Revenge

Night, under the old banyan tree at the village entrance.

"Is that Second Child?" Liu Chuang and Zhang He, crouching behind the old banyan tree, whispered, watching the figure vaguely approaching in the distance.

"No," the dark figure in the distance replied.

Liu Chuang and Zhang He emerged from behind the tree, having recognized Liu Yuanzhou's voice.

"Second Child, what time is it for jokes?" Liu Chuang said, displeased.

"Hehe, just livening up the atmosphere, afraid you're nervous." As he spoke, Liu Yuanzhou had reached the two.

The three met up. Liu Chuang asked Liu Yuanzhou again if he had brought everything, and Liu Yuanzhou patted the cloth bag he was carrying, indicating that he had, and then distributed two of the three wooden sticks to the other two. Since the plan had been discussed, the three didn't waste any words and set off in the moonlight.

After about a quarter of an hour, the three, with one shallow step and one deep, walked into the woods east of the Wang Family Old House. At this time, the Wang Family Old House in the distance was still brightly lit. The three looked at each other in the darkness, realizing a problem: they were too early.

Now they dared not go in to capture anyone; wouldn't that be courting death? They could only wait patiently. So, the three leaned back against a large tree, excitedly discussing the details of the operation again, of course, in very, very low voices.

As the night deepened, the cold became biting. The three gradually lost interest in talking, and the woods fell silent. The three were freezing, so they got up and paced around the tree to keep warm. After waiting for about half an hour, the lights in the distant Wang Family mansion finally went out one by one, and the three perked up.

When the distant mansion was completely plunged into darkness, Liu Yuanzhou waved forward, "Let's go!" And then took the lead in running towards the courtyard, with Liu Chuang and Zhang He quickly following.

Leaving the woods, there was a flat field in front of them. The three crossed the field and walked to the wall. Along the wall, they walked dozens of steps south. Liu Yuanzhou stopped; he had left a mark here, a stone tied with a strip of cloth.

Liu Yuanzhou patted Liu Chuang and Zhang He on the shoulders, signaling them to stop. Liu Chuang and Zhang He knew that they had arrived at their destination; behind the wall should be the room where Fatty Wang lived.

The Wang Family was large and prosperous, and there were many houses in the mansion. Fatty Wang and his parents each lived in detached houses, which Liu Yuanzhou had figured out through previous reconnaissance.

Liu Yuanzhou took out face masks from the cloth bag and distributed them to Liu Chuang and Zhang He, signaling them to wait in place for support. He also put on his mask, tightened his belt, and felt the wooden stick tucked in his waist, everything was ready.

Using the gaps and protrusions on the wall, Liu Yuanzhou used both hands and feet, and in a few quick movements, he climbed up the more than ten-foot-high vertical wall.

Liu Chuang and Zhang He below were stunned, marveling in their hearts.

It is said that Liu Yuanzhou climbed up the wall, squatted on the top of the wall, and surveyed the inside of the wall.

The crescent moon was sinking, and the sky was dim. The Wang Family courtyard was pitch black, and Liu Yuanzhou vaguely recognized the raised parts as houses.

Liu Yuanzhou jumped down from the top of the wall, landing with his feet half-squatted, making only a soft thud.

Suddenly, the sound of dogs barking "Woof, woof, woof" came from a distance, and before long, two dogs darted out from the side of the wall.

Liu Yuanzhou was startled and subconsciously wanted to turn back and climb up the wall.

But he forcibly restrained himself, thinking, "If I'm scared back by two dogs, I'll lose face. I've practiced real kung fu for a few days, can't I beat two dogs?" But he forgot to bring some meat bones to deal with the dogs.

Immediately, he drew the wooden stick from his waist with his right hand and held it horizontally in front of him, concentrating and calming his breath. In the blur, a shadow pounced towards him.

Liu Yuanzhou didn't have time to think, and thrust the stick forward, which happened to hit the shadow.

The shadow was hit and flew out, whimpering twice after landing, and then turned and ran away.

The other dog, seeing its companion being beaten away, didn't rush up, but just barked "Woof, woof, woof" wildly.

Liu Yuanzhou was worried that if the night dragged on and the Wang Family woke up and came out to check, it would be troublesome. He listened to the sound to identify the position, raised the stick, took a step, and slashed down towards the front left. There was a "thump," and the stick hit something hard, probably hitting the dog's head.

The dog also whimpered a few times and ran away. For a time, the courtyard returned to silence.

Liu Yuanzhou breathed a soft sigh of relief. His right arm was a little sore, obviously he had used too much force in hitting the dog just now.

From the dog's barking to chasing it away took only a dozen or so breaths, yet Liu Yuanzhou was already sweating. Fortunately, no one from the Wang Family compound came out to investigate.

