Chapter 15

As the last heavily laden supply cart creaked out of the village entrance, the once noisy Xixi Village gradually returned to tranquility. Wang Lun, who had stayed behind on purpose, bowed to the remaining elderly, women, and children in the village and said goodbye, "Fellow villagers, until we meet again!"

"Lord, take care on your journey!"

The old man who had just handed his two great-grandsons to Wang Lun came out with the help of his family to bid farewell. Wang Lun hurried forward, held the old man's hand, and patted it gently, saying, "Old Sir, it's so cold! You should go back and rest early. I will tell Li Si to take good care of those two children! As for the other young men from the village who have gone up the mountain, I will treat them all equally! Please rest assured, you and the villagers!"

"Rest assured, rest assured! If we weren't confident, we wouldn't have entrusted them to you, Lord!" The old man nodded forcefully.

"Old Sir, if you miss the children in the future, please send a message, and I will send someone to bring you up the mountain for a few days! Also, if someone comes to take the villagers' grain, you lead the way and tell the villagers not to fight them. Give what should be given, pay what should be paid, even if they occupy the houses, don't say a word. Don't suffer a loss in the short term! Just send someone to inform me on the mountain, and I will come down to help the villagers!" Wang Lun said loudly.

"Lord, you are righteous! Lord, you are righteous..." The old man sighed repeatedly, his eyes red and swollen with tears.

Before Wang Lun could finish, the old man was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. His bony hands tightly gripped Wang Lun's wrist, unwilling to let go.

Perhaps moved by the old man's emotions, or perhaps moved by Wang Lun's words, a sobbing sound gradually rose from the crowd. Wang Lun bowed to everyone, shouted, "Farewell!" and then led the remaining bandits out of the village on a small path, amidst the villagers' tearful farewells.

Due to the substantial gains tonight, from the two leaders Du Qian and Song Wan to the ordinary bandits, everyone was overjoyed, dancing and laughing all the way. Only Wang Lun felt no sense of relief at all; instead, the hidden worries that had been troubling him had not yet been resolved.

In Wang Lun's view, the greatest threat of this operation tonight had never appeared!

Since he decided to avenge Li Si, he had never taken the village headman of Xixi Village seriously. In his eyes, the headman was just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. This person had been doing evil in the village, oppressing the villagers, and the entire Xixi Village was like a loose sand. What he was most worried about was the neighboring Dongxi Village!

Chao Gai was a man with some means. According to Wang Lun's estimation, Dongxi Village was likely to be as solid as an iron bucket, and there were many heroes from the Jianghu staying in his manor. As the saying goes, "With a sharp weapon, the heart to kill arises!" This formidable force might boost Chao Gai's confidence to take advantage of the situation, and Wang Lun felt that this would be detrimental to him.

Chao Gai was a well-known figure in the Jianghu, known for his illegal activities. Besides, he also held the official position of village headman, and had close ties with the county officials (Song Jiang) and the security officials (Zhu Tong and Lei Heng). Considering both the black and white aspects, it was clear that Chao Gai's actions had a great deal of flexibility. He could secretly engage in illegal activities and openly switch identities to act as a righteous person, and ultimately, he would choose the identity that maximized his benefits.

Wang Lun did not know if Chao Gai had ever acted as a righteous person, but he did have a "record" of acting as a villain. If Lin Chong was the dagger that would have taken Wang Lun's life in the original timeline, then Chao Gai was the one who wielded it behind the scenes.

Wang Lun also knew that Chao Gai was a man of righteousness, otherwise he wouldn't have sent people to rescue him after Bai Sheng betrayed him. However, Wang Lun was even more aware that Chao Gai's righteousness was limited to his own brothers. To think that a single letter could make Chao Gai consider him, a fellow leader from a neighboring area, as a brother, seemed too childish to Wang Lun. Just by Chao Gai's ability to tacitly agree to Wu Yong's instigation to kill the master of the house and then take over, Wang Lun knew that Chao Gai was not a simple man of righteousness.

Moreover, as a village headman, Chao Gai could not have underestimated the wealth of his old enemy. Eighty thousand coins and grain, a number close to the birthday tribute, could Chao Gai resist the temptation? If he attacked from Wang Lun's side, he could act as a righteous person fighting bandits, and the officials would not only not blame him but also benefit him. Since everything was so justified, it meant that his group was always at risk of being attacked.

Wang Lun had sent people to Chao Gai's manor to deliver a letter at the beginning, with the intention of alarming him. Speaking kindly and respectfully was also a form of courtesy before the battle. He hoped that Chao Gai would understand from the words that he was prepared for a confrontation, weigh the pros and cons, and not act rashly, leading to a situation where they had to fight, which would be bad for both sides.

