Chapter 160 A technological gap of over two thousand years is no joke.
Judging from the situation, the two thousand county soldiers might not be able to withstand the attack, let alone wipe out Duan Wu's troops.
In this case, we have no choice but to use the other three thousand county soldiers as well.
"I refuse to believe it! Five thousand elite soldiers from Longyuan County cannot wipe out your mere thousand-odd men!" Lord You gritted his teeth and picked up the horn on the tower.
The powerful sound of the horn resounded through the night sky.
Upon hearing the order, the commander of the county troops immediately led three thousand elite soldiers into battle.
At this point, Lord You was finally able to relax a little.
Although he had not yet found Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu, he was certain that the two of them could not escape from this place, and that the soldiers of Xitun Pass who had broken in would surely perish here, leaving no survivors.
Even though there were some hiccups tonight, overall, everything is still under control.
He ordered the servants in his house to bring some fine wine and delicacies, and then drank alone on the rooftop under the moon, displaying an air of complete composure and shrewdness.
In the distant mountains and forests, the sounds of fighting quickly intensified.
However, after Lord You had only drunk a small portion of the wine, the commotion began to subside.
"Hahahaha," Lord You couldn't help but burst into laughter, "It seems that just as I predicted, with five thousand elite troops deployed, the battle will be won quickly!"
"You corrupt official! So you've been here all along!" Ning Jinli's voice suddenly rang out.
Lord You, holding his wine cup, rose and approached the railing of the pavilion, glancing down indifferently.
In the open space in front of the mansion gate, Ning Jinli looked up, her face illuminated by the flickering light of the lanterns around her.
"You've managed to chase me all the way from the mountains to my residence without getting lost, that's quite an achievement," Lord You provocatively said. "I've always been a man of pity for women. Although your age doesn't suit my taste, your beauty is exceptional. I can't bear to see you perish. Why don't you come up and serve me? If you serve me well, I might consider sparing your life."
Ning Jinli said, "I've seen shameless scum before, but you're one of a kind. I'll give you two choices: either get down here yourself, or I'll go in and catch you."
Lord You laughed and said, "So you think you can definitely subdue me? What difference does it make whether I go down or you come in?"
Ning Jinli's eyes flashed with a cold light. "The difference is that if you choose the former, you can suffer a little less before you die."
Lord You scoffed, "I've seen far too many arrogant and conceited people, but you're the first one like me."
"You're not coming down, huh? Fine!" Ning Jinli turned her gaze away and looked at the gate of the house in front of her.
Lord You's eyes were full of mockery. "Please do as you please."
Ning Jinli circulated her inner strength, took a few steps to run, and kicked the door.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the three-meter-high gate trembled a few times, and some cracks appeared where it was kicked, but the overall structure was not damaged.
Ning Jinli, on the other hand, was so shaken by the huge reaction force that her heels and calves went numb, and she almost stumbled.
"A wooden door can be this sturdy?" Ning Jinli asked incredulously, squatting down to rub her legs.
"Hahahaha!" Lord You laughed loudly, proudly saying, "Back then, it cost the equivalent of ten years' worth of silver for all the people of Hewan County to build this mansion. The wood used was a rare type that even the royal palace didn't have. It was as hard as copper and iron, and impervious to water and fire. Not to mention you, even if thousands of soldiers attacked, they wouldn't be able to break through it."
Ning Jinli's eyes blazed with fury. "You prey on the people and still have the nerve to gloat. You deserve to be torn to pieces."
Lord You scoffed disdainfully, "Ha, I'm the only one who can cut others into a thousand pieces. There's no one in this world who can cut me into a thousand pieces!"
Ning Jinli took a few deep breaths, mobilized her internal energy, took another running start, and then suddenly jumped towards the tower.
However, she did not know any light-body skills and relied solely on her powerful internal strength. Even though she jumped much higher than ordinary people, she was still several meters away from the platform.
Furthermore, there was nowhere to climb outside the house, so after trying once, they gave up.
"Hahahaha!" Lord You laughed so hard on the balcony that he bent over backwards. "You little girl are really quite amusing, much more interesting than raising a dog. The more I look at you, the less I want you to die."
At that moment, a series of footsteps came from the forest behind Ning Jinli.
Lord You looked in the direction of the sound and could vaguely see a large group of people.
