陈洛心中的方法并不完全是一个好的方法,毕竟朝廷仍然是这个时代的主流力量.
成为强盗是那些被迫加入其中的人只能做出的选择,否则就无法生存.而且,即使他们真的进入了山区,也不能保证安全.如果魏太监背后的人足够狠,他们可能会直接派出一支军队来消灭一切.到那时,叔侄不仅逃不掉,他们的命运可能会比现在更糟糕.
"找到这些人并不意味着我们变成了土匪,而是进入他们的据点寻找出路."
见三叔显得犹豫不决,陈洛解释道.
"魏太监和他的团队显然在策划什么大事.任何涉及王室的冲突都不是一件小事.至于我们叔侄侄,我们只是小鱼苗.在如此大规模的风暴中,我们唯一需要做的就是保住自己的生命.说到生存,没有比附近的强盗据点更好的地方了.
"好!"
陈老三咬牙同意了侄子的计划.
毕竟,他们已经到了这一步.情况会恶化到什么程度呢?
于是,叔侄俩立即转身朝着最近的土匪据点走去.幸运的是,他们都是清雅县的本地人,所以他们对附近的据点有一定的了解.据他们所知,荒山中有一个村庄,叫蒙虎要塞.
沿着山路走了大约半个小时后,当叔侄俩到达据点入口时,天已经完全亮了.
"住手!"
还没等他们靠近一点,一支飞箭突然就插在了他们的脚边.顺着轨迹,他们看到一个拿着弓的土匪站在要塞的门口.这个男人打扮得像个猎人,很可能是附近村庄的人,后来变成了土匪.
"请问,你能不能好心地往里面打个话,告诉他们,同乡陈大河是来拜访的?"
陈老三脸上露出笑容,停下脚步,大声说道.同时,他从胸前掏出一小袋钱,以示他明白规则.在 Mengtiger Stronghold,这笔钱被称为通行费,或"买路".只要你支付了通行费,你就被视为要塞的客人,并会得到它的保护.
以前,陈老三一行人埋葬尸体的时候,都跟蒙虎要塞有往来,所以他对那里的运作方式很熟悉.
门口的猎人看到钱后,赶紧转身跳了下来.
大门不是很高,有本事的人很容易跳下来.
"不错,你知道规则."
接过袋子后,猎人在手里称了量,确认数量正确后,满意地点了点头.
站在三叔身后的陈洛花了一点时间打量着猎人.从他刚才的弓箭功力来看,这个守门人可不是普通人.他一个人就能轻松对付三五个强者,虽然陈洛不确定他是否练过武功.
从单个守门人中,可以大致衡量要塞的强度.
蒙虎据点已经成为一个众所周知的强大据点,在几次政府镇压中幸存下来,因此它当然有值得钦佩的优点.
"进去吧,沿着路直走,不要四处乱逛."
把钱装进口袋后,猎人又爬回了大门口.
"谢谢你,好先生."
陈老三松了一口气,迅速领着陈洛进入了据点.
他现在感到极度焦虑.太阳已经高高在上,青崖县的局势肯定已经爆发了.无论是魏太监背后的人,还是青崖县的县长,都是远超他和他叔叔所能惹的有权势的人物.他们必须在双方都来不及反应之前逃离包围圈.
进入据点后,两人并没有四处游荡.他们沿着门口的强盗指示的路线走.
据点有自己的规则.那些付费进入的人必须先去向酋长致敬,他们还被要求提供礼物以示尊重.
前厅外,中央是武术训练场.
当陈洛和他的叔叔到达时,有几个据点的男人在院子里练习招式.陈洛快速看了他们一眼,注意到他们都在训练相当基础的功法——俗称外法.这种武功对于与普通人打交道来说已经足够体面了,但在一个真正武修存在的世界里,它显然缺乏深度.
The most critical issue with external styles was that they heavily drained one's vitality. While it was manageable when young, once someone aged, all sorts of problems would start to surface.
After walking a bit further, they arrived at the only decent-looking building in the entire stronghold.
Mengtiger Hall.
A few of the stronghold's leaders were inside drinking. When they saw the newcomers enter, none of them got up—clearly, someone had already informed them ahead of time.
"you're chen dahe? why the hell don't i remember having a fellow townsman like you?"
the chief sat on a tiger-skin chair, his body leaning lazily to one side. even his short black tunic couldn't hide the layers of hardened muscle underneath. just sitting there, he gave off a fierce and violent aura—truly, the man lived up to the name mengtiger. the bandits beside him were no less imposing: all tall, strong, and clearly seasoned in the art of plunder.
"chief, a noble man like you can't be expected to remember every little thing."
chen lao san had dealt with this group before, and naturally wasn't intimidated by a few sharp words from the chief.
calmly, he took out the silver he had prepared in advance and placed it on the table.
a full thirty taels!
this was an amount that ordinary folk couldn't earn even in a whole year. if it weren't for the fact that their lives now depended on these bandits, chen lao san would never have been this generous.
"two months ago, i even drank with you,"after placing the silver down, chen lao san stepped back and cupped his hands in respect.
"not bad, not bad, now i remember you!"the chief grabbed the silver and laughed heartily.
judging by his expression, it really did seem like he remembered this old acquaintance.
whether he truly did or not—only he knew.
"so, tell me—what did you come to see me for? thirty taels of silver is enough for me to have a good drink," mengtiger chief said boldly.
the meaning behind his words was clear: whatever favor they were asking better not be worth more than thirty taels.
"we want to leave qingya county. we hope chief can do us a favor and help us take the water route."
"leave qingya county?"
the mengtiger chief sat up, his tone no longer as casual as before. the bandits who had been laughing just moments ago all quieted down—they knew their boss was thinking.
"did you two catch wind of something?"
the mengtiger chief wasn't stupid. in fact, he had been paying close attention to the situation in qingya county for a while. ever since the lockdown a few days ago, he had sensed that something was off. recently, he had already ordered all the brothers of the stronghold to pull back and had strengthened the patrols and defenses. in the past, if chen lao san and his group had come into the area, they wouldn't have run into patrols at all.
"we..."
"third uncle, let me speak."
chen luo stepped forward, placing a hand on his uncle's shoulder.
he knew this wasn't something that could be explained in just a few words. even if he laid everything out clearly, the mengtiger chief would still need time to verify it. and by the time everything was confirmed, it might already be too late to run.
so chen luo decided to use his own method to reason with these bandits.
"you handle it, then."
seeing this, chen lao san swallowed his words and quietly stepped aside. after everything that had happened the previous night, he no longer saw his nephew as some clueless junior.
"chief mengtiger, you've felt it too, haven't you?"
as he spoke, chen luo deliberately let his aura spread outward. with his current level of internal training, once he released his presence, even ordinary people could clearly feel it.
an internal arts expert?
the moment the aura was released, everyone in the hall grew alert. several of the stronghold's captains even reached for their weapons.
these were all men who lived with blades at their throats—they knew exactly what it meant to face someone trained in internal martial arts.
"i, cai, have misjudged you."
the mengtiger chief narrowed his eyes, and the fingers resting on the armrest subtly tightened.
(End of Chapter)