"Er Mao, tell me honestly, do you want to leave here?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Er Mao's spirit perked up. He said eagerly, "Yes, of course I do."
"I wanted to leave Hetou Village and go to the capital to complain back then, but Hou Liu snatched all my belongings, and I had nowhere to go, so I ended up here."
Xiong Fei chuckled, "Kid, you've been tricked by Hou Liu. I know where Hou Liu's hometown is. How about I take you there to find him?"
At this moment, Chen Er Mao had lost all ability to discern, and his eyes revealed a look of joy. "Really? That would be great."
Xiong Fei nodded, took out a small porcelain bottle from under his pillow, and passed it to Chen Er Mao through the gap.
"Later, you mix this into their wine. They'll fall asleep after drinking it, and then I'll take you away."
Chen Er Mao held the small porcelain bottle and hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and agreed.
Meanwhile, in the Hall of United Gathering, Lardo and others were drinking heartily. Yang Zhi picked up a jar of wine and poured himself less than half a bowl before it was empty.
Yang Zhi shouted towards the entrance, "Chen Er Mao, hurry up and bring more wine!"
Chen Er Mao responded with an "Okay," and came in carrying two jars of wine. He placed one jar on Yang Zhi and the others' table.
He then opened the other jar and poured wine for everyone in the Vermilion Bird Gang.
After finishing this, Chen Er Mao immediately retreated to the entrance and hid outside, listening intently.
Before long, he heard a clatter and various noises from inside.
Then, the talking grew fewer and smaller, and soon the sound of snoring filled the air.
Chen Er Mao cautiously peeked inside.
In the room, Yang Zhi, Yang Chun, and others were slumped over, unconscious.
Seeing that they had all fallen asleep, Chen Er Mao was overjoyed.
He rushed over with an axe and quickly chopped away the wooden boards blocking Xiong Fei's door.
Orienting themselves, Xiong Fei led Chen Er Mao away down the small path.
By the time Yang Zhi and the others woke up, the sun was setting, and dusk was approaching.
Yang Zhi shook his head, "Damn it, this wine is strong. Slept the whole afternoon."
But when he turned his head, he saw that the members of the Vermilion Bird Gang were still slumped over, fast asleep. He suddenly slapped his forehead.
Something's not right.
He tried to stand up but felt his body go weak. This feeling was so familiar.
"Damn it, this is how it feels to be drugged."
"I've been poisoned."
Yang Zhi broke out in a cold sweat. As the sweat dripped, he regained some strength and sprang to his feet.
He quickly walked out of the Hall of United Gathering, climbed to a high vantage point, and scanned his surroundings. The area was quiet, with no signs of activity.
At lunch, he had gathered everyone, so there were no sentries at the entrance of the stronghold, nor guards at the prison.
Yang Zhi hurried to the prison and glanced inside. Sun Jian's men were all there, which somewhat reassured him.
Suddenly, he felt something was amiss and turned back towards Xiong Fei's room.
Seeing that Xiong Fei's door was wide open, he stomped his foot in frustration.
He yelled loudly, "Chen Er Mao, Chen Er Mao!"
He called out several times, but the surroundings were silent, with no response.
Yang Zhi collapsed onto the ground, utterly dejected.
"I guarded against everyone, but I couldn't guard against my own people. I never expected Chen Er Mao to do something so brazen."
At this moment, some members of the Vermilion Bird Gang in the Hall of United Gathering, who had heard his shouts, also got up and came out. Seeing him sitting there, they rushed over.
"Gang Leader Yang, you..."
Yang Zhi pointed towards Xiong Fei's room, "He's escaped. Chen Er Mao did it. We were all drugged."
Upon hearing this, everyone stomped their feet in anger. Some impatient individuals clamored to go and capture them.
Yang Zhi waved his hand, "Forget it. You don't know where he went, so chasing after them is unrealistic."
