Iron Furnace Stockade!

"Spring Creek Village in the north of the Ridge? In any case, let's go!"

Tang Jie finally made up his mind to go to Spring Creek Village and figure out what had happened.

"I wonder if the person who left the letter is still there." Tang Jie was a little worried. The person said they would wait for him in Spring Creek Village for a few days, but when they left the letter, he was still in the Black Rock Mountain Range. It would take several days to travel from the Southern Ridge to the northern region of the Ridge.

It was a question whether the person was still in Spring Creek Village.

Tang Jie sighed. He had just returned and encountered such a thing. Didn't Tang Tianhao go to see his mother? What happened during that time?

There was no other way. Tang Jie had just returned not long ago before he rushed to Spring Creek Village in the northern region of the Ridge.

Although Tang Jie had been traveling all the way, it was already five days later when he arrived outside Spring Creek Village.

Spring Creek Village, this was a very remote small village in the northern region of the Ridge. Tang Jie had to ask for directions all the way to get here. By the time he arrived, it was already afternoon.

But what made Tang Jie's expression change was that he smelled a burnt odor from afar.

As his gaze followed, Spring Creek Village no longer existed. Only ruined walls and scorched earth remained, with unburnt wood still emitting smoke.

Spring Creek Village seemed to have suffered a fire not long ago, appearing in a state of disrepair.

"Wuwuwu... those beasts, those damned beasts, I must not let them go!"

At the entrance of the village, a man dressed as a villager, with half of his face burned and bloody, grabbed a middle-aged man's hand and cried loudly.

The middle-aged man was wearing a constable's uniform and had a saber at his waist. Behind him were several people dressed similarly.

The middle-aged man said with a look of unbearable pain, "Don't worry... we have already reported this matter to Flying Phoenix City. I believe Flying Phoenix City will soon send troops to suppress those bandits!"

"What happened here?" At this moment, a voice sounded. Everyone turned their gazes, only to see a tall young man dressed in black.

Tang Jie was curious about what had happened in Spring Creek Village and also wanted to know the whereabouts of the person who left the letter, which was why he spoke to ask.

The middle-aged constable glanced at Tang Jie. Seeing his extraordinary demeanor, he sighed and said, "It was done by the bandits of Iron Furnace Stockade on Iron Furnace Mountain. They extorted protection fees from surrounding small villages and towns. Spring Creek Village refused, so they suffered a cruel fate, burned almost to the ground by a great fire. Those who weren't killed were captured... it's truly inhumane!"

A group of bandits did this?

"Then why not exterminate them?" Tang Jie asked, confused.

As soon as he said this, a constable behind the middle-aged constable couldn't help but say, "Do you think it's that easy? The bandits of Iron Furnace Stockade number over two thousand, strong and well-equipped. Iron Furnace Mountain, where Iron Furnace Stockade is located, is easy to defend and difficult to attack. To capture Iron Furnace Stockade, it would require at least ten times the number of elite soldiers. How can the county yamen of our small city afford so many people?"

Another young constable also clenched his fists, "We reported this matter to higher-level big cities, but the journey is long and the march is difficult. Not to mention that Iron Furnace Stockade is not easy to capture. Moreover, Iron Furnace Stockade is considered to be abiding by the rules; as long as protection fees are paid, they won't act. Those big cities are unwilling to deal with this matter."

Iron Furnace Stockade was a formidable group of bandits that had formed a climate, with over two thousand people, and they occupied the easily defensible Iron Furnace Mountain. Taking them down might require ten times the troop strength. Their remote location couldn't muster so many soldiers, and the other big cities were afraid of taking on trouble without reward, so they were unwilling to intervene.

"Abiding by the rules? They killed more than seventy or eighty percent of the more than a hundred households in our Spring Creek Village, all the women were taken captive, and the village was burned down. Is this what you call abiding by the rules?"

The villager shouted angrily, which rendered the constables speechless.

"Have there been any outsiders, especially women, who have come to your village recently?" Tang Jie then asked the villager.

Tang Jie felt that the person who came to Qingshan Temple and left him a letter was very likely a woman, because the handwriting on the letter was very delicate and graceful, and should have been written by a woman.

"This... how would I know? Even if someone came, they were either killed by the people of Iron Furnace Stockade or captured. Only a few people in our village survived." The villager shook his head and began to cry, weeping heartbrokenly, "My wife was taken by them, and perhaps she's already dead!"

Such a grown man crying like this was indeed quite pitiful.

Seeing this scene, Tang Jie sighed. He said helplessly, "Alright... stop crying. Do you know where Iron Furnace Stockade is?"

"You... why are you asking this?" The man from Spring Creek Village wiped his tears, sobbing and asking in confusion.

"I'm going to Iron Furnace Stockade to help you rescue your wife, if... if she's still alive, and to find someone by the way."

Tang Jie said in a deep voice.

According to the man from Spring Creek Village, most of the people in Spring Creek Village were killed, but the women were captured. The person who left him the letter might be a woman, and therefore might have been captured by the people of Iron Furnace Stockade.

Of course, this possibility was very slim. Tang Jie was mainly moved by compassion upon seeing the tragic state of Spring Creek Village.

The man stared at him blankly. Tang Jie said he would help him? But he was just one person!

The middle-aged constable beside him said, "Young man, you might know some martial arts and have a hot-blooded spirit, but don't go looking for death. Those bandits from Iron Furnace Stockade are not to be trifled with!"

The middle-aged constable clearly regarded Tang Jie as one of those young knights who had learned some martial arts, roamed the world, and thought themselves invincible. It was fine to seek justice, but at least they had to act within their capabilities.

"Do you want to go?" Tang Jie looked at the man and asked.

"I'll go!" The man gritted his teeth. Although he didn't believe Tang Jie had the ability to rescue his wife from so many bandits, the county yamen was unreliable. Tang Jie was his only hope, and he had to seize it desperately!

"Then show me the way."

Tang Jie said, and left with the man who had wiped away his tears.

"You're really going? I warned you, don't blame anyone if you die!"

Seeing their retreating figures, the middle-aged constable quickly shouted, but Tang Jie and the villager ignored him. He could only sigh helplessly.

Along the way, Tang Jie learned that the villager's name was Liu Ergen.

"Iron Furnace Stockade is just ahead!" It wasn't until the early morning of the next day that the two arrived at the foot of a desolate mountain. After traveling all night, the exhausted Liu Ergen pointed forward and said.

Ahead was a steep mountain path. The path was so steep that two horses could not ride side by side. At the end of the mountain path, a stockade built of rocks appeared.

This was Iron Furnace Stockade. The road was narrow, easy to defend, and difficult to attack. It was no wonder that the local county yamen and even some big cities were unwilling to deal with this mess.

It would take at least ten thousand men to take Iron Furnace Stockade, and it would certainly come at a heavy price!

Asking for recommendation tickets for the new day. I finally managed to write 2,000 words of saved drafts today O(∩_∩)O~