Chapter Nine, Gone with the Wind (Part One)

Tian Jingu's expression changed; he wanted to erupt in anger but ultimately held it back. With a flick of his sleeve, he said, "If that is the case, then let it be!" He then addressed the servant, "Xi Zi, let us go." After taking a few steps, he still muttered, "Unappreciative."

At this point, the progress was going very smoothly and was completely in accordance with Shang Yi's plan. However, just then, a problem arose. It turned out that the owner of the cargo was traveling with the escort cart and was also captured by the bandits. After being rescued, he insisted on taking the cargo with him and refused to leave it behind. Lin Chengye tried to persuade him earnestly, but to no avail, as the man threatened Lin Chengye with the contract he had signed with the escort agency. At this point, Lin Chengye and his companions found themselves in a difficult situation; after all, those who escort goods cannot offend their clients. They had no choice but to hurriedly pack the cargo and harness the horses to the cart, fully aware that they could not stay for long.

Several individuals, who were bodyguards, upon hearing Lin Chenglin's words, suddenly knelt down before Shang Yi, saying: "Hero Shang, we have no way to repay your life-saving grace; please accept our bow." As they spoke, they prostrated themselves on the ground and kowtowed to Shang Yi.

The stout man nodded, glancing up and down at Shang Yi, clearly finding his camouflage outfit quite strange. A hint of disdain appeared in his eyes, yet he still clasped his hands and said: "Hero Shang, I am deeply grateful for your rescue this time; such kindness is beyond words. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me, Tian Jingu, at the Tian residence in Beijing. No matter how big the issue is, I can help you resolve it." He then turned to a servant beside him and said: "Xizi, please deliver a copy of my film to this hero Shang."

To shoot a person, first shoot the horse; to capture a thief, first capture the leader

As Zhou Shaohuan and the others saw that Lin Chengye was not leaving, they were also unwilling to leave them alone, so they had no choice but to stay and help them tidy up. As a result, this naturally delayed their time, and before they could finish organizing, the robbers returned.

Shang Yi was also unceremonious, spitting on the ground with great force, and loudly declared: "What are you even worth?" The crowd gathered around, chattering in agreement: "Exactly, what’s there to be so arrogant about?" "Just a moment ago, you were scared stiff, and now you’re pretending to be all high and mighty." Only Lin Chengye stood to the side, looking awkward, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

The woman said, "The grace of saving a life is not a trivial matter; the Chief Steward need not say more."

Although Zhou Shaohuan and others were from the countryside, they could not tolerate the arrogant attitude of these individuals, and each of them glared in anger. Shang Yi smiled faintly, did not extend his hand to accept, and said: "No need. I never seek any reward for saving others, and in the future, I will never ask the Chief Steward for anything. Please take back this goodwill."

Now that a pistol has been used, there is no need for courtesy; a shot was immediately fired at the mountain.

After listening to Zhou Shaohuan's speech, Lin Chengye's face showed even more embarrassment as he repeatedly apologized to Shang Yi. In fact, Shang Yi was also somewhat annoyed; it had originally been a good plan, but it almost turned into a complete mess. If everything had gone according to his plan, wouldn't there have been no issues at all? Moreover, the goods were right here, so there was no fear of them running away. Once everyone was sent to a safe place, they could think of a way to retrieve them. How did it end up like this?

At that moment, Peng pointed over there and said with a smile, "Brother Shang, it's that big fat guy; he was the one who refused to leave just now"

Shang Yi glanced over in that direction and indeed saw a large, overweight man, dressed in a deep purple robe that was already caked with dirt. He was there gesturing and directing others to work. Shang Yi said, "Then you should just leave him here and go on your way."

At this time, everyone had already been bandaged up. Zhou Shaohuan approached and said, "Brother Shang, I just saw clearly that there are a total of 14 vehicles, of which only 6 belong to Lin Biaotou and the others. The rest were left by the bandits. What should we do about these?"

The voices of the crowd were quite loud, and naturally, Tian Jinguo could hear them. He couldn't help but stop, and just as he was about to lose his temper, a smile suddenly spread across his face. In a very gentle voice, he said: "Miss, why have you come out again? You must have been startled just now. It is quite chaotic outside at the moment; you should return to the carriage. Xiaolan, Xiaomei, weren't you instructed to take good care of the miss? How could you let her get out of the carriage?"

As the crowd dispersed, Lin Chengye once again led the large man before Shang Yi and said: "Chief Tian, this is the brave warrior who saved us. We owe him a great deal this time; otherwise, we would all have lost our lives."

The woman said, "I appreciate the Chief Steward's concern; I merely wish to meet the valiant man who saved us and express my gratitude to him in person" Her voice was exceedingly pleasant, with an indescribable charm.

Tian Jinguai hurriedly said: "It's just a trivial matter, there's no need for thanks. I fear it was those rough men who frightened the young lady, so it would be better not to mention it."

In fact, just a moment ago in the forest, Shang Yi discovered that the leader of this group of bandits, Man Shan Fei, was present and had long intended to eliminate him first. However, this fellow was extremely cunning; as soon as he entered the woods, he sensed that something was amiss and continuously held two shields to protect himself. Shang Yi, unwilling to use his pistol, thus never found the opportunity to take action

Two maidservants supported a beautifully dressed woman as she approached Tian Jinguo. The woman wore a lotus pink brocade satin robe, with a deep red gold-threaded waist belt wrapped around her waist. Her long skirt trailed on the ground, exuding grace and elegance, yet her face was veiled with a thin gauze, obscuring her features.

