Things Had Gotten Complicated

"Mu Ge'er, something huge happened!"

"Qili Village rebelled! The brothers who went to Qili Village to levy Forced Laborers were all killed!"

"We're going to war now!"

"It's over, it's over, I can't even swing my blade!"

"I'm not going to die, am I? I'm still so young..."

Xu Yuan's face was full of panic as he chattered nonstop at Chu Mu's side.

Though Chu Mu's expression was grave, faintly, that suppressed excitement seemed to surface again.

"Mu Ge'er, say something. Aren't you scared?"

Xu Yuan grew even more terrified, clutching Chu Mu's hand tightly and refusing to let go in the slightest.

"Shut up!"

Chu Mu growled.

"If you shake the army's morale, watch out or the Thousand Household will cut you down first!"

Xu Yuan shrank his head back, his face pale. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but clearly did not dare make a sound.

At the sight of him looking like such dead weight, Chu Mu could not help but frown, but in the end, he still steadied himself and said, "Follow me later. Whatever you do, don't run around."

Xu Yuan nodded frantically.

Chu Mu drew in a deep breath, swept his gaze around, and also sized up the surrounding Patrol Inspectors.

After everyone understood the reason, the clamor turned into the present heavy, stifling atmosphere.

There were clearly no few who were afraid, but there were obviously exceptions as well.

For example, his Squad Leader, Li Gang, who had been wearing a sullen face these past few days, had now completely changed his bearing. His excitement was impossible to hide, and from time to time he looked toward the Thousand Household riding at the very front. What was on his mind was almost displayed clear as day.

After sweeping his gaze around once, Chu Mu withdrew it. Once the cause had spread just now, the many Patrol Inspectors had already explained the matter plainly amid their overlapping chatter.

As for the cause of the matter, Chu Mu had more or less formed a clear thread of understanding in his heart.

Put simply, the burden of Forced Laborers was too heavy. Some commoners were unwilling, and with the crowd's feelings stirred into fury, they violently resisted the levy. Of the squad of Patrol Inspectors who went, only one escaped.

The only question about the matter was this: was it resistance by a small number of people? Or had the entire village taken part? "Qili Village..."

Chu Mu silently recited the village's name in his heart, and a few more degrees of gravity appeared between his brows.

Though he had not yet left Nanshan Town, he had deliberately asked around and learned quite a bit about Qinghe County.

He had naturally heard of Qili Village. Qili Village belonged to Nanshan Town and was located among the mountains northwest of Nanshan Town. Because the road down the mountain was seven li long, it was named Qili Village.

The people of this era all lived off the mountain if they had a mountain, and off the water if they had water. Qili Village was located deep in the mountains, so naturally, its people guarded the great mountains to get by, and their local customs were naturally extremely fierce.

Moreover, for those making a living in the mountains, how could they possibly have no self-defense skills at all?

What did hunting rely on? Bows and arrows, traps...

If these skills could deal with the wild beasts in the mountains, then naturally, they could deal with people too!

They might even produce even more miraculous effects.

When wild beasts were injured, they became fiercer.

People feared death. Once injured, they became even more afraid.

Chu Mu silently sized up this Patrol Inspector force.

There were nearly two hundred Patrol Inspectors. Most had the standard Patrol Inspector equipment: a suit of armor clothing and a Saber. The Patrol Inspectors who had converged from below the mountain were somewhat better equipped; some carried shields, while others had bows, arrows, and short crossbows.

The several cavalrymen accompanying the Thousand Household were even clad head to toe in iron armor, armed to the utmost.

This scene also made Chu Mu feel slightly more at ease.

Perhaps they were only entering the village to arrest a few thieves; the possibility of the whole village resisting together... was not high.

Even if the entire village truly had been dragged into rebellion, with nearly two hundred fully armed Patrol Inspectors on his side, there should not be any major problems.

Amid his heavy thoughts, the grand, sweeping force completely left Nanshan Town and stepped into territory Chu Mu had never set foot in before.

Though Nanshan Town was located amid the mountains, with the existence of the Treasure Mountain that held the iron mine, the road out of the mountains was actually rather broad.

