Chapter 57

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Xue Wanche thrust his iron spear into a bucket of tung oil, lifted it with force, and the bucket flew toward the soldiers rushing over, shattering on the ground with a loud "boom," spilling the tung oil and instantly forming a wall of fire.

"Go! Go quickly!" Seeing this, Xue Wanche yanked his companion and ran toward the street, shouting.

"Fire the arrows!" Sun Yin, seeing Xue Wanche and his two companions escape right under his nose, screamed hysterically. At this point, there was no longer any possibility of capturing them alive. If they were to die, so be it! Sun Yin had completely lost his mind.

On the street, the crowd that had been receiving porridge now watched in horror as a towering flame rose from the eastern part of the city.

"What... What's happening?" Liu Hui, staring at the rising flames, asked Zhao Chen beside him, his mouth agape.

"Quick, get everyone to leave!" Zhao Chen, who had been dazed, suddenly heard the sounds of battle approaching and realized something. He then shouted at Liu Hui.

However, just as he finished speaking, the crowd saw three men, covered in blood, sprinting down the street.

The leading man, a burly figure, seemed surprised by the large crowd ahead, hesitated for a moment, but still ran toward them.

"Little Lord!" Qin Ming, recognizing the leading man, his face changed instantly, pulled Zhao Chen behind him, and drew his saber with a "clang," eyeing the three men warily.

"Do you know them?" Zhao Chen, seeing Qin Ming's defensive stance, asked in surprise. He had never seen Qin Ming's martial prowess, but as an old Qin's retainer, he must be quite capable.

Even someone like Qin Ming, who showed such caution, indicated how formidable these three men were.

"Little Lord, it's Xue Wanche!" Qin Ming, his eyes fixed ahead, replied without turning his head.

Xue Wanche? Zhao Chen was stunned. He hadn't expected Wei Hui's friend to be Xue Wanche!

At this moment, Xue Wanche and his two companions, covered in blood, rushed into the crowd, causing chaos. People panicked and scattered to the sides as the three men passed.

Some couldn't retreat in time and were pushed to the ground, spilling their porridge. As they tried to get up, they were trampled by the panicked crowd, left to groan in pain.

Children cried out, but their cries were drowned in the screams of panic. Zhao Chen glanced at the closed city gate, closed his eyes in pain, and his heart sank to the bottom.

Sure enough, Xue Wanche and his two companions, seeing the closed gate, their faces fell into despair. They then turned and shouted fiercely at Sun Yin, who was following closely behind.

"Stop! All of you, stop, or don't blame me for unleashing a massacre!"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Sun Yin, panting, stood there, looking at the closed gate, and suddenly laughed maniacally: "Run! Why aren't you running? Surrender quietly!"

"Rubbish! If you have the guts, come over!" One of Xue Wanche's companions, hearing Sun Yin's laughter, his forehead veins bulging, spat at Sun Yin and growled: "Today, even if I die, I'll take you with me!"

"Let's see if you have the ability!" Sun Yin, stopping his laughter, his face dark, stepped forward, and behind him were hundreds of soldiers with bows and crossbows, ready to kill.

"Stop them!" Zhao Chen, clenching his fists tightly, his eyes fixed on the crowd between Xue Wanche and Sun Yin's men, repeated, trying to prevent a tragedy.

He could see that Xue Wanche and his companions were desperate. If the hundreds of soldiers weren't stopped, many innocent civilians would die.

"Little Lord, we can't get involved in this!" Qin Ming, using one hand, held Zhao Chen tightly. He didn't want to see a tragedy, but this was something they couldn't interfere with.

"Stop! Stop now!" At this moment, a frantic voice came from behind Zhao Chen, and it was Wei Hui, who had rushed from the county office.

"Wei traitor! You still have the nerve to show up? Afraid I won't kill you?" Wei Hui's appearance only fueled Xue Wanche's anger. He raised his iron spear and pointed at Wei Hui, shouting: "I trusted you and entrusted our lives to you! Who knew you were a despicable traitor!"

