Chapter 97

Seeing Wu Yong still not giving up and preparing to fight to the death, Chao Gai's face showed a strange expression. However, this expression did not last long, as the drug in his body began to take effect. Chao Gai, the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King, suddenly tilted and fell like a collapsing iron tower. Gong Sunsheng, seeing this, quickly rushed forward to support Chao Gai, feeling extremely bitter. The two supported each other in this tragic scene, deeply moving all who witnessed it.

Unfortunately, this scene did not last long. Gong Sunsheng also began to feel weak in his legs, his whole body trembling. He smiled bitterly and said, "Heavenly King, I have done my best. Let's be brothers in the next life!" Seeing that Chao Gai had already lost consciousness, Gong Sunsheng turned his gaze to Yang Zhi and, with his last bit of strength, said, "I have ruined your future. Now I will give you back your life, so we are even! I only ask that you do not desecrate the Heavenly King's body..." Before he could finish, Gong Sunsheng could no longer hold on and, along with Chao Gai, fell to the ground like a mountain, unconscious.

Seeing this, Li Kui clenched his teeth and was about to step forward. Ruan Xiaoqi quickly held him back, shaking his head meaningfully. Li Kui, surprisingly, understood the meaning in Ruan Xiaoqi's eyes and stopped, just staring at the calm Chao Gai in deep thought.

Yang Zhi, seeing this, sighed. He then shifted his gaze from the three people on the ground to Wu Yong, who was wielding an unusual weapon, and said in a deep voice, "Do you have the confidence to defeat me?" Thinking of the martial arts passed down in his family, which he had learned since childhood, he was confident in his mastery of all eighteen weapons. Seeing this poor scholar still wanting to fight, Yang Zhi found it incomprehensible.

Wu Yong tightened the copper chain in his hand, suddenly smiling strangely, and asked, "Why do I need to defeat you?" In a flash, this wise star suddenly made a move, shocking everyone present!

No one could have predicted that Wu Yong's target was the innocent old man, Ma Laotai. The copper chain instantly locked onto Ma Laotai's body, and Wu Yong pulled hard, dragging him over. Then, Wu Yong threw the copper chain from his left hand, locking it around the hostage's throat.

Ma Laotai's two grandsons, suddenly encountering this situation, were stunned. As farmers, they had never seen such a scene before. After a moment of shock, they cried out, "Our grandfather came up the mountain to negotiate with you, and you... you... repay kindness with enmity! Release our grandfather quickly!"

Wu Yong, hearing this, showed a mocking expression and sneered, "If he hadn't gotten involved, it wouldn't have been his business. Since he came up the mountain voluntarily, he can't blame me! I, Wu Yong, have planned everything, but I didn't expect Yang Zhi to already be on the mountain! Fortunately, I had a backup plan, or I would have no place to die! I didn't want to do this, but you forced me!"

Ruan Xiaoqi, hearing this, cursed, "Nonsense! Was the robbery of the birthday tribute also forced by us? Wu Yong, I never thought you were so deceitful! You always pretended to be weak in martial arts, fooling us all. What a clever scheme! But you should have a conscience! Why involve an innocent old man? Do you have any shame!?"

Wu Yong sneered and shouted at his old friends, "Come on! Attack me! We're all going to die anyway. I'll use this old man's life and Wang Lun's reputation as a shield! If he and Chao Gai die here on Liangshan, the rumors in the future will be quite interesting!"

Ruan Xiaoqi, seeing this, angrily cursed, "This guy has lost his mind!" After cursing, he whispered to Yang Zhi, who was holding a knife in front of him, "Commander Yang, don't fall for his trick. Don't move rashly!"

The two grandsons of the old man quickly knelt before the leaders on Liangshan, begging them not to act rashly. The old man struggled to free his hands and pull the copper chain, his voice hoarse, "I'm over eighty, I've lived enough. Don't worry about me, lords!"

Wu Yong, seeing this, tightened the copper chain and shouted, "Don't move! If anyone comes near, I'll strangle him! I want to see if this scholar is just using small favors to win people's hearts or truly cares about the old man's life!" At this moment, even he didn't realize that he was pinning all his hopes for survival on Wang Lun being the righteous person he was rumored to be.

This shout had the desired effect. Ruan Xiaoqi, Zhu Gui, Zhu Fu, and the others exchanged glances, all slightly shaking their heads. Even Li Kui, the brute, stood there at a loss.

