Chapter 357: Before the Inner Residence Gate

357. Chapter 357: Before the Inner Residence Gate

But leaving at this moment turned troublesome. The chaotic crowd was running wildly through the streets, which weren't wide to begin with, making it impossible for the horses to pick up speed. And everyone running in the streets was an acquaintance — either cavalrymen from the horse troop or their family members.

Although he had made up his mind to abandon wife and children and flee, he couldn't bring himself to tear off all pretense just yet. The moment anyone jostled or shouted even a little, the people below would curse viciously. Some of the more ruthless and decisive ones, seeing the situation turning bad, were actually preparing to seize horses. They knew that at a time like this, a mount was the key.

At this point, all pretense was torn away. Those few with horses showed no mercy, swinging their blades and hacking down. The people below had no mounts, but they were not short on weapons, and they cursed furiously as they struck back. Blood sprayed, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

"Move, head for the outside!" Liu Cheng bellowed from horseback, but his shouts had no effect whatsoever on the scene. There were even a few acquaintances pleading bitterly. Liu Cheng even spotted a woman he was intimate with. Before leaving home, he had told his wife and children to hide in the cellar. If they came out now, should he take them or not?

Curses filled his ears, along with wretched screams and loud wailing. The tip of his nose caught the smell of burning fodder mixed with horse dung. Liu Cheng grew more and more agitated. Before he could make a move, someone suddenly grabbed his reins. Without a shred of mercy, he hacked down with his blade. Blood immediately sprayed. Only then did he realize — the one grabbing his reins was his younger male cousin, who had followed him faithfully for a long time.

Liu Cheng's body shuddered. Before he could react, he saw several riders appear at the other end of the street. They didn't look like Kong Family Village's horse troop. The moment they saw these riders, the Kong Family Village tenants over there, who had been milling about like headless flies, immediately scattered in terror.

Even from several dozen paces away, Liu Cheng realized they were enemies. Those men did not rashly spur their horses and charge in, but stopped directly in place. The young man at the front nocked an arrow to his bow.

What a textbook display of mounted archery form! This style could only be learned by military men from the Ming Dynasty's guard posts. It wasn't easy to shoot rapidly with this form, but neither range nor accuracy would be lacking! The arrow left the bowstring, traced an arc through the air, and flew over at great speed, piercing straight through Liu Cheng's chest. A look of loss still lingered on Liu Cheng's face. He was thinking, if his own father hadn't been blinded by greed and followed Kong Jiuying back then, he himself would now be serving in the army. In his final moments, Liu Cheng heard a woman's shrieks and a child's loud crying. He could tell — it was his own wife and child. That was for the best. The look of loss on Liu Cheng's face turned to relief as he toppled straight off his horse.

"Master Tiger!" Only one or two people shouted. No one had the attention to spare. A single arrow had caused the chaotic crowd to completely explode.

Those on horseback whipped their horses madly to charge through, while those with weapons slashed and hacked wildly. They all wanted to carve out a path for themselves. Dong Bingfeng narrowed his eyes from atop his horse. It was very simple to judge — the people currently on horseback were relatively more important. He had just shot one dead; now he could deal with a second.

"Damn, this is way too easy. I thought with so many horse troops, it'd take some effort. Who knew they'd fall into chaos like this on their own."

"It's all Master Jin's brilliant calculations!"

"A bunch of trash. If it were us facing this, we'd definitely bunch up tight and fight. This, on the other hand, is just like herding sheep." The several cavalrymen following Dong Bingfeng didn't know how to shoot arrows; they were only there to guard their leader. But every one of them spoke in a relaxed tone.

Listening to his men's words, Dong Bingfeng once again nocked an arrow to his bow from horseback. The arrow whistled, and another man on horseback was struck and fell from his mount. This threw the situation into even greater chaos, yet no one dared to head in this direction.

Inside Kong Jiuying's inner residence, there were still a few loyal guards, and their martial skills were quite good. One man, hiding in a corner, even managed to shoot two arrows. If Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng had not been wearing that suit of armor, as all-encompassing as an iron barrel, they likely would have been in serious trouble.

The arrows were deflected. Zhuang Liu, following behind, spotted this man and killed him with a single arrow. The remaining guards were likely on day and night rotation. They were still wearing their armor and holding decent weapons, but before the long spears of the Zhao Character Battalion's household troops, they couldn't hold out for more than a few exchanges before being stabbed to death.

As for the other people, the moment they heard the words "Get down and you won't be killed," every single one of them dropped flat on the ground, crisp and efficient. Some even shouted that they knew where Kong Jiuying was, where Kong Jiuying's concubines were, where the treasure was hidden — as long as their lives were spared, they could lead the way. Others cried out loudly, claiming they had been coerced by Kong Jiuying, and now that righteous men had arrived, they were willing to be witnesses, willing to join the righteous men in rooting out evil.

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng couldn't be bothered to pay them any attention. The Zhao Character Battalion household troops following them wore faces full of contemptuous smiles. That Little Zhong, however, was quite diligent in his duty, more or less revealing each person's background. They were all favorites within this inner residence — one had a younger sister who was a concubine by Kong Jiuying's side, and another was Kong Jiuying's own sworn brother.

"Great Master, this is that old thief Kong's dwelling!" Little Zhong's face was full of gleeful satisfaction.

Kong Jiuying might not necessarily be staying there at night, but he wouldn't stray far from these few places. After Little Zhong killed two people with his dagger, he had gotten the location out of them.

Before them was a very ordinary residence of a wealthy household. It was planted full of flowers and plants, and some of the finer details of its arrangement even had a touch of refined elegance. It simply had no defensive capability whatsoever.

