The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Zhou Lun acted with extreme decisiveness, without the slightest hesitation.

Just as Constable Zhao noticed Li Shoutian's unfamiliar face and began to suspect something, Zhou Lun had already made his move.

He stomped his foot and lunged forward. At that moment, Constable Zhao's attention was entirely on Li Shoutian, and he never expected that Zhou Lun would suddenly launch an attack from the other side.

In the end, Zhao, the head constable, never imagined that there could be such a daring person in the world. This was the county prison! Although he suspected Li Shoutian's identity, he didn't think about breaking into the prison for the time being. Besides, at this moment, he couldn't be 100% sure that Li Shoutian wasn't a member of the county prison.

Because of this, although Constable Zhao was on guard, he wasn't so resolute; he just wanted to scare the other party. But he never expected Zhou Lun to attack without saying a word. When he caught sight of Zhou Lun's figure flashing and rushing straight at him, he was shocked, but it was too late.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Lun crashed into the attack. This move combined the power and ferocity of the Bajiquan Iron Mountain Strike with the swiftness of close-quarters combat.

Zhou Lun spent most of his time hiking in the wilderness, mostly in remote and impoverished areas. Without some self-defense skills, how could he survive? He had diligently practiced both Bajiquan and Sanda for a considerable period. Now, his techniques were imbued with an unstoppable momentum, catching Zhao, the constable, completely off guard.

In an instant, Zhou Lun crashed hard into Constable Zhao's arms. The impact was so forceful that Constable Zhao lost his footing and fell straight backward. His chest burned with pain, and he gasped for breath, likely having broken two ribs in the fall.

Zhou Lun didn't stop moving; the dagger in his hand arrived in an instant. He flipped his wrist upward and stabbed straight at Constable Zhao's vitals.

The razor-sharp dagger was incredibly fast; the tip pierced Zhao's left rib in an instant, and then precisely stabbed into his heart through the gap between the ribs.

Pain instantly spread from the wound throughout his body. Zhao, the constable, wanted to scream, but no sound came out. His eyes were wide with horror and disbelief. He never expected this to happen. With his excellent martial arts skills, he didn't even have time to resist and was so easily defeated by Zhou Lun.

A gurgling sound came from his throat, and Officer Zhao's eyes widened, his face contorted. He tried to raise his hand to resist, but as soon as he moved a finger, all the strength in his body deflated like a punctured balloon.

Officer Zhao collapsed, then fell to the ground, lying face down at my feet, and remained motionless.

It sounds easy to kill Constable Zhao in the blink of an eye, but it wasn't so simple in practice. If Zhou Lun hadn't acted decisively and ruthlessly, once Constable Zhao reacted and resisted, how could he have succeeded in one move?

After killing Constable Zhao, Zhou Lun breathed heavily and glanced at the corpse on the ground. A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, and his stomach churned. He took a deep breath to suppress it and turned to look behind him.

Turning around, they saw that the two servants were completely terrified. They never expected that such a thing would happen in the blink of an eye.

Just moments ago, Constable Zhao was shouting orders, but in the blink of an eye, he was dead. Zhou Lun, who had killed Constable Zhao, now stared blankly at them, his eyes bloodshot.

"Grandpa, spare me!"

The two men collapsed to their knees with a thud, their legs giving way beneath them. They kowtowed and begged for mercy, tears streaming down their faces, pleading for their seventy-year-old mother and their infant son who was crying for food. They swore that they would never tell anyone what had happened that day, that they would pretend they had seen nothing, and that they would only beg for their lives to be spared.

At this moment, Li Shouyi also came to his senses. Although he was surprised by Zhou Lun's decisive action, he didn't think much about it. Besides, he knew in his heart that if he hadn't killed Zhao the constable, and if Zhao had discovered that Li Shoutian was an imposter and seen his face clearly, then the four of them would not only be unable to escape today, but would all be killed.

When Zhou Lun killed Constable Zhao, Li Shouyi reacted immediately, turning and lunging at the two constables. By the time Zhou Lun turned around, Li Shouyi had already subdued the two begging constables. At this moment, Li Shoutian and Wang Tieniu also came to their senses and rushed to Li Shouyi's side.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

The two laborers were terrified. Seeing Zhou Lun and his three companions approaching with weapons and looking menacing, they had no intention of resisting and only knew how to beg for mercy. Their crotches were already soaked, and their faces were a mess of tears and snot.

