034

Those few henchmen weren't even enough to feed the Mad Master's moves; they were all lying on their hands and feet in no time. As the Mad Master spoke, he said he was going to find Jinyun.

This man was a martial arts fanatic, but Jinyun had no interest in it at the moment, and besides, he couldn't beat him at all.

Just as the man ran up to Jinyun and reached out his hand, the crowd erupted in uneasy whispers once again.

A slight tremor emanated from the ground, and the crack of whips split the sky. Countless warriors dressed in dark red outfits with black trim gradually emerged from the hillside, advancing in unison and in an orderly fashion.

This place was flat, perfect for forming ranks. With a slight gesture from the leader, the horses spread out on the hillside, fanning out the crowd and trapping them like turtles in a jar.

The man had a cold and stern face, his square face never smiled, and he looked like he had a deep-seated grudge. He glanced indifferently at the scene and the corner of the gold mine that had been dug up by the people, then at the burly man with a dark face lying on the ground, and finally his gaze locked on Xie Sui'an, who was lying half dead on Jinyun's body. He sneered: "Gentlemen, you have quite the nerve. You dare to dig up the land of Master Wu's family."

The people looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of them were clearly unaware that the mine belonged to the Wu family. Their brows furrowed with regret at being deceived, and they began to complain to each other in hushed tones.

Xie Suian slowly sat up straight and revealed a cold smile: "What evidence do you have to prove that these fields belong to Master Wu? As far as I know, these tea fields all belong to Bicha Village. Your Master Wu killed people and seized their fields, taking other people's land for himself. How shameless!"

The leader remained unmoved, seemingly unconcerned by Xie Sui'an's words. However, he wasn't blind; he could tell Xie Sui'an was no ordinary person. So, before making a move, he symbolically asked, "May I ask who you are?"

Xie Sui'an propped himself up with one hand on the ground and the other on his knee, his expression one of utter disdain: "You lowly servant dare to ask my name? Go and find your master to come see me. Tell him that his deeds have been exposed, and those who don't want to die should come and kowtow to me right now!"

"What arrogance!" A furious shout suddenly came from down the slope, and Xie Sui'an knew who it was as soon as he heard it.

Today, Wu You was not a spoiled young master. He was dressed in soft armor and looked quite smart. However, his delicate, pretty face was rather cheap. He was more refined than masculine. In addition, his mount was a snow-white horse. He didn't look like a rich young master, but rather a young lady dressed as a man.

"Oh, your little grandson's here," Xie Sui'an said, not letting up. "He's here to pay his respects to your grandfather?"

"Hmph, it's you again. Who are you to dare openly oppose my family?" As he spoke, the pretty boy's eyes glanced at the burly man lying unconscious on the ground. His expression changed several times before he flew into a rage: "You knocked down Lei Gong?!!"

"No, that's not it," Xie Sui'an said, trying to stall for time as the other group hadn't arrived yet. He feigned sudden realization, "So this strong and muscular guy is nicknamed Thunder God. Indeed, tsk tsk tsk, he lives up to his name. He's the complete opposite of you. How come you're as fair and delicate as a woman, while he's so heroic? Could it be that he is... Oh, I see."

He wore a knowing and gossipy expression, and everyone present immediately understood the meaning of the second half of his sentence, and they all frowned.

This is clearly a joke about the young master of the Wu family having feminine features and being a homosexual!

Wu's young master was stunned for a long time before he reacted. He was enraged by Xie Sui'an's expression of being trapped and unaware of his own death. He gritted his teeth and cursed "You're asking for death." He then raised his whip and lashed the white horse's rump. The horse reared up in pain but refused to move forward, and Wu You was thrown off the horse.

This scene caught Xie Sui'an off guard. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into unrestrained laughter.

The servants of the Wu family hurriedly dismounted to help him up, while Young Master Wu gritted his teeth in pain and pointed his whip at Xie Sui'an: "Kill him for me!"

Qin Sang returned with the herbs she had gathered, having already washed them with spring water. She turned around from behind the hillside, lifted her skirt with one hand, and leaped lightly to Xie Sui'an. She fed the herbs to him and said gently, "Although they are a bit bitter, chewing and swallowing them will have the effect of reducing fever and inflammation."

