Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

Chapter 9 - Abduction from the Mountain

From morning till night, everyone waited anxiously for news from the foot of the mountain. The amount of food and water that could be brought out this time was extremely limited, and due to the hunger and anxiety in their minds, they had already suffered from quite a few injuries and were in a coma during the entire morning.

The sand around him was filled with arrows. As long as he could find any signs of attack from the bandits, his arrows would definitely not show any mercy.

Manager Fan brought her daughter and a servant to boil some water to help bandage and change the medicine for the injured. Hu Niu's face was red from all the work, and from time to time, she would look outside the short wall, hoping that the handsome pretty boy would bring back a miracle.

"Father, do you think Big Brother Xiao will be safe?"

"Don't talk nonsense, call for Mr. Xiao … Mr. Xiao is a genius, and not just that, he has a Bodhisattva's heart, why would such a person be in danger if they had the help of Hundred Spirits? " The old man didn't know how to comfort his daughter, so he could only use this miraculous thing as an excuse.

Just as the sun rose past noon, Sai Men who was standing on the white rock in front of the temple suddenly shouted, "Someone is approaching, a bandit is approaching." Immediately after, the sentries under Qing San Ye shouted as well, "There are bandits here, and they came alone. They seem to be here to deliver a letter to us."

A bandit suddenly appeared on the gentle slope. He stopped fifty steps away from the temple door and rushed up, shouting, "Everyone listen up, your luck is good, Mr. Xiao is willing to exchange his life for your safety … …" This is Mr. Xiao's letter, keep it properly. We won't be courteous about the silver down there … " An arrow with a letter tied to it was nailed to the top of the mountain gate.

Qing San Ye quickly rushed over and read the letter ten lines at a time. After reading it, he slapped his own thigh and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Xiao …" He used his own life in exchange for the safety of all of us … " With that, he leaned against the door of the temple while covering his face, and passed the letter to Manager Fan.

In his eyes, there was no such difference between the Han and the Han. As long as you were a good man, no matter which race, he would admire you. In the free-for-all last night, he had even taken a liking to Louis, the foreign large nose, much less the official Xiao Letian.

When Manager Fan had only read half of the letter, he couldn't help but cry out, "Mr. Xiao …" The Mr. Xiao was kidnapped by bandits, he is using his life in exchange for our safety … "We owe you a favor that we'll never be able to repay for the rest of our lives …"

The young man with a bad temper jumped up immediately and shouted about how he wanted to snatch back the Mr. Xiao, especially the ten Musketeers s who were showing off last night. With red eyes, he stomped his feet and angrily scolded the raiders, wanting to rush out of the mountain gate.

"Come back, you bunch of evil beings. Are the ten of you going to die? Mr. Xiao is a hostage in the hands of bandits, are you trying to kill Sir? " Manager Fan was so angry that he kicked the ten shop assistants a few times before stopping the impulsive young man.

In just a single night, these ten youths who had contributed greatly already treated Xiao Letian as their own master, and the respect they had for him was truly from the bottom of their hearts. The ancients were smart, but last night, the might of these ten musket team s were already seen by the great figures such as Manager Fan, Qing San Ye and the others, their good days were about to come.

He could foresee that in the future, these ten lackeys would be the core strength of the guards in Fan family's caravan. Each of them would even bring a group of disciples with them.

The ancient people were deeply influenced by the Confucianism, they were sincere towards Xiao Letian in their gratitude.

The Mountain Temple was filled with grief. In the corner of the main hall, Hu Niu held onto Xiao Letian's Flying Tiger Team leather clothes as she cried.

Even the large nose, Old Foreign Louis was praying sorrowfully, "Oh my god, Xiao is my first believer in the development of China, please bless him …"

No matter how sad everyone was, they all knew very well that these dozens of people could never be able to save Mr. Xiao, not to mention that no one knew where the bandits' village was located. Right now, the most important task was for the caravan to rush to Yi County immediately and leave this dangerous forest.

The caravan departed very quickly, and the moment they left Mountain Temple, Qing San Ye looked at the continuous mountain range and swore silently in his heart, "Brother Xiao, you have to bear with it. When I return, I will definitely go up and ask for reinforcements.

The Manager Fan was also secretly comforting her daughter, "My daughter, don't worry. When father goes back, I will raise money and find friend Green Forest to help make the connection. Even if I have to exchange the mountain of gold and silver, I will redeem the Mr. Xiao …"

As for Louis who was praying to God, he thought to himself, "What exactly is the Divine Awakening that Xiao wants to tell me? How many secrets did he have on him? "After we leave the mountain, I can't let go of these Chinese people. Besides, this Xiao needs to be a focus of attention for the American Intelligence …"

When the caravan sped up its departure from the forest and made its way towards the Yi County, Xiao Letian had already been captured and brought to Shi Dakai's base, the Taibai Top that was deep within the mountains.

Climbing up, climbing down, turning left and right, many places still needed people to dismount and walk. There were even some roads hidden in the dense forest, and without the help of those familiar with the roads, it was impossible to find them.

Xiao Letian had been lost since a long time ago, but he could roughly feel that these Taiping Army were carrying him westward towards a place that was denser than the mountain peaks. When the dizzy Xiao Letian saw the sunset glow in the sky, they had finally reached their destination.

"Damn, isn't this the Thunder Bluff? Tauren main city? " Xiao Letian circled around a patch of trees and suddenly saw a bright light. Beneath his feet was a cliff that was tens of metres deep, and a suspension bridge entered his view. Opposite the suspension bridge was a mountain that seemed to have its head chopped off.

