After He Zifeng came out, he immediately ordered one of his men and Xie Rui to gather reinforcements. If they encountered any patrols, they were to be called to come and help.

He Zifeng and one other person guarded the front gate, while the other two guarded the back gate. Such a drastic move immediately turned Xie Rui's face pale; his knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

No wonder no one liked calling him; he was just too timid. He got up from the ground and quickly burst out with astonishing speed, running away as if chased by a dog.

He Zifeng and his men had already drawn their knives.

The two thugs inside were still oblivious, discussing how to kill them that night. After a while, they heard the sound of orderly running outside. Being people who had spent their lives in the martial world, they had a natural sense of danger.

The doctor immediately pushed open the door. Although he couldn't see anyone, the footsteps were clearer, as if everyone was converging on him. He was immediately alarmed: "This is bad!"

The two reacted quickly, grabbing their bundles and rushing towards the back door. They had already scouted the spot, and as soon as they emerged, they saw two men wielding long knives opposite them, who immediately began slashing at them. But these two men had survived countless battles, and the doctor swiftly fired a poison gas pill.

After being ejected, it quickly releases a thin plume of smoke; anything that touches it will immediately develop a burning, blistering sensation.

"Ah!" the two constables cried out in pain.

He Zifeng and the others at the front gate, upon hearing this, exclaimed, "Damn it, they're trying to escape!" Fortunately, he had made arrangements in advance. He ordered the two groups of men to provide support from the front gate and the other from the back gate.

He Zifeng led them to break through through the main gate, and as soon as they entered, they smelled a peculiar odor. He immediately told everyone to cover their mouths and noses and rush out.

The medicinal effect diminished immediately after the smoke dissipated, with very little smoke entering the body. Only the two constables guarding the back door inhaled most of it, suffering from intense pain and itching, writhing on the ground. He Zifeng immediately said, "No need to leave them alive." These two were rife with evil and unorthodox practices; insisting on capturing them alive would only increase unnecessary casualties.

After speaking, He Zifeng released the signal flare he was carrying.

The two notorious bandits thought they were about to fight their way out, but instead, they were met head-on by a small team of five. Then, He Zifeng led seven more men in, and the signal flare had been so clearly heard by everyone.

They've never suffered such a loss since they started wreaking havoc in the countryside, being cornered by so many people in a narrow alley.

The two thugs, back to back, drew their weapons and confronted the constables. Fortunately, He Zifeng had ordered that no one be taken alive. The constables, wanting to control the situation before the other two groups arrived, wielded their long swords with incredible speed.

The two assassins were quite skilled. Surprisingly, they weren't injured despite being cornered, but they were growing increasingly agitated. Their specialty was poison, and both of them carried various poisons on their bodies, but they simply didn't have time to reach for them. If they dared to be distracted, they would be pierced by bayonets in an instant, but this style of fighting was purely attritional, and they couldn't sustain it for long.

The young man shouted, "We admit defeat today. If you release me, I will tell you where the silver is hidden."

The lure of silver still managed to make these people react for a moment. They seized the opportunity, directly slashed and wounded the two men in front of them, and fought their way out, escaping at lightning speed.

He Zifeng was furious. They had managed to break through the seemingly impenetrable encirclement! If they escaped like this, catching them again would be extremely difficult. Moreover, these two were extremely vengeful and would definitely take the opportunity to retaliate. Seeing that they were almost out of the alley and reinforcements had not yet arrived, He Zifeng immediately threw the weapon in his hand at them.

"Ah!" A scream rang out as the weapon pierced straight through the doctor's thigh.

That guy stopped too. Now, He Zifeng snatched a weapon from the person next to him and threw it, stabbing him directly in the chest.

He Zifeng and his men rushed over immediately, the alleyway filled with the pungent smell of blood. But these two weren't behaving themselves; even on the verge of death, they still held explosives in their hands, which they detonated with a deafening roar. Three men at the front were instantly killed in the explosion.

Knowing they were doomed after being arrested, the two men decided to take their enemies down with them. The three constables who rushed at them died instantly. Their explosion caused the poison pills in their arms to heat up rapidly.

He Zifeng and the others saw a cloud of yellow mist rising and immediately said to everyone, "Quick, cover your mouths and noses." Everyone took a few steps back, but the mist dissipated faster than they could. Although they had taken timely remedial action, they still inhaled some smoke.

These two are ruthless; they have no intention of taking just three people down with them.

They watched from afar as reinforcements arrived, but He Zifeng and the others leaned against the wall and slowly collapsed.

The others had already fallen dead, but He Zifeng was stronger. He held on the longest, and even warned the others, "Be careful, poison gas!"

Everyone was shocked, and then He Zifeng lost consciousness.

When He Zifeng woke up, he was surrounded by unfamiliar curtains. He was still a little dizzy when he got up. As soon as he sat up, he saw Brother Xiong, who exclaimed with surprise, "You're awake?"

