harleyscars Page 6
Page 6
Very well, so the collusion between officials and wealthy people has stopped pretending, huh?!
"Arrest them! What are you all standing there for?!"
Seeing that his five subordinates were all standing frozen at the door, not knowing what had happened, Zhang, the leader, forced his way in.
However, when he saw the bloodthirsty scene before him, he was also stunned.
However, this constable was quite capable. With a quick glance, he immediately improvised and fabricated new charges.
"How dare you! What a wicked couple, conspiring to murder an innocent Taoist priest! Surrender immediately! Any resistance will be punished even more severely!!!"
"I'll stop your mother!!!"
Liu Hong naturally refused to surrender. This wealthy man was too deeply involved with the government. If he resisted now, the worst outcome would be death in battle.
If you were caught and imprisoned, and fell into their hands, you would be in a situation where you could neither live nor die!
After figuring it out, Liu Hong raised his steel knife and hurled it at Zhang Dutou. The latter was quite skilled; he tilted his head, and the knife grazed past Zhang's ear, missing its target.
Zhang Dutou was overjoyed and immediately launched an attack while Liu Hong was out of his weapon. He had just taken a step when he felt a sharp pain in his back. The pain extended from his back to his heart and then spread from his heart to his chest.
He looked down and saw a steel knife piercing his heart from behind, then bursting out of his chest. The sharp tip of the knife still held a piece of bloody, broken flesh, steaming with hot blood mist right in front of him.
"Didn't I dodge it? How... is this... possible?"
Zhang, the head constable, never understood how the knife had pierced his back. He collapsed to the ground in shock, the gushing blood from the wound splattering the five Song soldiers with blood all over them.
The other five Song soldiers witnessed it all—just as Liu Hong threw out the steel knife, he brandished his jade ruyi with murderous intent, using [Mind Control] to control the steel knife like a hunter controlling his falcon. He made the steel knife, which had flown behind the constable, make a 180-degree turn in the air and fly back, plunging it into the constable's back.
"No wonder he was able to kill that old Taoist priest; he was a natural-born psychic!!!"
The Song army panicked for a moment. If the five men rushed forward, even if one or two of them died, they could definitely kill Liu Hong.
However, none of the five wanted to be the one to die.
Liu Hong's face was ashen. His [Mind Control] timer had expired, but with the double duration of the Jade Ruyi, he could still cast it for another six seconds!
Liu Hong remotely controlled the blood-stained steel knife, but this time, he was much more skilled. The steel knife was pulled from Zhang Dutou's corpse, and it performed a bloody sharp angle turn in the air before stabbing at a Song soldier at the door again. With a shrill whistle, the steel knife drew a deadly cold light in the air and scattered a string of scarlet blood drops on the ground.
The Song soldiers were terrified and hurriedly raised their shields to block, thinking they could withstand the strange flying knife attack.
But the next second, the knife didn't pierce the shield. Instead, under Liu Hong's control, it drew a strange arc in the air, bypassed the shield, and pierced straight into the side of the Song soldier.
"Pfft!"
Under Liu Hong's control, the blood-stained dagger pierced Song Jun's left cheek and exited from his right, drawing out a thick, pungent stream of blood. His horrified face was disfigured beyond recognition; where the dagger had pierced his cheeks, two gruesome bloody holes appeared, fragments of bone mixed with torn flesh protruding outwards, and blood gushed down his cheeks like a fountain, dripping onto the ground and pooling into a horrifying, scarlet pool of blood.
At this moment, Liu Hong's control over the steel blade reached its limit. The eerie blue light dissipated, and the steel blade clattered to the ground. Liu Hong ended [Mind Control], brandishing his whistle stick, and charged towards the remaining four Song soldiers, his face covered in blood, filled with killing intent, and utterly enraged!
"Run, run!!!"
The remaining four Song soldiers dared not stay any longer. Even though Liu Hong was alone, they had no will to fight and scattered without hesitation, wishing they had been born with two more legs.
Like I said before, if four people wanted to kill Liu Hong, two of them would probably die, but none of them wanted to die. "Why would I risk my life for a few hundred dollars a month?"
Seeing the Song soldiers flee, Liu Hong immediately gave chase, only to find that while their fighting ability was average, their ability to escape was truly remarkable. The four Song soldiers instinctively fled in four different directions, leaving Liu Hong unsure which one to pursue. The noise also woke up the neighbors, many of whom opened their windows to watch. Killing government soldiers in front of so many people was far too conspicuous, so Liu Hong had no choice but to stop.
It seems the history books are right: during the Northern Song Dynasty, the central imperial guards and some border troops were quite powerful; however, local forces in inland areas like Qinghe County were extremely weak. Their weakness wasn't just in terms of military strength, but also in psychological and economic aspects.
