Chapter 374: The Demon King of Chaos, Cheng Yaojin
Bandits are engaged in transactions that may be reversed at any time. The village owner usually leaves a way of escape for himself, and the Demon King's Village is no exception.
Exploring along the secret path, Yongzhen came to the Juyi Hall of the village as expected, and thunderous snores came from the lobby.
A strong man with a beard was lying on the ground with his back stretched out. He was wearing colorful clothes, which looked very inconsistent, and he was dressed in a typical bandit style.
There were more than a dozen crooked wine jars placed next to the strong man. Most of the wine jars were already empty. Only the one held in the strong man's hand vibrated and made a slight sound of water as he snored.
There were only two people in Juyi Hall. The other bandits were either standing guard at the door or sleeping soundly in the secondary hall next door.
This rugged man with a beard should be the leader of the village, Cheng Yaojin. Another relatively neatly dressed bearded man was quietly leaning against the tiger-skin chair in the Juyi Hall, snoring slightly between his even breathing.
Since the bearded man was buried face down in his arms, Yongzhen could not see his whole face, and could only roughly judge that he was Cheng Yaojin's right-hand man.
'No wonder no one was left in the secret passage. It turned out that they all fell into a deep sleep after the banquet.'
Yongzhen guessed that Cheng Yaojin was very proud after seizing the Shennong Cauldron and took the opportunity to celebrate. However, he did not expect that someone happened to find the secret passage and sneaked into the stronghold.
Avoiding the snoring Cheng Yaojin, Yongzhen moved lightly and silently.
As Lu Xiao's chosen partner, Yong Zhen has undergone rigorous training with Lu Xiao in terms of infiltration skills, and almost makes no sound when moving.
There is a small artificially dug cave behind Juyi Hall, and Yongzhen can feel strong spiritual energy fluctuations from inside the cave.
A simple bronze four-cornered tripod stands in the center of the cave, surrounded by various treasures looted by bandits from Demon King's Village.
Yongzhen is not interested in Cheng Yaojin's treasure, Shennong Ding is her goal.
'Um……'
After walking around the heavy bronze tripod twice, Yongzhen felt a little worried.
'How do I transport the tripod out silently?'
After thinking about it, Yongzhen extracted the spiritual power in his body and used Guigu Taoism to form a water ball, which completely enveloped the Shennong Cauldron.
The heavy bronze cauldron caused Yongzhen's left hand to cast the spell to sink slightly, but due to the weight reduction effect of the spell, she was able to lift the Shennong cauldron.
Almost at the same time as Yongzhen cast the spell, the eyebrows of the bearded man who was sleeping on the tiger leather chair suddenly twitched, and a ray of light flashed through his eyes that suddenly opened.
When Yongzhen carefully carried the Shennong Ding out of the treasure house and was about to return along the secret path, a tall man with a sword blocked her way.
"Brother, taking something without telling me is stealing. Please put down what you stole."
His left hand controlled the heavy Shennong Cauldron. Yongzhen placed his right hand on the handle of the knife at his waist and looked at the man warily.
This person was the one who had fallen asleep on the tiger-skin chair before. His majestic Chinese character face was full of seriousness, and his eyes looking at Yongzhen revealed a sense of scrutiny.
"...I'm sorry, I'm clumsy in my eyes, it turns out I'm a girl."
The man cupped his fists and saluted Yongzhen and said, "I am Qin Qiong, and I am a close friend of the leader of this village."
"Girl, Brother Yaojin has a violent personality. I advise you to return the tripod and leave before he wakes up. Qin Qiong promises that you will not be held accountable for your theft."
Yongzhen was silent for a moment, feeling a little undecided.
This time, Cheng Yaojin happened to be drunk, which was the best time to take away the Shennong Cauldron. If you miss this time, it will be almost impossible to get such a good opportunity in the future.
Unable to figure out the details of the heroic man in front of him, Yongzhen seemed a little hesitant.
"yawn!"
