Chapter 36

Zhou Zhongying, being tongue-tied, did not know how to respond for a moment.

Luo Bing choked and called out, "Fourth Brother was killed by them! Chief, let’s kill the old scoundrel to avenge Fourth Brother!"

Chen Jialuo and the others were greatly alarmed upon hearing this, all turning pale. Zhang Jin, Yang Chengxie, Wei Chunhua, and the rest each brandished their weapons and advanced.

Meng Jianxiong stepped forward and loudly said, "Mr. Wen came to our manor, and it is true that something happened..."

Xu Tianhong interjected, "Then please have Mr. Meng lead us to meet him."

Meng Jianxiong said, "When Mr. Wen, Lady Wen, and this Mr. Yu came to our manor, our old master was not at home. It was I who sent people to Zhaojiabao to fetch a doctor, which Mr. Wen and Lady Wen saw with their own eyes. Later, when the Six-Fan-Door people arrived, we were ashamed that we could not protect them well, and Mr. Wen was captured. Chief Chen, if you blame us for not being hospitable and not fulfilling our duty to protect our friends, we accept it. If you want to kill or maim us, Meng will not flinch. But if you accuse our old master of betraying friends, what kind of talk is that?"

Luo Bing stepped forward, pointing and scolding, "Mr. Meng, are you still pretending to be a hero? I ask you, if you hadn’t been bribed by the eagles, how would they have known about the secret cellar where we were hiding?"

Meng Jianxiong was immediately speechless.

Wu Chen said to Zhou Zhongying, "At the time of the incident, the old master might really not have been at home. But a dragon has a head, and a person has a master. For the affairs of Tiandan Manor, we can only speak to the old master. Please give us a word."

At this moment, Wan Qinglan, who had been cowering to the side, suddenly shouted, "It was his son who said it, will he admit it?"

Chen Jialuo stepped forward and said, "Old Senior Zhou, is this true?"

Zhou Zhongying would not lie in front of everyone, and slowly nodded. The Red Flower Society members were in an uproar, surrounding him even tighter. Some glared at Zhou Zhongying, while others looked at Chen Jialuo, waiting for his instructions.

Chen Jialuo glanced at Wan Qinglan and coldly said, "Who is this, I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing your name."

Luo Bing quickly said, "He is a claw, one of the people who came to capture Fourth Brother."

Chen Jialuo said nothing, slowly walking up to Wan Qinglan. Suddenly, he reached out and snatched the steel spear from his hand, throwing it to the ground. He then grabbed Wan Qinglan's hands and bound them behind his back. Wan Qinglan let out an "Ah!" but could not break free.

Wan Qinglan's martial arts were not ordinary, as everyone had seen, but he was easily restrained by Chen Jialuo, unable to move. This not only made the people of Tiandan Manor marvel, but even the Red Flower Society members were secretly amazed.

Sitting to the side, the experienced practitioners watched the Red Flower Society and Tiandan Manor engage in a war of words, and then saw Chen Jialuo personally take action, displaying extraordinary martial arts. This scene, which could only be read in classic books, was unfolding before their eyes, causing their hearts to race.

Xiu Yongqing was even more excited, his eyes fixed on Chen Jialuo with admiration, imagining that if he had such formidable skills, he could dominate the world.

Tao Zhihu's eyes also sparkled with envy and jealousy. If he had such skills, Liu Hongjun would be nothing, and the Green Dragon Gang could be flattened by him alone.

Among the experienced practitioners, the most composed was Li Wuching. He knew that Chen Jialuo could easily restrain Wan Qinglan because of the element of surprise.

Although Chen Jialuo's martial arts were high, his strength was limited. It was his sudden attack that restrained him.

Chen Jialuo shouted, "Where did you take Wen Siye?"

Wan Qinglan remained silent, his face full of arrogance.

Chen Jialuo pressed a finger into the "Zhongfu" point under his ribs and shouted, "Will you speak or not?"

Wan Qinglan yelled, "You are not a hero to torment people... If you have the guts, kill me..." Before he could finish, sweat beads the size of yellow beans were already streaming down his forehead.

Chen Jialuo pressed another point, the "Jinshuo" point. Wan Qinglan could no longer endure it and said in a low voice, "I'll speak... I'll speak."

Chen Jialuo pressed a few points on the "Qixu" point. Wan Qinglan caught his breath and said, "They are taking him to the capital."

Luo Bing quickly asked, "He... he isn’t dead?"

Wan Qinglan said, "Of course not, he is a major criminal, who would dare to kill him?"

The Red Flower Society members were overjoyed, all heaving a sigh of relief.

Luo Bing's voice trembled, "Is... is what you said true?"

Wan Qinglan said, "Why would I lie to you?"

Luo Bing was overjoyed and fainted, falling backward.

Chen Jialuo had the book boy, Xin Yan, securely tie up Wan Qinglan, and then said loudly, "Brothers, we must save Fourth Brother first, we will settle accounts here later." The Red Flower Society members all responded in unison.

At this point, the matter could have been temporarily concluded, but Zhou Qi and Zhang Jin, Yang Chengxie, had another conflict, and the Red Flower Society misunderstood Wan Qinglan's words, making the situation very tense.

Both sides began to exchange insults, the insults becoming more and more heated, both sides were furious, and Yang Chengxie shouted even louder, "Traitors, if you don’t come out, I will set the house on fire."

Zhou Zhongying was so angry that his beard and eyebrows stood on end, and he said to Chen Jialuo, "Fine, the Red Flower Society is good at using words to hurt people and winning by numbers."

Chen Jialuo whistled, clapped his hands twice, and the heroes immediately put away their weapons, retreating to stand behind him, silent.

Chen Jialuo said, "Old Hero Zhou, you accuse us of winning by numbers. I will challenge you alone, please do not hold back."

Zhou Zhongying said, "That would be best. Chief Chen, your skills just now were truly impressive, a hero in his youth. I would like to learn from you, do you want to use weapons or fists?"

Shi Shuangying said coldly, "The big knife flew to the beam, what weapons are you talking about?" Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhongying's face turned red, and everyone looked up at the golden-backed big knife embedded in the beam.

Xin Yan lightly leaped up, his right hand hooking the beam, his left hand pulling out the big knife. He flipped over and landed silently on the ground, walking to Zhou Zhongying, kneeling on one knee, and raising the knife over his head, saying, "Old Master Zhou, here is your knife."

Xin Yan's display made Zhou Zhongying even more embarrassed. He grunted and ignored Xin Yan, turning to Chen Jialuo and saying, "Chief Chen, draw your weapon, I will receive your moves with my bare hands."

Meng Jianxiong took the golden-backed big knife from Xin Yan and said in a low voice, "Master, there’s no need to be angry, let’s settle it with the knife!"

Xu Tianhong also whispered to Chen Jialuo, "Chief, if he wants to fight with fists, you should win him with your fists."

Chen Jialuo said, "Alright." He bowed to Zhou Zhongying and said, "I would like to learn a few moves from Old Hero Zhou, please go easy on me, Old Senior."

Zhou Zhongying said, "Don’t be too modest, Chief Chen."

Zhou Qi came over to help her father take off his long robe, and whispered, "This boy knows how to strike pressure points, Father, be careful." Her eyes reddened, knowing that the situation was extremely dangerous today.

Zhou Zhongying whispered, "If anything happens to me, go to Xi'an to find Uncle Wu, and never cause trouble again." Zhou Qi felt a pang of sadness and nodded.