Chapter 50 The Death of Liu the Hunter

As for the rewards from the local authorities, Li Yi cared little. What truly mattered to him was whether Shi Kefa had fallen for his ruse and redirected the investigation toward Zhang Xianzhong.

He loaded the corpses of the bandits onto a donkey cart, allowing Shi Kefa to take them back to Mizhi City. Bandits causing chaos and being slain by righteous men—such a report, when submitted, would earn them some merit.

Turning back into the Li Family Village, Li Yi saw Han Jin'er supporting Gao Jie as they emerged from the ancestral hall. His brow furrowed and he stepped forward.

Upon seeing Li Yi, Gao Jie quickly withdrew his arm from Han Jin'er's waist. "Leader," he greeted, his voice uneasy.

Li Yi nodded. "You’re wounded?"

Gao Jie raised his arm to show a knife wound. "Just a scratch, nothing serious."

Han Jin'er cast a flirtatious glance at Li Yi. "Uncle, I tended to Brother Gao's wound myself."

Li Yi ignored her and spoke softly to Gao Jie, "Clean the wound regularly, change the medicine, and get some rest."

With that, he entered the ancestral hall to check on the three seriously injured men.

As soon as Li Yi left, Gao Jie let out a long sigh of relief. Han Jin'er, annoyed, said, "Brother Gao, Li Yi is younger than you. Why are you so afraid of him?"

Gao Jie glared at her, retorting, "You don’t know anything. Ten of me wouldn’t match the leader."

Han Jin'er pouted, "I was just speaking up for you. Why are you angry?"

"Don’t say things like that again," Gao Jie instructed.

"Alright, alright. Shall I help you back to rest?" Han Jin'er licked her lips seductively, her voice soft and alluring.

Gao Jie, a lover of women, couldn’t resist such temptation. He glanced furtively around and placed his hand on Han Jin’er's lower back.

Han Jin'er didn’t shy away, only smiled dreamily, stirring Gao Jie’s heart.

By afternoon, snow began to fall again. Villagers huddled indoors for warmth. Cloaked and stealthy, a single figure approached the home of Hunter Liu at the edge of the village.

Hunter Liu peered outside cautiously, unaware that Li Guo and Gao Xiao Jia were hiding in the shadows.

"Don’t worry. In weather like this, no one will come out," Han Jin’er said, removing her cloak with annoyance.

"Have you learned anything? Why did Zhang Xianzhong attack Li Family Village?" Hunter Liu asked urgently.

Han Jin’er brushed snow from her clothes and answered leisurely, "Li Yi did take Gao Jie to conduct some business. Gao Jie boasted they’d never want for food or clothing again, so it seems they earned a great deal. Zhang Xianzhong got greedy and tried to claim a share, only to be defeated by Li Yi."

"And what about the silver? Any clues?" Hunter Liu pressed.

Han Jin’er curled her lip. "Gao Jie is tight-lipped. I haven’t found out yet."

"Aren’t you supposed to be good at handling men?"

"Skills take time to use. You know nothing," Han Jin’er replied tartly.

Hunter Liu was annoyed but still needed Han Jin’er, so he suppressed his anger. "In that case, hurry up and investigate."

Han Jin’er extended her hand, "Ten taels of silver."

"What?" Hunter Liu’s eyes widened. "Didn’t I just give you ten taels a few days ago?"

Han Jin’er smiled slyly, "That was for today's news. If you want more, you’ll have to pay another ten taels."

After extracting ten taels from Hunter Liu and departing, two figures emerged from the distance.

Li Zicheng, his face murderous, watched Han Jin’er’s retreating figure, then strode to Hunter Liu’s door and kicked it open.

Hunter Liu jumped in fright, turned to see an enraged Li Zicheng, and before he could speak, a blade pressed to his throat.

Li Zicheng shouted, "Liu, you dare seduce my woman!"

Hunter Liu immediately realized what was happening and tried to explain, only to see Li Yi enter the house behind them.

His face turned grim, mouth slack, unsure how to defend himself.

Li Zicheng’s blade drew blood, his reddened eyes locked on Hunter Liu. "You dare do it but not admit it? I’ll kill you!"

Feeling the pain in his neck, Hunter Liu’s legs trembled as he hastily confessed everything.

Upon learning Hunter Liu hadn’t truly cuckolded him, Li Zicheng’s anger diminished. He turned to Li Yi and whispered, "Brother Yi, this traitorous dog was targeting you. What should we do?"

Li Yi didn’t even glance at Hunter Liu.

