20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 794 Hai Xin's First Exploration of the Dungeon

Just as Li Huizhong was ransacking the Jiang family's treasury, Li Zhengxi and Hai Xinnian finally arrived with their men.

The Jiang family massacre was shocking.

Rushing over from the entrance of Dahutong, one sees corpses strewn across both sides of the road and bullet holes riddled with bullet marks on the courtyard walls, a scene of grim desolation after a fierce battle.

Li Zhengxi, with his sharp eyes, slipped into the courtyard. Looking up, he recognized Whistle Li through the glass window on the first floor of the mansion. Without hesitation, he immediately pulled out his large mirror and fired several shots.

Hai Xinnian followed closely behind, and seeing his third uncle fire the gun, he naturally tried his best to catch up as well.

Although the Kaoshan Gang didn't have many guns and ammunition, they still carried various weapons and filed into the Jiang family's residence.

"Bang bang bang!"

In an instant, gunshots rang out, and the glass windows of the mansion shattered one after another like a torrential downpour.

Whistle Li was already in the living room keeping watch for any movement outside the gate. He was also known for his quick eyes and hands. As soon as he saw a figure flash past the window, he immediately took action, quickly ducked out of the window, and headed straight for the corner of the corridor to find cover.

The other brothers suddenly heard the gunshot, turned around and saw dozens of people rushing towards them in the courtyard. They panicked and scattered.

However, a person can't outrun a bullet.

Li Zhengxi, holding a large mirror, swept a burst of bullets across the room, and several robbers immediately fell to the ground.

A gasp of surprise immediately came from inside the mansion.

"The Jiang family is here! Run!"

After a few shouts, panic spread rapidly.

In fact, the fan gang had already suffered heavy losses and had come from a long march. Both their physical strength and willpower were on the verge of collapse.

If the two sides were to fight to the death, Whistle Li and his followers might not be outmatched, and could even turn the tide and win.

However, Whistle Li and the others were not possessed by immortals. They had neither supernatural powers nor the ability to see into the heavens, so they were unaware of the situation. As a result, their morale had already waned before the two sides even started fighting.

Moreover, most of these robbers were there for money. Although they hadn't found the Jiang family's treasury, they had still managed to collect a lot of valuable trinkets. As soon as they saw someone from the Jiang family arrive, they lost all will to fight and just wanted to make a quick getaway.

Needless to say, Li the Whistle himself...

He led his men to smash the kiln, intending to assassinate Jiang Lianheng and make a name for himself, but he ended up empty-handed.

The art of war emphasizes striking while the iron is hot, then weakening and exhausting the force.

After breaking into the Jiang family mansion, Li the whistle realized that Jiang Lianheng had already fled. He felt uneasy and couldn't help but feel anxious and worried. In the end, he was not the kind of person who could do great things. When he saw Xifeng coming, he mistakenly thought that there were still a hundred or so Jiang brothers outside the gate. So he didn't bother to regroup and hurriedly led a few trusted men to escape through the back window.

If the leaders are all leaving, how can the other brothers not disperse?
In an instant, Whistleman Li's followers were all busy fleeing for their lives.

Some were quick on their feet and had already climbed out the window while they were talking; others were good at light-footed skills and didn't even take the stairs, but jumped down from the back window on the second floor.

The scene naturally descended into chaos.

In contrast, Li Zhengxi and Hai Xinnian seized the opportunity, hurriedly crossed the courtyard, rushed into the mansion, and chased after the remaining followers of Whistle Li.

"Bang bang bang!"

Li Zhengxi was hot-tempered and easily angered. At this moment, he naturally took the lead. As soon as he entered the entrance hall, he immediately raised his gun and shot and killed two robbers who were about to climb over the back window.

Although Whistleman Li Huizhong turned around and returned fire, he had already exhausted his ammunition in the fierce battle. After firing a few shots, he fell silent and had no choice but to flee in panic.

Li Zhengxi led his men into the mansion and immediately shouted, "Leave only one alive, kill the rest!"

At his command, the fan-wielding gang immediately swarmed forward.

The few robbers who were slow on their feet tried to resist, but they were isolated and helpless, and were quickly hacked to death by the fan gang.

Li Zhengxi didn't delay and immediately ordered, "Shitou, take a few men and go over there! Xin Nian, you search over there! You few, go around to the courtyard wall and block it up, don't let them escape! The rest of you come upstairs with me!"

