When the coachman saw the guards and brought the two lords over, his expression changed again and again. He thought about it ten thousand times in his heart. Ever since the first day of the convoy’s journey, he had been wondering if he had done something wrong.
“Don’t be nervous. I’m just asking you a few simple questions.”
Lin Bai comforted him softly.
The coachman’s expression softened a little, but he still looked confused. He looked at Lin Bai, then at Rong Ziyi. He did not know what to do until he saw the guard behind the two of them.
The guard was grimacing at the corner of his mouth and his face. He was trying his best to signal to the coachman, “Get down! Get down!
The coachman came to a sudden realization. He propped his hands on the carriage and landed steadily on the ground. He bent his back slightly and asked in confusion,
“I don’t know what the two Lords want to ask. I’m just a coachman who doesn’t know anything. I’m short-sighted. I’m afraid it’ll be difficult for me to help the two lords!”
You still don’t know anything? Lin Bai teased in his heart, but his expression was still as calm as water. He said,
“I heard that you know the situation around here like the back of your hand?”
The coachman’s gaze inadvertently glanced at the guard. What good thing did you find for me!
The guard did not look away. Instead, he looked at the coachman and said, “Just wait and thank me!”
The coachman looked away and stopped looking at the guard. He nodded and said, “I do know a thing or two about this area.”
Rong Ziyi stood behind Lin Bai and looked at the scene in front of him. He still did not know what Lin Bai was going to do.
However, with Lin Bai’s reputation in the city and Lin Bai’s performance a few days ago, he couldn’t help but believe in Lin Bai. He felt that every word and every thing he said had meaning.
“Good to see you over there,” Lin Bai said and gave Rong Ziyi a look.
Rong Ziyi nodded knowingly. He reached into his pocket and took out a silver ingot and handed it to the coachman who was still in a daze.
When the coachman saw the silver in his hand, he was stunned at first. When he regained his senses, he became ecstatic. He carefully took the silver back and patted his chest with his other hand:
“Sir, don’t worry! There’s nothing within 300 miles that I don’t know!”
As expected, money can make the devil move the Millstone.
Even if he didn’t give the silver, the coachman would tell everything he knew because of his and Rong Ziyi’s identity.
However, with the silver, the coachman would choose his words carefully and tell them everything he knew.
The guard raised his eyebrows at the coachman who was still scolding him. “Hurry up and thank me!”
The coachman smiled and showed his gratitude.
To Rong Ziyi and the others, this silver ingot might be insignificant money, but to the coachman and the guard, it could help them a lot.
“Alright, come with me to the carriage. The rest of you can leave now.”
Lin Bai waved his hand, and the coachman and Rong Ziyi quickly followed. The rest of the guards returned to their posts.
Rong Ziyi sat beside Lin Bai and poured a cup of tea for Lin Bai and the coachman. At first, the coachman was still reserved, but seeing that the two lords were amiable, he somewhat relaxed.
He picked up the tea that Rong Ziyi had poured and took a sip. His eyes widened… good tea!
Lin Bai saw that the coachman’s expression had eased up, and his expression began to relax. He slowly said,
“How many small towns and villages are there nearby? Are there any small bandit strongholds? As long as you know where there are people living, tell us. ”
The coachman raised his eyebrows and was very puzzled:
“I’m sorry to ask, but the reason your excellency wants to know is…”
Rong Ziyi glanced at the corner of his mouth and said coldly, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask. Your excellency came to ask you.”
Lin Bai raised his hand to show that he was fine and said, “Recently, Black Cloud Stockade has been acting strangely, and we have to enter their territory… sS, I want to investigate something.”
Lin Bai didn’t mind letting the coachman know about this.
Rong Ziyi said, “Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask,” but in fact, he was also the one who wanted to ask.
When Lin Bai came to look for him today and then went to look for this coachman, he had been in the water all this time, and only now did he know Lin Bai’s plan.
Lin Bai saw that the coachman’s face showed some fear, and comforted him, “Don’t worry. With our strength, if we can add in our knowledge of this area, we will be able to safely leave the Black Cloud Stronghold.”
After the coachman heard this, his expression relaxed a little and said, “That’s good, that’s good… The Black Cloud mountain range is filled with people who kill without batting an eyelid…”
The coachman was born and raised in this area. Since he was young, the Black Cloud mountain range had already existed. Hence, he was very familiar with the methods of the black wind mountain range.
If it was possible, he did not want to meet people from the black wind mountain range for the rest of his life.
The coachman’s eyes rolled around, and he swallowed his saliva, saying, “Then I’ll tell you, sir, about the places around here where people live…”
Lin Bai nodded silently.
According to the coachman, there were eleven villages, big and small, and two small towns in the center of this position…
“Look at my memory…” The coachman patted his head, as if he remembered something. “It’s getting dark soon. Three miles west of the road ahead, there’s a small village with dozens of families. It’s called Tuohe Village.”
After asking for this information, Lin Bai asked Rong Ziyi to give some more tips to the coachman and invited the coachman who kept thanking him out.
“Tuohe village…” Luo Ningyu was half-lying on the bed, and her eyes revealed a thoughtful look. “Then tonight, we’ll spend the night in Tuohe village.
It’s just nice to see if our guess is correct.”
After saying that, Luo Ningyu ordered Rong Ziyi to inform the leader of the convoy of this matter.
According to the original plan, they would not stop at Tuohe village. Instead, they would spend the night at Red Fish Hill, which was thirty miles away.
After the leader of the convoy heard this, although he was a little confused, he could only agree to it since Luo Ningyu had already said so.
A red glow appeared in the distant sky.
Tuohe village also appeared in the line of sight of the convoy.
Tuohe village was surrounded by rivers on three sides. There was also a small mountain in the southeast.
The villagers who had finished farming were walking toward the village in twos and threes. When they saw the caravan coming, they chatted for a while.
When they arrived at the entrance of Tuohe village, the caravan stopped, and the leader led two people to talk to the people in the village.
First, it was to prevent the other party from feeling conflicted, and second, it was to help Lin Bai gather information.
“Young Master Lin.” The leader returned to the caravan when it was almost dark. “I asked the village chief of Tuohe village, and he said that he hadn’t seen anyone from the Black Cloud Stronghold in recent days.”
Rong Ziyi also came back late. “I asked a few villagers. They also said that they hadn’t seen anyone from the Black Cloud Stronghold for two or three months.”
Luo Ningyu turned to look at Lin Bai and asked softly, “The villagers here all said that they hadn’t seen anyone from the Black Cloud Stronghold for a long time. What do you think?”
“They’re lying…”
