Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

Upon seeing this, the Miao leader of the wood-chopping team's face darkened.

However, he was somewhat rational and did not send his men with machetes into battle.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, shirtless, and had a strong, muscular build.

He stepped forward, his gaze shifting back and forth between Zhang Qishan and Su Chen, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.

This man is named Bao Donghu. He is the best hunter in Pingyun Village and is recognized as the strongest among more than a dozen Miao villages in the surrounding area.

However, even he couldn't guarantee that he could defeat a hundred Miao people with his bare hands.

Let alone a hundred, even a dozen or so together would be quite strenuous.

The two Han Chinese men in front of him were stronger than him.

Thinking of this, Bao Donghu spoke in a deep voice.

"Han people, our chieftain said that Pingyun Village does not welcome you. No matter if you are from the Eighth or Ninth Sect, Guanyin Mountain is a sacred place for Miao people, and you are not allowed to enter the mountain and cause trouble."

As he spoke, Bao Donghu clapped his hands.

Before long, Wu Jizong was carried over by several Miao people.

At this moment, Old Wu looked very miserable, completely bound and unable to move.

Even his mouth was stuffed with rags, so he could only make muffled noises.

Bao Donghu ordered his men to carry Wu Jizong up, then took out his machete from his waist and cut the ropes binding Wu Jizong.

"Get out of here. If you dare to enter Pingyun Village again, we won't let you off so easily next time."

As they spoke, dozens of dark, long spears emerged from the eaves of various houses within Pingyun Village.

If a real fight breaks out, Pingyun Village might not be afraid of Zhang Qishan and his men.

Of course, they weren't as dismissive of the Nine Gates as they claimed.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have just been a show of force without truly harming Wu Jizong.

Wu Jizong flexed his wrists and shook his head slightly at Zhang Qishan.

The latter relaxed and quickly stepped forward to help Wu Jizong, and the group left Pingyun Village.

After walking a few miles and rejoining the main force, Wu Jizong could no longer hold back and began to curse loudly.

"Old Jie is unreliable. What kind of guide did he hire? He practically sold us out!"

Zhang Qishan frowned slightly and hurriedly asked, "Third Master Wu, what did Chief Pingyun say?"

Wu Jizong shook his head and sighed, "They didn't say anything before they had me tied up. Also, the road into the mountain has been blocked. Unless we start a war with Pingyun Village and take the village directly, we can't get into Guanyin Mountain."

"no!"

However, Zhang Qishan shook his head and rejected Wu Jizong's suggestion without even thinking about it.

“Pingyun Village has less than a hundred guns, but the surrounding dozen or so Miao villages are closely connected. If we attack Pingyun Village, the other villages will definitely come to our aid. Secondly, the warlord will not agree to this.”

Within Hunan Province, there are hundreds of thousands of Miao people, and they are extremely united.

Pingyun Village alone is not a concern, but the chain reaction it triggers would be too much for even the military governor of Hunan Province to handle.

"What should I do?"

Wu Jizong was dejected and couldn't think of any good solutions for a while.

Su Chen thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Wu, didn't you say that Boss Xie arrived at Guanyin Mountain ahead of time? Where is he?"

“Right, I almost forgot! Old Jie came a few days ago and found a guide. He left me a letter saying he wanted to go into the mountains to explore first. Now look what’s happened, we can’t get in, and Old Jie can’t get out… Old Jie only brought a few guys with him, we have to find a way to get into the mountains quickly.”

Just as Wu Jizong and the others were at a loss, Su Renxiu, listening to their words, seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Clan leader, I just remembered someone who might be able to lead us into the mountains."

"Who?"

"Protect the cave!"

Su Renxiu explained, "Baodongha is from Pingyun Village. He married a Han woman, which violated the village's rules, so he was kicked out. Last year there was a famine, so I guess he probably took his wife back to the vicinity of Pingyun Village."

"Can we find them?"

Wu Jizong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked more questions.

"If he comes back, he should be able to find it."

"Then let's give it a try."

……

Su Renxiu wandered around Guanyin Mountain for two days and actually found Baodongha's trap.

He learned his hunting skills from Bao Dongha.

It was immediately obvious that the hunting traps were a common tactic of the Baodongha.

Following the trail of the trap, they finally found Bao Dongha in a wooden house beside a mountain stream, more than ten miles away from Pingyun Village.

Bao Dongha was around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, dark-skinned and burly, and didn't talk much.

When Su Chen and his group arrived at his home, they saw Bao Dongha's wife lying on the bed.

Perhaps due to being sick for too long, Bao Dongha's wife was listless and could barely speak.

Seeing this, Su Chen and Zhang Qishan exchanged glances, both understanding the situation.

"Baodong, shall we go outside to talk?"

Bao Dongha didn't say a word and followed him out of the house.

Wu Jizong was impatient and said bluntly, "We want to enter Guanyin Mountain, but Pingyun Village won't let us in. Do you know any other paths? Lead us around the people of Pingyun Village, and I'll treat you well afterwards—I'll give you fifty silver dollars!"

Fifty silver dollars were enough for Bao Dongha to treat his wife's illness, and the rest could support their livelihood.

However, Bao Dongha didn't even raise his head and turned to go back.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Qishan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Brother, let's talk this over. If you think the money is too little, we can add more."

Bao Dongha glanced at Wu Jizong and said in a stiff tone, "The chieftain won't let you in, so I can't lead you through the back path. I've already betrayed the village once; I can't betray it a second time!"

Upon hearing this, Su Chen pondered silently.

If Bao Dongha truly didn't want to, he wouldn't have been willing to come and meet her.

Just as he said, Pingyun Village had already driven him away once. If he were to betray the Miao people again, there would be no place for him in the entire Miao community.

Thinking of this, Su Chen pressed down Wu Jizong, who was about to speak, and said in a deep voice, "Brother Baodong, can you ask why the people of Pingyun Village won't let me in?"

"Guanyin Mountain is a sacred place for us Miao people..."

Before Bao Dongha could finish speaking, Su Chen interrupted him with a smile.

"There's no need to say such things to deceive people. The Miao people only migrated to the vicinity of Guanyin Mountain two hundred years ago. How did Guanyin Mountain become your holy land?"

That's right, Pingyun Village was not always the territory of the Miao people.

Even before the Ming Dynasty, it was still Han Chinese land.

It was only later, starting from the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the implementation of the policy of replacing native chieftains with appointed officials, that many Miao and Tujia people migrated there...

Bao Dongha was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Su Chen.

After a moment, he continued, "You're right, that's just an excuse. What really angered the chieftain was that the provincial governor provided disaster relief and grain, but not to our Miao village!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qishan and the others finally understood the reason.

Miao villages have a great deal of autonomy and little interaction with Han people, so they were not included in the disaster relief efforts at the time.

Despite his anger, the chief of Pingyun Village refused to speak openly, fearing that the military governor would take the opportunity to weaken the Miao village's autonomy.

Zhang Qishan's mind raced, and he understood the cause and effect.

He immediately said, "This is simple. When I get back, I can help apply to the governor for disaster relief grain, and treat all the dozen or so villages in Guanyin Mountain equally."

It was clear that Bao Dongha had anticipated that Zhang Qishan and the others would come looking for him.

Upon hearing Zhang Qishan's assurance, he replied without hesitation, "Alright, I can ask the chieftain for you."