Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

This dangerous experience completely killed Li Xingzhi and the others' interest in spring outings!

The women and servants were even paler than usual; some of the more timid ones were still stunned and hadn't recovered their senses. Even Erlang, who had experienced some things, was pale and sweating profusely.

Magistrate Cui frowned, his face solemn. He borrowed a few strong servants from Li Xingzhi and then took his leave.

With such a major event happening under his rule, who would have any interest in sightseeing!

He had all the captured thieves taken away, along with their bodies, in preparation for interrogation.

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Meanwhile, Magistrate Cui, having brought the thieves back to the county office, began interrogation without rest. For the long-peaceful Tang Dynasty, for someone to dare so openly intercept and kill him, a magistrate in this prefecture, a vital southern town, was an extremely audacious act! It was a momentous event!

The thieves who were caught weren't very tough; after a few dozen blows of the rod, they all confessed.

It turned out he was a band of mountain bandits entrenched in Wulong Mountain, dozens of miles northwest of Tanzhou City. Several years ago, a notorious bandit known as "Red-Tailed Scorpion" led a group of men to establish themselves as mountain kings. They had been operating for several years now, with several strongholds throughout the city. The reason for this large-scale conflict was entirely due to the Li family's residence—it was originally the bandits' most secret stronghold in the city, but Li Xingzhi and his men had seized it, leading to today's events. As for Magistrate Cui, he was entirely innocent victim!

Having learned the reason for the matter, Magistrate Cui stopped questioning Li Xingzhi. A large group of thieves was hiding outside Tanzhou City, which was a big deal no matter what!

Magistrate Cui dared not delay. He sent a servant from the Li family back with a message, and hurriedly led a group to the residence of the Prefect of Tanzhou to report!

Governor Liu was at home watering and tending to his fine peony, enjoying a leisurely time.

He was old and had no hope of promotion. He only needed to remain in his post for another two years to retire and return to his hometown. In Tanzhou, as long as nothing major went wrong, he would turn a blind eye, and things would pass. His subordinates were also quite sensible; although they made some small moves, nothing serious happened.

However, this time, he could no longer enjoy his leisurely life.

Governor Liu sat upright in the main hall, listening to Magistrate Cui's report, and was greatly shocked! He had been in Tanzhou City for several years and had no idea that such a large group of thieves was hiding nearby! If anyone brought this up, he was afraid he would have no way to defend himself! He dared not delay for a moment and immediately sent someone to invite Bai Sima and Qin Canjun of Tanzhou, saying that there were important military matters to discuss.

Now, it is said that Qin, the military advisor, was born into a family of military officers and had a fiery temper. Upon hearing the governor's summons, which had important military matters to discuss, he did not make much preparation and went directly with the messenger to the governor's residence.

After the ceremony, upon hearing about Magistrate Cui's affair, he was furious: "That scoundrel has truly rebelled!" He then bowed to the governor and said: "Governor, there is no need to worry. I will immediately muster the troops and capture this scoundrel!"

Without delay, Qin, the military advisor, obtained permission from several people and immediately gathered his troops, ready to set off early the next day.

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Li Xingzhi glanced at the seven or eight strong slaves he had brought with him. Many of them had been slashed open by large knives, their skin and flesh exposed. However, because they had practiced external martial arts and had been treated with Li Xingzhi's secret medicine, none of their bones were injured. Li Xingzhi examined them and nodded with satisfaction. This external martial arts was quite good; it had achieved such effects in such a short time.

However, when Li Xingzhi saw the large bump on one of the guys' heads, he was somewhat disappointed—it was clearly an accidental injury inflicted by one of their own. Li Xingzhi frowned; he was truly dissatisfied with their performance. Although they hadn't been training for long, he had still spent a considerable amount of precious medicinal herbs on them!

No matter how skilled you are, if you've never fought or killed anyone, it's all just empty talk! The saying "Heroes emerge in chaotic times" is no exaggeration.

Having learned their lesson this time, these people seem to have gained some bearing, exuding a more menacing aura. However, they still need further training.

This incident served as a wake-up call for Li Xingzhi. Although he had the system as a cheat code, before he became truly powerful, it was easier to dodge open attacks than to guard against hidden ones! He was not afraid of anyone coming at him alone with the help of the little golden snake, but if a group of people rushed at him, attacking with both open and hidden attacks, then he would be in trouble!

Li Xingzhi put away some of his pride and contempt, for who knows how many strange people and events exist in this world!

As soon as Li Xingzhi returned home, Magistrate Cui had already sent people over. It turned out that the first group of people who attacked them were a group of mountain bandits.

