Chapter 210: Miao Chef Chapter 212: Caught in the Net

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Rui Fusheng's slash was one he could not check, sweeping upward from the chest; with his whole body weight thrown behind it and the strength in his hand, it was truly unstoppable.

The chest has bone, which ultimately posed some obstruction, but even so flesh split and bone shattered, cleaving through the chest and snapping ribs; as the blade continued upward it tore straight through the throat.

Xiang Yuan rolled on the ground a few times; at first he screamed miserably, but that scream only reached half its height before it instantly went mute, and he froze in place like a duck with its neck pinched to death, able only to emit gurgling, gasping sounds.

Everyone present showed unbearable expressions; the lead Guan Cha hurriedly shouted: "Eldest Sister! Quickly call the Eldest Sister!"

He also brought people forward to haul Xiang Yuan up.

Rui Fusheng reacted extremely fast; he instantly abandoned the big one and reached back to grab the small one on the ground.

Xiang Lin lay limp on the ground; seeing his father in such a state, he had long been scared stupid, unable even to speak or shed tears, just gaping with mouth open and eyes staring, incapable of struggling — like a chick tucked under Rui Fusheng's arm.

Rui Fusheng pressed his dagger against Xiang Lin's neck and shouted: "All of you back off! Who dares step forward!"

Seeing he would kill the moment he moved, without the slightest hesitation, no one in the courtyard dared to gamble; they could only look to the leader.

The criminal held a child as hostage; that headman naturally dared not act rashly, so he could only honestly back off and also stop his subordinates from advancing.

Rui Fusheng pinched the hostage and ordered: "Open the front and rear gates; if I see a single person follow —"

As he spoke, not even giving them time to bargain, he casually delivered a slash.

A pinky finger rolled on the ground.

Xiang Lin finally reacted, screaming like a slaughtered pig.

A child's voice is so piercing that it instantly pierced the sky.

Rui Fusheng backhanded another slash, and another finger — this time the ring finger — fell rolling to the ground.

He bared a ferocious face and shouted: "Scream again, and Laozi will cut off your head!"

Xiang Lin's scream caught in his throat at once, and he dared not move again.

Not only Xiang Lin; everyone in the courtyard, seeing Rui Fusheng so ferocious and cruel, also dared not move.

That headman no longer dared to delay; he immediately ordered men to open the front and rear courtyards and had them withdraw.

Rui Fusheng tucked the hostage under his arm and headed first for the front gate; after a few steps he ordered the crowd not to follow, and his pace was extremely slow.

Moving like this, naturally there were fast runners who, having received the leader's command, gauged Rui Fusheng's direction and hurriedly slipped away to report.

The higher-ups received the news and naturally dispatched troops to lie in ambush at the front gate.

Watching Rui Fusheng slowly reach the halfway point — he had been backing up, but for some reason he suddenly turned and walked toward the side.

Everyone was baffled, then saw this man sprint a few steps and dive through a side door.

A group of people rushed inside, when suddenly the foremost man shouted loudly: "Bad!"

Answering that cry came the neigh of a horse.

Inside the side door was precisely the stable.

A swift horse charged out, colliding head-on with the crowd.

A tall, powerful horse with four legs and iron-shod hooves; two-legged men all value their lives — even if unafraid of death, they fear being maimed or crippled — so who could block it, who dared block it? They frantically scrambled to dodge.

Even so, two men were kicked down by hooves, crying in pain as they rolled on the ground.

Rui Fusheng seized the horse, clamped Xiang Lin in front of him on the saddle, one hand gripping the boy's hair tight to expose his neck, the other holding the reins, and galloped off.

He did not head for the front gate, nor the rear gate, but straight for the side gate, bursting out through it.

This mansion originally occupied no small area; the forty-odd men dispatched were each assigned posts — twelve men divided into three squads, each guarding a gate. Because Rui Fusheng had initially walked toward the front gate, the rear and side gates each had one man drawn away to reinforce the front ambush.

