Chapter 110: Who Are Those Desperadoes? (Begging for Monthly Tickets!)

Shi Manqiang ran off. Zhao Jin turned to the few people beside him, pondered for a moment, and said, "Everyone, today's matter is extremely suspicious. To be able to deploy desperadoes to ambush us, to design a murder to silence witnesses—the person behind this is certainly no simple character. Shitou and Daxiang are victims in this, and Liu Yong is entangled in it. They must go to the yamen to explain themselves clearly. The rest of you have nothing to do with this matter, and right now there are no witnesses who saw us. All of you go home quickly and wait for word from me."

"Th-then, Big Brother, I'm leaving now!" Before anyone else could speak, Sun Dalei spoke up first.

Chen Sheng's eyes bulged and he took a step forward, but Zhao Jin reached out and stopped him, saying, "Dalei, hurry and go. Remember to wear your clothes inside out and wipe your face clean."

Sun Dalei gave an embarrassed laugh, turned, and hurried away. Zhao Jin looked at Dong Bingfeng and said, "Bingfeng, take off your bloodstained clothes and put them away. Clean the blood off your body as well. I want you to ride a horse to the yamen to report the crime. Say you saw me acting righteously, slaying over ten bandits. After reporting, don't rush back. First go to Zhouge Village outside the city. If my father is there, tell him everything that happened today, then go home. If he isn't there, just go straight home."

Dong Bingfeng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Big Brother, I'm not afraid. I can stay and stand with you."

"What do you mean you're not afraid? Reporting this matter is the most critical thing. Otherwise, we'll end up in big trouble instead." Zhao Jin's voice suddenly turned stern.

Only then did Dong Bingfeng understand. He quickly cupped his fists and hurried away at a fast pace.

Zhao Jin then said to Chen Sheng, "This matter involves too much. The connections of both our families may not necessarily be useful. You go back first, leave the city and lie low for a while. No one will drag you into this."

Chen Sheng slid his blade back into its scabbard, looked at Zhao Jin in silence for a moment, then laughed and said, "Zhao Jin, you're a true brother, loyal to the core."

Having said this out of nowhere, Chen Sheng continued, "I killed people alongside you, so I'll shoulder this matter with you. You don't need to worry too much. I know that with dozens of lives lost, the connections of our fathers' generation might not be enough. But if you can act this way, why can't I follow you? If you're left to bear it every single time, are we even brothers anymore!"

Zhao Jin laughed too. He reached out and patted Chen Sheng's shoulder, explaining, "Sending you all back is to spare you some trouble, not because I'll be in much trouble. Do you think these dozens of lives will become a major case?"

"Is it not a major case?"

"The people who died at our hands are only those dozen or so desperadoes wielding pudao. The rest were all killed by those desperadoes. First, we can claim the title of acting righteously. Second, desperadoes like these are bound to be notorious bandits, and ones active near Xuzhou at that. They definitely have wanted posters and criminal records at the yamen. Killing them not only brings no crime, but merit instead." Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Chen Sheng knew no less than Zhao Jin about the arrest and conviction procedures in the constable's office. Hearing this, he suddenly saw the light, but still asked in a low voice, "What if there are no wanted posters or criminal records?"

"Those crude, tattered drawings—whether they resemble someone or not is just a word from our fathers' generation." Zhao Jin said leisurely. Chen Sheng understood immediately.

"Wang Zhaojing went home as a precaution against the worst. Sun Dalei is weak-willed; I feared he'd cause trouble at a critical moment. Bingfeng is there to report the crime and deliver a message—he's fast on horseback and won't delay things. The few of us staying is fine too." Listening to Zhao Jin's explanation, Chen Sheng nodded repeatedly, finally adding, "We need to learn to ride horses too."

Lu Da and the others had already rushed over. Zhao Jin glanced at Big-Head Huang, who was trembling nonstop beside him, and asked coldly, "When we go to the yamen, do you understand what to say?"

Big-Head Huang shuddered all over and stammered, "This lowly one was tied up. I know nothing of what happened outside. It was all thanks to you gentlemen's righteous rescue; otherwise, this lowly one's entire family would be finished."

Chen Sheng was not quite satisfied with this statement and directly drew his blade halfway out. Big-Head Huang was scared out of his wits and collapsed to the ground, kowtowing. Zhao Jin, however, stopped Chen Sheng's movement and said quietly, "Once we're in the courtroom, we can't control him. Since he wants to tell the truth, this is the safest approach."

"Shitou, you and Lu Da stand guard here. Don't let anyone in. Wait until the officials arrive, understood?" Shi Manqiang nodded solemnly in agreement.

Zhao Jin came straight to the point and said, "You count as a witness and cannot leave. You may have to go with me to the courtroom to see the magistrate shortly. Remember, only say that when you arrived, you saw those people killing others and acted righteously. Understood?"

Shi Manqiang nodded to show he remembered, and only then did Zhao Jin leave.

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng, bringing Big-Head Huang, returned to the street where the bloody battle had occurred. Ji Xiang and Liu Yong were there keeping watch. Although this street was blocked off from entry, the sight of corpses all over the ground was too shocking. Not to mention there was still a group of terrified young men standing guard with wooden clubs—it was extremely conspicuous. Thinking the area had quieted down, quite a few people were already watching from a distance, discussing it animatedly.