Having said that, he switched his grip on the gun to his left hand, bent down and picked up a broadsword from the ground, and led his men to charge up the stairs of the mansion.

Just as they stepped up two steps, they saw seven or eight robbers with their clothes in their pockets rushing down the stairs, ready to escape.

Seeing their comrades escape through the windows, the robbers, now with nowhere to retreat, steeled their resolve, brandished their machetes, and shouted fiercely, "Brothers, let's fight him to the death!"

Li Zhengxi was not about to let them go. He immediately raised the large scope, gripped the trigger with his index finger, and emptied the remaining bullets in the chamber.

"Da da da!"

The bullets swept across at an angle, and wherever the muzzle passed, someone was sure to be seriously injured and fall to the ground, either tumbling down the stairs or veering over the handrail and falling straight down.

Seeing this, the remaining robbers quickly steeled their resolve and shouted, "Stop fighting! Retreat!"

Wanting to withdraw is not easy.

Li Zhengxi pushed off the ground with his right foot, leaped forward, and swung his knife horizontally, instantly severing the Achilles tendon of one of the robbers.

Just as the robber was about to take a step, he suddenly lost his footing and crashed onto the wooden stairs with a loud thud. Before he could even turn around, the gang of thugs immediately followed, and clubs, knives, and swords rained down on him. In the blink of an eye, he was dead on the spot, and the stolen goods he had just taken scattered everywhere with a clatter.

Li Zhengxi ignored them and led the Kaoshan Gang upstairs to continue their attack.

Before long, a series of agonizing screams and cries came from the second floor of the mansion.

Xifeng rushed upstairs, while Shitou was not idle either, leading several brothers to pursue and search in the left corridor.

Despite the high morale of the Fan Gang, the brothers had just fought a bloody battle with Lao Dou and his men more than two hours earlier. Now, exhausted and weakened, and with the remaining brothers of Shaozi Li driven to the brink of despair, they were bound to fight back desperately. After several rounds of fighting, even if they won, it was a Pyrrhic victory.

At this time, Xiao Tang, Lao Wu, and Grandpa Kang were still in the room where the Jiang family kept the memorial tablet and had not yet come out.

Xiao Tang was startled by Zhao Lingchun, so he fled the Jiang family's basement early.

He originally had a chance to avoid the chaos, but because of his pride, he hesitated as soon as he crawled out of the basement. He felt that after this incident, those two old men would definitely laugh at him behind his back. Once the matter was exposed, how could he continue to work online?

Unexpectedly, just as he was lost in thought, Li Zhengxi and Hai Xinnian's gunshots rang out.

Xiao Tang was also startled and rushed out of the room to find out what was going on, when he heard several shouts coming from the direction of the living room.

"The Jiang family is here! Run!"

Immediately afterwards, many brothers rushed over and escaped through the window.

Xiao Tang then hurriedly followed.

Unexpectedly, this young man with half-open eyes always had the concept of "loyalty" in his heart.

Xiao Tang had only run a few steps when he hurriedly turned back and shouted towards the entrance of the underground parking garage, "Old Wu, Master Kang, run! The Jiang family is here!"

After being reminded, he felt that he had done his duty as a brother, so he left the room, quickly crossed the corridor, and hurriedly followed the other brothers to the back window.

However, the opportunity was too good to miss, and in the short time it took to go back and forth, Li Zhengxi and his men had already rushed into the Jiang family mansion.

Xiao Tang felt the deafening shouts of killing coming from inside the house. Hearing that his elder brother had already left, he panicked even more. He had suffered from his lack of experience and even then, he still tried to escape by climbing out the back window.

Unfortunately, before he could run a few steps, he ran into a strong young man with broad shoulders and a thick build. It was Hai Xinnian, the adopted son of the Jiang family.

What was even more unexpected was that Xiao Tang was afraid of ghosts but not people. As soon as he saw someone blocking his way, he immediately raised his broadsword and charged over.

Hai Xinnian had no time to exchange blows with him. As the robbers charged closer, he remained calm, raised his sidearm, paused for a moment, and then pulled the trigger.

"Bang-bang!"

Two gunshots rang out, and yet another Jianghu consumable died on the spot.

