Two days later, in the evening.

Within the Bei Liang territory, a nameless place.

Under a crimson sunset, a black horse carried a burly man slowly...

The black horse hung its head low and walked with little energy, clearly exhausted from its long journey.

But the man standing beside him was full of energy. He carried a small pack on his back and had a joyful expression on his face.

"Well, we finally made it to Jun'an County. It's changed so much in these years? I wonder if mother still lives at the old place. Looks like I need to put in some effort to find her properly."

The person right in front of you isn't a stranger, it's just Zhu Ba coming down the mountain.

He had been away from home for several years. After going down the mountain, he found it increasingly difficult to suppress his homesickness. Therefore, he hurried along the way, hoping to return home as soon as possible.

Before he moved to his old home, he used to be a teacher. However, the frequent turmoil in Beiliang made it difficult for children to even have enough food to eat, let alone go to school.

For this reason, Zhu Ba's livelihood was cut off.

I originally wanted to farm, but unfortunately I was robbed by bandits. With no other choice, Zhu Ba made a decision and decided to become a bandit himself.

Of course, even if one were a bandit, they wouldn't rob their own hometown. After all, rabbits don't eat grass near their burrow.

Besides, if he were a bandit at home, his mother would definitely point her finger at him and scold him. Zhu Ba didn't want his mother to know, so he went elsewhere to be a bandit.

Now that the Fake Brothers are disbanded, Zhu Ba has also shed his burden. Northern Liang is not like it used to be, the brothers have found a way to make a living, and he should go home to see his mother and younger brother.

As for his father, he was killed by horsemen many years ago. Zhu Ba couldn't even remember his appearance clearly; only a blurry image of his father remained in his memory.

Zhu Ba was raised by his mother. In his memory, his mother was a strong and somewhat rough farm woman.

She was very strong, not at all inferior to men. Perhaps she inherited her good genes, and I have a strong build as well.

Although her mother was over fifty years old when she left home, she was still in good health. Her younger brother had also turned twenty by then, so Zhu Ba could rest assured.

But over these past few years, he couldn't help but feel some guilt. Therefore, this time when he went home, he decided to stay by his mother's side and be filial to her.

Seeing the old horse beneath him panting with its head bowed, Zhu Ba stroked its head and chuckled softly,

"Hey buddy, this trip really wore you out, I'm sorry about that."

"It shouldn't be too far from my house, either. After you send me home, I'll prepare some food for you, let you have a few good meals. Then, you can stay at home and help me grind the grain. You won't have to run around anymore and can enjoy your retirement."

"Hiss"

The black horse, perhaps understanding its master's words, raised its head and whinnied.

Zhu Ba smiled slightly, dismounted his horse, and led it forward slowly, intending to ask someone for his mother's address.

Here, the streets are dilapidated, with most doors shut tight, little different from a mountain village.

Zhu Ba looked up and saw an old woman wearing a straw hat walking forward with a basket on her back. The edge of the straw hat was scattered with white hair, her waist was bent, and she held a stick in her hand, probing forward step by step. Looking at her hunched figure, she must be over seventy years old.

Zhu Ba touched his chin, "Let me see, my mother should be almost sixty this year, right? I wonder how she's doing now."

He shouted to the old woman, "Auntie, I'd like to ask you something. Do you know where Zhu Dafu and his family from the Sun clan live now?"

But the old woman seemed not to hear, and continued to walk forward step by step.

Zhu Ba scratched his head, thinking that perhaps his father had died early and people didn't know, so he shouted again: "Old man, do you know where Sun Xiying from the Sun family lives?"

Sun Xiuyin is his mother's name.

The old woman still didn't turn around, she just kept walking forward. There was a house ahead of her, it must be her home.

Zhu Ba shook his head. "Oh! This old lady is both blind and deaf! Forget it, I'll ask someone else."

At this time, the black horse beside him neighed. Zhu Ba patted its body and chuckled, "Hungry?"

"Nevermind, it's not that far from home. I'll just find a guest house to rest for a bit, take a shower, tidy up, and then go back. That way you can eat your fill too.

Zhu Ba's eyes darted around, searching for an open inn. As luck would have it, the shop next door to the old woman's was one, with several horses standing outside. It seemed like they were accepting guests.

Seeing the inn, Zhu Ba's heart leaped with joy. He couldn't help but think of those jars of strong liquor. Ever since he left his hometown, he hadn't tasted the fine wine brewed by his family again.

The alcohol outside his hometown was very bland, tasteless to him. He still preferred the strong liquor from home, which was more satisfying to drink.

Zhu Ba led the horse slowly and arrived at the shop door. Zhu Ba tethered the horse to the side, then strode into the store.

The inn wasn't very large, it didn't even have a proper stable, but when Zhu Ba stepped inside, he discovered that there were quite a few people already sitting in the place.

When added together, there were about twenty people, and these twenty people happened to be seated on both sides.

As a former bandit, Zhu Ba keenly sensed something amiss. The atmosphere in the shop was tense.

At first glance, he saw that some of the people were wearing extremely fine clothing, not at all like ordinary peasants, but more like officials. Although they were trying to conceal it, Zhu Ba could still see that there were weapons hidden under their clothes.

Besides these people, there were two wooden boxes, one large and one small, behind them. The larger box was almost like a small coffin, which was really out of place.

