My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 94 I suspect the second son!

"Haha, my brother has finally made progress!"

Li Xiuning rode alongside Li Xuanba, a smile on her face.

Li Xuanba originally wanted his sister to return to the city first while he led his men to Wild Buffalo Mountain. However, Li Xiuning disagreed, saying that she couldn't be left out of a hunting trip. Zhang Du also said a few good words to Li Xuanba, suggesting that if those people were truly enemies, having such a skilled archer along wouldn't be a bad thing.

Li Xuanba agreed and took his elder sister with him.

In the past, when Li Jiancheng led his friends on hunts, Li Xiuning always liked to go along. That was just her personality. She got along well with Li Jiancheng's brave retainers, and no one treated her as an ordinary woman.

Li Xiuning was extremely happy about her younger brother's transformation. In the past, she had always worried that her brother would be bullied. He was too kind-hearted and physically weak; he couldn't even ride a horse and spent all his time reading books.

Now that my third brother has started to volunteer to go hunting, this is truly wonderful news.

The siblings walked in the middle of the group. Li Xiuning looked around with great interest, as if searching for prey.

Li Xuanba cleared his throat and reminded her, "Sister, there are many dead people in the mountains. If they are just refugees, it is not a problem, but if they are bandits, there will definitely be a fight. We must not be careless."

Li Xiuning laughed again. In her eyes, Li Xuanba was just a little guy who hadn't grown up yet, and even his admonitions sounded a bit childish.

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever Sanlang says!"

"My son is destined to be a great general!"

"Sanlang has grown up so much, he even has little girls hiding in the house now."

Li Xiuning originally wanted to tease her younger brother a bit, but when she saw Li Xuanba's blank and innocent eyes, she didn't continue.

Their group first arrived at Mengcun.

The people of Mengcun saw them from afar. This time, they were no longer afraid. The children skipped and jumped as they rushed over, surrounding the knights and shouting:

"Li Sanlang, the benevolent and righteous man, whose soldiers never robbed grain, fought thieves, and brought peace to the four directions."

Upon hearing the nursery rhyme, Li Xiuning was quite surprised. Li Xuanba led everyone off their horses, and a moment later, several acquaintances from Meng Village came over, chased away the little children, and then kowtowed to pay their respects.

"How dare I accept such a great gift?"

Li Xuanba quickly helped these people up.

Li Sanlang's reputation started in Mengcun and spread to other villages and even to other regions. Li Shimin's campaign against the bandits across the border also boosted Li Sanlang's fame, and everyone assumed that the cavalrymen were Li Sanlang's soldiers.

The men looked excited, their eyes filled with gratitude as they gazed at Li Xuanba.

Because Mengcun is located at the foot of the mountain and is the farthest from the city, it was the most frequently raided by thieves. After the thieves raided, the local militia would come and cause trouble, making them suffer greatly. At one point, they were even prepared to abandon their hometown and move to other places.

Since Li Xuanba came here, everything has changed. Thieves have disappeared, and the local militia no longer dare to come. Although life is still hard, the two major scourges have been eliminated. Moreover, Li Xuanba's militia has helped the villagers solve many problems. After establishing connections with various villages, they have stabilized the somewhat broken rural order.

Throughout Changwu, every villager praises Li Jiasanlang.

"We didn't know Sanlang was coming, and we weren't prepared. Please wait a moment while I go and pick out some good meat."

"No need for that, we've already eaten. We're just passing through Mengcun and wanted to ask a few questions."

Li Xuanba didn't want to bring anyone in, but the villagers of Meng Village pleaded with him. They had received many kindnesses from Sanlang and wanted to repay him. In the end, Li Xuanba couldn't resist their request and only brought a few trusted men into the village.

He sat down again in the same courtyard as before. The villagers were quite busy, cooking meat over a fire, and Li Xuanba couldn't persuade them to stop.

The village chief was sitting next to Li Xuanba, answering his questions.

Li Xuanba naturally inquired about the situation of the deceased.

Speaking of this matter, the village chief straightened his face and said seriously, "It is true that such a thing happened. A few days ago, when we went into the mountains, we encountered a group of people. We didn't dare to provoke them, so we retreated."

"However, Third Brother, there's no need to worry. Those people shouldn't be thieves."

