xymnovel Chapter 11 Top Red Kiln?
Chapter 11 Top Red Kiln?
"Young master, you must be tired from your long journey. Come inside and warm yourself by the fire! Hey, get my best room ready for you, young master!"
Wang Tieshan has a kind and gentle appearance, which makes it easy for people to like him, but in reality, he has cheated many people over the years.
But after just one meeting, Lu Xingzhou became wary of him.
It wasn't that he had superhuman eyesight and hearing, and that he heard or saw Wang Tieshan dividing the spoils with the rough man disguised as a partner.
His previous life's social experience told him that people with this kind of appearance were either extremely good or extremely evil.
Then consider that being able to run a large roadside in a remote area with beards as thick as cow hair is probably not a good thing (but that's okay).
Lu Xingzhou remained silent and looked at Zhu Kaishan.
The seasoned veteran understood.
"Send word! Take your wife and family members to the warm room to rest immediately. Don't let the mistress and your mother catch a cold!"
"I'll go right now!"
"Chuanwu, come with me to help the guys park the car, unload the goods, and feed the livestock."
"Yes, Father!"
With the Zhu family looking after the group, Lu Xingzhou didn't need to worry. He also asked Ni Yang to stand guard outside Lin Fengyi's door and went straight into the main hall of the inn.
Wang Tieshan's nonchalant behavior infuriated the burly man, whose eyes twitched, but Wang Tieshan's expression remained unchanged despite his attempt to curry favor with him.
They remained enthusiastic and attentive, saying, "Hey~ park the car a little further inside, be careful not to bump into it!"
"Dog's Leftovers~ What are you watching? Hurry up and prepare hay and water for the guests' livestock!"
"Yes, shopkeeper, I'll go right away!"
Wang Tieshan, running around busily and sweating profusely, made many of the farmhands who came with him think that he was a kind-hearted shop owner.
Inside the inn, Sanjiangshui picked up a teapot and poured a bowl of hot tea for Lu Xingzhou, who was sitting at the square table with a big, imposing figure, and whispered in his ear.
"Young master, I could smell that thief's stench from a mile away! This place is either a drug den or a brothel, or it must be a particularly dangerous one. We'd better be extra careful tonight!"
Lu Xingzhou knew that the rustic hotels that provided lodging, rest, and meals for traveling merchants were called "cart inns."
However, his understanding of bandits was not deep enough to comprehend such technical terms.
"What do these all mean?"
Observing that the shop assistants were all far away, Sanjiangshui whispered in his ear to explain.
"Young master, the place that doesn't refuse a bearded man's 'brothel visit' and occasionally helps hide weapons and stolen goods is Yingfeng Inn."
"Actively recruiting bearded men to 'work with the kiln,' helping with the sale of stolen goods and delivering messages, those with close business ties are considered 'shopkeepers.' Who knows, it might even be run by bandits' spies—it's a den of iniquity!"
This demonstrates the usefulness of the waters of the three rivers.
Lu Xingzhou drank a bowl of hot tea when he saw Wang Tieshan push open the curtain and walk in, wiping the sweat from his brow and bowing as he came to his side.
"Our shop is simple and our hospitality is lacking, please forgive us, young master!"
"Yes, thank you for your hard work, shopkeeper."
Wang Tieshan flattered, "Hehehe~ This is what we should be doing in our shop, young master, you're too kind!"
Lu Xingzhou glanced thoughtfully at the burly man who had followed him in, disguised as a waiter.
Just then, at Zhu Kaishan's request, Zhu Chuanwu returned to Lu Xingzhou's side to guard him.
Lu Xingzhou, who had been keeping a close eye on the burly man, noticed that his eyes never left the rifle Chuanwu was carrying, his unbridled greedy gaze not even trying to be hidden.
Having made his decision, Lu Xingzhou decided not to prepare the equipment.
A burly man, his eyes greedily scanning the rifle on Zhu Chuanwu's back, suddenly remarked, "Hey buddy, that's a pretty good gun, huh?"
"good!"
"There aren't any on the mountain, are there?"
"No!"
The burly man subconsciously replied with two sentences, and the room immediately became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The brute, realizing what had happened, sprang to his feet. "The Three Rivers are full of cunning scoundrels?"
Having anticipated this, he successfully circled around to the man's back before he could react, pressing his M1911 against the man's head.
"Don't move! Or I'll shoot you in the neck and turn your balls into rotten watermelons!"
Zhu Chuanwu, being a respectable young man, was a beat slow in setting up his rifle and firing at Wang Tieshan and his men behind him.
"You are not allowed to move either!"
Wang Tieshan, his face pale, hurriedly waved to his three henchmen behind him: "Don't move!"
Although it was a five-on-four situation in the main room, our side had the advantage.
But there were still about a hundred of Lu Xingzhou's men outside the door. He didn't want to die with the brute, so he could only hope that Lu Xingzhou wouldn't confuse him with the brute.
He shouted sternly:
"Well, I really misjudged you. I never expected you to be a spy for that bearded man! Tomorrow at daybreak, I'll hand you over to the authorities!"
Wang Tieshan's acting was quite good; he really looked convincing.
Lu Xingzhou scoffed, "Shopkeeper, you don't need to act anymore. I didn't intend to kill anyone."
Then he looked at the burly man and asked, "What's your name, friend? Which gang are you from?"
The burly man, who had been completely disheartened by the gun pointed at him, regained some composure after hearing Lu Xingzhou say that he wouldn't kill anyone.
Clench your fists and raise them above your left shoulder, then toss them back and bounce them three times:
"My name is Sihuzi, from Dayanggou Mountain Village! Our leader is the infamous Guoshanfeng of the Liaohe region!"
