RPAGF Chapter 682: Their greedy faces were exactly the same as those of the bodyguards!
Chapter 682: Their greedy faces were exactly the same as those of the bodyguards!
As dawn broke, the morning mist filled the air.
The man led Lin Jiayou into a small mountain village where smoke was rising from the chimneys.
The village is small, with mud-walled and thatched houses scattered at the foot of the mountain. The sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking add a touch of life to the early morning.
The man pushed open a creaking wooden gate and led him into a small courtyard.
"Father, you're back!" A head popped out of the house. It was a boy about the same age as Lin Jiayou, with dark skin and surprisingly bright eyes.
He saw Lin Jiayou behind the man and his eyes widened in curiosity. "Who is he?"
The boy ran out of the house, circled around Lin Jiayou, and stared at him without any attempt to hide his gaze.
He glanced at Lin Jiayou's torn brocade clothes, then at his pale yet handsome face.
"What's your name? Where are you from? Your clothes are made of really nice material, but they're torn in a lot."
A barrage of questions came crashing down on him, and Lin Jiayou instinctively took a step back, pursing his lips. The shock of the previous night had left him wary of everything around him.
"Ah Niu, stop fooling around." The one-armed man sternly stopped his son, then said to Lin Jiayou, "Come in and rest your feet, have some hot water."
Lin Jiayou hesitated for a moment, but still followed him into the simple house.
The man was the village hunter named Shi Yong. And the lively boy was his son, Shi Xiaoniu.
Shi Xiaoniu brought him a bowl of steaming rice porridge and continued to squat curiously beside him.
Lin Jiayou held the warm earthen bowl, and his stiff body seemed to gradually warm up.
He finished the porridge in his bowl, mustered his courage, stood up, and bowed deeply to Shi Yong.
"Thank you so much for saving my life, Uncle. I am Lin Jiayou, and I am on my way to Chengdu. I hope you can help me again and give me a ride. I will repay you handsomely when I arrive."
As he spoke, his hand unconsciously pressed the money pouch hidden in his pocket. It was his last resort, and also his most dangerous possession.
Shi Yong sized him up, his weathered face revealing no emotion, and simply asked, "You're going to Chengdu? That's quite a distance. How much silver do you have on you for travel expenses?"
Lin Jiayou suddenly raised his head, and the warmth and trust that had just risen in his eyes were instantly replaced by wariness.
That’s it again!
They had the same greedy faces as those bodyguards! They all wanted his money!
His fist, hidden in his sleeve, was clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.
Seeing his face turn deathly pale and his eyes wary like those of a young animal, Shi Yong's gaze flickered slightly, but he did not ask any further questions.
Lin Jiayou forced himself to calm down. He lowered his head, his voice dry and distant: "I... I don't have much on me. But when we get to Chengdu, the Gu family will naturally pay you enough money."
He invoked the Gu family's name, hoping to intimidate the other party.
Meanwhile, in that dilapidated, abandoned temple.
Wang Er kicked over the empty bundle on the ground. Inside were only a few worn-out clothes and not a single copper coin.
"Damn it!" Wang Er cursed angrily. "There wasn't a single valuable thing left! That little brat hid all the money on his person and took it with him!"
The campfire had long since died out, and the faces of the bodyguards looked increasingly grim in the pale morning light.
"I told you long ago, this is no good," the timid bodyguard muttered under his breath, shrinking back.
"Now you're making sarcastic remarks?" Wang Er turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, glaring at him fiercely. "If it weren't for you bunch of good-for-nothings, would he have gotten away right under our noses?!"
"Alright! What's the use of arguing now!" another bodyguard interrupted him impatiently. "Hurry up and think of how to explain this to the head bodyguard! The person was lost while we were in charge!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing everyone's anger and replacing it with a chilling fear.
Wang Er's face also turned pale.
He could disregard the life or death of an unknown nobody, but he could not disregard the rules of the Weiyuan Escort Agency and the prestige of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
"Just say it! Just say he ran away in the middle of the night!" Wang Er said through gritted teeth. "Who would go to great lengths for an unwanted bastard?"
"They escaped?" The bodyguard sneered. "Wang Er, do you think the chief bodyguard is a fool, or the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"
"We charged them double the price, with a written agreement in black and white, promising to deliver the person safely to Chengdu! Now that the person is gone, you think you can just say 'ran away' and call it a day?"
"Do they even care about the reputation of Weiyuan Escort Agency? The chief escort will skin us alive!"
The air suddenly became quiet.
The group looked at each other, all seeing the same terror in each other's eyes.
In their pursuit of that elusive windfall, they not only failed to gain any benefit but also got themselves into a huge mess.
I'm afraid I won't be able to explain this mission to myself.
"What do we do now? What are we supposed to say when we get back?" The timid镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was completely distraught, his voice trembling with tears. "We're doomed! We're doomed!"
Wang Er paced back and forth in frustration. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up abruptly.
"Got it! We don't need to say he ran away."
The others all turned to look at him.
Wang Er licked his dry, cracked lips. "We'll just say that we've safely delivered him to Chengdu."
"What?" The burly bodyguard was stunned. "Are you crazy? We haven't even seen a shadow of Chengdu!"
"Let me finish!" Wang Er grabbed his arm, his eyes fierce. "We told him that once we got to the outskirts of Jin Guan City, that kid wouldn't let us see him off anymore. He said he had somewhere to go, that the Gu family would come to pick him up, and that we should just take the remaining payment and leave."
He looked around, his voice full of seduction: "Do you think this explanation makes sense? If a Duke's mansion wants to send someone off, there will naturally be people from the mansion to meet them when they arrive at their destination. Why would we roughnecks need to come into the city and show our faces?"
The timid镖师 (bodyguard/escort) still felt uneasy: "But, but what if the head镖师 (chief镖师) sends someone to investigate..."
"Investigate?" Wang Er sneered, shaking off his companion's arm. "How can he investigate? Chengdu is so big, where is he going to find someone we've never even met to confront?"
"Besides, that kid was a hot potato to begin with. The young lady from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion sent him away just to have some peace and quiet."
"We told them the person had been delivered, and they couldn't be bothered to pursue the matter any further. That was the end of it!"
His words were like a powerful medicine, gradually calming the initially panicked group down.
Yes, this lie is flawless.
They completed their mission, took the money, and whether the child lived or died afterward was no longer their concern.