Hunter Liu had once courted favor with the Ai family, opposed him at every turn, and even tried to incite the villagers to hand him over. Li Yi, out of fellow villager sentiment, never sought revenge. Yet Hunter Liu remained relentless, secretly colluding with the Ai family and spying on him.

"Second Brother, since he betrays his own, the village rules have ways to punish such behavior. Hand him over to Grandfather."

With that, Li Yi walked away without looking back.

Li Zicheng escorted Hunter Liu to see Grandfather.

Li Family Village had just survived a night raid by bandits, and thanks to Li Yi’s defense, there were no casualties. Li Yi had also promised to rebuild the houses lost by the villagers, earning their gratitude.

Now, upon hearing Hunter Liu had colluded with the Ai family to harm Li Yi, the villagers were incensed.

Grandfather looked at Hunter Liu and finally declared loudly, "To betray your own and collude with outsiders to harm your neighbors is to sever yourself from heaven and earth. Drag him out and beat him to death."

Hunter Liu cried, "I am now a servant of the Ai family. Who dares touch me?"

In the past, villagers feared the Ai family and wouldn’t dare offend them. But now, with Li Yi’s support and the militia for protection, the villagers stood opposed to the Ai family.

Immediately, several young men dragged Hunter Liu into the snow and beat him to death.

Poor Hunter Liu, who had hoped to gain favor with the Ai family and live a good life as a servant, ended up dead in the snow.

Meanwhile, Han Jin’er returned home, hiding the silver she had extorted, when the door was suddenly flung open.

She was startled, turned, and saw Li Zicheng. She immediately greeted him with a smile, "Husband, you’re home."

Li Zicheng unexpectedly slapped her hard, knocking her to the floor.

Han Jin’er, terrified, covered her face.

Li Zicheng glared at her. "Wretch, you’ve done well."

Han Jin’er began to cry, "I am but a frail woman, lucky to have your love. If you wish to punish me, I accept it. But please explain, so I may die knowing why."

Li Zicheng sneered, "You colluded with Liu, thinking I wouldn’t know?"

Han Jin’er was alarmed but accustomed to lying, so she knelt and pleaded, "Husband, I am innocent with Hunter Liu."

"Hmph, you two indeed have no affair, but you accepted his bribe to spy for the Ai family, isn’t that so?"

Han Jin’er sat on the ground, weeping pitifully. "Husband, I did it all for you."

Li Zicheng was taken aback, "For me?"

Han Jin’er nodded, appearing so vulnerable. "I saw you lose your job and still owe for the horse. It pained me. I thought to use Hunter Liu to trick money from the Ai family to support you."

She took the twenty taels she had extorted from the wall and offered them to Li Zicheng.

"I meant no harm, only wanted to ease your burden. Even if it meant offending the Ai family and being reviled, I would not regret it. Who would have thought you’d misunderstand me?"

With that, Han Jin’er sobbed as if suffering the greatest injustice.

Li Zicheng, a man of great stature, was at a loss. Looking at her delicate and alluring face, he was half convinced and, ashamed, went forward to embrace her.

"Good Jin’er, I misjudged you. But the Ai family has a feud with Brother Yi, you must never work for them again."

Han Jin’er feigned anger, pushing him away, "I heard Li Yi stole silver from the Ai family. I thought he’d share it with you, but he kept it all, leaving you to struggle. You and he are like brothers, yet he cares nothing for you. I feel sorry for you!"

She took the chance to sow discord against Li Yi, but Li Zicheng, though infatuated, was not foolish.

He explained, "If Brother Yi truly got rich, it was from blood and danger. Since I contributed nothing, it would only breed resentment if I took a share."

Han Jin’er had more to say but seeing Li Zicheng’s attitude, she kept silent.

Soon, word spread throughout Li Family Village that Hunter Liu had bribed Han Jin’er to spy on Li Yi.

Gao Jie heard this and broke into a cold sweat, rushing to Li Yi’s home.

With Li Yi training the militia and winning over the villagers of Ganquanli, his prestige grew, and Gao Jie was increasingly respectful. He understood that as the militia became more capable, Li Yi needed him less, and if he left, he would be excluded from Ganquanli.

In the snow, Gao Jie stood in the courtyard, head bowed, asking Yun Niang to speak to Li Yi.

Yun Niang, unaware of the situation, had just changed Li Yi’s bandages and hurried back inside.

"Brother Yi, remember how I complained a few days ago that you kept things from me, causing me worry? The same applies to Brother Gao. Though he made mistakes, he has always been loyal to you. If you act too aloof, it’ll hurt his feelings."

