Chapter 84: Going Back to the Village
Ye Lingyue yawned and took a cup of water to wash away the sleepiness, and then, she analyzed the item on her third brother’s palm.
"What is it?" Ye Lanxi raised his eyebrows.
"Watch carefully," Ye Lingrui told them with a solemn look on his face.
Ye Lingyue and Ye Lanxi glanced at each other with puzzlement in their eyes. The moment they saw the item again, their expression became serious.
It was a wooden token with a few characters carved on it.
"Black wind?" Ye Lingyue read it out loud, adding a questioning tone at the end.
Ye Lanxi furrowed his brows. "It sounds like some kind of bandit stronghold. Lingrui, where did you find it?"
All of a sudden, Ye Lingrui pulled another one, which was identical to the other carved wooden token.
"How many do you have?"
They watched as their third brother rummaged his robe again, pulling out one more wooden token. He answered calmly. "Just three."
"Third Brother, did you get those from the bandits?" Ye Lingyue asked. "So, they are part of this bandit stronghold called Black Wind."
They also recalled the conversation between the bandits’ boss and his lackeys. They seemed to mention they had another leader, which was probably referring to their stronghold’s leader.
"They should be bandits who formed a group to rob people for supplies," Ye Lingrui began. "The ones we encountered before we arrived in this market."
They also had said about having a backing, which was undoubtedly the bandits from their stronghold.
"There are so many of them," Ye Lingyue muttered, pursing her lips.
"We should be careful tomorrow. Let’s change back to our beggar clothes," Ye Lingrui reminded them.
They didn’t want to attract too much attention.
Ye Lingrui told his sister and brother to go back to sleep after cautioning them about the bandits stronghold’s existence. He had to tell them before they went to sleep so that he wouldn’t forget.
The three enjoyed some rest after an eventful day.
Early in the morning, Ye Lanxi proposed to find out about this particular bandit stronghold from the people in the market.
Their target was the shopkeeper from the jewellry shop.
"Welcome, Young Masters and Young–" the shopkeeper’s words abruptly paused when he saw the trio. His lips twitched, and he repeated his greeting, trying to keep a neutral expression. "Do you want to sell or buy jewellry?"
Ye Lanxi was always straight to the point. "We will pay you as long as you give us information about Black Wind–"
Before he could continue, the shopkeeper already covered his mouth. He seemed to be nervous, glancing around anxiously in fear.
"Young Master, this humble one is begging you. Don’t mention their name in this small shop." He let out a huge breath as he let go of Ye Lanxi’s mouth.
Ye Lanxi wiped his mouth furiously. He unhappily asked, "Why? Are they strong?"
The shopkeeper nodded. "Where did you hear about them from..." he paused. "They are everywhere. Although there are some guards stationed in this market, it’s another story once we step out."
He lowered his voice. "They are also in this market, always disguising themselves as normal people."
After thinking carefully for a while, he also decided to tell them so that they realized the seriousness of the matter. "The people you have fought with yesterday could have been a few of them..."
Ye Lanxi nodded. "Tell us more about them."
The shopkeeper sighed and resigned to his fate.
Of course, he told them whatever he knew about the Black Wind bandits not because he feared Ye Lanxi’s fists; he just couldn’t see them suffer from provoking the wrong people!
"A lot of merchant caravans suffered under their hands. They have robbed a lot of people. It doesn’t matter whether you are alone... they will still target you."
He shook his head, lowering his voice to a whisper. "They even strip people down to their underwear if the person has nothing!"
The twins subconsciously turned to Ye Lanxi. Isn’t this person describing their second brother?
Ye Lanxi’s temples throbbed at the twin’s intense stare. Why are they staring at him instead of focusing on the current business?!
The shopkeeper suddenly asked, "By any chance, are you going to pass by the Black Wind’s territory?"
"Where is their territory?"
"The forest area after this market, along the road heading to the other county," he honestly told them.
Ye Lanxi frowned. It seemed that Ye Lingrui’s bad premonition wasn’t without a reason. There was a chance that the previous gang of bandits they had beaten up would come to seek revenge.
"Actually, there is also another path you can take if you don’t want to cross their area," the shopkeeper told them.
"How long will it take if we go by the path you are talking about?" Ye Lingyue asked.
"A lot longer, twice or three times longer than the path where the Black Wind rules, but it’s a lot safer," he told them.
The siblings’ frown deepened, and the shopkeeper instantly knew that his suggestion didn’t sound good for them.
Indeed, it was impossible. Song Yulan’s condition couldn’t wait anymore, and they had to quickly return to the village.
The shopkeeper thought of something. "If you all need to go through that path, there is this merchant caravan who will pass by there this noon. You can ask if you want to tag along with them."
He didn’t forget to add the crucial part. "They have a lot of guards."
Ye Lanxi clicked his tongue and smacked the shopkeeper’s shoulder lightly. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"
He took one tael of silver and gave it to the shopkeeper, causing the latter’s expression to be more sincere.
"Young Masters, Young Miss, I can show you the way to the merchant caravan."
The trio ended up going with the merchant caravan.
"Do you think the merchant caravan’s guards seem to be weird?" Ye Lanxi muttered. "They look familiar as if I have seen them before..."