Murong Feiyan returned just as Wan Boping was leaving. She had learned nothing at the county office; apparently, no one else knew about last night's fight. Watching Wan Boping's carriage and horses depart, she could not help feeling curious. "What did he come for?" she asked quietly.
Hu Xiaotian sighed. "More trouble." He then explained why Wan Boping had come.
Murong Feiyan's delicate brows knitted together after she heard him out. "Something seems wrong here. Could those horse bandits have deliberately laid a trap to get revenge on you?"
"Yan Boguang has only just undergone surgery, and whether he'll live or die is still uncertain. They shouldn't dare gamble with his life." Hu Xiaotian slowly shook his head. "I just don't know why they chose Blackstone Stockade as the meeting place."
The most direct way to get an answer was to ask Hu Jinniu, his fellow Hu.
Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan went to the woodshed. Before they even stepped through the door, thunderous snores reached their ears. Hu Jinniu was certainly sleeping soundly.
Hu Xiaotian walked in and planted a kick squarely on the fellow's fleshy backside, jolting him awake. Hu Jinniu opened his bleary eyes and yawned widely. "Fellow Hu, are you letting me go?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "As long as you behave, I'll naturally let you go. Those brothers of yours have kidnapped the Wan family's eldest young master."
Both startled and delighted by the news, Hu Jinniu said, "Really? I told you, you'd better let me go quietly, or my brothers up on the mountain would never let you off."
"Only their kidnapping of the Wan family's young master has nothing to do with you. This letter doesn't mention you at all." Hu Xiaotian had Murong Feiyan release Hu Jinniu's sealed acupoints, then handed him the