Chapter 38: Short-Lived

“Your wife and children, I shall care for them. Be at ease...”

Whether Lieutenant Commander Wang understood those words, whether he truly heard them at all, no one knew.

But his hand, which had been clutching the Blind Man Bei, finally loosened.

And then he died.

“A’Li!”

Ding Hao, being carried on Fan Li’s back, turned his head and saw Wang Li’s corpse.

A cry of grief burst from his throat.

“What’re you calling me for?”

Fan Li bounced his body twice, jostling Ding Hao on his back as he asked.

“...”

Ding Hao.

The Fourth Lady was at the front.

Threads danced continuously from her hands like impossibly fine hidden weapons.

Two assassins charging from ahead suddenly had two vivid crimson roses “embroidered” across their chests.

Their bodies convulsed.

Then they collapsed.

The Fourth Lady was beautiful.

Even the way she killed people was beautiful.

Two more assassins tried to fill the gap.

But an ear-splitting electronic shriek suddenly erupted inside their minds.

Their bodies swayed.

The opening was made.

Fan Li released a roar.

With Ding Hao on his back, he scraped his left foot against the ground twice then charged.

His speed was so astonishing that the assassins around him could not react in time.

“Withdraw!” the Blind Man Bei shouted inside everyone’s minds.

Pfft!

A’Ming had just allowed an opponent’s sword to stab through his chest.

Hearing the Blind Man Bei’s order in his mind, he looked somewhat dissatisfied.

With obvious helplessness, he raised one hand toward the black-clad assassin before him and made a “bye-bye” gesture.

Then he lunged forward, bit through the man’s neck, turned around, and ran back with the sword still stuck in his chest.

That was why the Fourth Lady never criticized A’Ming for ruining new clothes every time he went out to fight.

Every time he came back, he brought plenty of blades, spears, swords, and other weapons with him.

They could always sell the scrap metal to buy new clothes.

Liang Cheng had just crushed an assassin’s neck.

He flung the corpse aside and immediately began running.

Two nearby assassins prepared to chase him.

But behind them, Xue San appeared like a ghost.

Two daggers plunged into their backs.

He did not even bother pulling the daggers free.

The instant Xue San landed, he started sprinting too.

His legs might have been short, but their frequency was astonishing.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap somehow, he even caught up with the companions ahead.

The remaining assassins looked at one another.

They wanted to pursue.

Then they stopped.

Because they had realized something.

This inexplicable group of newcomers was entirely capable of killing every last assassin still standing.

In fact, the moment those people charged into the fight, several assassins had died almost instantly.

And yet they had run away.

So... what exactly were the assassins supposed to chase them for?

They had often hunted down fleeing targets before.

But chasing these people...

Were they supposed to catch up and ask to be slaughtered too?

When Zheng Fan saw Fan Li charging over with his “teacher” on his back, he immediately mounted and urged his horse into motion.

The plan was to accelerate and take the man from Fan Li like a baton in a relay race, then lay him across his horse and carry him away.

But Zheng Fan’s horse had only just begun picking up speed when

Fan Li went whoosh and shot straight past him.

Without slowing down in the slightest.

Zheng Fan froze.

Then immediately whipped his horse.

“Hyah!”

Yet no matter how hard the horse stretched its legs and ran, it still could not close the distance between itself and Fan Li.

Fan Li’s legs were actually faster than a horse!

Zheng Fan continued chasing, torn between laughter and disbelief.

Then, for no particular reason, a Chen Kaige film suddenly surfaced in his mind—

*The Promise*.

He knew spacing out in the middle of this situation was inappropriate.

But sometimes, the human mind simply refused to behave.

Fortunately, a sudden thunder of rapid hoofbeats forcibly dragged Zheng Fan’s imagination back to reality.

On the far side of a dirt slope, a cavalry unit seemed to be racing past.

But the two sides happened to miss one another perfectly at that critical boundary.

At last, a carriage appeared ahead.

Hong Bazi was crouching alone beside it, craning his neck and waiting.

The Blind Man Bei did not trust the Cart Gang.

He did not trust most of the Brotherhood Gang either.

But Hong Bazi the Blind Man Bei trusted him.

In Zheng Fan’s eyes, this former leader of the Brotherhood Gang had practically been developed into the Blind Man Bei’s own direct recruit.

Fan Li stopped beside the carriage.

Bang!

Perhaps because his momentum had been too great, after Fan Li stopped running, his feet slid another seven or eight meters along the ground like automobile tires.

Zheng Fan finally arrived on horseback.

“Master!

“Here’s the man!”

Fan Li spoke anxiously as he pulled the already-jostled-unconscious Ding Hao from his back and placed him directly across Zheng Fan’s horse.

“...”

Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan dismounted.

Then he picked Ding Hao back up from the horse and placed him inside the carriage beside them.

“...”

Fan Li.

“Have the arrangements for getting into the city been handled?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Handled.

“For this little bit of access, my Brotherhood Gang—uh... your Brotherhood Gang still has connections.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He reached out and patted Hong Bazi on the shoulder.

Zheng Fan had the strange feeling that all these Demon Kings under him seemed especially fond of that gesture.

Back in the studio, Qin Siyao had once kept a corgi.

That corgi loved squeezing up beside people so they could pet it.

Hong Bazi, of course, knew very well that the man standing before him might look unremarkable almost useless, even but he was clearly the leader of that entire group of terrifying beings.

So when Zheng Fan made such an intimate gesture, Hong Bazi practically went weak in the bones.

“Go.