Seeing Zhao Jin approach, Ji Xiang and Liu Yong hurried over to meet him. Zhao Jin repeated to the two of them what he had said to Shi Manqiang, and everyone agreed with grave seriousness.

Of the recruits who had come, there had been thirty-nine in total. Now only sixteen remained. The rest had all fled clean away. Quite a few had also followed to this area, only to be scared off after seeing the scene of slaughter here.

"Those few who stayed with Lu Da just now—each of their monthly wages will be raised to three hundred wen. You few who never left—your monthly wages are raised to two hundred wen." Zhao Jin announced with a smile.

Though blood covered the ground, though their hearts still trembled with fear, and though they did not yet know how things would turn out, hearing that their wages were doubled or even tripled, smiles still appeared on everyone's faces.

Chen Sheng, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong also had smiles on their faces. None of them objected to giving so much. Having faced life and death together, they all felt it was worth it.

But at that moment, Lei Cai came over and whispered a few words in Zhao Jin's ear, pointing out three people as he spoke. Zhao Jin nodded, pointed at those three, and said with a smile, "You three ran away and then came back. Tomorrow I'll treat you to a good meal, but don't even think about a raise."

The three singled out were all thoroughly embarrassed, but could only accept it. After doing this, Zhao Jin smiled and said to Lei Cai, "Leizi, I won't give you a raise, and I won't treat you to good food. From now on, let's be friends, be brothers!"

Hearing these words, Lei Cai was first stunned, then nodded heavily.

The crowd around them grew larger and larger. Some people wanted to get closer for a look, but were driven away mercilessly by the young men holding clubs. During the bloody battle earlier, they had been scared out of their wits. Once it was over, they had vomited, retched, and broken out in cold sweats. But by now, their courage had grown.

The onlookers included not only idlers; some were clearly figures from the jianghu, and there were even a few familiar faces from the God of Wealth Temple. After all, Zhao Jin did not have many men, and most of them were also from the southern part of the city. They could hardly put on a stern face and drive away acquaintances, which allowed quite a few people to get close for a look.

Everyone who saw this scene of slaughter turned deathly pale. Some turned their heads and vomited on the spot. Others were so frightened they sat down on the ground.

Looking at the twisted corpses in various grotesque shapes, the five-chi pudao scattered all over the ground, and then at Zhao Jin standing in their midst, covered in blood yet laughing and talking freely—everyone felt a spontaneous sense of awe. This young man was actually this strong, actually fierce and courageous to such a degree.

Moreover, Zhao Jin had come to the southern part of the city a few times before, and his appearances at the God of Wealth Temple had been seen by many. As people discussed Zhao Jin's deeds in hushed tones, the way they looked at him became even more extraordinary.

About a little over two hours after Dong Bingfeng left, loud shouts and curses rang out from the other end of the street: "All of you, get lost!" "Official business, everyone clear out!"

Curses, cries of pain, footsteps, and hoofbeats mingled together in chaos. The commoners watching hurriedly dodged and ran away.

Zhao Jin and the others exchanged glances and all stood up straight. At that moment, several figures appeared at the entrance of the street. Xuzhou Chief Constable Chen Wu, Constable Zhao Zhentang, and several other constables walked over.

The few men standing guard with clubs froze for a moment, then quickly moved aside.

Even Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang stopped in their tracks when they saw this street. They visibly drew a sharp breath, looked up, their faces full of utter disbelief.

If even they reacted like this, it went without saying for the constables following behind them. It was clear it took them a moment to regain their composure.

Over a dozen constables had come, along with over a hundred runner aides, all holding weapons. They had already sealed off the area around this street. Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang did not rush over to check on their sons' safety; instead, they walked and looked very carefully. The constables behind them also looked very carefully, and a dozen or so more experienced runner aides followed behind.

Someone picked up a pudao from the ground, examining it with a cautious expression. Others were searching and rummaging through the corpses.

"Night Leopard! Man-Eating Leopard!" a constable suddenly shouted. The constables all looked toward him.

"He has a mole on his neck. The wanted poster in the Punishment Office has this mark." The constable said, pointing at a corpse on the ground.

Another constable suddenly bent down, pulled up an arm, and said, "Missing a pinky, crescent scar on the back of the hand. It really is that Man-Eating Leopard gang."

The moment the words "it really is" left his mouth, a constable behind him kicked him hard, nearly sending him sprawling. He caught on immediately.

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng exchanged a smiling glance. Everything happening before their eyes proved Zhao Jin's judgment correct. This gang of desperadoes was certainly not nameless. The yamen definitely had their criminal records and wanted posters. And their fathers' generation had already made preparations to pin the blame.

However, Zhao Jin truly had never heard of "Man-Eating Leopard" or "Night Leopard." Seeing the looks of utter shock on Chen Sheng's and Liu Yong's faces, he quickly asked about it.

"Big Brother, you don't even know about this? This gang of bandits has over a hundred lives on their hands. The massacre of the wealthy Wang household at Qulipu in Xiao County, the murder and robbery at Needle Eye Village in Feng County..." The two of them spoke in turn.

It turned out that Man-Eating Leopard was a notorious bandit gang in Xuzhou. They acted with reckless impunity, often charging into villages at night to burn, kill, and plunder. What was more terrifying was their ferocity, courage, and exceptional cunning. Several villages had plenty of militia and able-bodied men, yet the gang still slipped in and committed their atrocities. When pursued after their crimes, they could even fight off their pursuers.