Chapter 109: A Trap You Set? (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

109. Chapter 109: A Trap You Set? (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

They were just young men from Xuzhou City. What they called guts and ferocity amounted to nothing more than brawls and group fights. They had never seen a bloody scene like this. Those bold enough to charge over earlier were now, upon coming to their senses and looking back, utterly stunned and rooted to the spot.

Zhao Jin raised his voice and shouted again. Only then did these few jolt as if shocked and hastily answer. They were shaken by the death, but they saw even more clearly Zhao Jin's peerless courage and ferocity — how he had charged and killed his way straight through, slaughtering a path clean through this street. How could they not fear a man like that?

Beyond fear, these young men also felt a stir of excitement in their hearts. They all admired heroes, and right now, Zhao Jin was their hero.

One by one they reported their names. Zhao Jin memorized them with a smile, then instructed, "From now on, Lu Da is the head of you few. Gather up all the people who didn't run. Take up clubs and seal off the entrances to this street. No one is allowed in or out. Understood?"

Lu Da nodded, picked up a club from the ground, and went off to get busy. Over on the other side, Liu Yong also came running back. Zhao Jin smiled and said, "Brothers, this is our third — no, second time seeing blood and killing. Afraid?"

"Afraid! Of course I'm afraid! But watching you charge ahead, Big Brother, I felt the blood all over my body start to boil. In that moment, I thought of nothing else — I just followed and charged!" Ji Xiang answered. His complexion didn't look too good, not from fear, but because everyone had come here to stand up for him and his father. He never expected the other side to have prepared such a huge formation. If not for Zhao Jin's valor, they might have been completely wiped out here.

Seeing Ji Xiang about to continue, Zhao Jin raised a hand to stop him and said, "It has nothing to do with you. Even if we hadn't come this time, they would have thought of other ways to deal with us. Better to fight it out with real blades and spears like this!"

Beside him, Wang Zhaojing had also been splattered with quite a bit of blood. He simply took off his outer robe, wiped his sword clean first, and then said, "This time was truly perilous. It's all thanks to the killing we experienced when we rescued those people, and then that other time — only because of that could we handle today."

A warrior who hasn't seen blood is just a lamb. Though these days had been short, Zhao Jin and his companions had fought and killed in succession. At the very least, they had grown accustomed to scenes like this.

Wang Zhaojing smiled and continued, "Brother Zhao is truly fierce and brave. That spirit of yours — a match for ten thousand men!"

"None of you were lacking either. Without you all guarding my back, I couldn't have done it," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Chen Sheng roughly wiped his blade clean there and looked up to ask, "We've killed so many people in broad daylight inside the city. What do we do now?"

"Naturally, we report it to the authorities. But before we report it, let's go pay a visit to that Big Head Huang." Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Chatting and joking relaxed their mood considerably. But when the name "Big Head Huang" was mentioned, everyone's expressions turned cold. This Big Head Huang had actually set a trap like this. The slightest misstep, and all of them would have been finished today.

Just then, they heard a commotion from the street in front of Big Head Huang's house. That area was full of corpses and Zhao Jin's newly recruited underlings. Why was there such a ruckus?

Everyone's expression changed. They hurried over. When they arrived and looked, they found Lu Da and his dozen or so men surrounding two people and beating them, clubs in hand smashing down viciously. The people inside screamed continuously.

Seeing Zhao Jin and the others approach, Lu Da turned and said, "Boss, these two brats came sneaking out of this courtyard. When they saw the ground full of dead men, they tried to run. I felt something was off, so I grabbed them first."

Quite alert. Zhao Jin looked at the courtyard they had come out of — it was Big Head Huang's residence. He immediately shouted to stop the beating. He parted the crowd and went in to look. Those two men were not Big Head Huang. What was going on?

"Tie them up. Keep beating them, but don't beat them to death," Zhao Jin instructed, then called his companions to go in together.

Using a spear, they carefully poked open the courtyard gate. The courtyard was small, and no one was inside. The house door was also half-closed.

Zhao Jin advanced with his spear at the ready, listening carefully. The house was also very quiet. He carefully pushed the house door open. The main room was still empty. Once inside, they could hear a "mmph mmph" sound, like the noise of someone with their mouth gagged.

Entering the room where the sound came from, they found a man and a woman tied up on the brick bed, their mouths stuffed with rags. The man had bandages wrapped around his calf — it was Big Head Huang.

Seeing Zhao Jin and the others enter, bodies stained with blood and weapons in hand, Big Head Huang's face filled with terror as he struggled desperately. Ji Xiang and Shi Manqiang jumped straight onto the brick bed, pinned Big Head Huang down, and yanked the rag out of his mouth.

"Masters, spare my life! I shot my mouth off that day, I shot my mouth off that day!" Big Head Huang begged for mercy without stopping. Beside him, Ji Xiang slapped him hard twice across the face. Big Head Huang's whole body trembled.

"You sent people to smash up my brother's family shop? And said if we wouldn't accept it, to come find you?" Zhao Jin asked.

To every one of his questions, Big Head Huang shook his head frantically in denial. Ji Xiang, furious, landed several more punches. Zhao Jin's brow furrowed.

"Untie him. Haul him outside!" Zhao Jin said.

By now, everyone treated Zhao Jin's words as orders and executed them immediately. Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang moved efficiently, cutting the ropes and hauling Big Head Huang off the brick bed.

