Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 61 Two Boys

A quarter of an hour later, Gu Qingyue came out of the room, carrying on her back the thank-you gift that Mu Yun Chu had just sent: two thousand taels of silver notes and a large amount of food. This was a very large sum of money, and Gu Qingyue was very satisfied!

The second one to come out was Liu Feng, who was carrying a large bundle that was bulging with all kinds of medicinal herbs.

Then, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth people each carried a small bundle containing clothes and food.

Gu Qingyue's adopted army is growing larger and larger. These four boys are half a head taller than Gu Qingyue, three are twelve years old and one is thirteen years old.

In contrast to Gu Qingyue and her companions who set off with ease carrying their packs, the atmosphere in the main hall of Tiger Peak Village was heavy.

"General Gu, Colonel Mu, it is now confirmed that the bandits in this mountain stronghold and the iron mine behind it were jointly managed by Pan Shisan and the Nanzhao people. Their purpose was to privately manufacture weapons for Nanzhao to use in raising troops. Some of the weapons were sold to other countries in large quantities. They also abducted people, mainly boys and teenagers, to provide blood samples for the Nanzhao witch doctors' temple to raise Gu poison. Their actions are outrageous."

In the middle of the hall, a guard in black stood with his hands clasped in a respectful gesture, reporting with a solemn expression.

"Go down and, according to the previous orders, escort the bandit leader and the others to the Lizhou government office. The others, search carefully and continue searching." Gu Yuanming rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He hadn't slept for two days and two nights. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, but that he was afraid to sleep.

They thought it was just a bandit suppression operation and a chance to rescue people, but unexpectedly, it caused a huge incident that the Lizhou camp could no longer handle and had to be reported to the imperial court.

"Captain Mu, you personally led fifty men to search, but I didn't expect Pan Shisan to be so slippery. I guess the place where the silver is hidden must be in the nearby mountains, not too far from here."

"Yes," Mu Yun Chu said, then got up and left.

Gu Yuanming was deep in thought, and the hall was silent.

Just then, a guard's voice came from outside the door: "Report, General Gu, we have found a clue. It is said that two hours before our attack on the camp, the Nanzhao woman left with her guards. We have already sent people to chase after her."

"Make a copy of the portrait, go to the Lizhou government office, issue a warrant for the arrest of this woman, and reward anyone who provides clues."

"Yes!" The guard turned and left.

At this moment, Gu Qingyue had already found Rong Qingqing and the others hiding in the cave. Everyone looked exhausted. Hearing that they had returned, Rong Qingqing quickly led Xiao Nian out of the cave.

Seeing Gu Qingyue and Liu Feng standing safely before her, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The group seemed to have not seen each other for a long time. They looked at each other and smiled, but it was all bittersweet.

This day and night was an ordeal for everyone.

"Brother, where did you go? Don't you want Xiao Nian anymore?" Little Nian, with his short legs, was the first to run over, hugging Gu Qingyue's waist, blinking his big, fluffy eyes at her, a hint of fear and unease in the boy's clear gaze.

He still remembers those bandits carrying long knives; they were extremely fierce and terrifying.

Seeing this, Gu Qingyue quickly squatted down, hugged the little guy's back and patted him repeatedly, "It's okay, everything is fine now, those bandits have been caught, brother will always protect you," she said, and then stroked the little guy's fluffy head.

"Really? That's great, brother! I'll practice hard from now on and I'll protect you!" Upon hearing Gu Qingyue's words, the little guy immediately perked up, patted his chest, and gave off an expression that said, "I'll be very powerful soon."

Gu Qingyue was both amused and exasperated.

"Okay, you'll protect your brother from now on," Gu Qingyue stood up, took the little guy's hand, and walked into the cave.

After taking only two steps, a bunch of people suddenly emerged from the cave.

"Qingyue, Qingyue, are you alright?" Wen Qinghong strode up to Gu Qingyue, looked her up and down, and was relieved to see that she was not injured.

The other teenagers also ran over one after another, surrounding Gu Qingyue and Liu Feng, bombarding them with all sorts of questions until the two of them were dizzy and confused.

"Alright, alright, let's go inside and talk," Rong Qingqing said at the right moment, rescuing the two of them.

"Come in too!" Rong Qingqing said to the four boys standing not far away.

The four boys stood there somewhat timidly, looking at the group of boys of all ages in front of them, not daring to move.

"Come in," Gu Qingyue turned around and waved to the boys.

The group exchanged glances, then mustered their courage and followed everyone into the cave.

It wasn't until everyone was seated around the fire that Gu Qingyue began to recount what had happened in the mountain stronghold over the past day and night.

The crowd listened, some stunned, others completely bewildered. The older children understood and realized the seriousness of the matter, but the younger ones, like Xiao Nian, had no idea why there would be a mine in the cave, or what a mine was.

After speaking, Gu Qingyue glanced around and, seeing everyone's bright eyes, remembered that she should introduce the children to each other.

"Da Niu, Er Dan, Xi Ya Zi, San Dun," Gu Qingyue introduced the new children to everyone.

The older Erdan quickly stood up. “Our village was robbed by the southern barbarians, and all our family members are gone. We originally went to escape the famine with some friends from nearby villages, but when we got to Mingji Ridge, we were captured by bandits. We… the four of us survived, but Er Ya and my eldest sister were… never found again.” The young boy’s eyes suddenly reddened as he spoke, and he choked up and could not continue.

"Erdan," Gu Qingyue stood up and gently patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Seeing the sorrow and anger in the boy's eyes, the other boys' eyes also reddened, filled with not only sadness but also deep hatred!

Gu Qingyue was not someone who could be easily provoked. However, since arriving here, a series of events had made her more and more prone to emotional fluctuations. At this moment, beneath her calm exterior lay a heart filled with rage that wanted to kill. The people on the border were having such a hard time!

"Please sit down first," Gu Qingyue said softly.

For the past six months, the southwestern border of the Great Chu has been repeatedly provoked and invaded by the Nanzhao Kingdom. Although the other side is not militarily strong, they have committed all kinds of atrocities, including burning, killing, looting and plundering, without any bottom line. In addition, Nanzhao spies are everywhere. The Great Chu has suffered repeated defeats. Naturally, the people on the border suffer the most.

Everywhere you looked, there were homeless people, especially children, who became victims of the war, sold, beaten, robbed, stolen from, and sent to be enslaved by the Nanzhao people, even used as blood offerings...

Gu Qingyue wasn't a warmonger. In her past life, though she constantly walked a tightrope, she remained at peace, backed by a powerful nation. So, when not on missions, she was simply a girl who loved food, fashion, and traditional Chinese medicine. But these children…

Looking at the young faces around her, a bold idea gradually took shape in Gu Qingyue's mind...