Liu Hong clicked his tongue and ignored the Song army. But then, an old man in the darkness caught his attention. The man was wearing a magnificent silk coat, which was very well-tailored and looked so out of place with the coarse brown cloth worn by the common people on the street.
And all the neighbors are home, and you're the only one on the street, so close to my house.
Upon closer inspection, Liu Hong saw that he was an ordinary person without a job, but his surname was Zhang.
Zhang, Zhang, Zhang, it's Zhang again.
"Come here!!!"
Liu Hong immediately rushed forward, grabbed the old man by the collar, and dragged him into the house. The old man struggled at first, but he was no match for Liu Hong in strength and was pulled into the room in a few moments.
When the old man saw the room full of corpses, he was completely dumbfounded. He sat down on the spot, utterly terrified, and could only tremble with fear.
Liu Hong quickly closed the gate, searched the bodies of the captain and Song soldiers, and obtained two steel knives, two shields, two wooden crossbows, fifty crossbow bolts, and two silver ingots, each estimated to be ten taels. He was stunned for a moment, as it was the first time in his life he had seen such a large, intact piece of silver, even forged into the shape of a gold ingot.
Chapter Ten: The Way of Chivalry: Using Martial Arts to Break Prohibitions
"My...my husband?!"
At this moment, Pan Jinlian was terrified after seeing her husband kill three people. Looking at the corpses of the officials and listening to the conversation, she understood the general direction of the matter. Her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground. Tears streamed from her charming fox eyes, and her cute fox ears drooped limply over her head of silver hair.
"Why, why! Master Zhang kicked me out of the Zhang mansion, and I agreed! He wanted me to marry you, you idiot, and I agreed to that too! He wanted to take all my savings, and I still agreed!"
"I've retreated again and again! I just want a peaceful life, but why are they still so aggressive? Why are they still leaving me no way to survive?!"
"Is all this because I was born a maid? A household slave? And not someone of such high status as Master Zhang?"
Does marrying into one of these wealthy families mean I can bully and humiliate other people at will? I refuse to be bullied like this for the rest of my life!!!
Pan Jinlian cried louder and louder in the pool of blood. Liu Hong sighed as he listened. Pan Jinlian only wanted to be a soft and weak vine clinging to a big tree. Whether that big tree was Master Zhang, Wu Song, Ximen Qing, or herself, she didn't care.
Liu Hong strode over and gave her a big hug to calm the fox demon, who was trembling violently and terrified. Then he took out Zhang Dutou's knife and slowly placed it in front of Pan Jinlian.
“My lady, throughout history, countless ordinary people like us have been oppressed and killed by officials and powerful clans; but countless ordinary people have also bravely stood up to resist, killed officials and destroyed powerful clans!”
"Looking back, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang shouted, 'Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?' and led the people to rebel against the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty. Looking closer, Huang Chao led the people to storm Chang'an, trampling the bones of officials on the streets and burning the imperial treasury to ashes."
Liu Hong stared intently into Pan Jinlian's eyes and spoke very seriously, his words gradually becoming sharper.
"Now that someone is bullying you, instead of thinking about fighting back, you fantasize about marrying into a wealthy family? Or that after being bullied to death, you'll be reborn into a better family in your next life?"
"Dream on! You only have two choices now! Do you want to continue kneeling like a lamb to the slaughter, crying about why you weren't born into a family of officials or merchants in the last second before you are bullied to death? Do you want to fantasize about why you weren't married into a wealthy family?"
"Or you can pick up the knife and we'll personally hold it to Master Zhang's neck and demand to know why he won't let us live in peace!"
Pan Jinlian was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the tall and imposing Liu Hong, as if she had seen a ray of light in the darkness.
Under intense stimulation, her heart raced, her breathing became increasingly erratic, and her fox-like eyes flashed with the ferocity of a wild beast as she stared fiercely at the waist knife in front of her, seemingly having made up her mind about something.
Between clenched teeth, Pan Jinlian's cute little tiger teeth inside her red lips began to grow longer and sharper, and her fingernails also grew wildly at a visible speed, like the sharp claws of a fox, trembling as they reached for the knife on the ground.
As Pan Jinlian's delicate hands trembled as she picked up the knife from the ground, her breathing gradually returned to normal, her heartbeat slowed, and her frail body stopped trembling. Only a calm madness remained on her alluring face.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a fox that eats meat. Zhang Yuanwai drove her away from her peaceful life three times in a row, preventing her from living a good life, and interspersed with many deadly and murderous acts, which made Pan Jinlian completely give up all her illusions, all her weaknesses, and all her compromises.