However, Li Xingzhi still felt lingering fear about the second assassination attempt! Magistrate Cui hadn't said anything, clearly because it was impossible to find out; there was no way to verify anything now that he was dead! For Magistrate Cui, the safety of Tanzhou City was paramount. Although he had some feelings for Li Xingzhi, he couldn't allow him to violate his principles.

Li Xingzhi didn't ask for an autopsy or anything like that. Since the other party had done such a thorough job, they naturally wouldn't leave any evidence.

However, with Wang Xiucai's reminder, Li Xingzhi still managed to discover some clues.

Li Xingzhi was nothing more than a beggar before; if someone wanted to kill him, he would have been dead long ago. Therefore, the person who killed him this time was undoubtedly the one he had recently provoked! Thus, excluding other unforeseen circumstances, there are not many who could have taken such action—first, the band of mountain bandits; second, the ugly county magistrate's family; and third, the person Wang Xiucai had previously clashed with. Even if there were others, they would all be inextricably linked to these three families.

The caution of those who came to assassinate him was the second important clue.

Such well-trained assassins are not easily found. In the eyes of outsiders, Li Xingzhi was just a beggar boy who had suffered a stroke of bad luck. How could he be worthy of such a "great gift" from them? Moreover, when they failed to strike him, they immediately committed suicide without leaving any room for maneuver. Clearly, they were terrified of him!

Besides that family in the city, Li Xingzhi couldn't think of anyone else who would do such a thing.

The only concern is that he is just a minor county magistrate; where would he find so many well-trained assassins?

Li Xingzhi didn't plan to investigate this matter further. Since the other party had such capabilities, the person behind them must be quite powerful. Pulling out this radish would bring out more than just mud! After this incident, the other party would probably not dare to make a move for a long time, giving him plenty of time to prepare!

Li Xingzhi was preoccupied with the band of mountain bandits. When they broke into his house that night, he'd been thinking about using them for military training. Afraid of alerting them, he'd kept quiet, but unexpectedly, they'd come to him. He even had one of those bandits imprisoned in his house! It was all for this purpose.

However, Li Xingzhi was also afraid that the cooked duck would fly away. Dozens of bandits could disappear into the mountains and be nowhere to be found! So, as soon as he returned home, he had his servants pack their belongings and prepare to set off to kill the bandits! Wang Xiucai had been mingling in the bandit's den for a long time and might be of great help in this "encirclement and suppression" operation, so he naturally wanted to go along.

As for Erlang, Li Xingzhi left him at home. This trip would inevitably involve sword fights and carnage, a scene too gruesome for children! To be safe, Li Xingzhi had Dahuang and Diandian guard Erlang's room, while a small golden snake stood watch, protecting Erlang. In this way, unless hundreds of soldiers arrived, they would be safe.

Li Xingzhi's large group, each concealing a weapon and fearing suspicion or complications, dispersed and left the city before the gates closed. Then, led by the skinny thief they had captured earlier, they headed towards Wulong Mountain, outside Tanzhou City.

Under the cover of darkness, led by "Skinny Guy," the group moved from the main road to a side path, and then into the deserted mountains; they quickly made their way towards Wulong Mountain by taking shortcuts. With the experienced old fox Wang Xiucai around, they weren't afraid of what tricks this little thief might pull!

When they were almost at Wulong Mountain, Wang Xiucai called over two strong slaves, gagged the skinny guy, ignored his unwilling and resentful expression and ashen face, tied him to a tree, and then continued on his way!

They were already very close to Wulong Mountain. Under Wang Xiucai's guidance, the group wore leaves to cover their heads and then deliberately headed out into the dense grass and forest.

The reason Wang Xiucai dared to lead the way like this was mainly because of the 'special insect repellent powder' that Li Xingzhi had given him; otherwise, the poisonous insects and snakes in the forest and grass would have been enough to give them a hard time!

In most mountain strongholds, there are lookouts. Since the thieves don't know much about these thieves, and they are few in number, it's not easy to force their way through. So, Wang Xiucai had no choice but to resort to this less-than-ideal strategy! However, with the miraculous effect of the 'insect repellent powder,' this less-than-ideal strategy has now become the best-case scenario!

They traversed mountains and valleys, finally finding the mountain stronghold at dawn.

They were nearing the summit, and from their vantage point, under the dim moonlight and starlight, they could vaguely see the large stockade below. Li Xingzhi even spotted several hidden sentry posts both above and below the stockade, but they were long gone; no one knew where they had gone to slack off.

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