"I will care for your wife and child, don’t worry..."
Captain Wang heard this. It was unclear if he understood, or if the words had even registered. But the hand gripping Blind Bei’s had already loosened.
Ding Hao, carried on Fanli’s back, turned his head. Seeing Wang Li dead, he let out a heartbreaking cry.
"What did you call me for?"
Fanli shrugged, jostling Ding Hao on his back as he asked.
"..." Ding Hao had no words.
Siniang led the way, her silk threads dancing in her hands like minute, hidden weapons. The chests of two assassins who rushed forward looked as if embroidered with two crimson roses. After a spasm, they fell to the ground.
Siniang herself was beautiful, and her killing methods were just as beautiful.
Two other assassins, attempting to fill the gap, suddenly heard a harsh electronic sound in their minds. For a moment, they staggered.
An opening was thus created.
Fanli roared. He scraped his left foot on the ground twice and then charged forward, still carrying Ding Hao on his back.
His speed was so great that the surrounding assassins had no time to react.
"Withdraw!" Blind Bei shouted in their minds.
A Ming had just allowed the enemy’s sword to pierce his chest. Hearing Blind Bei’s command deep within his mind, he somewhat reluctantly raised his hand and made a "bye-bye" gesture to the black-clad assassin before him.
Then, he lunged forward, bit through the assassin’s throat, then turned and ran back, taking the sword with him.
This was why Siniang never scolded A Ming for his habit of ruining new clothes whenever he fought. He always brought back plenty of weapons, perfect for selling as scrap to buy new clothes.
Liang Cheng crushed an assassin’s neck, tossed the corpse aside, and started running.
Two nearby assassins tried to pursue them, but Xue Three’s figure appeared like a ghost behind them, stabbing their backs with two daggers.
Without pulling out the daggers, Xue Three landed and started running. His legs were short, but his strides were incredibly fast. TAPTAPTAP, he actually caught up with his companions ahead.
The remaining assassins glanced at each other. They wanted to chase but hesitated.
They had realized a fact: these people who had appeared so suddenly were fully capable of killing all of them. Indeed, as soon as they had rushed out, many of their own had been lost. But these people had run away.
So, why should they chase? In the past, they had often hunted down targets. But hunt *these* people down? Were they supposed to chase them just to beg to be slaughtered too?
When Zheng Fan saw Fanli carrying his "master" over, he immediately mounted his horse and spurred it into a run. He planned to take his "master" in a relay-race-style handover as he sped up, placing him on his own horse.
But while Zheng Fan’s horse was still accelerating, Fanli rushed past him with a SWOOSH and continued without slowing down.
Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment, then immediately whipped his horse.
However, no matter how fast the horse galloped, it still couldn’t narrow the distance between him and Fanli.
Fanli’s running speed was actually faster than a horse!
Zheng Fan couldn’t help but smile wryly as he continued the chase. Chen Kaige’s movie, "The Promise," suddenly flashed into his mind.
Although he knew it wasn’t appropriate to be distracted right now, sometimes thoughts just run away with you.
But soon, the sound of rapid hoofbeats interrupted Zheng Fan’s reverie.
It sounded like a troop of cavalry galloping on the other side of a nearby earthen slope. However, at this critical juncture, the two groups perfectly missed each other.
At last, a carriage appeared ahead. Hongba was squatting alone beside it, waiting expectantly.
Blind Bei didn’t trust the carters, nor did he trust most members of the Unity Gang. But he did trust Hongba.
In Zheng Fan’s eyes, the former leader of the Unity Gang had practically been recruited by Blind Bei as one of his underlings.
Fanli stopped beside the carriage.
Perhaps because his momentum was too great, after Fanli halted, his feet skidded along the ground for seven or eight meters, like car tires.
Zheng Fan finally arrived on horseback.
"My lord, here’s your man!" Fanli said anxiously, placing Ding Hao—who had been jolted unconscious on his back—onto Zheng Fan’s horse.
"..." Zheng Fan was speechless.
Zheng Fan dismounted, lifted Ding Hao (whom Fanli had just placed on the horse) off the saddle, and moved him into the nearby carriage.
"..." Fanli was also speechless.
"Are the arrangements for entering the city complete?" Zheng Fan asked.
"All set. The Unity Gang—um, *your* Unity Gang—still has its connections," Hongba replied.
Zheng Fan nodded and patted Hongba’s shoulder.
Zheng Fan had a feeling these demon followers of his rather enjoyed this gesture.
Back then, Siyao had raised a Corgi in her studio, and that Corgi loved it when people came up to pet it.
Of course, Hongba knew very well that this man before him—seemingly harmless, insignificant, and at times even useless—was undoubtedly the leader of those terrifying entities.
Therefore, faced with this affectionate gesture, Hongba felt his bones practically melt.
"Go, quickly get him into the house in the city."
"Alright, rest assured, there will definitely be no problems!"
"Ah Li, go back with them and hide him well."
