Chapter 131: I Have Thought of a Way to Deal With Them!

About an hour later, White-Hair and Peng Dong and their band of brigands finally ceased their flight.

Under a tree, White-Hair handed a waterskin to Peng Dong. "Have some water."

Peng Dong, still seething with frustration and annoyance, brushed the waterskin away without a second thought. "I don't want any. I'm not in the mood!"

White-Hair sighed and urged, "Brother, it's already happened. What's the point of being angry? Instead of making yourself sick with rage, we should be thinking of a way to deal with their bamboo spear formation..."

Peng Dong replied coldly, "Then you think of one. Your brain works better than mine; I can't come up with anything."

White-Hair was at a loss himself, so he sighed and said, "Sigh, this will require careful deliberation."

"For now, everyone is exhausted from running. Let them rest for a while, and we can take the opportunity to take a headcount," White-Hair suggested.

"You go count them. I'm too annoyed!"

As he spoke, Peng Dong snatched the waterskin from White-Hair and took a long, deep drink. White-Hair shook his head helplessly and turned away to count the men.

About a quarter of an hour later, White-Hair returned to find Peng Dong chewing on a piece of yellowed, hardened cake. Seeing White-Hair approach, Peng Dong pulled another piece of cake from his tunic and offered it to him.

White-Hair took the cake, took a bite, and chewed as he said, "I've finished counting. We started with ninety-eight men, and now there are only sixty-two left. We lost thirty-six men in that short span of time—the losses are truly devastating!"

Peng Dong flew into a rage upon hearing this. "Brother, that man surnamed Zhang must compensate us for these thirty-six lives. Each life is worth at least five... no, ten strings of cash! That's three hundred and sixty strings of cash in total!"

White-Hair nodded. "Exactly, he must pay!"

No sooner had he said this than White-Hair sighed, adding with a touch of regret, "If I had known it would come to this, I never should have taken this job from him."

Peng Dong was displeased by this. "Brother, you weren't saying that last time when we sent them running for their lives in a panic."

White-Hair was rendered speechless. He shook his head, stopped talking, and focused on eating his cake.

The man surnamed Zhang whom Peng Dong referred to was none other than Zhang Zhishen. Back when Zhang Zhishen encountered the soap workshop’s delivery team, the idea of hiring someone to intercept them had taken root in his mind. He sent his servant to inquire around Xinzhou to see if anyone could take on the job, but after asking around, he found that no one in the vicinity dared to accept it.

Because these local groups were too weak—the largest consisting of only five or six men, and the smallest only three or four—they were no match for the delivery team. Xu Mo’s team had over a dozen members, including Niu Da, a man who had served in the military and was well-versed in martial arts.

Consequently, Zhang Zhishen had to widen his search, which was how he finally contacted White-Hair and Peng Dong of Kui-ran Mountain. At first, Zhang Zhishen sent a servant to negotiate, but White-Hair and Peng Dong ignored him entirely. Left with no other options, Zhang Zhishen had to meet them personally, bringing along a generous gift to secure an audience. However, Zhang Zhishen did not reveal his true identity, claiming only that he held a grudge against Xu Mo and was asking for their help to exact revenge.

Initially, White-Hair had been reluctant to take the job, but as they spoke, he realized that Xu Mo was the very person they had encountered and suffered a loss against previously. Peng Dong, who was hot-tempered and vengeful, couldn't let it slide once he heard the target was Xu Mo, and he immediately pressured White-Hair to accept the commission. Perhaps swayed by the large sum Zhang Zhishen offered, White-Hair eventually agreed.

The two left only a few men to guard their base, taking the remaining forty-plus men with them to head straight for Gu-shan Village. On the way, they encountered a group of refugees and, after incorporating them, their numbers quickly swelled to ninety-eight. However, during the first ambush on the delivery team, White-Hair had not allowed these new recruits to participate, keeping them at a distance so they could fully appreciate the strength of his main force. This was why Niu Da and the others had mistakenly believed there were only thirty or forty bandits. Had they known the true number, Xu Mo would surely have recruited more men from the village. Yet, as it stood, the new delivery team armed with bamboo spears proved sufficient.

As Peng Dong chewed his cake in silence, he suddenly heard White-Hair exclaim, "Brother, I’ve thought of a way to deal with them!"

Peng Dong looked up immediately. "What way?"

White-Hair stepped closer to him. "They use bamboo spears, and so can we! The mountains are full of bamboo. In a while, we’ll take the men to cut bamboo and make our own spears. I don't believe we can't beat them!"

Peng Dong thought about it—it was true. Everyone had two eyes and a nose; no one had three heads or six arms. Besides, they had the numerical advantage. If everyone used bamboo spears, they were bound to win!

"Fine! We'll do as you say. We'll go cut bamboo and make spears in a bit!" Peng Dong nodded firmly, his heart swelling with anticipation for the moment of revenge.

***

Elsewhere, Xu Mo and his delivery team had arrived at Xinzhou City.

As they entered the city, the soldiers at the gate and the surrounding townspeople were drawn to them. First were the captured bandits—six or seven of them, blood-stained and bound together by a long rope, making for a striking sight. Then there were the bamboo spears in the hands of the delivery team, almost every tip stained with blood, looking quite menacing.

The guards at the gate, seeing the formidable presence of Xu Mo’s group, immediately intercepted them and summoned the gate officer. After an explanation, the officer understood that Xu Mo and his men had just fought off a band of robbers, and these injured men were prisoners being taken to the county magistrate's office.

Subsequently, the officer’s eyes fell upon the bamboo spears.

The officer frowned. "Young Master Xu, the imperial court has decreed that private possession of spear-like weapons is prohibited. Even bamboo spears are not allowed!"

"In consideration of the fact that you were defending yourselves against bandits and ridding the people of a menace, I shall not pursue this matter. However, you must surrender these spears immediately, or I shall be forced to act according to the law," the officer declared.

Xu Mo replied, "Sir, the court's regulations specify that only spears and lances exceeding nine feet are considered contraband. None of our bamboo spears exceed nine feet. If you don't believe me, sir, you may measure them on the spot."

The officer suddenly recalled the length restriction on spears. "Men, fetch a measuring tape immediately and measure the length of these bamboo spears!" he ordered.

Soon, soldiers brought a tape, and Xu Mo instructed his men to lay the spears neatly on the ground for the officer to measure. Once the measurements were complete, the officer had nothing more to say. The bamboo spears were all exactly eight and a half feet long—none exceeded nine feet, so they did not qualify as illegal weapons.

To get on the officer’s good side, Xu Mo pulled him aside and surreptitiously slipped a silver ingot into his hand. Having received the bribe, the officer smiled immediately and, without another word, waved the group through.