Chapter 79

Everyone instinctively fears the government offices. Thinking about this, they all felt uneasy and afraid. Seeing Zhao Jin's arrangements, they finally felt that everything would be fine from now on.

Zhao Jin didn't argue with his companions. He just walked to the side room and said, "Xiao Lan, are you okay?"

"Brother Xiao Jin, I'm fine, but I'm so bored here. Can I go out and take a look?" Muxuelan's voice was a bit weak, but it was probably due to fatigue.

Zhao Jin looked back and said, "There's too much blood outside, and there are dead people. I've already called my father over. Wait for him to come before you go out."

"I'm not afraid," the girl replied straightforwardly.

Zhao Jin hesitated for a moment, then lifted the curtain. The girl cautiously looked outside and then walked out.

As soon as she saw the bodies and blood on the ground, Muxuelan screamed in fright, then covered her mouth. Just as Zhao Jin was about to comfort her, he noticed that the girl's eyes had widened, and she quickly lifted her skirt and stepped over the bodies, running to Ding Gongmeng.

Before anyone could react, Muxuelan kicked Ding Gongmeng several times. The kidnapper, caught off guard, was kicked until blood flowed from his nose and mouth. Perhaps to avoid getting dirty, the girl then kicked him in the stomach.

Indeed, she wasn't afraid. Zhao Jin also noticed that the girl kicked very accurately and with a certain technique. He really didn't know what she had learned over the years.

Hearing Ding Gongmeng's painful cries, everyone in the room looked at each other and then burst into laughter. They all laughed heartily, finally relaxing.

Amidst the laughter, Muxuelan stopped kicking and looked at everyone's reactions, immediately blushing. Usually, the girl was always charming and cute in front of everyone, but today she showed another side.

Muxuelan felt embarrassed and uncomfortable. Tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes, and she began to wipe them with her hands and then with her sleeves, but she couldn't stop them. In the end, she covered her face and cried, sobbing, "Thank you, thank you all."

Her father had died suddenly, and she had fled alone to the Zhao family in the middle of the night. She hadn't expected to be kidnapped the next day. From a pampered young lady, she had suddenly suffered a series of blows. Now, standing there and crying, Muxuelan was already showing remarkable resilience.

The girl cried bitterly, and everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin scratched his head and walked to the girl. Before he could comfort her, Muxuelan suddenly hugged him and burst into tears in his arms.

The room fell silent. Wang Zhaojing gestured to the others, and they all quietly left the room.

Zhao Jin had no practical experience in comforting a girl. He stood stiffly for a while before gently patting her shoulder and saying, "I'm here, don't be afraid."

This comfort only made Muxuelan cry even harder and hug him tighter.

While the commotion was happening inside, the sounds outside were still clear. Chen Sheng whispered, "Sun Dalei is a coward, I really misjudged him."

"We're experiencing this for the first time. It's not something you can see in everyday life, but now it's obvious," Wang Zhaojing's voice said.

"You two, come and help hold this guy down. We're lucky we went out to check, or he would have run away," Shi Manqiang called out irritably.

They were probably the two hidden sentries outside. After all the commotion inside, they should have woken up by now.

When Muxuelan's crying subsided, the girl busied herself boiling water. Everyone came in to wash with hot water. After washing three people, they heard a loud voice from outside, "Brat, are you in there?"

It was Zhao Zhentang's voice. Hearing his father, Zhao Jin quickly went out and opened the courtyard gate.

Not only Zhao Zhentang was outside; behind him were five men holding lanterns, all "public servants" of the government, meaning they were not on the official payroll. These five people were familiar to Zhao Jin, and he knew they were his father's subordinates. Dong Bingfeng stood behind them.

Zhao Zhentang was dressed in a black robe and a square hat, with a long sword at his waist, looking like a formal public official. His face was very grim. He didn't greet Zhao Jin but coldly said, "Wait outside, I'll go in first."

He walked into the courtyard in large strides. Zhao Jin hurried to follow and was about to speak, but Zhao Zhentang turned and glared at him, saying in a low voice, "We'll talk inside."

