sbdcsierra Chapter 446 Let's raid his lair!
Chapter 446 Let's raid his lair!
"What?" Lu Yangyang looked at Luo Jing in disbelief.
Luo Jing also frowned, clearly indicating that things were not so simple.
Prefect Ling said, "Come in and sit down."
The three of them went into the study and sat down. Lu Yangyang hurriedly asked, "Uncle Luo, what happened? Did Huanniang go back by herself?"
Luo Jing nodded and recounted what had happened: "Last night, after I took her away, we didn't actually go far. I hid the horse first and found a safe place to hide with her, intending to wait for those people looking for her to leave before taking her away, so as not to leave any traces and be chased all the way. Who knew that while we were hiding, I overheard those people talking, saying that if they really couldn't find Huanniang, so be it, since there were two girls passing by just now, they could just change their clothes and send them there, it would be the same."
"They probably made up their minds. After searching for a while without finding any trace, they discussed turning back. After they left, Huanniang was very uneasy, saying that it would harm you. She hesitated for a long time and said she wanted to go back, but I stopped her. I believe that with your vigilance, those people won't do anything to you. And with a poison expert like Little Fairy Doctor around, even if they drugged you, it wouldn't work."
You have to understand, back then, Lu Yangyang and Wen Qingqing, those two "weak women," thrived in his mountain stronghold. The little bit of drug they arrogantly administered wouldn't even be a snack for them. If they were actually caught, who knows who would be the unlucky one!
Luo Jing was genuinely not worried at all that the two of them would fall for this trick.
"No matter how I explained it to her, she remained uneasy. She told me, in fits and starts, that all the eligible girls from the surrounding villages who were even remotely attractive had been married off to the celestial palace to become celestial concubines, but none of them ever returned. The reason was that the government conscripted laborers. In earlier years, it was conscripted once a year. Although it was tiring and hard, it wasn't life-threatening. Later, because Yuzhou was sparsely populated and mostly inhabited by refugees, His Highness the Crown Prince ordered that their taxes be waived, and the labor service was much lighter. They even received money, so the locals didn't object to the labor service."
"But starting a few years ago, none of the people who went to perform forced labor returned. What was originally once a year became twice a year, then three or four times a year, roughly every two or three months, and they never came back. The villagers were driven to desperation, and later they learned that as long as they could offer sacrifices to the celestial palace for protection and obtain elixirs, they could be exempted from forced labor. The villagers couldn't afford the money, so the celestial officials sent by the celestial palace said that they could marry a beautiful girl into the palace to become a celestial concubine. The more beautiful she was, the more elixirs they could obtain, and one elixir could exempt a person from one instance of forced labor."
As Luo Jing spoke, the veins on his clenched fists bulged: "So from then on, they organized sacrifices, dressed up girls of marriageable age and sent them to be fairy consorts. After the pretty girls were all chosen, they chose married young women. Anyone with a bit of beauty was chosen. They went so far that there were hardly any girls of marriageable age left in the surrounding villages. Even so, more and more young men went to do forced labor and never came back. Some even died as punishment because they did not sincerely take the elixir."
“Huan Niang said that she is now the last hope in their village. She doesn’t want to go, but she has really escaped. She is afraid that she will implicate innocent people and that many people will be taken away for forced labor tomorrow.”
“I knew this was no ordinary matter and not something a girl like her could handle alone, so I advised her to go into the city and think of a solution. She hesitated for a long time before agreeing. I didn’t want to spend the night with her, so I found a cave nearby and let her rest for a while. I stayed outside and waited until dawn before going into the city. But before dawn, she took advantage of the opportunity to sneak away.”
Luo Jing frowned: "I was worried that something would happen to her after she went back, so I rode my horse into the village to find her, but we were still too late."
Lu Yangyang astutely grasped the word in his words: "You guys?"
Luo Jing nodded: "Their sacrifice was not held in the village, but at the nearby Immortal Temple. When I found Huan Niang, she had just arrived in the village, but the villagers had already carried another person to the Immortal Temple. We arrived too late."
"Is it another girl from the village?" Lu Yangyang asked.
"It was the village chief who led the way yesterday, whom they called Uncle Liu. His daughter is named Xiu Niang, and she is only thirteen years old this year. After Huan Niang ran away, they couldn't find her. They originally wanted to kidnap you and Miss Wen, but you ran into Poisonous Snake Ridge, and they couldn't catch up. In the end, they had no choice but to change the little girl's clothes and carry her to the Immortal Temple before dawn."
Luo Jing couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "They're worse than animals!"
Prefect Ling's face darkened as he listened, and he hurriedly asked, "And then what happened? What became of those two girls?"
Luo Jing shook his head: "I originally wanted to take Huan Niang away, but Huan Niang said that she was the one who harmed Xiu Niang, and she had no face to live anymore. No matter what happens in the future, it is her fate, and she resolutely refused to come with me. I knew that this matter was not so simple, so I did not dare to stay any longer and rushed to the prefectural city."
He just didn't expect that Lu Yangyang and the prefect of Yuzhou City were old acquaintances.
After a moment's hesitation, Luo Jing stood up and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Lu Yangyang and Prefect Ling: "I have a favor to ask. Although I do not know what that Immortal Temple is or what that Immortal Palace is all about, the two young ladies are still very young. I was unaware of the situation at the time and had to leave first, but I find it difficult to leave this matter behind. I would like to ask the Prefect to assign a few people to help me rescue them. Please rest assured, Prefect, I will act with caution and will never implicate you, no matter what the consequences may be."
Luo Jing was someone who had no trust in the government. If it weren't for Lu Yangyang's sake, he wouldn't have made such a request. If he hadn't encountered this situation, it would have been fine, but now that he had, he simply couldn't remain indifferent.
Lu Yangyang looked at Prefect Ling: "Sir, how many troops can you mobilize now? If the people behind us are no longer a threat, then what are we waiting for!"
Prefect Ling immediately understood Lu Yangyang's meaning. He exchanged a glance with her, then slammed his hand on the table: "Let's do it! Wait here, I'll change my clothes and then go with you to raid that Shangqing Taoist's lair!"
In fact, he had just been thinking that since His Highness was able to deal with the person behind him, then Daoist Changqing was just a henchman. Why should he continue to tolerate his reckless behavior?
The fact that the celestial palace was using the bride as a sacrifice immediately made his mind at ease. He couldn't wait a moment longer; this wasn't just a matter of time, but the lives of all the people of Yuzhou!