At this moment, Liu Hong's spirit was also unusually excited after killing someone. His blood seemed to be burning. His subspace reflection actually formed a spectacular star map of the Ziwei Star Palace. Among them, thirteen stars were extremely dim, but the sixth star of the Southern Dipper, the Seven Killings Star, was burning fiercely in the chaos!
Amidst the burning, eerie blue flames, Liu Hong obtained another job level, but instead of a mind mage, he became a chivalrous knight.
Level: 2 (Level 1 Mind Mage + Level 1 Wanderer)
You disregard the laws and authority of the government, but believe in the justice and fairness in your own heart. You fight against the strong and help the weak, and use force to break the law. This is what it means to be a chivalrous person.
So that's how it is. It was because I killed the government troops and said those things that I made up my mind to rebel. I received some kind of approval from the unseen world, which is why I became a chivalrous knight-errant.
Just as Liu Hong was pondering, he was born with the two abilities of chivalry, just as fish are born to breathe and birds are born to fly.
[Celestial Slash]: Consumes 1 point of Spirit Energy, causing your next melee attack to deal an additional 2-16 points of Star Damage. For every additional point of Spirit Energy consumed, Celestial Slash damage increases by 1-8 points (the Spirit Energy consumed in a single attack cannot exceed your character level).
[Upright and Imposing]: Your magic resistance +3, all saving throws +3 (+3 Charisma modifier)
So the Knights of the Rogue are the paladins from D&D, but not the rigid, lawful, good paladins; they're more like a chaotic and unrestrained variant.
Liu Hong's eyes lit up, and he vaguely felt a powerful force surging within his body. Both of these abilities were very strong; one increased burst damage, and the other enhanced his magical defense.
With the blessing of Pan Jinlian's [Qingqiu Spirit Blessing], my magic resistance has reached as high as 16.
Now, having leveled up again, and with the added boost from Renxia's abilities, he has reached an astonishing 20.
Keep in mind that my physical defense is only an average of 10, but my magic resistance is already twice that of my physical defense! This value is terrifying. For someone to try to break through my magic resistance with magic is like a warrior trying to cut through a heavily armored Ironclad Pagoda with a sword – the success rate is pitifully low.
Looking at other attributes, after gaining the chivalrous profession, his spiritual energy only increased by 1 point, but his health increased by a full 13 points, giving him considerable durability.
[Liu Hong] (Dragon) (Any three attributes +2)
Level 2 (Level 1 Mind Mage + Level 1 Wanderer)
Life 20, Psionic 4+5
Strength 16, Agility 10, Constitution 16
Intelligence 16, Perception 10, Charisma 16
Physical Defense: 10 (+10 base)
Magic Resistance: 20 (+12 base +2 character level +6 double charm adjustment)
At this moment, after Pan Jinlian made up her mind to personally carve out a future, her spirit was also at its peak. Streaks of silver spiritual energy rose from her body, outlining the terrifying phantom of the nine-tailed fox in the air. The second tail stretched out from her plump, peach-like buttocks. The two soft fox tails, like a pair of silver pythons, shook wildly behind her buttocks.
The dim candlelight cast the shadows of her twin tails onto the pool of blood, making her look less like a fox and more like a giant, greedy wolf.
She sobbed twice, wiped away all her tears, picked up the knife, and stood up again.
“My lord! I… I choose to fight my way out with you, but it’s too dangerous to fight our way to the Zhang mansion! He keeps a squad of elite thugs, all of them hot-blooded, lazy ruffians who do no work, or murderers and outlaws who roam the woods, fifty men in total. He feeds them well every day with good wine and meat, and they do his bidding. Those among them with exceptional martial arts skills are even rewarded with magical treasures and rare items, and he even hires a martial arts instructor to teach them. That instructor is two meters tall, broad-shouldered and burly, as robust and powerful as a small cannibal.”
"These thugs have the best weapons, eat the best food and drink, and receive the best training. They are far superior to the bandits and convicts in Qinghe County. There are even two psionicists among them. It's too dangerous. We can't go to the Zhang residence!"
"Here's what we'll do—we'll find a cart, put Wu Dalang and some travel money on it, and leave the city at dawn tomorrow! We can escape anywhere, but we can't stay in Qinghe County any longer!"
As Pan Jinlian spoke, her gaze fell upon the old Taoist's corpse on the ground, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on her beautiful face.
"However, husband, you are truly remarkable. I know this old Taoist priest; he was the most powerful spiritualist in the Zhang family, yet you killed him?"
