Lin Changxing walked several dozen meters away and burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Damn, thought you were so clever."
"Turns out you're just a slightly smarter pawn."
"That idiot's got some skills, but brains? He doesn't even have a third of Brother Changxing's." His lackey Liu Zhigang chimed in with flattery.
Lin Changxing said, "Alright, no need to kiss up. Pass the word—we're splitting the supplies at Changtupo."
"Except for the cash, take one-fifth of everything else."
The cash and gold had been counted and couldn't be touched, but the rest wasn't meticulously inventoried. If they skimmed some, there'd be no proof.
Liu Zhigang's eyes lit up at that. He scurried to the back, urging everyone to speed up so they could reach Changtupo and divvy up the goods.
Hearing this, the others perked up too.
In that moment, they felt an endless surge of energy, quickening their pace.
The Zhang family's supplies were worth several thousand gold this time. Taking a fifth was still a hefty sum.
But as Lin Changxing and his crew schemed over how to divvy up the Zhang family's goods,
they had no idea a pair of eyes was already tailing them, watching every move.
"You bunch of pig-brains, thinking you can take the supplies?"
Ma Qifeng, trailing behind Lin Changxing, sneered and quickly veered left.
Fifteen minutes later, Ma Qifeng reached a loess slope.
There, over two hundred burly men were already assembled and ready, led by Guo Qixing.
Seeing Ma Qifeng return, Guo Qixing spat out a blade of grass, grinning so wide his mouth nearly split.
Showing up now meant Liu Tiezhu's plan had worked.
"Brother Qifeng, did the Zhang family's supplies get moved out?"
Guo Qixing didn't beat around the bush, asking straight about the goods.
Ma Qifeng nodded. "Yeah, they're out."
"Lin Changxing's in charge of transport—fifty men, about eight thousand jin of supplies."
"They'll divvy it up at Changtupo later. That's our best chance to strike."
"Any other instructions from Brother Tiezhu?" Guo Qixing pressed.
Ma Qifeng said, "I didn't contact Brother Tiezhu, but the original plan's gone off the rails. We can't stick to it."
"My idea is to grab all the supplies, but don't kill everyone guarding them."
"Brother Qifeng, you mean leave these guys to take the fall?"
Guo Qixing wasn't stupid; he caught on to Ma Qifeng's angle.
"Yeah, that's it."
"Even though Lin Changxing's moving the supplies, Brother Tiezhu still has to answer for it if things go wrong."
"If we kill them all, there's no proof, and the Ming family won't trust Brother Tiezhu anymore."
Hearing this, Guo Qixing frowned, mulling it over.
After a moment, his gaze returned to Ma Qifeng.
"We'll do it your way, Brother Qifeng."
With the plan set, the two led the hundreds of men charging toward Changtupo.
Meanwhile, Lin Changxing had already arrived at Changtupo.
He immediately ordered everyone to work fast and finish splitting the supplies before the rear unit caught up.
Guo Qixing, arriving on the scene, couldn't help but smirk.
"Good kid, you've got some nerve."
"Too bad you ran into me today. Forget about these supplies."
With that, he waved his hand, and the hundreds of men opened fire.
Bang, bang, bang...
The hail of bullets nearly made Lin Changxing shit his pants.
"Kill..."
Before he could recover, a deafening roar hit his ears.
Hundreds of men shouted in unison, the sound echoing all around.
Lin Changxing's scalp tingled. Without a second thought, he bolted, fleeing the scene.
From the shouting, the enemy had at least a few hundred men.
If he stayed, he'd catch a bullet.
Seeing Lin Changxing run, the others didn't dare linger. They followed him in a frantic dash.
In just a few minutes, aside from the thirteen killed by gunfire, the remaining thirty-plus vanished without a trace.
"Damn, those bastards sure run fast."
Guo Qixing chuckled and signaled everyone to hurry up.
Since they wanted these guys to take the blame, they had to play along with Liu Tiezhu's act.
The hundreds of men worked swiftly, leading horses and pulling carts, clearing the area in no time.
Back at the rear, Liu Tiezhu heard the gunfire and knew Guo Qixing had succeeded.
He immediately feigned shock, shouting to the crowd, "Bad news, gunfire up ahead! Lin Changxing and his men are in danger!"
"Everyone, follow my orders—get ready to fight and charge with me!"
As he spoke, Liu Tiezhu cracked his whip and galloped toward the sound of gunfire.
No one dared delay. They stopped cleaning up the battlefield, grabbed their rifles, and followed Liu Tiezhu's lead.
Twenty minutes later, Liu Tiezhu and his men arrived at the scene.
Seeing the empty site with a dozen fallen comrades, everyone knew the supplies they'd fought so hard for were gone.
"Find Lin Changxing, now!"
Liu Tiezhu, feigning fury, barked orders to the crowd.
Soon, three teams fanned out to search, eventually finding Lin Changxing and his men in a patch of weeds a few dozen meters away.
Seeing it was their own people, Lin Changxing's pale face regained a bit of color.
"The supplies were hijacked! Go catch them..." Lin Changxing stammered in panic.
"Don't tell us how to do our job."
The team leader, Chen Gaoling, scowled and waved his hand. His men stepped forward to disarm Lin Changxing's crew.
This was supposed to be a major achievement, but now the supplies were lost. Who knew how the Ming family would deal with them?
In that moment, he was genuinely furious.
Lin Changxing roared, "Chen Gaoling, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What am I doing?" Chen Gaoling glared at him. "You lost the supplies and dragged all of us into this mess."
"I'm taking you all back for Liu Tiezhu to handle."
Hearing this, the team members didn't hold back, shoving Lin Changxing back.
Lin Changxing cursed the whole way, still unafraid of punishment.
He was Jiang He's man. Once he told Liu Tiezhu that, Liu Tiezhu wouldn't dare touch him, or Jiang He would make him pay.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Changxing was shoved in front of Liu Tiezhu.
"Liu Tiezhu, what's your game? Settling a personal score?"
Lin Changxing stared at Liu Tiezhu, defiant.
"Do I have a grudge against you?"
Liu Tiezhu sneered, then continued, "Now I'm asking you—how did you lose the Zhang family's supplies?"
"I'll explain that to Auditor Jiang when we get back."
"What right do you have to order them to disarm me?"
Lin Changxing, oblivious to the danger, kept up his tough stance.
His words had already hinted at his connection to Jiang He.
If Liu Tiezhu had any sense, he wouldn't push further.
"You're asking what right I have?"
Liu Tiezhu's eyes turned cold, as if he hadn't caught the hint, and slapped Lin Changxing across the face.
Before Lin Changxing could react, he drew his pistol and aimed it at his forehead.
"Now answer me—do I have the right?"