Chapter 14

Xiao Letian never expected that when he went to the back wall to meet the fleeing Hu Niu, he had already been discovered. Guangde was not a monolithic entity; although seventy percent of the staff were loyal to Fan Lian, the nominal head of the Fan family was still Fan Ru, and many of the staff followed the senior master.

When Hu Niu attempted to escape, the manager of the Guangde branch in Yixian, Mr. Liu, had already noticed the two people's suspicious actions. However, Mr. Liu did not tell Fan Lian. Instead, he planned to secretly report to the Xiling supervisor, Mr. Lian, stationed in Yixian, so that Mr. Lian could take Hu Niu away first. Once Hu Niu was in Mr. Lian's house, the marriage would be a sure thing.

To his great surprise, when Mr. Liu cautiously spied, he saw a young man suddenly appear, and he seemed very familiar with Hu Niu, directly taking her to a distillery in the back street. After consulting with his loyal subordinates in the caravan, he confirmed that the young man was Mr. Xiao, who had been kidnapped by bandits.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mr. Liu rushed to Mr. Lian's house under the cover of night. When the sixty-year-old Mr. Lian heard that his woman had been intercepted by a young man, his face turned red with anger, and the age spots on his face seemed to jump.

"Good, no wonder that old fox Fan Lian pretended to be sick and played tricks on me. He was covering up his daughter's secret meetings with a rogue? Young man! And he's the savior of the caravan? The Mr. Xiao who was kidnapped by bandits? Damn, this is more exciting than any play..."

Mr. Lian paced around the room in a rage, then suddenly stopped and asked, "You said that Mr. Xiao was accompanied by several tough men? And he was kidnapped by bandits at the mountain temple?"

"That's right, the entire caravan saw and heard it with their own eyes and ears. The bandits said Mr. Xiao traded himself for the caravan's safety, and they even sent a letter..."

"Kidnapped by bandits, and he can appear in Yixian city so boldly after just twenty days? That kid Qing San kept urging me to send troops to fight the bandits. From this, it looks like Mr. Xiao is a bandit himself... No mistake, no mistake, my eyes are sharp..."

Mr. Liu knelt on the ground and crawled closer to Mr. Lian, "Sir, please calm down. This is all because of that old fox Fan Lian's foolishness. It has nothing to do with our master, who has always been respectful to you... What about the matter with the Internal Affairs Office..."

Mr. Lian suddenly laughed, "Pah... Fan Ru is a failure as the head of the family, unable to control his own brother. What can I do? I have a good heart, so today I'll teach him a lesson. Go, take my letter to County Magistrate Liu and get forty constables. Tell him that bandits have come down the mountain and have him raid the distillery..."

"Understood..." Mr. Liu bowed and received Mr. Lian's letter, then hurried to the county office.

Since the Qing Dynasty, the rule in the bureaucracy was that Han officials feared Manchu officials, Manchu officials feared the Internal Affairs Office, and the Internal Affairs Office feared the eunuch supervisors. The closer one was to the emperor, the more power one had. Mr. Lian, as the supervisor of the Qing West Mausoleum, was a prominent figure in the Internal Affairs Office, with considerable power.

With his letter, mobilizing several dozen constables was a piece of cake, especially with the pretext of fighting bandits. County Magistrate Liu did not dare to delay and immediately sent Captain Wang with his men to surround the distillery.

"Listen up, the county magistrate orders you to come out immediately. Your crime has been discovered, and resistance will be met with force..." Captain Wang, leading ten constables and over thirty helpers, which was the maximum force the county office could mobilize, held torches and shouted outside the distillery.

"Come out and surrender, resistance will be met with force..." The helpers, armed with sticks, shouted loudly but none dared to charge in.

The chaos at the distillery in the south of the city lasted only a short while, but it had already stirred the entire city. Countless citizens climbed onto walls and rooftops, peering at the scene illuminated by the torches, and the neighborhood was abuzz with excited chatter. In ancient times, people's nightlife was extremely simple; poor families wouldn't even light a lamp, and as soon as it got dark, they went to bed.

Today, with this spectacle, the entire city was in an uproar. Many idlers had already sneaked out of their houses, looking to take advantage of the chaos.

"Captain Hu, show your might... shout..." A troublemaker in the dark cheered Captain Wang on. Captain Wang had never felt so spirited in his life. Seeing his subordinates and helpers, his courage grew, and he was about to shout.

At that moment, the window on the second floor of the distillery shattered, and a black figure, wielding two gleaming steel knives, spun out.

"Ground-lying knives? This is a skilled fighter..." Captain Wang broke out in a cold sweat. He had earned his position as the chief constable of Yixian city, and his skills were not just for show; his judgment was sharp.

