Although it is winter now, Jingnan is located in the south of the Yangtze River after all, and the woods outside the city are still lush and green. If it were not for the maple leaves dotted in the woods that dye the sky red, one would really have the illusion of being in midsummer.
Zhu Ping'an followed the enchantress Ruonan into the woods. He was not nervous or worried at all. Instead, he admired the early winter woods with a contented look on his face. His eyes wandered through the woods, and he made a comment or two from time to time.
"Wild mushrooms... and bamboo shoots... Yeah, that's good. I can pick some and bring them back when I go back. Wild mushrooms can be used to make soup, and bamboo shoots can be used to stir-fry bacon. I really miss the taste of my childhood..."
Zhu Ping'an was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of fungi and bamboo shoots in the woods, and couldn't help but turn his head to say to the demon girl Ruonan.
“Foodie…” The evil woman Ruonan rolled her eyes and snorted with disdain.
"Don't worry, sir. Leave the mushroom and bamboo shoot picking to us." Liu Dadao patted his chest loudly from behind. They were hunters and were very familiar with mushroom and bamboo shoot picking, catching fish and rabbits.
After walking about a few hundred meters into the woods, we arrived at the meeting point, where more than eighty masked bandits were waiting there.
They were all bare-armed, holding all kinds of weapons, such as butcher knives, spears, axes, etc., probably to show their bravery and cruelty. Some of the bandits even put short blades to their lips and licked them with their tongues...
Zhu Pingan concluded from this scene that the weapons in their hands were not poisoned, otherwise they would not dare to lick them...
"Hello, gentlemen." Zhu Ping'an bowed and smiled, taking the lead in greeting them.
"Hmph, you little magistrate, what do you want to see us for?!" Hu Laosan patted the grass debris on his butt, arrogantly stretched out his finger to point at Zhu Pingan, and asked in a dirty tone.
"How dare you! Do you think you can give orders and arrangements to the county lord?! When you see the county lord, why don't you kneel down?!" Liu Mu shouted.
Liu Mu had been training with Zhu Ping'an for a long time. He had killed Japanese pirates on the city wall, worked as a constable in the county government with dozens of yamen runners under him, and now was a small flag officer. Not long ago, he had been to the capital to deliver secret memorials and had seen the world... ... There was naturally a sense of momentum in this shout, and Hu Laosan was stunned by Liu Mu's shouting on the spot.
"It's okay, no need to be so polite." Zhu Ping'an smiled and waved his hand.
"I didn't say I would salute you..." Hu Laosan muttered with his neck stiff, trying to save the situation from being drunk by Liu Mu.
"Hu Laosan, are you itching for trouble?!" The evil woman Ruonan glared at Hu Laosan hard.
"It's true that girls cannot be kept when they grow up. It's only been a short time since the young master went to the dog official's place, but she's already become so ungrateful..." After being scolded by the evil woman Ruonan, Hu Laosan couldn't help but shrink his neck and muttered softly. Although he lowered his voice, almost everyone present heard it.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Hu? If you keep talking nonsense, I will cut off your tongue and feed it to the dogs!"
The enchantress Ruonan's pretty face suddenly turned red and she became angry. A fish dagger suddenly appeared in her hand, with the tip of the knife pointed at Hu Laosan.
"Shut up, shut up..." Under the threat of the evil woman Ruonan, Hu Laosan suddenly wilted like an eggplant hit by frost.
"Young Master?!"
Zhu Pingan caught this information from Hu Laosan's words and couldn't help but look at the demon girl Ruonan. He didn't expect that this demon girl was actually the young master of the village. It was really surprising. No wonder the efficiency of passing on the message was so high. No wonder she dared to use her life to protect me from danger on the way here.
"Why, it's not possible?" The seductive woman Ruonan tilted her head back, not denying the fact that she was the young master's wife.
"How dare I, Young Master, I am so disrespectful..." Zhu Ping'an smiled and bowed to the enchanting woman Ruonan.
The demon girl Ruonan snorted, then twisted her willow waist and walked to a sturdy man, pointed at Zhu Ping'an, and introduced him to the sturdy man, "Dad, look, he is the Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an I told you about. Oh, he will soon take up the post of the fifth-rank assistant of the Criminal Investigation and Surveillance Commissioner."
"He's already a fifth-rank official at such a young age?!" The bandits were all shocked when they heard the introduction of the demon girl Ruonan. They thought Zhu Ping'an was just a seventh-rank county magistrate, but they didn't expect him to be a fifth-rank judicial official. Fifth-rank, what a high-ranking official he must be, and he's still so young!
Of course, Zhu Ping'an was also shocked. Zhu Ping'an looked at the sturdy man in front of the demon girl Ruonan, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth slightly. Such a burly, strong, scruffy, plain-looking man actually gave birth to such a beautiful daughter like the demon girl Ruonan? !
The contrast is quite big. The demon girl Ruonan is quite good at growing up. She has completely staggered her father's genes. The demon girl Ruonan's mother must be very beautiful. She can give birth to a daughter as beautiful as the demon girl Ruonan with such a rough man.
"Nerd, this is my father, and he is also the boss of our village." The charming girl Ruonan took the burly man's arm and introduced him to Zhu Ping'an.
"Greetings, the boss." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile and bowed.
"Yes. I heard from Ruonan that you wanted to meet me and try to persuade our village to surrender?! I met you today entirely for the sake of my Ruonan. As for surrendering, I advise you not to waste your energy."
The burly man responded by clasping his fists towards Zhu Ping'an and speaking in a very cold tone, as if he was refusing him the door.
"The boss is so straightforward that I won't hide anything. Yes, I am here to recruit your people. Now that I am here, it wouldn't hurt to put in some effort. I should give it a try, just in case I succeed." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly when he heard this, and said without being discouraged at all.
"What if it succeeds? Oh, there is no such thing! We are used to being unrestrained and uninhibited in the mountains. We have been standing for so long that we can't bend our waists. We would rather eat bran and vegetables while standing than eat meat and drink wine while kneeling! I advise you not to waste everyone's time and go back."
The burly man snorted, looked up at Zhu Ping'an with impatience, and said with disgust.
"That's right, hurry up and get out! We'll let you go for the sake of the young master! If you dare to hesitate again, even if we give the young master face, I'm afraid we won't agree with the weapons in our hands."
"Go back! The old boss is right. It's so good for us to be bandits, roaming the mountains, free, eating meat and drinking wine, and dividing gold with a big scale. Even the king of heaven can't compare to us. Why should we accept your offer and become the court's lackeys? Isn't this just asking for trouble?!"
"You can still walk now, but if you don't walk now, you won't be able to walk anymore..."
As soon as the burly man finished speaking, a group of bandits waved their weapons and started talking in unison.