And another group of people were all dressed in rough cloth, each with high cheekbones, clearly martial artists. Underneath their loose robes, there was no doubt they concealed weapons.

Zhu Ba was puzzled. How could he encounter such a group of masters in this small place? He immediately thought of leaving the shop.

He hadn't even taken a step before someone in the crowd shouted, "Watch out!"

The moment these two words left his mouth, several crossbow bolts flew out from the side of the elegantly dressed group, aimed at the rough-clad men.

"With a bang, the table was flipped over, blocking the crossbow bolt. Someone else shouted: "If you want to kill the prince, get past us first!"

Brothers, loot the house!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the burly men drew their swords and engaged in fierce combat.

The shopkeeper and the second brother never appeared from start to finish, it is unknown whether they were hiding beforehand or killed by either party.

At this moment, there was only Zhu Ba, an outsider, in the shop. Seeing that both sides had started fighting, he quickly leaped back and landed at the door.

Zhu Ba wanted to leave directly on horseback, not wanting to get involved. But just as he took a step, he heard angry shouts coming from inside:

"You pack of lackeys to the emperors! To think you'd resort to such underhanded tactics just to kill the young master! You curs, today I shall drag you all down to hell with me!"

Brothers, you must keep the Qianji Camp people here! Do not let them leave at all cost...

Before he could finish speaking, the man let out a scream that was cut short, clearly killed.

Zhu Bajiao stopped short, glanced at the old horse with his head bowed, and then looked back at the fighting crowd.

Another voice rang out, "Who are you! Dare to disrupt our affairs! Die!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a voice roared, “You pack of dogs! You’ve been sneaky all this way. If you hadn’t kept it so quiet leaving the capital, we would have stopped you!”

Zhu Ba carefully leaned against the door, peeping inside at the fierce battle. Both sides were fighting fiercely, with several people already lying down on the ground, apparently dead.

Zhu Ba's heart pounded wildly. Although he had been a bandit, he hadn't actually fought in many real battles. The constant spraying of blood stimulated his nostrils.

A voice in his heart was telling him, "Leave quickly, leave quickly, don't get involved, or you will surely meet a fatal end."

In fact, he really wanted to leave immediately, but his feet just wouldn't move.

The reason is also very simple.

Those who dressed elegantly and were known as the "Qianjiying" came to assassinate the Prince of Beiping.

And another group, though they didn't know what organization it was, came to stop the Qianjiying.

At this moment, countless thoughts flitted through Zhu Ba's mind.

My hometown is so close. My mother and younger brother haven't seen each other in years. If I leave here, I might be able to go home tomorrow. After that, I can show my filial piety to my mother and spend more time with my family.

That must have been a joyful scene.

But if they leave, will those Qianji Camp people continue to assassinate the Prince if they kill these rough men?

They dared to assassinate the Prince with so few people, they must have some powerful means.

This group of people is dangerous!

Zhu Ba's hands were trembling, and the voice in his head rang again.

"The King has a large army guarding him, with who knows how many people around him. How could they possibly kill him?"

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Lord is not possibly assassinated by them!

Still, let's go. Even if this group of Qianji Camp people win, they won't be able to reach the prince.

"I'm just an unknown nobody. I have no extraordinary intelligence or powerful martial arts skills. What can I possibly accomplish?"

Zhu Ba moved his feet, ready to leave.

But having only taken one step, he stopped again.

Another voice popped into my head:

"If there's even a sliver of possibility, they succeeded, the Prince was truly assassinated. What would happen to Northern Liang then?"

Can we still farm if we go back? Will grain tax be raised again? Will my brothers have to go back to being bandits?

Children who could go to school and study are going back to the fields, back to begging?

"Will the days of going without clothes and starving come back again?"

He stiffened, but couldn't take another step.

Zhu Ba could no longer pretend to ignore it, so he turned his body and looked inside. During this brief moment, most of the rough-cloth men had already died.

And though not many in the Qianjiying died, every single one of them was wounded.

After this intense battle, both sides were exhausted.

One of the rough men shouted, "If you kill the Prince, you will be harming everyone in Beiliang! You will destroy everything Beiliang has now!"

"Humph! You've got a tough mouth, let's see if your mouth is tougher than my blade!" The members of the Qianji Camp immediately drew their swords and charged towards the remaining big men.

But just then, one by one, bottles of wine rained down from the counter onto the heads of the Qianjiying soldiers.

"Bang bang bang!"

One by one, the wine bottles shattered. No one from the Qianji Camp had expected such a turn of events. In that moment of stunned disbelief, the burly man opposite them slashed at them with his blades, instantly bringing them both down.

And the one who threw the wine jar was not someone else, but Zhu Ba!

Upon entering the shop, one is greeted by a counter adorned with numerous wine jars. Zhu Ba, realizing he couldn't overpower this group of men, chose to throw a wine jar to create chaos.

And at this moment, as the wine jar was shattered, the spilled liquor released a strong aroma. The scent of alcohol mingled with the metallic tang of blood, and Zhu Ba felt his body gradually warming up.

"Who the hell are you? Dare to touch us!"

All the members of Qianjiying were drunk, one and all. One of them turned his head and glared angrily at Zhu Ba.

Zhu Ba took a deep breath, put down the burden on his back, drew a short dagger from his waist, and with a burst of courage, shouted:

"I'm not changing my name or my surname! I am Zhu Ba, the Master!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhu Ba pounced on him...

(Editor in charge:dexter novels)