After pondering for a moment, the village chief decided to tell the truth. He said helplessly, "There are fewer guards lately, and you can't see them on the road. However, this year's spring planting is not very good, and many people have given up on farming and have gone up the mountain to make a living."

"It has always been the same. Every time a food shortage occurs, people move to other places or hide in the mountains. Now is the time to hide."

"Now is the right time? I don't quite understand."

"Third Young Master, you may not know this, but before autumn, the government will close off the mountains and send people to watch out at every intersection to prevent anyone from escaping. Because it's time to harvest grain in the autumn, many people can't afford to pay and will run away or hide. So now is the best time to escape."

The village head felt uneasy saying these things in front of the prefect's son. After all, those who had fled were not necessarily bad people; most of them simply couldn't bear the heavy taxes and corvée labor and decided to escape their hometowns, preferring to live among wild beasts in the mountains rather than continue to endure the oppressive government. This was the true meaning of "oppressive government is more ferocious than a tiger." Li Xuanba simply nodded.

We'll have to go and see for ourselves to find out who they really are.

They stayed there for a meal, but this time Li Xuanba didn't bring any extra food, so he could only leave some money behind. Because he didn't have much money on him, he borrowed some from his older sister. Li Xiuning was also generous and gave all the money she had to her younger brother.

Seeing her younger brother struggle with the other party for a long time before forcibly distributing the money to them and then leading everyone on their way again, Li Xiuning's eyes shone even brighter as she looked at her brother.

My younger brother seems to have really grown up.

They continued forward, where traces of the army's passage remained on the ground. Not long after the local militia had left, Liu Chounu, who had remained silent until now, began to become cautious, carefully examining the traces around him.

Li Mi's sudden change had made Liu Chounu even more cautious.

After walking a short distance, Liu Chounu suddenly spoke up, "There are people over there!"

Sometimes, Li Xuanba couldn't understand how Liu Chounu could spot others. No matter how he looked at it, there were only a few bare rocks on the other side, rugged and uneven, and it didn't look like there was anyone there. But Liu Chounu had already picked up his bow and arrow, and Li Xiuning followed closely behind. The two of them aimed at the rocks in the distance.

"come out!!"

Liu Chounu shouted loudly.

"Don't lay a hand on me! Don't lay a hand on me!"

Then he heard a sound coming from that direction. To his surprise, Li Xuanba saw several people crawl out from between the two large rocks in the distance. They all raised their hands to indicate that they were not carrying any weapons. There were five of them, dressed in rags, emaciated, and trembling with fear.

Liu Chounu ordered his men to bring them over.

All they did was beg for mercy.

Li Xuanba carefully examined the people in front of him; they didn't seem to be thieves.

Who are you?

"Yes, yes, sir, we, we..."

The group was terrified and could not speak clearly. Li Xuanba said softly, "Do not be afraid, just state your identity."

Upon hearing this, the men couldn't hold back their tears and burst into sobs. One of them said, "My lord, we were originally deceased soldiers, with nowhere to go. We were kidnapped by bandits, and then we encountered the renowned Sanlang soldiers. Those men were extremely powerful and killed all the bandits."

"We told them our origins, and the leader, Sanlangjun, took pity on us and spared us. So we came to Wild Buffalo Mountain to beg for a living. We hope you will forgive us!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Du flew into a rage, "It's all lies! How could I..."

"Commander."

Li Xuanba interrupted Zhang Du and looked at the dead, "What kind of soldiers are those Sanlang soldiers you mentioned?"

"They were all skilled horsemen and archers, incredibly brave. The leader, Li Sanlang, rode a magnificent horse, entirely black except for its four white hooves."

Li Xuanba immediately knew the identity of that 'Sanlang'. He looked at the people in front of him and sighed.

"Don't stay at the foot of the mountain, someone will come to arrest you. You can go deeper into the mountains and see if there are other people in the mountains."

"Yes, yes, there are many others, including those who were previously caught up in the chaos and some villagers who just escaped."

Li Xuanba didn't ask any more questions. He simply called Zhang Du over and asked him to give them some food and tell them to stay away.

At this moment, Li Xiuning suddenly spurred her horse forward and came to Li Xuanba's side. Her face was extremely solemn. She looked around and then lowered her voice.

"Xuanba".

"Did your second brother often go out before?"

"That seems to be the case. Why is my older sister asking this?"

"I suspect he has connections with bandits in the mountains!"

"what???"

(End of this chapter)