Chapter 79 This is what I found

ally this time, with the demand for 10,000 stones of grain across the entire Jiang He County, taking away so much grain will inevitably result in starvation. Therefore, at the very least, we need to m..."Yes, a hundred taels isn't much," Yang Lin nodded.

During his interrogation of the bandits last night, Yang Lin had already learned that this gang of bandits from Black Wind Mountain was different from other bandits within the Jiang He region.

Because the Black Tiger had connections with the Zhou and Zhao families, their Black Wind Mountain gang was able to plunder for years in Jiang He County without any trouble.

According to the instructions from the second-in-command, their plundering methods were mainly divided into two categories.

One is robbery.

At the foot of Blackwind Mountain, there was an official road leading in and out of the Central Plains. It was a must-pass route for merchants, and they would descend the mountain every so often to rob passing traders.

Sometimes they will release people after taking their money; but many times, they will kill them to cover it up!

Every raid, sometimes a few ounces of silver, at times dozens or even hundreds.

Another kind is to rob the people in the surrounding villages and towns.

Unlike highway robbery, because the Zhou and Zhao families turn a blind eye, Black Wind Mountain in the surrounding areas has almost become a second government office! Every spring and autumn, they openly collect "protection fees" from villages and towns around them. Whether it's a poor person or a wealthy household, they have to pay "protection fees" just like paying taxes to the court.

The six surrounding towns and dozens of villages yield thousands of taels of silver in protection money every season!

Therefore, Hekou Mountain could plunder thousands of taels of silver in a year at the very least!

Although a portion was given to the Zhou and Zhao families, over time it's impossible they would only have that much left.

"Did you kill all the bandits on the mountain Were there any survivors" asked Yang Lin.

Kong Liang suddenly slapped his forehead and shook his head.

"Oh dear, I forgot! Brother Lin, what are we going to do"

He only just realized, he should have left him alive!

"Sigh."

Yang Lin sighed, "What else can we do We'll just have to look slowly. But don't get your hopes up. This mountain is so big, it could be hidden anywhere, and it would be hard to find. Besides, bandits definitely hid the silver very securely."

What one person hides, a hundred may not be able to find, let alone a vast area. It's even unknown if the bandits' silver is hidden in the mountains.

"Lin Ge, I was wrong. I didn't think it through."

Kong Liang lowered his head.

Yang Lin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't blame yourself, who could have predicted this beforehand Let's take a look around first."

After going around once, Yang Lin was also amazed!

There are dozens of houses built on the mountain, including warehouses and stables.

Among them, the black tiger's house is incredibly luxurious!

In the center of the main hall, there is a mahogany chair with a white tiger skin on it. On the wall hang swords, bows, and other weapons. There are also many antiques in the room.

Although Yang Lin doesn't understand antiques, he could tell that these were more valuable.

In the stable, there were actually four good horses with reddish-brown long manes!

There are tens of thousands of pounds of grain in the warehouse!

The food was worth hundreds of taels of silver, and the four horses were also worth hundreds of taels of silver. As for those ancient calligraphy and paintings, Yang Lin didn't understand them, and the young men in the guard corps understood even less.

It's a pity, Yang Lin searched for a long time with his people, but he still couldn't find the silver.

Yang Lin didn't have any hope, so he wandered alone on the mountaintop.

Yang Lin pushed open the door of a house and at once saw, under a table inside, a little girl cowering in fear, staring at him.

Yang Lin was taken aback. Didn't Kong Liang say they had searched everywhere How could there still be someone

A little girl, about seven or eight years old, dressed in tattered roughspun clothes, with a faded red string tied around her wrist, shrank back when she saw Yang Lin enter.

"Don't be afraid, uncle is not a bad person, all the bad guys have been... beaten away."

Yang Lin walked over and beckoned to the little girl, motioning for her to come out.

"Really"

The little girl stared blankly at Yang Lin.

"Of course it's true! Were you kidnapped by bandits Come out, uncle will send you home."

"Thank you, uncle," the little girl crawled out from under the table and followed Yang Lin outside.

She seemed unaccustomed to the sunlight outside and hurried to hide behind Yang Lin.

Yang Lin was just about to ask the little girl where she lived when the little girl spoke first, "Uncle, I have another sister too. She was also taken by bandits. Uncle, can you save my sister"

Your sister

Yang Lin was taken aback. They had already searched the mountain, and there was no one else there.

Then the girl's elder sister, I'm afraid, is in grave danger!

Yang Lin was just thinking about how to tell the girl this, when the little girl spoke first: "I know where sister is!"

Saying that, she completely ignored Yang Lin and turned to run into the woods beside her.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Yang Lin hurriedly shouted.

But the little girl had already run into the woods, and vanished in a blink of an eye.

Unable to refuse, Yang Lin had no choice but to follow into the woods.

"Little girl, little girl!"

He entered the forest, but couldn't see the little girl anywhere. Yang Lin shouted loudly, but there was still no answer.

"Uncle Lin, who are you calling"

Behind them, outside the woods, Kong Liang walked over with a few people, looking at Yang Lin in confusion.

Yang Lin explained: “There was a little girl, and her sister was captured by bandits. She said her sister was here, but as soon as she came in, she vanished.”

"Little girl"

Kong Liang heard something inexplicable.

They've searched the mountaintop many times, but they haven't seen any little girl.

"You guys came just in time, let's go look together. It's a little girl, only seven or eight years old. She has a red rope tied around her wrist. The child is still young, and if she gets lost in the mountains, it would be dangerous!"

"Yes!"

Kongliang didn't overthink it and immediately led people to search in different directions.

As they walked deeper into the forest, Yang Lin gradually felt that something was amiss!

At that moment, Kong Liang's voice came from not far away.

"Uncle Lin, Uncle Lin come over here quickly! Come and have a look!!"

There was a hint of fear in Kong Liang's voice.

"What's wrong"

Yang Lin hurried over.

Just then, Kong Liang was seen standing in front of a cave, staring blankly at the entrance.

Following Kong Liang's gaze, Yang Lin was also taken aback.

Two bleached and withered skeletons lay at the entrance.

The flesh on the skeleton had rotted away, leaving only tattered remnants of clothing draped over the bones.

The skeletons are two in size, a smaller one obviously belonging to a child.

Yang Lin saw at a glance that on the smaller skeleton's wrist, there was a dirty red string tied to it, the crimson color so eye-catching!

Yang Lin was stunned in place, his brain momentarily insufficient.

Just then, sounds of the guard corps came from a distance again.

"Lin Ge, Lin Ge! I found it! I found it! Come and see!"

This time, the shouts were filled with excitement.

Yang Lin's heart skipped a beat. He looked towards the skeleton at the mouth of the cave and swallowed hard.

What did you find this time

He hurried over with Kongliang.ded and then left.Looking at the nearby grove of trees, Yang Lin took a deep breath and, pulling Li Yuyao along, continued forward.Even if the steelmaking is successful, it won't make any difference t...