The posture was arrogant, but not provocative.
The bearded man thought that the ordinary fist-and-palm greeting was unlucky, like a prisoner in shackles, so he came up with this special greeting gesture used only by people from the martial arts world.
Actually, they were quite polite.
Wang Tieshan feigned horror: "What?! ...
When did our gang ever have three or four hundred guns?
However, the second-in-command wasn't stupid either; he immediately tilted his head and looked disdainfully at the rooftop, preparing to coordinate his attack.
"Hmph~ Good that you know! My friend who's come from afar to make a name for yourself! If you know what's good for you, let me go, and from now on, when you're running this route along the Liao River, I'll beg the boss to let you pay less tribute!"
Their back-and-forth banter infuriated Zhu Chuanwu, turning his face red with rage.
Do you think we're fools?!
Can you tell who's in control right now?!
Lu Xingzhou ignored him and turned to Si Huzi with a smile: "My name is Lu Xingzhou. I'm not killing you today because I want you to help me pass on a message to my friends in the Green Forest."
Si Huzi's eyes were full of sarcasm: "Oh?! What did you say that you wanted to hear from Fourth Master?"
They even relayed messages to the outlaws! Like a toad yawning—what a boastful tone!
"I am not a merchant, but a small landowner who plans to settle down at the source of the Liao River. Farmers are timid and just want a peaceful life."
"I implore my friends on the road to do me a favor and not scare me with robberies, kidnappings, or rapes within two hundred li upstream and downstream of the Liao River source. What do you say?"
These respectful, gentle, and sincere words sounded extremely provocative to Wang Tieshan and Si Huzi!
The four tigers exploded!
"You little brat, this doesn't look like you're preparing for a peaceful life; it looks more like you're trying to plant a red flag and climb a red kiln!"
"Top Red Kiln? What does that mean?"
Wang Tieshan quickly interjected, admonishing, "Young Master Lu! You can't afford to offend the Red Kiln; that would be making enemies of all the outlaws of Northeast China. You can't afford to say anything reckless!"
Explanation of the Three Rivers:
"Young master, the bearded man divided the enclosure into soft kilns, hard kilns, clear kilns, and red kilns."
"A soft kiln is one with low walls and no gunners (armed guards). A hard kiln is one with high walls, a large courtyard, watchtowers, and a gunner (a skilled marksman leading the guards). Even a large gang would suffer heavy losses if they attacked it."
"As for the Qing kilns, they are the kilns that gangs dare not smash the most. Regardless of their strength, even if they don't even have a courtyard wall, as long as the immediate family members of important Kwantung military and political figures live there, they are considered kilns."
"This red kiln is special. In our Fengtian region, it's even rarer than the Qing kiln! As long as you dare to put up a red flag in the courtyard, it's the red kiln that Beard is talking about."
Lu Xingzhou was puzzled: the October Revolution in Russia hadn't even started yet, but there were already red flags in Northeast China?
But Sanjiangshui's subsequent explanation made him realize he was overthinking it.
"These kinds of enclosures are usually built by powerful and wealthy old men. They are marked with conspicuous red flags to warn bandits to stay away and not get involved."
Indeed, it coincided with Lu Xingzhou's thoughts, no wonder Si Huzi thought he was going to take the blame for the red kiln.
Wang Tieshan picked up the conversation, advising, "But these kinds of fortified camps are also the most hated by gangs. They'll definitely try to smash the kiln if they get the chance. Your hundred or so men and twenty or thirty guns won't be enough to handle you!"
Large bandit groups can even breach cities, so how strong can a local tyrant's fortifications be?
Lu Xingzhou's forces weren't large, but the firepower of 40 guns was enough to overwhelm even a small to medium-sized gang like Dayanggou.
But if he were to set up a pole and plant a red flag, all the bearded men in Northeast China would be thinking of him.
Si Huzi looked at Lu Xingzhou with a gloomy expression.
"You little brat, you know you're asking for it?!"
Lu Xingzhou didn't want to waste words with him and repeated, "Remember, no matter which gang it is, if they dare to do business within 200 li of the Liaohe River source, don't blame me for chopping off their heads!"
"Fine! I'm not your father. Do you think I'd stop you from courting death? I'll go back and pass on your message!"
Si Huzi turned to leave, but Lu Xingzhou grabbed his shoulder, making him tremble in fright.
"What are you doing? Trying to back out and kill me?!"
Lu Xingzhou chuckled and said, "I don't do things like going back on my word, but I think it would be impolite not to give a little something when asking my fellow brothers in the underworld to do me a favor."
A sense of foreboding made Si Huzi's face turn pale: "What are you going to do?!"
*Whoosh~*
A flash of cold light, and an ear fell to the ground.
"Ah!~~!" Si Huzi screamed, covering his bleeding earlobe.
Seeing Lu Xingzhou smilingly playing with the dagger, a chill ran through him, and he didn't dare to say a word before turning around and running away.
"Wait!"
He trembled: "What...what else do you want to do?"
"Pick up your ear!"
The gift we agreed on, how can I not take it with me?
The fierce-looking Si Huzi didn't utter a sound, picked up the ear, and slunk away.
Lu Xingzhou was very satisfied.
In this way, friends on Green Forest Road will surely feel his deep sincerity.
Their gaze shifted to Wang Tieshan.
Boss Wang knelt down with a thud.
With a sob in his voice, he screamed, "Sir, I... I'm truly a law-abiding citizen!"
This madman doesn't follow any of the rules of the underworld at all; he's terrifying!