At this moment only three guards remained at the side gate; hearing the commotion they stepped forward to block, but Rui Fusheng scattered two handfuls of powder left and right, driving one back, while the other two failed to react in time and took the white powder full in the face.

The two men cried out in pain one after another, clutching their eyes and rolling on the ground — it turned out Rui Fusheng had thrown lime powder.

He spurred the horse into a fast run; before leaving he did not forget to snatch the waist-sword from one of the guards.

Presently he reached the roadside; at the intersection there were actually three or four men blocking the way.

The guards heard the sound, fetched Zha Lan to bar the way, and moved to surround him; but seeing the long saber in Rui Fusheng's hand, each panicked and hurriedly retreated, only hoping the barrier would force him off the horse so they could capture him.

But Rui Fusheng's horse had been bought with heavy gold and was exceptionally spirited; at this moment it galloped like a guest, and upon seeing the barrier it did not hesitate in the slightest — instead it charged even faster, and when it reached the obstacle it leapt up, clearing it effortlessly.

The crowd panicked greatly.

One man raised a shield and tried to give chase.

Rui Fusheng hurled his long saber, delaying the pursuer for a moment.

How can two legs match four? With that brief delay, no one could catch up; only the distant sound of hoofbeats could be faintly heard, granting a moment's respite.

Nearing the riverbank, seeing a fork in the road ahead, Rui Fusheng took the sack from the horse's back, stuffed cloth into Xiang Lin's mouth to gag him, blindfolded his eyes, wrapped him entirely in the sack, and when they reached the fork he abandoned the horse and sent it down the other path.

Taking advantage of this interval, he did not take the other fork but instead continued forward, took a small trail, carrying the bundle and sack on his back, and strolled leisurely toward the river channel, dusting off the gray dust on his body and straightening his headcloth as he walked.

Only after confirming he had gone far enough that the houses and streets behind could completely screen him did he strike a fire striker, lighting a candle he carried.

Tonight the sky held only a crescent moon; reaching the riverbank, the river was indeed pitch black, empty and vast, with only a small boat moored at the shore, a lone lamp hanging from it, dimly illuminating a figure slumped at the bow, looking fast asleep.

Rui Fusheng stepped forward and called: "Boatman."

That man started as if shocked awake, looked up, and hurriedly said: "Sir has come? Why so late? I was afraid you wouldn't come!"

He also pointed to the cabin: "Bought quite a bit of food; it's all inside. Sir can check in a moment if it's enough."

Speaking, he reached for his waist.

At this moment Rui Fusheng held the candle aloft in his left hand and gripped the saber reverse in his right; seeing the movement, his pupils contracted, he stepped forward with one foot, about to act.

The boatman, however, fished out a handful of copper coins and held them out: "Twelve wen left…"

Rui Fusheng said: "Reward for you."

The boatman thanked him again and again, laid down a wooden plank, and invited the guest aboard.

Even though he knew time was tight at this moment, Rui Fusheng remained perfectly calm.

He first raised the candle in his hand to light up the face of the person opposite.

White beard, small eyes, protruding ears, wearing a cloth shirt, with a patch on the right sleeve—sure enough, it was exactly the boatman he had chosen, who hadn't even changed his clothes.

After lighting up the face, he then shone the light on the bow of the boat.

At the bow there was a circle with a horizontal line drawn in the middle—both white—marks he had made earlier with soapstone.

The boat was the original boat, the boatman was the original boatman; Rui Fusheng finally relaxed a little, first told the boatman to step back, didn't use the plank, and jumped into the boat himself.

"It's pitch black outside and the wind is strong, sir. Come into the cabin and sleep for a while; when you wake up, we'll be there."

The boatman laughed heartily, and just as he was about to turn around to collect the plank, he suddenly stopped, very perceptively reaching out to Rui Fusheng and saying, "Let me put your luggage aboard for you, sir."

Rui Fusheng slapped the boatman's hand away and only urged, "Stop yapping, mind your own business—hurry up, don't delay my important affairs!"

