Chapter 42: Hacking People on the Street

  Suddenly, he saw the hooligan who had intercepted the He family's carriage, and Xie San followed him all the way. However, after walking for half a mile, he felt that he was being monitored. He didn't turn his head, but continued to follow the man in front of him at a steady pace.

  On that day, as He Huan's carriage drove out of the Shen family home, he followed it from a distance. Therefore, he saw clearly that the group of people rushed out from the small alley and surrounded the carriage from behind. Judging from their actions, they were not robbers but had deliberately targeted the He family. He immediately ordered Long An to go to the government office to call for reinforcements.

  At this moment, Xie San saw the sign of Yongji Pawnshop in front of him, while Di Chui looked around and quickly walked into a dark alley beside the pawnshop, slipping into a small courtyard, his eyebrows furrowed tighter.

  Xie Zhenghui had already investigated early on that Yongji Pawnshop and He Huan's third uncle, He Baihai, had dealings with each other. However, the pawnshop and the elderly, weak, women, and children of the He family had no connection whatsoever. Why did He Huan meet with Huang Zhanggui from Yongji Pawnshop? What was the relationship between the robbers who ambushed the carriage and Yongji Pawnshop?

  Xie San stood at the entrance of the alley, leaning against the stone wall, his dark eyes fixed intently on the "Yong" character fluttering in the wind on the flagpole.

  Before long, the gate of the small courtyard creaked open. Xie San stepped back and hid himself behind a big tree. As he heard footsteps approaching from afar, his whole body tensed up.

  "Does this little brother still remember me?" Xie San suddenly jumped out from behind the tree, blocking the man's path. He never did things like sneak attacks from behind, otherwise he would have captured him by now.

  The man saw him, and was stunned for a moment. In the blink of an eye, he threw a punch at Xie San's face. Xie San dodged to the side, avoiding his attack, and with one swift motion, grabbed the man's wrist with his left hand.

  The man suddenly clenched his fist and coldly snorted: "Mind your own business!"

  Xie San grabbed his wrist, dodged another wave of attack, and immediately raised his hand to punch the man's stomach. Hearing the man's muffled groan, Xie San smiled: "I like to mind other people's business." With a forceful twist of his right hand, the man crashed into the cold wall with a thud. Xie San's right hand twisted and pulled the man's wrist, pinning it tightly against his shoulder; his left hand pressed down on the man's head, forcing his cheek to stick tightly to the rough brick wall.

  The man saw himself at a disadvantage and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. With a "crack" sound, the man forcibly twisted off his own right hand.

  Xie San had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, but after all, he lacked actual combat experience. When he saw someone twist off his own arm for the first time, he was stunned.

  "Thanks, captain, be careful!"

  Xie San still didn't understand what was happening, he only felt a huge force pushing him away, and then he heard a "thud" sound. A iron nail-like object shot into the tree trunk, his cheek brushed past a chill.

  Just as he was about to thank him three times, Lin Zhen's big knife had already been placed on the man's neck.

  "What kind of person are you, bandit from Japan?" Lin's eyes were about to spit out fire.

  The man saw Lin Duotou, and a cold smile slowly curled up at the corner of his mouth. Lin Duotou saw this, his face changed slightly, and he hastily threw down his big knife, pinching the man's cheek with force, but saw dark red blood sliding down from the man's mouth.

  "Wax pellet!" Xie San was shocked.

  Lin Duotou didn't say a word, disgustedly wiping the dirty blood off his hand, letting the man's corpse fall to the ground with a "thud". He squatted down, reached out to feel the man's pulse, shook his head lightly, then stood up, pulled out the nail from the tree trunk, and looked at Xie San, asking one word at a time: "Who is he?" His hand was tightly clenched around the nail, almost cutting into his fingers.

  "Lin Bao Tou, don't you recognize him?" Xie San kicked the corpse on the ground and suddenly exclaimed: "That small courtyard!" He rushed into the alley, Lin Bao Tou closely followed behind.

  In front of the small courtyard, Lin Daotou led the way on horseback and kicked open the gate with a "bang". Inside, the yard was empty and desolate, with nothing in sight except for a wooden platform under the eaves of the main house. The weeds growing in the yard and the dust on the platform indicated that this place had been vacant for quite some time.

  Xie San saw that the door of the west wing was ajar, and he walked over to push it open. Inside, five beds were lined up on the floor, while seven or eight food boxes were stacked haphazardly in one corner of the room. On the dirty bluestone floor, chicken bones, wine jugs, and other items were scattered all over the place.

  "Take a look inside the courtyard to see if there's anyone or a secret passage." Xie San and Lin the captain split up to search.

  When they confirmed that there was no one alive in the yard, Lin caught the head and asked: "Xie caught the head, what's going on?" He spoke loudly, his eyes staring at Xie San, his whole body immersed in anger.

