met free Page 139
Page 139
While they were busy treating disaster victims from Hebei on Liangshan Mountain,
Li Kui, along with Shi Xiu and two bodyguards, returned to his hometown, Baizhang Village in Yishui County.
As soon as the dark-skinned man entered the house, he saw his old mother sitting alone on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Mom, I'm back!"
"Who?"
The old lady reached out and groped around in confusion.
"Mom, I'm Tie Niu!"
Li Kui discovered that the old woman was blind, and his eyes reddened. He knelt down before his mother.
"Mother, Tie Niu is home. What happened to your eyes...?"
········Requesting flowers·· 0
"tractor?"
The old lady's face lit up with delight, and she kept stroking Li Kui's face with her hands.
“My son, you’re finally back! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you these past few years. Even my eyes have gone blind from crying so much because I’ve been thinking of you all the time.”
"It's all Tie Niu's fault, he made me blind!"
Li Kui hugged his mother and cried for a while, then wiped away his tears, looked at the empty house, and said with dissatisfaction, "Mother, where is my brother? I'm blind now, how dare he leave me alone in the house?"
"Sigh, your brother is still working as a farmhand for the rich man, leaving early and returning late every day, barely managing to prepare enough food to feed the two of us,"
At this point, the old lady asked again, "By the way, Tie Niu, how have you been these days away from home?"
. 0 .......
“Mother, Tie Niu has now become an official. He has come back this time specifically to take you to enjoy a life of luxury!” Li Kui hurriedly replied.
Upon hearing this, Shi Xiu and his two bodyguards behind him immediately frowned.
On the way back, Li Kui was worried that he would become an outlaw, and his mother refused to leave with him.
Shi Xiu then told him to say that he was a bodyguard for a wealthy merchant, specifically helping to escort goods during transport.
Shi Xiu and the other two were all companions who served as guards.
Li Kui had agreed readily on the way home, but as soon as he got home, he immediately changed his mind.
Shi Xiu was unaware that Li Kui, seeing how miserable his mother had been these past few years, wanted to portray himself as more successful in order to cheer her up.
Although the idea is somewhat naive, it is still a sign of filial piety.
"My son really became an official?" The old lady laughed as expected.
"Mother, I also brought three attendants back to pick you up!"
After Li Kui finished speaking, he looked longingly at Shi Xiu and the other two.
Although Shi Xiu felt helpless, Li Kui had already spoken, so he could only play along.
"Madam, my name is Shi Xiu. I have two brothers with me. The three of us came back with Lord Li."
After Shi Xiu finished speaking, the other two guards responded in unison.
Seeing this, Li Kui's mother was naturally delighted and nodded repeatedly.
Just then, another man, whose face bore a resemblance to Li Kui, entered the house.
Upon seeing Shi Xiu and his two companions, he immediately became alert and asked, "Who are you, and why are you in my house?"
Chapter 191 Li Kui Meets Li Gui
Before Shi Xiu and the other two could answer, Li Kui shouted from the side.
"Brother, are you back?"
"tractor?"
This man was Li Kui's elder brother, Li Da.
Seeing his brother, who had been away from home for many years, return, Li Da showed little joy.
He put down the rice bowl he had brought back for his mother and said angrily, "What are you doing back here? Are you here to drag me down again?"
"My son, Tie Niu has become an official outside, and now he's come home to take his mother to enjoy a life of luxury!" Li Kui's mother said happily.
"Just him?"
Li Da looked incredulous: "Mother, Tie Niu can't read a single word, how can he become an official! Back then, he killed someone and ran away, causing me to be shackled and suffer for many days! Now, who knows what he's up to outside, coming back to deceive us?"
"Brother, I really..."
Just as Li Kui opened his mouth, Shi Xiu, fearing that "107" would spout some nonsense again, quickly interjected,
"Brother Li, Lord Li unexpectedly saved the prefect's relatives in Jiangzhou. To express his gratitude, the prefect appointed him as the warden of the prison camp!"
"Yes, yes, I'm the warden now, and all the prisoners in the entire prison camp are under my jurisdiction!"
Li Kui chuckled and said, "Brother, we eat meat and drink wine to our hearts' content every day, and divide gold and silver by the scale. We're living a carefree life. I came back especially to take you and Mom to enjoy this good life!"
"Eat meat, drink alcohol, and share gold and silver?"
Li Da paused for a moment: "Are you talking about the prison camp?"
"Ahem, Brother Li, Lord Li was referring to the wine, meat, and money offered by the prisoners as tribute," Shi Xiu quickly explained.
“Yes, yes,” Li Kui nodded with a simple smile.
Li Da still didn't look pleased. He turned to his mother and said, "Mother, if you trust Tie Niu and want to go with him, then you two can go on your own. I don't trust him. Who knows if he really became the warden or if he's gone to some mountain stronghold to join the outlaws!"