After speaking, he stood in place staring.

The boatman hurriedly agreed, collected the plank and the binding rope, took the pole, and pushed off from the riverbank.

The small boat swayed gently and drifted downstream.

Seeing that the boatman's movements were skilled and that the boat had already set off, Rui Fusheng stopped yapping and turned toward the cabin.

He walked to the cabin door, about to enter, when he saw a curtain hanging straight down to the ground, not letting a single gap show, and his heart stirred; he silently wondered: Was there such a curtain before?

Thinking of this, his hand, which had been halfway out, suddenly stopped.

By now the boat was moving, the river wind came from behind, blowing Rui Fusheng's headcloth and sleeves fluttering—but the curtain didn't move at all.

Not only did it not move, it was simply stretched too straight and too tight.

Rui Fusheng did not move forward; instead, he retreated, and just as he was about to untie the sack behind him with his backhand, he suddenly heard a "ripping" sound from the cabin door opposite.

The door curtain fell in response, and three or four burly men rushed out one after another from inside, each holding a stick, swinging their sticks and charging forward.

Looking at what they were wearing, they were clearly all official soldiers.

How could Rui Fusheng not know he had fallen into a trap? He retreated two steps and was about to grab the boatman behind, but before he could make a move, he heard a "thud"; turning his head, where was there any boatman on the boat? —he had actually jumped into the river to escape.

He was carrying the sack upside down and had no time to untie it; he used a dagger to forcefully pull, not caring where the blade cut inside, just about to reveal Xiang Lin inside to use as a hostage, when the opposite stick had already thrust in front of him.

Since ancient times, a weapon an inch longer is an inch stronger.

The boat was originally small, and in such cramped quarters, even if Rui Fusheng's dagger was a divine weapon, he couldn't get close to his opponent, so naturally he was at a great disadvantage.

Several sticks forced him to the point where he couldn't even pull his hand back; he had to drag the sack and retreat again, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted the wooden plank the boatman had used earlier, so he let go of the sack with his left hand, leaped to pick it up, raised it, and smashed it toward the opposite side.

To dodge this heavy wooden plank, the opposite official soldiers had to turn sideways and duck their heads.

Rui Fusheng gained this bit of space and finally had a breather; just as he was about to grab Xiang Lin, he turned and saw—the sack was actually moving—two heads and two pairs of hands emerged from the boat's edge, pulling the sack outward.

One of them was that boatman from before—who knows when he had surfaced again.

Rui Fusheng was furious and was about to chase, when he heard a whistling sound from behind; turning his head, several wooden sticks were thrown at him, followed by three or four charging Chai Guan, and one stood at the cabin door, shouting loudly: "Lv Mao, surrender quickly! If you continue to resist, don't blame us for being impolite!!"

The sounds of sticks, shouting, and calls to surrender; a crowd of people did not step forward, only using sticks to entangle with him.

Rui Fusheng assessed the situation; with one calculation, he knew he couldn't catch Xiang Lin in time; staying longer would only mean losing, so he didn't linger in battle and didn't entangle; instead, he grabbed several paper packets from his waist, pinched them burst at once, and scattered them forward—the old trick repeated, scattering a large handful of lime.

Everyone knew the danger and retreated in a hurry.

Taking advantage of this moment of retreat, Rui Fusheng coldly laughed and said: "Anyone who can catch this Laozi hasn't been born in this lifetime!"

After speaking, he turned and leaped, with a "thud," jumping into the river.

In the dark night, there was only the sound of water in the river; to the naked eye, everything was pitch black.

As soon as Rui Fusheng entered the river, he left no trace.

But no one on the boat was anxious; several people had already crawled out of the cabin early, gathered at the boat's edge, took the fishing net heads from the side of the boat, and began to haul up the net.

Amidst the splashing sounds, many nets were hauled onto the boat; most were empty, some had caught fish and rotten trash, but only one net had someone shout: "I've got him here!"

For a moment, everyone went to help.

