Chapter 67: The Shadow of the Night and the Cold Light (Part 4)

Zhao Long and Wang Shunchen were both renowned for their ferocity in Qinzhou City. But if not for seeing it with his own eyes, Chen Ji would never have imagined that their martial skills could be so terrifying. As soon as the battle began, the helpers he had painstakingly gathered were instantly reduced by a third, and these were the men who had roamed Qinzhou for over a decade under Guoshanfeng! With such men guarding Han Gang, how could anyone talk about revenge?

"Keep the green hills, and there will always be firewood." Chen Ji made a decisive decision, and his men, led by the Huang family's leader, fled in a panic. Chen Ji ran a few steps and suddenly darted into an alley. Fortunately, he dodged quickly; a streak of light just grazed his ear. The sharp whistling sound pierced Chen Ji's eardrums, and the continuous, blood-curdling screams behind him made him dare not look back.

There was actually another person!

Chen Ji's heart turned cold. Listening to the continuous screams behind him, the unknown person's fighting skills were no less formidable than Wang Shunchen and Zhao Long. How could a newly appointed official like Han Gang have so many experts at his command? With such men around him, equal to the imperial guards, Han Gang's residence in Xiaolong Bay was like a dragon's lair and a tiger's den. If he had known this, Chen Ji would never have walked into a death trap!

Chen Ji was filled with hatred. The intelligence failure forced him to flee like a dog with its tail between its legs!

Chen Ji fled, and his men also fled, but Guoshanfeng was still hesitating between fighting to the death and fleeing.

The sound of bowstrings rang out, and two more arrows shot from the darkness behind. Guoshanfeng exhaled and swung his saber, deflecting the arrows. His body shook violently, and a long arrow had already pierced his waist. Guoshanfeng roared in anger, threw his saber at Wang Shunchen and Zhao Long, and, clutching his wound, turned and fled towards the village entrance.

"Whose arrow was it?" Wang Hou held his bow and turned to ask Han Gang. Guoshanfeng had been hit by an arrow, but Wang Hou hadn't seen which one of them had hit the mark.

Han Gang sighed. "It was Brother Wang's." Both arrows he and Wang Hou had shot were deflected by Guoshanfeng, but the one that hit was shot by Wang Shunchen. Compared to Wang Shunchen, his and Wang Hou's archery skills were far inferior.

'Wang Shunchen?' Wang Hou was secretly shocked; he hadn't even seen Wang Shunchen move his arm!

With their leader fleeing, the remaining bandits also scattered. Han Gang shouted again, "Quickly chase them! Don't let a few bandits escape!"

The doors of the houses opened, and a few brave villagers emerged with hunting bows and spears. Where were the bandits? A few small bandits were nothing to the men of Guanzhong.

The prey was running desperately with its head down, and the hunters were chasing closely behind. This was Chen Ji's favorite hunting sport. Every autumn and winter, he would bring his hunting dogs to the mountains to hunt rabbits, deer, and pheasants. If lucky, he might even find a hibernating bear's den and skin the bear for a coat. An even more exciting game was using live people who had offended the Chen family as prey, and the thrill of holding the heads of these two-legged prey gave Chen Ji a sense of achievement.

But tonight was the first time Chen Ji played the role of the prey, panicking like a rabbit chased by a pack of dogs. He finally understood the despair of the prey, the deep, dark hopelessness with no hope or future.

The sounds of pursuit grew louder. Chen Ji turned his head while running and saw the torches behind him, dozens of flames casting a red glow on the snow. He was running alone on the white snow, and the dozen or so men he had brought, along with Guoshanfeng's gang, had vanished. Only the Huang family's leader was still following closely behind.

How could this happen?

Li Laizi had only received the news in the afternoon. How could Han Gang have found Wang Shunchen and Zhao Long in advance? Could he predict the future? Chen Ji ran, his mind racing with wild thoughts.

Right! If he could reach the forest northeast of the village, he would be safe. No one would dare chase him into the forest at night! By morning, he would be long gone. He could gather more men later to avenge today's humiliation...

A loud shout echoed through the night, and a faint whistling sound slipped into his ears. Chen Ji was still lost in his fantasies of future revenge and didn't react. A deathly scream sounded behind him. He turned his head in terror and saw that the Huang family's leader had fallen to the ground, motionless, with a short spear like a proud banner piercing his back, radiating a chilling aura.

A coldness a thousand times more intense than the night wind shot from his feet to his head, freezing his organs. At a distance where even a good bow couldn't reach, a spear thrown by hand had killed the enemy in one strike. What kind of divine skill was this?

Run! Run! Run!

Chen Ji didn't dare look back, forcing his numb legs to run as fast as possible. He could no longer consider the direction of his escape; fear had completely taken over his heart. The only thought in his mind was to run!

With a single throw, the fleeing enemy was pinned to the ground from nearly fifty paces away. The villagers who had emerged from the village gasped in admiration, but Li Xin remained expressionless. He watched Chen Ji's fleeing back and did not pursue further.

A gust of wind blew, and the hero's headband on Li Xin's head fluttered wildly. Zhao Long rode his old horse past Li Xin. Under the horse's neck, a dark shadow swayed, and a strong, pungent smell filled the air. Li Xin sniffed; it was a familiar smell—the brain matter and blood from a skull crushed by a copper cudgel.

