Chapter 3 Early Frost (Third Part)

  No, just as they were about to follow the people in front of them into the main hall, Lei Wanchun's heart suddenly skipped a beat and he immediately stopped in his tracks.

  It's too strange. This courtyard is too strange. Crouching on the icy roof tiles, Lei Wanchun grasped the knife handle and looked around cautiously. The surrounding houses were all dark and gloomy, only the front not far away was brightly lit. As long as he didn't make a wrong move, those guys in the bright area would definitely not discover his figure. But the sense of danger deep within him grew stronger and stronger, as if he had already been stared at by a fierce beast, causing all the muscles on his body to tense up suddenly.

  After careful observation, he finally understood the source of his vigilance. Tonight's road was too smooth, and he had actually flipped over the back wall, following the ridge to approach the core of the mansion! This is not a simple coincidence! Relying on his experience as a wandering knight, Lei Wanchun quickly discovered the abnormality of this courtyard. In those days of robbing the rich and helping the poor, he had entered many wealthy people's courtyards. Whether it was a magnate or a landlord with only 100-200 acres of land, building a courtyard emphasized the feng shui layout. The main hall, wing rooms, corridors, and gardens were all carefully arranged, not like a makeshift shelter for refugees. Although the main house and wing rooms were close together, the front hall for servants and the horse stable were also at an angle to each other, but from a high vantage point, he suddenly discovered that all the buildings formed a complete "hui" character. Despite the inner and outer courtyards being connected by corridors, if the pillars of the corridor were temporarily knocked down, the inner and outer courtyards could be separated in an instant. As long as archers occupied the small towers at the corners, they could seal off the main gate and second gate. Even if the courtyard wall and the first courtyard were unexpectedly breached by the enemy, the owner could still hold out in the second courtyard, struggling for several hours.

  It's clear that this mansion under his feet is not just a simple stronghold. The more he thought about it, the more Re Wan Chun couldn't help but want to continue exploring. He crouched down and moved quietly along the wall, taking advantage of the proximity of the various buildings in the Xue family compound, and soon arrived at the core of the courtyard.

  The main hall where the host lived was still three or four zhang away, but the eaves of the house suddenly reached the top. The main hall was not connected to the second courtyard, and it became a relatively independent large house. Inside, more than 20 cow oil candles were shining brightly, illuminating everyone's clothes clearly. Because the smoke from the cow oil candles was too heavy, the windows on the front of the room had to be opened wide, so that people inside the house could breathe easily. Lei Wanchun hid along the eaves, found a position directly opposite the window, and looked inside. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat again.

  At this moment, sitting in the master's position is not a rustic and unrefined county catcher of Wan Nian. Judging from his attire, he is clearly a high-ranking official of the fifth grade. Standing on both sides of the host, lined up in two rows with great respect, are not only the catchers, runners, and idlers of Chang'an and Wan Nian counties. Several local "heroes" from Chang'an who had met Lei Wanchun several years ago are also standing respectfully at the end of the lineup.

  Those two attendants who came out to catch their breath through the back door were obviously being scolded, with their bodies half bowed, like two cooked river shrimp. The high-ranking official sitting in the main seat had a very bad temper, and after scolding them for a few sentences, he suddenly slammed his hand on the table, casually pulled out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and threw it to the ground. Those two attendants saw this and immediately kowtowed to the ground, knocking their heads like they were pounding garlic. But that high-ranking official didn't even bother to look at them, just waved his hand and ordered people to drag them out of the door.

  The distance was a bit far, and Lei Wanchun couldn't hear very clearly what the people inside the house were saying. Relying on the fragmented words carried by the night wind and the actions and expressions of each person inside, he roughly inferred that the high-ranking official was rectifying discipline. Unfortunately, Liu and Wang, the two runners, because of their behavior earlier, happened to be taken as examples to warn others. Liu and Wang were dragged out of the house by several burly men, crying out in distress. Just as they were about to be dragged out the door, Wang suddenly opened his throat and shouted loudly, "Spare our lives, great sir! We have important matters to report!"

  Lei Wanchun heard the sentence clearly and completely. Immediately afterwards, he saw the burly men dragging Liu and Wang, the two bailiffs, back again. The Liu bailiff continued to kowtow and beg for mercy, while the Wang bailiff raised his head and said a few words loudly. It was unclear what he had said, but soon the Liu bailiff jumped up, wanting to fight him to the death, but was held down firmly by the strong men on either side. The Wang bailiff took a few steps back, pointing at the other man with his hand, and a righteous expression appeared on his face.

  At that moment, a high-ranking official of the fifth grade stood up and loudly questioned the Liu surname runner. The Liu surname runner could not shirk and had to kneel on the ground, bitterly begging for mercy. The high-ranking official seemed to have sighed, then lightly waved his hand. Two burly men immediately pinned down the Liu surname runner's arms, while another big man quickly fetched a basin, placing several wet cloths on the Liu surname runner's face.

