Chapter 25

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao were carried under the armpits of a man in green clothing, running swiftly. They could only hear the sound of hooves like thunder on the street, and someone shouting, "There are assassins in the Kang Prince's mansion!"

It was a large contingent of troops coming to reinforce.

The group of men in green ran into a civilian house beside the mansion, bolted the front door, and then ran out the back door. Clearly, these people had thoroughly scouted the area beforehand and prepared an escape route.

After running through a small alley for a while, they entered another civilian house, still running out the back door, turned a few corners, and entered a large residence.

Everyone immediately took off their green clothes and quickly changed into various outfits, instantly disguising themselves as country folk, some carrying firewood, others carrying vegetables.

Two men tied Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao with hemp ropes and pushed a wooden cart, on which were two large wooden barrels. They put the two men into the barrels separately.

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao, this pair of unfortunate brothers, could only stare at each other in dismay. One of them also placed Ao Bai's head into the barrel where Lin Yi was.

Lin Yi looked at Ao Bai's head, which still had wide-open eyes even in death, and his heart trembled. He was scared to death!

As a fine young man from the 21st century, he had seen dead people before, but such a terrifying dead head, and such close contact, was a first!

Lin Yi cursed in his heart, "Damn! Why didn't they put it in Wei Xiaobao's barrel!"

Then, countless jujubes were poured over his head, submerging him and Ao Bai's head. The barrel lid was closed, and everything went dark.

Following the movement of his body, it seemed the cart was pushed out the gate and went elsewhere.

Although there were gaps between the jujubes, preventing suffocation, breathing was still difficult.

Lin Yi could only endure it. Time passed slowly, and he was almost dozing off when the cart finally stopped.

He heard a "whoosh" as the barrel lid opened, and someone started removing the jujubes from his head.

Lin Yi took a deep breath, feeling much more comfortable. He opened his eyes and saw that it was dark, with a slight light above his head. It was already night!

Someone reached into the barrel and lifted him out, while another man held a lantern.

Beside him, Wei Xiaobao was also lifted out. The two unfortunate brothers exchanged a glance and looked around, finding themselves in a large courtyard.

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao were carried to the back hall, where the man with the lantern pushed open a long window.

Inside the large hall, it was crowded with people, at least two hundred of them.

All of them were dressed in green, with white headbands and white sashes, in mourning, their faces filled with grief and anger.

In the center of the hall was a memorial altar, with eight thick blue candles burning on the table. White mourning banners hung beside the altar, and a spirit banner stood upright.

Seeing this, Lin Yi thought, "It must be the Heaven and Earth Society. The Green Wood Hall's leader, Yin, was killed by Ao Bai, and they vowed that whoever killed Ao Bai to honor Yin would become the new leader of the Green Wood Hall."

Wei Xiaobao, seeing the altar, thought it was set up by Ao Bai's subordinates and almost wet his pants in fear!

At this moment, a middle-aged man walked to the side of the altar and said, "Today, the great... great vengeance has been avenged, and the great... great brother can rest in peace."

He couldn't finish his sentence, already sobbing.

He fell to the ground in front of the altar and burst into tears.

The people in the hall followed, wailing loudly.

A hoarse voice in the crowd shouted, "Begin the sacrifice!"

A muscular man, bare-chested and with a white headband, stepped forward, holding a wooden tray high above his head. On the tray was a piece of fine cloth, and on the cloth was Ao Bai's head.

Some men stood up after bowing, while others remained on the ground, weeping.

After a while, a tall, thin old man walked to the side of the altar and said loudly, "Brothers, our leader Yin's great vengeance has been avenged. Ao Bai has finally been beheaded, which is a great joy for our Heaven and Earth Society's Green Wood Hall."

"Today, we stormed the Kang Prince's mansion, killed Ao Bai, and returned unscathed. The Tartars will surely be terrified, which will greatly benefit our cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. The brothers of all the halls in our society will surely admire the Green Wood Hall for its wisdom and bravery."

Wei Xiaobao, hearing that it wasn't Ao Bai's subordinates but the Heaven and Earth Society's Green Wood Hall, was overjoyed!

Lin Yi, however, was speechless. "Returning unscathed, the Tartars will be terrified?" If they hadn't taken him and Wei Xiaobao as hostages, and the Kang Prince hadn't ordered not to shoot, none of them would have escaped! No matter how skilled in martial arts, they couldn't withstand a thousand arrows!

Moreover, the martial arts of the Heaven and Earth Society didn't seem that impressive.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society, however, didn't think so and responded, "Exactly! Exactly!"

"Our Green Wood Hall has really made a name for itself this time."

"The Lotus Hall and Red Fire Hall always boast, but none of them have done anything as earth-shattering as the Green Wood Hall this time!"

"This news will spread throughout the land, and it will be turned into stories in teahouses. In the future, when the Tartars are driven out, the Heaven and Earth Society's Green Wood Hall will be remembered for eternity!"

"What about driving the Tartars out? We should exterminate them all, leaving no one alive!"

Everyone spoke excitedly, their spirits lifted, and the sorrow from earlier vanished in an instant.

The tall, thin old man waited for the crowd to quiet down and continued, "For the past two years, we in the Green Wood Hall have remembered our leader Yin's great vengeance. Everyone has sworn in front of the altar to kill Ao Bai and avenge our leader. Leader Yin's noble sacrifice was admired by all in the martial world. Today, his spirit will surely laugh in the heavens upon seeing Ao Bai's head."

Everyone agreed, "Exactly, exactly!"

A powerful voice in the crowd said, "Two years ago, we all vowed that if we couldn't kill Ao Bai, we would all be cowards and have no face to walk in the martial world. Today, we have finally avenged this great humiliation. I, surnamed Fan, haven't eaten well or slept well for the past two years, always thinking about avenging Leader Yin and clearing the Green Wood Hall's name. Finally, our wish has been fulfilled. Ha, ha!"

Many people laughed along with him.

The tall, thin old man said, "Good, our Green Wood Hall has regained its glory. We can hold our heads high again. For the past two years, we have all felt like wandering ghosts.

"When we gathered in the Heaven and Earth Society, the brothers from other halls would just look at us and sneer, making us feel ashamed and unable to speak up about anything in the society.

"Although the Grand Master has sent messages several times, encouraging us and saying that avenging Leader Yin is the responsibility of all the brothers in the Heaven and Earth Society, not just the Green Wood Hall, the brothers from other halls still think otherwise. From now on, things will be different."

Another person said, "Right, right, Brother Li is right. We should seize this opportunity, strike while the iron is hot, and accomplish more great deeds. Ao Bai, the 'First Warrior of Manchuria,' died at our hands today. The second, third, and fourth warriors of Manchuria will be terrified!"

Everyone laughed loudly again.

At this moment, a cold voice said, "Was it your Green Wood Hall that killed Ao Bai?"

Everyone immediately fell silent. In the hall, which was crowded with about two hundred people, there was not a sound.

Everyone looked at the speaker, who was Lin Yi, held by a man.

Wei Xiaobao also looked at Lin Yi, wondering what his cousin was up to. How dare he speak recklessly in such a situation!

What if they were killed by these people!?

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