However, it had been almost two hours since they entered the village, and the two people sent to deliver the letter to Chao Gai had not returned, nor had the bandits he secretly sent to watch the entrance of Dongxi Village reported back. This made Wang Lun more alert. Despite his order for everyone to be extremely cautious, he still could not put his mind at ease. Therefore, after agreeing on a plan with Du Qian and Song Wan, he personally led over two hundred elite bandits to bring up the rear.

Sigh! In the end, all this effort was due to his own weak strength!

Teacher Lin, where are you? I have been waiting for you so long!

Thinking of this, Wang Lun shook his head, took a deep breath, and the cold air invigorated him. He loudly ordered everyone to be cautious as they moved forward.

The night in the countryside usually had a unique charm, but now the black clouds covered the moon, and the weak moonlight disappeared on the dark path. The howling wind made everyone's ears buzz.

"Truly a dark and windy night for murder!" Wang Lun sighed softly.

Suddenly, a warning cry startled everyone, making Wang Lun's nerves tense. A bandit on watch shouted, "There are people by the stream, armed with weapons, at least five hundred!" Seeing that his position was exposed, he no longer hid, but ran while warning, heading straight for Wang Lun.

Wang Lun's heart sank, thinking that his suspicions were confirmed. This group had smelled the blood and come! He had not expected that Chao Gai's reputation as a local bully was not exaggerated, mobilizing over five hundred people! It seemed that in the face of absolute strength, his strategy of alarming the enemy had failed. He steadied his nerves, raised five fingers to his left and right, and five bandits immediately took out the prepared signal arrows and shot them into the sky. The sharp whistles of the arrows pierced the sky.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the signal arrows were fired, cries of alarm came from the stream. After a few shouts, the people hidden in the darkness gradually calmed down. Suddenly, a voice came from the darkness, urging, "Headman, don't delay! Either lead everyone to fight to the death, or go forward to clear up the misunderstanding, don't hesitate!" Another voice added, "Mr. Jialiang, the Liangshan group has passed through with two to three thousand people, and they have already fired five signal arrows, clearly counting our numbers. I think it won't be long before their front group comes to support us. Can we gain any advantage by going forward now?" No one responded, as everyone was calculating in their hearts.

Wang Lun saw that the people hidden in the darkness were neither fighting nor retreating, thinking that they might be hesitating. Without time to think more, he knew he could not show weakness at this moment. He stepped forward and shouted into the darkness, "I am Wang Lun of Liangshan. I don't know which hero is here, why not show yourself!"

Whistling... Whistling...

Apart from the strong wind and the flowing stream, everything was silent.

After a long time, no one responded from the stream.

At this moment, a rustling sound came from the darkness, as if they were discussing a strategy. Wang Lun did not urge them further. He knew the longer they discussed, the less likely they were to take action. He turned to the bandits and made a gesture, and they straightened their armor and weapons, wiped the cold sweat from their hands, and waited for Wang Lun's order to fight.

"Bo Long, didn't you say there were only seven or eight hundred bandits on Liangshan? Why are there so many tonight!"

"Master, I am also puzzled! But my information is accurate, as told by a trusted brother. I heard that there are only about three hundred capable fighters on Liangshan..."

"What do you think, sir?"

"Headman, according to the previous intelligence from Brother Han, we should have an 80% chance of winning. However, now there are at least two thousand Liangshan bandits, and we have four to five hundred people, more than twice the number of Wang Lun's rear group. But most of them are villagers, and only about 30% are capable fighters. I see that Wang Lun is already on guard. If we fight, the bandits will support each other, and we will likely not have the upper hand. In my opinion, Wang Lun's letter is sincere and friendly, and he probably does not want to be enemies with the headman. Why not make friends with him and then decide what to do?"

"The gentleman's words are in line with my thoughts. I will make peace with him!"

"Wait, Wang Lun just gained the wealth of Xixi Village tonight, and he is in high spirits. Although his letter is sincere, it might be a strategy to avoid being attacked from both sides. Why don't we light torches to show our strength and prevent him from having further ambitions?"

"The gentleman's words are reasonable. Come, light the torches!"

Suddenly, the torches were lit, and four to five hundred strong men, armed with weapons, stood in the cold wind by the stream. The leader, as solid as a tower, stepped forward and bowed, "I am the headman of Dongxi Village, Chao Gai. I greet you, Wang Lun, the White Scholar of Liangshan!"

Wang Lun thought, "It's indeed Chao Gai." Seeing that this person greeted him and introduced himself instead of charging forward, he thought the fight might be avoided, and his heart calmed. He replied, "I wonder why the Heavenly King has come out of the village tonight?"

Before Chao Gai could answer, a scholar beside him spoke for him, "It's because the villagers have never seen such a spectacle and wanted to see the leader's heroic appearance. Even I couldn't resist the admiration, so I asked the headman to lead the way to satisfy my lifelong admiration for heroes!"