Chapter 40 Truly Ruined

Song Jiao darted her eyes back and forth between the two of them a few times.

"Brother, didn't you two have something to talk about? Why is it so quiet?"

Ling Yuan said nonchalantly, "I merely asked Master Cheng a few questions concerning my injuries, nothing else. It is getting late; you should escort him back to Meng Hu's place."

"Huh?" Song Jiao's mouth drooped. "Master Cheng is leaving tomorrow, so let him stay here tonight. I've already had the next room cleaned up, which will make it easier to tend to your injuries."

Ling Yuan replied, "My injuries are no longer a hindrance."

Song Jiao turned to Su Yunqing, "Master Cheng, there's no need to run back and forth. I'll see you down the mountain tomorrow morning, is that alright?"

Su Yunqing stood up. "Thank you, Lady Song, but I can manage the descent myself tomorrow morning. I have caused you trouble these past two days."

"How can you call this trouble? I should be thanking you instead. If not for you, who knows what would have happened to my brother's injuries?"

"Jiao," Ling Yuan interrupted, "let Master Cheng make his own decision. Your excessive enthusiasm will only frighten him."

"Oh!"

All the way back, Su Yunqing wondered how Ling Yuan had been wounded by the Brocade-Clad Guards, and what he had done during his days away from Dragon Concealment Mountain that had caused Song Lang to fly into such a rage.

Dragon Concealment Mountain was treacherous in terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, which was why the government troops could only besiege it without daring to launch an assault.

On the boat heading south from Zezian, someone came to report on local conditions at every single dock, which was enough to show that the influence of Dragon Concealment Mountain extended far beyond Cengzhou.

They were bandits, yet they took action to fight against the Japanese pirates, and instead of abducting the rescued women up the mountain for themselves, they sent them safely back home.

As for their actions, the common people at the foot of the mountain already had a clear judgment in their hearts.

What was their purpose in occupying the mountain as kings? Self-preservation? Or something else?

...

"Sister Linlang, Master Cheng is back." Song Jiao called out at the doorway with a slightly disappointed pout.

"Ah," Linlang greeted with a smile, coming out to meet them. "How is it? Are Master Ling's injuries of no major concern?"

Song Jiao said, "My brother is fine now. Master Cheng, I'll be heading back first..."

Su Yunqing nodded. "Thank you, Lady Song Jiao. Oh right, the dried fish I brought for Huangtu, please help pass them over—come in and I'll get them for you."

Su Yunqing entered the room, opened her bundle, and found it amusing to see several fox-fur hats and cotton caps inside.

These hats were preparations she had made for this herb-seeking expedition after hearing that the broken cliff was prone to falling rocks. If not for Meng Hu's iron conical hat, these items would not have been of much use anyway.

What was even more interesting was that among these hats, there were even women's styles.

She fished out an oil-paper package from the pile and handed it to Song Jiao. Seeing that the girl looked somewhat sullen, she picked up a pretty fox-fur hat and handed it to it her: "Lady Song Jiao, I prepared this for when I went down to the sea to search for herbs, but I didn't end up using it. I'll give it to you."

Song Jiao took the hat, stroked the smooth and glossy fox fur as if it were a priceless treasure, and the gloom on her face vanished entirely. "It's so pretty, thank you!"

"It's getting late, you should head back first."

Hugging her things, Song Jiao turned at the doorway and told her, "I'll come to send you off tomorrow morning."

Before Su Yunqing could reply, she darted away in a flash.

At this moment, Meng Hu was still sound asleep. Linlang finished cooking dinner and called him to wake up. He rolled over and mumbled, "Good wife, let me sleep a little longer."

With that, he bounced up from the bed all of a sudden and said fiercely, "What are you shouting for, so long-winded! Can't you see I'm sleeping soundly? Don't disturb me when I'm sleeping next time."

Linlang wore a cooperative smile and accompanied it with a grin. "I know I was wrong. Wasn't I just worried that you haven't eaten all day and afraid you'd be hungry?"

As Meng Hu ate, Su Yunqing sat by the table and talked with him.

"Brother Hu, what did you used to do? Before you came up the mountain."

