Chen Ermao understood in an instant. Angrily, he stomped his foot and roared, "You scoundrel Xiong Fei, you dare to double-cross me."
The waiter dared not speak, seeing his frantic state. After Chen Ermao finished cursing, he cautiously asked, "Sir, are you staying or not? Give me a definite answer."
Chen Ermao stomped his foot, gritted his teeth, and gave the waiter another copper coin. "Of course I'm staying, I'll stay another day."
After sending the waiter away, Chen Ermao began to ponder.
With only these dozen or so copper coins, he couldn't possibly make it back home.
But the Duke of Protecting the Nation had already given him a reward, and he had no face to ask for another one.
However, if he didn't approach the Duke, what else could he do?
In the end, Chen Ermao decided to shamelessly go to the Duke's mansion. Even if it was just for travel expenses, he could go home.
As for how he would deceive Chen Xiaobei upon his return, that was a problem for after he got back.
With this thought, Chen Ermao got up, washed himself, walked out of the inn, and after asking for directions, headed towards the Duke's mansion.
Chen Ermao, though illiterate, had a sweet tongue. He kept asking for directions as he went, and to his surprise, he actually found the entrance to the Duke's mansion.
Chen Ermao was very polite. He respectfully said to the guards at the gate, "May I ask if this is the Duke of Protecting the Nation Liu's mansion?"
The guard looked at him and nodded, "Yes, what is it?"
Chen Ermao became even more respectful. "Please announce me. My name is Chen Ermao. I came last night, and I have an urgent matter to meet with the Marquis."
Chen Ermao?
The guard looked at him in confusion.
It was quite a coincidence that this guard was named Liu Dong. He was on duty when Hou Liu came a few days ago. Seeing another Chen Ermao arrive, he became suspicious. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Hetou Village, here to inform the Marquis that the second young master was ambushed."
Liu Dong couldn't help but scratch the back of his head. Someone had indeed come a few days ago. But that person was as thin as a monkey, while this one was as burly as a small mountain. Clearly, they were two different people.
He asked doubtfully, "How many Chen Ermaos are there in your village?"
Chen Ermao was even more bewildered. "Just me!"
Liu Dong immediately realized that something was not quite right. "Wait here."
With that, he turned and ran inside, rushing to see Liu Kai.
After explaining the situation to Liu Kai, Liu Kai was also dumbfounded.
Liu Dong asked cautiously, "Head steward, what should we do?"
Liu Kai frowned, paced twice on the ground, and slowly said, "It's not a big deal to give out some silver. But if we're fooled by a country bumpkin, it would be a laughingstock if word gets out."
"Bring this Chen Ermao into the mansion, treat him well, and keep him here until I give further instructions."
Liu Dong turned to leave, while Liu Kai went directly to see Liu Xiangnan.
After explaining the matter, Liu Xiangnan also found it incredible and couldn't help but let out a cold snort. "This is truly bizarre. They've come to my place to demand rewards."
"Marquis, I think I need to contact the young lady to clarify Chen Ermao's appearance and see if the one here is real or fake."
Liu Xiangnan nodded. "Not only do we need to verify the authenticity of this one, but we also need to find the other one. This matter must be clarified, otherwise our Liu family will truly become a laughingstock."
Just as the carrier pigeon flew towards Hetou Village, Chen Xiaobei arrived at Qingniu Mountain with the landmines he had made.
He had made ten landmines this time.
According to his plan, he would first place some in the woods to protect the scouts' safety. Then, he would place four or five along the road, leaving three to be placed at the foot of the steep slope.
He carefully explained these things to Ma Biao, who was guarding the mountain. Ma Biao was skeptical.
"Brother Xiaobei, can this really be as miraculous as you say?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled slightly. "After they are planted, I will make markings. Make sure your men watch them carefully and do not accidentally touch them."
Chen Xiaobei went down to the foot of the slope and began planting the mines. Ma Biao and a few others watched intently.
Chen Xiaobei carefully prepared the mines, marked them, and gestured to the men again.
"Do not touch them. If you accidentally touch one and hear a hissing sound, quickly lie down on the ground."
Chen Xiaobei even demonstrated by lying down on the ground twice, showing them how to cover their ears with their hands and press their faces tightly to the ground to minimize the impact.
Seeing his serious demeanor, Ma Biao felt like laughing but still had to respond.
"Brother Xiaobei, we've noted everything you said."
After Chen Xiaobei finished his work, he returned to the steep slope. Standing there, he scanned his surroundings and nodded with satisfaction.
I don't believe that ten landmines won't be able to blast you, Sima Wushuang.
Considering the time, these people had been trapped by him for more than ten days and were probably at their breaking point. So, after planting the landmines, he planned to stay for another night before leaving.
As he had predicted, Sima Wushuang was beginning to lose patience.
The birds in the Longyan area were so frightened that they didn't dare to come anymore.
They had to travel five or six li to hunt for prey, but eating grilled meat every day was unbearable.
Helpless, Sima Wushuang decided to go and see for himself tonight. If he had a chance to escape down the mountain, that would be even better.
As it approached the third watch, Sima Wushuang had already stealthily approached within five li of the steep slope.
From this point on, Sima Wushuang dared not walk on the mountain path. Instead, he carefully crept through the nearby grass, stopping every few steps to listen for any movement around him.
This action of his also cleverly allowed him to avoid the initial landmines that Chen Xiaobei had designed.
After more than half an hour, he finally entered the nearby woods.
The woods were only thirty zhang from the steep slope.
However, there were no cover here.
Fortunately, it was a cloudy night, and the sky was quite dark. Sima Wushuang secretly thought that if he moved quietly and slowly enough, crawling on the ground, he should be able to avoid any possible scouts.
Little did he know that all his movements were being clearly observed by the scouts in the trees. As soon as he left the woods, they would issue a warning.
Sima Wushuang slowly flattened himself on the ground and advanced on his belly. Thirty zhang was a long distance for him to crawl.
Shortly after he left, a warning was issued from the shore in the woods. The people on the steep slope heard the bird calls and immediately perked up.
Ma Biao cautiously peeked his head out, observed for a long time, and couldn't help but laugh.
He said in a loud voice, "Brother Xiaobei, look at that guy crawling over. He thinks we won't see him like this."
Chen Xiaobei squinted his eyes and looked for a long time. Finally, he could vaguely see a dark mass moving towards them on the ground.
He had to admit, Ma Biao and his men indeed had better night vision than him.
However, Chen Xiaobei also began to worry. If he crawled like this, the effectiveness of the landmines would likely be reduced.
But now he had no other options. He could only pray that this guy would be blasted hard.