Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 69 Fight to the death
A light rain was falling, and the sky was overcast.

A villager wearing a straw raincoat trudged through the mud, his steps uneven.

He was hurrying back to the village when his gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure lying on the ground at the village entrance.

"Who's there?"

He muttered something as he leaned closer and carefully flipped the face-down person over.

A face ashen white from blood loss made him exclaim in shock, "Licheng?!"

Isn't this the eldest nephew of Kang Zhengyang, the commander of the troops?

The villagers' hair stood on end, and they immediately started shouting at the top of their lungs, "Help! Something's happened! Licheng is dying!"

Soon, villagers living nearby braved the rain to come over.

Everyone hurriedly lifted the unconscious Kang Licheng, ignoring the mud and water splashing all over them, and ran towards the Kang family's courtyard.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the village.

The small courtyard of the Kang family was soon crowded with relatives and close retainers who had rushed over upon hearing the news, and everyone's face was filled with surprise and worry.

The village has a strong tradition of martial arts practice, and most villagers have some basic medical knowledge.

Kang Licheng's main injury was bleeding from a knife wound. Someone quickly crushed some hemostatic herbs and applied them to his wound, then tightly bound it with clean cloth strips. Finally, they pried open his jaw and poured a bowl of boiling ginger soup down his throat.

After a while of working, Kang Licheng let out a weak groan, his eyelids trembled, and he finally woke up slowly.

Before his vision was clear, he saw two extremely anxious faces beside the bed; they were his father, Kang Zhengyi, and his uncle, Kang Zhengyang.

"Father! Uncle!"

Kang Licheng struggled to sit up and said urgently, "Quick! Go to Tielinliang to save Uncle San! They...they're surrounded!"

Although Kang Zhengyang was anxious, he was experienced and pressed his nephew down, his voice calm and reassuring: "Don't rush, speak slowly and clearly, what exactly happened?"

Despite his pain, Kang Licheng recounted the events of the previous night's attack on Tielinliang in fits and starts.

Before he finished speaking, the room erupted in chaos.

The eyes of Kang Zhengyan's two half-grown sons instantly turned red.

They clenched their fists and shouted, "Uncle! Go now!"

"Second Uncle, grab your weapons! Let's fight these sons of bitches!"

Kang Zhengyi was a taciturn man, usually so quiet you wouldn't utter a word, but now he was like an enraged black bear.

His own son was hacked half to death, and his own brother was trapped in a desperate situation. His eyes were bloodshot, and he could only utter one word from his throat: "Go!"

Before he finished speaking, he turned around like a whirlwind, grabbed a gleaming three-pronged steel fork leaning against the corner of the wall, and walked out with a murderous aura.

"Second brother, take everyone in and out of the yard and go ahead!"

Kang Zhengyang made a decision immediately. He ordered his second brother, Kang Zhengyi, to lead the dozens of able-bodied men in the courtyard to provide support first, while he went to gather more troops.

Based on his nephew's description, the other party was no ordinary petty thief; each of them was exceptionally skilled.

A mere twenty-odd people dared to transport four large cartloads of goods over long distances; if they weren't powerful dragons crossing the river, they certainly wouldn't have had such audacity.

However, he, a local bully, was not afraid of the powerful dragon crossing the river.

If something were to happen to the third brother and the villagers who followed him in doing business, how could he face their families?

Guilt and anxiety were gnawing at his heart like venomous snakes; he had to do something.

Less than half an hour after Kang Zhengyi and his men left, Kang Zhengyang brought back seventy or eighty strong and capable men.

The roads were muddy and impassable after the rain, making riding a horse a burden, especially since there weren't many horses in Feng'an Village.

Everyone walked, led by Kang Zhengyang, heading straight for Tielinliang along the slippery road.

This is a private matter for the Kang family, and the soldiers are not officially under the jurisdiction of the Zhuang family.

However, these retainers were, after all, villagers, and since he had mobilized so many people, he still instructed his wife to inform Feng'an Fort.

Upon hearing the news, Yang Can jumped up from his recliner.

When he and Yu Chengye returned to Tianshui from Jincheng to fetch their bride, he personally experienced the ferocity of bandits in Longshang.

The people of Longshang are known for their fierce and martial arts-loving nature, but he couldn't be sure whether the men in this village were a match for those desperate outlaws who lived on the edge of death.

"Ring the bell! Gather all able-bodied men!" Yang Can gave the order without hesitation.

Soon after, the bells of Feng'an Fort rang out urgently.

Yang Can, along with Leopard Head and other martial arts guards, gathered more than two hundred able-bodied men from the village and, braving the gradually subsiding drizzle, hurriedly headed towards Tielinliang.

Yang Can, Leopard Head, and the others rode horses, but the roads were muddy and they couldn't run fast on horseback, so they eventually dismounted and walked.

When Kang Zhengyang led his men to Tielinliang, the drizzle had almost stopped, leaving only faint drizzle.

The sight before my eyes was terrifying; the ground was washed by the rain and turned into an eerie pale red.

The corpses lay pale and stiff on the ground, like abandoned and broken dolls.

"The third one!"

Kang Zhengyang rushed to a familiar corpse, which was his third brother, Kang Zhengyan.

He held his brother's cold body, tears welling in his eyes, his body trembling slightly from immense grief.

Kang Zhengyi clenched his fists, which were as big as bowls, and gritted his teeth, his face contorted with bulges.