At this time, Old Wu and Grandpa Kang also hurriedly got to work in the underground parking garage.

Upon receiving the message from Xiao Tang and hearing gunshots erupting throughout the mansion, the two no longer cared about the treasury or the silver vault. They even ignored Zhao Lingchun in front of them, dropping the candlestick in their hands and hurriedly turning around to run towards the stone steps leading to the basement entrance.

After crawling out of the hidden door in the basement, the two originally planned to escape directly through the window.

However, upon looking at the window in this room, although it was wide enough, it was still too short to fit a head.

The two cursed inwardly and then hurriedly rushed out of the room.

Just as they reached the corridor, they heard two gunshots from around the corner. It was Hai Xinnian who had killed Xiao Tang.

The two men were even more panicked. When they smashed the kiln earlier, they had already run out of bullets in their pistols. Now, what could they fight with? They had no choice but to search for a way to survive.

However, trying to escape through the back window now is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Old Wu and Grandpa Kang had a sudden inspiration. Why not do the opposite? So they gave up on crossing the corridor and went to look for other rooms, planning to escape through the main window.

Unfortunately, time was of the essence. Just as they pushed open the two doors, Hai Xinnian had already slipped out from around the corner and pounced on the two of them.

Old Wu was quick on his feet and immediately hid in a servant's room.

Although Master Kang was a bit slow, he still managed to come in in time, closed the door behind him, and leaned against the door panel, holding it firmly in place.

This was probably the room where Jiang's long-term workers lived. There was a low window in the room, facing the east courtyard wall.

Grandpa Kang pointed to the window and shouted, "Old Wu, run!"

Old Wu didn't even turn his head, nor did he show the slightest remorse. He immediately crouched down and slipped out of the window.

The window had already been shattered by bullets, and there are still many sharp shards of glass around the window frame.

In his haste, Old Wu leaped out of the window, only to be cut on his arm in a moment of carelessness. Fortunately, the weather was freezing and his cotton-padded coat was thick enough that it did not damage his meridians. Ignoring the pain, he jumped out of the window and shouted, "Uncle Kang, let's get out of here!"

Unexpectedly, no sooner had he finished speaking than a gunshot rang out.

But then Kang Ye froze, looked down, and saw that his chest was covered in blood and gore.

Immediately afterwards, he leaned against the door panel, and suddenly heard a "plop" as he sat down on the door panel.

Seeing this, Old Wu stopped shouting, immediately abandoned his brothers, turned around and ran towards the east wall of the courtyard.

Although the bandits under Whistle Li were unlikely to achieve great things, the brothers of the Reliable Fan Gang were just a makeshift operation.

Li Zhengxi had just given orders to send a few brothers around the mansion to intercept them near the courtyard wall.

However, the fan-wielding gang was already willing but unable to act, and besides, this was their first time experiencing a proper fight, so they were bound to make mistakes. Seeing the commotion at the Jiang residence, they only cared about protecting Xifeng and Shitou, ignoring even Hai Xinnian. Naturally, no one went around the mansion to block the way around the courtyard walls. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lao Wu quickly scaled the east wall and headed north to meet up with Shaozi Li and the others.

Hai Xinnian wanted to give chase, so he took two steps back and rammed the door a few times with his shoulder, but the door was blocked by Kang Ye's corpse.

After finally managing to break through a crack, he squeezed into the room and peered out through the window, only to see Old Wu's figure flash by as he fled the Jiang family compound.

Hai Xinnian fired another shot at Kang Ye, then quickly walked to the window. Seeing that the other party had already climbed out of the house, he had no choice but to leave.

After all, now is not the time to pursue them; there may be other robbers hiding in the mansion.

Hai Xinnian dared not let his guard down. He quickly took the opportunity to change the magazine in his sidearm, then pushed open the door and searched each room in the corridor one by one.

The same applies to Li Zhengxi and others.

Whistleman Li's followers suffered more than half their losses. Those who could run away had already escaped, and those who couldn't escape in time were captured one by one and hacked to death.

From time to time, the sounds of beating and cursing could be heard from the rooftop.

Hai Xinnian didn't pay any attention and continued searching every room in the right corridor on his own.

Fortunately, the situation here was relatively easy. After pushing open several doors, no other robbers were seen.

Finally, he slowly walked to the small house at the end of the corridor.

