Chapter 6: Awakening from Hibernation (Third Part)

  There were only twelve people coming, one of whom was a passing traveler who served as a guide. However, these twelve people managed to intimidate over a hundred bailiffs, none of whom dared to breathe loudly. The opponents held crossbows in their hands, and the bailiffs did not dare to suspect that if they had taken the initiative to shoot an arrow first, everyone would have been shot into hedgehogs by the other side immediately. Although, in fact, eleven crossbows could produce at most the same number of casualties.

  In the blink of an eye, the Feilong Imperial Guards rushed to the front. Two people flew out from the horse team, one on the left and one on the right, tightly protecting Wang Xun who was standing on the ground. The other eight guards shouted in unison and instantly dispersed, forming a circle with four openings that surrounded and trapped more than a hundred bailiffs in the middle of the official road.

  "Put down your arms, all of you!" The scar-faced commander Zhou Xiao Feng was the first to arrive, but he was the last to rein in his horse. After circling around once, he stood in the middle of the official road and shouted loudly.

  Everyone, including the bailiffs and distant onlookers, was stunned. Surrounding over a hundred bailiffs with eight Imperial Guards and ordering them to drop their weapons was an order only a madman would give. Yet, the eight Imperial Guards showed no hesitation as they split into two groups once again. Four continued to hold crossbows in siege, while the other four handed their strung bows and arrows to their comrades on watch and charged at the bailiffs with bare fists.

  The bailiffs grasped their weapons, but did not dare to resist, and desperately dodged to the side. Soon, the four flying dragon guards who rushed into the team were annoyed by them, swung their big palms, and directly slapped the bailiffs' faces, "Slap! Slap!" "Put down your weapons, don't look for trouble." "Slap! Slap!" "Hand over your weapons, get off your horses, otherwise grandpa won't be polite!"

  "Stop, stop......" Until this moment, Jia Ji Lin finally had a bit of the appearance of a team leader, raising his hands high and shouting loudly: "Stop, stop hitting each other in the face, leave some face for the old masters of Chang'an County!"

  "What face?! Zhou Xiao Feng sneered and curled his lip, "The faces of the old masters of Chang'an County have long been tarnished by you! Under broad daylight, you tolerate masked assassins to commit murder. When someone tries to help, instead of being grateful, you deliberately frame the good as thieves. You dare to do such despicable things, and still have the nerve to mention face in front of people. Bah! Don't even know how to look at your own reflection!"

  Jia Ji Lin's face turned red with rage, wanting to retort, but fearing the other party would really lose their temper and shoot an arrow at his own throat. He hummed and muttered a few words, slowly lowering his head.

  Instead, the man who had just suggested shooting Wang Jun with a cold arrow and was standing beside him, plucked up a bit more courage. He poked his head out from the crowd and loudly protested: "You, Commander of the opposing side, don't be too arrogant! We are officials under the Emperor's feet, if you..."

  "Can a minor official under the Emperor's feet trample on human life?" Zhou Xiao Feng immediately turned his crossbow around, directly aiming at the person's eyes. "Today's matter, even if it is reported to the Emperor himself, Zhou will not be in the wrong. Put down your weapons first, and then ask who is behind this!"

  No need for him to emphasize again, Li Yuanqing and Zhao Huaiyu had already snatched the soldiers' weapons from their hands and thrown them all over the ground. The soldier standing next to Jia Jiluo tried to resist, but Su Shenxing was quick and precise, and with a single flick of his finger, he sent an arrow into the man's shoulder blade. The pain caused the man to drop his weapon and roll around on the ground, clutching at his arm.

  There is a living precedent, and the next task will be much easier. Some of the runners symbolically hid for a while before handing over their eating utensils. Some runners were even more straightforward, throwing away their weapons, jumping off their horses, and holding their heads in their hands, waiting to be slaughtered.

  The onlookers on both sides of the official road finally understood what it meant to "act recklessly". One by one, they opened their mouths and drooled. The Flying Dragon Imperial Guards, as the emperor's personal troops, had always walked sideways in Chang'an City, and everyone knew this. However, the constables of Chang'an County were not easy to mess with either. They held far more power than ordinary police officers, and ordinary people didn't dare provoke them. Both sides had clashed before, with each side having their own wins and losses. But a scene like today's, where eleven Flying Dragon Imperial Guards taught over a hundred constables and hooligans a lesson, was unprecedented.

  "Those aren't ordinary Imperial Guards!" At last, a minor official from the Ministry of Works who had jumped down from his carriage to watch the commotion caught on to something and shook his head, saying in a low voice.

  "A guy who's never seen blood before, running into a seasoned veteran of the Anxi campaign on the battlefield - he'd be lucky not to get taken advantage of!" Another official in a blue robe leaned over and explained with a smile to several colleagues who were blocked in the road.

  "They are Gao Xianzhi's people? No wonder I felt a murderous aura just now." Someone immediately stiffened, then looked enlightened.

  "But this is also too humiliating for Chang'an County!" Someone sympathized, not daring to raise their voice too high, fearing that the scar-faced general would hear it.

