HLnovel Chapter 102 Hostages
Chapter 102 Hostages
Chapter 102 Hostages
Ma Deyun knelt down and begged for mercy: "Stop hitting us! We'll pay protection money! How much? Hero, just name your price!"
Li Feiqing said with a smile, "Sorry, Mr. Ma, we're not collecting protection money today. We're going to rob you instead!"
Yang Shan frowned. Judging from their accents, they weren't locals from Hanshan; instead, they had some Ningguo Prefecture accents.
In fact, Li Feiqing and the others were all refugees. Last night, Li Hechen found them. When Li Feiqing and the others heard that they could go to a labor camp, they had no reason to refuse. They all patted their chests and guaranteed that they would definitely complete this mission.
"Slap! Slap!" Li Feiqing slapped Wang Wenhua twice, cursing as he asked, "Where's the money?"
"Hero, stop fighting! I'll get my money out right now!" Wang Wenhua reached into his pocket, but there was no money in it.
Wang Wenhua said with a wry smile, "Hero, I left in a hurry today and forgot to bring any money!"
"You son of a bitch! Going to a brothel without any money!" Li Feiqing kicked Wang Wenhua in the face. Wang Wenhua immediately felt a sting in his nose, and tears, blood, and snot streamed down his face.
"Hero, hero, please stop! I have money! All the money in the shop is yours!" Ma Deyun begged for mercy repeatedly.
Spring Breeze Pavilion wasn't without bodyguards; when this group rushed in, some bodyguards did try to stop them. But these people were prepared, each carrying a handy weapon. Although no one used swords or knives, the fist-thick clubs, when struck on the head, quickly rendered seven or eight bodyguards incapacitated, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
A passerby saw that Chunfeng Pavilion was in complete disarray and kindly went to the yamen to report the incident.
Wang Wenzhou was prepared. Upon receiving the report, he led a large number of yamen runners to Chunfeng Pavilion.
Hanshan County was not a large town to begin with, and the news of the robbery of Chunfeng Pavilion spread throughout the town in no time. Many people came to watch.
The constables used ropes to cordon off a safe area. Wang Wenzhou wanted to put on a "hero show" this time.
"Listen up, robbers inside! You're surrounded!" Wang Qiang shouted from the doorway into Chunfeng Pavilion.
"Damn it! If you dare come in, I'll kill someone!" Li Feiqing shouted at the door.
"Bang!" Li Feiqing kicked Wang Wenhua to the ground, grabbed Wang Wenhua by the hair, and dragged him to the door.
Li Feiqing stomped on Wang Wenhua's head and shouted, "This man says his name is Wang Wenhua, and he is the magistrate of Hanshan County, Wang Wenzhou's cousin! Listen up, quickly prepare ten thousand taels of silver and twenty fine horses. Open the city gates and let us out! Otherwise, Wang Wenhua will be the first to die!"
Wang Wenhua's face was pressed to the ground as he tried to lift his head, but Li Feiqing held it firmly under his foot, making it impossible for him to raise his head. He saw Wang Wenzhou emerge from the constables and immediately shouted, "Fifth brother! Quickly save your eldest brother!"
The constables, fully armed, watched the robbers warily. Several constables drew their bows and nocked arrows, the cold arrowheads aimed at Li Feiqing.
“Listen up! I am Wang Wenzhou, the magistrate of Hanshan County! I advise you all that you are surrounded. Surrender now!” Wang Wenzhou said righteously.
"Bang!" Li Feiqing kicked Wang Wenhua and cursed, "Lord Wang, we're just trying to get some money. Not only is your cousin in our hands, but there are also many hostages inside! Men, bring out a few hostages."
After Li Feiqing finished speaking, the hostages were pushed and shoved by the robbers to the door. The hostages' hands and feet were tied together with ropes, like a string of human flesh candied hawthorns.
Liu Gangli, with a long face, vowed never to come to Chunfeng Pavilion for pleasure again, for every time he came, he would be unlucky.
Liu Gangli also owns a grain store in Hanshan. With grain prices soaring these past few days, Liu Gangli's pockets are overflowing. So he came to Chunfeng Pavilion to enjoy himself.
Upon seeing Wang Wenzhou, Liu Gangli immediately shouted, "Lord Wang, help me!"
"Slap!" One of the robbers slapped Liu Gangli across the face and yelled, "Shut up!"
Seeing the robber glaring at him menacingly, Liu Gangli quickly shut his mouth.
Liu Rushi happened to be passing by and saw so many people gathered, so she walked into the crowd to see what was going on.
"What happened?" Liu Rushi asked.
A passerby replied, "A group of robbers broke into Chunfeng Pavilion, took hostages, and are now in a standoff with the yamen runners."
"Oh!" Liu Rushi nodded as she watched Wang Wenzhou walk toward the robbers.
Liu Rushi frowned. Really? Would that fatso risk his life for a few hostages?
"What do you want to do? Stop right there! If you go any further, we're going to kill someone!" Li Feiqing asked, pointing at Wang Wenzhou.
Wang Wenzhou stopped and said, "Gentlemen, could you please release the girls? I'm willing to be a hostage. It wouldn't be good if the young ladies were frightened!"
Li Feiqing thought for a moment and then said, "Okay!"
"My lord! You mustn't!" Wang Qiang hurriedly stepped forward, earnestly advising, "My lord, you are the highest-ranking official in Hanshan, how can you put yourself in such danger!"
Wang Wenzhou, with a righteous air, said, "Precisely because I am the magistrate of Hanshan County, how can I stand by and watch the people suffer? Get out of the way!"
"No, sir!" the constables pleaded, kneeling on the ground.
"Lord Wang, you mustn't put yourself in such danger!"
"These robbers are inhuman! The massacre of the Wei Shilin family might very well be their doing! Wang Qingtian, you can't go in!"
The people earnestly tried to persuade him.
"Hmm?" Liu Rushi frowned. She suddenly felt that Li Feiqing looked familiar.
That's it! I remember now! Liu Rushi finally recalled where she had seen Li Feiqing before. Last night, Li Hechen had been whispering with Li Feiqing for a long time next to the porridge distribution point.
"Liar!" Liu Rushi muttered under her breath.
Li Feiqing clasped his hands and said, "Lord Wang is indeed a hero! As long as you agree to my conditions, we will guarantee Lord Wang's safety at home!"
“Alright!” Wang Wenzhou walked over and said, “Let’s release the girls first.”
Li Feiqing waved his hand behind him, and the girls, wiping away their tears, ran out screaming.
"Please have a seat, Lord Wang!" A robber brought out a stool.
As Wang Wenzhou sat down on the stool, two robbers quickly drew their knives and held them to his neck.
Wang Wenzhou remained calm and said, "Gentlemen, now we can have a proper talk. What exactly do you want?"
"The same conditions as before: ten thousand taels of silver, twenty fine horses, and then open the city gates and let us out," Li Feiqing said viciously.
"What if I refuse?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"Slap! Slap!" The robber lightly patted Wang Wenzhou's face with the back of his knife.
Li Feiqing said with a smile, "Lord Wang, what do you say? Do you still want to live?"
"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou snorted coldly, his righteous indignation vanishing as he declared, "I simply don't want to live anymore! If you kill me, do you still want to live?"