20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 655 Words and Deeds

It is not something that ordinary people can do to snatch a knife with bare hands.

Fortunately, before Li Zheng swung his knife, he had caught a glimpse of Zhao Guoyan running towards him from the corner of his eye. Not understanding what he meant, he slowed down his knife a little, but he never expected that the other party wanted to stop the knife to save people. Fortunately, the blade of the knife was bent, otherwise if he continued to chop down, he would probably cut off several fingers immediately.

However, in Zhao Guoyan's eyes, there seemed to be no such consideration at all.

Now that the blade was suspended in mid-air, it naturally attracted many people's attention. Even the people on the wall of the Lianzhuang Association were a little confused at this moment.

Of course, the armed team members were just there to watch the fun and had no idea what was going on. They just thought it was a disagreement between bullies and bandits.

In the village meeting, only Hai Chaoshan knew clearly why Zhao Guoyan wanted to save Erma.

On this side, although Li Zheng was greedy and bloodthirsty by nature, he was not a mad dog. He had been dealing with the Jiang family for many years and could be considered an old acquaintance of Zhao Guoyan. Therefore, he did not turn hostile on the spot. Instead, he was a little amused and then grinned, as if smiling, but said nothing.

Then, he twisted his wrist and quietly exerted some strength.

The blade was stressed and turned slowly, making a slight sound of cutting skin and flesh, and a few streaks of blood flowed out between the fingers.

Zhao Guoyan remained calm, exerted force, raised his forearm, and immediately stabilized the blade, but said, "Why, Master Li won't give me face?"

"Do you really want to protect him?" Li Zheng asked with a raised eyebrow.

Zhao Guoyan nodded and pointed, "I don't care about others - I promised him personally that I would leave him a way out."

At this time, Sun Xiangyang heard the noise and hurried over, saying truthfully: "Boss, this guy is the one who tipped us off. Without him, I'm afraid this game tonight wouldn't be possible."

Li Zheng seemed to hear nothing. He still smiled and said nothing.

Zhao Guoyan was too lazy to waste any more words, he held the knife in one hand, not moving at all.

Sun Xiangyang was sandwiched between the two people, looking around, not knowing what to say.

Looking down, I saw the machete trembling slightly and flickering with silver light - the two men were competing in secret!
Seeing this, the atmosphere gradually became cold and no one dared to step forward to persuade them.

Just at this moment, a loud "bang" suddenly came from the stage!
Zhao Guoyan and Li Zheng were distracted immediately and didn't care about the present. They quickly turned sideways and looked in the direction of the sound to find out what was going on - it turned out that "Ghost Array" had already finished being sung.

More than 3,000 lines of lyrics were sung from beginning to end without any breaks in between. It was all done by one person. Even a strong man could not have endured it. Looking at the artist on the stage, he was already exhausted. After shouting the last two lines of lyrics, he began to catch his breath.

Unexpectedly, the back of his head felt numb, his feet staggered, and he lost his balance and fell backwards like a zombie. The sound of his landing was as heavy as a sack's. He was no longer moving, only his chest was still rising and falling violently.

It's not easy to survive in the world.

Li Zheng came back to his senses and suddenly loosened his grip. He looked at Zhao Guoyan with a smile and said, "What a fucking tiger!"

Zhao Guoyan also let go of his broadsword, clasped his hands together, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Li, for your kindness!"

"Not really, let me try you."

"So what did you find out?"

"He's a tough one!" Li Zheng lowered his broadsword, and suddenly remembered something, then continued with a smile, "The Cangzhou Tiger Force is indeed worthy of its reputation!"

Zhao Guoyan refused and shook his head, obviously unwilling to accept the nickname "Cangzhou Tiger", but he had no choice, after all, the nickname had already spread online.

There are always wrong names, but no wrong numbers. He has no say in this matter.

There is no way. Even if you want to change it, don’t you think about who first said this nickname?

As he was talking, Erma finally came to his senses and realized that his life was saved by Zhao Guoyan, so he quickly got out from under the table and kindly asked, "Brother, is your hand okay?"

I thought that anyone would show off for being so grateful to God for saving my life, but Zhao Guoyan just shook his hands and said without even looking at Erma, "This has nothing to do with you!"

After saying that, he turned around and was about to walk back.

Erma was filled with gratitude and stood up in a hurry, saying, "Hey, brother, please stay. I haven't thanked you enough! Big brother, I know a folk remedy for treating knife wounds. It works every time. I won't tell anyone about it easily."

He was about to catch up, but just as he was about to take a step, he suddenly shuddered, so he quickly turned around and bowed three times to Li Zheng:

"Thank you very much, big boss, for not killing me. Thank you very much, big brother, for helping to intercede for me. Thank you very much!"

Li Zheng lowered the blade, shook it twice, and said, "Pull up your pants!"

"What a shame, what a shame!" Erma hurriedly pulled up his trouser waist, not wanting to stay any longer. He said a few goodbyes in a hurry and continued to chase Zhao Guoyan.