Immediately summon a doctor to check his pulse. He Zifeng regained consciousness. Upon hearing this, Constable Zhu rushed over and hurriedly asked how he was.

After examining him, the best doctor in the county said, "There's nothing seriously wrong." He then praised him, saying, "Young man, you're in great shape!"

Constable Zhu was pleased to hear this. He said, "You've done a great service! You seized one hundred taels of silver from them, all government silver, along with some poison and two [illegible] from their bodies. Their deaths have benefited the entire county. The magistrate has ordered their charred corpses to be hung on the city gate and left to dry in the sun for three days." These people are cunning and cruel; if they had escaped, no one would have been able to live in peace. He had already heard that the capture of these two men was entirely thanks to He Zifeng; he had truly gained a lucky general.

He Zifeng asked, "How are the brothers?"

"Three people were killed in the explosion, and two others were seriously poisoned, their eyes were injured, sigh..." As for the others, they had inhaled the poisonous fog like He Zifeng, and two others were slashed, but they were all fine. The medicine boy gave the poisoned people medicine to make them vomit and have diarrhea, and they would probably suffer for the next few days.

Officer Zhu wanted to ask them how they discovered the anomaly, as he needed to report the information back to the county magistrate.

He Zifeng had no choice but to force himself to stay alert and said, "I'm sensitive to the smell of blood. They smelled very strong, and their age and gender matched, so I wanted to question them. I didn't expect their desperate resistance to expose me."

When Constable Zhu first separated the family property from He Zifeng, he was deeply impressed by him. Now, his opinion of him has been refreshed once again. He is courageous and resourceful in making decisions quickly and seizing opportunities.

Officer Zhu's appreciation was evident. He said, "When I see the magistrate later, I will definitely recommend you for a reward."

“It’s not all my achievement,” He Zifeng said.

Officer Zhu said, "Don't worry, you will all be compensated." Then he left.

Brother Xiong, standing nearby, said enviously, "Brother, your good days are coming." There are about fifty people at the yamen gate. Only a handful are remembered by the county magistrate, and now you've made a name for yourself in front of Constable Zhu and the county magistrate. It's like your ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke.

He Zifeng said, "We brothers don't talk about those things."

Brother Xiong was somewhat moved. He Zifeng meant that even though he had recovered, his feelings for him remained the same. He Zifeng had only been there for a short time, and he was still so young. These words from him were more valuable than anything else.

Brother Xiong returned the favor by saying, "I heard that the county magistrate still has more than a hundred taels of silver that haven't been recovered."

He Zifeng repeated the words the male and female duo had spoken before they died. Those two must have hidden the silver. They had looted many places; there was definitely more than just one hundred taels of silver.

Brother Xiong said, "Where could they possibly hide their things? Just now, Constable Zhu and his men dug up the house of that blind old woman they were staying at, leaving no stone unturned. From the roof beams to the chimney, they found everything, not a single thing." They've only just arrived in this county; where could they possibly hide them?

As they were talking, the constable returned and said that the county magistrate had appointed He Zifeng as the captain. The captain would receive five taels of silver a year and would be in charge of ten men. Constable Zhu came over personally and said, "I'll give you ten days off. Take a good rest!" Everyone knew that He Zifeng was alright, and this was a perk that Constable Zhu had secured for him.

He Zifeng thanked him again. He paid for a medicinal bath at the pharmacy. His daughter Qiuyu had grown up in a hunter's family and was sensitive to the smell of blood. If his wife knew, she would worry about him and burn his clothes. He felt disgusted after being in contact with that kind of person today.

He was already a captain, so getting a new set of yamen runner's clothes was easy for him. After taking a medicinal bath and changing his clothes, Lin Feng and Zhou Hao ran over and said, "Brother He, thank you so much for today." They only realized how dangerous it had been afterward. Luckily, He Zifeng had repeatedly warned them, which saved them from disaster. Now that He Zifeng had been promoted, and given their camaraderie from fighting the enemy together, they were naturally closer to him than to others, saying, "From now on, I'll entrust my hundred-odd jin (a unit of weight) to you!"

These two are usually a bit arrogant, so it's clear they're genuinely convinced when they say that.

He Zifeng said, "It's all thanks to everyone. We'll have to rely on everyone to work together in the future."

Seeing that He Zifeng didn't become arrogant after gaining power, everyone felt even more that he was a person worth befriending!

Aside from their group, which was entirely wiped out and needed rest, the other two groups were tasked with finding the government silver hidden by the notorious thieves. They couldn't afford to coast along like before.

At that moment, Wan Hai carried a box down from the mountain. He didn't respond to people greeting him on the way. Once inside, he locked the hut, and no one knew what he was secretly doing!

Author's Note: Sorry, I have something to do today, so there will only be one update. To make up for it, I'll be sending out 100 red envelopes.

Leave a comment below this chapter for a chance to win.

Double updates again tomorrow! Time to get going in September.