Chapter 41: One Net to Catch All

  Wu Jie and the crowd did not go to the main gate, but instead went around to the back of the county government office. Wu Jie was extremely familiar with this place and could find his way even with his eyes closed. Under his lead, the crowd quickly made their way to the back of the county government office.

  What surprised and delighted everyone even more was that, along the way, they didn't encounter a single bandit. This showed that the bandits were indeed too lax in their defense, greatly boosting everyone's confidence.

  In fact, He Wanquan just sent someone to guard the city gate and did not allow civilians to enter or exit. The rest of the people gathered in the county government office to drink and have fun, and no one was sent outside.

  "Lord Wu, you are this!" Wang Ergou's thumbs were almost pointing to the sky, with a face full of admiration.

  The county government office was a brick and wood structure, with a wall around it made of mud bricks, very solid, over ten feet high. Looking at the wall over ten feet high, Wu Qing and his companions looked embarrassed. For these peasants, this wall was an insurmountable obstacle.

  But for the good men of Ziyun Society, it's no challenge at all. Wang Erge whispered, "Lord Wu, let us go first."

  "Hmm!" This was exactly what the heroes of Qiyun Society were good at, and this was why Wu Jitian had tried every means to get the heroes of Qiyun Society to come. He especially reminded them: "Be careful not to make any noise."

  "Director Wu, please rest assured." Wang Ergou was full of confidence, his hands grasping the top of the wall as he looked around before saying "Up!"

  "Whoosh! Whoosh!" The heroes of the Qi Yun Society sprang into action, leaping into the air with the lightness of a weasel, landing on the wall without making a sound.

  "Good skills!" Wu Ji looked at it with admiration, unable to help but praise. A pair of eyes shone brightly, full of envy: "My body is also too weak! If I could have such skills, that would be great!"

  Thirteen good men stretched out their hands, grabbed Wu Ji and the others, lifted them up, jumped over the wall, and gently put them down. Then, they jumped down again. The whole process was neat and tidy, without making any noise.

  As soon as they entered the county government office, a burst of noise filled their ears, all of it the shouting and boasting of the bandits, talking about their proud accomplishments, laughing loudly whenever they got to the exciting parts.

  The sound of speech and laughter, with a hint of intoxication, is already 70-80% there.

  "Arrived just in time! Heaven is helping me too!" Wu Ji was overjoyed.

  Everyone listened to Liu Feng's words with a hint of drunkenness, and couldn't help but increase their confidence by several points, greatly increasing their admiration for Wu Ji.

  "Can you hear where He Wanquan is?" Wu Jie perked up his ears, but he didn't hear He Wanquan's voice.

  Wu Ji's plan was to capture the leader first, and once he had taken care of He Wanquan and his men, the problem would be easily solved. However, no matter how hard he listened, he couldn't hear He Wanquan's voice anywhere.

  "There!" Several of the Qiyun Society's good men pointed in one direction at the same time.

  The sound difference is too big. With Wu Ji's hearing, it's impossible to hear the sound, but in Qi Yun She's good fellow's ears, it's almost like thunder.

  "It's a good thing that the heroes of Qiyun Society were persuaded!" Wu Ji secretly congratulated himself, if it weren't for the help of the heroes from Qiyun Society, Wu Ji's difficulties would have been much greater, and now was proof of that.

  Wu Ji looked around and found that He Wanquan was not in the county government's main hall, but in a elegant room behind it. Zheng Tai often rested here after handling official business.

  "Director Wu, this is a bit difficult!" Wang Ergou's face showed difficulty, pointing to the direction of that room: "It can't be entered from either side!"

  This house is located in the middle of many houses, adjacent to the main hall. To enter from the front, you have to go through the main hall. At this time, many people are gathering in the main hall for a big feast. Entering from the main hall would be like walking into a trap.

  Entering from behind, there are many houses, unless you can go through walls and climb over them, otherwise it is impossible to get close.

  "Not difficult at all! Not even a bit!" Wu Ji smiled lightly and said, "He Wanquan is not in the main hall, but in the elegant chamber, where he is seeking his own death!"

  "This... Lord Wu, do you have a solution?" Wang Ergou had thought of many methods, but none were applicable, while Wu Ji seemed to be taking it lightly, he really couldn't think of one.

  "My method is simple, just break through the wall and sneak past quietly." Wu Ji said out loud his own thoughts.

  "Break through the wall? Mr. Wu, that's... wonderful! Wonderful!" Wang Erge was about to retort, but his eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up, praising without end.

  "Go!" Wu Ji waved his hand and led the crowd to a room. The door of this room was open, and after everyone entered, they closed the door.

  They had made their way to the county yamen, getting so close to He Wanquan without encountering a single bandit, and the smooth progress of events was far beyond everyone's expectations, making them all feel elated, and if not for the inopportune timing, they would have burst into loud singing.

