Escape

The chaos in Qingya County was even greater than expected. The Fierce Tiger Stockade brothers keeping watch at the foot of the mountain had even seen people raising the rebel banner of the former dynasty high, shouting things like, "March on the Capital City!"

Leader Cai had thought about such things before when he had nothing better to do, but only while indulging in wild daydreams.

If it came to real blades and real spears, even ten times the courage would not have made him dare.

But now, the heroes over in Qingya County had done it. Though he did not know what the outcome would be, Leader Cai's first reaction was to run as fast as he could.

Rebellion was an undertaking that meant the Extermination of Nine Generations!

How could a petty bandit like him dare get involved in something like that?

Fortunately, the Imperial Court's army could not quell the rebellion so quickly. Once the old, weak, women, and children had all withdrawn, Leader Cai picked up his great saber, turned, and ran down the small path. As for Old Three and Old Seven, who had gone to Qingya County to scout the way, he could only apologize to them. At worst, he would burn them more paper offerings during the festivals in the future, so the two of them could live more lavishly down below.

"Go!"

Leader Cai, who was leading the way, ran with his great saber in hand, wind seeming to rise beneath his feet.

Chen Luo followed behind. After leaving the mountain stronghold, he indeed saw quite a few soldiers surrounding the mountain.

Chen Luo understood the hidden truth behind this rebellion better than anyone. Don't look at how heated things were in Qingya County right now—the rebel army did not actually exist at all. To make up enough military merit, these soldiers would definitely enter the mountains to sweep through them. First, they would kill some wandering civilians to pad their numbers; second, they would see whether they could find traces of bandit strongholds.

With such a resounding name as the Fierce Tiger Stockade, it was naturally on the list for encirclement and annihilation.

Leader Cai truly deserved to be called a bandit chief who had survived repeated encirclement campaigns. He easily avoided the soldiers searching the mountains, leading Chen Luo and the others through thorny brambles before crawling through beneath a low cluster of shrubs.

Before long, the sound of trickling water reached their ears.

"There's water?"

Chen Luo's ears twitched. He had already heard it, yet when he looked up, all he saw ahead were piles of jagged rocks and thorny brambles. There was no river in sight at all. When he and Third Uncle had wanted to run away before, they had searched for a way out nearby. They had searched this area too, but found no trace of a river.

"It's an underground river that runs through the mountain."

Leader Cai said this without turning his head.

Leader Cai was still deeply grateful to Chen Luo and his uncle, who had warned him, so he did not hide it from Chen Luo.

After going on for a while longer, Leader Cai led them to a pile of rocks.

Several Large Stones were stacked together here, their surfaces covered in thorny brambles. If they had not crawled through beneath the brambles, no one would have imagined that an underground river lay here.

"Follow this river downstream, and you'll reach Yanhu County."

Yanhu County was the county town adjacent to Qingya County, roughly twenty-odd li away.

If what Leader Cai said was true, then this place could truly be said to be a passage to escape to safety.

"Go!"

Leader Cai took the lead and squeezed through a crack between the rocks. Before long, they heard a splash as he fell into the water. The Fierce Tiger Stockade had faced the Imperial Court's encirclement campaigns many times; this was far from their first time wading through this river, and they Can Be Said To Be as familiar with it as a light carriage on a familiar road.

The remaining mountain bandits immediately followed him in.

Chen Luo went last. Only after confirming there was no danger did he follow them inside.

As he passed through the passage, he looked back once.

The fire in Qingya County was burning ever fiercer. Even from so far away, he could hear the clash of weapons. Countless poor people wailed as lives vanished. They did not even know why they were dying. Even Chen Luo and his third uncle, Chen Dahe, had not figured out the reason.

They were only fleeing for their lives. Nothing more.

This world was truly rotten to the core!

After passing through the tunnel, Chen Luo also fell into the water. The water in the underground river was frighteningly cold, making him shudder.

"Chen, hurry up!"

Leader Cai and the others called from ahead.

"I'm coming."

Chen Luo hurriedly followed.

This underground river was fairly spacious, and the current was relatively gentle. Looking up, the ceiling was covered in stalactites. Underground rivers in this kind of terrain were actually extremely dangerous, because the landscape often changed. Only because Leader Cai and the others traveled this river often did they dare use it. Someone else might not have dared enter the river at all.

They drifted along with the current for about half a day.

Chen Luo, whose eyes had completely adapted to the darkness, suddenly narrowed them. The current ahead was becoming rapid, and a speck of light appeared in the distance.

"Be careful, we're getting out!"

Leader Cai, swimming at the very front, shouted loudly.

The bandits immediately inhaled and held their breath, then plunged headfirst beneath the water. Chen Luo followed their example, holding his breath and diving underwater.

The current grew faster and faster, and the group moved forward faster and faster as well.

Finally, as they reached the exit, a sensation of weightlessness came over them. The next moment, Chen Luo and the Fierce Tiger Stockade bandits were all swept out by the current. Several splashes rang out. Chen Luo only felt himself being washed into another pool. He controlled his strength and struggled to swim upward.

Light shone down upon them once more, giving them the feeling of seeing daylight again.

The group quickly surfaced and began gulping down air.

"Eldest Brother!"

"Great Chieftain!"

The bandits who had escaped earlier saw them surface and immediately surrounded them. Chen Luo's third uncle, Chen Dahe, was among them.

Only when he saw Chen Luo surface together with the others did he finally let out a breath of relief.

"Xiao Luo, over here!"

Chen Laosan crouched by the shore and reached out to grab Chen Luo's arm.

"Third Uncle."

With Third Uncle's help, Chen Luo climbed out of the water with the others.

He had originally stayed behind this time to pick up two more "brains," but Heaven had not granted his wish. No one had come near the Fierce Tiger Stockade until the very end, saving them a fight.

"We used up all the wooden barrels ahead of you. It was much more dangerous for you to come out afterward." Chen Laosan and the other old, weak, women, and children had used the wooden barrels hidden inside the Fierce Tiger Stockade, so their escape had been much easier.

This had also been Leader Cai's arrangement.

The group left behind to cover the retreat were all experts of the Fierce Tiger Stockade. Even without wooden barrels, they could swim out.

"Come on, let's leave this place first."

After reaching the shore, Leader Cai immediately called for his brothers to gather their things and run away.

This route was hidden, but it could still be exposed. A mountain fire had broken out in Qingya County. Once the thorny brambles concealing the underground river were burned away, the cave entrance would no longer be so secure.

"What should we do?"

Chen Laosan asked instinctively.

After all, the two of them were not from the Fierce Tiger Stockade. They had mixed in with them earlier only to escape with their lives.

Now that they had escaped to safety, continuing to mix with them would be difficult to explain. If other people saw them, the uncle and nephew might truly have only one road left in the future: heading up the mountain.

"Yanhu County isn't far from here. Before we reach somewhere safe, we should keep following them."

Chen Luo pondered for a moment before speaking.

The two of them were unfamiliar with the place. In this situation, following local insiders like Leader Cai's group was definitely safer.

"Alright."

Chen Laosan had already grown used to listening to Chen Luo's ideas.

What had happened over the past two days had made him trust his nephew without condition.

The group hurried down the mountain and soon reached a village three kilometers away.

The villagers here clearly all knew Leader Cai's group. When they arrived, quite a few villagers greeted them and invited them into the village to rest. Leader Cai and the others had fled for most of the day and were already ravenous. Now that they had reached a safe place, they naturally went over to eat something.

After paying some silver, the villagers happily lit their fires and began cooking.