Li Yi immediately realized the truth. He was angry at Gao Jie for his lack of restraint and ignoring warnings about Han Jin’er, but he couldn’t let that ruin their hard-won camaraderie.

Li Yi stood up, invited Gao Jie in, and poured him a cup of hot tea.

Seeing Li Yi’s gesture, Gao Jie felt reassured and apologized, "Leader, I was wrong. I never imagined Han Jin’er was colluding with the Ai family. I carelessly let slip some information."

Li Yi saw Gao Jie’s quick admission and felt his warning had worked.

He sighed, speaking sincerely, "Brother Gao, what we’re doing risks our heads. If the Ai family uncovers anything, all our hard work will be destroyed, and we’ll be forced to flee. From now on, we must be cautious and avoid any mistakes."

Gao Jie nodded, "I’ll remember and warn the others."

Li Yi raised his tea bowl, "Zhang Xianzhong promised to send two thousand taels’ worth of goods as compensation, but Shi Kefa is still watching the village. Take your men to make contact, but be careful."

This was a crucial matter, and Gao Jie agreed immediately.

Just then, Yun Niang brought in the meal. "You must be hungry. Eat and talk."

After the meal, Li Yi and Gao Jie made arrangements for the days ahead.

Clearly, the most important task was military training.

The hundred young men recruited this time had been a chaotic mess in battle, utterly useless. To reduce casualties, Li Yi had kept them in the rear, facing the enemy only with the original three squads.

Now that the crisis had passed, he needed to train them rapidly to build fighting strength.

The other concern was the government’s investigation.

Both Li Yi and Gao Jie realized that after hearing the battle details, Shi Kefa was very interested in the Ganquan militia. Moreover, Hong Chengchou was planning to form a direct battalion in Mizhi County, with Shi Kefa in charge. Clearly, he valued Li Yi’s training skills.

Their guess was correct—Shi Kefa indeed highly valued Li Yi.

With only a few dozen young militiamen, facing four hundred bandits, they held the village gate and inflicted dozens of casualties. Though three were severely wounded and over ten lightly injured, their combat ability was remarkable.

Upon returning to Mizhi County, Shi Kefa immediately reported the matter to Hong Chengchou.

"My lord, Li Yi is not only brave but skilled in military training. If you employ him, his influence in Ganquanli will help recruit and train men efficiently, and you’ll gain a fierce general. Why not?"

Hong Chengchou pondered.

This campaign against the bandits had been conducted under imperial orders, supplying the army with provisions. He hoped to earn military merit. He saw clearly that the Ming dynasty was in peril, and unrest was inevitable. Military achievements would enhance his career and prospects for high office.

To gain merit, he needed a loyal and capable force—hence his desire to form the direct battalion.

Yet the most crucial element was not generals or recruits, but money. No matter how skilled the chef, she cannot cook without rice. Without funds, he could do nothing.

This was why he’d tasked Shi Kefa with investigating the whereabouts of the Ai family’s silver.

After much thought, Hong Chengchou spoke slowly, "Forming the battalion is urgent. Summon Li Yi; I wish to meet him. As for the Ai family’s silver, now that there are new leads, continue the investigation. When the battalion is ready for battle, it will be time to eliminate Zhang Xianzhong."

He waved his hand, dismissing Shi Kefa.

Once Shi Kefa had left, Hong Chengchou worried over the funds for the battalion. The treasury was empty—he managed grain supplies, but could barely feed the front lines, let alone fund a new army.

He wrote a letter for his attendant to deliver to Yan Zibin, magistrate of Mizhi County.

"Hong Chengchou wants the people to suffer, but I must bear the infamy," Yan Zibin lamented, throwing the letter to the floor, his face mournful.

Steward Zheng picked up the letter, which demanded that all counties in Yansui collect years of overdue taxes to fund the anti-bandit campaign and secure peace.

It was the dead of winter; the people could barely feed themselves, let alone pay taxes.

"Master, Hong Chengchou cares only for merit, disregarding the people’s lives. We have no way out," Zheng said.

Yan Zibin slumped in despair, "What can we do now?"

Steward Zheng considered, his face showing a hint of cruelty. "Master, our only option is to face the hardship head-on."

"What do you mean?"

Steward Zheng gritted his teeth, "Put ourselves in mortal peril to survive. Let the county office send out tax collectors; we’ll seize the chance to take a hefty cut. Master, make sure to cover yourself, get transferred to Southern Zhili soon, and leave this troubled place far behind."