At this time, Yang Chun also came out after hearing the news. Seeing the situation, he became furious and began to curse.
"Bastard Chen Er Mao, we kindly took you in, and you repay us by betraying us."
After a tirade, Yang Zhi quickly saddled his horse, preparing to report to Liu Rumei. This was no small matter and had to be reported.
By the time he reached Hetou Village, it was already dark. He saw the village defense team members craning their necks, staring into the distance at Qingniu Mountain.
But when he looked towards the mountain, it was pitch black, and he saw nothing. He couldn't help but ask the village defense team member Chen Xiaowen, "Brother Xiaowen, what are you all looking at?"
Chen Xiaowen chuckled, "The village head said he's going to set off a large firecracker, and we're supposed to keep an eye on it."
"Firecracker?" Yang Zhi scratched his head. He had never heard of it. What was it?
Chen Xiaowen also looked confused, "I don't know either. Anyway, they say it can light up the sky and be very bright. Maybe we can see it from here."
Yang Zhi smiled and didn't pay any more attention to it. Instead, he headed straight for Liu Rumei's residence.
After Yang Zhi tremblingly recounted the news of Xiong Fei's escape, Liu Rumei frowned.
Liu Ce, who was beside her, couldn't help but say, "Miss, now that Sun Jian is dead, his subordinates are of little value. Even if the news gets out, it's unlikely anyone will come to their rescue." Sudanan novel website.
Liu Rumei shook her head, "No, the important thing is not whether someone will rescue them, but that Centipede Ridge has been exposed."
"Moreover, Xiong Fei is very familiar with Centipede Ridge. If he turns against us, it could be very disadvantageous for us."
Hearing Liu Rumei's words, Liu Ce fell silent.
"Yes, it is said that Li Tong was also invited by Xiong Fei. This person has quite a reputation in the martial world."
Liu Rumei pondered for a moment, "How about this: prepare several more carriages. Tomorrow morning, transfer all of Sun Jian's subordinates into the county town and lock them in the dungeons of the Liu Manor."
"Yang Zhi, you go back first. Be extremely careful tonight. I will send people to pick them up tomorrow."
Yang Zhi agreed and left.
Just then, a carrier pigeon quietly landed in the courtyard. Hearing the cooing sound, Liu Ce rushed out.
He retrieved the bamboo tube, glanced at it, and went back into the house. He approached Liu Rumei, "Miss, it's from the capital."
Liu Rumei nodded, opened the bamboo tube, and after reading it, a look of joy appeared on her face, and she let out a long sigh.
"That's great! Second brother has been found, and Zi Liang and the others are all safe. The only regret is that Li Tong escaped."
Liu Ce also let out a long sigh of relief.
"That's wonderful. Now you have no worries."
Liu Rumei nodded.
"Yes, and my father has sent reinforcements. Our chances of victory are even greater."
Liu Ce's face showed joy, "That's great, Miss. It means the Prince's stance has changed."
Just then, they suddenly heard cheers from outside the village, which even caused the village dogs to bark.
The two exchanged glances. Liu Ce rushed out.
He ran all the way to the big locust tree and saw several village defense team members looking towards Qingniu Mountain with joyful expressions.
"What, what's wrong?"
"We saw it, we saw it, a firecracker, a huge burst of fire." The village defense team member's nonsensical words left Liu Ce very confused.
"No, what do you mean?"
The village defense team members finally came to their senses. They smiled and explained to Liu Ce, "Oh, it's nothing. The village head, Xiao Bei, said he was going to set off a large firecracker at the Mountain God Temple. He said it would create a fire in the sky, and we were supposed to watch to see if we could see it. We just saw a huge burst of flame."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ce was secretly astonished and quickly returned to report to Liu Rumei.
Liu Rumei was also greatly surprised, "How is that possible? It takes almost a day to climb to the Mountain God Temple. From such a distance, how big of a fire would he need to set off for it to be seen from the valley?"