Sun Xiangyang joked from behind and shouted, "Hey, kid, your gold bar fell!"

Er Ma stopped, clamped his thighs together, turned around and touched something, then looked at the ground. Nothing fell out, so he knew that Sun Xiangyang was making fun of him, but he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction. So he just scratched his head, chuckled twice, and then hurried away.

Sun Xiangyang laughed twice and naturally did not stop him.

Li Zheng casually threw down his broadsword and ran to the table in front of the stage: "Let's go and see Lao Mang!"

At the command, two or three hundred bandits immediately stood up and followed, shouting as they walked: "Is the guy on the stage dead or alive? Perform two more pieces for us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone clapping and cheering not far away: "Good, good, good!"

The three cheers sounded particularly harsh amid the scene of corpses strewn all over the ground.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jiang Lianheng walking slowly towards Lao Mang in the field, smiling and clapping.

"It turns out that there are masters among the people. What a talent!" He looked at the artist who collapsed on the stage and exclaimed sincerely, "I can hardly breathe just by listening, let alone singing."

When everyone heard this, they fell silent.

Jiang Lianheng returned to his seat without paying attention to the sight of the mountains of corpses and the sea of ​​blood. He turned his head and asked, "Brother Mang, give me an idea: should we watch this drama?"

Lao Mang's face was ashen, and his triangular eyes were fixed on Jiang Lianheng's face. He didn't say a word, and there was no need to say anything.

Immediately afterwards, Li Zheng came uninvited from behind, sat down next to them, and looked at the actors on the stage as if nothing had happened.

Jiang and Li, the two bullies and bandits, stood on the left and right, and sandwiched the commander-in-chief of the "Anti-Feng Army" in front of them.

Lao Mang knew that he could not escape his fate, so he simply stopped struggling and sat there waiting to die like a bullied child.

"Brother Mang, tell me, should I give you a reward?" Jiang Lianheng continued to ask. Seeing that the other party did not respond, he smiled and said, "What's the matter? Are you still angry with me? Okay, okay, can't I just return the gun to you?"

As he said that, he raised his hand and with a "bang", placed the pistol that Lao Mang had just thrown away on the table.

It is unknown when he took the gun away with honor, and it is not important at the moment.

The important thing is, if you dare to put the gun on the table, you won’t be afraid of someone snatching it.

Lao Mang looked at his pistol, shook his head, sighed, and said, "I should have thought of this long ago... Forget it, forget it!"

"It's well said, but it's a bit off topic!" Jiang Lianheng said with a smile, "Since Brother Mang doesn't say anything, then I'll make my own decision. Is the actor dead or alive?" The artist on the stage was still panting, and apart from breathing, there was no other movement.

Seeing this, the musician of the orchestra ran up to him and gently pushed him twice, urging him in a low voice, "Hey, hurry up and get up for the reward!"

After shaking several times, the artist sat up. He was in a daze, as if he had just woken up from a dream, and it seemed that he was not the one singing just now. After half a minute, he finally regained consciousness, knelt on the stage and kowtowed, while his partner recited a set of auspicious words to him. He spread out his hands, waiting to be rewarded.

It was only then that I realized that the artist’s partner was not tired, but knew what was going to happen, was afraid, and did not dare to sing anymore.

Jiang Lianheng didn't make things difficult for them. He turned around and winked, indicating that Lao Yuan should give him a reward.

Yuan Xinfa took out a money bag from his bosom, raised his hand, and dropped it on the stage. A layer of dust rose up, proving that the reward was a lot of money.

The makeshift troupe thanked them repeatedly and then retreated to the backstage to stop disturbing them.

Jiang Lianheng turned sideways, put one hand on the table and the other on the back of the chair, and said with a laugh: "Okay, Brother Mang, now we can talk about business."

Lao Mang closed his eyes and shook his head, saying with a hint of self-mockery: "What else is there to talk about? It's already like this. If you want to kill me or chop me up, it's just a matter of your words."

At this time, the military advisor Ye Laodao also snorted coldly and said sarcastically: "I thought... Boss Jiang was a man of his words!"

"Oh?" Jiang Lianheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Military Advisor, have I ever broken my promise?"

The old Taoist knew that the situation was already decided, so he just opened up and said, "You killed all our people, and you still have the nerve to ask me?"

"I didn't kill him, how would I know you have a grudge against 'Yanwang Li'?"

"Boss Jiang, stop pretending. Are you tired? Could it be that they didn't set up this Hongmen Banquet according to your arrangement?"

"Military Advisor, you think too highly of me. How can I have such a powerful force to make everyone work for me?" Jiang Lianheng suddenly waved at Sun Xiangyang, "You big-eyed guy, I'm talking to you, come over and pour me a glass of wine!"

Sun Xiangyang is also a seasoned man. Upon hearing this, he immediately retorted, "Fuck, who are you ordering around? Don't you have hands?"

Jiang Lianheng sighed and asked, "Military Advisor, take a look. Is this someone I can command?"

