“I’ve never met Brother Chen, but you came to save me. I’ll remember this kindness!”
Zhou Jing said in a deep voice, “There’s no need to say anything else. You stood up for the local people, but you offended a powerful family and were schemed against. Ordinary people can stand by and do nothing when a hero like you is in trouble, but for us martial artists with skills, if we encounter such an unfair matter, if we don’t draw our blades to help, what’s the point of practicing martial arts? Not to mention this prison of the An family, even in the capital, this Grandpa will dare to break into it!”
Guo Haishen was immediately moved.
“You’re really loyal! If I escape this time, I’ll definitely get drunk with you!”
After exchanging names, everyone quickly got down to business.
Xiang Tianjie started the conversation, “Brother Guo, I see that you’re quite emaciated. Has this prison made things difficult for you?”
“After I was imprisoned, I knew my place. These scouts had no reason to find trouble with me. In addition, they were afraid of my skills, so they only dared to lock me up and did not torture me.”
As Guo Haishen spoke, he suddenly laughed at himself and shook his head.
“It’s just that no matter how good my martial arts is, it’s difficult for two fists to fight against four hands. That dog magistrate took advantage of me being drunk and sent hundreds of officers and soldiers to take me down. Many of the officers within that group are experts who are proficient in martial arts. They gave me a good beating on the ground. In court, the officers gave me another 50 hits of the paddle.
These are fine. With their little strength, they didn’t injure me badly. However, after I was taken in, they starved me for three to five days. Later on, they only gave me a bowl of porridge every day, not even allowing me to eat my fill. After many days, when they saw that I was weak, they forced me to work in chains and shackles, exhausting my strength. I can’t exert any strength now. Perhaps in another seven to eight days, they will then proceed with my sentencing.”
Hearing this, Gao Yun quickly took out a few pancakes and the roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper. He had specially brought them in.
Guo Haishen was overjoyed. He immediately took the food and wolfed it down.
Xiang Tianjie watched him eat as he lowered his voice,
“This time, we plan to break into the prison to save you. Brother, you have to be more vigilant these days. Be prepared to cooperate with us at any time and kill your way out.”
“I understand.”
Guo Haishen nodded as he chewed on the roasted chicken.
He was not a pedantic person. He knew that if he stayed here, he would sooner or later be controlled by others. He had originally planned to wait for an opportunity to take a gamble. Now that a brother had come to save him, he was naturally not interested in continuing to be imprisoned.
“By the way, if it’s convenient during the prison break, kill the warden of this camp.” Guo Haishen thought of this and said in a deep voice, “Brothers, the warden here actually has the moniker of ‘Little Impermanence’ here. He tortures prisoners for fun and is greedy by nature. If the prisoner doesn’t give him any benefits, they will be punished severely. Countless good men have been crippled by him, leaving him alive is a disaster!”
“That’s simple.” Xiang Tianjie had no objections. He said, “This person just extorted our money with a greedy expression. Clearly, he’s used to doing such things. We can just kill him on the way.”
The few of them chatted for a while and quickly agreed on a specific time to break into the prison.
Because Guo Haishen was in prison and could not help outside, no one discussed the specific plan with him carefully. They planned to discuss it only when they returned.
After Guo Haishen finished his meal, the four of them called for the guard and bade farewell to him.
Just as the four of them walked out of the door, the Warden, who had been waiting at the side, followed them out and stopped in front of their walking path.
“Sir, what can I do for you?”
Li Chun hurriedly went forward to greet him.
The warden chuckled and said slowly,
“I didn’t expect that Guo guy to have a group of good friends like you. I’ll tell you the truth. His crime is actually neither big nor small. It’s just that someone wants to punish him behind the scenes, so I have some connections. If you really want to take care of him, why don’t you take some money and let me help him?”
“Well…”
Li Chun was really a little stunned.
How greedy was this person? Not only did he extort them three times, but he also wanted to squeeze out another huge sum?
This was the kind that would kill a sheep immediately if he caught it instead of rearing it for its wool!
Seeing their hesitation, the warden immediately straightened his face and snorted,
“I’ve already given you face by allowing you to visit him today. Don’t be ungrateful! Take out some money and give it to me. Whether it succeeds or not is another matter. At the very least, I can let that Guo guy work less and eat more every day. Otherwise… Hmph! Don’t blame me for being businesslike and heartless!”
The corners of Li Chun’s mouth twitched as he looked at him deeply.
