Their intentions were so obvious that even a fool could see them, so how could Liu Tiezhu not? The moment their stones came crashing down, Liu Tiezhu suddenly accelerated. The two big men froze, wanting to chase after him but it was too late. With a loud crash, the two stones rolled down. Without Liu Tiezhu as a target in between, they smashed directly toward the two men themselves. Ah... Blood-curdling screams made everyone's scalp tingle. Both men had their waists broken by the stones, lying on the ground twitching continuously. Jiang Tianliang's face darkened with rage, and he immediately left the scene.
Meanwhile, Jiang He and the other two broke out in a cold sweat for Liu Tiezhu. If it had been them in that situation, they would have definitely fallen for the two men's trap. After dodging the ambush, Liu Tiezhu feigned shortness of breath, slowing his pace again. There were still 1,600 meters left and twenty minutes to go, more than enough time for him to reach the destination smoothly. So there was no need to speed up further and arouse suspicion from Jiang He and the others.
Five minutes later, people gradually caught up. Every one of these pursuers had a grim expression, gritting their teeth. Liu Tiezhu wasn't in a hurry and maintained his pace. With the lesson from earlier, he kept a safe distance from these men to avoid being ambushed again. In the blink of an eye, another ten minutes passed, leaving only 300 meters and five minutes. By then, several of the pursuers were exhausted, resorting to walking while gritting their teeth to persevere. At that moment, Liu Tiezhu accelerated again, slowly catching up to the seven people ahead. In the final minute, Liu Tiezhu finished third at the finish line.
"This kid really has some skills." "The third round is passed. Zhiliang, assign him a task right away." Jiang He gave the order and left with a smile. Liu Tiezhu's performance pleased him greatly. If he passed the loyalty test, he would spare no effort in training him. After seeing Jiang He off, Zhang Zhiliang checked the time and announced the end of the assessment. Out of the 178 participants this time, only 23 passed. Among them, 22 had pushed themselves to the limit to get through. Only Liu Tiezhu handled it with ease, conserving his strength.
For those who passed, the Ming family immediately arranged medical check-ups and prepared herbal baths for them. Those who passed the second round were all promising candidates, and the Ming family couldn't afford any accidents. As for those who didn't pass, the Ming family gave them another chance—five days of rest before trying again. Two hours later, Liu Tiezhu received a notice from Jiang He to come to the barracks. Inside, Jiang He had prepared a lavish feast to celebrate Liu Tiezhu in advance. With Liu Tiezhu's strength, winning the third round's combat test was a given.
After a round of toasts, Jiang He took out the registration form Liu Tiezhu had filled out. "Brother Liu, are you really just an ordinary villager from Liu Family Village? Did circumstances force you to join the Ming family army?" Jiang He's tone was gentle, but it carried a hidden threat. Liu Tiezhu knew his performance had still aroused Jiang He's suspicion. Now, he was probing his background. If his answers didn't satisfy Jiang He, this suspicion would persist, and he wouldn't be entrusted with important tasks. Liu Tiezhu didn't dare overthink and nodded. "Brother Jiang, I really am an ordinary villager from Liu Family Village. I killed some bandits before and was afraid of retaliation, so I came to join the Ming family army."
"You can kill bandits? Not bad skills." Jiang He's words were double-edged, praising Liu Tiezhu's skills while subtly questioning them. Liu Tiezhu could tell this was another test from Jiang He. "Brother Jiang, to be honest, these skills of mine were learned from a tribal leader." Liu Tiezhu mixed truth with lies, fabricating a story about a remote mountain tribe. Since these tribes were hidden deep in the mountains, Jiang He had no way to verify it. As for the Liu Family Village matter, Liu Tiezhu knew Jiang He would secretly send people to investigate. He didn't hide anything and told the truth.
"Brother Liu, your luck is truly unmatched. Even such an ancient tribe, you managed to encounter." Jiang He laughed it off. It seemed like he was marveling at Liu Tiezhu's luck, but in reality, he didn't believe a word. Without evidence, though, he let it slide and didn't press further. After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang He informed Liu Tiezhu that the third round of the Ming family assessment would start in five days, giving him five days of free time. "Brother Zhang, if there's nothing else, I'll head back." Jiang He nodded and dismissed Liu Tiezhu.
After Liu Tiezhu left, Zhang Zhiliang asked, "Brother Jiang, can we trust what that kid said?" Jiang He replied, "Not a single word. Send someone secretly to Liu Family Village. Also, assign two sharp-minded men to tail Liu Tiezhu. I want to know who he meets and where he goes during these five days." "Understood, I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Zhicheng nodded and left the barracks.
When Liu Tiezhu returned to his barracks, everyone came over to greet him. His earlier beating of Zhang Guofeng and the other two still intimidated them. But two people stood apart: Guo Qixing, who had finished first in the second round, and Lin Shun, who came second. Both were arrogant and self-important. Liu Tiezhu ignored them. Given the situation, it was better to avoid trouble. He had already offended Jiang Tianliang, so there was no need to clash with these two. After responding to the enthusiastic greetings, Liu Tiezhu was exhausted and collapsed onto his bed to sleep.
He slept straight through until evening. When he woke up, his stomach was growling with hunger, and the others in the barracks were gone. This realization sent a chill down Liu Tiezhu's spine. He had slept too deeply for those hours. If Jiang Tianliang had taken the chance to retaliate, the consequences would have been dire. "I need to pass the third round quickly and move to Jiang He's side," Liu Tiezhu muttered to himself. Though Jiang He was also untrustworthy, he wouldn't make a move on him for now.
Liu Tiezhu stepped out of the barracks and found that aside from the guard post, everything else was pitch black. He knew there was no food left in the camp, so he'd have to eat outside. Luckily, he had kept over a hundred yuan on him when hiding his money; otherwise, he'd have to wait until the next day to eat. After a moment's thought, Liu Tiezhu headed toward Jiang He's barracks. "Brother Zhang, can I borrow a gun?" he asked bluntly as soon as he entered. Without a weapon, going out at night was too dangerous.
Jiang He feigned surprise. "What? What do you need a gun for?" Liu Tiezhu said, "I need to handle some business outside, and I can't go without a gun for self-defense." Jiang He frowned, thought for a moment, and finally handed Liu Tiezhu a pistol. "You must keep this well and don't say I gave it to you. Those who haven't passed the assessment aren't allowed to carry guns—getting caught means heavy punishment." Liu Tiezhu nodded. "Don't worry, Brother Zhang. I won't let anyone find out. I'll return it as soon as I'm done." Jiang He waved him off. "Go on. Don't stay out too late at night."
Liu Tiezhu didn't linger. Leaving the camp, he headed straight toward the town. Just a few minutes after he left, two middle-aged men in their forties emerged from the camp. Watching the direction Liu Tiezhu had gone, they quickly followed.