Hai Xinnian had been living in the Jiang family for three or four years. He knew that this small house was where his godfather enshrined the ancestral tablet of the old man. Apart from Jiang and Hu and Sifengkou, no other servants or servants were allowed to approach it.

Throughout the entire Jiang family mansion, only Zhang Zhengdong frequently entered, always bringing offerings such as fruits and pastries. However, the offerings were changed too frequently, which aroused suspicion.

Although Hai Xinnian rarely interfered, he had his own guesses.

Now, stepping inside, upon seeing the dark, secluded entrance, I felt somewhat prepared and wasn't surprised at all.

Perhaps, over the years, even Song Ma and Yingzi have been pretending to be ignorant, not because they were completely unaware, but because they dared not ask too many questions.

Hai Xinnian is a sensible young man. Although he carries the title of the Jiang family's adopted son, he is clear about his own weight and position, and knows when to avoid suspicion and when to fight bravely.

It's rare to see a young man with such keen insight; it's all thanks to Hai Chaoshan's strict discipline.

In the past, Hai Xinnian would have turned around and left immediately upon seeing the Jiang family's underground vault.

But things are different now. The Jiang family mansion has just been massacred, and he has to go down there in person to make sure there are no other robbers hiding in the basement.

So he lit a candle, squatted near the hidden door, stretched out his arm, and shone it inside for a moment to make sure there were no suspicious people near the stone steps before slowly walking down.

Upon entering the basement, a candlelight was seen shining in the open space at the far end.

Those were candles that Lao Wu and the others had dropped on the ground when they left. Two of them had already gone out, and only one was still soaked in wax, flickering with a pale blue light, illuminating the outline of the cage deep in the basement.

A row of wooden fences could be vaguely seen in the sea, but the situation inside the dungeon remained hidden in murky shadows.

"whee……"

A burst of laughter suddenly echoed from the dungeon, sending chills down Hai Xinnian's spine.

No one knows why Zhao Lingchun suddenly burst into laughter; her behavior has long defied conventional wisdom.

But she was indeed laughing, and her laughter even carried a hint of smugness.

Hai Xinnian mustered his courage, raised the muzzle of his gun, and cautiously approached the dungeon while glancing around warily.

From the day he moved into the Jiang family home, he often slept on the floor, and therefore could always hear all sorts of strange noises.

Over the years, he became increasingly convinced that there was indeed a madwoman living in the Jiang family mansion, but he never had the chance to witness it with his own eyes.

It was precisely because of this reason that Hai Xinnian was not suspicious; on the contrary, he became even more convinced of his previous guess.

As they slowly approached the dungeon, they indeed saw someone huddled under a quilt, trembling, with a look that was neither a smile nor a cry.

"You are……"

Before Hai Xinnian could even finish speaking, Zhao Lingchun suddenly turned around, grinned at him, and burst into inexplicable laughter, slurring her words:

"Hahaha! I didn't fall for it! You can't fool me, I'll never fall for it again!"

"What did you say?"

Hai Xinnian couldn't hear what she was shouting at all, and even if he could, he couldn't understand her intentions.

Suddenly, Zhao Lingchun threw off the quilt, rushed over like a madwoman, grabbed the fence with both hands, pressed her face against the gap, and shouted desperately, "Tell my sister-in-law, I won't run away anymore, I'll never run away again, never again!"

"What did you say?" Hai Xinnian took a step back. "I can't hear you!"

"I'm not running anymore, I'll never run again!"

While shouting and screaming, declaring that he would never run away, Zhao Lingchun was also desperately shaking the bars, trying to break out of the dungeon.

Her words and actions present two completely different extremes.

As Hai Xinnian watched and listened, he gradually came to understand that what had trapped Zhao Lingchun in the dungeon was never the chains on the door, but a deep-seated fear.

He was certain that even if he opened the door now and let her out, Zhao Lingchun would obediently continue to stay here.

Hai Xinnian had never seen anything like this before, and in his shock, he couldn't help but feel compassion.

He wanted to go over and offer some words of comfort, but as soon as he took a step, Zhao Lingchun immediately shrank back, curled up on the bed and kept wailing.

"No, don't be afraid, I didn't mean to touch you..."

No sooner had Hai Xinnian finished speaking than the underground parking garage was suddenly brightly lit.

