Chapter 12: Killing (Part 2)
After four punches and two kicks, the offensive suddenly slowed down.
Under the induction of the Qi, Zhang Xuanning, who had been staggering backwards, burst out with his long sword. The sword light was like a rainbow, and suddenly, a rain of blood splashed out, and the accumulated internal Qi turned into a crazy destructive force, surging up along the wound.
Ma Xiongyuan roared angrily, and fell to the ground with a bang.
Zhang Xuanning gasped for breath, then exhaled slowly. His internal organs were injured, and his mouth tasted sweet and salty. After all, the opponent did not have the support of high-level internal energy. After continuous attacks, there was a gap between his physical strength and internal energy. He needed to recover his breath, but in such a battle, once a gap appeared and his Qi reacted, his suppressed power would instantly burst out, and he chopped out such a blow.
If he were now, he would definitely not be able to make such a slash. Now he finally understood why fighting to support fighting would lead to such rapid progress. Of course, the prerequisite is that he must obtain the skills of rapid recovery and healing similar to the Changsheng Jue, otherwise a hundred of himself would not be enough to die.
After taking a breath, he rushed into the inner room where Ma Xiongyuan had just come out. He chopped with his long sword, and several cabinets were split open. Broken pieces of gold, silver, and ingots were scattered all over the floor. Zhang Xuanning didn't even look at them, but put a stack of silver bills and several books into his arms.
Fortunately, there are so-called silver notes in this world, otherwise I would have suffered a huge loss this time.
"Master Xiang!" Just as he got it in his hand, Gui Xiliang rushed in from the door. He was stabbed several times. Although they were all small cuts, they were all bloody.
"How many brothers died?"
"Four brothers were killed and several more were injured."
"We will carry the dead brothers. Tell the other brothers to pick up what they can. I will give you some time."
"Yes, everyone, pick them up quickly."
"Don't take the silver, take all the gold." Zhang Xuanning added: "Also, find someone to go and see if there is any oil. If there is, pour it all over me."
A few of the younger brothers who were called were unwilling to give up, but they still went out to look for oil.
"Has the old man come yet?"
"Here he comes, outside smashing Ma Xiongyuan's body and crying!"
Zhang Xuanning put away the knife and went outside to see the old man, who was smashing the corpse crazily, shouting his son's name. His face was covered with tears, and he looked very old. He couldn't help but sighed and said, "Ah!"
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who followed forward, were vomiting with pale faces. When they heard the sigh, they remained silent.
"How many did you kill this time?"
"I killed two, and Ziling killed one."
"Okay, since you are not injured, come with me and carry our brothers. We cannot leave the bodies here for the enemy to destroy." Zhang Xuanning said, and then said to the old man: "Old man, come with me quickly, or you will die here?"
"I'm old, why should I leave?" The old man finally came to his senses, stayed in silence for a few seconds, and said.
"Okay, did you see that? The oil has been poured on the roof. Well, I'll give you a fire starter, so burn this place that killed your son!" Zhang Xuanning said, throwing a fire starter over, and then said, "Brothers, let's go quickly, Majiaji will wake up soon, and by then, it will be too late."
He was cruel and deliberately mentioned "the place where your son was killed". Even though this casino was the lifeblood of Majiaji, the old man would be burned to death now.
Gui Xiliang, Gao Zhandao and others drove the brothers who were still picking up things, while Zhang Xuanning had already stepped forward. Regardless of the bloody corpse, he carried one on his back, and the blood immediately stained his clothes red. Then he was the first to walk towards the door, which made the people behind him look at each other in surprise.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances, and both saw the look of admiration and fear in each other's eyes. Kou Zhong asked in a low voice: "What are you thinking about?"
Xu Ziling stepped forward and said, "Our boss seems to be very strong and scary. I was thinking, it would be great if we were still small hooligans in Yangzhou who were not under control."
The sound of gongs had already been heard outside, calling the villagers to their deaths, breaking the pre-dawn silence. Kou Zhong then stepped forward, also carrying a corpse on his back, and said with a wry smile, "There is no such thing as if in fate. If we hadn't followed this boss, we would still be worrying about our three meals a day! But we will never live in mediocrity."
After the two men exchanged a knowing look, they each carried a corpse and rushed out. After them, a large number of younger brothers came. The door was open, and a few people appeared by chance. They were immediately chopped to the ground and rushed out of the door. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, as long as they were not surrounded, they were naturally almost safe.
At this time, it was the darkest time before dawn. After going out for a moment, they arrived at the small hill a mile away and saw a flame rising into the sky. Everyone stopped and looked over the hill.