  "Dignity is something you fight for, not something given by others!" Someone shook their head and led their horse to take a detour. "On one side are thugs who haven't seen bloodshed in thirty years, on the other side are old soldiers who have killed their way back from the banks of the Hengluo River - it can only end like this!"

  Just as everyone was secretly discussing and rejoicing, the bailiffs and idlers of Chang'an County all became empty-handed, their horses were robbed, and they crouched on the ground with their heads in their hands, like plucked roosters.

  Seeing the wretched appearance of these guys, Zhou Xiao Feng suddenly became somewhat dispirited. "How humiliating!" He put away his crossbow and spat heavily on the ground. Then he turned around and loudly scolded Wang Xuan: "Since you've gotten into trouble, why don't you hurry back to the military camp to seek help? What are you standing here stupidly for? Are you afraid that others won't have a way to frame you? What's going on exactly? You'd better explain it clearly to me first!"

  "Ah!" Wang Jun couldn't help but want to laugh, thinking of leaving some face for the constables of Chang'an County, trying not to make a sound, "Subordinate, subordinate today, subordinate today took a leave of absence and returned home, on the way, discovered several masked men blocking the road and robbing a horse carriage, so..."

  Following Yan Jiming's previous advice, he tried to make the killing sound like a heroic act of justice, without mentioning Bai Huaqi's name or why he was sitting in the carriage. As he spoke, he used the tip of his boot to lightly press down on the face of the captured assassin at his feet, hinting to Zhou Xiufeng that he didn't want things to go too far.

  Seeing him being so careful, Zhou Xuefeng couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "Fool, since you've caught a live one, shouldn't you take him back to the military camp for interrogation? Do you think you can set up your own court? Come on, check if this guy is dead or not, if not, drag him directly back to the military camp! How dare he rob near Baima Fort, clearly he doesn't put our Feilong Imperial Guard in his eyes!"

  "Yes!" Su Shenxing and others in charge of monitoring the crowd saw that the other party had completely lost the idea of resisting, responded with a sound, and turned to execute the latest task. The face of Jia Jiulin, the head of Chang'an County, immediately turned pale, wanting to stop but not daring to, raised his head to secretly look at the other party, with a pleading expression on his face.

  Zhou Xiao Feng happened to look over at him, and their eyes met in mid-air. "Did you hear that? Do I need my man to repeat it again for you?"

  "I heard, I heard!" Jia Jirong's eyes didn't dare meet Zhou Xiao Feng's, and he only nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice. But in his heart, he wished he could throw out a flying sword to silently behead the other person.

  "Remember?" Zhou Xiao Feng urged his horse forward, scaring the bailiffs into retreating.

  "Remember, remember!" The voice of Jia Ji Lin, the head of Chang'an County, was already choked with sobs. Bullying people, it's too bullying! Not leaving any face at all. If there were only the parties involved on the official road, it would be fine, but unfortunately, there were many people around who witnessed everything today! After returning, even if the superiors can cover up the hole, he and his brothers will not have the face to see people for a long time in the future.

  In desperation, he suddenly heard the other person say: "I'm a reasonable man! Others don't bully me to my face, and I won't take it too far!"

  As if seeing a ray of sunlight in the darkness, Jia Ji Lin raised his head, with hope written all over his face.

  It seemed like Zhou Xiao Feng had guessed his thoughts, and he shrugged his shoulders, switching to a more gentle tone to add, "I'll take the living and the murder weapon back to the military camp. The dead bodies are yours to handle. We're not good at investigating cases, and who knows, with just a bit of effort, we might end up killing the last assassin. So, it's best if you all put in some more thought into how to wrap up this case. After all, with so many eyes watching, I'm not afraid of you distorting the truth!"

  "I don't dare, I don't dare!" Jia Ji Lin was overjoyed as if he had been granted a great amnesty. He hated that he couldn't hug the other person's boots and kiss them several times. These few words were clear enough, the scar-faced adjutant only wanted to protect his own people and didn't want others to harm his trusted subordinates. As for what General Fu Bo's name was or what the assassin's real name was, they couldn't care less!

  With this promise, the pressure he was about to face was greatly reduced. He chuckled a few more times and raised his face to ask: "Then, General, can I move the body now? On New Year's Day, it's not good to see blood on the official road!"

  "Suit yourself!" Zhou Xiao Feng glanced at him and promised in a low voice. Then he waved his big hand towards the brothers, "Let's go, let's go, back to camp to play chess with General Gao. The general is still waiting in the camp!"

  "Hmm!" Jia Jiluo, who was just about to get up, almost fell back onto the ground. No wonder the other person was so arrogant, it turned out that Gao Lishi was backing him up from behind. This dead old eunuch, when did he become so fond of meddling in others' business!

  Abdominal ridicule returns to abdominal ridicule. On the surface, he still has to smile and see off the other party. Until the flying dragon guards' backs disappeared from the official road, they resumed their usual arrogant appearance, shouting loudly at the subordinates: "What are you all standing there for? Don't pick up your weapons yet! When something happens, you become soft, I've wasted my time raising this group of useless people!"