There was no mistake, in the distance, there were five lonely mountains that had their heads chopped off. The largest mountain peak was around the size of three or four basketball courts, and the smallest one had three rows of wooden houses beside it.

"This place is called the Taibai Top. Legend has it that Taibai Jinxing stayed too long during the night, and when he couldn't find a clean base of operations, he used his mana to flatten five mountain peaks. The mountains are encircled here, and the five roofs are connected by a chain bridge. It's easy to defend but hard to attack, and this is the place Old Heaven gave us to hide! "

When Xiao Letian turned around, he found that Shi Dakai was standing right behind him with a faintly discernable smile on his face. However, Xiao Letian's anger had not subsided, he only cupped his hands and stepped onto the chain bridge and walked in first.

It was not that Xiao Letian did not know how to be polite, or that he did not like this beautiful scenery, but Xiao Letian had actually thought about it along the way. He was like his name, Xiao Letian himself was a very open-minded person, but he was well versed in the way of negotiations, and in the current situation, if he kept himself in suspense, he would be able to obtain more resources.

That night, in order to show his unyielding spirit, Xiao Letian did not participate in the Taibai Top's celebratory feast. He only set up a simple table in his own hut. The dishes were not considered exquisite, it was only fish and meat, the wine was also the most ordinary cooking knife, but this was already the most sumptuous meal Xiao Letian had ever eaten since he transmigrated.

After eating his fill, Xiao Letian laid on the bed and slept for a while. It didn't matter if the sky collapsed or the ground caved in;

He slept until the sun rose. When Xiao Letian opened his eyes, he discovered that the warm water that washed his face was already prepared. Xiao Letian was overjoyed at that moment in time, "Enough, you are treating me like a pig to feed. In another two months, it will be the New Year.

Xiao Letian shook his head self-deprecatingly, and could be considered to have officially started his life in the bandit's nest.

In these three days, Xiao Letian had maintained a stern face for three whole days, but this group of bandits actually treated him with utmost respect. There were all kinds of wild animals in the mountain, and whenever he went out, there would always be two smart little bandits as his bodyguards, and he would go wherever he wanted to go in the village, as long as Xiao Letian did not go down the mountain, it was not a problem for him to do anything.

By the evening of the fourth day, Shi Dakai finally came to visit. By this time, Xiao Letian knew that he had put on airs enough, if he was any more nervous, it wouldn't be the way of the negotiations.

"Your highness forced me to go to the mountain, do you really think I have some kind of power that could reach the heavens? Do you really think I can change this world? To tell you the truth, the Qing Dynasty is not that easy to overthrow. "It's better if you don't think about it …"

Shi Dakai did not say anything and only bowed deeply, "Mister has always said that you are the Alone overseas, and your tone is also filled with anger and resentment towards the Qing Dynasty. I think that mister cannot possibly be returning from overseas to join the Imperial Examinations to get a position, right?"

"You said that our path has already been cut off, of course I admit it, but from a different perspective, don't think that the Qing Dynasty has just won, and Ceng Guofan and the Beijing government's imposing manner is like a rainbow …" Shi Dakai shook his head: "I think they do not have much ahead of them. How long can they sell this country's imperial court for?"

A talent? As expected of a high level intellectual, everyone said that Shi Dakai was the most discerning prince in the entire Kingdom of Heaven. Xiao Letian rubbed his nose, this was his reaction that was as though the pot was boiling in his heart. He suddenly asked Shi Dakai this.

"Your Highness …" I only ask you, do you want to be emperor? " Shi Dakai was startled, then immediately laughed bitterly and said: "Last year when I lied to my master on the Great Crossing River, I had already seen through everything. Master, you said that the road to the past is already closed, what I am thinking of now is to walk the new path that Mister said to open my eyes and see the world."

"Alright!" Xiao Letian slammed the table and stood up, "Alright, alright, since you've already made the mental preparations that doesn't matter even if you fail, then it's all good …"

Shi Dakai grabbed Xiao Letian's hand and said excitedly, "Mister, what brilliant plan do you have? "How much money do you need? The Heavenly Kingdom might have lost, but the prestige of the army is still there. As long as mister asks for an army of one hundred thousand, I will easily assemble it for you …"

Ah? Xiao Letian almost choked to death on Shi Dakai's words. You, you, you … How many soldiers are you hiding? stared at Shi Dakai with an obvious dumbstruck expression.

Shi Dakai was a little embarrassed from what he saw. He thought that the Military Advisor was starting to doubt his words. Actually, 100,000 was a bit of an exaggeration. After all, the Heavenly Kingdom's conquest often involved the common people … "However, as long as I have time, with my King Yi's prestige, I will definitely be able to gather 30,000 elite troops …"

Xiao Letian looked at the resolute Shi Dakai, and gulped down his saliva, thinking to himself, "You still don't want to go the same way?" You sure are raising the flag to rebel!

"Your Royal Highness, calm and collected … "The new path I'm talking about didn't start from raising the flag. I'm going to write a book, a book that everyone in the world will be able to understand …"

"Books! Writing a book? " Shi Dakai's hand trembled and almost broke the bones in his hand.

"Aiyo, prince! You broke my hand, but I can't write anything …" The great cause of Xiao Letian's transformation into China began with a miserable scream in the middle of October of 2003.