"elder brother......"
Li Kui wanted to persuade him further, but Li Da had already turned and walked away.
"We should go too,"
Shi Xiu tugged at Li Kui and whispered, "We were supposed to be guards for a wealthy merchant, but you've turned into an official. If your elder brother goes out and tells someone, and they happen to run into someone knowledgeable, we'll be in trouble!"
"Then let's go now!"
As Li Kui spoke, he picked up his mother and carried her on his back.
Shi Xiu followed behind with two personal guards. Before leaving, Shi Xiu took out two ten-tael garlic-shaped gold bars and placed them on the kang (a heated brick bed).
With the epidemic spreading across Shandong, the official roads are crowded.
To avoid crowds, and also to avoid being chased,
The group then chose to walk along a mountain path.
As evening approached and darkness fell,
The group had originally planned to camp in the wilderness, but then they saw two thatched huts emerging from a mountain hollow not far away.
"Let's rest here tonight, and the master can prepare some hot food for us!"
After making his suggestion, Shi Xiu quietly warned Li Kui.
"Don't say anything carelessly once you're inside. Don't mention anything related to Liangshan."
"Don't worry, Brother Shi Xiu, I remember."
Li Kui responded impatiently and then rushed into the courtyard.
"anyone there?"
A man heard the noise and came out of the house.
Who are you waiting for?
“Brother, we are heading south to escape the plague, but we took a side road because we were worried about the crowds on the main road,”
As Shi Xiu spoke, he took out a silver ingot and handed it over.
"It's getting dark now. I'd like to stay the night at your place, brother. Also, please get me some hot food!"
Upon seeing the silver, the man hurriedly called out to the house, "Wife, we have guests! Quickly, get them some food!"
With that, the man led everyone into the house.
When Shi Xiu and the others went inside, they saw another woman in the room, with a wildflower in her hair and her face covered in lead powder and rouge.
The woman gave a slight curtsy to everyone, then went out to the kitchen to prepare food and wine.
Her man smiled at Shi Xiu and the others.
"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll go get you some hot tea!"
After the man left, Shi Xiu felt uneasy, so she quietly followed him.
But they happened to overhear the man and woman talking in front of the stove.
"Judging from the large and small bags this group has, and the fact that they can easily pull out such a silver ingot, they must have a lot of money."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
The woman glared at the man: "Quickly bring the anesthetic, mix it into the tea, knock them out, then drag them to the back mountain and bury them. No one will know. After we take the gold and silver, we can head south to escape the plague!"
This man's name was Li Gui, the same one who impersonated Li Kui and robbed highwaymen in the original Water Margin timeline.
Li Kui is still relatively unknown, and Li Gui hasn't had a chance to impersonate him yet. He makes a living by wandering around, swindling and cheating, and naturally keeps narcotics at home.
Upon hearing the woman's words, the imposter turned around to take it.
Hearing the two talking outside, Shi Xiu clenched his fists, his gaze turning cold, and stormed into the house.
"you!"
The two people inside were startled, realizing that Shi Xiu must have overheard their conversation.
The woman tried to stall for time with a smirk, while the man reached for the kitchen knife.
Since Shi Xiu already knew that these two men harbored ill intentions, he naturally wouldn't be polite.
Before the man could even get his hands on the cleaver, Shi Xiu kicked him in the chest.
Immediately afterwards, Shi Xiu picked up a kitchen knife and slit his throat.
The woman standing nearby screamed in fright.
Hearing the commotion, the two guards next door and Li Kui ran over.
"Brother, if you kill him, who will feed us?" Li Kui asked in surprise.
"These two have ill intentions; they want to drug us and then steal our gold and silver."
As soon as Shi Xiu finished speaking, Li Kui angrily picked up a carrying pole and struck the woman on the head.
"You damned bastard, how dare you plot against us!"
"boom!"
The woman was beaten until her head bled profusely, and she collapsed and died.
"Drag these two out, find a place to bury them, and then prepare some food later,"
Just as Shi Xiu finished giving his orders, two guards were about to drag the man and woman out.
Unexpectedly, the wooden door of the courtyard was suddenly knocked on.
Everyone in the room was immediately stunned.
"Damn it! Of all times, someone had to come at this time!" Shi Xiu cursed.
"Afraid of a ball!"
Li Kui said, "It was those two bastards who tried to harm us first!"
"We know the truth of this, but outsiders probably won't believe it,"
Shi Xiu hesitated for a moment: "You guys find a place to hide them first, I'll go out and deal with them."
......
"I wonder who you all are...."
Shi Xiu opened the courtyard gate and saw about ten people standing outside. One of them, a man dressed as a servant, was carrying a sleeping old man on his back.
The leaders were a man and a woman. The man was tall and handsome, and the woman had smooth, fair skin.