CHAPTER 648: EPISODE 344 GATHERING TOGETHER

May had swiftly descended upon Fuzhe County, instantly ushering in intense heat.

The weather was no longer the mild warmth of spring days. Instead, it was replaced by a sun fierce as fire, bursting fiercely from the clouds, scorching the ground hot and searing. Standing under the sun for just a short while during daylight would burn the back of one’s neck, causing fine beads of sweat to trickle and itch, even slightly painful.

By evening, the heat gradually dissipated. The folk at Lianshun Escort Agency had hidden indoors all afternoon and could finally breathe a sigh of relief and venture into the courtyard to see the sun. Just as they were preparing to go home, they suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard gate, with Han Hu’s voice faintly discernible among the noise. They all instinctively stopped in their tracks, and someone ran to the front hall to call Meng Yuhuai out.

Meng Yuhuai quickly crossed over to the corridor, stood with his hands behind his back, and squinted his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping toward the gate. Sure enough, he soon saw Han Hu noisily barging in, with a couple of "spies" in tow, cursing as he pushed them in front of him. Seemingly unsatisfied, he kicked each of the two men in the buttocks twice.

The two men crouched on the ground, their heads drooping, not daring to make a sound.

"These idiots!"

Rolling up his sleeves, Han Hu loudly said to Meng Yuhuai, "They didn’t even wait to reach Chiyun Mountain before rashly acting, slipping drugs into our food, thinking to sneakily steal a full cartload of goods, but we caught them red-handed! Fortunately, that evening we were staying in an inn owned by someone we know, and the owner and helpers all helped us seize them on the spot! Hmm, they have already confessed; it was Shenglong Escort Agency that paid them to create trouble here. Yuhuai, would you like to interrogate them further?"

A cold glint momentarily flashed in Meng Yuhuai’s eyes, and he couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart.

His heart had cherished old affections, but to some people, the words "brotherly love" meant nothing at all.

"I am not a government official; it’s not my turn to conduct an interrogation."

He lifted his head, looked around at everyone in the courtyard, and said sternly, "You all heard the origins of these two men; there’s no need for me to elaborate further. People in our line of work cannot tolerate such actions. According to everyone, how should we deal with them?"

"What else to say, give them a thorough beating!"

Immediately, people started shouting, no encouragement needed. From all directions, a mass of shadows surged forward, pinning the two men down, their fists and feet flailing at them without aim.

Meng Yuhuai was a calm and generous man, but after all, as an Escort Master, he was mixed up in the jianghu and couldn’t afford to be too compassionate. He didn’t plan to intervene, merely instructing indifferently, "Keep it in measure, don’t hurt them badly," then he pulled Han Hu aside.

"Yuhuai, what do you plan to do?" Han Hu, having returned from a long trip, wasn’t the least bit tired and was eagerly ready to go.

"I fear you’ll have to take another tiresome trip, this time to the Provincial City," Meng Yuhuai frowned and said, "Two things; first, go tell Dong Deyou and Lv Bin to come and claim these men themselves. Otherwise, I will send these two to the government, and whatever consequences arise, I won’t be able to control them."

"No problem, let’s speak openly and clearly to them, so they learn their lesson the hard way!" Han Hu agreed robustly, "And...what’s the second thing?"

"The second is a personal matter—more precisely, it concerns your sister-in-law," Meng Yuhuai nodded, "you..."

"Ah!

Before he could get to the main point, Han Hu suddenly slapped his hands together and chuckled as he scratched the back of his head: "I didn’t even enter Lizhou’s borders on this trip, sister-in-law had asked me to buy some local specialties..."

"No matter, she didn’t know the purpose of your trip before, but now that she knows, how could she still expect you to bring back any specialties?" Meng Yuhuai waved his hand, "Listen to me. A few days ago, two men went to cause trouble at your sister-in-law’s Sauce Garden. I’ve already found out they stayed at an inn in Fuzhe County and even discovered their names. Thankfully, they were dressed so strikingly that, given the few inns in the city, it wasn’t too hard to investigate, otherwise, it really would have taken me quite an effort—you go to Antai Garden in the Provincial City and try to find out if those two are their people."

"Antai Garden sent people to cause trouble?" Han Hu was startled and hurriedly asked, "Sister-in-law is alright, yes? But...if those two were just hired by them, wouldn’t inquiring be pointless?"

"She fell ill from the upset, you tell me if it’s serious?" Meng Yuhuai shook his head somewhat helplessly, "For now, just go to the Sauce Garden and inquire; if that leads nowhere, then find a way to dig those two out for questioning. Don’t force it; if there really are no leads, don’t worry too much about it; I’ll think of another plan."