"The town of Majiaji is half finished." Seeing the flames flying high, there was a commotion in the distance, and thousands of torches were everywhere. Obviously, the whole Majiaji was alarmed. Xu Ziling let out a breath of cold air and whispered, "They have to put out the fire first, and it's too late to chase us. The incense master is really cruel!"
Kou Zhongyao watched the fire start and also said, "That old man is trying to take all the blame on himself. No one can blame the incense master. Even his reputation hasn't been damaged!"
"Stop talking, we are almost at the base."
When Zhang Xuanning did things, of course he had to leave a way out. Three miles away, there was a stronghold, which was a farmhouse. The owner received a few taels of silver and had temporarily left. The rent was for three days.
At this time, the sky was already dimly light. Footsteps were heard, and the gate was pushed open with a "Hey". A younger brother and a pharmacist who was ready came out.
"Quick, boil some water, wash all the dead brothers and change them into new clothes. Also, have all the injured brothers been brought here? Wash the wounds with salt and water. Also, boil some broth. Everyone needs to take a rest." After walking three miles with the corpse on his back, blood had already flowed all over his body. Zhang Xuanning also felt the smell of blood filling his nose and mouth, and he almost couldn't breathe. However, he didn't dare to show this expression, so he spoke calmly.
"Yes, Master Xiang."
"Everyone should wash themselves, put all the clothes and gold together, and change into new clothes." Gui Xiliang shouted tactfully. The clothes had already been prepared and could be changed once they were washed.
Several of the younger brothers hesitated for a moment before taking off their clothes and bathing naked. Of course, they couldn't hide anything. Zhang Xuanning understood their expressions very well. One tael of silver could buy 200 kilograms of rice, not to mention gold. The money on the younger brothers was enough for an average person to live without worries for several years.
There was no conversation at the moment. Everyone cleaned their wounds and bloodstains, and also cleaned the dead brothers. By now, the blood from the bodies had almost dried up. Although many brothers vomited during the cleaning process, and some good friends shed tears during the cleaning process - but they finally got through it.
"Has everyone finished taking their medicine?"
"Master Xiang, the medicine has been applied and all the wounds have been bandaged."
"Very good, this place is still too close to Majiaji. Let's eat something and then get on the road. We must leave here quickly, otherwise after putting out the fire, they will be full of anger and want to vent it. I think more than a dozen nearby villages will mobilize and cause trouble for us. We can't stay any longer." Zhang Xuanning turned around and asked, "How much money did you take? Have you counted it?"
"Without a scale, it's hard to check the quality, but roughly speaking, it's 340 taels of gold and more than 200 taels of silver."
"Well, brothers, report the number of people you killed. I believe that we are all together. You all know how many people you killed. Just think about it. Listen, everyone will be given five taels of silver first, and then you will be rewarded with five taels of gold for killing one person. Do you understand? As for the archers, since they can shoot at a long distance, the danger is relatively small, so the number will be reduced by half. Do you have any opinions?"
"Understood, we didn't." There were more than forty people, and of course everyone knew what each other had done. Therefore, it didn't take long for the rewards to be distributed. The silver was basically divided up, and about one hundred taels of gold were also distributed. Everyone held the money in mind.
"As for the dead brothers, three times the amount will be given to those with families and brothers. For those without families and brothers, the money cannot be used. We must bury them with honor!" Zhang Xuanning announced, "Everyone, please work harder and carry the brothers. No matter how hard or tiring it is, we cannot abandon the brothers. If we run a little further, we will find ox carts. Let's go back to Yangzhou!"
"The remaining gold is also Xiangkou's money. Let's go back and buy some clothes and a house. With more brothers, there won't be enough houses. And if there are brothers who can't fight in the future, we have to make arrangements for them, leaving a way out, right?"
"Yes, Master." These words were reasonable and logical. Everyone was speechless. Not everyone was moved, but they were convinced.
"But, Xiangzhu, are we going back like this?"
"Of course, we have done a very good job in removing the tough obstacle of Majiaji. No one can say anything about it. The achievement is quite remarkable." Zhang Xuanning said as he finished his dry food and was the first to walk out the door.
If one has more achievements, it will be too conspicuous. The purpose is to train the brothers and to gain some face in the gang, but not to be a hero or cannon fodder - it is better not to have the glory of being sent out as a blade.
Since ancient times, characters like Chong Jian’s sharp knife are the ones who die the fastest and get the least.
"Brothers, let's go together."
The morning light appeared, and the road stretched from under their feet to the far end. More than 30 young men, carrying the bodies of their brothers, slowly disappeared on the road.
There are tears, pain, and blood, but they are young, passionate, and have a future.