“Get him into the residence inside the city as quickly as possible.”

“All right.

“Don’t worry.

“There definitely won’t be a problem!”

“A’Li, go back with them.

“Hide the man properly.”

“Yes, Master.”

Fan Li climbed onto the carriage as well.

Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Zheng Fan mounted again and rode back a short way.

He found the Blind Man and the others.

Everyone was clearly breathing a little harder.

Not because the fighting had exhausted them much.

Most of the strain had actually come from running.

Still, not one person had any complaint about the Blind Man Bei’s command decisions.

Because shortly after they left the scene, a cavalry unit had arrived there.

If the group had lingered even a little longer, they might have been intercepted by that cavalry force.

Regular troops were completely different from Tiger Head City soldiers or those assassins.

The assassins had looked disciplined enough, but other than the black-clad man killed by the Blind Man Bei—who had already been injured and could glow—the others were merely skilled ordinary men.

In a chaotic melee, the Demon Kings could use their bloodlines and endless assortment of strange methods to toy with men like that and kill them easily.

But against regular troops, first came a coordinated crossbow volley.

Then cavalry charge.

Then shields closing in from every side.

Even if the group managed to break out, far too many variables would be introduced.

Whether that cavalry belonged to the assassins’ side or had come from Tiger Head City, one thing was certain they were not allies.

“All right.

“Let’s go back to the city.”

Zheng Fan spoke.

Everyone nodded.

Such a vicious incident had occurred not far outside the city.

Tiger Head City would likely be alerted soon.

Earlier, Zheng Fan had deliberately sent Fan Li and Hong Bazi ahead with Ding Hao because he wanted to exploit the time gap.

In Ding Hao’s current condition, it would be extremely difficult to get him through a thorough inspection.

Sure enough, when Zheng Fan and the others reached the city gate, they found several extra ranks of guards stationed there.

Even mechanical crossbows had been lined up atop the walls.

The city looked ready to face an attack by an entire barbarian tribe.

Zheng Fan and the others had all been disguised earlier.

Even if someone among the assassins or Tiger Head City soldiers had connections inside the city, there was no way they could link those mysterious attackers to Zheng Fan’s group.

More importantly, Zheng Fan himself held an official post.

The Squad Leader checking arrivals beneath the city gate cupped his hands and chuckled when he saw Zheng Fan.

“Oh!

“If it isn’t Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“Greetings, Lieutenant Commander.

“Brothers, come greet our newly appointed Lord Lieutenant Commander.”

The attitude was not especially respectful.

Several nearby gate guards wandered over one after another, smiling as they cupped their hands toward Zheng Fan.

They only cupped their hands.

Not one actually bowed.

Once again, Zheng Fan gained a painfully clear understanding of just how worthless his empty Lieutenant Commander title truly was.

The Great Yan Dynasty’s official system was chaotic and bloated.

Empty Lieutenant Commander posts like his were practically everywhere.

In Yan—especially in the frontier commandery of Beifeng—what truly mattered was how many soldiers stood under your banner.

Such was the simple worldview of commanders great and small.

If Zheng Fan had three hundred genuine cavalry lined up behind him right now, this Squad Leader would undoubtedly be kneeling to salute him.

But Zheng Fan was hardly going to get angry over something like that.

Instead, he cheerfully stepped forward and patted the man on the shoulder.

“...”

The Squad Leader.

The man’s expression became a little odd.

He actually stepped backward several paces to escape Zheng Fan’s demonic hand.

The intimacy between two grown men felt a little strange to him.

The Fourth Lady stepped forward and handed over some broken silver.

Zheng Fan was generous.

He distributed the silver among the gate guards.

“Buy yourselves some wine, brothers.

“I’ll be reporting for duty soon.

“When that happens, I’ll still need all of you to look after me.”

“Oh!

“Many thanks for the reward, My Lord.”

“My Lord is generous!”

Now, the smiles became considerably more sincere.

Zheng Fan turned toward the Squad Leader and asked, “Did something happen?”

The Squad Leader was holding the largest piece of silver.

Naturally, his mood was excellent.

“No idea.

“An alert suddenly came from up ahead, so we’re standing ready.

“It shouldn’t be a barbarian attack.

“Didn’t the Zhenbei Army just go into the desert not long ago?”

“Then you brothers have had a hard time.

“I’ll head back first.”

“Of course, of course.

“Next time, let us brothers treat My Lord to a drink.

“You must honor us with your presence.”

“Certainly.

“Certainly.”

After plenty of warm pleasantries, Zheng Fan led his men into the city.

Only after passing through the gates could they truly be considered safe.

Without stopping, everyone returned straight to the residence.

The carriage was parked in the inner courtyard.

Fan Li and Hong Bazi stood beside it, watching over it all along.

“Whew.

“At last, I’ve brought my teacher home.”

Zheng Fan joked to the others.

“Congratulations, Master, on obtaining a teacher.”

The wording sounded strange.

But Zheng Fan did not pay much attention.

He turned directly to Hong Bazi.

“Invite Teacher out of the carriage.”

“Understood.”

Other transmigrators either had an elder living inside a ring or fell from a cliff and stumbled across some trapped great expert.

He, on the other hand, had to go out and personally capture his teacher.

Still.

Do it yourself and you’ll never go hungry.

Not bad.

Hong Bazi obediently lifted the carriage curtain and climbed inside.

A moment later, he stuck his head back out.

Terror covered his face.

“What is it?” Zheng Fan asked.

“This... this... this man seems... seems to have been jostled to death...”

(End of Chapter)