Chapter 53

During the Qing Dynasty, one tael was roughly equivalent to 35 grams, so ten thousand taels would be 350 kilograms, and now 700 kilograms of precious metal have been stolen by one person, which was simply beyond Xiaole Tian's comprehension.

"Are you saying that a masked man suddenly rushed out from the Taiping Dao forest, and in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he subdued all of you? Then he loaded the silver into two wooden boxes and carried them away, one on each shoulder?" Xiaole Tian asked, feeling a bit nervous. After all, it was a team of fifteen people, and they were subdued so easily?

Now, in the western forest of Taiping Dao, a group of people were kneeling, with the fifteen soldiers who lost the silver in the middle. Under Xiaole Tian's questioning, these dozen or so big men were blushing and would have preferred to find a crack in the ground to hide in.

The two smelters on Taiping Peak were now severely short of silver, and the work of casting silver coins had almost come to a standstill. Out of necessity, Fan Lian used his connections in Beijing to start selling the treasures from the Heavenly Kingdom's holy treasury in Liulichang. More and faster chapters can be found at [website].

As the capital, Beijing has always been the main market for antiques. Whether it's to buy a few pieces to enhance one's reputation or to find a few items to curry favor with high officials, good treasures are never hard to sell.

No matter what kind of pearls, jade, antiques, calligraphy, or paintings, as long as they are genuine, there's no need to worry about the silver. Moreover, with Fan Lian's extensive network of contacts, there are plenty of friends in Liulichang, so the treasures transported from Taiping Peak usually fetch a high price.

Xiaole Tian's sale of wealth was not for his own enjoyment but for the silver furnaces on Taiping Peak. Therefore, the treasures must be exchanged for solid silver in Beijing, not silver tickets. However, when the silver accumulated, transportation became a problem. Ten thousand taels of silver weigh 350 kilograms, and one hundred thousand taels weigh 3.5 tons, which is a large-scale transportation that is too conspicuous.

For this reason, five teams of fifteen people each were specifically formed on Taiping Peak. Each team transported about twenty thousand taels, with each person carrying about fifty kilograms of weight. They chose small paths to avoid the checkpoints set up by the government and to avoid unnecessary trouble. The latest updates can be found at [website].

Since the establishment of the silver transport teams, they have successfully delivered over eighty thousand taels of silver to the mountain stronghold without any incidents. However, today, an astonishing robbery occurred that left everyone speechless.

"Advisor, we are guilty..." The leading officer, with his head bowed, sobbed, "The forest of Taiping Dao has always been our resting place. But today, just as we were unloading the silver bags to have some water, a person suddenly flew out from the forest..."

"We didn't see wrong, he really flew out. I've never seen such incredible lightness skills. He rushed into the group like a gust of wind. Before I could draw my sword, I was already knocked out..."

At this point, a small soldier at the end of the line spoke up, "I was standing at the end of the line, and I clearly saw the whole process. The black-clothed man only used his hand to strike, moving left and right, and each strike hit the same spot on the neck. Everyone who was hit fainted..."

"I... I was the last one. I thought I would be hit too. I had already drawn my sword, ready to fight to the death even if I was the only one left..." The small soldier suddenly said with great shame, "But he didn't attack me. He just used the scabbard to knock my weapon away. I was powerless and was subdued by the scabbard..."

The small soldier seemed very ashamed for not fainting with the others. "I'm sorry, Advisor, I'm sorry... The black-clothed man loaded all the silver into two large boxes, carried one on each shoulder, and disappeared into the forest. But before he left, he left me a message..."

At this point, the soldier hesitated. Xiaole Tian stared into his eyes and said, "Speak!" The small soldier dared not disobey. "The black-clothed man said that if you want the silver, you must come into the forest alone, heading west until you see a mountain and a stream, and you will find him..."

Without a word, Xiaole Tian spurred his horse to enter the forest, but Sima Yun and the other soldiers grabbed the reins and refused to let him go.

"No, absolutely not. The Prince gave a strict order that Mr. Xiao must not be exposed to any danger. Xiao He Xin and Wang Huaiyuan have already gone in with their men. You just wait for news... If you force your way in, we will die here..."

Xiaole Tian was sweating profusely, but no matter how he pulled the reins, he couldn't break through the circle of people. In the end, he couldn't even dismount, as the soldiers held onto his legs and refused to let go. Xiaole Tian, in a rage, lashed them with his whip.

"Damn it, let go. Can't you see what's happening? The robber isn't after the silver; he wants to see me. He's using the silver to lure me out. If it weren't for you fools watching me so closely every day, he wouldn't have resorted to this... Move, all of you, move..."

The soldiers, rather than letting go, braced themselves and took the whips. Soon, a crowd had gathered around Xiaole Tian, and his horse neighed in distress.

Just as the scene was in chaos, a long laugh came from the forest. "Ha ha ha, is the overseas wanderer Xiaole Tian's courage so limited that he dares not face me? Let me tell you, the lives of Xiao He Xin and Wang Huaiyuan are in my hands. If you want to save them, come in alone..."

"It's Xiang Shaolong! The Northern Dragon, Xiang Shaolong... You fools, let go. I'm not in danger. He let me go last time, so he means no harm to me..." Xiaole Tian used all his strength to spur his horse forward, and with a few whips, he finally broke through the circle. The latest updates can be found at [website].

The Qinghua horse galloped towards the sparse forest, followed by a group of soldiers running after him.

Taiping Dao is a typical intersection of the plains and the mountains. To the east is the vast North China Plain, and to the west are the hills, with the towering Taihang Mountains visible in the distance.

The deeper into the forest, the denser it became. After ten minutes, Xiaole Tian finally saw a live person, a dejected soldier tied to a tree.

"Advisor! Why did you come? You can't go in, it's Xiang Shaolong, he's the one who stole the silver..." Xiaole Tian ignored him, just waved his hand for the soldiers behind him to untie the ropes.

The deeper he went, the more surprised Xiaole Tian became. He found that Xiang Shaolong was an expert in forest warfare. The soldiers brought by Xiao He Xin and Wang Huaiyuan were almost all caught in various traps.

Some were knocked out on the ground, some were hanging upside down from tree vines, some were tied to tree trunks, and some had their feet twisted in simple pit traps... Finally, when he saw the small river in the depths of the forest, he saw Xiang Shaolong himself.

At this moment, Xiang Shaolong had already started a bonfire. Next to the fire, two people were tied up, Xiao He Xin and Wang Huaiyuan. Xiang Shaolong was fully focused on using a branch to catch fish from the river.

"Ah... Mr. Xiao, just wait a moment. A few more fish will be enough for a good meal. Don't underestimate the fish in spring; they may