Volume Two: Adults and Children, Chapter Sixty-Eight: They Are Not Coming (Part I)

The Western Hills, as the name implies, lie to the west of Beijing, more than twenty miles from the city proper. In later ages, this area would be firmly considered part of the city, tucked well within the Fifth Ring Road; but in the Great Ming Dynasty, it was, naturally, the suburbs of the suburbs.

In the original course of history, several centuries later, the Qing Dynasty would establish a garrison here—the famous Western Hills Jianrui Battalion. Yet, at this moment, there was no sign of any military encampment. While the three great battalions of the capital might occasionally march out here for training, they would certainly never venture this far on such a sweltering day.

Consequently, the entire range of the Western Hills felt exceptionally secluded and vast. Especially in the mid-afternoon, there was nothing to be heard but the whistling of the wind through the forest and the chirping of birds.

Huang Ming and his two companions stepped out of their carriage and gazed toward the lush, tree-covered ridges, a faint trace of worry visible in their eyes. The Western Hills—a simple name for a mountain range spanning a hundred miles. If the outlaws were truly hiding deep within, finding them would be no easy task.

Fortunately, there was no need to deliberately enter the mountains to search for them; the men would appear on their own.

As they followed the mountain path for a while, they arrived at a small thatched pavilion. There, they spotted a man lying shirtless, his face covered by a bamboo hat, snoring loudly in the shade.

The moment the three men reached the pavilion, the snoring ceased instantly. The man scrambled to his feet, instinctively pulling his hat down to shield most of his face. "Young Master Huang Ming?" he asked in a low, gruff voice.

"That is I," Huang Ming replied with a smile, clasping his hands in a salute. "Were the Xu siblings abducted by your band?"

"Sharp. But aren't you a bit early? It's only the Hour of Shen (around 4:00 PM), not yet dusk."

Summer days are long, and it would likely not be truly dark—the onset of dusk—until the Hour of You (6:00 PM).

Huang Ming smiled. "We are only here to pay a ransom and retrieve the people. Isn't it better to be early? Once you receive the money, we can bring them home sooner."

"Fair enough. But there are too many of you." The man glanced at Xu Xingzhi and Qi Changfeng. "Our letter explicitly stated that you were to bring the gold alone..."

"Did it? The letter only mentioned bringing gold to redeem the captives; it said nothing about coming alone." Huang Ming produced the letter and handed it over.

The man was clearly taken aback, but quickly recovered. "The captives are in our hands, so I call the shots. Have these two leave at once, then you can bring the gold and follow me..."

"That won't do!" Huang Ming immediately shook his head.

"Why not?"

"I don't trust you!"

"You..."

"Besides, as a scholar with no strength to truss a chicken, I cannot carry this much gold alone." Huang Ming gestured toward the satchels on the shoulders of Xu and Qi, which held the eight hundred taels of gold.

In works of fiction, reality is often ignored, with characters casually carrying thousands of taels of gold and silver. In truth, men are not gods; no one could easily carry such weight—unless they were using bank notes. Eight hundred taels of gold was an immense sum, worth over six or seven thousand taels of silver. The weight alone was substantial: at sixteen taels to a catty, that was fifty catties—a heavy burden indeed.

The man finally realized this and cast a greedy glance at the two men. "Bring out the gold. Let me verify it."

With a nod from Huang Ming, Qi Changfeng and his companion opened their satchels to reveal the rows of gleaming gold bars inside.

"Bring one over for me to inspect!" The man's eyes lit up with greed, and he urged them on.

"Give it to him," Huang Ming commanded.

A gold bar was tossed over. The man caught it, weighed it, scrutinized it, and nearly bit into it to test its purity.

"The gold is genuine, and the quantity is correct. As long as you release the captives, it is all yours." Huang Ming took a step forward. "I have shown my sincerity; now it is your turn to show yours."

The man's gaze lingered on the two satchels of gold. After a long silence, he said, "If you can't carry it, I will help you. You come with me up the mountain."

"Impossible. I said I don't trust you. If you go back on your word, I will be handing over the gold only to walk right into a tiger's den!"

"How could we..."

"You are bandits, kidnappers. Is there any honor to be found in your line of work?"

Huang Ming's words left the man speechless. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth. "What do you propose, then?"

"Either you let us all go up together, or we arrange another time and place," Huang Ming said firmly. Seeing the man's naked greed, he felt more confident, sensing he had the upper hand.

The man struggled with the decision, his eyes darting between Huang Ming and the two bags of gold. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let's compromise. You don't have to carry the gold up the mountain yourself!"

"Oh? And what of the captives?"

"Let these two take the gold and follow me into the mountains. When they return, they will bring the Xu siblings with them. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, the three men were stunned for a moment. Xu Xingzhi raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but Huang Ming stepped in first. "Very well! Let them take the gold and go with you. But remember: once you enter the mountains, if we do not see our people, even if you throw the gold off a cliff, you won't get a single penny!"

He nodded to his companions. Qi Changfeng spoke first, bowing his hands. "Young Master, rest assured. I will bring the young master and his sister back safely."

Xu Xingzhi, though clearly anxious, followed suit and bowed in agreement.

Without further delay, the two men shouldered the satchels again and followed the bandit along the mountain path, heading deep into the Western Hills.

As for Huang Ming, he remained in the pavilion to wait for their return.

Another hour or so passed. As time wore on, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky grew dim. The climate in the mountains was different from the city; the stifling heat of earlier had given way to a slight chill.

A mountain breeze whistled past, causing Huang Ming to shiver and pull his robes tighter. He stood up and stepped out of the pavilion, peering into the darkening mountain trail. "Why haven't they returned... I should have brought more men to wait for news back at the city..."

"They aren't coming back!"

Suddenly, a strange laugh erupted behind him.

Before Huang Ming could turn around, two hands slammed onto his shoulders with immense force, pinning him face-first to the ground. A large sack was immediately thrown over him, enveloping his entire body. The bag was tied shut, leaving him trapped within.

"Hahaha... Huang Ming, oh Huang Ming! You thought yourself so clever, but you still fell for our trap!"

The man laughed triumphantly. With a wave of his hand, the sack containing Huang Ming was lifted, and the group vanished into the distance, heading deep into the mountains.