A low sobbing sound could be heard in the rain.

That was the sound of someone who had discovered the body of a loved one, unable to control their sobbing.

"Chief, I found fresh cart tracks two miles away. It must be them; they went west!"

Li Quanxin, a hunter skilled in tracking, had already carefully searched for traces in the mud and came running hurriedly with his hunting knife.

The mountain paths are mostly gravel roads, and the shallow tracks left by carriages and horses are easily obscured by rain.

Li Quanxin ran along the mountain road for several miles and found traces at the mountain pass that had not yet been destroyed by the rain.

Kang Zhengyang gently laid down his brother's body, slowly stood up, and the grief on his face was replaced by a cold killing intent.

He drew his sword with a clang, his voice hoarse but firm.

"Dayou, take a few men and send...they back." "The rest of you!"

His cold gaze swept across the grief-stricken faces: "Come with me!"

When Yang Can led more than two hundred able-bodied men to the village, they encountered soldiers escorting the corpse back to the village.

They used whatever materials were available, such as tree trunks, vines, and branches of suitable thickness, to make a "stretcher," and they were walking unsteadily through the night.

Seeing the torches that stretched out like dragons ahead, they knew that people from the village had arrived, so they stopped.

"Dayou, you mean Kang Quchang led his men to chase after them? Where did they go?"

The soldier then told Leopard Head where Kang Zhengyang and the others had gone.

Leopard Head, who was familiar with the terrain, immediately said to Yang Can, "Master, if we go west from Tielin Ridge, the only way is to go to Canglang Gorge."

Yang Can asked, "What is Canglang Gorge?"

Leopard Head said, "Once you leave Canglang Gorge, you'll find a pasture belonging to a Xianbei tribe."

Actually, going through our village is shorter and the road is easier to travel to Canglang Gorge.

Yang Can's eyes lit up: "Does this mean we can catch up with them now?"

If they go to Feng'anzhuang first and then to Canglang Gorge, it's closer than going through Tielinliang. Those of them who haven't reached Tielinliang yet don't need to take such a long detour.

Leopard Head said, "That's right, it's closer if we go through the village."

But if we turn directly now, we'll have to cross a mountain.

Crossing mountains at night is not an easy task.

In this era, many barren mountains showed almost no signs of human activity.

Therefore, pits, cliffs...

All the dangers were hidden beneath the undisturbed shrubs and vines.

Even in broad daylight, one can easily die if one is not careful when climbing the mountain, let alone at night.

So Yang Can asked cautiously.

Leopard Head said, "It's alright, it's a barren mountain, not a blade of grass grows there."

"Then let's go, let's chase after them!" Yang Can made a decisive decision.

The fire dragon immediately changed direction and sped towards the silhouette of the desolate mountain, resembling the spine of a giant beast, in the distance under the night sky.

……

The following morning, after the rain, the sun shone brightly and quickly dried the muddy road surface.

It's not just the sunshine; the wind here is also dry.

The carriages and horses, which were originally struggling to move, suddenly became much faster.

The caravan leader, who was transporting mountain goods, immediately felt much more at ease.

A single heavy rain washes away all traces.

Once past Canglang Gorge, we would be in the territory of the Xianbei people, and this deadly deal would be complete.

They had received advance notice that the current owner of Feng'an Manor was someone else.

That's why they didn't go to Feng'anzhuang first as usual.

Now that he's killed someone near Feng'anzhuang, I'd better deliver the goods as soon as possible to put my mind at ease.

However, they did not expect that Kang Zhengyang and his group, led by hunter Li Quanxin, had taken a shortcut and caught up with them in time.

On the grassy slope, Kang Zhengyang, who hadn't slept all night, had bloodshot eyes.

But he was like the most patient cheetah, staring intently at the bottom of the slope.

His fingers slowly but firmly stroked the cold hilt of the knife.

No need to confirm anymore, he recognized the four large trucks in that convoy.

Because the truck was carrying the goods he had acquired.

Beside him, Kang Zhengyi was breathing heavily, and the three-pronged steel fork he was holding was warm.

His muscles were tense, and he said in a trembling voice, "Big Brother!"

He only called out "Big Brother" and his cheeks trembled. This honest man looked particularly ferocious at that moment.

"No, we won't do it here!"

Kang Zhengyang stared intently at the carriages and horses below the slope, then slowly shook his head.

Without Kang Zhengyi saying anything more, he had no choice but to kill these people.

Otherwise, he would not be able to explain himself to his relatives, friends, and followers.

However, Licheng's nephew said that the other side had about the same number of people as their caravan.

However, of the caravan members, only Kang Licheng is still alive, while the number of bandits hasn't decreased much.

This means that their martial skills are far superior to those of the village's retainers.

Kang Zhengyang now has more than a hundred men under his command, which is enough to overwhelm them.

However, the slope is too gentle. If you rush down it, the enemy will be on guard before you even engage in close combat.

Wouldn't that mean even more people would die?

"Second brother, since they've chosen this route, they can only be heading to Canglang Gorge."

Kang Zhengyang said in a deep voice, "Let's take a shortcut through the mountains and wait for them at Canglang Gorge!"

Kang Zhengyang was a sergeant commander, and he possessed basic military skills.

With just a little thought, he knew how to act in a way that would be more advantageous for them.

An ambush would obviously result in fewer casualties, and... it would be easier to annihilate them completely!

(End of this chapter)