"Did you hear the sounds of killing outside just now?" Zhao Jin asked. Big Head Huang nodded in a daze.

After just a few steps, Big Head Huang was hauled outside the courtyard. Looking at the corpses strewn everywhere in front of the gate and the rivers of blood, Big Head Huang's eyes widened dramatically, his face full of utter disbelief.

"Big Head Huang, is this the ambush you set?" Zhao Jin asked coldly.

At this question, Big Head Huang first froze. Then, with a sudden burst of strength from who knows where, he violently broke free from Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang's grip and dropped directly to his knees. Ignoring the filthy ground mixed with mud and blood, he kowtowed over a dozen times with loud thuds, crying out, "Masters above, how would a nobody like me have such nerve? Th-this... there are even podao here. These are weapons used by mounted bandits outside the city! In the city's underworld, even a single life is a huge matter. Who would dare use such lethal weapons?"

At this point, Big Head Huang finally realized what he should say. Kowtowing desperately again, he pleaded, "Before dawn this morning, those two men said Yi Cuo Mao had urgent business to discuss with me. I opened the door, and those two immediately tied up both me and my wife. This matter has nothing to do with me! Masters, it truly has nothing to do with me at all."

"Were those two men Yi Cuo Mao's people?" Zhao Jin asked in a deep voice.

"They usually follow Yi Cuo Mao. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared let them in," Big Head Huang said hastily.

Ji Xiang kicked Big Head Huang hatefully and looked up to ask, "Big Brother, is this scum lying?"

"If I've spoken even half a false word, may my descendants be oxen and horses for all generations, may my descendants be struck by lightning for all generations!" Hearing this, Big Head Huang kowtowed and swore desperately.

Zhao Jin shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "This matter was suspicious from the start. I don't think he has the brains for something this big. Think about it — with a ruckus this huge, territory and all that is out of the question. Even that operation at the God of Wealth Temple would be wiped out by the yamen. And these dozen or so desperadoes aren't people Big Head Huang could hire."

"Could it be Yi Cuo Mao?" Chen Sheng asked.

"Yi Cuo Mao doesn't have this kind of ability either. Someone must be pulling the strings behind this," Zhao Jin said thoughtfully.

Hearing them say this, Big Head Huang, who had been kowtowing and begging for mercy, suddenly raised his head and shouted, "It's Yan Hei Lian! Inside and outside the city, only Yan Hei Lian has this kind of reach. He has connections with the salt merchants over in Haizhou and the monks of Cloud Mountain Temple. Only he could mobilize this many desperadoes. Yi Cuo Mao always says I'm colluding with Yan Hei Lian, but in truth, he's the one who clings to him the tightest."

Hearing the three words "Cloud Mountain Temple," everyone was startled. They exchanged glances, but no one spoke.

"Where does Yi Cuo Mao live? Where would he go?" Zhao Jin pressed.

As if grasping a life-saving straw, Big Head Huang hastily blurted out Yi Cuo Mao's address. Their group's residences weren't far apart — Yi Cuo Mao lived just two streets away.

"Xiaoyong and Daxiang, stay here and keep watch. Remember, no one is allowed in or out. We'll be right back," Zhao Jin instructed. He then called for two men to haul Big Head Huang up and rushed toward Yi Cuo Mao's house.

The distance wasn't far, but they moved very cautiously along the way. They encountered no one, however. The occasional passerby, seeing their blood-soaked, murderous appearance, hurriedly dodged aside.

They soon arrived at Yi Cuo Mao's front door. The courtyard gate swung open at a push. The yard was empty, but the house door stood open. The sun was now high, and from outside, they could clearly see people lying in the main room, with the stench of blood assaulting their nostrils.

Entering the house, several corpses lay strewn in disarray. Seeing these bodies, Big Head Huang's legs gave out completely; it took the strength of the two men beside him to hold him up. His voice trembling, Big Head Huang said, "All dead... all dead... Yi Cuo Mao's whole family is dead..."

Zhao Jin took a deep breath. With a wave of his hand, everyone exited the house. Wang Zhaojing asked in a deep voice, "What do we do?"

"Report it to the authorities!" Zhao Jin said coldly.

Everyone fell silent, quickly following Zhao Jin out of the courtyard. Standing before the courtyard gate, Zhao Jin spoke, "Zhaojing, go home right now."

Hearing this, Wang Zhaojing's expression turned grim. Solemnly, he said, "Brother Zhao, can it be that you still don't trust me, that you think I cannot share in hardship?"

"I trust you, which is exactly why I'm telling you to go home. When the yamen runners arrive soon, even if the few of us have connections, we'll still be taken to the yamen for interrogation. If you get dragged into this too, it'll be easy for someone to catch us all in one net. At home, no one will dare arrest you, and you'll have the chance to reach out and rescue everyone. Things may not become as dire as I'm saying, but we must prepare for the worst-case scenario. Do you understand?" Zhao Jin spoke with extreme gravity. After listening, Wang Zhaojing clasped his fist and said solemnly, "Brother Zhao, take care. I will wait for news at home. If the situation becomes critical, I will certainly ask my father to intervene."

Zhao Jin nodded. Wang Zhaojing gestured to everyone, then turned and left.

Watching Wang Zhaojing leave, Zhao Jin turned back and said, "Shitou, go call Lu Da. Tell him to bring five men over. Be quick."