His eyes lit up with joy. Sure enough, just as he had predicted, the five thousand elite soldiers from Longyuan County that he had dispatched easily dealt with the thousand or so soldiers from Xitun Pass.
“Little girl, I’ll give you one last chance,” Lord You said, his gaze returning to Ning Jinli. “Kneel down before me and become my maid, and I will spare your life.”
Ning Jinli put her hands on her hips, raised her head and puffed out her chest, and said, "You want me to kneel down for you? And be your maid? If you don't have a mirror, you can at least take a piss and look at yourself, right?"
"Sharp-tongued!" Lord You's eyes darkened slightly. "I'll first strip your teeth and tongue, then slowly kill you."
At this moment, a large number of figures had arrived and stopped at the edge of the woods, clearly waiting for orders.
Because only lanterns hanging under the eaves of the house provided illumination, Lord You, standing on the balcony, could not clearly see the figures.
But he naturally assumed that they must be his own soldiers, and without thinking, he said, "Soldiers, you have worked hard! This battle has been a great victory, and you have all made great contributions. I will reward you handsomely. Now, seize this arrogant woman! Do not harm her, because I will execute her myself!"
A long while passed after he finished speaking, but no soldiers stepped forward to make a move.
Lord You frowned and raised his voice, "What's going on? Didn't you hear what I said? Come here immediately and seize the woman in front of you!"
However, no one obeyed the order.
"Insolent fools!" Lord You roared, "You—"
“Come out, all of you,” Ning Jinli interrupted. “It seems the Prefect has mistaken you for someone else.”
Splash—
The soldiers marched forward in unison.
As rows of Xuanjia soldiers emerged from the dark woods and walked into the open space in front of the house, Lord You's expression gradually stiffened.
"This...how...how is it you?"
"impossible……"
"That's impossible!"
With a crash, Lord You's wine cup fell to the ground.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he still couldn't believe that the people standing in front of him weren't county soldiers.
Ning Jinli turned around to face the Xuanjia Army and asked, "How is the battle going?"
A general stepped forward, bowed, and clasped his hands in a fist. “We have captured all the county soldiers. However… although we tried our best to avoid casualties, we still accidentally killed dozens and seriously wounded hundreds. As for the lightly wounded, we can’t even count them all.”
Ning Jinli nodded, "It's really tough on you to defeat those several thousand elite soldiers as quickly as possible while also protecting their lives."
Lord You was so shocked by this conversation that his jaw nearly dropped.
Those were five thousand elite soldiers from Longyuan County!
Not only did they fail to wipe out the mere thousand-odd soldiers of Xitun Pass, but instead... they were defeated and captured?
even……
Did these soldiers from Xitun Pass even show mercy?
How could such a illogical thing happen!
"Hey!" Ning Jinli shouted towards the rooftop, "Now that things have come to this, do you really want me to go over and 'invite' you down?"
Lord You's face twitched, his hands gripping the railing tightly, his eyes extremely gloomy. "Trying to arrest me... you're dreaming!"
"Still struggling? Fine." Ning Jinli waved her hand and casually ordered, "Get the weapons, break down the door."
Several Xuanjia soldiers quickly took out makeshift explosive packs and ran to place them under the gate of the house.
Lord You, unable to discern their scheme, leaned halfway out from under the railing, gritting his teeth and sneering, "Fools! Have you forgotten that I just told you this mansion is impregnable? Even a god couldn't—"
boom!
Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang came from under the gate of the house.
Sparks flew and smoke billowed.
The enormous impact shook the entire house, making his ears ring and his head spin so badly he almost fell over the railing.
Amidst the billowing smoke, the sturdy and heavy gate of the house had been blown to pieces.
Hundreds of Xuanjia soldiers, carrying swords, stormed into the house.
“You little brat,” Ning Jinli sneered, “Don’t even mention it being an impregnable fortress. Even if it were a real impregnable fortress, it wouldn’t be able to withstand the power of modern explosives. A technological gap of more than two thousand years is no joke.”
On the rooftop of the mansion, Lord You slumped to the ground, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief, muttering, "How could this be... Impossible... Impossible..."
A short while later, a group of Xuanjia soldiers arrived at the tower.
Lord You had nowhere to run this time. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only have his hands tied, be dragged out of the house, and brought before Ning Jinli.
"Who...who exactly are you..." Lord You stared into Ning Jinli's eyes and asked through gritted teeth.
