Chapter 66

"Go away! Don't talk nonsense. It's none of your business, go do what you should be doing!"

Zhai Rang waved his hand to shoo Zhai Lingling away. There was no way around it; his sister was really a bit... fierce.

[How can she say anything so boldly? Doesn't she have a brain?]

Zhai Rang felt extremely frustrated.

Zhai Lingling pouted, rolled her eyes, and pretended not to hear Zhai Rang's words. She just stood there, unwilling to move, and didn't care what anyone thought.

Zhai Rang, helpless, sighed and said to Wu Fan, "Brother, don't take it to heart. My sister... my sister doesn't know how to speak. She was just joking with you! Don't take it seriously!"

Wu Fan felt a bit relieved and subtly took his hand off the scabbard. He was really afraid that Zhai Lingling would suddenly attack. Who knew what was on her mind? If she suddenly decided to kill, who could he complain to? He wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Blinking his eyes, Wu Fan said, "Brother Zhai! Can you now explain why you want to kill Zhou Baihu?"

Zhai Rang clasped his hands and frowned, feeling deeply ashamed, "Brother, I didn't mean to deceive you, but... the crime of killing an official is really serious!" He clicked his tongue and, under Wu Fan's displeased gaze, continued, "Alright! Here's the thing! Zhou Ling is not a good person... we outlaws actually just want money and don't want to cause trouble. Harmony brings wealth, right? But... but that guy was insatiable... we had no choice! Even a cornered rabbit will bite, right?"

As he spoke, Zhai Rang was hesitant, as if he was hinting at something.

Wu Fan, through Zhai Rang's broken words, understood the general situation. It was basically the same old story of collusion between officials and bandits. Bandits like Zhai Rang and officials like Zhou Ling had a deal: the bandits would rob, and Zhou Ling would cover up their crimes, and they would all profit. But Zhou Ling was too greedy and got killed. There was no need to think much; it was just that kind of situation.

After Zhai Rang finished speaking, he looked at Wu Fan expectantly.

Wu Fan, having understood, also looked at Zhai Rang expectantly.

The two stared at each other strangely, neither willing to speak first.

"Patron? Why are you here?"

A surprised voice came from outside the hall.

Wu Fan turned his head and laughed, "I came to be your neighbor! What? Not welcome?"

Hu Che'er, straightforward and honest, didn't understand the implications of Wu Fan's words and thought he really came to be his neighbor. He bowed, stood up, and grinned.

Wu Fan gestured for Hu Che'er to sit down.

Then...

Wu Fan and Zhai Rang continued to stare at each other, as if they could see flowers on each other's faces.

Zhai Rang had confessed that Zhai Lingling had killed the Yingyang Eagle Brigade's Hundred-Man Commander Zhou Ling and hinted that Zhou Ling was actually one of them. The conflict was over the division of spoils, and there was a lot of profit to be had. What did this mean? It meant he was asking Wu Fan if he wanted to join them. If he joined, everything else would be easy.

Wu Fan saying he was Zhai Rang's neighbor meant he wasn't leaving anytime soon and would definitely be staying in the Yingyang area. Since they were the local power, if they didn't welcome him, what could he do? They had to welcome him!

In short.

Both were playing mind games, neither wanting to be the first to speak. Whoever spoke first would lose the upper hand, and losing the upper hand meant being at a disadvantage.

After a long time.

Zhai Rang couldn't hold out against Wu Fan and sighed, "Brother! Show some mercy!"

Wu Fan quickly sat up straight, clasped his hands, and bowed, "Brother Zhai! Your righteousness is as high as the clouds!"

Alright.

When both showed respect, things could be discussed openly.

Zhai Rang pondered for a moment and, rubbing his forehead, said, "Let me start with the officials! In the Yingyang area, the officials are divided into two categories, including the governor. One category cooperates with us, and the other turns a blind eye..."

Wu Fan raised an eyebrow and interrupted with a smile, "Are there no officials with backbone, who would rather die than yield?"

Zhai Rang shook his head and said firmly, "Absolutely not! Yingyang is close to Luoyang and has the Grand Canal, with a constant flow of merchants. It's a trading center of the world! The profits are in the millions! Who isn't like a fly drawn to rotting meat? Just a few bites, and they can live for a lifetime! The clean and upright officials who come here either become corrupt, are squeezed out early, or pretend to know nothing and act blind. There's no other choice."

[Unite the majority, strike at the few!]

Wu Fan nodded, saying nothing, but had decided on his principles for staying in Yingyang.

Zhai Rang continued, "Speaking of the outlaws, the Grand Canal divides the Yingyang region into two parts, and the outlaws are also divided. The western side, closer to Luoyang, mostly does land 'business,' occasionally crossing the boundary, but it's no big deal. The eastern side mostly 'eats the floating money,' doing water 'business' and having the deepest ties with the officials! Also..."

Rubbing his temples, Zhai Rang said, "There are also the local powerful families and merchants who rely on the Grand Canal for business! Anyone doing business here has powerful connections, and no one dares to touch them lightly." He paused and continued, "The situation in Yingyang is basically like this. Usually, after we do 'business,' we have to pay tribute to the officials and show respect to the powerful families, not touching anything of theirs. Everyone has been getting along for many years."

Wu Fan frowned slightly. The Yingyang area... was really a mix of all sorts of people, quite complex!

Zhai Rang stared into Wu Fan's eyes and said, "Brother, Zhou Ling's death was an accident. We had agreed to give him 30% of the monthly earnings, but he insisted on 50%. What could I do? He was trying to starve us!"

Wu Fan rolled his eyes and, after a while, said, "So... was his demand for 50% the idea of other officials or his own?"

Zhai Rang shook his head, "I don't know."

Wu Fan asked again, "So... what exactly happened? Why did it get so big? It can't just be because of Zhou Ling's death! I don't believe that the death of a mere Eagle Brigade Hundred-Man Commander couldn't be suppressed given the huge profits involved."

Zhai Rang grimaced and couldn't speak for a long time.

Zhai Lingling interjected from the side, "Someone who didn't follow the rules raided the grain tax ship from Ji Province last month."

"What?"

Wu Fan's mind couldn't process it for a moment!

[The grain tax ship... was raided?]

[I've seen reckless people, but never this reckless!]

[Mad! Truly mad! Mad with poverty!]

...

PS1: Please follow, recommend, and like. I'm all mixed up, not sure how it turned out, sigh...

PS2: Thank you to Brother Ge Song for the 588-point coin reward. Thanks a lot.

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