  The Liu surname runner struggled desperately, finally stretching out his two legs and no longer moving. The fifth-grade official smiled and turned his head, as if praising the Wang surname runner a few words. Suddenly, his face changed again, ordering people to seize his arm. The Wang surname runner was obviously dissatisfied, shouting loudly with a hoarse voice. But no one paid attention to him, and several wet towels were stuck on his mouth and nose, suffocating him to death in front of everyone.

  The whole process, the yamen runners and the heroes all watched with their eyes wide open. No one dared to come forward to plead, not even a sympathetic expression was allowed. The fifth-grade official seemed still unsatisfied, and he picked out two more people from the crowd, scolding them loudly. After scolding, they were dragged into the courtyard, where they were beaten with slaps, and the yamen runners' mouths took in more air than they let out.

  Lei Wanchun's body was icy cold as he crouched on the roof, his back hairs standing on end. In his youth, he had also killed people, but it was always a swift and decisive act, never like this official who deliberately made his opponent die in agony. Not to mention that he did it with a smile, taking away his opponent's life as easily as crushing an ant.

  In the blink of an eye, he killed two people and left another two half dead. The fifth-grade official was finally satisfied. He walked back and forth, loudly proclaiming a few sentences. Then, he ordered someone to bring out a box. On the spot, he kicked it open with his foot, and inside were piles of gold and silver, shining brightly and dazzling everyone's eyes. After distributing the reward money, the previously low morale of the army was immediately boosted. He smiled, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and read it aloud to the crowd. The people around him straightened their ears to listen respectfully, with expressions of extreme excitement on their faces.

  Lei Wanchun couldn't quite make out what the other person was reading, but relying on his intuition, he judged that it might be a recent action plan. In order to get to the bottom of the secret, he slowly moved and then stuck to the wall and turned sideways. There was a large pagoda tree on the side, and by climbing along the branches of the pagoda tree, he might be able to hear the voices inside the house clearly.

  No sooner had he walked out of the house than he found something was wrong. A man dressed as an archer suddenly pricked up his ears and shouted loudly. Immediately, the high-ranking official put away the paper he was reading. Then all the people drew their weapons and rushed into the courtyard.

  "Who's there? Come down, Xue Rongguang, and let our friend in to talk." A man dressed as a catcher shouted loudly, unable to see the situation on the roof.

  "Shit, I've been caught!" Lei Wanchun cursed inwardly. He had thought that the darkness would be enough to cover his tracks, but he hadn't expected there to be an insider with a keen ear for rumors. At present, there were already fifty or sixty people in the courtyard armed and ready, not to mention the countless small fry scattered throughout the various rooms sleeping. With his skills, trying to force his way out would be suicidal. He could only take things one step at a time and try to find a way to escape first.

  He quickly adjusted his posture, taking advantage of the fact that no one had noticed him yet, and pulled out a three-inch-long flying dart from his boot leg. He weighed it in his hand, then turned it over in his palm, his eyes fixed intently on County Magistrate Xue without blinking.

  "Friends on the road, please show up. Xue has always liked to make friends with heroes and would never make things difficult for you. Come down and have a drink, we can discuss everything!" Seeing no response from the rooftop, Xue Rongguang smiled and continued to persuade. Meanwhile, several servants behind him brought over multiple copper mirrors, forming a fan shape, and raised torches, ready to place them in the center of the fan.

  In the flash of lightning, Lei Wanchun threw out the flying dart in his hand. Then, without looking back, he opened his legs and ran wildly. Only to hear a cry of "Ah!" from inside the courtyard, Wan Nian County's capture head Xue Rongguang fell backwards, with a black flying dart inserted into his neck, blood spouting out along the edge of the dart's groove.

  "Xue's head!" Several bailiffs grabbed Xue Rongguang, shouting loudly. The high-ranking official in the fifth-grade uniform rushed over, snatched a horizontal knife, and held it high, "What are you mourning? Hurry up and chase him, if you can't catch him, everyone will die!"

  Upon hearing this, the bailiffs and loafers in the courtyard, as well as the heroes of the rivers and lakes, suddenly came to their senses. No longer caring about Xue Rongguang's life or death, they moved ladders to climb up onto the roof, stuck close to the walls to follow the route, and with footsteps ringing out on top of the house, they pursued with all their might. Only the archer who had previously relied on his keen hearing to detect Lei Wanchun's movements furrowed his brow, drew out a wolf-tooth arrow, and nocked it in his bowstring.

  "Shoot him, shoot him!" The patrolmen rushing into the courtyard from the outer house were immediately inspired, shouting and bending their bows to string arrows. Lei Wanchun was most afraid of this situation, seeing that the outermost high wall was just in front of him, and he didn't care if he could jump so far or not, he leaped up, his body falling outside the wall like a wild goose.

  A few weak arrows flew hastily over his head, and were about to escape. Suddenly, Lei Wanchun swung the treasured sword in his hand backwards, then his body suddenly stagnated, and half of the arrowhead protruded from the front of his shoulder socket.

  "Hmm!" He let out a low grunt and instantly fell into darkness.