Chapter 608
In a forest outside Jiangling, were a few tired woodcutters. As there could be wolves, these woodcutters rested together for safety.
“Old Li! Has your son gotten a wife?” The woodcutters chatted as they gathered.
“Not yet.” Old Li shook his head. The source of this content is N0veII_bIn
“Not yet? He is already about twenty four years old! There is a family in the village with a sixteen year old daughter. You should have your second son marry her!”
“I also want to but I do not have the money!” Old Li’s replied gloomily. Both the rich and the poor had their own worries. Though his first son have already settled down, his second son could not do so due to the lack of money. He had already spent it all on his eldest son. Now, his second son was twenty four years old and still single.
“Are you going to let your son stay single for the rest of his life?” One person asked.
“Sigh. I can only take things slowly. Maybe some rich person would be charitable.”
At that moment, several pitch black muddy figures appeared from behind the trees.
“Ghost! Run!” A few woodcutters shouted. They abandoned their firewood behind and quickly ran away.
“Ghost?” Old Li was stunned.
“Old Li! Run away! There is a ghost!” One of them from the same village had a conscience. He did not forget to warn Old Li. Unfortunately, Old Li was too old to move nimbly. He could not run like the rest of them. Before he could even run, the muddy creatures have already in front of him.
“Ah! A ghost!” Old Li shouted in fear and fainted. Before he could fall, he was supported by a muddy figure.
“Ghost! Ghost!” Old Li quickly regained consciousness and shouted again. He was then about to faint again. But then he heard voices.
“Old man. We are not ghosts. Look at us carefully. We are people!” A few of the other muddy figures said as they approached. When Old Li still gave them a supercilious look, the figures realized the state of their sorry appearance. They grabbed a cloth to wipe their face. It was enough to at least look like a person. “Old man. Are you still afraid of us now?” The man laughed.
“You are people?” Old Li asked as he looked at muddy figures.
“That’s right!”
“How come you all came out from there?” Old Li was confused. Old Li and the others came to the edge of Jiangling where this forest is to avoid tax. The closest place to this forest was the Huarong Road.
Had it been someone else, they would not have believed Lu Xun so easily. This is because the Wu Family had already been wiped out. Fortunately for Lu Xun, Old Li lived at a very remote village outside the city walls. He seldom entered the city itself so he knew nothing about what happened to the Wu Family.
“There is a shortcut to Jiangling. You need someone to guide you. However, I need to sell this lumber.” Old Li said awkwardly. He needed to sell his lumber to ensure his family had enough to eat for the month.
“We would not inconvenient you. Look.” Lu Xun waved for one of his subordinate to approach and offer the old man a piece of golden leaf.
“Old man. If you show us the way, this golden leaf will be yours.”
The old man was shocked. Normally, the common people do not see much gold in their entire lives. “No, I cannot accept so much.”
“You can.” Lu Xun replied. “This gold leaf will be compensation for you if you can guide us through this shortcut.”
“It is too much!” Old Li still shook his head, showing the honest and kind hearted traits of the common people form ancient times. They were not like modern people who were only afraid of being undercharged.
The ancient people were different. They were all willing to be helpful but in this case, Old Li was really out of options. He needed the money to feed his family, especially his second son who had a good appetite.
“It is not much! Old man, didn’t you have a second son that is still not yet married? Use this to pay for his marriage. After that, you can be at ease!” Lu Xun said to the old man. He had overheard the woodcutter’s conversation earlier.
“My second son!” Old Li remembered his second son and was now tempted by the golden leaf. With this golden leaf, his second son can finally marry. Old Li would no longer need to worry about his son.
“In that case, thank you general!” Old Li took the golden leaf and kept it.
Lu Xun sighed. “Old man. We will be troubling you.”
“It is no trouble at all!” Old Li who had already accepted the payment naturally had to conduct himself properly. He led Lu Xun and the others towards the shortcut.
****
“Chen Ming. Do you think I made the right move relying on the Second Lord?” Dong Zhi asked one of his advisors. In the past few days, Dong Zhi was at a loss. He did not know if he should really side with Liu Pan.
Before this, he would have been happy to receive Liu Pan’s backing as he was enemies with the Wu Family. He was Jiangling’s governor and yet his influence was weaker than the Wu Family. He could not do anything to the Wu Family who was backed by the Huang Family unless he was also backed by someone like Liu Pan.
He thought of suppressing the Wu Family but he never expected that Liu Pan was so ruthless. Liu Pan wiped out the entire Wu Family. Several hundred people died just like that. All of this was just to strike at the Huang Family. His actions frightened Dong Zhi.
“Your Excellency. Did you have any other choice?” The advisor asked back.
Dong Zhi smiled bitterly at this. His advisor was right. Dong Zhi really did not have any other choice. The moment the Wu Family was wiped out, Dong Zhi was already branded a culprit. Without Liu Pan’s backing, the Huang Family would go after him.
“Not good! Yangzhou is attacking!”