Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 157 There's no such thing as a thousand days of thievery, only a thousand days of guarding against thieves.
"so what."

Cao Weida leaned against the wall and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Xiao Jianbiao thought Cao Weida had backed down, and a slight smile reappeared on his lips. "Master Cao, I, Xiao Jianbiao, was in the wrong in this matter. I apologize to you here."

“We were wrong to begin with, but as you can see, both of us brothers have been killed. It’s our just desserts. We hope you can calm down.”

"I only beg you to be merciful and let us out. I promise we'll keep to ourselves from now on, and I'll even send a small gift to your household afterwards. What do you say?"

"I don't think he's anything special." Cao Weida scoffed. He's just a small-time hoodlum. So what if he's got some skills? He's still a scoundrel!

Who does he think he is?!
He retorted sarcastically without any politeness, "You really think you're someone important? You provoked me, and now that I've caught you, you think you can just let me off with a few words? You must have had too much fake alcohol."

Not to mention that he never intended to settle things peacefully, Xiao Jianbiao is simply not a man of his word.

If he were released, Cao Wei Da was afraid that the other party would secretly resort to underhanded tactics.

As the saying goes, there's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days, only to be a thief for a thousand days.

He currently has two concubines, and soon he will have to take two more. With so many women, if he were to be retaliated against, even if he were to grind them to dust, what established fact could he change?

What he advocates is to eliminate problems completely and leave no future troubles!
To paraphrase what Duomen used to say: If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly!
Xiao Jianbiao is incredibly audacious. Now that they've become enemies, he has no intention of letting the other party go!

Xiao Jianbiao's smile vanished again, and his face darkened completely.

"Master Cao, are you really planning to fight us to the death?!"

"If a dozen of us charge at you together, are you sure you can stop us?!"

"Leave a way out for everything, so we can meet again someday! If we really fight, there will be absolutely no room for maneuver between us!"

“I really can’t stop him.” Just when Xiao Jianbiao thought his threat had worked, Cao Weida said again:

"But I'm certain that the six men at the very front are going to die!"

He turned the gun around, a forced smile on his face as he looked at his men who were now panicking and agitated after being pointed at with a gun.
"Who wants to go first? This is a great opportunity to impress your older brother, aren't you going to give it a shot?"

"Don't worry, eighteen years from now, you'll be heroes again, and your elder brother will definitely remember you. You won't have lost out!"

The group of underlings were on the verge of tears, and were practically cursing in their hearts.

What a load of rubbish! Who the hell doesn't value their life?!
They're not afraid to fight with knives, but asking them to run into someone's gun with a big blade is just asking for death!

They haven't lived enough yet!

And what about the saying "Eighteen years later, you'll be a hero again"? It's just empty talk; who actually takes it seriously?
Xiao Jianbiao turned to look at his group of underlings. Those whose gazes met his immediately lowered their heads, avoiding his eyes. "Brother Biao, don't look at me! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a crying baby. I don't want to die!"
what?
Neither of them?
It's alright, I'll go find a mother and son right away.
Seeing them all so cowardly, Xiao Jianbiao was furious. Damn it, they shout slogans all day long, but when it comes to the crucial moment, none of them are of any use!
He couldn't help but curse, "What are you all afraid of! He's just one person, and there are more than ten of us afraid of one person? If others find out, aren't you afraid of being laughed to death!"

"So what if he has a gun? As long as he gets close, I'll still kill him!"

The group of underlings were so ashamed by the scolding that they exchanged glances. For some reason, they were so ashamed that they were provoked by the words, and a few of the less bright underlings actually started to make a move.

Cao Weida, upon witnessing this scene, remained completely calm, but he was not about to let things continue like this.

People tend to follow the crowd. Once one or two people take the lead, the rest of the people will be inspired and might actually dare to charge.

Although he wasn't afraid—after all, he didn't really only have one gun—to avoid trouble, he pointed the gun directly at Xiao Jianbiao, a sarcastic smile on his lips, and mocked:

"Brother Biao is indeed domineering, but since you speak so righteously, then you should be the first to charge."

"Don't worry, I'll aim carefully and shoot you in the head until it's smashed to pieces. I won't let you suffer any more pain."

Upon hearing this, the eager underlings instantly stopped, and all their eyes immediately focused on Xiao Jianbiao.

Xiao Jianbiao froze on the spot. How could he possibly lead the charge?
That's utter nonsense!

If I rush in, won't I die?

Although he practiced Baguaquan and considered his footwork to be quite good, he wasn't stupid. Did they expect him to compete with bullets in speed?

He's not stupid!
The dark muzzle of the gun was pointed directly at his head, sending a chill down his spine and making him afraid to move an inch.

But if he doesn't charge forward, his underlings are watching him. He just spoke so righteously, but if he backs down now, what will his underlings think of him?

