Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Preparation

It was still the back room. This time, among the outsiders, there was an additional person—Tan Yuanwai.

He had a worried look on his face as he confirmed with Bai Zhengliu, Mei Yinghan, and the others: "Is what you said true? Has someone really set their sights on my family?"

Although it was a fabricated lie and a mark he had made himself, Bai Zhengliu remained unfazed and said, "Exactly. If Yuanwai doesn’t believe it, you can go outside and take a look yourself. The mark was made at the front door—two overlapping circles. It means ‘This household has a fat sheep, with no defense; it can be taken.’"

"How could this be?" Tan Yuanwai's face turned bitter.

Mei Yinghan looked at him and gently asked, "Yuanwai, perhaps you should think—have you had any contact with outsiders recently?"

"Outsiders?" Tan Yuanwai forced a bitter smile. "Ever since Young Master Wen was born, it hasn't just been these few days of feasting. Whenever someone passes by my house, I give out some sugar buns and red eggs. If you’re talking about outsiders, then yes, there have been quite a few unfamiliar faces. Sigh, could it be that I’ve brought disaster upon my own house?"

His expression was full of pain. Those watching him could tell he didn't seem to be lying.

Looking at it this way, it seemed that Tan Yuanwai might have some instinct about "keeping Qian Gui and the others" as ghosts, but his thinking and logic were still functioning as they did before he died.

—The chances of them convincing him were very high.

"Based on the meaning of the mark, the mountain bandits should be coming in these couple of days," Bai Zhengliu intentionally left some leeway in his words. "Yuanwai, you'd better think about how to handle it."

"Right!" Tan Yuanwai suddenly woke up, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. "Report to the officials. Yes, I need to report to the officials—But it's already this late. If I rush to the city, it will be evening by the time I arrive. Even if I can persuade the officials, they won’t get here before nightfall!"

Bai Zhengliu slowly said, "Still, someone should go. But we can't just rely on the officials. If the mountain bandits come tonight..."

Very good. With the groundwork laid, Tan Yuanwai was now looking at the group with eager, hopeful eyes.

Bai Zhengliu’s gaze shifted slightly, and he took the opportunity to suggest, "Yuanwai, if you let us stay to host, we will certainly be grateful and will not sit idly by."

Tan Yuanwai was deeply moved, "Hero Bai!"

But Bai Zhengliu shook his head and said, "However, we are only six people... Qian Da-ge doesn't have martial arts, so he doesn't count. Yuanwai, though, has the sickly young Master Qiu, the recently delivered Meng Niangzi, and Young Master Wen. I'm just worried we won’t be able to protect you all."

Tan Yuanwai hesitated, "Yes... right, and there are a few of my relatives. I’ll call them over to discuss things."

Bai Zhengliu softly said, "That’s the way it should be. Meng Jia’s third and fourth uncles are martial artists, and the eldest uncle and cousin are strong as well. Perhaps we can entrust the task of reporting to them. With their speed, they may be able to get there earlier."

Tan Yuanwai seemed tempted by this suggestion, but he still hesitated and said, "They’re four in total... so we don’t need all of them to go."Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment and didn’t object to this suggestion. "True. There’s no time to waste. No matter how many people go, the faster they leave, the better. Yuanwai, you go and explain this matter to Meng’s uncles and brothers. Once someone sets off, we’ll discuss what to do next."

Tan Yuanwai nodded seriously. When he looked at the group of outsiders again, his gratitude was even more apparent. "I truly owe a great debt to you heroes! Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do."

Bai Zhengliu listened to this and remained silent for a moment before replying, "We travel the jianghu to fight injustice, root out evil, and eliminate wickedness. It's just part of our duty... There’s no time to waste, Yuanwai. Please hurry."

Tan Yuanwai hurriedly left.

Once he had gone, only the group of outsiders remained.

Qian Gui was still worried. "Is it really feasible to leave Meng's people behind like this?"

Bai Zhengliu rubbed his brow. "Yuanwai is right. Sending all four of them away directly would be too suspicious. Let's have one or two leave to warn the mountain bandits. As for the rest, we’ll just have to keep an eye on them."

Qian Gui nodded. "Looks like we have no choice."

Bai Zhengliu smiled at him and said nothing more.

Now, they just had to wait for Tan Yuanwai to return. During this time, the swordsman stared absentmindedly at the twenty-eight generals. It wasn’t until someone placed a cup of hot tea in front of Bai Zhengliu that he snapped back to his senses.

Looking up, it was Mei Yinghan.

"It’s made with our water," Mei Yinghan said. "The tea came from outside. You can drink it."

Hearing Mei Yinghan's calm and gentle voice, Bai Zhengliu felt his own mood settle down.

...Had he really been anxious before?

Bai Zhengliu couldn’t help but sigh.

He didn’t reject Mei Yinghan’s kindness. With a simple "Thank you," he picked up the tea cup.

Having traveled the jianghu for many years, eating cold, hard food and sleeping in the open was common for a swordsman. He didn’t find it hard, but in moments like this, with danger looming, having a warm cup of tea was truly a comforting thing.

Bai Zhengliu thought, "I guess Mei Yinghan truly deserves the title of ‘Big Senior Brother.’ He’s so considerate…" A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.The water they brought in was still limited. Mei Yinghan gave each person a small cup of tea, and the teapot was once again empty. Even though everyone drank the small amount of tea with care, it was still quickly finished.

