The Passerby Hidden Guard Picked Up the Villain [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

Jin Lanye and He Yanzhi finalized their strategy within the ship’s cabin. He Yanzhi briefed him thoroughly on the characteristics of those water bandits.

“Their limbs are flexible beyond those of ordinary people. The man in the fur hat I encountered at the pawnshop was originally suppressed and captured by me, yet he managed to rotate his arms backward to break free from my grasp, slipping away like a fish. Is Deputy Leader Jin confident in handling this?”

Jin Lanye pondered for a moment. “Soft martial arts? It so happens I have brothers who are proficient in that path.”

With that, he clapped his hands, and six men appeared before them.

He Yanzhi noticed that these men were all lean and thin. Their skin appeared smooth and clammy, with a faint grayish tint.

Jin Lanye introduced them. “They are not only skilled in soft martial arts but can also move freely in the water. Some can even remain submerged for as long as two hours.”

“Two hours?” He Yanzhi expressed some doubt.

“A-Pi.”

Jin Lanye called out, and the shortest man among them stepped forward.

“Young Master He may give his orders. A-Pi has been with the gang for over ten years and has never made a mistake.”

Jin Lanye dismissed them and poured tea for He Yanzhi. He Yanzhi picked up the tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The warm tea flowed into his body, heating his entire being. A tingling sensation filled his limbs, breaking through the sluggish blood flow. He Yanzhi enjoyed this feeling of ease and freedom.

Jin Lanye looked at him with a smile and said, “Young Master He has likely not felt this relaxed in a long time.”

At those words, He Yanzhi suddenly realized that since being unexpectedly captured, he had not brought his medicine with him.

“I must thank Deputy Leader Jin. Otherwise, I would not be sitting before you in one piece.”

Jin Lanye nodded with a faint smile. “Young Master He, this illness of yours has persisted for years. I cannot help but wonder, who exactly holds such a deep grudge against you?”

“A deep grudge?”

He Yanzhi was merely someone who had transmigrated into the book. The original story mentioned very little about the host’s background, so he had no idea who had harmed him.

Jin Lanye asked in confusion, “Young Master He actually does not know? The Water Jade Cold Poison is incredibly sinister and extremely difficult to refine. Furthermore, it is only produced in my Miao territory. Unless someone holds a monumental grudge against you, who would go through such painstaking effort?”

He Yanzhi smiled. From the start of the original story, he was already like this. If he truly wanted to trace it back, would he not have to create an entire prequel?

“I do not wish to mention the past. I only hope to rid myself of this cold poison.”

He Yanzhi worked himself to death investigating cases just to ask Jin Lanye for a cure. What did past grievances have to do with a salted fish like him?

He Yanzhi’s indifferent expression was reflected in Jin Lanye’s eyes, causing the latter to momentarily daze.

As the Holy Son of the Miao territory, Jin Lanye had grown up in a whirlpool of power struggles among his clansmen. His parents were murdered, his sister willingly sacrificed herself to protect him, and he himself was dragged down from a high position and trampled into the mud.

During those dark days, he thought of nothing but revenge at every waking moment. Of course, he carried it out. After personally killing his enemies one by one, he sank deeper into the slaughter until he was consumed by his own sins.

Fortunately, just as he was about to be tied to a flaming pillar, he met Jiang Beihai. He let go of his past and followed him to Great Li.

“When will the cycle of revenge ever end? I admire Young Master He for having such a state of mind.”

A look of respect appeared in Jin Lanye’s eyes. He Yanzhi took it as mere politeness and replied, “The Deputy Leader overpraises me.”

The ship followed the current and soon entered the Baoque Mountain river route.

He Yanzhi went to the bow of the ship and saw several rising campfires in the mountain forest along the shore.

He Yanzhi’s gaze scanned the banks. Finally, after the ship had traveled for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he spotted a figure dancing with a blade.

He called out, and Yang Kuang immediately looked over, waving his hand in delight.

Jin Lanye ordered his subordinates to dock. Yang Kuang woke all the constables.

