Chapter 241: Crows Taking Over Magpie Nests

It is said that one should work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Country folks are different from city dwellers; after dinner in the evening, most families refrain from lighting oil lamps, so they develop the habit of going to bed early, as they must get up to work the next day and lack energy if they stay up too late. Yet it was already the hour of Hai, when a house should be filled with the noise of snoring, farting, and teeth grinding, but now it was eerily quiet.

In this open-sided thatched hut lived twelve newly recruited warriors defending the faith. Initially, everyone had vied eagerly to be chosen, but now they were forced to sleep on a large communal bed, which left many puzzled. After all, with the farming season approaching, if it weren’t for their unwavering loyalty to the sect leader, why would they have abandoned their fields to enlist here? And now, just because of Sect Leader Bin Hong’s order, they had to prove their worth before even seeing him!

The bed was covered with dried wheat straw, making it quite uncomfortable to sleep on. Xu Er in the corner finally couldn’t bear it any longer and sat up abruptly. Recalling what his uncle, Old Yang, had said earlier, he now began to regret it. It was right to repay the sect leader for his kindness to their family, but what about working like a slave for others?

“Little brother, can’t sleep?”

Hearing the deep voice of the oldest man next to him, Xu Er retorted irritably, “We agreed to serve the sect leader, but now things have changed. What’s going on? Although life at home was hard and poor, it was still much better than this. Why do we have to come here and sleep on a lumpy bed of straw?”

His voice was loud, and most of the others were also awake. Soon, many sat up. They were all illiterate farmers accustomed to speaking loudly, so they didn’t hold back when cursing. Some said they had been deceived, others claimed they had been misled, and still others pounded their chests, thinking of their homes.

“What’s the use of regretting now? At least the officials these days have some semblance of decency—they provided relief after last year’s snow disaster, offered seeds at the beginning of spring, and even rewarded those who reclaimed land! They say that Lord Zhang is like a thunder god. If we work hard, it’s just to seek a fair world. Why must we oppose the officials?”

As soon as the words were spoken, a fierce voice came from outside: “It’s so late—what nonsense is this? All of you, go to bed! We have important tasks tomorrow! Once you join the sect, you’ll belong to it forever. Don’t think about the benefits of the government! Work hard under our sect leader, and you’ll have a bright future! Go to bed! If you make any noise again, be careful—there will be sticks!”
Hearing this scolding, the crowd reluctantly fell silent. But who could sleep now? Xu Er, filled with anger, boldly slipped down quietly, went to the door to peek, and saw that the patrolman had left. He then turned back and whispered, “Speak softly—he’s gone!”
The people in the room were all from various villages. Normally, their only strength was their muscular builds and fighting ability; otherwise, they wouldn’t deserve to be called warriors. Yet their initial confidence had long been worn away by these thatched huts. If they had met the sect leader who could perform miraculous healing arts, maybe they could have tolerated it, but not now.
“That sect leader Bin kidnapped people in Le’an—the government must be investigating. Could it affect us?”
“Nonsense! Is the government some kind of easy target? They must have sent people everywhere by now… We’re really fools this time!”
“For the sake of the sect leader, we’re willing to do anything. But why won’t Sect Leader Bin let us see him?”
“Although I can feed my family alone, this is damn humiliating. How can they treat us as warriors?”
The crowd’s voices grew louder again. Xu Er grew worried and quickly silenced them with a shh. Only when he saw no movement outside and no sign of the patrolman returning did he sigh and say, “At first, I didn’t know our Buddha Mother sect was actually the White Lotus Sect, nor that the sect leader was the Buddha Mother herself. But my uncle once said that our sect leader only practices medicine to save people, while the real power lies with those sect leaders. The sect leader might just be a figurehead for them. I didn’t believe it, but it seems true now.”
At these words, the room fell dead silent; even the sound of insects outside could be heard. After a while, the oldest man in the corner spoke up again, “This young man might not be wrong. This sect leader has been boasting about kidnapping people in Le’an, but has he ever mentioned the sect leader at all? The choice of warriors might not even be decided by the sect leader—we’ve just been deceived! Think about it—can we still live like this? If we really do something under that sect leader’s orders and harm our families…”

Most people who practice folk religions focus only on formality. Believing in deities is one path, but believing in humans is another. If it weren’t for the Buddha Mother’s remarkable medical skills that saved countless lives, people wouldn’t have worshipped her so much, nor would these men have trusted her so deeply—they had all, to varying degrees, benefited from her healing powers, so they naturally regarded her as a deity. When doubts and concerns piled up suddenly, they became panicked.

