CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 388: THE OPERATION

"Mm, Brother Gu has indeed worked hard," Elder Qin said, looking towards Father Luo and Wang Yongfu, "Your martial arts are quite good. Should anything really happen, you must hold firm."

"Rest assured, sir, no matter what, we will protect the families!" Father Luo and Wang Yongfu answered in agreement.

After Elder Qin finished giving instructions to Third Grandpa and others, he turned to Gu Jinli and Gu Jin’an and said, "You go back and get ready. In a quarter of an hour, we will depart."

With that, Elder Qin entered his own room and began looking for handy weapons.

Third Grandpa and the others stood up to leave and went about their tasks.

A quarter of an hour later, although Elder Qin was still dressed the same, there was now a cloth bag over his shoulder, and his waist was two sizes larger than before, clearly hiding something.

He arrived at the Gu Family’s courtyard and directly boarded the mule cart parked inside.

Gu Jinli was already prepared and sitting inside the cart. Seeing Elder Qin arrive, he handed over a clay bottle, "Grandpa Qin, take this. At the crucial moment, it can take down a group of enemies."

Both Gu Jinli and Qin San Lang had been to the Lu Mansion earlier, and Elder Qin was aware of how they had rendered Lu Laosan paralyzed with poison. Hearing this, he accepted the clay bottle and took out a special long thrust blade, passing it to Gu Jinli, "Give this thrust blade to your brother. Tell him to hide it well."

Gu Jinli glanced at the thrust blade, noting its sharp point, only the size of a little finger, yet extremely sharp, capable of quickly piercing through the human body and causing a penetrating wound.

The blade also had barbs, and when drawn out, these hooks could cause secondary damage, making the wound difficult to heal.

It seemed this was something used in the military, the kind of thing designed to kill.

Gu Jinli took the thrust blade, then from his cloth bag took out a clay bottle and gave them both to Gu Jin’an.

After Gu Jin’an carefully concealed them, he said to Elder Qin and Gu Jinli, "Hold tight, we’re leaving now. Don’t speak until we’re out of the village."

"Mm," Gu Jinli and Elder Qin nodded.

The three said goodbye to their family members and, accompanied by the setting sun, left Da Feng Village.

Third Grandma complained, "Why return the mule cart at this time? Wouldn’t it be settled if we return it tomorrow when Good Brother An goes to school? And it’s just returning a mule cart, why do so many need to go?"

Third Grandpa said, "Wenyuan needs the mule cart urgently, we can’t delay other people’s matters. It’s getting dark now, and Brother Qin knows martial arts, it’s safer for him to accompany the two kids."

Hearing this, Third Grandma didn’t say anything more.

However, Gu Jinxiu was somewhat worried. She knew it couldn’t be as simple as Xiao Yu and Brother An just going to return a mule cart. Otherwise, Xiao Yu would not have given her two bottles of poison before leaving.

Indeed, Gu Jinxiu knew that the bottles contained poison.

She shared a room with Xiao Yu and knew that at night, Xiao Yu often tinkered with poisons.

Xiao Yu had said when giving her the bottles that if they did not return and someone broke into the house, she should not hesitate to sprinkle the poison.

While Gu Jinxiu was worried, she gripped those two bottles of poison tightly, and dare not sleep soundly at night, fearing that someone might break into the house.

The mule cart sped along, and after half an hour, they arrived at Scholar Shang’s Family.

Gu Jinli directly handed over Old Man Xue’s letter to Scholar Shang.

After reading the letter, Scholar Shang’s face turned grim as he said, "There’s actually such a matter. This is a serious issue that cannot be delayed. We need to act separately; I will take this letter to the county to find my father-in-law, then to see the Lord County Magistrate. You must go to Hukou Town and ensure Old Man Xue is brought to the government office."

"I know Old Man Xue just wants to raise Brother Shou peacefully, but he is a key witness, absolutely crucial. Without his signed testimony, a lone letter is likely insufficient to settle the matter."

Gu Jinli was thinking along the same lines; they need to act swiftly and decisively regarding the matter of Old Master Lu being an escaped slave. If they were too slow, County Magistrate Zou, for the sake of Zou Yuzhen, would do everything in his power to protect the Lu Family. They needed to act fast and split their forces.

"Alright, thank you for the trouble, Uncle Shang," Gu Jinli said as he left the Shang Family, taking the pine oil torch that Ah Jiu had prepared, and the three of them continued their ride towards Hukou Town.

Scholar Shang had Ah Jiu prepare a carriage, and master and servant hurried to the county city overnight.

Hukou Town was not too far from Qingfu Town; a ride of nearly two hours and they arrived.

Old Man Xue’s residence was in the outskirts of Hukou Town, looking like a very ordinary compound with two courtyards.

Above the gate of the house, there was no plaque, only two red lanterns for illumination.

Knock, knock, knock~

Gu Jinli alighted from the carriage and knocked on the door.

Soon, the vigilant voice of Ah Hu came from inside: "Who’s there? State your name, or else we’re not opening the door for anyone at this late hour."

Gu Jinli replied with a smile: "Uncle Ah Hu, it’s me, Gu Jinli from the Gu Family of Da Feng Village, also known as Xiao Yu."

Ah Hu paused upon hearing this, recognizing her voice and immediately opened the door. With the help of the pine oil torchlight, seeing the three visitors outside, he said in surprise, "It really is you! What brings you here at this time? Please come in quickly."

Ah Hu hurriedly opened the main gate, let them inside, and helped Gu Jin’an park the mule cart in the courtyard.

"Madam, we have guests! Please welcome them and make them comfortable, I will go and call the housekeeper," Ah Hu shouted toward the main house of the front yard, after which a woman in her nearly thirties quickly came out and led them into the main house of the front yard.

"Elder Qin, please take a seat, I will be right back," said Ah Hu as he immediately went to the back yard to tell Old Man Xue about the surprise night visit by Gu Jinli and the others.

Ah Hu was very curious: "Housekeeper, has the Gu Family encountered some great trouble? Why else would they come at this hour? Should we help them?"

Old Man Xue heaved a sigh, not answering Ah Hu but simply telling him, "You stay here and watch over the young master. I’ll go out to see them."

When he wrote the letter exposing Old Master Lu as an escaped slave to Gu Jinli, he anticipated that Gu Jinli would come.

Shortly, Old Man Xue arrived at the main house of the front yard and greeted the three visitors with a bow: "Elder Qin, Xiao Yu, Brother An, are you here regarding the matter mentioned in the letter?"

Gu Jinli nodded: "Grandpa Xue, this matter is of great importance to all our families. We are probably going to trouble you with a trip."

Truth be told, Old Man Xue was reluctant as his only wish now was to raise Fu Yang safely, without involving himself in any other affairs.

However, since he initiated the matter and Gu Jinli was his benefactor, even if he did not want to, he had to help.

After a brief hesitation, Old Man Xue nodded: "Alright, the old man will help you with this matter."

"Grandpa Xue, thank you so much," said Gu Jinli, feeling relieved. She had thought Old Man Xue would refuse since it was evident he preferred not to bring up the matters of the Fu Family and, being a servant of the Fu Family, once he went to the government office, it was inevitable that he would face interrogation.

Old Man Xue smiled with some helplessness: "Little Xiao Yu, there’s no need for formalities. In this world, everything is cause and effect. You helped me before; now, let this old man repay the favor."