Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 280 Past
The two arrived at Xu Qingshan's house, and sure enough, his door was also open.

Regardless of the danger, Yang Zheng hid Qi Renli and went in for a walk.

There was no one inside, just a mess of things on the floor.

He squatted down and rummaged through the mess. He believed that if Malay Fu and the others were caught, they would definitely find a way to leave some clues.

At this moment, a strange noise suddenly came from not far from him. It was the sound of an old door bolt being twisted.

Qi Renli, who was hiding not far away, was very panicked, but soon he heard the sound of low conversation coming from the direction of Yang Zheng.

There is someone in that house! And it's not from the Hong family.

Then it turned out to be just as Brother Yang guessed.

Qi Renli leaned over to look over there and called out in a low voice, "Brother Yang."

Yang Zheng quickly came to where Qi Renli was hiding, "Come out, it's our people and those victims."

"Didn't the Hong family find this place?" Qi Renli asked.

"We found them." Yang Zheng said as he walked with Qi Renli, "Ma Laifu led them to avoid the search by the Hong family, and then hid in Xu Qingshan's cellar when it was dark."

"Are they all here?" Qi Renli asked worriedly.

"Yes, our people and the victims who appealed are all here, and the Hong family hasn't caught anybody."

"That's great!" Qi Renli couldn't help but clapping.

"This is not a place to stay for long. It will be dawn soon. Maybe the people from the Hong family will come again."

Qi Renli said: "Since everyone is here, let's go directly back to Beishan County."

"The victims are all elderly people who can't ride horses and can't stand long distances," Yang Zheng said. "It's better to find a safe place to hide temporarily."

"Where is safe?" Qi Renli asked.

"Hide in the mountains." Xu Qingshan said, "I know there is a valley on the mountain. It's not easy to be found if you hide there, but it's unfair..."

Before he finished speaking, Yang Zheng said, "Then hurry up and go!"

Led by Xu Qingshan, the group walked into the mountains.

The country road was difficult to walk on to begin with, and Qi Renli could only barely keep up. It became even more difficult once he entered the mountain. If it hadn't been for Qi Rui's support, Qi Renli would have rolled down the hillside several times.

Looking at the old man walking in front, Qi Renli blamed himself, "I am not as good as the elderly."

The old man next to him heard it and said, "We have walked this road up the mountain for decades, and we are used to it."

They had been in the mountains for a while now, and no pursuers had appeared for a long time. Qi Renli also relaxed, "Old man, did you expect the current situation?" The old man nodded, "There is no good end to going against the Hong family."

"Then you..." How dare you? Qi Renli didn't say the rest.

"We are old and dying soon, so it doesn't matter. But we can't get over the anger in our hearts. We can't rest in peace even if we die." The old man tilted his head and said to Qi Renli, "You are implicated."

Another old man said, "We didn't expect that there would be an official who would dare to intervene in this matter. Will the Lord Meng you mentioned really come to save us?"

"Yes." This is what Yang Zheng, who was walking at the end, said, "Lord Meng will definitely come to save us."

Xu Qingshan, who was leading the way, asked, "What kind of official is that gentleman?"

"It's the magistrate of Beishan County."

"County magistrate?" Xu Qingshan's heart fell back again.

Yang Zheng understood his tone and added, "Although Lord Meng is the magistrate, he is from the capital. His father is the General Dingbei, and he has been in the palace since he was a child to be the prince's companion. Even if the Hong family has all the power in Dazhou, they dare not touch Lord Meng."

"Great! Since the lord has such a background, we might be able to win this lawsuit."

Xu Qingshan walked with his head down, and his pace gradually quickened.

Qi Renli was left far behind, "Old man, please slow down a bit."

Hearing the voice, Xu Qingshan did not slow down his pace, "It's not easy to walk ahead, I'll go ahead and clear the way, you guys just walk slowly along the path I cut out."

"Slow down, sir." The old man walking beside Qi Renli advised, "There are ditches everywhere under the grass ahead. Let Qingshan wade out a path first."

As Yang Zheng walked forward, he left marks in hidden places. This was an agreement between him and Qi Xiang, and only Qi Xiang could understand the meaning of these marks.

After walking in the oak forest for an unknown amount of time, Qi Renli was out of breath. "Such a large area of ​​mountain, is it all owned by the Hong family?"

"Yes, they all belong to the Hong family." The person next to him said, "The oak trees planted by several generations of us also belong to the Hong family."

"We were born here because we owe the Hong family. We live to repay the debt." The old man walking in front turned his head at some point and said, "We've arrived. It's right in front. I'll go down first."

Qi Renli nodded, watching the man tie the rope around his waist neatly and jump down the steep slope in a few steps, thinking about the past he had narrated before.

When he was young, he was beaten many times by the Hong family for refusing to pay rent.

Even though he was beaten to the point of spitting blood and being bedridden, he still refused to pay the money honestly until the Hong family used his family to threaten him.

He compromised, paid the money, and did not fight back when insulted.

But if he was a man without integrity, he would not have resisted in the first place. Anyone who has resisted would never allow himself to be trapped in a cage.

Now that his family members are gone, he has nothing to fear anymore. Even if it means sacrificing his own life, he must take a bite of the Hong family's flesh and soothe the foul air that he has been unable to swallow in this life.