The old Taoist was stunned for a moment, blinked, and suddenly found it ridiculous: "Boss Jiang, is this funny? Who are you doing this for?"

Just as he finished speaking, Sun Xiangyang suddenly stood up and slapped the old Taoist in the face with his backhand, causing blood to gush from his mouth and nose. He fell to the ground along with the chair.

Then, he leaned over and picked up the old Taoist priest, and asked, "Military Advisor, tell me again, is it interesting?"

"Interesting, interesting!"

Sun Xiangyang slapped him again with a "slap".

The old Taoist covered half of his face and cried out in injustice: "You're still hitting me if it's fun?"

"boom--"

Just as the old Taoist finished speaking, there was a choking sound and a black spot appeared between his eyebrows. Before he could react, he fell to the ground and died.

In the blink of an eye, Lao Mang became a commander without troops.

"What a damn noise!" Li Zheng put Lao Mang's gun back on the table, tilted his head to light a cigarette, and asked in a deep voice, "Lao Mang, it's time to settle our accounts, right?"

Lao Mang looked at the Taoist priest lying on the ground, and suddenly felt a little envious. He deliberately wanted to provoke Jiang and Li, and said: "In this situation, is there any need to settle accounts? Setting up a banquet at Hongmen and killing the surrendered soldiers on the battlefield, if you two don't mind the shame, I will accept it. And this military master——"

He looked across the table at Liu Kuaitui and continued, "Many of the brothers in my camp are 'flying all over the sky'. Are you going to cheat them like this?"

"Fuck you, don't try to play tricks on me! Your father is now a soldier. Do you understand what soldiers do? I only care about the common people. I don't care about the rules of the underworld!"

Liu Kuaitui cursed in an official tone, and then made up another set of words:
"The Suifenhe mountain guerrillas rebelled, and the remnant Wu Dagu led the remaining soldiers to be trapped in the barren mountains, causing trouble for the people. Captain Liu of the Guard Company of the First Brigade of the Jilin Frontier Defense Army happened to pass by Laoyeling, defeated the enemy with more troops, and annihilated hundreds of enemies, winning the love of the people. This story... sounds so good!"

Persuading the enemy to surrender is a merit, killing the enemy is even more of a merit!

Jiang Lianheng echoed, "The old, the weak, women and children are all happy to hear this. I wish Commander Liu a smooth career!"

Liu Kuaitui immediately bent down and flattered him repeatedly: "Thanks to Boss Jiang for your advice. When we return to Ning'an County, I will trouble you to say a few good words for me in front of General Zhang."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand: "As long as the matter is settled, everything will be fine!"

Then, he turned to face Lao Mang, stretched out his arm, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, "Okay, Brother Mang, it's getting late, tell me your story!"

"Is there anything else?" Lao Mang was a little confused for a moment.

"Where are Gao Shibin and Lu Yonggui, the main culprits of the 'Anti-Fengtian Army'?" Jiang Lianheng reminded, "Brother Mang, this is your last chance, tell me straight out, and I will consider asking for mercy from Mr. Li for you."

Lao Mang then realized that he still had a trump card that was not really a trump card. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Boss Jiang, we are all online. If I tell you, can you give me a quick death?"

Jiang Lianheng curled his lips, but said: "Didn't I already promise you that the Jiang family will not retaliate? I will keep my word, but I can plead for you."

Lao Mang knew that this was nonsense, so he turned and looked at Yan Wang Li.

Li Zheng blew a puff of smoke into his face. His expression was hidden in the smoke and seemed particularly vague. In the end, he did not make any promises.

Lao Mang no longer has any bargaining cards, and it is wishful thinking for him to keep silent. There is no mouth that cannot be opened by torture.

After thinking hard, he realized that there was really no other option except to take a gamble. After pondering for a moment, he asked Jiang Lianheng for a cigarette. After smoking it, he said calmly, "Hunchun, the two of them are on the second floor of a teahouse in Hunchun. Before we retreated, we had agreed to meet there."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud rumbling sound on the table.

Jiang Lianheng took the lead, and everyone stood up, which frightened Lao Mang so much that he was at a loss and said hurriedly: "Boss Jiang, you said..."

"Oh, don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Jiang Lianheng looked at Li Zheng, "Boss Li, can you give me some face and let Brother Mang go?"

Li Zheng shook his head: "No."

Jiang Lianheng gently patted Lao Mang's shoulders twice and sighed, "Brother Mang, I have pleaded for you."

I really have asked for mercy.

He became enlightened too early and was too familiar with the rules of the underworld, so he became so slippery and cunning that he was annoying.

After saying that, Jiang Lianheng turned around and left.

Lao Mang subconsciously wanted to get up and follow them, but as soon as he stood up, he was surrounded by the men of "Yanwang Li". Before he could react, Sun Xiangyang and Lao Shaozi grabbed his arms and dragged him to a small woods in the southwest direction.

Soon, shrill screams spread across the valley.

Lao Mang probably won't die yet, and his screams will continue until his confession is verified. I'm afraid there will be a lot of torture waiting for him...

(End of this chapter)