The gunshots were piercing, the sparks from the bullets blazing brilliantly in the pitch-black night. At the critical moment, Er Gouzi and Yang Haitian, crouched on the watchtower, fired simultaneously. In just a few seconds, they emptied their pistol magazines. The two men looked down at their smoking bodies and finally fell reluctantly.
Having dealt with them, Liu Tiezhu didn’t let his guard down. He carefully leaned against the wooden door of the warehouse, peering through the cracks to check inside. Only after confirming there was no one else did he finally relax. That scene just now had nearly scared the soul out of him. If not for Er Gouzi and his brother-in-law Yang Haitian’s intervention, he might have taken a bullet.
Calming himself, Liu Tiezhu headed toward the barracks on the left again. After thoroughly inspecting every corner and confirming no one else was there, he called Er Gouzi and Yang Haitian down. The three entered the warehouse, where three large wooden racks stood, stacked with bullets and rifles. Liu Tiezhu counted: fifty-three rifles and roughly two thousand rounds of ammunition. Above them were shelves packed with dried meat, various dried vegetables, and rice. He couldn’t be bothered to tally those, so he told Er Gouzi to go to the left side of the barracks and bring a few horse-drawn carts to load everything up.
After emptying the first warehouse, the three moved into the second. What greeted their eyes were over a dozen gold bars. Besides these, there were three iron chests. Unable to resist, Er Gouzi opened the first chest first. As he’d guessed, it was filled with banknotes. Yang Haitian opened the second—another chest full of notes. Liu Tiezhu opened the third, which contained notes and some silver ingots. Staring at the three chests brimming with cash, their breathing grew heavy.
“Don’t just stand there, hurry up and load them onto the carts to head back,” Liu Tiezhu reminded them. This place wasn’t safe; if Jiang Tianliang’s troops stationed in town launched a counterattack, it would be dangerous. The three quickly loaded all the supplies onto the carts and drove the horses toward the other side of the mountain. Two hours later, they made it back to the foot of the mountain where the cave was, safe but shaken.
“Gouzi, you and Brother Tian take the stuff back first. Come to the Apricot Blossom Tavern again in three days,” Liu Tiezhu instructed before parting ways with the two. Tomorrow was the third round of the Ming family’s assessment, and he had to rush back to prepare.
Two hours later, Liu Tiezhu returned to the camp. It was already late at night; aside from the sentries on duty, everyone else was asleep. As soon as he entered the camp, Zhang Tielin walked up to him. “Brother Zhu, Jiang Tianliang’s matter is over.”
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu was taken aback, then frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed to be locked up for a few days? Why so fast?”
Zhang Tielin replied, “Second Master Ming Tianfeng stepped in, with Ming Hai’s backing. Under double pressure, Third Master’s side had no evidence and had to let him go.”
Ming Hai got involved? Liu Tiezhu was stunned. “Looks like Jiang Tianliang has some skill. Even Ming Hai’s stepping in means he doesn’t want Ming Zhenglong to dominate alone.” Ming Hai’s involvement definitely wasn’t for a mere soldier like Jiang Tianliang. The deeper meaning was to prevent Ming Zhenglong from using this incident to suppress Ming Tianfeng. It seemed those who could become family heads were no simple characters.
Zhang Tielin said, “Brother Jiang thinks the same as you. But even if Jiang Tianliang’s released, he won’t be given important roles. He’s already been stripped of his examiner position and assigned to lead a fifty-man regular squad in the Ming family.”
They chatted for a while, and seeing it was very late, Zhang Tielin didn’t dare disturb Liu Tiezhu further. Not having dealt with Jiang Tianliang left Liu Tiezhu a bit regretful. But raiding Jiang Tianliang’s base made up for it somewhat. Now that Jiang Tianliang was transferred into the Ming family, it wouldn’t be easy to make a move on him. Thinking this, Liu Tiezhu’s mood improved greatly.
Back in the barracks, everyone else had gone to sleep, seemingly wanting to rest up for a good performance tomorrow. But Guo Qixing was still awake. Seeing Liu Tiezhu return, he immediately got up and pointed outside. Liu Tiezhu understood Guo Qixing had something to say, so he turned and stepped out. A few minutes later, they reached an open area outside the barracks.
Guo Qixing stopped and got straight to the point. “Brother Zhu, tomorrow’s assessment is a bit complicated.”
Liu Tiezhu was surprised. “Brother Qixing, did you get some news?”
Guo Qixing nodded. “According to my intel, the Ming family will have dozens of veterans participating in tomorrow’s assessment. This is Second Master Ming Tianfeng’s arrangement, supposedly to prevent the examiners from cheating and lowering the standards for us candidates.”
“Bullshit! I think that bastard has nothing better to do,” Liu Tiezhu cursed.
Guo Qixing said, “Brother Zhu, he’s not doing this for nothing. Reliable sources say that everyone who passes this selection will join Third Master Ming Zhenglong’s faction. Ming Tianfeng pulling this stunt is both retaliation for Jiang Tianliang’s case and a way to weaken Third Master Ming Zhenglong’s strength. I reckon Ming Tianfeng will send members of the Blood Combat Team. We’ll need to be careful and not let those bastards kill us.”
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu was shocked again. Without realizing it, he’d become a pawn in the games of these so-called big shots. To weaken Ming Zhenglong, Ming Tianfeng would send out the cream of the crop. If he wasn’t careful, he could die at their hands.
“Brother Zhu, do you have any countermeasures?” Guo Qixing asked again when Liu Tiezhu didn’t respond for a while.
Snapping back, Liu Tiezhu said, “In tomorrow’s fight, the people Ming Tianfeng sends will definitely be strong. Besides going all out, I don’t have any other plan. Brother Qixing, do you have any ideas?”
“To be honest, Brother Zhu, I’m planning to play dirty. If those bastards want to kill me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” As he spoke, Guo Qixing pulled a packet of white powder from his pocket. “This powder is something my Guo family concocted. If an opponent inhales even a bit, within ten minutes, their hands and feet will go weak. If you need some, Brother Zhu, I can give it to you.”
Powder? Liu Tiezhu glanced at the item in Guo Qixing’s hand and instinctively stepped back. “How do you plan to use it?”
Guo Qixing said, “Rub it on your hand, and when you fist-bump an opponent, it gets on theirs.”
Liu Tiezhu frowned. “If it gets on your hand, won’t you get weak too?”
Guo Qixing replied, “I’ll take the antidote before touching it, so I won’t get poisoned. These people are out for our lives—we can’t just stand there and let them cut us down.”
After hearing this, Liu Tiezhu still waved his hand. “I don’t need the powder. Thanks for the info.” He didn’t know if it had side effects, so it was better to avoid it. Besides, with his strength, he was confident he could at least defend himself, even if he couldn’t hurt the opponent. If these people really tried to kill him, he’d fight back with his life and kill them without mercy.