The lights on the ceiling came on, and the blinding light made him dizzy. He quickly shielded his eyes from the light and then turned to look behind him.

A figure had appeared on the stone steps at the entrance to the basement.

"new year--"

It was the sound of the west wind.

Hai Xinnian turned around and replied, "Third Uncle, I'm here."

Li Zhengxi didn't come over, but stood on the stone steps, waved to him, and said, "Come here, I don't have time to deal with her right now."

Hai Xinnian glanced at Zhao Lingchun, who was curled up on the bed. Despite some hesitation, he mustered the courage to ask, "Third Uncle, who is this woman?"

“An enemy!” Li Zhengxi didn’t explain further, but when he spoke again, his tone became more commanding, “Come up!”

Upon hearing the words "enemy," Hai Xinnian dared not say anything more. He turned around and followed Xifeng up the stone steps, leaving the Jiang family's underground vault.

Li Zhengxi closed the hidden door and covered it with a straw mat, as if nothing had happened.

However, Hai Xinnian had already seen what was happening in the dungeon. Although he was out, his mind was still inside, and his expression was somewhat off.

Seeing this, Li Zhengxi pondered for a moment and felt it necessary to say something, so he patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "Don't overthink it, this is a grudge between the older generation."

Hai Xinnian felt uneasy and couldn't help but ask, "Third Uncle, since they are enemies, why not just kill them? Why... why do we have to do it this way?"

Li Zhengxi shook his head, but said, "Don't pity her, this is the result of her own choice."

"She chose it herself?" Hai Xinnian asked incredulously.

Li Zhengxi nodded and said, "Yes, she clearly had a chance to escape back then, but she wanted too much, so she didn't succeed. Your father also gave her a chance. She could have chosen a quick and easy outcome, but she was afraid of death, so she could only stay here and suffer."

"She's already turned it off..."

"Thirteen years, she was imprisoned for thirteen years."

Hai Xinnian was taken aback; the time had far exceeded his expectations.

“It’s been thirteen years,” Hai Xinnian asked cautiously, “Has my godfather still not let go?”

"Let go?" Li Zhengxi's eyes widened. "Why should I let go?"

Hai Xinnian realized he had misspoke and quickly apologized, saying, "No, no, no, I was just asking casually, I didn't mean anything by it."

Li Zhengxi could tell that the boy had taken pity on him, so he snorted and briefly explained the reason to Hai Xinnian.

"New Year, you need to know that back then, it was because of her betrayal that the old man was ambushed, your father's second and third uncles were also killed, and your great-aunt was also captured by the Japanese and taken to the police station because of her betrayal. She was tortured into madness by them. Now you say you'll let it go, how can you let it go?"

Li Zhengxi was a survivor of the Fengtian turmoil.

He was well aware of how devastating Zhao Lingchun's leak had been to the Jiang family.

However, if one were to delve deeper, he would only know one side of the story.

Hai Xinnian then asked, "Then why did she inform on me?"

Li Zhengxi was taken aback, shook his head, and said, "I don't know either. Your father never mentioned it, but she has already lost. She has to accept her fate. This is her end."

Hai Xinnian remained silent.

If it were him, with such a deep-seated hatred, he probably wouldn't have let Zhao Lingchun off easily, but he probably wouldn't have punished her in this way.

Li Zhengxi continued, "Remember her well this New Year. When you're online, don't take chances. If you lose, just go for it. If you hesitate, think about her current situation. Got it?"

Hai Xinnian nodded, no longer pressing for answers or arguing, and instead asked, "Third Uncle, have all the robbers at the house been dealt with?"

"Clear it!" Li Zhengxi pulled him to a corner of the room and then instructed, "But I can't leave now. If I leave, those little bastards won't be able to stay here and guard the mansion. So, after you hide the bundle, you'll have to make another trip."

"To the outer residence in the south city?"

"Yes, Old Yuan is dead. I reckon things are probably still going on at the outer residence. Your father is still waiting for someone to pick him up in the commercial district. You need to hurry up and inform Old Zhao and the others."

"Third Uncle, what if... someone from the outer courtyard also smashes the kiln..."

"That means what happened tonight wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather a premeditated plan with everyone having their own roles. If there's any trouble in the outer quarters, don't get involved. Hurry back and inform your father!"

(End of this chapter)