"General Xue, you misunderstand me!" Wei Hui, who had been running forward, was taken aback by Xue Wanche's furious words, paused, and then became furious.

However, he knew this wasn't the time to explain, so he said to Xue Wanche: "I will explain in detail later!"

"Lord Wei, I advise you not to interfere!" Sun Yin, seeing Wei Hui, narrowed his eyes. He was determined to capture Xue Wanche and his companions. With such a feat, he wouldn't fear a lack of opportunities in the Hundred Riders, so he wouldn't allow anyone to interfere.

"General Sun, the emperor has already said he would pardon them. Are you going to openly defy the emperor's order?" Wei Hui, hearing this, glared at Sun Yin, pressing him.

"The emperor did say he would pardon them, but did he ever issue an order to pardon General Xue?" Sun Yin, blinded by the impending credit, ignored Wei Hui's words and instead questioned him.

"Idiot!" Zhao Chen, hearing Sun Yin's words, cursed. Li Er was trying to gather all forces, especially those loyal to Li Jiancheng. Wei Hui's recent trip to Shandong was to pacify Li Jiancheng's old subordinates.

How could someone like Xue Wanche be killed, especially since historically, Xue Wanche was pardoned by Li Er.

"Today, I, Xue, am willing to die, but I beg you to spare my two brothers. If you spare them, I will bind my hands and submit to your judgment!" Xue Wanche, growing impatient, shouted.

"Ha ha!" Xue Wanche's words made Sun Yin sneer and say coldly: "Today, none of you will leave. All of you will stay with me!"

"General Xue, you mustn't do this!" Xue Wanche's words made not only Sun Yin but also Wei Hui urgently stop him: "The emperor has already promised a pardon. If you do this, you will lose that chance!"

"Wei traitor, stop lying to us!" Wei Hui's words made the burly man beside Xue Wanche shout angrily.

"Doctor Zhao, what do you think?" Xue Wanche, stopping the burly man, looked at Zhao Chen and said: "I have heard of your character and know you are different. You are the only one here who cares about the lives of these people!"

"I can promise you, if you let my two brothers go, I will not resist and will submit to your judgment!"

He then added: "Doctor Zhao, you don't want to see these people die, do you?"

Xue Wanche's words made everyone look at Zhao Chen. Sun Yin's fists clenched, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. He could ignore others, but not Zhao Chen.

"Little Lord, we can't get involved!" Qin Ming, with a pleading look, knew the complications of this matter. Once involved, it would bring endless trouble.

Wei Hui also shook his head at Zhao Chen. This was Xue Wanche's chance. If he lost it, he would forever be in hiding, with no chance of a comeback.

Zhao Chen looked past everyone at the innocent civilians caught in the middle. There were elders and children, all looking at him hopefully. These were humble lives, and no one cared about their fate. Everyone had their own agenda.

Xue Wanche was right. He was the only one who cared about their lives. If he gave up, they would die.

Zhao Chen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As everyone watched him tensely, he opened his eyes and shouted: "Open the city gate and let those two go!"

Xue Wanche, hearing this, relaxed. In the crowd, some people cried, and Qin Ming and Wei Hui sighed.

"You dare!" Sun Yin, hearing Zhao Chen, was stunned, then his eyes narrowed, and he roared like a mad dog: "Whoever dares to open the city gate will be killed!"

"Damn it, let's see if I dare!" Zhao Chen, furious, drew his crossbow and aimed at Sun Yin: "Today, I will open the city gate. If you have the guts, try to stop me and see if I dare to take your life!"

Zhao Chen was almost driven mad by this fool. He was a mad dog driven by greed, obsessed with credit, and willing to do anything. This situation could have been resolved differently, but this greedy mad dog had made it worse.

So many soldiers had already died, and now so many civilians would be sacrificed. Zhao Chen had the impulse to kill this mad dog!

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