Xu Hanren saw Hanzhong from afar and was excited, ordering everyone to chase after them.
The bandit leader, seeing that dragging Xu Hanzhong was slowing them down, simply stopped and shouted: “Everyone stop!” Then he placed a steel knife against Xu Hanzhong’s neck and loudly declared: “Come any closer and I’ll kill this young master first.”
Xu Hanren hastily stopped: “Don’t hurt anyone, let’s talk. Gentlemen, you’re here for money, right? How much do you want to let him go?”
The bandit leader breathed a sigh of relief and shouted: “Not much, five thousand taels of silver. Hand over the silver and I’ll release him.”
Xu Hanren pulled out a bank note from his pocket: “I only have three hundred taels on me. Can we negotiate?”
The bandit leader angrily said: “Do you think you’re dealing with beggars? Go prepare five thousand taels of silver. Meet at midnight, and if you dare report this to the authorities, prepare to collect Xu family’s young master’s corpse!”
Xu Hanren anxiously said: “Wait, even with all of the Xu family’s shops, we can’t gather that much silver before midnight!”
The bandit leader insisted: “Five thousand taels, not a single tael less!” Then he took Xu Hanzhong away.
Xu Hanxiao arrived just then. Having heard the loud conversation between Hanren and the bandit leader from a distance, he was out of breath and told Hanren: “Hurry, go back and gather the silver.”
They returned to the main road and found Madam Xu had also arrived. They greeted her.
Before Hanxiao could hesitate, Yu Yi asked: “Hanxiao, where have you been these past two days? Where is Hanzhong?”
Hanxiao quickly responded: “I accidentally fell into a mountain gully, and third brother found me. As for the eldest brother, he might be looking for me elsewhere.”
Yu Yi glanced at the sixth brother and others standing nearby and said casually: “Sixth brother, weren’t you with Hanzhong?”
The sixth brother’s face turned red, unable to say a word.
Yu Yi said: “Don’t hide it from me.
What happened to Hanzhong? Tell me, I can handle it.”
Hanxiao had no choice but to explain everything, though he made the situation sound less dangerous and reduced the ransom to two thousand taels.