Liu Hong also glanced at the old Taoist priest in surprise. At this moment, he still had a breath left. The dark blue flames wove attributes and health bars on his body, making him a level 3 Taoist priest.
This information was fleeting, and with his death, the burning flame was extinguished completely.
Fear often stems from the unknown, and the continuous victories, the continuous killings, and the attainment of the chivalrous rank have given Liu Hong tremendous confidence, making him bolder and prompting him to carefully weigh the pros and cons.
It seems that the other psychic the lady mentioned is the one who doesn't let me sell pancakes during the day. Both of them possess some psychic magic and can accomplish many supernatural feats that brute warriors cannot. Therefore, Master Zhang is used to sending the two of them out to fight first, which saves a lot of trouble. As a result, they were all killed by my magic resistance. Now there are only forty-eight strong and healthy warriors left in the Zhang mansion. The difficulty of breaking into the Zhang mansion has barely dropped from hell to extremely difficult.
Pan Jinlian mentioned that some of their elite members, like Zhang Zhao and the old Taoist priest, possessed several green-level magical items, similar to those she had seized from those two psionicists. Could it be that Master Zhang must have even more valuable items?
Qinghe County is not Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, nor is it a war front bordering the Liao and Western Xia. The bandit conscripts here are of very poor fighting strength. I just fought with them and they collapsed at the first touch. They couldn't even fire two arrows in the battle to be worthy of the Emperor Zhao's honor. Instead, they scattered. The only problem is that the number of garrison troops in Qinghe County is very large, and they are all in tattered clothes.
Now, he has two paths before him: either storm the Zhang family mansion, which is extremely dangerous and difficult, take the master Zhang hostage, escape, and make a fortune while avenging his family, or...
They could either storm the less dangerous gates of Qinghe County, give up on revenge, and slink away with their tails between their legs.
"Wait, is this... the old butler?!"
Pan Jinlian suddenly spoke, interrupting Liu Hong's thoughts. He felt that tonight was too exciting. The strongest Taoist priest in the Zhang family had been killed by his husband, and the old steward with the most power was sitting in his room. His body was shaking like a leaf.
"As expected of the Zhang family, you arranged this grand spectacle tonight? Speak!"
Liu Hong held the curved knife to the old steward's neck, which startled him so much that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Hong.
"Brave warrior, no, sir, spare my life! This was all Zhang Yuanwai's order! I didn't want to do it! Spare my life, sir!!!"
"My wife, listen to me."
Liu Hong summarized the current situation and the cards he held, and quickly came up with an extremely crazy and daring plan in his mind.
“I killed someone, and it was a Song soldier. The government is probably already under martial law at the city gates. Now, the only person who can get out safely is probably Master Zhang, who has such deep ties with the government.”
"We can't stay at home. Let alone leaving the city tomorrow morning, I'm afraid that in a little while, the fleeing Song army will bring even more soldiers to capture us."
Therefore, the best course of action now is to go directly to the Zhang residence, use the old steward to trick the gatekeeper into opening it, take Master Zhang hostage, and use his power to escape Qinghe County!
"Are you crazy? I just told you so much, and you didn't listen to a word? Even at night, the Zhang family keeps two gatekeepers and five night patrollers, a total of seven thugs. If we make too much noise, the others will be woken up instantly, and a team of more than fifty thugs will all rush over to kill us. Sanlang, don't do such a dangerous thing. I don't want to lose you!"
Pan Jinlian hurriedly tried to dissuade her.
"No matter how many thugs the Zhang family has, it's useless! Those servants are still human! They're all afraid of death! The Song soldiers here have all collapsed and fled because two of their men died. Don't the Zhang family's thugs know what fear is?"
Liu Hong grabbed a steel knife and slashed fiercely at the old Taoist's neck. His knife skills were inaccurate, so he relied on brute force. He smashed the old Taoist's cervical spine twice, took off his head, and held it in his left hand. The old steward was so frightened that he wet himself.
At this moment, his handsome face also showed a hint of hysterical madness.
"I'd like to see if those servants still dare to fight me after seeing this old Taoist's head!!!"
The author says:
Author's note: We've got 181 monthly votes! I'll add an extra chapter when we reach 200!
Chapter 11: Pan Jinlian Breaks into the Zhang Mansion at Night (Bonus Chapter for 200 Monthly Tickets!)
"That's good, let's get started!"
Pan Jinlian gritted her teeth. Since Master Zhang wouldn't let her live a good life, she wouldn't let him live a happy one either. At worst, they would all die together! My worthless life, in exchange for Master Zhang's wealthy life, is worth it!
"Did you hear that clearly?"
Liu Hong placed the scimitar against the old steward's neck again, his face grim as he spoke.