  Xie San glanced at him and walked back to the west wing, pointing at the five quilts on the ground: "That day, He family's young lady's carriage was intercepted by five rascals, and that man was one of them..."

  "Only a Japanese pirate would use such a hidden weapon!" Lin, the captain of the guards, spoke slowly and deliberately, almost squeezing out the words from between his teeth.

  "You should be clear, I don't know more than you do." Xie San crossed his arms and looked up and down at Lin Duo, asking slowly, "Besides, isn't Captain Lin supposed to be handling official business back in the yamen? Why are you following me all the way here?"

  Lin caught his breath and his face turned red. He was about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside the small courtyard. The two of them rushed out of the courtyard and saw that the onlookers who had been watching from afar were now shouting and fleeing in all directions, with many people bleeding from their bodies.

  Four men with their faces covered saw Lin and Xie San, continuing to swing their big knives towards the crowd. As they hacked at people, they walked up to the corpses, each grabbing a hand or foot of a corpse, and took off running. The four men moved in unison, light and agile, perfectly coordinated, and it was clear that they were all seasoned practitioners.

  Xie San and Lin caught up with the four masked bandits, but the pedestrians on the street were like headless flies, fleeing in all directions. Even those who were not injured fell to the ground due to the pushing and shoving of others, making it difficult for them to move forward.

  Xie San ran a few steps, suddenly stopped in his tracks, and turned back to the small courtyard. He had just reached the entrance of the alley when he heard a whistle piercing through his eardrum. He muttered to himself: "I've been tricked." Quickening his pace, he sprinted forward, and saw a black figure leap onto the wall of the small courtyard, stepping on tiles to jump onto the roof beam, disappearing from his line of sight along the ridge of the house.

  Xie San's face turned dark with worry. He should have thought of it earlier, if those people were after the corpse, they wouldn't need to kill on the street, that was just a diversionary tactic. He stepped into the small courtyard and checked around, only to see that the floor tiles in the west wing had been disturbed, it seemed the black-clad man must have been looking for something.

  Hearing footsteps behind him, Xie San turned his head and asked: "Didn't catch up?"

  Lin Bowei nodded reluctantly.

  Xie San pursed his lips and looked up at the Yongji Pawnshop not far away, asking: "Whose courtyard is this? What's its relationship with the He family?"

  When He Huan learned that a robbery had occurred near Yongji Pawnshop, it was already more than an hour later. She didn't ask for details, but only confirmed with Bai Miao: "Is it true that Zilan personally told the gatekeeper's wife that if we go to find her, no need to report?"

  "Yes." Bai Zhen nodded, "The gatekeeper's wife said so. She also said that even if it were Miss or County Magistrate Shen, Mr. Shen would have declined the visit to see Young Master Shen."

  He Huan lowered her head and didn't speak. Earlier, she had already asked Zhang Bo to inquire about it, and the doctors who had taken Shen Nianxi's pulse all said that her son's illness was brought from her womb. Even if he is saved now, he will be left with a chronic illness.

  Although she had only seen her son once, he was so robust and lively, how could he be ill just by saying so? Calming down to think about it, she really couldn't believe it. But even if the Shen family had a good reputation in Ji Zhou, Shen Jinglun wouldn't be able to get so many doctors to lie for him together.

  She looked up and asked Bai Miao: "Have you mentioned the diagnosis fee? And Mr. Shen's illness..."

  "Hey, young lady, since you're already back home, there's no need to pretend anymore." Cao walked in uninvited and said bluntly: "The Shen family spent money on your medical treatment and even invited you for lunch. You can't be so ignorant as to not understand the principle of 'stopping when things are going well'?"

  "Aunt Cao, you've come at just the right time." He Huan gestured for Bai Miao to leave first, then said to Cao, "You must have heard the saying 'a gentleman loves wealth but obtains it through proper means'..."

  "What's the difference between a gentleman and not, I don't understand." Cao Yiniang evasively avoided her gaze and changed the subject: "How about it, I rushed to buy you clothes from the tailor's shop, light green in color, both elegant and lovely..."

  "You can't just barge in, what do you want?"

  Hearing Bai Rou's cry of surprise, He Huan got up and opened the door to see five or six unfamiliar bailiffs holding handcuffs, coming towards her with a fierce attitude. Before she could even ask what was going on, they had already locked her up without saying a word.

  Why was Ah Huan locked up? Please look forward to tonight's update at 00:18. Seeking first subscription.

  I'm currently reading two books, one is Guizhi's [One Product Under Heaven], and the other is Xiao P's [The Virtuous Wife is a Poisonous One]. These are my daily reads. Both of these books are about to end, next I plan to read Guomin's [The General's Pampered Consort], all of which are light-hearted novels.