On both sides of the road, many terraced fields carved out by borrowing the mountain's shape could still be seen. Under the cover of heavy snow, only their rough outlines could be made out.

Not long after they left the town's boundaries, quite a few figures could also be seen along the road. There were farmers at work, and also merchant caravans pulling goods, but without exception, the moment they saw this vast, imposing force, they hurriedly withdrew to both sides of the road, their faces fearful.

It was not hard to see that the identity of Patrol Inspector was clearly not welcome in Qinghe County.

After sweeping his gaze around, Chu Mu's thoughts returned as well, and in his heart he silently pondered the scenes he might face later, as well as his own way of responding.

Those moves and forms of the Basic Blade Technique rehearsed and replayed again and again in his mind.

"Stop!"

After roughly more than an hour passed, when the force reached the front of a mountain path, Li Jinghong finally raised his hand and signaled for the force to stop.

"Alert!"

Hundred Household He Ping immediately shouted the order.

Li Jinghong gazed at the narrow path leading into the mountains. Only after a long while did he say, "Send a few skilled brothers up the mountain to scout."

"The rest of you, rest where you are for now. Also, hand out the dry rations we brought to the brothers. Let everyone eat and drink their fill first."

"Yes, sir."

He Ping answered at once, called over a few squad chiefs and gave them a few instructions, then strode quickly toward the squad where Chu Mu was.

"Stay sharp!"

"The Hundred Household is coming."

Li Gang instantly perked up. After giving Chu Mu and the others a few instructions, he hurriedly went to meet He Ping.

"Hundred Household."

"Take a few good men and scout into the mountains first. See what exactly is going on in Qili Village."

After saying that, He Ping moved a little closer to Li Gang and leaned to his ear to instruct him:

"Do it cleanly. The Thousand Household personally gave the order. If you handle this errand well, you'll have caught the Thousand Household's eye."

"Hundred Household, don't worry."

Li Gang immediately promised, "Even if I have to risk my life, I'll definitely handle this errand beautifully."

"Good. Go quickly."

Watching Li Gang and He Ping talk, Chu Mu could not help feeling a bad premonition rise in his heart.

From the way Li Gang had looked just now, it was obvious he had worked himself up to rely on his abilities and put on a show, to earn some merit and fight for a future.

And now this Hundred Household had come looking for him...

Very soon, Chu Mu's ominous premonition became reality.

"The Thousand Household arranged for us to enter the mountains and scout the situation in Qili Village. Which of you is willing to come with me?"

Li Gang was clearly still a little excited as he quickly walked up to Chu Mu and the others and asked.

At this question, the patrol inspectors who had still been chatting idly all fell silent at once. They looked at one another, each lowering his head without a word.

Naturally, Chu Mu had no desire to show off either. Though he wanted to get ahead, he had not reached the point of throwing his life away.

He was not too worried that Li Gang would make him go. After all, he had only recently entered the Patrol Inspectorate and had not shown any exceptional qualities.

Of course, most importantly, Chu Mu had not yet stepped into their circle.

For something like this, if Li Gang was going to call anyone, he would definitely call his own trusted men. It should have little to do with him.

Just as Chu Mu thought, faced with this situation, Li Gang's expression immediately darkened. Then he directly began naming names.

"Li Er, Wu Lengzi, Da Zuiba, San Zhi Jiao, you lot come with me!"

"Squad Leader, I'd better not go, right? It's not like you don't know my situation. I've got old folks above and young ones below. I really can't afford anything to happen..."

"Me too! I've never even killed a chicken. How could I do something like this..."

"I..."

No sooner had Li Gang finished speaking than the few patrol inspectors he had named immediately began clamoring in a jumble of voices.

Chu Mu quietly tugged Xu Yuan back a little. This scene was somewhat beyond his expectations.

If Chu Mu remembered correctly, these people who had been named were usually very close to Li Gang. How had the chain dropped at the critical moment?

Chu Mu glanced at Li Gang, whose face had gone ashen, and could not help muttering inwardly.

This Li Gang was somewhat of a failure as a person...

In that case, things had just gotten complicated...