For a time, Xiao Jianbiao was caught in a dilemma, unsure of what to do.

In fact, his decision not to choose already represents a choice.

Seeing that he didn't make a move, the anger that had just risen among the underlings quickly dissipated.

"Tsk, what a pity." Cao Weida shook his head, clicking his tongue, and pulled out another Browning from behind his back, making Xiao Jianbiao and his underlings turn green with fear.

I thought there was only one gun, but wow, there are two!

Thank goodness they didn't act impulsively, otherwise, wouldn't most of them have been killed? In such a narrow and straight space, with one person holding two guns blocking the alley entrance, there wasn't even anywhere to hide!

Why didn't you take out your two guns earlier?

Damn it, this is entrapment! That's really underhanded!

Cao Wei's original intention was simply to wear down their will, sow discord among them, and buy time.

By now, they'd had enough fun, and their objective was pretty much achieved, so they weren't bothered to waste any more words with them.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Now, do as I say! I'll give you three numbers, three."

The underlings looked at each other.

"two"

The underlings got to work, unbuckling their belts and tying each other up.

Cao Weida turned his gaze to Xiao Jianbiao.

Xiao Jianbiao's face darkened. Although extremely unwilling, he could only obediently loosen his belt.
Just then, Xiao Jianbiao's eyes suddenly lit up.

It turned out that the henchman who had his foot smashed earlier hadn't followed because he was unable to move easily. Seeing the situation here, he managed to sneak up to a spot not far behind Cao Weida.

He was immediately excited. If he could hold off Cao Weida for three seconds, he was confident he could rush up and fight him hand-to-hand!

Once you get close, the threat of the gun instantly drops to a minimum!
But the next moment.
boom!
The guy who was trying to sneak up on me from behind opened his eyes wide and fell to the ground with a thud.

On his forehead, a bloody hole was so conspicuous, with red and white blood slowly flowing out of the hole.

"Idiot." Cao Weida sneered and kicked the corpse aside.

With the skill level of a Northern Boxing master and top-notch physical abilities, trying to openly ambush someone as sharp-eared and sharp-eyed as him is simply overestimating oneself!
This unexpected turn of events completely shattered Xiao Jianbiao's hopes that had just begun to rise.

Having witnessed Cao Weida kill one of his brothers without batting an eye, everyone, including Xiao Jianbiao, became obedient and quickly began to tie each other up.

"Make sure everything is tied up securely. I'm warning you beforehand, anyone who dares to cut corners, and I find out, will face severe consequences."

Xiao Jianbiao sneered inwardly, "You'll have to come up here to investigate yourself!"

You just wait, don't let me get close, or else... heh heh!

Cao Weida was naturally unaware of his ulterior motives, and even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered, as he had no intention of personally inspecting the place.

Judging by the time, it should be about time.

After Xiao Jianbiao and his men bound their hands, they obediently squatted against the wall, but Cao Weida didn't come forward for a long time. Xiao Jianbiao grew anxious and couldn't help but ask:

"Master Cao, we're all tied up. Now you can tell me what you plan to do with us."

"Stop talking nonsense and stay put!"

One sentence enraged Xiao Jianbiao, but he dared not make a move.

Cao Wei Da turned his gun, aiming it in a direction outside the alley.
"You three, come out here too! Don't shoot before I do!"

It turned out that three people were also hiding in a nearby alley. These three people were the ones Xiao Jianbiao had ordered to guard the entrances of the alleys, in order to prevent others from entering the alleys.

At this moment, they became the only people left who were not trapped in the alley.

They had initially planned to work with their killed comrade to subdue Cao Weida, but after their comrade was shot dead, they immediately froze.

They just didn't expect that Cao Wei Da had already discovered them!
go out?

Going out is definitely out of the question. If I did go out, wouldn't I become meat on someone else's chopping board?
run!
The three of them were startled. After exchanging glances, they turned around and ran away without saying a word.

But before they could even run out of the alley, they were blocked and brought back.

"Brother Cao, we're here!" Little Ears led his men, each armed with a gun, as they brought over three men who looked like they'd been laid to rest.

Upon approaching, Little Ears blushed with shame and lowered his head to admit his mistake, saying, "Brother Cao, it was my fault for not handling things properly. We almost let the rats steal our house. Please punish me."

"What are you saying? This isn't your fault." Cao Weida laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't blame everything on yourself. You're not a god; you can't be perfect in every way. Learn from this lesson and be more careful next time."

"Alright, they're all family, don't overthink it. Take these people back. Oh, by the way..."

Pointing to Xiao Jianbiao, whose face was ashen, he said, "That's Xiao Jianbiao. He's their leader. That bastard is very cunning and has impressive fighting skills."

(End of this chapter)