Yan Shuangfei was directing more than a dozen youths and over twenty girls as they sorted and organized the supplies, preparing to take them back and distribute them among the victimized villagers.
Of course, there was far too much to carry back at once. They could only wait for the rest of Lanxi Village's villagers to arrive.
Seeing the imperial soldiers suddenly barge in, he frowned, and everyone else stopped what they were doing.
Seeing that Yan Shuangfei had no intention of responding, a hunter stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "I am Wu Laifu. Greetings, honored officers."
Zhan Xiongfei sized up Yan Shuangfei and the others. Seeing their plain clothes and commoner attire, he immediately found his footing.
He cleared his throat, put on an official's airs, and shouted sternly, "Insolent commoners! You dared to trespass into the bandits' stronghold and dispose of their property without authorization. Do you know your crime?"
Wu Laifu froze, then said, "Honored officer, please see clearly. These bandits committed every evil imaginable, abducting women and plundering property. I merely eliminated a scourge for the people and rescued our kidnapped fellow villagers. These supplies were all stolen by the bandits and should rightfully be returned to the victimized villagers."
"Returned to the villagers?"
Qin Suming sneered, stepped forward, and said with a false smile, "Young man, you cannot put it that way.
The bandits had plagued this region, and the authorities had long issued orders to suppress them. We had also made a series of arrangements.
Yet you commoners acted without the authorities' permission, severely disrupting our plans.
As for these supplies, they are bandit loot and should be handed over to the authorities for unified disposal. How could they be divided privately?"
Zhan Xiongfei nodded, his tone growing harsher. "Captain Qin is