Chapter 496: Something Tie Kaicheng Doesn't Know
Chapter 496: Something Tie Kaicheng Doesn't Know
In the blink of an eye, the Mi brothers were dead, along with Hei Sha Sword Du Fang. Gong Ye Hui and Yue Gong Da lay on the ground, wailing in pain, their bodies bruised and broken. Surprisingly, the only person left unscathed was Ding Zhen.
Ding Zhen was stunned. He had merely leaped and dropped, technically using just one move, and he hadn't even touched anyone! Looking at Tie Kaicheng before him, Ding Zhen's body began to tremble involuntarily.
"I don't want to repeat myself a third time," Tie Kaicheng said calmly. "If you don't speak, there's no point in keeping you alive."
"Three thousand taels!" Ding Zhen blurted out, then added, "Three thousand taels each!"
Tie Kaicheng nodded in understanding. "Money moves people's hearts. Three thousand taels is no small sum."
To true top experts, money was just a number. They might not be wealthy or particularly fond of money, but if they ever needed it, they would never be short of it.
However, for people like Ding Zhen and Gong Ye Hui, it was a different story.
They were not exactly part of the righteous path in the jianghu; they walked a fine line between good and evil. While they had some reputation, their martial arts skills were not at a level that most people would fear. Even escort agencies wouldn't dare to employ them. They loved money, but where could they get it? They resorted to shady dealings and operated in the gray areas. They managed to scrape by, but living a luxurious life or achieving great wealth and status was out of the question.
So, they wouldn't miss any opportunity to make a fortune. When the big boss issued a gathering order for the jianghu, Hei Sha Sword Du Fang and the Mi brothers eagerly rushed over, hoping to sell their skills to a discerning buyer.
Thus, the offer of three thousand taels of silver was enough to make them betray their original allies.
However, they never expected the chief escort of the Hongqi Escort Agency to be so skilled. Despite their combined efforts, they couldn't withstand even a single move from him.
"And then? What instructions did he give you?" Tie Kaicheng asked.
"He said that after capturing you and handing you over to the big boss's men, we could join the big boss and receive monthly offerings that wouldn't be less than what Tie Quan A Yong gets," Ding Zhen replied.
Tie Kaicheng asked curiously, "What kind of treatment does Tie Quan A Yong get?"
"Three hundred taels a month!" Ding Zhen answered.
"The big boss is indeed wealthy," Tie Kaicheng sighed. This was ten times more than the monthly salary of the escorts at the Hongqi Escort Agency, no wonder Gong Ye Hui and the Mi brothers were tempted.
"And you believed him?" Tie Kaicheng inquired.
Ding Zhen blinked, and of course, they had believed him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to ambush Tie Kaicheng and his group.
"Foolish," Tie Kaicheng shook his head.
How could they compare themselves to Tie Quan A Yong? Their skills were nowhere near his level. The promise of three hundred taels a month was too good to be true. Bamboo Leaf Green was clearly deceiving them, and it was possible that after this incident was over, he would silence them to leave no witnesses.
However, since they had believed Bamboo Leaf Green's words, it meant...
Tie Kaicheng walked up to Ding Zhen and patted his shoulder. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a banknote worth one thousand taels from the Heng Tong Bank.
"Ah, times have changed, and life is tough," Tie Kaicheng sighed. "When was the last time I touched the spoils of war?"
He continued, "Who were you supposed to hand us over to?"
Ding Zhen glanced longingly at the banknote before answering, "They're outside the east gate of the compound, about a street away. There are two carriages and some men waiting there."
Tie Kaicheng nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work." Then, he lightly patted Ding Zhen's chest.
Ding Zhen looked down at his chest and then at Tie Kaicheng, and suddenly, his entire body went limp and collapsed to the ground as if all the bones in his body had shattered.
This bizarre scene caught Sun Xingyu's attention, and she asked, "What kind of martial arts is this?"
Tie Kaicheng explained, "It's called the Bone-Melting Cotton Palm. After being struck by this palm technique, the force penetrates the body and spreads to the bones, turning them as soft as cotton. Even a god wouldn't be able to save the person."
Normally, after being hit by the Bone-Melting Cotton Palm, it would take one or two hours for the force to spread throughout the body. However, Tie Kaicheng's Ming Yu Gong was pure and robust, and his internal energy had strong penetrative power. For someone like Ding Zhen, who had little resistance, the force spread throughout his body in an instant.
Sun Xingyu looked at Tie Kaicheng with shock, as if she were gazing upon a treasure trove.
Just then, more footsteps approached from outside the side yard, two of them steady and powerful, while the third was somewhat unsteady.
The next moment, two burly men leaped into the yard, carrying a woman with a curvaceous figure and a charming, alluring face.
"This yard has a door. Why do you all insist on climbing over the walls?" Tie Kaicheng asked.
Rong Zhengjie scratched his head, and Li Cheng replied, "We were worried that if we entered through the main door, we might run into the servants in the yard."
The newcomers were the escorts Li Cheng, whom Tie Kaicheng had sent to Dongcheng to gather information, and Rong Zhengjie, who had accompanied him. The woman they were carrying was a seductive and charming woman—Iron Head's third wife, Jin Lanhua. In the original story, she would be captured by Bamboo Leaf Green's men when Xie Xiaofeng met with him, and she would eventually commit suicide in front of the big boss to protect Xie Xiaofeng.
"The chief escort's predictions are spot on," Rong Zhengjie said. "The big boss's men were indeed planning to capture her, but we intercepted them."
Sun Xingyu glanced at the woman and then at Tie Kaicheng, her eyes filled with confusion. She could tell that this woman was merely a coquette, and logically, she shouldn't have caught Tie Kaicheng's interest.
Xue Keren smiled and said, "Who would've thought that the chief escort has a soft spot for romance? So, you came here for her?"
Tie Kaicheng nodded seriously and said, "She used to be close to Xie Xiaofeng, and in his eyes, she probably holds a similar position as you."
The smile instantly vanished from Xue Keren's face.
Jin Lanhua, however, looked at Xue Keren with a mixture of scrutiny and mockery in her eyes.
"You're not the big boss's men?" Jin Lanhua asked.
Tie Kaicheng remained silent, and Sun Xingyu pointed at the four corpses and the two half-dead men on the ground. "They are the big boss's men."
Jin Lanhua heaved a sigh of relief and quickly added, "The big boss plans to deal with Xie Xiaofeng!"
"We know," Xue Keren replied with a dismissive air as she sat down at the table and turned to Tie Kaicheng. With a soft sigh, she asked, "Is there anything in this world that you don't know?"
"Of course, there is," Tie Kaicheng said as he pointed at Jin Lanhua. "For example, whether it was you or her who slept with Xie Xiaofeng more times."
Sun Xingyu giggled and added, "Or who slept with him first?"
Tie Kaicheng nodded, "That, I truly don't know."
(End of Chapter)
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