

“What’s wrong with that?” Mao Hongling said calmly. “The Beiping army is fighting in the capital, and it’s hard to say how many of them will come back alive. Meng Liulang is impulsive. If Qinghe hadn’t intervened in time, he would have led his men to the capital to their deaths. They are overjoyed that we are willing to take them in.”

A few days later, three soldiers sneaked into Meng Liulang's house.

With his hands and feet bound, Meng Liulang couldn't go anywhere. He spent his days eating, sleeping, and cursing, and his face became much rounder, but his voice was full of energy.

Xiao Mo looked much more haggard: "What are you all doing here?"

The three soldiers chuckled obsequiously and said shamelessly, "We've come to tell you, young master, that we want to become sons-in-law of the Pei family village."

"From now on, we will stay in Peijia Village."

"Those who have taken a liking to us are all genuine women of the Pei family. We haven't disgraced the young master!"

Meng Liulang was amused and spat, "You have the nerve to say that? You are all soldiers on the military register. If you want to leave the military register, you can only do so if you are killed or wounded and can no longer serve in the army."

“Actually, there are other ways.” The soldier with the most upright face said in a low voice, “Since we’re going to marry into the family anyway, we can just change our surnames.”

"The Beiping army is fighting in the capital; they're already traitors to the court. Who cares about the Beiping army's roster anymore!"

“Once the King of Wei wins, he will surely settle scores. At that time, the imperial court will send troops to suppress the Beiping army. If we stay in Pei Family Village and follow Miss Pei Liu, we might still be able to fight our way out.”

"That's right, Sixth Young Master, why don't you stay as well!"

Meng Liulang's face was gloomy, and he sneered repeatedly: "What would I do if I stayed? Would I, like you, kneel before women and become a live-in son-in-law?"

Xiao Mo's eyes lit up, and she continued to persuade him, "Sixth Young Master is young and handsome, skilled in riding and archery, and knows how to fight. He would be perfect as Sixth Miss's husband..."

"Shut up!" Meng Liulang was furious, his dark eyes blazing with rage: "How can a grown man of eight feet tall marry into another family! Anyone who dares to mention the word 'marrying into another family' again, may never appear before me again."

Xiao Mo shut up.

The three soldiers dared not utter a sound.

Meng Liulang's face was ashen, and his chest heaved.

After a long while, the soldiers all knelt down and kowtowed three times to Meng Liulang: "Young Master Liu, the Beiping army has been defeated, and we want to find a way to survive."

"Please, Sixth Young Master, let us out of the military camp."

Meng Liulang coldly said, "Get out!"

“From today onwards, you shall get out of the Beiping Army. From now on, you are no longer members of the Beiping Army.”

(End of this chapter)