“Brother He, you have finally arrived! Those water bandits are not even human! They vanish in a flash, and you cannot catch them at all!”

As soon as he stepped onto the shore, He Yanzhi was pulled aside by Yang Kuang, who complained about the bandits’ cunning. He Yanzhi told him to calm down first.

“This is the Deputy Leader of the Transport Gang, Jin Lanye. This is Constable Yang.”

He Yanzhi briefly introduced the two. Jin Lanye nodded slightly. Yang Kuang stared blankly, silently taking a step back as his tongue tied. “Deputy Leader, hello. Deputy Leader, hello.”

The three moved to the riverbank to discuss the main issue.

He Yanzhi asked Yang Kuang, “What is the situation now?”

Yang Kuang pointed to the mountain wall. “They are still inside. Yesterday, I led men into the cave through the water, intending to catch them like turtles in a jar. Who would have thought they would discover us as soon as we entered?”

He Yanzhi asked, “How many men did you take in?”

Yang Kuang said, “Not many, about a few dozen. It should have been enough to match their numbers.”

He Yanzhi signaled for him to continue. Yang Kuang’s face immediately showed a look of grief and indignation.

“Being discovered is one thing; we could have just had a big fight. But good grief, every single one of those people is the reincarnation of a damn fish! You cannot see them at all once they are in the water. They tangled the brothers up in water weeds something fierce!”

“Sigh, we lost quite a few men this time.”

At this, Jin Lanye seemed to have an idea. He spoke up. “We must be certain they are still inside. The underwater situation is unclear; there might be another exit.”

He Yanzhi had also thought of this. He looked at Yang Kuang.

Facing their gazes, Yang Kuang swore, “They are definitely inside. Before you arrived, I slipped in quietly to take a look, and that group is still there.”

“It seems they are not familiar with this body of water.” Jin Lanye walked to the edge of the shore. The moonlight wove ripples upon the water’s surface. He stared at the water for a moment, called A-Pi over to give a few instructions, and then A-Pi dived into the water without hesitation.

He Yanzhi and Yang Kuang stood to the side, watching the surface quietly. After about forty five minutes, a head emerged from the water.

“East Route Three, South Path One. Narrow. Only one person can pass.”

A-Pi slid agilely from the water onto the shore and reported the discovered cave entrance to Jin Lanye.

Jin Lanye nodded and walked to He Yanzhi. “Young Master He, when do we strike?”

Seeing his confident manner, He Yanzhi naturally had no other thoughts.

“Immediately.”

The catapults on the opposite bank were ready. At the command of the military officer, a massive stone flew across the river and landed directly on the mountain wall beside the wooden building, causing the entire mountain to tremble slightly.

This strike served as a warning.

Xiao Hongyin quickly changed into Jin Lanye’s clothes, found a mask to wear, and then took a boat toward the opposite bank. Jiang Beihai remained in the rear just in case of an emergency.

Xiao Hongyin stood at the bow of the ship. As the river breeze blew, the silver ornaments on his body tinkled.

Miao clothing was different from Great Li attire. The upper garment did not extend to cover the feet, and there was no connection between the top and the trousers, leaving a small section of the waist exposed, regardless of gender.

The river wind constantly rushed into his clothes. Xiao Hongyin was so cold that he developed goosebumps, but he forced his back straight, maintaining a calm and composed appearance.

“Who goes there?”

“Transport Gang, Jin Lanye.”

The ship stopped a hundred paces from the riverbank, facing the soldiers across the water.

Xiao Hongyin stood high on the bow. The military officer could not see his face clearly but could vaguely identify his Miao clothing.

“You are Jin Lanye?”

Xiao Hongyin did not answer the question but instead asked, “The officer has brought so many men. May I ask what your business is?”

The military officer snorted coldly and lifted his chin toward Xiao Hongyin. “What business? To arrest you, of course! You personally rescued the imperial prisoner Jiang Beihai and even plotted to deceive us. Now that your end is near, surrender immediately and hand over Jiang Beihai!”