Lin Chengye, seeing that Shang Yi did not pursue the matter, was naturally extremely grateful. He hurried over to urge his subordinates to work faster. Meanwhile, Shang Yi also helped Zhou Shaohuan and the others by providing simple bandaging for their wounds. He happened to carry Yunnan Baiyao ointment for external injuries with him, applying it to the wounds of several individuals, and then tearing off clean strips of cloth to secure the bandages.

The woman gently lifted her veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face that could topple nations. With a graceful demeanor, she said: "I am Chen Yuanyuan, and I thank you, brave warrior, for saving my life."

The servant responded with a sound, took out a name card from his bosom, handed it to Shang Yi, and said: "Hero Shang, take this. If you have any matters in the future, feel free to come to our chief steward. You will not be mistaken."

Duan Peng chuckled and said, "Next time we will definitely do this." He was the youngest among the group, only fourteen years old this year, completely unaware of how dangerous the situation had just been.

However, seeing Lin Chengye in such a difficult position, Shang Yi could not bear to say anything further. After all, his stance was different; both people and goods could not be lacking. Therefore, he could only say: "Lin Biao Tou, you need not blame yourself. The incident has already occurred, and fortunately, our people are safe, so let it be. The sky is about to darken, so you should quickly attend to them and ensure the goods are secured, and then we should hurry back to the town."

In Shang Yi's mind, there was a buzzing sound: "Chen Yuanyuan? You are Chen Yuanyuan."

At that moment, Lin He and Tu Shenger brought a few people over, pointing at Shang Yi and saying to them: "This is the brave Shang. If it weren't for his assistance this time, we wouldn't just be talking about reclaiming this escort; we might not even have our lives preserved."

Now that the leader is dead and Shang Yi has appeared, the other bandits have indeed lost their fighting spirit all at once. They are aware that it was Shang Yi who ambushed them in the woods, and they have long been terrified by him. Therefore, when Shang Yi seizes the opportunity to shout, "The mountains are filled with death, the mountains are filled with death," the remaining bandits immediately scatter like birds and beasts, fleeing completely.

Tian Jinguo clearly did not dare to argue with that woman and had no choice but to step aside. The woman also dismissed her two maids and approached Shang Yi alone, causing those around them to involuntarily step back.

At this time, only five or six bandits remained, and they were no match for the ten of them, especially Lin Chengye, who had become the chief escort at the escort agency. Naturally, he was not one to hold back in his actions. Therefore, after a brief skirmish, four more of the remaining bandits were killed, and the rest fled. The group hurriedly went to cut the other ropes, successfully rescuing all more than twenty captives.

Shang Yi finally let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Zhou Shaohuan, Tong Dayong, Cheng Jin, Cheng Gang, and Duan Peng. Although each of them had sustained some injuries, fortunately, none had broken any bones, and there were no major issues. Moreover, due to their care, Ye Yaozhao was completely unharmed, thanks to Shang Yi's timely arrival.

At this moment, Lin Chengye approached, though covered in blood, he appeared joyful and repeatedly thanked Shang Yi. Only then did Shang Yi ask, "Lin Biao-tou, what is going on? Did I not instruct you to leave immediately after rescuing the person without waiting for me? Why are you still here, and as a result, almost surrounded by bandits?"

Seeing that he was vague in his words, Shang Yi could not help but feel suspicious. On the side, Zhou Shaohuan, somewhat indignant, said: "Brother Shang, they are not staying behind just to wait for you." Only then did he recount the events that had transpired.

Shang Yi took a look and found that the other eight vehicles were indeed quite different from the six belonging to Lin Chengye and his group. He immediately became interested and said, "Let's go and see what the robbers left behind." With that, he led a few people to the side of the large vehicle.

Lin Chengye's face was quite awkward, and he cleared his throat twice, saying: "This is actually... actually..."

In fact, after escaping from the forest, the bandits had no desire to continue fighting; they only wanted to flee far away from this hellish woodland. However, they were reluctant to part with the wealth they had just plundered, which led them to engage in battle once more with Lin Chengye, Zhou Shaohuan, and their group.

Upon seeing someone moving his escort, he reacted as if his own life were at stake, immediately leading the bandits to attack. Lin Chengye, Zhou Shaohuan, and others had no choice but to engage in battle. At that moment, there were still forty to fifty bandits, and although they had rescued a few more people who joined their side, they were still outnumbered. They managed to kill a few bandits, but if it weren't for Shang Yi arriving just in time, the outcome would have been dire.

Shang Yi quickly helped them up and said, "This is merely a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. Everyone, please get up."

It turned out that the ten of them had been lying in ambush in the woods all along. Upon hearing the thunderous sound from Shang Yi, they immediately sprang into action. At that moment, there were only ten bandits guarding the captured carriage. Zhou Shaohuan, Tong Dayong, Cheng Jin, Cheng Gang, and Duan Peng were all equipped with hunting bows and arrows. They first drew their bows and shot, instantly killing five or six bandits, and then charged out together

At this moment, others were also rushing to thank Shang Yi, and someone shouted: "Make way, make way, our chief steward is coming"