The snoring in the Juyi Hall suddenly stopped. Cheng Yaojin suddenly sneezed in his sleep, and the wine jar in his hand shook as the wine splashed onto his face.
The cold drink woke Cheng Yaojin from his deep sleep. He raised his head and looked around in a daze, and found that he had fallen asleep in the lobby.
"Brother Shubao?"
The call coming from the center of Juyi Hall made Qin Qiong and Yongzhen change their expressions at the same time.
Although he really wanted to help Lu Xiao retrieve the Shennong Cauldron in advance, the current situation no longer allowed Yongzhen to think too much.
Gently placing the tripod back in the center of the treasure house, Yongzhen temporarily hid in a corner of the treasure cave under Qin Qiong's eyes.
Qin Qiong turned around and walked towards the swaying Cheng Yaojin: "Brother, I'm here."
"Hiccup~"
Cheng Yaojin's drunkenness had not yet dissipated, and he stumbled unsteadily. Qin Qiong hurriedly walked up to help him.
"You are very drunk. Let me take you back to your room to rest."
Cheng Yaojin shook his head vigorously, but he couldn't shake the feeling of drowsiness in his head.
"Well, thank you very much, Brother Shubao."
Watching Qin Qiong helping Cheng Yaojin leave, and receiving Qin Qiong's last warning look, Yongzhen gritted his teeth and decided to give up the operation and evacuate the village alone along the original route.
After confirming Yongzhen's departure through breath sensing, Qin Qiong lifted Cheng Yaojin's heavy body to the bed with relief.
Cheng Yaojin, who seemed confused, suddenly opened his drunken eyes: "Brother Shubao, did a thief sneak in just now?"
Qin Qiong paused and sighed softly: "So you have already noticed it."
"Wow...ahem!"
Chen Yaojin wanted to show off with his trademark laugh, but his dry throat failed to give him enough support, and he coughed halfway through his laughter.
"Ahem~ I have long studied this broken cauldron, which is rumored to be able to rule the world. Although this thing does have some strange aura flowing around it, if you say it can help me smooth things over... Bah!"
Cheng Yaojin may seem rough and arrogant, but he is actually a rough-and-tumble man. As a close friend, Qin Qiong knows this best.
"Brother Shubao."
Cheng Yaojin's tired eyes closed again: "Tell me, when will the chaos in this world end? How can we, the reckless men who only know how to fight bravely, protect ourselves and our family in troubled times?"
Cheng Yaojin was not an ordinary civilian. He was born in a family of officials and received a good education from his family since he was a child. His great-grandfather and grandfather both served as the Grand Sima of the Northern Qi Dynasty.
Cheng Yaojin's father, Cheng Lou, also served as the Grand Central Magistrate of Jezhou in the Northern Qi Kingdom. He gradually faded out of the government and opposition parties until the Sui Dynasty destroyed Qi.
Even so, the Cheng family is also an official family with strong roots.
Cheng Yaojin had a chivalrous spirit since he was a child. A few years ago, he organized a civilian armed force of more than a hundred people to protect the village in his hometown.
As Yang Guang's tyranny became more and more bottomless, the social order of the Sui Dynasty also went from bad to worse. Good people who could not survive at any time might turn into bandits at any time, thus forming an endless vicious circle.
Although Cheng Yaojin relied on his family's financial resources and charisma to build a stronghold that was different from other bandits, he could not see the way forward clearly and could only take one step at a time.
After hearing Cheng Yaojin's question, Qin Qiong opened her mouth to say something, but finally swallowed it back.
"Brother Yaojin, please go to sleep first. If you are still interested in this topic when you wake up tomorrow, we will continue to discuss it in detail."
"That's fine..."
"Hoo! Hoo!"
The thunderous snoring sounded again, Qin Qiong smiled helplessly and walked out of Cheng Yaojin's room.
After Yongzhen escaped from the cottage, calm returned to Juyi Hall. Qin Qiong looked at the messy wine jars and sighed softly.
"The signs of troubled times have emerged, and the forces of all parties are falling apart like these scattered wine jars. Who can say clearly what will happen in the future?"