The military officer was named Xu Wu. He was originally just a minor official guarding the prison. Because he had successfully prevented Jiang Beihai from committing suicide a few days ago, the Prefect had promoted him to a leader. Now, as a new official with much to prove, his words were extremely arrogant.

Xiao Hongyin was not angered by this. “The officer must be mistaken. I was not the one who rescued Jiang Beihai.”

“Laughable!” Xu Wu’s eyes widened, and he spat toward Xiao Hongyin. “Jiang Beihai is the leader of the Transport Gang, and you, Jin Lanye, are the deputy leader. You are both in the same boat. If he escaped, who else could have rescued him but you?”

Xiao Hongyin explained good naturedly, “There are things the officer does not know. It is true that I work with him, but have you not heard the rumors that there has long been a grudge between us? The officer should know that one mountain cannot hold two tigers.”

“Is that so?” Xu Wu usually did not care for such trivial matters, and this was the first time he had heard that the two did not get along.

As soon as he asked, a soldier immediately approached and whispered into his ear, “Reporting to the commander, it is indeed true. This Jin Lanye is an ingrate. Within a few years of being brought into the gang by Jiang Beihai, he began to seize power. Currently, he is the one in charge of the Transport Gang.”

Xu Wu fell silent. He had originally thought that by taking down the Transport Gang, he could bring someone back to claim a reward. But if it was as Jin Lanye said and Jiang Beihai was not here, then he would be wasting his time for nothing.

While Xu Wu hesitated, the two secret guards stepped forward from behind the crowd at the right time. “Do not listen to his nonsense! We personally saw Jiang Beihai being brought back by this Miao barbarian and followed them all the way here. Right now, Jiang Beihai is inside that wooden building.”

It turned out that the two had not left after escaping but continued to follow everyone in secret until they found this wooden building. They happened to encounter Xu Wu pursuing the ship and led him here.

Xiao Hongyin gave a light laugh. Looking down at the two from above, he said, “The two of you do not look like people from the government. Perhaps some colleagues in the trade have found their way here.”

At these words, Xu Wu remembered that he had indeed not checked the identities of these two. He had been so busy chasing the merchant ship heading south that when he heard someone report they knew Jiang Beihai’s location, he followed without a second thought. Now he realized he might have been played.

He immediately gave the order for the soldiers to surround the secret guards.

Xiao Hongyin was happy to see this. He stood firmly on the bow, wanting to see how Xu Wu would deal with the two.

Facing the encirclement, the two drew their swords to resist. However, one of them suddenly looked toward the bow of the ship, paused for a moment, and then shouted loudly, “He is not Jin Lanye!”

At those words, all the soldiers looked up.

Xiao Hongyin’s heart jumped, but his body did not move at all.

Xu Wu was already confused by these people and asked sharply, “Are you Jin Lanye or not?”

“I have never met any of you before. On what basis do you claim that I am an imposter?”

Xiao Hongyin gave a hand signal to his subordinates, telling everyone to get ready.

The secret guard sneered. “I have certainly seen him before. Although I do not remember his face clearly, your eyes have exposed you.”

The river breeze carried his words to everyone present, and a dead silence fell over the crowd.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Hongyin frowned behind his mask and immediately shouted, “Strike!”

Before Xu Wu and the soldiers could react, dozens of Transport Gang brothers appeared behind them from nowhere. The soldiers who had been guarding the catapults were already pinned to the ground.

The brothers drew their machetes and cut the coarse ropes of the catapults. They ignited the stones that had been prepared, struck them with heavy wooden poles, and sent them rolling toward the shore.

Xu Wu screamed for everyone to disperse. The two secret guards took the opportunity to try and board the ship but were blocked on the deck by hidden darts thrown by Xiao Hongyin.

“Young Master Xiao, come with us.”

The secret guards blocked Xiao Hongyin’s path from both sides.

Xiao Hongyin took off his mask and threw it aside. “That depends on whether you have the lives to spare.”