??Xiyang City East City, with a prosperous business shop and a bustling crowd. In just a few years, the scenery of those big cities appeared in Xiyang City. As surrounding workshops sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, many people from prefectures and counties came to Xiyang to find jobs.

When you come, you have work to do. If you have the strength, you go to the dock to carry bags. If you have the skills, you go to various workshops to do things. If you are smart and good at speaking, you can go to the wine shop and the teahouse to work as a friend. If you know the characters or the carpenters, you can go to the book shop to do work.

A beggar who is willing to do things can find a livelihood. A beggar who is unwilling to do things but has good hands and feet is not allowed in Xiyang City. He either leaves or does things. He will be dependent on it and will be taken to work as a coolie to build the river embankment in Wuchang, Jiangnan.

So there are no beggars in Xiyang City, nor are there any dilapidated temples or dilapidated yards that beggars occupy, but this does not mean that other people will do this.

In a yard, a bamboo tube stretched out from the corner of the dilapidated wall. The upper end faced the street outside the wall, but the lower end was a person looking at it with his eyes. Another person was beside him, looking at the surroundings of the yard.

"Are you coming out?"

Wu Ming asked, now there was a big wrinkle on his right cheek, and his eyebrows were also drawn in black charcoal to form a lying silkworm. Even if a similar person looked at him at a rough look, he could not recognize his true face.

A few companions were waiting aside. They were all wearing casual clothes and looked ordinary, and they were like everyone else when they walked on the street.

"Out...out! Come here! Just take two people, one tall and one short!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Ming led several other people out of the side door, but Wu Ming walked in front and several companions fell behind, one in front and the other behind seemed to have nothing to do with it.

The two groups of people quickly circled back to the road in front of the main gate, and just saw the two people walking towards each other, one tall and one short, talking while walking.

When Wu Ming passed by the two men and passed by the tall man, his right hand flew towards the other party like lightning.

There was a small bag on his hand. Wu Ming was about to take his hand back, but the tall man grabbed his wrist. A cold light appeared in the man's eyes. There was a dagger on his other hand. Just as he was about to take action, several people coming from behind Wu Ming shouted:

"It's the stolen! It's the stolen! Capture him!"

Everyone rushed forward and bravely grabbed Wu Ming, who was trying to "escape". The two tall and short men were at a loss when they saw the enthusiastic people helping each other, and took back the small bag. They were about to leave but were stopped by the enthusiastic people.

"Brother, don't be afraid. There is a king's law in Xiyang City. I will take this stolen son to the government office and ask me to make a certificate!"

"Ah? No, no, no, thank you, I have something urgent to do!" The tall man said anxiously, wanting to leave with the short man, but was pulled by the enthusiastic person.

"This is not OK, brother!" The first person shouted, pointing to the passerby who was beginning to look around, "The government said there is a reward for catching the thief. I escort this guy to the yamen. Without you, two of you, the two miserables, you will be bitten back then!"

"Yes, yes, two brothers will help you, and follow them to the government office to make a certificate. Not to mention the bounty, it is good to just punish evil and promote good."

"The government office is not far away. It won't take long for two of you to take a walk."

The enthusiastic person said one by one, and they made the two of them a little confused. Two people escorted Wu Ming forward, and one of them kicked him: "He has hands and feet but he is here to steal!"

Passers-by at the intersection saw that they were catching thieves, and then went to the government office to hand over the rewards. Fewer of them paid attention to them. The group walked along the alley. As soon as they turned a corner, things suddenly changed.

Wu Minghe, who pretended to be an enthusiastic companion, suddenly attacked. He first pulled out a short stick and knocked off the daggers in the hands of the two men who were secretly guarding, and then greeted them without waiting for their shouts. After knocking them to the ground, he took out a rope and tied them up quickly.

He blocked his mouth and blindfolded his eyes. He carried the two of them to the cart parked in the corner, covered them with straw mats and straw, and walked in the other direction. Wu Ming looked around and found no witnesses. Then he hummed and said to someone:

"Boy, that kick just now is so fierce. You should take personal revenge!"

"Tao Wu, how dare I? Isn't this what you said to act like it is real?"

"Stop talking! Please drink tonight, otherwise I will let you act next time!"

"Wu Tou, don't you have to work overtime tonight? The confessions of these two are very important, let's go another day."

"Stop doing this! By the way, let them finish their work and quickly flee."

......

At night, there was silence in a valley somewhere around. The dark forest looked very dangerous. I don’t know how many poisonous insects and beasts were lurking in it. From time to time, strange screams sounded, which added a sense of horror.

Several men in gray surrounded a tree, each sitting on the ground with their backs against the big tree. Unless they were close at hand, it was difficult to detect someone here. There were two people on the tree climbing on the canopy, looking out through the branches and leaves, each with a long tube.

There was a fire in the dark valley. The movement of the light was beyond the reach of some lights. Not only that, there was a faint sound coming, as if it was very lively.

"I'm not afraid of being conspicuous in the middle of the night." Zhang Ding sneered, put away the Qianlijing and signaled another person to go down the tree. "The place has been confirmed, so there is nothing to see."

"Chief, should you wait until dawn before leaving, or?"

"Walking at night, people are much more powerful than poisonous insects and beasts."

The two of them got down the tree, gathered several people under the tree to get up slowly, and retreated outside the forest. After walking a few steps, several people stood up from a bush passed by, following them as a broken back.

Walking slowly, there were constant secret messages joining the team along the way, and waiting to exit the woods, there were already dozens of people.

They were all wearing night clothes, with a variety of weapons in their hands, and some carried large crossbows, but they were very thin and had faint patterns on their faces, which looked unlike ordinary Chinese people.

"Captain Zhang, is he going to retreat?"

One person asked in a strange tone of Mandarin. Zhang Dingfa nodded after hearing this: "The place has been confirmed, I will talk about it later."

"Did Leader Zhang remember the path here?"

"I probably remember, but next time I come, I have to lead the way, otherwise I will run away for the prey."

The group did not delay and went out of the mountain. There was a village at the foot of the mountain, which was quite large, but they did not go towards the village, but chose to cross the mountain.

It is difficult to walk the mountain road during the day, let alone climbing the mountains at night when the moonlight is hazy. However, this is not a problem for the cat team led by Zhang Dingfa, and with the help of a guide who walks the mountain road, the traces of the team soon disappeared between the mountains and forests.

The guards under Duke Guoguo are now divided into two parts according to different divisions of labor. Some are called "dog teams" and some are called "cat teams". As the name suggests, the dog teams are responsible for guarding the house, while the cat teams are responsible for catching mice.
Chapter completed!