Silver in Hand, Tear Up the Ticket

Su Shimao was extremely pleased in his heart, waving his feather fan—although it was very cold at this time, and the fan felt chilly, but to show off, he had to fan—he vaguely felt that he was like the sleeping dragon and young phoenix, with wisdom and strategy comparable to Zhuge Liang, only lacking a discerning ruler to recognize his talent.

And Jiang Shi was that discerning ruler who appreciated him.

Su Shimao took a gulp of wine, feeling elated, recalling from history books that many founding emperors were once peasants who rebelled and eventually became emperors.

Su Shimao daydreamed that if he could assist a wise ruler to ascend the throne, he might become a founding elder, maybe even a prime minister—how wonderful that would be!

The more Su Shimao thought, the more delighted he became, drinking continuously and flattering each other with Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi was a rough man who never studied, so he especially respected Su Shimao, who was a bit educated. Moreover, Su Shimao proposed the brilliant idea of kidnapping a child as a show of loyalty when he joined. Jiang Shi valued him more, thinking he could rely on this strategist to achieve great things.

The two drank heartily and fell asleep by the fire. Meanwhile, the "crescent-headed woman" who kidnapped the child revealed her true form: a pale-faced young man.

This "crescent-headed woman" was not actually a woman, but a man skilled in disguise, known as Bai Pi Wu, the second-in-command of Black Tiger Fortress.

Bai Pi Wu was skilled in disguise and martial arts, clever and quick-witted, which quickly earned him the favor of the mountain king Jiang Shi, making him the fortress's second-in-command.

Now dressed in men's clothes, Bai Pi Wu looked like an inconspicuous small merchant carrying a shoulder pole filled with odds and ends, secretly hiding the infant inside, managing to sneak past unnoticed.

After all, everyone thought the kidnapper was a woman; who would have thought it was a man in disguise?

Bai Pi Wu was a seasoned underworld figure with considerable skills. He sensed some unknown expert was tracking him, but they disappeared after he changed into his male disguise.

Bai Pi Wu was very proud of his disguise skills, which were renowned in the martial world.

So Bai Pi Wu carried the pole, pretending to be a traveling peddler, quietly transporting the stolen child to Black Tiger Fortress, 150 li from Qingmiao City.

Upon entering the fortress, Bai Pi Wu received a warm welcome from the bandits.

Jiang Shi personally came out to greet him, anxiously asking, "Second brother, did you get it?"

Bai Pi Wu took the basket, lifted the cover, and laughed, "Of course I got it. Haven't you seen who Bai Pi Wu is!"

Jiang Shi saw the child lying in the basket with eyes tightly shut and laughed heartily, "Good, second brother did a great job! Come on, let's go inside and drink with the brothers!"

Bai Pi Wu carried the basket and entered the house with Jiang Shi. Seeing Su Shimao, he cupped his hands and said, "Master Su! I followed your method, and it really works! I disguised myself as a woman and blended into the crowd at the banquet, just saying I came with relatives. No one suspected a thing. I followed the terrain you described, stole the child, took a shortcut, used disguise to shake off the pursuers, haha, and here the child is! Tell me, how much is this child worth!?"

Su Shimao laughed heartily, took the basket, and looked at the child inside, saying, "This is Zhang Mu's only son, Su Li's godson, the only heir. He's treasured. Just ask for ransom; both families are wealthy and won't mind the money."

Jiang Shi happily clapped his hands, "Good, good, let's ask for 100,000 taels of silver! Once the silver arrives, we'll return the child."

"No!" Su Shimao interrupted Jiang Shi, "I've disliked Zhang Mu and Su Li for a long time. We must kill their precious child! Once we get the silver, we'll tear up the ransom agreement!"