'Is it Guoshanfeng?'

Li Xin guessed. The only heads Zhao Long would carry with him were those of Chen Ji and Guoshanfeng; the Huang brothers were not important enough. Besides, the Huang family's leader lay ahead, and the younger brother had been killed at Li Laizi's house. Huang Er, who was Li Xin's brother-in-law, had been sold by his father-in-law to Han Gang, and when Li Xin killed him with a spear, Huang Er's eyes were full of confusion.

The horse's back swayed like a small boat in a storm, but Zhao Long, using only his legs to grip the horse's belly, was firmly seated in the saddle. He held the copper cudgel in both hands, his eyes sharp like an eagle's, and pursued Chen Ji without hesitation.

Closer and closer...

Closer and closer...

Chen Ji continued to run, every bit of strength in his body going to his legs. He discarded his heavy fur coat, and without the warm clothing, even if he reached the forest, the cold wind would replace the pursuers and still lead to his death. But Chen Ji could no longer think about anything; his mind was filled with the urge to run.

But Zhao Long had caught up to him. He had no intention of letting the credit go to fate. Standing on the stirrups, his body swaying like a bear performing a circus act, Zhao Long aimed at Chen Ji's shoulder and swung the copper cudgel with all his might...

Han Gang stood at his doorstep. His parents, who had been awakened and then persuaded to return home, were still uneasy, accompanied by Han Yunniang. Wang Shunchen stood by Han Gang's side, and dozens of awakened villagers gathered around. Li Laizi, who had earned credit, bowed and smiled humbly before Han Gang. On the road in front of the house, the bodies of over a dozen bandits were neatly arranged, and Wang Hou was squatting there, counting them.

The situation was under control.

Without much effort.

More smoothly than expected.

Li Xin returned with the body of the Huang family's leader. Zhao Long also returned, carrying the half-dead Chen Ji across his saddle.

"Congratulations, Yuku!" Wang Hou stood up and congratulated Han Gang. "The leaders of the bandits have all been captured or killed. Chen Ji, the Huang brothers, and the rest of Chen Ju's followers are all finished. Adding Guoshanfeng as a bonus, it's all thanks to your strategic planning, Yuku!"

"It's not just my doing," Han Gang smiled modestly. "Without the bravery of all the brothers, I would just be a paper tiger."

"Don't be modest, Yuku. If you hadn't brought us here in advance, how could we have had such a smooth night?"

Han Gang smiled faintly and humbly responded, but Wang Hou was right. Correct intelligence had determined the outcome of the battle, and this was indeed his achievement.

Although Han Gang couldn't predict the exact time of Chen Ji's action, Chen Jiaosi's fourth son was being escorted from Fengxiang Prefecture in a few days. He didn't believe Chen Ji would leave his brother unrescued. Wanting to kill him and rescue his brother, Chen Ji had to carefully plan the timing. Considering the difficulty of the two tasks, it was more practical to kill the enemy first before attempting the more dangerous prison break.

Another crucial factor was that Qinzhou was on the northwest border, and Fengxiang Prefecture was to the east. Killing Han Gang first and then breaking the prisoner would allow them to escape eastward into the interior. But if they broke the prisoner first and then killed Han Gang, even if successful, all the roads to the interior would be sealed, leaving them nowhere to go. The northwest tribes? That would be suicide. South to Shu? Crossing the snow-covered Qinling Mountains in winter would also be suicide. Could they stay in Qinzhou?

Han Gang believed Chen Ju's son was not stupid and could calculate this. Therefore, if Chen Ji were to act, it would be within the next two days. One side was well-prepared, while the other was blinded by hatred. The outcome was not surprising.

From the farce at Feijiang Temple nearly two months ago, a series of troubles finally came to an end. The last ripple had been smoothed out. Han Gang looked up at the sky and took a long, deep breath, the white mist carrying away all the anxiety and worries that had accumulated in his heart...

Five days later, Chen Ju's rebellion was sentenced. The main culprit, Chen Ju, was executed by slicing, and his two sons, Chen Ji and Chen Luo, were beheaded. His wife and daughters were confiscated by the state, and the accomplices, including Liu Xian, were either beheaded, hanged, or exiled, with no one escaping. In a single day, eleven people were executed at the market, the most severe punishment and the widest scope of involvement in Qinzhou in fifty years.

On that day, Li Shizhong personally supervised the execution, and Wang Shao was present. Almost all the officials in Qinzhou City were there. The execution platform was surrounded by a sea of people, as lively as a festival.

With Li Shizhong's order, Chen Ju, having lost all hope with his grandchildren captured, was dragged to the scaffold, causing a wave of commotion.

But Han Gang, the mastermind behind it all, sat calmly in a room at Pujue Temple. The noise outside the window could not drown out the clear reading of the Confucian text: "When you hear much, put aside the doubtful, and speak cautiously of the rest, you will make few mistakes. When you see much, put aside the dangerous, and act cautiously on the rest, you will have few regrets. If you speak so as to make few mistakes, and act so as to have few regrets, your position will be secure."

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