Xie Suian's youthful spirit vanished upon seeing Qin Sang, replaced by tenderness. Staring at the woman before him, he couldn't help but reach out and wipe away the few specks of mud from her face.

Wu's men were also attracted by the beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared, and they all stared at them, forgetting for a moment that they should obey their master's orders.

It's no wonder they were stunned. Such a perfect match was a rare sight. Even Jinyun, who always opposed her son's womanizing, was dumbfounded. He thought the two were a match made in heaven, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Only the young master of the Wu family was fuming, pointing at Qin Sang and trembling: "You, you, you...you're actually here! Men, go and bring her back to me, but be careful not to damage her appearance!"

After a moment of stunned silence, his men finally moved at the sound. Xie Sui'an clicked his tongue and casually pulled Qin Sang behind him. Just as he was about to get up and fight again, a figure whirled past like a whirlwind. Then, screams and the neighing of horses could be heard.

Without any instructions, the mad beggar suddenly became ferocious and began to slaughter the Wu family guards. Even Jinyun, who was about to make a move, was stunned.

However, although the madman's martial arts were superb, the enemy had a large number of people and he was outnumbered. Jinyun only hesitated for a moment before he reacted and flew into the battle.

After exchanging only two blows, the madman suddenly turned to him and shouted, "Take the prince away! Leave this to me!"

Jinyun was taken aback again, thinking to himself, "Where did this prince come from? My young master is just a wealthy young master without any official rank."

But the madman was oblivious, fighting desperately and blocking all the blades and attacks. He even had the strength to pull Jinyun out of the battle and throw him toward Xie Sui'an. He cried out to Xie Sui'an again in a tragic voice, "Your Highness, go quickly! Don't worry about me!"

Jinyun: "...Young Master, is he calling you? When did you become a prince?"

Qin Sang was already 80% convinced, thinking that the arrogant peacock beside her might actually be a young prince, but perhaps he slipped up and was recognized by the madman. Seeing Jin Yun's eyebrows twitching in astonishment and Xie Suian feigning ignorance, she realized that the person the madman was calling for might not be the one before them. Perhaps… the madman had experienced a similar situation before? And the one he was protecting wasn't the person before him… If that were true, then this madman with extraordinary martial arts skills was once a subordinate of some prince!

Seeing the other party killing people like cutting vegetables, Qin Sang couldn't help but worry and said to Jinyun, "You... should you try to stop him a little? If everyone is killed, when Judge Wang comes, there will be no way to prove anything."

When Xie Sui'an heard her say that, he reached out and covered her eyes, saying, "Don't look."

Qin Sang thought to herself that she had already seen it all, and now it was a bit late to cover her eyes. Then she heard Xie Suian say, "The Wang family's troops may arrive soon. Let's hide somewhere else to avoid the scene being too bloody and giving you nightmares."

The two walked towards the huddled crowd, but as they approached, the crowd retreated, creating a safe distance between them and the group. Some of the bolder ones even dug for more gold stones, resulting in a chaotic scene of clanging swords and hammers echoing from the front and the clashing of axes and hammers from behind.

However, the opposing forces were thrown into disarray by the word "Prince" mentioned by the madman, with many guards hesitant and even looking at their masters in confusion for a response.

Wu You gritted his teeth and roared in fury: "You believe the words of a madman? Have you lost your minds? There's never been such a young prince in the current dynasty! Kill him!"

Xie Sui'an sneered: "You do have some knowledge."

"..." Qin Sang came back to her senses and analyzed the situation in a low voice: "The Wu family has arrived, and Wang Tongpan's men will definitely come up soon. Don't move. Rest here for a while and watch the show. Otherwise, if your wound gets infected and worsens, I won't be able to save you."

“It won’t be that fast,” Xie Sui’an leaned against her. “If Wang Houmin wants to catch Wu Fang off guard, he definitely won’t get too close, otherwise they’d start fighting on the way.”

"That's true... Sigh, I wonder how long Jinyun and the others can hold out."