  "Wu Lang, you're really amazing!" Yang Xiuxiu's beautiful eyes measured Wu Ji, with a look of satisfaction on her face. Being able to marry Wu Ji, this clever and resourceful husband who had both courage and wisdom, was her greatest happiness.

  "Brother Qian, you're really amazing! Even without the rumors spreading, everyone knows!" Wu Jian and Wu Xing were busy praising Wu Qian.

  "You're overpraising! I just thought this was a rare opportunity, but didn't expect it to be so smooth. I'm even a bit surprised!" Wu Ji only thought that He Wanquan's indulgence was an opportunity to make his move, but he hadn't expected that He Wanquan would be so careless, not even having anyone on patrol, and the gap was too big.

  "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it was true! Alas! Unfortunately, we hesitated and thought that the bandits would be difficult to deal with, but it's just like this!" Wang Ergou couldn't help but admit defeat: "After all, Lord Wu's plan is really brilliant! I concede! I concede!"

  A dozen or so of the Qi Yun Society's good men nodded in agreement with Wang Erge's words.

  "Up!" Wang Erge waved his hand, and the good men of Qiyun Society drew out their knives. The knife flashed in the light, and then disappeared into the wall. With another slash, a wooden board was cut off.

  The wall was a brick and wood structure, with bricks at the bottom that were very solid, but only several feet high. On top of that were wooden boards, which made it easy for the good men of the Zhiyuan Society to open up a big hole with ease, allowing everyone to crawl inside and get closer to He Wanquan.

  Before Wu Jie could speak, the good men of Qi Yun She grasped their knives and walked towards the wall below.

  At this time, He Wanquan was completely unaware of the impending doom and was having a great time in the elegant room with Zeng Shaoming, Deputy Commander, five Dous and five Vice-Dous, all his trusted followers.

  In front of He Wanquan, there were big and small plates full of delicious food, as well as several jars of fine wine.

  "He's never been a big thief, doesn't know the taste! Today I tried it, and indeed it's not ordinary, making people reluctant to let go! If I had known earlier, I would have surrendered to Zeng Da's house long ago!" He Wanquan grabbed a chicken leg, devouring it fiercely while speaking non-stop.

  "What a great opportunity for you, He Dangjia! This is a chance to turn over a new leaf! What's the point of being an official in the Zhao family? You can't get military rations without silver, and there's no hope of promotion. It's better to kill officials and rob grain, it's more exciting than being a bandit!" Zeng Shaoming loudly tempted: "He Dangjia, this time you brought 500 people to the mountain stronghold, my father will definitely reuse you!"

  "Haha!" He Wanquan was overjoyed, threw his head back and laughed wildly: "Eat meat in large chunks, drink wine in big bowls, and live a life of grandeur - even if you gave me an emperor's title, I wouldn't trade it!"

  "What about your family? How will you deal with Zheng Tai?" Zeng Shaoming asked, sizing up He Wanquan with a meaningful gaze.

  "Of course, I'll kill him with one slash! Hmph! He dares to ruin Master He's good fortune! Having had enough wine, I'll go find that little wench and have some fun." He Wanquan wiped his oily mouth with his hand, stood up, belched, and felt very comfortable: "Zheng Tai ruined the old master's good fortune, but I'll still capture that little wench! With one stroke of my knife, I'll kill that old scoundrel!"

  "Haha! Let's go and have some fun!" A group of trusted followers stood up, their eyes gleaming with unusual light, ready to go find women for pleasure.

  Zeng Shaoming watched He Wanquan's behavior with admiration, nodding his head repeatedly. He Wanquan already had the demeanor of a strong thief, and after a while, he would inevitably become a fierce bandit. At that time, the strength of Liufeng Fort would be even stronger.

  Bang!

  Just then, the wall suddenly burst open and a dozen or so brave men with bows and arrows rushed out from inside, their bows and arrows aimed at them.

  "Hiss!"

  He Wanquan belched loudly, his drunken eyes slanted as he sized up these good men and asked: "Who are you? Who gave you the guts to come here and cause trouble? Scram! You're interrupting my fun. Mind that I'll take care of you!"

  "He Wanquan, you're about to die and yet you still dare to be so arrogant!"

  Wu Jie walked out of the wall hole, surrounded by Wu Qing and others. His eyes shone brightly like the red sun in the sky, his spirit was sharp and he looked at He Wanquan: "He Wanquan, with your little virtue, you dare to be arrogant!"

  "Who are you? I seem to have seen you somewhere before!" He Wanquan was overbearing and domineering in front of Zheng Tai yesterday, and wouldn't put Wu Ji, the small main bookkeeper sitting at the end, in his eyes. He just felt a little familiar with him.

  "Take them away!" Wu Ji waved his hand and gave a loud order, with quite a bit of authority.

  "Arrest me? Haha!" He Wanquan seemed to have heard the most hilarious joke in the world, throwing his head back and laughing wildly: "You're digging your own grave on your own birthday!"

  "Ah!" A loud cry cut off mid-sentence, replaced by wails of despair.