Success

"It's been taken care of."

Wei He whispered a few words beside Zhang Lingfeng.

Zhang Lingfeng nodded slightly and said to Huang Jiefu, "Lord Huang, my senior brothers, senior sisters, and I will help you arrest Great Saber Hong shortly. You must make sure to catch every last one of his men in one net."

"Hahaha, don't worry!"

Huang Jiefu was brimming with confidence.

Including him, there were eight Dark Force experts in total. Even if Great Saber Hong had three heads and six arms, he would not escape, wings or no wings.

"Senior brothers, senior sisters, junior brothers, follow me!"

Zhang Lingfeng immediately led Wu Yun and the others toward Shrimp Gully.

Wu Yun and the others muttered inwardly. When they saw Great Saber Hong, surely they wouldn't be made to lead the charge?

"Master Dao, they're over there."

The underling pointed down the mountain for Great Saber Hong.

Great Saber Hong was a Peak Dark Force expert who had failed three successive attempts to break through to Transforming Jin. He had evaded the authorities for so many years not because his martial prowess was so great and he was so vicious that no one dared act against him.

Rather, he was shrewd, knew when to quit while he was ahead, and never provoked anyone he shouldn't, avoiding pursuit by stronger fighters.

As such, he had looked into practically all the Dark Force experts in the various counties.

In particular, he remembered Ma Fei, Zhao Hu, Yang Tao, and the other Dark Force experts who held positions at major pharmacies or escorted merchant caravans on assignments. He knew them like the palm of his hand.

And sure enough.

He strained his eyes for a look and nearly wet himself in fright.

He recognized Ma Fei, Yang Tao, Zhao Hu, Liu Rushuang, and Wu Yun at a glance. There was also Ye Fan, a rising talent who stood a chance of reaching Transforming Jin in the future and earning a first-class result in the martial examination.

To keep operating in this area, he had to know whom he could provoke and whom he couldn't. Otherwise, if he kicked an iron plate someday, he wouldn't even know how he had died.

Great Saber Hong was a hundred times more wary of people like Ye Fan, who had a chance of breaking through to Transforming Jin.

And he saw that this group was actually gathered around a man of about twenty, walking toward Shrimp Gully with him at their center. Presumably, this was Wang Biao's brother-in-law, Master Zhang of Zhang Family Gully, Zhang Lingfeng.

"Fuck!"

Cold sweat dripped from Great Saber Hong.

Another look revealed Huang Jiefu following behind them, an even more glaring and terrifying sight.

He understood at once. He had kidnapped Wang Biao, and the Wang Family had immediately informed Zhang Lingfeng. Feeling that he was being targeted, Zhang Lingfeng had summoned a group of fellow disciples from his martial arts school and even brought Huang Jiefu along.

They were dead set on wiping him out.

At this thought, Great Saber Hong's mouth went dry, and he hastily retreated, scarcely caring which way he went.

Seeing Wang Biao still tightly trussed up, he rushed over and sliced through the ropes binding him.

"Spare me, Your Majesty!"

Wang Biao cried out in terror.

Great Saber Hong hurriedly covered his mouth.

With a sheepish smile, he said, "Brother Wang, today was all a misunderstanding. I've offended you greatly. Your brother-in-law has come to get you. He's just down the mountain. Hurry along!"

"Huh?"

Wang Biao froze.

"My apologies, my apologies."

"Retreat!"

Great Saber Hong had no time to explain.

Once the encirclement closed, he wouldn't escape even with wings.

He quickly led his men into the deep mountain forests, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Wang Biao came to his senses, turned, and ran down the mountain. By the time he reached its foot, Zhang Lingfeng had also led Wu Yun and the others into an encirclement at Shrimp Gully.

Chen Sanshi pretended to have come to pay the ransom.

He shouted up the mountain, "Great Saber Hong, release Young Master Wang! Here are fifteen hundred taels in banknotes."

"Ah, help!"

