Seven or eight days ago, Jiulongtang's motorcade stopped in an open dense forest, which had left the boundary of Qianzhou.
"Further ahead is the valley. Let's rest here tonight and find more firewood."
The three hall masters have walked this road hundreds of times. It is not safe to enter the mountain at night, so they always start before dawn.
Everyone parked the goods on familiar roads, those who fed the horses, those who buried the pots, and those who kept watch dispersed in all directions.
After walking all day, everyone was waiting for the hot rice soup to warm their bodies.
"Third Hall Master, Boss Xue has also prepared wine for everyone, why don't you take it out to warm yourself up?" said the person accompanying the wine shop.
"Okay, just don't drink too much." The third hall master replied with a smile.
"Third brother, in fact, I don't need you to personally take part in this trip." One of his subordinates said.
"You know what a fool you are. The New Year is about to come, and you are not allowed to say goodbye to all the gods. The boss asked me to come on this trip. Not only is there a lot of goods this time, but I also have to take care of things along the way so that we can continue to have a safe journey next year!" The third hall master lightly kicked his hand and cursed with a smile.
"Hey, the boss is still thoughtful."
Just as he was talking, the night watchman on the hillside suddenly shouted.
The third hall leader suddenly stood up and grabbed the long knife at his waist, "What's going on?"
Everyone was well-trained and alert. After a few breaths, they heard a voice.
"It's okay, it's okay, the hare, you scared me."
"A rabbit can scare you? You're a coward!" The third hall leader felt relieved.
The people on the slope were too embarrassed to make any more noise and only made some rustling sounds.
The man from the wine shop laughed and said: "If you can beat it and drink it with wine, it will be very fragrant!"
Everyone nodded and dispersed again with the wine in hand. The water in the pot was boiling and bubbling with heat. It would take a while before the meal started.
At this moment, there was another strange sound on the hillside.
The third hall master looked over impatiently, and saw a figure rolling down the hillside close to the ground.
When he saw that it was actually a night watchman on the hillside, he immediately reacted and shouted angrily.
"Fuck, there is a calamity!"
Dozens of figures instantly emerged from the forest, each holding a sharp weapon, and surrounded them.
"Keep the goods and spare your lives!" The leader covered his face and his voice was cold.
"I am the third hall master of Jiulong Hall. If you dare to rob our goods, you are impatient!" The third hall master roared.
The man smiled gloomily, "What we are robbing today is the Kowloon Hall!"
"What do you mean?" The third hall master's back felt cold.
The leader didn't say anything more. With a wave of his right hand, the robbers narrowed the encirclement in a well-trained manner and stepped forward quickly.
There are only about ten members of the Jiulongtang gang, and there are at least thirty or forty robbers. The mentality of being outnumbered and outnumbered has already broken down.
After only one or two rounds, the two defenders were kicked away, and the steel knife was slashed directly towards the door.
The third hall master had quick eyes and quick hands. He blocked them with his sword and dragged the two of them back quickly.
The people accompanying the wine shop were protected by the gang and were also stabbed.
The other people were hacked to death as if they were making dumplings by the robbers. They had no ability to fight back, and the scene was in chaos.
The third hall leader fought with all his strength, but his shoulder suddenly hurt, and the long knife almost cut his throat.
"Ah!" He shouted in pain, "Back off first! Back off!!"
Everyone quickly distanced themselves, and the robber made a way behind him. He stood there and did not catch up.
The leader looked at the goods behind him. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, he withdrew his eyes scornfully and ordered.
"Ignore them, take the goods away!"
The robbers in the front were driving the carriage, and the robbers in the back were behind them. They quickly disappeared under the astonished gaze of everyone.
……
That's why today's scene happened. Chen Ping turned around when he heard the call, and Ye Chongwen ran forward anxiously.
Seeing no one around him, he whispered that the wine shop's goods had been robbed. Zhao Jin had rushed to Liujiazhuang to learn about the situation. Chen Ping jumped on the carriage without saying anything and looked solemn.
In the main hall of Kowloon Hall, there were injured people lying everywhere. The scene was in chaos. Cao Lei sat in the main seat with a sinking face.
"What's going on?" Zhao Jin asked in surprise while checking the winery clerk's injuries.
The third hall master looked sad and looked up embarrassed, saying: "I'm sorry, Boss Xue, the goods were... robbed!"
"It was robbed? Where was it robbed? Who did it?"
The cooperation has been going smoothly for several months, so why was it suddenly robbed? Moreover, this batch of goods contained a large amount of alcohol and was intended to be sent to Li Feng's army.
"Our cavalry was just about to leave the Qianzhou border. When we saw that it was already getting late, we stopped by the official road to rest. As a result, a group of robbers came out from the dense forest behind us!"
Zhao Jin asked, "How many people are there on the other side?"
"About thirty or forty! All of them are masters. I don't know where they came from."
"Did they say anything?"
"That's not true. They didn't kill them all, they just robbed the goods."
The second hall master also had doubts in his heart. Why did he only rob the drinks and not even the belongings of everyone? It was a bit unreasonable that he had banknotes with him that he planned to collect along the way.
Zhao Jin's face looked very ugly. He always felt that something was fishy, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.
Cao Lei cupped his hands and said, "Boss Xue, this is my fault at Jiulongtang. All losses will be borne by us."
At this time, Chen Ping arrived just in time.
He first greeted everyone, and then said to Zhao Jin: "Boss Xue, it is unexpected to encounter robbers. The brothers of Jiulong Hall originally lived on meager freight, but now everyone is burdened with our goods."
The knife wound, so I propose that I be responsible for the loss this time."
Zhao Jin was stunned for a moment and guessed that Chen Ping might have his own ideas, so he didn't say anything more and replied: "Since Mr. Chen said so, then I'll follow you."
The relationship between the two has always been well hidden. Externally, Chen Ping is only friends with Xie Zhiyuan behind Zhao Jin, so he and Zhao Jin are just acquaintances, and they are very careful about their titles.
Cao Lei was a little surprised and was about to say something when Chen Ping continued: "I am the one who handles the business of the wine shop. I cannot hurt everyone's harmony just because of an accident. What do you think, Hall Master Cao?"
The third hall master shouted excitedly: "Master Chen is really righteous, I admire you!"
Cao Lei couldn't help but nodded secretly, and couldn't refuse anymore, but his face was still extremely ugly.
"Lao San, although they don't care, we have to remember that the goods were left in our hands! Send people out immediately to find out who did it!"
The third hall master held his injured arm and accepted the order, then turned and left.
Cao Lei looked at Chen Ping and Zhao Jin and solemnly promised: "Please rest assured, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"
"Pavilion Master Cao's words are serious. Please take care of the injured brothers. We will leave now."
After Chen Ping finished speaking, he and Zhao Jin helped the wine shop clerk to leave.
On the carriage, Chen Ping analyzed: "Jiulongtang probably didn't do this. Cao Lei doesn't look like that kind of person."
"Could it be that they are really robbers on the run?" Ye Chongwen asked.
"It's not like that. They don't rob money or kill people, they only rob goods. It's more like they are targeting us." Zhao Jin expressed his thoughts.
"Yes. So Brother Zhao, you have to find a way to explore Ling Shu again." Chen Ping said.
"Do you suspect it's him?"
"It's always right to be careful. I hope it's just an ordinary robber, otherwise we might be exposed." Chen Ping was still worried about what Ling Shu had discovered.
"Okay. I'll find a chance to meet him." Zhao Jin nodded.