bullyxtreme Chapter 021 Taken
Chapter 021 Taken
At the critical moment, Zhou Lun finally arrived before Dong Jincheng bolted the door. Seeing that the door was about to close, he rushed forward with all his might, using every ounce of strength to force the door open.
Half of his body was numb, and his left arm ached slightly. After all, the heavy door was not something flesh and blood could compare to. Even though Zhou Lun used the Iron Mountain Lean technique when he bumped into it, the hard door still caused him some minor injuries.
But at this moment, he couldn't care less about any of that. As the door was kicked open, the people inside were shocked and frantically tried to close it again, but Zhou Lun kicked it directly.
With a muffled thud, the door was kicked open a little wider. Zhou Lun darted forward and squeezed through the gap in the door.
"Stop him! Stop him!"
Fan Zhengren, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, stared in disbelief at the scene. He had thought he would be safe once the door was closed, but Zhou Lun had unexpectedly forced it open. As Zhou Lun rushed in with a knife in hand, Fan Zhengren retreated in terror, shouting urgently.
Dong Jincheng reacted quickly. When he saw Zhou Lun enter the door, he became anxious. He didn't care that the door was not yet closed. He shouted and grabbed the iron ruler to meet him.
He raised his hand, held the iron ruler high, and slammed it down hard... The iron ruler made a "whooshing" sound as it cut through the air, heading straight for Zhou Lun's face.
"Well done!"
Zhou Lun remained calm and composed, raising his long sword with a clang as he blocked the iron ruler that Dong Jincheng was about to smash down.
As the weapons clashed, Zhou Lun's right hand suddenly jolted, and he couldn't help but marvel at the man's immense strength.
Dong Jincheng was able to replace the previous head constable Zhao and take this position, so he must have some skills. His martial arts skills are far superior to those of ordinary constables and yamen runners. Moreover, Zhou Lun had just entered the yamen and was not yet firmly established. He was actually somewhat overwhelmed by Dong Jincheng's blow.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Lun knew he absolutely could not back down now. If he stepped outside, the other party would close the door tightly and hold it shut. Once the bolt was on, everything would be over.
With a slight adjustment of his footing, Zhou Lun shifted his body to the side using the force, and then, without stopping, swung his long sword to the left.
He had intended to avoid a direct confrontation and attack Dong Jincheng from the side, but Dong Jincheng was skilled with an iron ruler. Instead of retreating, the ruler moved forward, resting on Zhou Lun's longsword and moving with the momentum. At the same time, the ruler flipped, and the two protruding iron rods aimed at locking onto Zhou Lun's longsword. Once the longsword was locked, Dong Jincheng was confident he could stop Zhou Lun.
"Huh!"
Unexpectedly, Dong Jincheng had such a trick up his sleeve. Zhou Lun remained calm and followed the movement of the blade.
Just as Dong Jincheng's iron ruler touched the longsword, a hint of joy appearing on his face as he thought he was about to lock his opponent's weapon, Zhou Lun suddenly dropped the longsword and nimbly swayed left and right. Dong Jincheng's vision blurred, and Zhou Lun had already circled around to his side.
"not good!"
Dong Jincheng was shocked and was about to withdraw his attack to defend, but Zhou Lun moved even faster than him.
Zhou Lun stepped forward, his fist, as big as a casserole dish, shot out like lightning.
By this moment, Dong Jincheng's moves were already exhausted, and he had no time to block Zhou Lun's close-range attacks. Just as the word "Oh no" flashed through his mind, Zhou Lun's right fist slammed into his left cheek, followed by a powerful left hook that struck his jaw from below. Dong Jincheng's eyes widened, his head snapped back, and he fell heavily to the ground without uttering a sound.
The entire exchange took only a few breaths. By the time Fan Zhengren reacted, Dong Jincheng had already been knocked down by Zhou Lun.
Although on the surface it seemed that Zhou Lun defeated Dong Jincheng effortlessly, Zhou Lun knew that he had actually used all his skills. In their exchange, he not only used the Eight-Strike Breaking Technique, but also incorporated moves from Bajiquan, Sanda, and even boxing. Furthermore, Dong Jincheng hadn't expected Zhou Lun to use such techniques against him, and his carelessness caught him off guard, causing him to suffer a heavy loss. Otherwise, given his skill level, Zhou Lun wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily.
After taking down Dong Jincheng, Zhou Lun picked up the long knife that had fallen to his feet, and at the same time kicked Dong Jincheng's iron ruler aside. As for Dong Jincheng on the ground, he didn't even look at him. Having taken two punches from Zhou Lun, both of which hit vital points, Dong Jincheng had already passed out, and it was unknown when he would wake up.
"Brother Lun!"
At this moment, Wang Tieniu arrived with his men, rushing in with their weapons.
"How's it going outside?"
"Hehe, a bunch of good-for-nothings, all taken down! Look, Brother Lun, there's even an official here." Wang Tieniu grinned and reached behind him, dragging the clerk Shi Teng, whose face was bruised and swollen and whose official hat was nowhere to be seen, to his side.
