Chapter 15 Aftermath
The sudden sound of gunfire in the middle of the night disturbed the tranquility of Fengshan Street. The sound came from Manager Huang's house, so it naturally quickly attracted the attention of others.
Several miners who lived nearby and had signed a contract with Ruyifang rushed over with their clothes on, but were stopped by Liu Laosi outside the house.
"Don't go. Don't go."
The skinny fellow had already thrown away the towel on his face, and sat cross-legged at the door, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, suppressing the fear in his heart, and trying to speak in a normal tone:
"The butler and his young lady were arguing, and maybe something was thrown."
"That's the sound when something falls? How can a plate fall so loudly?"
The miners are not fools.
They didn't necessarily like the mean manager Huang, but he was a formal worker of Ruyifang after all, so they naturally dared not neglect his work which also included making a living.
Liu Laosi is not a well-known person on the street, and no one listens to him.
During this conversation, several other servants in charge were sent over yawning to see what was going on. Seeing more and more people gathering, Liu Laosi's legs began to tremble again.
He stood in front of the door, waving his hands vigorously, and said loudly:
"Everyone, go back. This matter... this matter is related to Master Bao's order!"
"Master Bao?"
Hearing the name, several miners immediately shrank their heads.
No one wanted to mess with the second-generation rich man who did things "casually", and the other servants in charge were also a little hesitant.
They are all family members of the managers of the seven mines, and are considered to be Ruyifang’s confidants in Fengshan Street. They all know that Bao Ye came here secretly today.
Seeing Liu Laosi bringing up Bao Ye, everyone no longer wanted to get involved.
"Yes, it was Master Bao's order."
Seeing that Master Bao's "good reputation" had intimidated everyone, Liu Laosi calmed down a little, pulled a few servants aside, and lied in a low voice:
"Manager Huang did some private things for Master Bao. He went to Pit No. 7 this afternoon. Others don't know about it, but the other six masters should know about it.
Mr. Bao has secret things to do there, we don't know what they are doing, and we don't dare to ask.
But this pit number 7 will be sealed tomorrow until the secret work is done. Brothers, go back and talk to the other masters and arrange for the workers in pit number 7 to be relocated to other pits first, okay?"
Several servants looked at Liu Laosi with strange eyes. He was particularly active tonight.
brother?
Bah, you are a poor guy, and you think you are worthy of being our brother?
"You have no say."
Someone immediately spoke up:
"This is a serious matter, and Steward Huang needs to step in. We'll just wait here, until he and his young lady... hehe, wait until they're done arguing, and then we'll listen to what he has to say."
As the man spoke, he let out an obscene laugh, causing everyone around him to laugh in unison.
It seemed that Manager Huang's story of having a more attractive partner beautiful woman was becoming a hot topic of gossip throughout Fengshan Street. When the miners saw that the managers had sent people, they went back home and continued to sleep.
Liu Laosi became more and more worried.
He heard the noise just now clearly, and realized that it must be the sound of the hidden weapon in the bandit Jiang's hand. Manager Huang would probably be dead by now.
He failed to scare these guys, so he wanted to show the bandits his "ability" and demonstrate his "availability".
The result is superfluous.
If it is delayed for too long, something bad will happen.
Just as he was chatting with a few other people in a haphazard manner, deliberately leading the topic to Manager Huang's romantic affairs to distract their attention, the door of the house behind them suddenly opened.
Liu Laosi was so scared that he trembled, fearing that the bandit Jiang would rush out with a strange hidden weapon and shoot everyone present. That would really make things a big deal.
but not.
The person who opened the door was a woman wearing a coat and holding a lantern. She was thin and small, but looked dignified, with her hair loose and traces of tears on her face.
Isn’t this Manager Huang’s concubine?
What is she here for?
"Everyone...brother."
The concubine timidly glanced at Liu Laosi, holding the lantern, and said to the others:
"My husband got drunk tonight and accidentally broke something. He just fell asleep after being served. Let's go home."
That being said, everyone clearly saw that there was still a slap mark on the girl's cheek, and seeing that she was crying, everyone immediately had some thoughts in their minds.
Oh no, it must be that old man who doesn’t understand romance. He got drunk and beat people up to show off his power.
They probably thought that the job was useless and they were angry. They couldn't enjoy the delicious food in front of them, so they could only waste the beauty like this. All the guys kept looking at the woman.
But after understanding the whole story, everyone felt relieved.
Liu Laosi rolled his eyes and said loudly:
"Madam Huang, when the steward and I came back from Pit No. 7, did you tell us that Pit No. 7 would be closed from tomorrow because of Master Bao's order? I told everyone, but no one believed me. Come and be my witness."
When Mrs. Huang heard this, she was a little confused for a moment, but then in the light of the candlelight, she saw Liu Laosi winking at her frantically.
She looked back at the lighted house behind her, pursed her lips, and said to the others:
"That is indeed what I said, but my husband is drunk now. How about I go and wake him up and tell you all more?"
"no, I'm fine."
The others quickly waved their hands and shook their heads.
Given the mean temper of that old steward Huang, if he were called out now, he would definitely hold a grudge against them and might even make things difficult for them.
We are all lowly servants, and these things must never be done.
Everyone got the news that the manager was fine, read the gossip again tonight, and would have new things to talk about tomorrow, so they left satisfied.
Watching them disappear into the street, Liu Laosi let out a sigh of relief and felt a chill down his back.
"You, follow me."
Mrs. Huang also breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled at her coat, gave an instruction to Liu Laosi, and took him into the house. She closed the door and went straight into the lighted room in the courtyard.