Ning Jinli ignored him and only ordered the Xuanjia Army to escort him away quickly. To ensure that nothing went wrong, they also needed to find another place to detain him alone.
The Xuanjia Army then tried to drag him away.
He had a sudden inspiration. Thinking that Xiao Qidi and Duan Wu were still missing, he decided to try one last gamble. "Wait! Let me tell you, the lives of your general and his master are still in my hands!"
"Trying to trick me? Save your breath. They've already gone back to sleep," Ning Jinli said with a look of disbelief, "They slept like hotcakes after drinking your wine laced with that muscle relaxant."
Lord You's already pale face instantly turned completely bloodless.
The fact that the other party could say that the two men drank wine laced with muscle relaxant is enough to prove that the two men really did escape.
His last hope vanished, and he felt as if all his strength had been drained away. His body went limp like a rag doll, and he kept muttering, "Impossible... How could this be... How could this be..."
...
Three days later.
A rumor that the magistrate of Hewan County and others would be publicly tried spread like wildfire among the people.
The people found it hard to believe, but out of curiosity, they still rushed to the county government office early in the morning.
When they arrived at the main street in front of the county government office, they were surprised to see a large platform set up at the crossroads, with a group of soldiers in armor guarding the area.
At this moment, only the interrogation table was set up on the platform; no one else was visible.
More and more people gathered and started discussing it.
"No way? Is it really going to be a public trial of the county magistrate?"
"Not only that! I heard it also includes all the yamen runners in the county government."
"Hiss... I just don't believe it. Who has the ability to interrogate them?"
"I heard it's General Duan."
"Huh? That border general who pretended to punish the county magistrate a few days ago, but ended up letting it go? Impossible! I was there, I saw him let the magistrate go in order to please the prefect, and he even chased away our people!"
"But these past few days, none of the constables and yamen runners have shown up, and even the checkpoints set up for entry and exit have been removed..."
"So what's the situation now?"
"Who knows? Maybe they're up to some trick and are just messing with us again."
"..."
The people chattered and speculated, but no one could figure out the truth.
In the crowd, Xiao Qidi used his tall and burly body to squeeze through a gap, and Ning Jinli followed to help, allowing a couple holding a little girl to stand in the best viewing position.
This family of three consists of Xiumei, her husband, and their daughter.
Xiumei's husband was still a little unsteady on his feet and his face still showed signs of illness, but his eyes were bright, indicating that his injuries were almost healed.
The couple's expressions were both solemn and full of anticipation.
Only An'an didn't understand what was happening, her big eyes staring blankly at the bustling crowd around her.
“Miss Ning…” Xiu Mei asked nervously in a low voice, “Will that corrupt official really be punished?”
After being rescued from the county government's death row by Ning Jinli, she stayed in Medicine King Valley until this morning, when Ning Jinli brought her and her husband back to Hewan County.
Ning Jinli only gave a general overview of the situation.
So she didn't know much more than other people. Even though she trusted Ning Jinli, the sudden news that the corrupt official was going to be finished still felt like a dream.
After all, only a few days had passed, and she had already been ruined and killed by corrupt officials...
Ning Jinli gripped Xiumei's slightly trembling, rough hand and said softly, "I brought you all back specifically so you could see with your own eyes what would happen to those beasts. Don't worry, Xiumei, this time, they won't get away with it."
As the morning sun gradually dispelled the fog, Duan Wu strode onto the judge's bench as the first rays of sunlight fell upon it.
The people stopped talking and countless eyes fell on him.
Duan Wu was a little nervous because he could feel the doubt, anger, and disdain in those gazes... a mix of emotions that put him under immense pressure.
"Mother... Even leading troops into battle wasn't this terrifying." Duan Wu muttered to himself, secretly wiping the fine beads of cold sweat from his forehead.
The people waited for a while, but seeing him standing on the platform without saying a word, some became impatient and shouted, "You, surnamed Duan! What kind of trick are you trying to pull!"
This question caused a huge uproar, and the crowd that had finally quieted down instantly erupted into chaos.
A torrent of insults crashed down on Duan Wu, making his head buzz.
"Gentlemen...please be quiet and listen to me," Duan Wu began, forcing himself to speak, "Today, I—"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a fist-sized rock flew out from the crowd and hit Duan Wu squarely on the forehead with a bang!
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