"Fan Zhengren! Master Fan! Haha! Hahaha!"
Shi Teng didn't look good. He had been kicked quite hard by Zhou Lun before, and now he had fallen into the hands of Wang Tieniu and his men. Logically, he should be terrified.
But this guy was still holding a grudge because Fan Zhengren had been so eager to lock him out, disregarding his own safety.
Seeing that Fan Zhengren had not only failed to escape danger but had also ended up in the same predicament as him, looking pale and trembling with fear, Shi Teng felt extremely pleased and sneered at him through gritted teeth.
"Is this the county magistrate, Fan Zhengren?" Zhou Lun, who had overheard the conversation, raised an eyebrow and asked Shi Teng.
"Indeed, this is Lord Fan Zhengren, the magistrate of this county!" Shi Teng said with a mocking laugh.
"And who are you?"
"I am Shi Teng, the clerk!"
"Haha! Hahaha!" Zhou Lun laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.
It seems I was right; these are indeed two big fish.
"Don't you dare act recklessly! I...I am the magistrate of this county! A two-time Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), an official appointed by the imperial court! Aren't you afraid of the imperial laws, the confiscation of your property, and the extermination of your entire clan? If you pull back from the brink and repent in time, there is still a glimmer of hope!"
Fan Zhengren was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, his crotch wet with sweat. As for the two servants, they were even worse off. After seeing Dong Jincheng fall, they had no desire to resist and had long since knelt down and begged for mercy.
Zhou Lun looked closely and was both amused and exasperated. These two guards were actually acquaintances; they were the same two he had knocked unconscious during the prison break.
"Look at it!"
Zhou Lun gave instructions to his men, leaving a few to guard the prison, and then called Wang Tieniu and the others to follow him into the county jail.
Although Fan Zhengren and Shi Teng were in his hands, Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian were still inside, and he didn't know their current situation. With such a major event happening outside, how could he have the time to deal with Fan Zhengren and the others?
The fighting was fierce outside, and it was just as intense inside the county prison.
When Zhou Lun and Wang Tieniu led their men into the county prison, a fight had already broken out inside. Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian retreated step by step, using the terrain for cover as they made their way to the innermost part of the prison, where they were exchanging blows with several prison guards and yamen runners.
Not only that, Li Wanqing was also injured, with a cut on one arm, and he struggled to keep up with Li Shoutian.
It wasn't that Li Wanqing lacked martial prowess, but rather that the situation was unusual. When they brought Zhang Xiuguo in, they carried only a dagger and no other weapons.
After all, they came to the county prison to abduct Zhang Xiuguo, with the aim of getting him to release the people of Liwang Village as the county magistrate. If they were fully armed, it wouldn't match their yamen runner uniforms at all, and if people noticed something amiss, it could actually cause problems.
So Li Wanqing didn't even bring his bow, which he was skilled at, and he left his family heirloom knife outside. But Li Wanqing didn't care about these things, since Zhang Xiuguo was in his possession, and a dagger was enough.
Zhang Xiuguo cooperated readily, easily leading them into the prison. Once inside, Zhang Xiuguo deliberately acted like a county magistrate, casually pointing to the cells and ordering the jailers and yamen runners to bring out the people from Liwang Village, saying he wanted to take them back to the county yamen for trial.
Seeing Zhang Xiuguo's sensible attitude, the jailer indeed took the key to open the cell door. Li Shoutian, standing close to Zhang Xiuguo, subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, his attention inadvertently focusing on the cell. Just then, to everyone's surprise, the usually obedient Zhang Xiuguo actually risked a confrontation.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he broke free from Li Shoutian's grasp, darted to the side in two steps, and shouted loudly, "These two are fugitives! Seize them at once!"
Zhang Xiuguo's actions caught Li Shoutian completely off guard. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to bring Zhang Xiuguo back, it was too late.
The jailers and yamen runners were shocked and quickly protected Zhang Xiuguo, then grabbed their weapons and attacked Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian.
If they were outside, Li Wanqing and his men, armed with their own weapons, would be no match for the few jailers and yamen runners. But unfortunately, Li Wanqing had neither a bow nor a knife; the two men each only had a dagger. The sudden change in circumstances, coupled with the cramped and difficult terrain of the county jail, resulted in a chaotic melee. After several rounds, Li Wanqing's side was actually at a disadvantage.
Li Shoutian's martial arts skills were mediocre to begin with, and the jailers and yamen runners were armed, so the fight quickly turned dangerous. To save Li Shoutian, Li Wanqing took a knife wound to the arm, and blood gushed out immediately.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, and with himself injured and the exit blocked by the enemy, Li Wanqing and Li Shoutian had no choice but to fight and retreat. They had retreated to the innermost part of the territory, and any further retreat would leave them with nowhere to go.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xiuguo couldn't help but burst into laughter, his face contorted with rage and his eyes flashing with ferocity.
You two traitors! Where do you think you're going to run now? How dare you take me hostage? And even rob my caravan? Once I've captured you, I'll make you taste my power!