Chapter 57: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 57: Pursuit
Seeing the couple lying in a pool of blood, the group of bandits didn't care at all, even laughing and discussing their previous exploits.
At this moment, another bandit came running from afar.
"Brother Hei, General Pingwei has caught up, just dozens of miles away."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces changed. Aside from General Pingwei's reputation, their numbers were several times theirs, and they were well-armed.
Though they were ruthless, they weren't fools, knowing that confronting them directly would only lead to death.
"No worries, I've long had a plan!" Brother Hei waved his hand confidently.
"Put their bodies in the carriage, and check if there are any other clothes in the carriage. Change into the coachman's clothes and ours!"
The bandits quickly understood the leader's intention, throwing Zhang Xuan and his wife's bodies into the carriage and changing into their clothes.
Concerned that the coachman might fall off the carriage, they tied him to it, pretending he was still alive and driving the carriage.
After arranging everything, Brother Hei took out a dagger and stabbed the horse's buttocks.
"Yah!"
The horse neighed in pain and dashed forward, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
"Clean up the traces, let's leave!"
After saying this, Brother Hei looked up and saw a black shadow in the sky. He frowned. Was it an eagle or a vulture?
Moments later, the group quickly disappeared into the forest, leaving no trace behind.
Meanwhile, on a hill several dozen miles away from the bandits, a group of armored soldiers followed a dignified young man.
"General!"
"There's a fire in Xishan Village, it seems that bandits have entered the village. We haven't confirmed if they're the Black Mountain Bandits we're chasing!"
A scout hurried over, kneeling down to report his findings.
The faces of the people behind General Pingwei changed. Liu Heiwu was ruthless and merciless, killing without hesitation. He had previously ruled over Black Mountain, hence the name Black Mountain Bandits.
However, the main point was that Liu Heiwu and his men never left survivors.
They often raided villages, killing, looting, and burning everything to the ground, sparing no one, regardless of age or gender.
Each villager was tortured before death, and their bodies were often mutilated. After killing all the villagers, Liu Heiwu and his men would set fire to the village.
It was the despicable actions of these bandits that made General Pingwei, who had originally intended to return to the capital to report, stop and decide to wipe out these bandits first.
He had ordered his men to spread out and hunt down the bandits throughout Youzhou. Although some were doing the work of others, the local officials in Youzhou were incompetent and unable to eliminate these bandits, so he took matters into his own hands. After all, it was the common people who suffered the most from this.
"Anyway, let's rescue the villagers first." General Pingwei quickly gave orders. If it was indeed the Black Mountain Bandits attacking the village, the villagers were in even greater danger.
So, they had to hurry.
"Xu Mao, take a hundred men to Xishan Village to rescue the villagers. If you encounter bandits, show no mercy."
"General, what if you're left with only ten men?" Xu Mao became anxious. Ten men weren't enough to protect the general's safety. "These bandits are not only arrogant but also very cunning. He is worried they might be using a diversionary tactic."
After all, they knew there were pursuers behind them, yet they openly attacked the village. They were either lunatics or had a plan.
"Lieutenant, even if we encounter the Black Mountain Bandits, ten men are enough." General Pingwei waved his hand. "Don't waste any more time. Hurry up and rescue the villagers."
Xu Mao stopped arguing. He knew the general's strength very well; he could truly take on ten men alone. The other soldiers were also not weak; they were all seasoned veterans who had experienced life and death on the battlefield. These bandits, no matter how tough, were no match for the general.
Xu Mao immediately rushed to Xishan Village with his men, while General Pingwei continued to search for clues to Liu Heiwu and his men's whereabouts.
"General, there's a carriage over there!"
One of his men pointed to a speeding carriage on the official road not far away. The coachman's clothes were identical to those of the Black Mountain Bandits they had just eliminated.
"Stop the carriage!"
General Pingwei's face darkened. "Lin, you take some men to search for clues along the official road. The rest, follow me to chase the carriage."
As soon as he finished speaking, the men split up and took action.
Although they knew it might be a trick by Liu Heiwu, they still had to go, because there was still a glimmer of hope in their hearts that they could save the people on the carriage.
Yes, they could tell that although the coachman was wearing the clothes of the bandits, he was not one of them.
And how could Liu Heiwu and his men escape on a carriage on the official road? That would be as good as announcing their presence.
If it were anyone else, seeing a carriage speeding along the official road would be normal, but they had all come from the battlefield and had killed many people. They were very clear about the difference between the living and the dead.
So, they could tell at a glance that the coachman was already dead, and the horse was running on its own.
They quickly caught up with the carriage and intercepted it. When they saw what was inside, they were filled with anger.
"These despicable bandits, I won't spare them!"
The men were filled with righteous indignation.
General Pingwei's face was dark, clearly filled with anger. "Bury them properly, then we'll pursue Liu Heiwu. We can't let him continue his killing spree."
They only hoped to eliminate Liu Heiwu before he killed again.
Meanwhile...
The exiled group was completely unaware of what was happening dozens of miles away. At this moment, they were very happy.
Because they had arrived not far from Wen County.
Although the exiled group wouldn't enter the county city, the bailiffs had to deliver documents to the county yamen, so they had to rest here.
Having walked with shackles for so many days, many people's feet and ankles were already rubbed raw, and their originally plump bodies had lost a lot of weight.
What was once high spirits had now become dejected. The long journey had left them parched and exhausted, coupled with insufficient food, causing many to collapse.
Now that they had the chance to rest, they naturally felt very happy.
Chen Xue and the others were also very happy because they could take this opportunity to go to the county city to buy supplies, even hot pot ingredients.
Chen Yuan, curious about the hot pot his daughter had mentioned, had not been able to try it because they lacked ingredients. Now that they had the chance, he naturally wanted to get the ingredients and experience it.
However, being penniless, he had to ask his daughter for money.
"Dad, didn't we agree that I would also go?" Chen Xue hurriedly said. She had space to store many items and naturally wanted to go on a shopping spree.
However, their plans were interrupted by an unexpected event.