Sure enough, as the net was lifted, one person inside was wrapped tightly, covered in water, and was dragged straight onto the boat—it was precisely Rui Fusheng who had just called himself "Laozi" and uttered harsh words.

A boatload of official soldiers rushed forward to press him down; some gagged his mouth, some bound his hands behind his back, some bound his feet; they were in a flurry.

Also, that boatman from before and another person climbed onto the boat, dragging a huge sack—inside was wrapped something wet, precisely Xiang Lin.

After capturing the criminal, the boat hurried toward the shore.

Many people on the shore had already lit torches and were waiting.

The leading Guan Cha hurried forward, performed a salute, first called out "Censor," but while speaking, he was looking toward another person opposite.

"To let the official know, to let Young Master Han know, that Rui Fusheng has been caught in the net!"

This was a truly literal "caught in the net."

He was a Guan Cha, and many things were not easy to say, but the several boatmen following behind had so many scruples.

The crowd followed along the way and couldn't help but kick the fishing net that hadn't been untied yet; instead, they lifted Rui Fusheng, who was being carried along the way, kicking him and spitting at him, all cursing: "You bastard! Not doing good deeds, becoming a human trafficker!"

"Human traffickers won't die a good death!"

"Run! Run again! See if you swim fast, or if my fishing net is big—I am the Laozi, what kind of Laozi are you!"

"You turtle grandson still cut my net; the day you die, I'll use you to sacrifice to my net!"

"Thief and slut! Pah!"

Everyone wanted to curse and wanted to spit, truly busy to death.

Just as they were about to go forward, some soldiers went to stop them, so they had to give up.

When they looked up, the one standing at the very front saw the group opposite and was delighted to step forward, saying: "Han Xiu Cai, you are such a divine calculator; how did you calculate for sure that he wouldn't enter my cabin and would definitely jump into the river? You told me to set nets in the river direction—sure enough, that one net caught him!"

Rui Fusheng was caught in the net and was sent to the government office.

And Xiang Lin was rescued, but he was also covered in injuries.

He had two fingers broken, lost an ear; from his left eye to his mouth to his chin, when Rui Fusheng used the dagger to cut the sack, a not shallow cut was made; as soon as he got ashore, he kept crying for his father and mother.

Eldest Sister had already followed him over, stuck a Needle into him, and applied Medicine.

Both the Drinking Medicine and the applied Medicine contained mafeisan, so he slowly lost all sense of Pain, yet his Brain could not help flashing with many chaotic thoughts.

At one moment he thought: what would he do without his hand, without one Ear? — at this time he had no Mirror, only knew his face hurt, and did not think much about it, not knowing what his injury looked like.

At another moment he thought: Father had been struck by such a Knife, not knowing what his injury looked like, he would definitely be extremely Angry, and if he discovered that the Plum Blossom Pile had been ruined by him, he would surely beat him to death.

But what did this have to do with him!

Urged several times, scolded, beaten, not a single servant was willing to go find a saw or an axe for him.

Left with no choice, the more he thought about it at Midnight the angrier he got, so he stole a Dagger, Carried a Lantern, and went up himself.

Needless to say, that Dagger indeed cut Iron like Mud; making a few Piles was really not much effort at all.

But who could have thought that, originally clearly meant for Liang Yan, it would end up falling on Father??

This time, probably crying would be of no use; would he really be beaten into a cripple??

?? Double monthly Tickets, if everyone has extra monthly Tickets, can you vote for our Xiao Miao? ~Thank you thank you!

? It seems tomorrow Operations Official Xiao Tu will launch a monthly Ticket Activity; exactly how to participate may require paying attention to Xiao Tu's posted Post tomorrow, and only after replying to the Post and voting can one receive Bu Zhu.

? But Miao Miao's operations funds are too little, so only a few friends can receive Bu Zhu, while more friends can only completely give it to her for free!

? Let's see if next Month there is a possibility of striving for more funds, so that everyone who votes can recover a little blood~