Dong Bingfeng also followed behind and whispered, "Brother Zhao, I left my horse at your place. Uncle said it was too conspicuous."

As they entered the room, it was very bright, with at least a dozen candles lit. Since they weren't their own things, they had all been lit.

Zhao Zhentang was shocked as soon as he entered the room. The bright light clearly showed the six bodies on the ground, and the strong smell of blood confirmed that they had died recently. The fear on the faces of the bound men was also evident to Zhao Zhentang.

"Father, the ones from Yunshan Temple are all dead. The rest are these kidnappers. I've already taken their confessions. They said that Yunshan Temple intended to..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Zhentang turned and slapped him. Zhao Jin couldn't dodge in time and was hit hard on the face, with a loud "slap."

The others in the room instinctively reacted, each placing their hands on their weapons and staring at Zhao Zhentang.

The fight had just ended, and they were still on high alert. Seeing their "leader" Zhao Jin being hit, they all prepared to attack.

In that instant, Zhao Zhentang also became stern, his hand on the hilt of his sword. However, everyone soon realized the situation and relaxed.

Zhao Zhentang's face turned even colder, and he raised his hand to slap Zhao Jin again. Zhao Jin, still holding his face, didn't have time to react and was hit again. His father's strength was great, and Zhao Jin could feel his cheeks swelling.

Over the years, Zhao Jin had never been hit, only occasionally disciplined by his uncle during martial arts practice. He never expected to be slapped twice tonight.

A father hitting his son is natural, but Chen Sheng and the others were embarrassed and didn't know what to do.

"You damn brat, do you know what kind of trouble you've caused!" Zhao Zhentang pointed at Zhao Jin and shouted angrily.

"But they kidnapped Xiao Lan and were going to sell her to Yunshan Temple!" Zhao Jin covered his face and explained, feeling very wronged.

"What's with the blood on your face? Didn't your uncle teach you how to treat injuries? Why did you just leave it like that?" Zhao Zhentang didn't give Zhao Jin a chance to explain, raising his voice to question him.

Most of Zhao Jin's companions had cleaned the blood from their faces and tidied their clothes, but Zhao Jin, being busy with arrangements, hadn't had time to do so. Zhao Zhentang, seeing this, mistakenly thought Zhao Jin was injured.

His words were full of concern and worry. Feeling his father's anger and concern, Zhao Jin rubbed his face, feeling a bit choked up.

But now was clearly not the time to talk about this. Zhao Jin began to narrate the events in detail.

"…You don't need to talk about the fight. Tell me the rest!" Zhao Jin was interrupted by Zhao Zhentang when he started to describe the battle.

When Zhao Jin mentioned Ding Gongmeng's background, Zhao Zhentang's eyes narrowed and he stared at the bloodied kidnapper on the ground, saying, "I didn't expect it to be him."

Zhao Zhentang walked to Ding Gongmeng and asked, "Do you know how many cases you have in the government office? Do you know how many families want to tear you apart?"

Ding Gongmeng trembled like a sieve and couldn't say a word. Zhao Zhentang looked at him with disgust and found a piece of cloth to stuff in his mouth.

Zhao Zhentang looked at the young people in the room, all of whom he recognized, holding weapons and watching.

Looking at the bodies and blood on the ground, and the bound and gagged kidnappers, Zhao Zhentang finally smiled and turned to Zhao Jin, saying, "You have a good group of brothers!"

Hearing this, everyone in the room felt proud and instinctively straightened their backs.

Zhao Zhentang's smile quickly faded, and he said, "I'll take these kidnappers to the government office. I'll handle the rest. You all go home now. If you want to tell your parents, you can, or you can keep it a secret for a few days. But don't go out for a few days. Wait for Zhao Jin's message. It's late, so go home now."

Hearing this from their elder, everyone had no objections and said their goodbyes. As they were about to leave, Zhao Jin raised his voice and said, "Brothers, don't worry, I'll take full responsibility for this!"

Zhao Zhentang immediately glared at him, but seeing his son's determined expression, he was momentarily speechless.