It was at this moment that Tan Yuanwai returned with Meng’s eldest uncle and cousin. As he pushed open the door, the first thing he said was, "Third Brother and Fourth Brother have already left! Heroes, what shall we do next?"

Bai Zhengliu's calm expression faded, and he quickly put on a serious and alert look. He first asked, "Yuanwai, have you informed Qiu Lang and Yu Niang about this?"

Tan Yuanwai was stunned and replied, "No, I haven’t." He then began to worry again, "How do I tell the two children? Their health is poor, and if they hear this news, they might faint from the shock…"

Bai Zhengliu comforted him, "You’ve thought it through well. Such a dangerous matter should indeed be handled by us, those of good health."

Tan Yuanwai asked, "So, what should we do now?"

Bai Zhengliu finally got to the main point: "I’ve noticed that among today’s guests, there are many young men who are strong and healthy. Yuanwai, you might ask them to stay behind and help guard the house with us."

Tan Yuanwai's pupils contracted, "Is it really possible?" His face brightened little by little. "Right, even if the mountain bandits have a lot of people, they can’t possibly outnumber the people of Tan Family Village! Once everyone works together, we’ll definitely be able to drive those villains away!"

Bai Zhengliu nodded in agreement, "It should be so."

Tan Yuanwai wiped the sweat from his forehead and added, "Thanks to Bai Daxia for suggesting this plan. If not, I would have been flustered and probably would have only thought of running away into the mountains."

"..." Bai Zhengliu thought, "Then it would be just like what Senior Nie said, with five mountain bandits nearby. It wouldn't matter where you hide."

He then said, "If Qiu Lang were not in such a condition, and Yu Niang hadn’t just given birth, this would be feasible. But with the couple and a child, if they hide, they could suffer terribly! The adults may be fine, but I worry about the child."

"You're right, Bai Daxia!" Tan Yuanwai agreed wholeheartedly.

Bai Zhengliu smiled faintly. "As for us, we can prepare in advance. Yuanwai, you should announce this matter and ask for help. The rest of us will discuss the specific actions for tonight."

Tan Yuanwai nodded vigorously.

He was about to leave, and Meng’s eldest uncle and cousin were about to go with him, but at that moment, Mei Yinghan, who had been quietly standing by, spoke up. Still with his calm demeanor, he said, "Please, Meng’s uncle and cousin, stay."

The two of them looked at him.

Qian Gui and Jun Tao, who were standing by, rubbed their arms. When they hadn’t yet realized that these two were mountain bandits, they hadn’t thought much of them. But now, knowing their true identities, just a glance from them made Qian Gui and Jun Tao feel that Meng’s uncle and cousin were up to no good.

Mei Yinghan, however, was not affected by their expressions at all. He remained composed and said, "Since Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle have martial arts training, I assume you two have some experience as well. Right now, we are short of people, so please join us in making plans."The two members of the Meng family, upon hearing this, seemed to have something flicker in their eyes.

Eventually, they said, "Alright, it should be like this."

Mei Yinghan then smiled, "May I ask, what weapons are you both proficient in, and how long have you been practicing?"

Meng's eldest uncle twitched his facial muscles and replied, "Like Bai Daxia, I, Meng, am skilled with the saber."

Meng’s cousin then said, "I am more proficient with the staff."

"Sabers and staffs," Mei Yinghan thought in his mind, matching the two with the mountain bandits coming tonight. "Both are good weapons."

Unfortunately, tonight, you won’t be needing them.

Thanks to his son and daughter-in-law returning to their room early to rest, Tan Yuanwai didn’t reveal anything to the two younger ones until he had confirmed the number of people staying.

He directly came to report to Bai Zhengliu and the others, "…The elderly and children have been sent back. The remaining ones are all able-bodied young people. If the mountain bandits really come, it won’t just be a problem for my Tan family; other families in the village might also be implicated. Everyone understands this, and when I mentioned it, they all responded."

Bai Zhengliu, Mei Yinghan, and the others nodded.

Tan Yuanwai continued, "Altogether, we can keep thirty people. They’ve all gone back to get tools like hoes and shovels."

Bai Zhengliu replied, "Good. The mountain bandits have weapons, so our people need to be armed too."

Tan Yuanwai let out a short laugh, though he still looked very tense and anxious, asking, "So, what do we do next?"

Bai Zhengliu said, "Divide the people. Leave ten in the back courtyard, ten in the front courtyard. Then, in the main courtyard, with your family, the seven of us, and Meng’s eldest uncle and cousin, we’ll guard against the bandits coming over the walls from different sides. The other ten can be stationed where something goes wrong, and we’ll have them go there."

It was a flexible plan. Tan Yuanwai nodded, "I’ll go tell them now!"

"Don’t rush." Bai Zhengliu stopped him, "There’s one more thing. While it’s still daylight, let’s prepare properly…"

As he said this, he leaned close to Tan Yuanwai and whispered a few words in his ear. Tan Yuanwai nodded repeatedly, "That’s the right way to do it!"Bai Zhengliu said, "But with this, Yuanwai, you’ll have to spend quite a bit."

Tan Yuanwai replied, "What’s the harm in that? As long as my family is safe and sound, and the others in the village are safe as well, that’s the best outcome!"

With that, he hurriedly left again, following Bai Zhengliu’s instructions to make the necessary arrangements.