As soon as I entered the house, the smell of blood hit me.
The bandit Jiang was busy, wrapping the headless body with a white sheet to make it look like a mummy, but the bloodstains and scattered skulls on the ground were still shocking.
"Oh, I made a mistake. I couldn't control my anger. I shouldn't have used this gun."
Jiang Xia said this while packing up without turning his head.
It really looked like a mistake. If an almost silent pulse rifle had been used, this wouldn't have happened at all. Liu Laosi didn't dare to answer and just stood there with his hands down.
Mrs. Huang was also very frightened.
After all, she is a girl. When she went out to talk just now, her legs were shaking. But even though she was so scared, she did not choose to tell the truth, but helped Jiang Xia hide it.
This attitude is very interesting.
Although there was also the factor of fear, even the person next to him was happy that Manager Huang was killed. Perhaps this was the result of not doing good things in daily life.
"You didn't run away, which was beyond my expectation."
Jiang Xia stood up and looked back at Liu Laosi. He paused and said:
"You are still trying hard to cover up for me outside the door. I am a little confused about you. What do you want to do?"
"I……"
Liu Laosi glanced at the corpse wrapped in a sheet but still oozing blood at Jiang Xia's feet. The skinny monkey clenched his fists as if he wanted to show his heroism.
But when the words came to his lips, he spoke softly again.
He said:
"I brought you to Manager Huang to cut off my own escape route. Now, there is no other way to go except to escape. But if you escape to other places, you will just live a dissolute life with no purpose.
So, why not just give it a try.
I want to hang out with you."
"Hang with me?"
Jiang Xia's eyes widened, and he said in a strange tone:
"What do you think I am? A gangster? That's illegal. You can't do that. I'm a businessman. I'm an honest, respectable person. Do you understand?"
Liu Laosi didn't answer. He had already said what he wanted to say. There was no way back. He was now waiting for an answer.
"Snapped"
Jiang Xia threw something to him.
The fourth brother took it in his hand and found it was a dagger with a leather sheath. It was jet black in color and very delicate. When he pulled it out, he saw that the blade was as long as a palm.
One side is sharpened and the other side is serrated.
The candlelight in the room illuminated the blade, making it glow coldly. It was obviously a top-quality weapon. Even the best blacksmith in Fengshan Street could not have made such a fine weapon.
If such a weapon were sold, it would be worth at least 10 to 20 taels of silver.
Liu Laosi's heart began to pound.
He held the wasteland warrior Su's tactical dagger and felt like he was holding the key to tomorrow.
"There are three or four servants from the steward's family tied up in the woodshed. I asked the young lady and found out that they are all his family's confidants. They are arrogant and do not do good things."
Jiang Xia sat on the armchair in the room, snapped his fingers, looked at Liu Laosi calmly, and said:
"A letter of surrender, understand?"
"Understand!"
The skinny old fourth brother gritted his teeth and replied.
He turned around and pushed open the door with a heroic look, then walked into the night. However, he looked up while walking and didn't look at his feet, so he fell on the stairs, looking very embarrassed.
However, he does have a bit of a bachelor vibe.
After watching Liu Laosi leave, Jiang Xia's eyes stayed on the trembling young lady of the Huang family. He asked in a strange tone:
"You're still here, you want to hang out with me too?"
"I just want to go home."
The young lady burst into tears immediately.
She was a village girl, pretty as hell, but she had never seen the world, so what happened tonight was really too exciting for her.
Although he had seen the evil man who had tarnished his innocence being killed, he still felt a little happy.
But now that he had calmed down, he thought about Manager Huang and the Ruyifang behind him, their influence in Fengshan Street, and heard what Liu Laosi said, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"Oh, poor girl, even if I let you go home now, do you dare to go back?"
Jiang Xia sighed, pointed at the wrapped body at his feet, and said:
"You are a miserable person. If you want to go home, of course you can. I am not a bad person who wants to kill you, but you can't go back now.
Otherwise it will bring disaster to your family.
Do you understand why? "
The young lady, who was crying with tears in her eyes, nodded.
She still understands this simple truth.
Her family has been honest farmers for generations, so how could they dare to be involved in such a thing?
"I'm glad you understand."
Jiang Xia stood up, looked around, and said to the young lady:
“I’m sorry to involve you, but now that things have come to this, we’re all in the same boat. Don’t be afraid. Although I’m not a good person, I won’t push you out as a scapegoat.
The account between Ruyifang and I has not been settled yet. This is just the beginning.
what's your name?"
He asked.
The young lady stopped crying, sniffed, and whispered:
"My name is Niu Zhaodi."
"This name...is amazing."
When Jiang Xia heard this rustic name, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only give a thumbs up and ordered:
"Mrs. Niu, please prepare some food and drinks.
I'm going out for a while and will be back with two friends. I'll stay at your place for the next few days. Liu Laosi will help you with things at home, so don't worry, don't be afraid.
When he comes back, tell him to find a good place to bury the butler and not to alarm other people."
After taking a few steps, Jiang Xia felt something was wrong, so he took out an egg-sized thing from his belt, stuffed it into the hand of the young lady, Mrs. Niu, and made a pulling gesture to her.
Remind:
"If something goes wrong, just pull this thing away, throw it as hard as you can, and then run in the opposite direction. Got it?"
Niu Zhaodi took a look at the thing in her hand that was as exquisite as a work of art. She didn't know what it was, but she had heard some legends about immortals and ghosts, so she thought it should be some kind of magical weapon?
The outlaw in front of him had previously released a palm thunder and killed the evil man who had defamed his name.
Could it be that he is still a monk?
