185 Green Dragon Stronghold
The sky slowly darkened. Tu Gang struggled desperately in the firewood shed, trying to free himself from the ropes tied around his body. Slowly, Tu Gang realized that the ropes around his wrists had loosened a little. Tu Gang was overjoyed and tried even harder to break free of the ropes binding him. One hand broke free of the ropes. Tu Gang held his breath and quietly untied himself. He threw himself on the ground and quietly sneaked to the door and climbed over the wall.
Tu Gang spat at the courtyard and cursed in a low voice, “Bitch, wait for me to bring people back and let your entire family have a taste of iron brushes!”
Tu Gang limped in front. Li Yu and Ruyi wore green clothes and covered their faces as they secretly followed Tu Gang. Tu Gang went to the west city and stopped in front of a small courtyard. He looked around and knocked on the courtyard door. After a while, a door opened and a woman welcomed Tu Gang in.
This situation was beyond Li Yu’s expectations. Ruyi said to Li Yu, “Madam, go back and rest. I’ll guard nearby.”
Li Yu pointed to the corner. Ruyi nodded and hid. Li Yu climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard. She touched the bottom of the oil lamp window and heard the woman’s low voice. “Brother Tu, why is your knee like this? No wonder you’re limping. Did you meet an enemy?”
Tu Gang lay on the bed. “Pfft! I was so unlucky. When I left the city, I met a bitch. I wanted to snatch her back as an offering to Boss. Who knew that she was a tigress? She captured me and locked me up. That bitch also kicked my kneecap. Hurry up and get some food for me. I’ll leave after eating. I still have to rush back to the village to report to Boss!”
Seeing that Tu Gang’s face was scrunched up from the pain, Little Peach turned her head and smiled. She pretended to comfort him with heartache and said, “Then what should we do, Brother Tu? If Chief finds out that you were caught, how embarrassing will it be for you? Will he still believe you in the future?”
Tu Gang was stunned for a moment. “No, Master trusts me the most.” Although he said that, his heart was beating like a drum. There were many people who wanted to replace him! If Master, with his suspicious personality, knew that he was incompetent and had been caught, he would be in trouble. Besides, if that bitch found out that he had run away and was caught by her, Tu Gang shivered and shook his head. He couldn’t think about it. Damn, it was too scary.
Seeing that Tu Gang was silent with his head lowered, Little Peach said to Tu Gang, “Brother Tu, I’ll go get you something to eat first.”
Tu Gang glared at Little Peach and said, “I told you to go long ago. Why are you still here? Prepare two more torches for me.”
“I’ll go now.” Little Peach smiled and agreed. She twisted her waist and went to the kitchen. Under the dim yellow light, Li Yu saw Little Peach spitting into the noodle soup, and found it interesting.
Li Yu saw the woman smiling at Tu Gang wolfing down the noodles in her bowl. She handed the torch to him and he seemed to be preparing to set off.
Li Yu climbed out of the wall and hid in the corner. She watched as Tu Gang came out of the courtyard and rode a small donkey towards the city gate.
Li Yu and Ruyi followed behind Tu Gang and left the city. At the foot of the mountain, Tu Gang lit a torch and rode the little donkey up the mountain. Li Yu and Ruyi followed him to the foot of the mountain and saw that Tu Gang had indeed gone up the mountain from a small path beside a big limestone. The two of them went up the mountain behind Tu Gang and took out their daggers to leave marks on the trees along the way.
The path up the mountain was filled with twists and turns. After walking for four to six hours, Tu Gang walked behind a huge rock. It turned out that there was a cave hidden behind the huge rock. Li Yu and Ruyi realized that this route was different from the one he had confessed to. Tu Gang didn’t mention this cave. Li Yu thought to herself, “I didn’t expect this mountain bandit to have such a strong will. He was so scared that he peed his pants but didn’t tell us the real route. It seems that I have to use real force in the future. He won’t know the pain until I stab him.”
At this moment, the faint sound of wolves howling came from the mountain. Tu Gang got off the donkey and limped into the cave with it. After entering the cave, he turned left. There was a gentle slope. After walking for about an hour, they reached another exit. At this time, the sky was already bright. Tu Gang was relieved and was no longer afraid of being captured. He tied the donkey to the tree stump at the entrance of the cave, fed it some grass, and lay down in the grass at the entrance to sleep.
Li Yu and Ruyi found a depression and sat down to rest. They leaned against the mountain wall and looked at the long and narrow mountain path. Li Yu thought to herself that the Green Dragon Stronghold’s location was really well hidden. If she hadn’t followed Tu Gang, it would have taken some effort to find it.”
After resting for more than an hour, the sky lit up. Birds chirped in the forest, and the air was filled with a fresh smell.
Tu Gang got up and stretched. He rode the donkey and continued forward. Li Yu realized that this route was right again. Li Yu looked at Tu Gang, who was riding the donkey leisurely, and began to reflect. It turned out that the route this guy had confessed was half-truth. She was still blaming herself for underestimating the enemy. Fortunately, she held back. Otherwise, this lesson would have been a little too much.
The two of them followed Tu Gang until noon before they arrived at the waterfall. Tu Gang got off the donkey and led it past the waterfall. They turned onto a mountain path. There was indeed a stone wall above. At this moment, someone shouted from behind the stone, “Who are you?” Tu Gang replied loudly, “Bastard!”
“Brother Tu is back! Aiyo! What happened to your foot?”
“Sigh! Don’t mention it! When I came back, the wolf howl scared the donkey and I fell off the donkey. Let’s not talk about it anymore. I’m reporting to the Leader!”
“Alright, take care. Old Cai and Brother Deng are guarding upstairs today. Do you want them to help you down?”
“No, I can go up by myself.”
Li Yu and Ruyi found a big tree and climbed up. They saw a mountain road behind the huge rock, winding up. There were cliff caves on it. It seemed that these mountain bandits’ lair was on it. Li Yu was about to get down from the tree when she heard voices from below. Li Yu lowered her head and looked down. She saw a square-faced, muscular young man and a long-faced man with a small beard and the appearance of a country squire in his forties coming up.
The young man was respectful to the bearded man and said, “Manager Ouyang, please.”
“Third Master, please.” The two of them went up the mountain.
After the two of them went up the mountain, Li Yu and Ruyi came down from the tree and rushed down the mountain.
After Tu Gang went up the mountain, he went to the First Master’s residence. Zuo Qing saw Tu Gang limping and frowned. “Have you found out anything about Second Brother and the others?”
Tu Gang glanced at Zuo Qing’s gloomy face and bowed carefully. “Chief, I came back after walking around the city. A new county magistrate has come to the county and posted a notice to recruit bailiffs. The notice also said that taxes are exempted for five years. I was in a hurry to tell you the news, so I came back.”