Ah Li also jumped onto the carriage.
Watching the carriage gradually recede into the distance, Zheng Fan mounted his horse, rode back a short way, and met up with Blind Bei and the others.
Clearly, everyone was somewhat out of breath. It wasn’t so much from the fighting earlier; rather, most of their energy had been spent running.
However, no one was dissatisfied with Blind Bei’s command. This was because just as they had left the scene of the incident, a troop of cavalry had arrived. If they hadn’t slipped away a step ahead, they likely would have been intercepted by them.
Regular army troops were a completely different beast compared to the Hutou City soldiers or those assassins. Those assassins had seemed well-trained, but apart from the large, already injured man Blind Bei had killed—the one who could emit light—the rest were merely ordinary people with decent skills. In a chaotic melee, these demons could easily toy with them and kill them using their lineage abilities and endless tricks.
But if they faced a regular army—with an initial volley of crossbow bolts, a warhorse charge, and then a shield encirclement—even if they managed to break out, there would be far too many uncertainties.
Regardless of whether that cavalry belonged to the assassins’ side or had come from Hutou City, they were definitely not allies.
"Alright, let’s head back to the city," Zheng Fan said.
With such a violent incident occurring not far outside, Hutou City was likely on high alert. Zheng Fan had Fanli and Hongba take the man into the city first precisely to take advantage of the time lag before security tightened. After all, someone in Ding Hao’s condition would find it difficult to pass a thorough inspection.
As expected, when Zheng Fan and the others reached the city gate, they found several additional rows of guards. Even siege crossbows had been arrayed on the city walls. It looked as though the city was preparing to face an attack from the Barbarians.
They had disguised themselves earlier, so even if there were informants connecting the assassins and Hutou City, they wouldn’t be recognized.
Moreover, Zheng Fan held an official position.
The Squad Leader checking identities at the city gate clasped his fist and chuckled when he saw Zheng Fan. "Well, if it isn’t Zheng Colonel! Greet Zheng Colonel, lads! Come and meet the newly appointed Zheng Colonel."
His attitude wasn’t particularly respectful.
Some of the city gate soldiers also ambled over, smiling and clasping their fists at Zheng Fan.
They only clasped their fists; no one performed a proper salute.
This once again drove home to Zheng Fan just how worthless his nominal Colonel title really was...
The official system of Yan State was chaotic and bloated; nominal Colonel positions like his were a dime a dozen. In Yan State, especially in the border region of Beifeng Prefecture, what mattered most was the number of soldiers under one’s command. This was the pragmatic worldview of the military commanders. If Zheng Fan had three hundred actual cavalrymen following him right now, this Squad Leader would undoubtedly have to kneel and salute properly.
However, Zheng Fan wasn’t upset about this. Instead, he cheerfully went up and patted the Squad Leader’s shoulder.
"..." The Squad Leader was taken aback.
He retreated a few steps with a strange expression, avoiding Zheng Fan’s "demonic clutches," because he felt that such excessive closeness between two men was just... odd.
Siniang proactively handed over some pieces of silver, and Zheng Fan generously distributed them among the surrounding city guards, saying, "Drinks are on me, brothers. I’ll be assuming my post soon, and I’ll be counting on your assistance then."
"Oh, thank you, Sir!"
"Generous of you, Sir!"
Now their smiles were much more sincere.
Zheng Fan looked at the Squad Leader and asked, "Did something happen?"
The Squad Leader, now holding the largest piece of silver and in high spirits, replied, "Don’t know. An alert suddenly came through, so we’re just on guard. It’s probably not the Barbarians attacking. After all, didn’t the Northguard Army just head into the desert recently?"
"Well then, you brothers have had it tough. I’ll head back first."
"Please, go ahead, Sir. We brothers will treat you to drinks another day. You must give us the honor."
"Sounds good, sounds good."
After this warm exchange, Zheng Fan led his men into the city.
Only after entering the city were they completely safe.
Everyone hurried back to their residence without stopping.
The carriage stopped in the inner courtyard. Fanli and Hongba stood beside it, still keeping a close watch.
"Phew, I finally managed to bring my ’teacher’ back," Zheng Fan joked to those around him.
"Congratulations, my lord, on obtaining your teacher."
The phrasing sounded a bit strange, but Zheng Fan didn’t dwell on it and directly ordered Hongba, "Help our ’teacher’ out of the carriage."
Other transmigrators either have some old master living in a ring or stumble upon some trapped powerhouse after falling off a cliff. He, on the other hand, had to personally go out and capture his ’teacher’. Still, ’self-reliance brings ample food and clothing,’ so it was alright.
Hongba obediently lifted the carriage curtain and climbed inside. A moment later, he poked his head out, his face etched with terror.
"What’s wrong?" Zheng Fan asked.
"This... this... this person... he seems to... seems to have been jolted to death..."
Congratulations to ah mi_ for becoming the 44th Alliance Master of "Molin"!