Kong Jiuying had married two wives and had seven or eight concubines. There were also quite a few maidservants without any formal status, and he had even dallied with many of the womenfolk in the village.

But now, as a man in his fifties, though his body was still robust, his spirit was not what it used to be. He was also more nostalgic than before and no longer went out much to chase women, instead focusing his attention on the few at home. The youngest, Eighth Concubine and Ninth Concubine, were the most favored.

Kong Jiuying knew of Zhao Jin and had marveled at the young man's growth and expansion. However, he didn't consider him a threat. After all, the Yellow River lay between them. Could that group of youngsters even cross over?

When Zhao Jin's liquor business grew big, Kong Jiuying was naturally envious. He had drunk that liquor too and now couldn't go a day without it. He naturally knew that this white liquor could sell for a good price. Getting his hands on it would mean sky-high, colossal profits.

Yet after several attempts, both overt and covert, he had never managed to gain any advantage. Kong Jiuying didn't feel he had lost face. In fact, he felt that his life here at Kong Family Village, fencing stolen goods and sharing the spoils, was quite good. There was no need to swallow every piece of fatty meat that came near his mouth. But he would keep trying constantly. As long as there was an opportunity, he wouldn't let it slip. If there was no opportunity, continuing on like this wasn't unacceptable either.

No one dared to tell Kong Jiuying that he was getting old, that he was growing more and more content with the status quo, that he had lost the fighting spirit for bloody battles. Of Kong Jiuying's three sons, only the eldest knew a bit of spear and staff. Of the other two, one liked to play the scholar, and the other was a pure wastrel. Kong Jiuying thought this was just fine. He had already built up such a family estate — why go out fighting and killing anymore? Just enjoy it well.

The only thing recently that made him feel threatened was Zhao Jin seeking marriage with Xu Zhenzhen. An alliance between the Zhao and Xu families would directly threaten Kong Family Village. Moreover, Kong Jiuying had always been scheming to take over the Xu family, using the small to swallow the large, like a snake swallowing an elephant. As long as he could take it, it would be a foundation to pass down through the generations.

The idea proposed by his subordinate Fu Chuchuan suited his appetite perfectly. Even though this Xu Zhenzhen was three years older than his ninth concubine and was said to have unbound feet, marrying her and bringing her home would give him a pretext to reach into the Xu family. Besides, some people in the Xu family had long been colluding with him. When the time came, with inside help and outside cooperation, it would surely be foolproof.

Furthermore, Zhao Jin was on the other side of the Yellow River. After dealing with the refugees, he would certainly be badly weakened and need time to recover. Meanwhile, his own side had several hundred horse troops that could be dispatched at any time. Fu Chuchuan would go to propose marriage. If they agreed, all would be well. If they didn't, the horse troops would go over and apply pressure. That woman would surely obediently marry over.

It wasn't without trouble, though. After Eighth Concubine and Ninth Concubine heard this news, they cried and made a scene every day without stop. In the old days, Kong Jiuying would have slapped them hard across the face, but now he couldn't harden his heart. He inevitably had to spend a few extra nights in these two ladies' rooms, and at night, he inevitably had to demonstrate that he was still vigorous in his old age.

Old was old, in the end. A night of exertion meant he couldn't get up during the day. In years past, if someone walked outside the courtyard, Kong Jiuying, even in deep sleep, would wake instantly and be on guard. But now, he was woken up in bed by Eighth Concubine pushing him.

"Master, out... outside..." The bleary-eyed Kong Jiuying hadn't yet registered anything when he first saw the utterly terrified expression on Eighth Concubine's face.

It was very noisy outside. There were sounds of crying and shouting outside. Kong Jiuying finally realized — something had gone wrong. He abruptly sat up in bed, but this movement caused a spasm of pain in his lower back, nearly making him lie back down again.

It had been a long time since he practiced martial arts and tempered his body. His physique had failed him in every way. Kong Jiuying gritted his teeth and propped himself up. Beside him, Eighth Concubine's body wouldn't stop trembling. In a quavering voice, she said, "Master, what do we do..."

This commotion didn't sound like the inner or outer village stirring up trouble and brawling on their own. Something serious must have truly happened. Decades of experience kept Kong Jiuying from making a wrong judgment. At this moment, he could still distinguish what was important. Ignoring the tearful pleas of his usually favored Eighth Concubine, Kong Jiuying reached out and pushed her aside, jumped straight off the bed, and reached underneath it to fumble around.

His hand grasped at empty air. Kong Jiuying froze, then immediately roared at Eighth Concubine on the bed, "Where is the saber I kept here?!"

"The teacher said weapons are inauspicious, that keeping them in the room harms the master. So I... I..." Before she could finish her words, the sound of footsteps climbing over the wall and landing came from outside the house. He heard the door bolt being drawn back. Dense footsteps rang out. "Old thief Kong is right here!" someone shouted excitedly.

Eighth Concubine let out a shriek and squirmed backward, shrinking into the bed. Kong Jiuying's entire body stiffened. The physical foundation he had built in his younger days was extremely good. Although excessive drinking and womanizing in recent years had taken their toll, his back had always remained straight. But now, it suddenly stooped considerably. However, after pausing only a moment, Kong Jiuying braced himself and slowly stood up. Ignoring Eighth Concubine's crying behind him, he opened the door himself and walked out.

It was daylight after all, though the sun hadn't yet risen. The smell of burning hay, horse dung, and other assorted things drifted in. Standing on the steps, Kong Jiuying was somewhat dazed. He saw the faces in the courtyard, one after another — some excited, some indifferent. His very first thought was actually, "These people came so early."

"You..." After uttering that one word, Kong Jiuying's voice became so hoarse he couldn't continue. He took a deep breath and said, "Who are you?"