"Skilled bandit, use the long weapons..." With Captain Wang's command, six white wax poles with iron spearheads surrounded the figure. The sound of metal clashing echoed, and at least three poles were cut in half. Seeing that the long weapons were ineffective, Captain Wang drew his saber and charged, his movements fluid and graceful.

As Captain Wang and the fat manager fought fiercely, four men in nightclothes were quietly escaping from the roof of Guangde. Who else could they be but Xiao Letian and his companions? Xiao Letian, looking down by the light of the torches, was stunned. Even though he knew nothing about martial arts, he could see that the two men below were true masters.

In his previous life, Chinese martial arts had evolved into a performance art, with more show than practicality. But in ancient times, especially before the widespread use of firearms, Chinese martial arts were pure killing techniques, and the air was thick with the scent of blood.

A scholar once noted that Chinese martial arts had faced three major crises in modern history. The first was during the Taiping Rebellion, when the southern martial arts community suffered severe blows due to their involvement in the conflict. The second was during the Boxer Rebellion, which almost wiped out the northern martial arts community. The third was during the eight-year War of Resistance against Japan, when the skills of the cold weapon era were severed by modern Japanese weapons and could never be restored.

"Amazing! This is definitely a great hero, truly impressive..." Xiao Letian couldn't help but praise softly. Xiao He Xin, however, turned back and said disdainfully, "This is just a three-legged cat. Master, you call this impressive? Brothers, let's show him something..."

As he spoke, a young man named Sima Yun picked up Xiao Letian and whispered, "Master, hold on tight. This is the Shadow Step of the Kongtong School, it might be a bit bumpy..." Before he finished, Sima Yun dashed forward like the wind. Xiao Letian, holding his breath, felt the cold winter wind and the sound of Sima Yun's feet tapping on the tiles, as if he were flying through the air in a dream.

Lightness skills! There were actually real lightness skills in ancient times? Xiao Letian was moved to tears.

By now, the fat manager had become a blood-soaked mess, his two knives slicing through the air, wounding several helpers and even cutting a gash on Captain Wang's left shoulder. The forty constables and helpers had surrounded him, holding torches and shouting, but few dared to charge.

Only Captain Wang and his few senior disciples were still holding their ground, now regarding the fat man with new respect.

"Brave man! You are no ordinary person. State your name. If we have a connection, I will let you go..." Captain Wang said softly.

Unfortunately, the fat manager ignored him, his knives moving even more fiercely. In a flash, another helper was cut down.

Captain Wang, who had never seen such a fierce bandit in his life, regretted his efforts that night. "Brave man, I am sorry. You are a thief, and I am an official. I have no choice... Do you have any regrets or wishes? I, Wang, will fulfill them for you..."

"Ha... ha... ha..." The fat manager coughed, gathering his last strength. He suddenly shouted, "I still owe someone a feast of eight delicacies. I cannot rest until I repay it..." With that, he flipped his wrist, pressing the steel knife to his neck and slowly cutting his carotid artery, a jet of blood shooting into the air.

With a thud, everyone took a step back, shocked by the fat manager's ferocity. People said a quick cut to the neck, but this man slowly cut his own neck, as if he enjoyed the process.

Captain Wang's legs began to tremble. He thought, "I've offended a powerful force. How could such a hero be an ordinary thief?" His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, "Hero, rest in peace. I will give you a proper burial. Don't worry about your affairs, I will take care of them..."

The fat manager gave a strange smile and fell to the ground, his blood drained.

In the secret passage in the back of the distillery, the young helper was crying and scratching the wall, his heart-wrenching cries making Hu Niu and A Chou feel devastated. "Old manager, rest in peace. I will repay the feast of eight delicacies for you..."

"Let's go... We must leave quickly. Uncle Fat sacrificed his life to give us a chance to live. We cannot waste it..." The young helper, using his hands and feet, led Hu Niu and A Chou toward the exit.

At that moment, at the entrance of the distillery, a group of constables and helpers surrounded Captain Wang. "Master, I just heard a commotion behind the distillery. Are the bandits' accomplices escaping? We must chase them..."

Captain Wang looked around, seeing only his loyal subordinates. He kicked each of them and whispered, "Are you crazy? Do you think you're Guan Yu reincarnated? These fierce bandits must be given a way out, or you'll be wiped out! Young fools, there's much you need to learn to survive in this line of work..."

The fat manager's final scream also alarmed Xiao Letian, who quickly had Sima Yun put him down. But this brief pause brought Xiao Letian into a tight encirclement.