"Second brother, what should we do with these two?" After bringing the situation under control, Li Shouyi did not take immediate action, but instead asked Zhou Lun.

"I'll listen to my elder brother!" Zhou Lun replied without hesitation.

Li Shouyi smiled and winked at Wang Tieniu. He stepped forward, bent down, and punched one of the guards hard in the back of the head. Instantly, the guard who had been begging for mercy rolled his eyes and passed out. Wang Tieniu was quick to react; the two of them, one on each side, took down both guards.

"Killing them won't do any good. These two are just laborers; their crimes don't warrant death. Let's spare their lives and get out of here." Li Shouyi stood up and said to Zhou Lun.

"Brother is right, we shouldn't stay here any longer, let's go!"

Zhou Lun nodded and instructed Wang Tieniu and Li Shoutian to tie up the two unconscious laborers and stuff strips of cloth into their mouths to prevent them from calling for help when they woke up.

Then, they dragged the two men, along with the body of Constable Zhao, aside and hid them in a corner. Zhou Lun then took the money and valuables from Constable Zhao's body, as well as his iron ruler and waist token. After tidying up, the four of them, not daring to linger, quickly left the county prison.

Once outside, Zhou Lun quickly glanced to his left and right, and after confirming that there was nothing amiss, he hurried along the street in front of him toward the city gate.

They soon arrived at the city gate. The guards saw the four of them leaving the city but did not stop them.

With so many people coming and going in the city every day, even if there were checks at the city gates, they only checked those entering the city, never those leaving. Moreover, Li Shoutian, one of the four, was wearing the uniform of a county jailer, and Zhou Lun didn't even show the waist tag that Zhao the constable had taken from him at the city gate. The four of them left the city so easily.

Once outside the city, the four men didn't stop for a moment. Having committed such a serious crime and even killed Constable Zhao, they had no idea when they would be discovered.

If someone goes to the county jail and finds the bound bailiffs and the three jailers imprisoned there, or even finds the body of Constable Zhao, then the prison break will be impossible to hide. The county will then be thoroughly searched, and the authorities will quickly find out what happened. If they don't escape quickly, they will face pursuit and arrest by the authorities.

Zhou Lun had anticipated all of this and made arrangements in advance. Except for Constable Zhao, who was an unexpected case, everything else was within his calculations.

Upon arriving outside the city, Zhou Lun and his party first went to a nearby place to retrieve the items they had prepared in advance.

These were all prepared by Zhou Lun over the past two days, including dry rations and other items. Before taking action today, he even had Li Shoutian return to the village to retrieve several items that Li Shouyi usually used, and hid them all here.

After taking the items, especially upon seeing the bow and arrows passed down from his ancestors and the goose-feather knife, Li Shouyi couldn't help but smile. He deftly hung the knife on his waist, slung the bow over his shoulder, tied the bundle, patted Zhou Lun's shoulder forcefully, and said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

"Where to now?" Li Shouyi asked, unaware of Zhou Lun's next plan.

"East!"

"East?"

"That's right!" Zhou Lun said seriously, "Going back to the village is impossible. Once this happens, it won't be long before the government finds out about the village. Going back would be like catching a turtle in a jar, and it would also implicate the villagers. Brother, I've already thought it through. Since we've done this, we can't stay here any longer. Let's head directly east. First, the government won't expect us to go against the grain. Second, going east will take us far away from the county town, and we'll have a chance to go to Jianghuai in the future."

Hearing Zhou Lun's words, Li Shouyi understood his plan, and the arrangement was indeed appropriate. He nodded, indicating that there was no problem, and then looked at Wang Tieniu and Li Shoutian with a hint of hesitation in his expression.

"Big Brother! Don't even think about kicking us out. We already told Brother Lun that we'd follow you through thick and thin. We did this together today, and from now on, wherever you go, we'll go!"

"Me too!" Wang Tieniu replied decisively.

Looking at them, Li Shouyi suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter was hearty, yet tinged with a touch of melancholy. They were all brothers; since they had done such a great thing together, then so be it! If they had to leave, they would leave together. Where in this world couldn't they find refuge? Besides, after his ordeal in the county jail, Li Shouyi understood that the government was unreliable; to survive, one could only rely on oneself!

"Walk!"

Li Shouyi said this emphatically, then called to Zhou Lun and the others to set off. The four of them walked eastward along the path, their figures quickly disappearing into the distance.