Meng Hu swallowed a large mouthful of rice and asked, "Why do you ask about this?"

"Nothing much, just chatting. If you find it inconvenient, just pretend I didn't ask."

"Hey, what's inconvenient about that?" Meng Hu said. "Not to make you laugh, but I used to be a soldier."

"Ah?" A soldier turning into a mountain bandit—this completely refreshed Su Yunqing's understanding.

Meng Hu continued, "In the past few years, the Japanese pirates weren't as rampant as they are now. They only came to snatch things tentatively, just minor disturbances. The government originally had a chance to strangle them all at that time, so they wouldn't dare set foot on the land of our Daliang ever again."

"And then?"

Meng Hu took a sip of wine, and Linlang refilled his cup, looking at him with adoration on the side.

"And then, whenever they came, we fought, and whenever we fought, they ran. Damn it, they wouldn't even let me pursue them, saying that driving them away was enough! Seeing that we only drove them away and stopped, the Japanese pirates grew bolder and bolder. The number of people coming each time was greater than the last, and they even colluded with local sea bandits, working hand in glove."

"So that's how such a large-scale attack came about?"

"Who is to say otherwise?" Speaking of these past events, Meng Hu was extremely indignant. "At that time, Zhusha Islet was occupied by a pack of sea bandits, and these damned Japanese pirates often set foot there."

Su Yunqing nodded. "Then how were the sea bandits of Zhusha Islet driven away later on?"

"Actually, many brothers on our Dragon Concealment Mountain had their homes destroyed and families ruined by sea bandits and Japanese pirates. Having nowhere else to go, they came to rely on the Grand Chieftain. Later, as more and more people came up the mountain, the power of Dragon Concealment Mountain grew larger and larger. At everyone's suggestion, the Grand Chieftain led the men and wiped out Zhusha Islet."

Linlang picked up a piece of braised pork head for Meng Hu, and Meng Hu continued, "The sea bandits were annihilated, but our enemies still included the Japanese pirates. When I was a soldier, my family also... my younger sister, my parents."

Speaking of his family, the corners of Meng Hu's eyes reddened.

Su Yunqing softly said, "So you too threw in your lot with the Grand Chieftain."

"Screw that!" Meng Hu drank another cup of wine. "Care whether they're official or bandit, whoever kills Japanese pirates, I stand on their side."

With that, he laughed again, "Little Master Cheng, do you know? The imperial court still owes me eight months of military pay to this day, haha. When soldiers don't get their pay, who has the heart to fight anymore? Their families are waiting to be fed, so those with some strength have gone to seek other ways to survive. What do the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled have to fight the Japanese pirates with?"

That was why the army of Daliang was so vulnerable.

Where did the funds allocated by the imperial court every year to resist the Japanese pirates and suppress bandits go?

The Daliang Dynasty was truly rotten to the core.

During the final years of Longxing, state affairs had already fallen into the hands of Imperial Noble Consort Zhang and Imperial Uncle Zhang. Now that the former emperor had passed away and the young emperor had ascended the throne, they plundered wealth and eliminated dissidents even more unscrupulously. Empress Dowager Zhang and Imperial Uncle Zhang held absolute sway in the imperial court.

Her father's death was a warning to her grandfather, and her grandfather had been forced to resign and return to his hometown.

Throughout the entire country, there was simply no one who could keep them in check.

"Little Master Cheng, are you alright?" Linlang gently called out to her.

Su Yunqing snapped back to her senses. "I'm fine, Sister-in-law. You have a great eye; Brother Hu is a true hero."

Linlang lowered her head with a shy blush.

Meng Hu had drunk some wine and grew noisy. "What do men live for? Isn't it to protect our homes and country? I fucking became a soldier, yet time and again I let the Japanese pirates off. Everyone in my family died at the hands of the Japanese pirates—this is retribution..."

Linlang's eyes were filled with heartache as she took the wine cup from his hand. "Alright, don't drink anymore. If you drink any more, you'll be drunk."

That night, Su Yunqing tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

When would the chronic illness and deep-seated flaws of the Daliang Dynasty ever be met with a dose of potent medicine...