Seeing that they had discovered him so quickly and caught up with him, Zhuangyuan Lang immediately panicked and quickened his escape. As he ran frantically, he silently prayed that these bandits would not pursue him.
Yet he was merely a frail scholar. Even if he gave it everything he had, how could he possibly escape several vicious, battle-hardened bandits? The disparity in their strength was enormous—like heaven and earth apart.
Clearly, the former quickly fell behind, while the four bandits soon caught up and tightly surrounded Zhuangyuan Lang.
"Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"
"You, a feeble scholar, think you can escape from right under our noses? You're dreaming!"
"You want to escape from us brothers? You don't know your own limits! Zhuangyuan Lang, I advise you to know what's good for you and surrender obediently. Otherwise, believe it or not, we'll tear you apart with five horses and leave you without even a whole corpse!"
The bandits spoke one after another, venting their indignation. The thought of having been toyed with by this Zhuangyuan Lang earlier made their fury blaze to the heavens.
Red-robed Zhuangyuan Lang knew that disaster had come upon him today and that even with wings, he could not escape. He no longer harbored any hope or illusion. Either way, death awaited him, so he might as well smash the pot and let the pieces fly. Since he was going to die anyway, he would oppose these men to the bitter end. If he could not live, they should not expect to get their way either!
Having thought this through, Zhuangyuan Lang spoke righteously. "If you truly want my life, then do it. But do not forget—the Appointment Document personally issued to me by the imperial court is still in my hands. If you intend to