Seeing that everyone on the mountain was hesitant, Wu Yong felt extremely pleased. He then used his eloquence to persuade, "Commander Yang, the three people at your feet and Han Bolong are all unconscious. I can't move them, so I'll leave them to you! With these people to pay for your life, you should be satisfied! Why make a big fuss over a poor scholar like me? You just arrived on the mountain. If you force the old man to die, it will make Wang Lun look bad, and you won't feel at ease here. You, Commander Yang, are from the government. If you offend your superiors on your first day here, you know the consequences!"

Seeing the fire in Yang Zhi's eyes, but his legs rooted to the ground, Wu Yong was delighted, thinking, "He's fallen for my trick!" He then ignored Yang Zhi and turned to the few people who had followed Chao Gai up the mountain, saying, "If you want to leave, carry the gold and go with me. Chao Tianwang's fate is uncertain. Why should you die with him?"

Hearing this, two of the three or four servants hesitated and started to move toward him, while the others cursed, "You traitor, if it weren't for our master's care, you would still be teaching children in the village. Now you are so ungrateful, and you want us to follow you? Spit! We would rather die with the Heavenly King than go with you, traitor! Brothers, think about how our master treated us. Let's die with the Heavenly King and have company on the road to the underworld!"

Wu Yong sighed, "Remember, I didn't harm the bailiff; the people on Liangshan did! I was powerless to help. I've said all I can. You must accept your fate!"

Wu Yong then turned his head and shouted, "Open the gate, or we all die together!"

Suddenly, Yang Zhi laughed madly and shouted, "Open the gate, let this dog go!"

The guards at the gate, receiving the order, quickly opened the gate. Wu Yong, seeing this, did not say more, but quickly retreated with the old man as a hostage. The old man tried to shout, but Wu Yong's chain around his throat made him turn red and feel extremely uncomfortable. Ruan Xiaoqi shouted, "Wu Yong! We said we would let you go, so don't harm the old man!"

Wu Yong loosened his grip slightly but did not stop. The two servants followed him closely. On the beach, the two fishermen who had not left were standing by their boat, chatting with the mountain leaders. Seeing this, they were terrified. The water soldiers on the beach surrounded them, but Ruan Xiaoqi shouted, "Don't go near them!" The soldiers obeyed and did not press forward, just surrounding the group. Wu Yong got on the boat and said to the fishermen, "Go quickly! Or you will all die!"

The two servants, seeing this, forced the fishermen to move. They were their only hope for survival, so they did not wait for Wu Yong's orders and pushed the fishermen. The fishermen, having no choice, rowed the boat into the water. Wu Yong said to the shore, "Xiaoqi, I don't want to be an enemy of Liangshan. This was all forced on me. The old man has no grudge against me. After I land, let him go. If you chase me, I will have no choice but to destroy everything!"

Ruan Xiaoqi, hearing this, stomped his foot in anger and shouted, "Don't chase him!" Then he shouted to Wu Yong on the small boat, "If you break your word, I, Ruan Xiaoqi, will chase you to the ends of the earth and tear you apart!"

Wu Yong did not respond, just loosened the chain around the old man's neck and handed him to the two servants to watch over. He then put the chain in his sleeve, bowed to the shore, and stood on the boat, heading north with the current.

After half an hour, the small boat was about to enter the Northern Qing River. Wu Yong thought for a moment, told the fishermen to stop, and let the old man off the boat. The old man jumped and cursed at Wu Yong, who just laughed and bowed to him, then had the fishermen row the boat away.

The old man, with no other choice, walked toward the shore. Suddenly, he saw a group of soldiers, led by a distinguished general. Thinking that the government troops would not dare to approach the water, he wondered if these were Liangshan soldiers. He hurried forward and called out, "Is the general from Liangshan?"

The general nodded and said, "Yes!" The old man, panting, quickly explained the situation. The general, hearing this, was filled with righteous indignation, mounted his horse, and shouted, "Stay here, I'll be back!" The general then spurred his horse and galloped away.

Wu Yong, who had narrowly escaped, was sitting on the small boat, secretly rejoicing. Suddenly, he saw a mounted general galloping toward him. Since they were several dozen feet apart, he was not afraid, just sneering at the general.

The general, seeing the boat moving with the current and unable to get into the water, took out his bow and arrow and aimed at the boat. Wu Yong, seeing this, was shocked and quickly dodged, urging the fishermen to row faster. Just then, with a "whoosh," an arrow pierced the air and hit the scholar on the boat. Wu Yong screamed in pain, clutching his buttocks and falling on the boat, his fate unknown.

Who was this skilled archer? It was none other than Tang Bin, the archery expert among the three heroes of Pudong, known for his ability to shoot people in the buttocks with his bow. (To be continued)