After some discussion, the oldest man with a fair face volunteered to go investigate, and the others agreed after brief deliberation. Thus, under the moonlight, a figure quietly slipped out of the drafty thatched hut, moving cautiously in the shadows with a bent back. Once he thought he was completely out of sight of the people inside, his movements became much more agile.

Since he had had a black cloth over his head when he was brought here, he couldn’t determine where he was, only guessing that it was some kind of stronghold. He tried to go downhill but found patrols and checkpoints, indicating a very strict defense. Besides their thatched hut, there were three or four more, and higher up, there were a dozen or so wooden houses—meaning that at least a hundred people lived in the area he could see.

Peng Shisan wasn’t trained as a scout, and after walking in circles, he felt dizzy. Afraid of getting lost, he planned to sneak back when he noticed lights coming on in the wooden houses at the highest point. After thinking for a moment, he quietly made his way up. Fortunately, neither of the two checkpoints had any guards. Seeing no one at the entrance of the wooden house either, he quickly went around to the back and found a small window that was open. Delighted, he crouched down and listened carefully.

“Thanks to the Guru’s trust in that Yue guy, we just got a few extra perks and now this place belongs to us. It’s only been a few days since we arrived, and with these new additions, it won’t take a month for things to change drastically here.”

“If Qingshuang finds out that the man she likes is turning traitor, she’ll be furious! Tsk tsk, even if the Guru thought of this place, how could he expect me to take control first? This strategic location with cliffs on all sides—without his guidance, it would have been hard for me to hide with so many people! It’s a shame the Guru didn’t follow his advice and come here; otherwise, once she arrives, she won’t be able to leave. With the Guru on our side, who else in the sect will dare not obey me?”

“In the future, as long as the leader gives the order, won’t Zhao, Dong, and the others all submit to you? Eventually, Tang, the current leader, will also obediently hand over his position. Most importantly, even if the authorities search frantically among the people, they’ll never find a trace of us. Who would think of this place that’s been abandoned for years? By then, we can just sit back and watch the HanMansion and those government offices fight each other, and also watch the authorities arrest the other leaders. Once both sides are exhausted, we can seize the opportunity to take action—then we can achieve great things!”
It’s truly like searching everywhere in vain only to find it effortlessly!
Suppressing his urge to keep eavesdropping, Peng Shisan quietly stepped back a few paces and then returned along the same path to the thatched cottage. As he neared it, he listened carefully to the noises from the other cottages and found that there were far more people complaining and grumbling than just their group, which gave him even more confidence.
Back in his group’s cottage, he concocted a half-true story—something about Bin Hong breaking away from the leader to start his own faction, achieving great success and seeking to dominate the region, and planning to expand his power further. The newly recruited warriors, unprepared for such talk, were stunned and then filled with indignation.
Although some suggested fleeing at night and not risking their lives recklessly, Peng Shisan refused to let them alert the enemy, so he had to say things like “the outside is heavily guarded” to stir fear among them. Yet after all this turmoil, few of them slept well that night; sighs could be heard everywhere. After thinking it over on his straw bed, he decided to remain inactive for now and wait for his men to come and rescue them.
It wasn’t until dawn that he finally fell into a drowsy sleep, but he didn’t rest long before someone came in and started shouting loudly. Though he was furious, he had no choice but to obey under their authority, so he slowly got up. Seeing that his fellow inhabitants in the cottage also had bloodshot eyes and fierce expressions, he thought of the newcomers who were now in the other cottages and considered themselves part of his group.
While capturing the leader first is one approach, bringing down such a group from within is another. To do this, he first needed to unite his twelve men, then see if he could persuade those dozens of “guardians.” Yesterday, he saw that Bin Hong’s men didn’t seem particularly skilled in combat. Since his own group were warriors and had gone through the same trials, he assumed their abilities were decent enough.

“Tch, I had to pretend to be a grandson for months—this time, I must really go all out!”
Of course, he didn’t come alone; Liu Zhong’s servants kept supporting him, both openly and secretly. Once they teamed up to take down this place, all his hard work over the past few months would not have been in vain.