At this sight, everyone’s spirits soared, and they rallied their remaining strength to break through the encirclent.
The unit that had them tightly surrounded was now thrown into disarray by this sudden arrow from the shadows.
"A great reward for whoever kills Xie San!" soone shouted urgently from the darkness.
But in the next instant, a feathered arrow followed the sound.
THWUMP!
A pained grunt ca from the darkness, followed by silence.
At the sa ti, through the desperate struggles of Niu Da, Niu Er, and the rest, they finally carved a bloody path out, escorting their Third Brother away from the banks of the Great Qing River.
When they entered the main street, pedestrians scattered in terror at the sight of a group of people drenched in blood, brandishing weapons, and running wildly.
However, Xie San felt a sense of relief.
’No matter what, at least we broke out.’
’No matter how savage and unreasonable the Beheading Gang is, they wouldn’t dare to commit murder openly on the main street.’
"Hide your weapons. We’ll take the side alleys back to Flower Square!" Third Brother commanded in a low voice.
For now, order in the Huangpu Guard hadn’t completely collapsed. Gang conflicts were limited to the shadows; carrying weapons openly in the streets was strictly forbidden and would be punished if discovered.
But after saying this, a trace of sorrow welled up in Xie San’s heart.
’The Beheading Gang already dared to commit arson in public. Will anyone even follow these rules in the future?’
Faintly, Xie San seed to see the cracks forming behind the prosperous facade of the Huangpu Guard.
But there was no use thinking about that now. The group covered their weapons with their clothes and turned into a small, adjacent alley. They had only taken a few steps before Third Brother suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Third Brother!"
"Third Brother, are you alright?!"
Everyone was shocked and rushed to gather around.
Third Brother waved a hand, about to say she was fine, but her vision went black and she collapsed, falling unconscious into Niu Er’s arms behind her.
At this sight, the group descended into chaos.
After all, Third Brother was their backbone. One could even say that Flower Square had survived this long under the watchful eyes of many rivals entirely thanks to Third Brother’s personal charisma.
If sothing were to happen to her, Flower Square and everyone in it would face utter catastrophe.
The brothers Niu Da and Niu Er were so scared they imdiately burst into tears.
Their simple minds couldn’t grasp complex matters, but they knew who was good to them.
If Third Brother hadn’t taken them in back then, they would have been beaten to death or starved on the streets.
So when they saw Third Brother severely wounded and unconscious, both brothers panicked.
Niu Da’s eyes turned red, and he started slamming his head against a nearby wall. THUMP! THUMP!
Just as chaos erupted among them, a figure leaped across the rooftops with incredible speed and landed in the alley.
"Who’s there?!"
One of the quicker ones imdiately gripped his weapon, his eyes fierce as he looked over.
But when they saw it was Wu Liangchen who had appeared in the alley, the wariness on their faces faded.
They had seen Wu Liangchen at Flower Square a couple of days ago and knew he was a friend of Third Brother’s, so they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Liangchen strode forward, and his expression changed the mont he saw Third Brother lying unconscious in Niu Er’s arms.
An hour ago, he had left the First-Class Restaurant and begun searching everywhere for Third Brother and her people.
Although the Huangpu Guard was large, Third Brother’s activities were generally confined to Flower Square and its imdiate vicinity; she rarely ventured far.
This was because the Huangpu Guard was teeming with rival gangs, each with its own headquarters.
To suddenly appear in another gang’s territory without notice was tantamount to a provocation.
Of course, this rule only applied to the upper echelons of each gang; no one cared about the movents of ordinary mbers.
So, Wu Liangchen quickly swept through Flower Square. Finding no trace of them, he gradually expanded his search radius, finally hearing the sounds of fighting from the very edge of the district, by the Great Qing River.
While Third Brother was speaking with Mo Datou, who was hidden in the darkness, Wu Liangchen was concealed in a distant, unnoticed corner, trying to pinpoint Mo Datou’s location by sound.
It was very difficult.
The distance was simply too great, and there was too much background noise interfering.
In the end, Wu Liangchen could only estimate his approximate location before loosing an arrow.
He hit his mark, but it didn’t seem to be Mo Datou—it was soone else.
But Wu Liangchen couldn’t worry about that then. First, he laid down a volley of covering fire with his arrows to help Third Brother and the others escape. Then, he lingered by the riverbank a while longer to ensure the Beheading Gang mbers couldn’t give chase before finally leaving.
Only after catching up to them did Wu Liangchen realize how gravely Third Brother was injured.
’Honestly, an ordinary person would have died long ago from such wounds. The fact that Third Brother held on for so long at the riverbank... her willpower is terrifying.’
"Let’s go. We need to find a quiet place to treat her imdiately!" Wu Liangchen said.
But Niu Da and Niu Er were still sobbing. Wu Liangchen didn’t hold back; he slapped each of them once and said coldly,
"If you want to watch Third Brother die, then by all ans, keep crying. Otherwise, you’ll do exactly as I say. Understood?"
The two brothers gradually ca to their senses and nodded emphatically.
"Let’s go. Back to Flower Square first!"
Even though most of them had little contact with Wu Liangchen, they were unconsciously swayed by his powerful aura. Despite him speaking in a commanding tone, no one raised any objections.
The group imdiately followed the alleys back to Flower Square. As soon as they entered the district, a large crowd, having heard the news, rushed over.
These people were mostly guards from the various brothels, and they were also Third Brother’s loyal followers.
That was why they had all been frantic after the fire at the First-Class Restaurant. But when they couldn’t find any trace of Third Brother, they had no choice but to wait anxiously at Flower Square.
Now that they saw Third Brother had returned, they naturally all hurried over.
Without hesitation, Wu Liangchen imdiately ordered them to guard all entrances to Flower Square to prevent the Beheading Gang from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.
The n hesitated for a mont, but then they actually obeyed Wu Liangchen’s command and went to defend the entrances.
"Is there a quiet, hidden room?" Wu Liangchen asked a young man beside him.
This was the sa young man who had previously invited Wu Liangchen upstairs to see Third Brother.
Despite his youth, he was an old hand who had been with Third Brother from the very beginning and was extrely familiar with Flower Square.
"Yes! Follow !"
The young man led Wu Liangchen and the others at a trot to the front of a brothel called Moqin Pavilion.
By then, the madam and the girls of Moqin Pavilion had already heard the news and co out to greet them.
"Arrange for a quiet room!" the young man said.
The madam imdiately nodded. "Of course! Please, follow !"
One had to admit, the girls were fast. In the blink of an eye, a tranquil, quiet room was prepared.
Wu Liangchen had Niu Er lay Third Brother on the bed. Then, casting aside all propriety, he ripped open her collar.
Just below the collarbone was a massive gash, slashed horizontally across her chest. It was so deep that the bone of her left shoulder was visible.
Amid the mangled flesh and blood, a pungent, foul stench emanated.
Wu Liangchen frowned at the sight. ’Just as I thought—it’s poisoned!’
He wasn’t sure of Third Brother’s exact level of strength, but she was definitely no weaker than the second realm.
With that kind of power, it would be difficult for a normal external wound to cause her to pass out unless a vital point was struck.
On the way here, Wu Liangchen had already slled a foul odor on Third Brother and had his suspicions.
Now, his guess was confird.
"Then what do we do?" The young man beside him instantly panicked, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Don’t panic. Go find a few daggers, a pair of scissors, and a needle and thread."
User Comments
0 comments from readers