Top-notch Little Horseman

Ye Chen clapped his hands lightly, brushing away the dust.

"With the Northern Barbarians knocking on the gates and the border trade closed, finding this kind of grain will probably be even more difficult..." Ye Chen was somewhat troubled, as he really couldn't find a way out.

"These things... I'm afraid you can't find them here; you'll have to go overseas..."

"That smoker might have connections; we should ask him!"

Sunlight streamed over the earthen ridge, and the sounds of hoes, hammers, and wooden wedges gradually rose from Huoludun, along with the bubbling of porridge in the pot.

The desolate pass, now breached, seemed to come alive.

……

Wolf Brother, along with his four leaders, crouched behind a clump of withered bushes on the hillside opposite Huangchen Pass. They surveyed Huangchen Pass from all angles for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and the more they looked, the more suspicious they became.

The information Zhao Shaojun provided was completely wrong. He said there were only 11 people inside, but that number is much higher, not to mention how many unseen people there are.

Wolf Brother originally thought this job was a sure way to make money, so he took his brothers out for a bit of fun and relaxation.

But now it seems this is a tough nut to crack, and the money might not be easy to get.

What he saw now was a burly man riding on the courtyard wall, building a mortise and tenon joint, tamping the stone seams with a ram.

A man was squatting in the yard piecing together wooden planks, with a bundle of chopped brambles piled up next to him.

And, and... what's going on with those people? How come there are so many of them? Apart from a few dressed as farmers, those people are all quite extraordinary.

No, we have to scout ahead first; we can't be reckless.

That bastard Zhao Shaojun, is he trying to screw me over?

"Brother, those guys are dressed like farmers, while those other guys look like thugs. They don't seem to have much fighting ability," Liang Zhaowu said, stepping forward.

"With just us brothers, we could rush over and hack them all to death!"

Wolf Brother didn't rush to make a move. He observed for a while longer and figured out what was going on.

He licked his lips and lowered his voice, saying, "Judging from the way they work, they should be people from nearby villages, just hired helpers."

"Judging from their techniques, some of them seem quite skilled, so there's no doubt they're right."

"Our main target is Ye Chen. We'll disguise ourselves as refugees and rush over, then find an opportunity to kill Ye Chen. That would count as completing part of our mission!"

"You all follow my orders. If anything seems amiss, evacuate immediately!"

"Third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, you come with me to beg for food. Once we find Ye Chen, kill him before he can react."

"Kill them and leave. These villagers will be terrified when they see blood, and they will definitely not dare to come and get involved."

Wolf Brother turned to the pale-faced scholar holding a paper fan and said, "Second Brother, I'm leaving this outside to you. Keep an eye on things and be ready to provide backup for us at any time."

"Don't worry, brother. We have 50 brothers. No matter what happens, we can all rush in and kill them all." The pale-faced scholar nodded gently.

The sun was almost directly overhead, and the sunlight shone down from above, shrinking people's shadows into small black patches at their feet.

Wolf Brother glanced towards the official road. He could faintly hear the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, but it was indistinct and intermittent, carried by the wind.

He listened carefully and estimated that it was less than two miles away, which would take about an incense stick's time to get there on horseback.

It seems that Zhao Shaojun brought his sugar daddy here to inspect the goods!

"Let's go, let's move out!" Wolf stood up and patted the dirt off his knees.

"Remember, Ye Chen has a mole on his right eyebrow. Once you see it, take him down!"

As he spoke, he led the way out of the bushes and limped toward the gate.

His three brothers hurriedly followed.

When Wolf was still a dozen steps away from closing the door, his straight back hunched over, his tense face relaxed, his eyes changed from fierce to cloudy and tired, and his voice became hoarse and pitiful.

"Brother... please have mercy, could you give me some food?"

"We've walked for three days and two nights, and we're so hungry we can't walk anymore..."

Revolver, Yang Xiaodao, and Revolver followed behind him, all behaving in the same manner.

To make it look convincing, they rolled in mud at the local temple yesterday, wore their clothes through several holes in the stones, smeared soot on their faces, and stuffed mud under their fingernails.

They look like refugees, and anyone who sees them would feel sorry for them!

Zhu Zi was carrying a stone toward the gate when he saw the four people and stopped.

He looked them up and down; they were dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, and their lips were so dry they were peeling.

This was exactly like the refugees who had fled from Dingyuan County. A pang of sadness struck him, and he put down the stone, turning to call out into the courtyard, "Lord Ye, some refugees have come and are asking for some food!"

Liang Biao was about to climb down from the wall when he heard Zhu Zi's shout and paused for a moment.

He didn't go down, but instead sat on the wall, squinted, and looked Carmen's four refugees over.

He had lived in Zhenbeibao for so many years and had seen all sorts of people, and there were at least eight hundred or a thousand refugees among them.

He knew very well what real refugees were like.

The refugees walked with a dragging gait, their knees barely able to lift, their heels shuffling along the ground.

Their eyes were empty and numb; they were the eyes of someone who had been starving for so long that even despair had become dulled.

In particular, they had been starving for two days after leaving Zhenbeibao, and he knew all too well what that felt like.

Although the four people in front of them were dressed in tattered clothes and their faces were indeed covered in mud, their steps were more steady than those of the refugees, and their knees were raised higher than those of the refugees.

Although their eyes looked tired and empty, they occasionally looked up to check the height of the courtyard wall, clearly assessing the number of people inside. In particular, the sinister glint in their eyes was impossible to conceal.

These people are definitely not homeless!

Liang Biao frowned slightly, jumped down from the wall, and came to Ye Chen's side. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother Ye, something's wrong with these four people. Their steps are too steady; they're definitely not refugees!"

Ye Chen was no ordinary person; he could immediately tell that something was wrong with them and that they were up to no good.

I stood up, surrounded by horsemen and Liang Biao's brothers.

Ye Chen immediately gestured to Qin Mengyao with his eyes to go back to her room, and then walked towards Huang Chen to close the door.

His cold gaze swept over the four people outside the closed door.

"Where are you all from?" Ye Chen asked softly.

"Dingyuan County, Zhoujia Village." Wolf Brother hunched over, his voice hoarse but perfectly timed.

"Our village has been suffering from drought for three years, and last year there was a complete crop failure. This year, we've even eaten all the seeds."

"The four of us traveled together, fleeing famine, hoping to reach Beiping (Beijing) to seek refuge with relatives!"

"I was just passing by and was so hungry that I couldn't walk any further. I was hoping to beg for something to eat."

"Sir, please have mercy and give us some food..."