Liu Yuanzhou squatted under the wall for another incense stick's worth of time. Seeing that the dog didn't bark again and hearing no one approaching, he finally felt relieved.

Groping his way forward and to the right for a dozen steps, his hand touched a wall. This wall was the back of the room where Fatty Wang lived. According to his prior reconnaissance, there was a small, high window on the back wall of this room, with a large window on each side. He planned to sneak in through the window on the right.

Liu Yuanzhou felt his way along the wall to the window on the right, listening intently. A series of snores came from inside the room. Clearly, Fatty Wang was sound asleep; the earlier barking hadn't woken him.

He gently pushed open the window and climbed in, holding his breath as he moved forward in the pitch-black darkness, following the sound of the snores. Finally, his foot bumped into the edge of the kang (platform bed). He could now feel the warm breath of the person on the kang.

Liu Yuanzhou took out a fire starter from his pocket, removed the stopper, and gently blew on it. A flame sprang up in the darkness, and the room was instantly illuminated.

He saw a person lying flat on the kang, with a fat head and large ears. Who else could it be but Fatty Wang?

Liu Yuanzhou was overjoyed. Without delay, he thrust his fingers towards Fatty Wang's nose. This was one of the methods Miss Qin had taught to induce unconsciousness. Liu Yuanzhou was putting it into practice for the first time today, and the effect was surprisingly good.

Fatty Wang in his sleep trembled violently a few times, then tilted his head and stopped moving. Liu Yuanzhou was startled and quickly put his finger to Fatty Wang's nose, feeling for breath. Only when he felt it did he relax. He was really worried he had accidentally killed the man.

He blew out the fire starter and put it back in his pocket. Liu Yuanzhou groped in the dark, rolled Fatty Wang and the quilt together, tied them tightly with a rope, then hoisted the man up and climbed out the window.

Fatty Wang weighed over a hundred and fifty pounds, but Liu Yuanzhou didn't find it too difficult to carry him. He returned to the base of the wall the way he had come, pursed his lips, and whistled, then threw one end of the rope over the wall.

Soon, Liu Yuanzhou felt the rope tighten. The Fatty Wang in his arms slowly rose, obviously Liu Chuang and Zhang He outside the wall were starting to pull the rope with force.

Liu Yuanzhou released his grip, climbed to the top of the wall, and grabbed the rope again. Alternating his hands, he lifted Fatty Wang over the top of the wall and softly called out, "Catch him!" Then he loosened the rope.

Liu Chuang and Zhang He saw a dark figure falling from above and quickly reached out. Fatty Wang was caught securely. Liu Chuang was filled with resentment and swung his old fist, hitting Fatty Wang hard through the quilt to vent his anger.

Liu Yuanzhou jumped down from the wall and said, "I'll carry him. You guys follow behind." With that, he snatched Fatty Wang and carried him on his shoulder, quickly walking towards the distant woods. Liu Chuang and Zhang He hurried to keep up.

The three of them ran into the woods, panting, and stopped. Liu Yuanzhou threw the Fatty Wang from his shoulder onto the ground. The ground was covered with a thick layer of leaves, so he wouldn't be hurt by the fall.

Zhang He bent over, his hands on his knees, and said, "Second Child, you're really strong. You can carry this dead pig and run so fast. We can't even keep up with you empty-handed."

Liu Chuang leaned against a tree, panting, "Are you, are you still the Second Child we know?"

Liu Yuanzhou didn't have the strength to waste words with them. Carrying Fatty Wang, who weighed over a hundred pounds, and running so far had left him with weak legs and heavy breathing. "Tie him to the tree. I'll rest for a while."

He leaned against the tree trunk and sat down heavily. He took a deep breath and began to use the Limitless Stance breathing technique. Before long, the fatigue in his body dissipated. "I didn't expect the breathing technique to have such an effect." Thinking this, he felt even more that the Limitless Stance was an extraordinary skill.

Liu Yuanzhou stood up. By this time, Fatty Wang had already been tied to a tree like a dumpling by Liu Chuang and Zhang He. He walked over to them.

Liu Chuang said, "This guy is sleeping like the dead. We can't wake him up no matter what we do."

Liu Yuanzhou said to Zhang He, "Xi Zi, light the lantern." He then said to Liu Chuang, "I'll wake him up. I knocked him unconscious."

Zhang He lit the lantern and hung it on a tree branch, immediately illuminating the surroundings.

Fatty Wang's head was tilted to one side, and saliva was drooling from the corner of his mouth. Liu Yuanzhou pressed his thumb behind Fatty Wang's ear a few times, and Fatty Wang's eyelids slowly opened.

Liu Chuang and Zhang He were amazed once again.