Escape

The chaos in Qingya County had escalated far beyond what anyone had expected. The brothers from Fierce Tiger Stockade keeping watch at the foot of the mountain had even spotted someone raising the banner of the previous dynasty, shouting things like "March on the Capital!"

Leader Cai had idly entertained such thoughts before when he had nothing to do, but only ever as a daydream, a fantasy.

Give him ten times the guts, and he still wouldn't dare to actually do it.

But now, those bold fellows over in Qingya County had gone and done it. Though he had no idea how it would turn out, Leader Cai's first instinct was to run.

Rebelling meant the extermination of nine generations!

How could a small-time bandit like him get mixed up in something like that?

Thankfully, the Imperial Court's army wouldn't be able to quell the rebellion that quickly. Once the old, weak, women, and children had all evacuated, Leader Cai hefted his great saber, turned, and bolted down a small path. As for Old Three and Old Seven, who had gone ahead to scout Qingya County—sorry, but that was just too bad. At worst, he'd burn plenty of paper money for them during festivals, so they could live it up down below.

"Move!"

Leader Cai led the way up front, his great saber in hand, his feet flying as he ran.

Chen Luo followed behind. Once they were down from the mountain stronghold, he spotted quite a few soldiers encircling the hills.

Chen Luo understood the inside story of this rebellion better than anyone. Don't look at how heated things were getting over in Qingya County—the so-called rebel army didn't actually exist. To scrape together enough merits, these soldiers would definitely sweep into the mountains. First, they'd kill some drifters to pad their counts; second, they'd see if they could find traces of bandit stockades to fabricate evidence.

Fierce Tiger Stockade, with its loud reputation, was naturally on the list for encirclement and annihilation.

Leader Cai, true to his reputation as a bandit chief who had weathered countless campaigns, easily dodged the soldiers searching the hills. He led Chen Luo and the others through a thicket of thorns, crawling past a low cluster of shrubs.

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

"Water?"

Chen Luo's ears twitched. He could hear it, but when he looked up ahead, there was nothing but piles of rubble and thorny brush—no river in sight. Earlier, when he and Third Uncle had tried to run, they'd searched this area for an escape route and found no trace of a river.

"It's an underground river cutting through the mountain."

Leader Cai called back without turning his head.

He was deeply grateful to Chen Luo and his uncle for tipping him off, so he didn't hide it from them.

After a bit more walking, Leader Cai led them to a pile of rubble.

It was a heap of several large stones stacked together, covered in thorny brush. If you hadn't crawled under those thorns to get here, no one would ever guess there was an underground river beneath.

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

Yanhu County was the county neighboring Qingya County, about twenty-some li away.

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

"Let's go!"

Leader Cai took the lead, squeezing through a crack between the stones. Not long after, a splash sounded as he hit the water. Fierce Tiger Stockade had faced the Imperial Court's encirclement many times before; this wasn't their first trip down this river. It could be said they knew it like the back of their hand.

The remaining bandits followed close behind, squeezing through one by one.

Chen Luo brought up the rear. Only after confirming there was no danger did he follow.

As he passed through the gap, he glanced back.

The fires in Qingya County were burning brighter and brighter. The clash of blades could still be heard even from this distance. Countless commoners wailed as lives were snuffed out. They didn't even know why they were dying. Even Chen Luo and his Third Uncle Chen Dahe couldn't figure out the reason.

They were just running for their lives. That was all.

This world—it was truly rotten to the core!

After passing through the gap, Chen Luo also fell into the water. The cold of the underground river was bone-chilling, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Brother Chen, hurry!"

The voices of Leader Cai and the others came from up ahead.

"Coming."

Chen Luo quickly followed.

This underground river was fairly wide, and the current was relatively gentle. Looking up, the ceiling was covered in stalactites. This kind of terrain was actually very dangerous, as the landscape often shifted. It was only because Leader Cai and his men frequently traveled this river that they dared to enter it. Anyone else wouldn't have the nerve.

They drifted along the river for about half a day.

Chen Luo, who had fully adjusted to the darkness, suddenly squinted. Up ahead, the current grew swift, and in the distance, a speck of light appeared.

"Careful, we're about to exit!"

Leader Cai, swimming at the front, shouted loudly.

Hearing this, the bandits immediately inhaled, held their breath, and dove underwater. Chen Luo followed their lead, holding his breath and submerging.

The current grew faster, and their speed increased with it.

Finally, as they reached the exit, a sudden feeling of weightlessness hit them. The next second, Chen Luo and all the bandits of Fierce Tiger Stockade were swept out by the current. Several splashes sounded as Chen Luo felt himself carried into another pool of water. He controlled his strength, swimming upward with effort.

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

The group quickly surfaced, gasping for air.

"Eldest Brother!"

"Great Chieftain!"

The bandits who had escaped earlier gathered around as they saw the others emerge. Chen Luo's Third Uncle, Chen Dahe, was among them.

Seeing Chen Luo emerge from the water along with the others, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Luo, over here!"

Chen Laosan crouched by the bank, reaching out to grab Chen Luo's arm.

"Third Uncle."

Chen Luo, using his uncle's hand, climbed out of the water with the rest of the group.

He had stayed behind originally hoping to pick up another couple of 'brains,' but the heavens hadn't cooperated—no one had made it to the Fierce Tiger Stockade's side in the end, which saved him a fight.

"We used up all the wooden barrels up ahead; coming out later was a lot more dangerous for you." Chen Laosan and the other old, weak, and womenfolk had used the barrels hidden by Fierce Tiger Stockade, so their escape had been much easier.

That was also Leader Cai's arrangement.

Those of them covering the retreat were all Fierce Tiger Stockade's experts—even without barrels, they could swim out.

"Let's go, leave this place first."

Once ashore, Leader Cai immediately called for the brothers to pack up and run.

Though this path was hidden, there was still a chance of exposure. Now that a wildfire had broken out in Qingya County, once the thorny brush covering the underground river burned away, the cave entrance wouldn't be so safe anymore.

"What do we do?"

Chen Laosan asked instinctively.

After all, the two of them weren't part of Fierce Tiger Stockade; they'd only stuck with them to escape with their lives.

Now that they'd escaped to heaven, continuing to tag along might raise questions. If others saw them, the uncle and nephew might have no choice but to take to the mountains for good.

"This isn't far from Yanhu County. Until we reach a safe place, it's best to stay with them."

Chen Luo thought for a moment, then spoke.

The two of them were strangers here; in this situation, following Leader Cai and his Local Insiders was definitely safer.

"Alright."

Chen Laosan had gotten used to listening to Chen Luo's ideas.

The events of the past two days had made him trust his nephew unconditionally.

The group hurried down the mountain, and soon arrived at a village three kilometers away.

The villagers clearly knew Leader Cai and his men well; as they approached, many called out greetings, inviting them into the village to rest. Having fled for most of the day, Leader Cai and the others were starving, and now that they'd reached a safe spot, they naturally wanted to grab some food.

After paying a few silver coins, the villagers cheerfully lit fires and started cooking.