Hearing Chen Sanshi's voice, Wang Biao shouted at the top of his lungs.

Lying in ambush nearby, Zhang Lingfeng, Wu Yun, and the others saw a figure on the distant mountainside scrambling and stumbling down.

"It's Young Master Wang!"

Chen Sanshi took a closer look, then shouted and rushed over to receive Wang Biao.

"What's going on?"

Ye Fan frowned.

Great Saber Hong was vicious and ruthless. He had released the hostage before getting the money?

"It really is Wang Biao!"

Zhang Lingfeng stepped out from behind a tree.

The others also emerged from their respective defensive positions.

A little later, Chen Sanshi brought Wang Biao before the group, and Wang Biao instantly collapsed to the ground.

"Young Master Wang, where is Great Saber Hong?"

Zhang Lingfeng asked.

"He... ran away."

Wang Biao's head was covered in sweat, and his voice still trembled.

"Ran away?"

Huang Jiefu looked baffled. Had the credit already within his grasp simply flown away?

"He said it was a misunderstanding."

Wang Biao sounded feeble.

Chen Sanshi couldn't help saying, "Could word have leaked, letting him discover how many of us had come?"

"Great Saber Hong has always been cautious. The terrain in front of Shrimp Gully offers a broad view, making it easy to gather information and hide. Perhaps he spotted our movements before we even got close."

Wei He agreed.

"How dull. With courage like that, no wonder he's evaded the law for years."

Zhang Lingfeng looked disappointed.

"He's a mountain bandit, after all. Of course he'd flee without a trace at the sight of the authorities."

Wu Yun laughed.

"Today, he was scared so badly he nearly pissed and shit himself. He'll never dare run amok in Baiyang County again."

Yang Tao chimed in.

"Your merits are boundless, Junior Brother."

Zhao Hu praised him.

Liu Rushuang, Ye Fan, and Ma Fei also added a few words of agreement in turn.

Although they were all Dark Force experts, none of them wanted to fight Great Saber Hong head-on. Now that the matter had been resolved without their having to risk themselves, while also leaving Zhang Lingfeng owing them a favor, everyone was happy.

"Lord Huang, I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing."

Zhang Lingfeng looked apologetic.

Huang Jiefu was the most frustrated of them all.

He had brought a group of subordinates amid great fanfare to eliminate Great Saber Hong. He had thought that, with Zhang Lingfeng and the others helping, he could bring Great Saber Hong to justice and earn great merit. Instead, it had all come to nothing.

Fortunately, it had only been a wasted trip, without much of a loss. He would simply treat it as a training exercise!

So he waved a hand and smiled. "No matter. At least this has shown Great Saber Hong that Baiyang County has someone like you, Brother Zhang. It'll also keep him from committing crimes all over Baiyang County in the future."

"Let's hope so!"

Zhang Lingfeng nodded.

"Thank you for your efforts, senior and junior brothers. Since the matter is settled, and Zhang Family Gully is nearby, why don't you all come back with me for a rest? We can return together this afternoon after a meal."

Zhang Lingfeng said.

"That sounds excellent."

"It's been a long time since I last saw Junior Brother Chen."

"Then sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother Zhang."

No one refused.

Huang Jiefu didn't want his men returning on empty stomachs either, so he immediately led them to Zhang Family Gully in a grand procession.

Before this, Zhang Laochong had already arranged for several cooks to light fires and prepare food in the courtyard. Once he learned from Xu Laiyi that Zhang Lingfeng and the others had left Shrimp Gully and would reach Zhang Family Gully in less than an hour, he set people bustling about the courtyard.

The sudden arrival of a group of constables and several formidable martial artists accompanying Zhang Lingfeng back to Zhang Family Gully quickly drew people's attention.

Upon learning that Wang Biao was among the group, people also heard that Zhang Lingfeng had scared Great Saber Hong away. For a time, people streamed in and out of the compounds of the major landlords outside the town.

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