Top-notch Little Horseman

Zhang Bapi reined in the donkey and looked Ye Chen up and down.

Wearing coarse cloth and short brown clothes, with yellow dirt on his face, he looked no different from a refugee.

"Hahaha!..." He burst into laughter, pointed at Ye Chen, and roared, "Where did this peasant come from? Have you got the guts to rob me?"

As he spoke, he tilted his head and raised his chin behind him: "Come on, beat these stray dogs to the ground! Don't waste my time here."

Upon hearing Zhang Bapi's words, all ten or so of his lackeys rolled up their sleeves.

They were used to bullying tenants under Zhang the Skinflint, and they all perked up at the mention of a beating.

They pulled out wooden sticks from their waists and short knives from under their carrying poles, then rushed towards Ye Chen and his group with grins on their faces.

Although the number of refugees outnumbered them, they were all ruthless and confident that they could defeat these thugs.

In their eyes, these refugees were no different from stray dogs on the roadside. Even though they had crossbows, they would run away with their tails between their legs if they were scared.

"Everyone, listen up..." Ye Chen's voice was calm as he waved his hand, "Don't hold back, beat them to a pulp!"

Liang Biao and the Smoker exchanged a glance, then simultaneously flipped their knives over so the blades faced outwards.

Seeing their actions, the others adjusted their formation, spreading out like a net to surround the lackey.

They were armed, and ten of them were former border troops, far superior to these lackeys.

Even Ye Chen and his group were all horsemen. Although they weren't border troops, they were all quite strong, and there were even soldiers like Smoker among them.

Not to mention Ye Chen, a king of soldiers, taking down these lackeys is a piece of cake for him.

The first henchman charged forward, wielding a stick, but before the stick could fall, Liang Biao's knife had already slashed out.

The slash landed squarely on his shoulder.

If he hadn't turned around, this strike would have cleaved him in two.

However, after this slash, the lackey immediately lost his fighting ability.

At the same time, the Smoker also swung his knife, slashing it horizontally across the waist of one of the lackeys.

The lackey screamed, clutched his shoulder, staggered back two steps, and fell to the ground with a thud, spitting out a mouthful of blood before collapsing unconscious.

Before the other lackey could react, the monkey had already shot an arrow, which flew straight at his face.

Startled, he hurriedly raised his broadsword to defend himself, but was knocked back several steps by an arrow and fell to the ground.

Before he could react, he saw the wooden stick come crashing down on him, and then he lost consciousness.

One after another, the lackeys fell to the ground, each more miserable than the last, and soon lost their ability to fight.

Zhang Bapi's expression changed repeatedly, finally settling on a look of utter terror.

The ten skilled thugs he brought were all easily defeated.

He rode on a donkey, his face pale and defeated.

He opened his mouth as if to shout something, but his throat felt like it was being choked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Ye Chen fought his way through, killing gods and demons alike, and walked straight up to Qin Mengyao.

He cut the hemp rope on Qin Mengyao's wrist with a knife, and Qin Mengyao immediately threw herself into his arms.

"Brother Chen!"

"It's alright now!"

Ye Chen helped her up and gently patted her shoulder.

Zhu Zi rushed over and cut the rope on the ewe's hoof. The ewe immediately stood up and bleated as she went to find her lamb.

Soon someone overturned the bamboo basket, and the lambs huddled together, shivering.

The ewes immediately surrounded them, nudging each lamb's head with their noses.

Zhang Bapi rode on the donkey's back, watching all of this unfold, his mind reeling as if he'd been kicked by a donkey.

He opened his mouth, his voice trembling, "You...who are you people? Who exactly are you people?"

Ye Chen shielded Qin Mengyao behind him, staring expressionlessly at Zhang Bapi on the donkey's back, and said, "Ye Chen, the garrison commander of Huangchen Pass!"

Now, Governor Cao Bucun has handed over Huangchen Pass to Ye Chen. Although he is not yet the pass lord, he is now the pass garrison commander.

Although it was just a nominal position, it was still considered an official post, which could be seen as Cao Bucun's promise to him.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bapi's eyelids twitched violently, and he immediately flew into a rage.

"What? You say you're from Desolate Dust Pass, one of those horse herders? That's utterly audacious and lawless!"

His face contorted with rage, he glared at Ye Chen and asked, "Do you know the Zhang family of Dingyuan County?"

"You lowly horseman, you attacked my men and stole my things today! I'm going to put you all in jail!"

Ye Chen gave him a cold glance and said sternly, "The rent for Chen Family Village has already been paid. And you brought men to steal sheep and kidnap people. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, those who forcibly seize property and abduct women... deserve the death penalty!"

"Dead?" Zhang Bapi's fat face twitched, then he hardened up again.

He rode on the back of a donkey, looking down at Ye Chen.

Although all the lackeys he brought with him had fallen, he really didn't believe that a mere horseman would dare to do anything to him!

"You dare kill me?" Zhang Bapi chuckled, his face full of disdain. "Kill me? Can a mere stable boy like you bear that responsibility?"

Ye Chen looked at Liang Biao and the Smoker and said softly, "Your hands are still a little too soft."

As he spoke, he held the short knife horizontally with the blade facing outwards.

Seeing that Ye Chen was really about to make a move, Monkey hurriedly ran up from behind and grabbed his arm: "Captain, you can't kill him! If you kill someone, it'll be hard to explain to the authorities. Let's just teach him a lesson!"

The smoker hesitated for a moment and didn't speak. He hadn't used the blade just now because he was afraid of accidentally killing someone.

Zhu Zi ran over, his lips pale, and nodded vigorously in agreement with Ye Chen.

Although he hated Zhang the Skinflint to the core, if someone really died, none of them could escape, and Chenjia Village would probably be wiped out.

Upon hearing Ye Chen's words, Liang Biao narrowed his eyes slightly but remained silent.

He was a border soldier from Zhenbeibao, and he knew when to act and when not to.

Killing a landlord is easy, but it will cause a lot of trouble afterward.

However, since he has followed Ye Chen, everything naturally has to wait for Ye Chen to decide.

Ye Chen glanced back at Qin Mengyao, then fixed his gaze on Zhang Bapi.

"The death penalty can be waived..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "But they can't escape punishment!"

"Smoker, cut off his ear! Let him learn his lesson."

Ye Chen didn't intend to kill him here. After all, the system hadn't been established in Huangchen Pass yet, and it would be troublesome if it attracted the attention of the government troops.

Even though he had a few powerful backers, Liang Biao and his men were deserters, and getting into trouble with the government troops would be very troublesome.

Smoker took a deep breath, twirled the Qi Family Knife in his hand, and walked towards Zhang Bapi.

As Zhang Bapi rode on the donkey's back, watching the tobacco ghost approach, the color drained from his face little by little.

He tried to urge the donkey to run, but the donkey was so frightened that its four legs were rooted to the ground and it wouldn't move.

The tobacco man walked over to the donkey, grabbed Zhang the skinner by the collar, and yanked him off the donkey's back.