"Don't worry, Jinyun can take on a hundred men single-handedly. I think that brother's kung fu is even better than Jinyun's. Together they are enough to take on 250 men, enough to wait for Magistrate Wang."

Qin Sang could only sigh, "I hope so."

The two of them struggled to move to a more secluded spot, silently cheering on Jinyun and the madman.

A commoner came over from the side, staring at Xie Sui'an and trembling, and said, "You...you really are a prince?"

Qin Sang and Xie Suian exchanged a glance. Before they could answer, the man knelt down with a thud and cried, "Your Highness, please do us justice! That young master Wu is inhuman! He abuses his uncle, who is the prefect, to commit all sorts of evil deeds. He kidnapped respectable women from our Quzhou Prefecture and raped them at will. My sister was raped by him and then committed suicide by jumping into the river. Your Highness, you must do us justice..."

Xie Sui'an: "Um...that..."

Unexpectedly, after that man knelt down and cried out, he immediately became a model of grievance, and many ordinary people in tattered clothes knelt down and cried out about the evil deeds of the Wu family.

Qin Sang and Xie Suian were soon surrounded by the people, making it impossible for Wu Yougang to find the right direction with his crossbow.

The young master was already furious, his eyes red with rage, as the Wu family guards were entangled by Jinyun and the madman expert. He had intended to shoot them through with a crossbow bolt, but now that many more troublesome civilians had appeared, he could not help but grit his teeth and become even more enraged.

After looking around for a while, the young master lost his patience and started firing crossbow bolts haphazardly at the people.

Seeing the innocent people die, Xie Sui'an was furious and was about to get up and fight back when another group of people rushed out from the hillside.

The one leading the group was not Wang Shizhen, whom we had seen yesterday, but a middle-aged man with a goatee. He bore a resemblance to Wang Shizhen, both possessing an indescribable gentle yet aloof bodhisattva-like appearance.

Wu You was standing at the back. As soon as she turned around, she saw Wang Houmin coming towards her, and her expression changed drastically: "Uncle Wang, what brings you here?"

Wang Houmin approached, his tone indifferent: "There was news that there's a gold mine on Lao Jun Mountain, so I personally led a team to investigate. What's wrong?" He glanced indifferently at the battlefield where many were fighting two, then looked at the civilians lying on the ground, riddled with crossbow bolts, a smile on his face but his eyes dark, and said, "Young Master Wu, who are you fighting with? Are you ganging up on us again?"

Wu You's face flushed red: "No, they are just two audacious thieves. I'm having them taught a lesson. Uncle, please go back. It's nothing serious. I can handle it. I promise I won't break the law and cause you or my uncle any trouble."

Qin Sang couldn't hear what the two were talking about from a distance, but fearing that Wang Houmin might be fooled, she quickly stood up and called out, "Lord Wang, the Wu family is illegally operating a gold mine and wantonly slaughtering civilians. Now the evidence is conclusive, arrest them immediately!!"

Xie Sui'an also called out to Jinyun: "Jinyun, stop fighting and bring the madman brother back!"

After kicking over a row of people, Jinyun pulled the madman, who had been beaten to the point of madness, back out together and stood protectively in front of Xie Sui'an. The madman had probably really mistaken Xie for someone else; his eyes were filled with unwavering determination as he protected his master.

Wu You gritted his teeth in hatred and roared, "What nonsense are you spouting, you scoundrel? This is my family's newly purchased tea garden, not a gold mine! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!!"

Wang Houmin still smiled slightly: "Hey, young master Wu, there's no need to be angry. Whether there's a gold mine or not, we'll find out by going there together. If there really is a mine, Master Wu will have done a great service, hehe."

Seeing that the duck that was about to fly away was about to be caught, the young master of the Wu family had a gloomy expression. He glanced back at Wang Houmin's men, then at Jinyun and the madman with high martial arts skills, as if he was calculating the possibility of wiping them all out in one fell swoop.

He whispered something to one of his trusted confidants, who immediately turned around quietly.

Qin Sang knew that they were going to call for reinforcements. That pretty boy was indeed going to wipe out everyone present, including Magistrate Wang.