“Alright, let me go back and gather some money. The next time I come to visit you, I’ll definitely satisfy you!”
Only then did the warden smile and watch the four of them leave.
…
The four of them returned to the inn and met the others who had been biding their time.
Hearing Guo Haishen’s conditions, everyone was indignant.
However, although they were angry, they did not allow their own personal feelings to affect the overall plan.
Xiang Tianjie dipped his finger in the water and quickly drew a simple map on the table.
“The day of the prison break has been set. We have to split our troops into three directions. One is responsible for saving the person, the other is to receive the group in charge of saving. The other is to harass them and cause chaos in the city. Cover our movements and restrain the pursuers from the state capital.”
This plan was basically the standard procedure for the powerhouses of the Green Forest when they conducted a prison break. Everyone present was also familiar with it.
There was nothing much to say about the group in charge of saving and receiving the person. Xiang Tianjie and the other leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold had not stayed here for nothing these past few days. They had long prepared an outline of a plan.
However, there were many choices for this harassment mission. If they did not manage to cause a commotion, it would not have the effect of restraining the officials and guards in the city. It was quite risky.
“The simplest way is to set fire to some buildings in the city. It will definitely cause chaos.” A leader of the Heavenly King Stronghold suggested.
“Or we can make a scene in the city and kill a few officials to attract people to chase after us,” another person said.
Shi Qing chuckled, “Why don’t I steal from the magistrate’s house and scare him? I’ll let him gather the soldiers to protect his own residence, then he won’t have the time to chase after us.”
Everyone spoke one after another, coming up with one idea after another.
At this moment, Li Chun noticed that Zhou Jing had not spoken at all.
“Brother Chen, do you have any suggestions?”
Everyone stopped talking and looked over, curious about the opinion of this “Green Forest Novice”.
Zhou Jing touched his chin and slowly spoke,
“Every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. If you want to cause trouble, make it big! Since it was the local merchant, Jia Haosheng, who harmed Brother Guo, why don’t we kill these big families and burn their businesses! Not only will we cause chaos, but we can also take revenge for Brother Guo and eliminate a scourge for the local people.”
Hearing this, everyone was stunned, their expressions subtle.
Xiang Tianjie couldn’t help but say, “We’ve long had this thought. It’s just that the local rich and powerful have many servants and guards. We’re alone and can’t be provoked easily. If we’re not careful, we might die inside… The most important thing now is to save Brother Guo. Let’s talk about this in the future.”
“If we want to eliminate such a local tycoon, we have to break the state capital itself. It’s impossible with just our own strength.”
Li Chun also shook his head in disagreement.
Zhou Jing looked at Xiang Tianjie and asked, “Among everyone present, only your Heavenly King Stronghold has the ability to break through the state capital. However, your foundation is in the north. Can you cross the states and directly attack An Lin Prefecture?”
“That’s naturally impossible.” Xiang Tianjie waved his hand helplessly.
Zhou Jing nodded and his tone sank,
“In that case, no one can control the local nobles. Even if we save Brother Guo, we can only run away in shame. These big families are still living in the state capital. Nothing will change, but Brother Guo’s suffering will be in vain.
These rich and heartless nobles were used to such a good life. They would never have any regrets, and there was no need to expect them to repent one day. They had colluded with the government, and the law was their protection. They had done evil and earned a lot, while the people had suffered, but these instigators could finally act as if nothing had happened… Everyone said that this was how the world functioned, but what right did they have to say that they could have this privilege?
If we, who have no power or influence, want to eliminate such a complicated local tycoon, can we still count on the government and the law? The only way is to kill the evil! To be willing to cut ourselves up and dare to pull the Emperor down… Violence is the last thing we, who have no power or influence, can rely on to deal with those who are rich and heartless!
“If you don’t dare, I’ll go myself. I’ll do this thing to create chaos. At the same time, I’ll use their dog lives to eliminate the sins they’ve committed in the past!”
These words were violent and fierce, and everyone was moved.
Everyone present was an experienced veteran, but at this moment, they were all shocked by Zhou Jing’s murderous aura.
Death Beckoning Yama… There was really no wrong nickname. This person was so murderous!
Fang Zhen’s face turned red with emotions when he heard this. He slapped his thigh and shouted, “Well said! I’ll go with my brother and cut off the heads of these d*ck and hang them on the city tower!”
Gao Yun’s eyes changed as he slammed the table,
“Yes, why should these d*cks bully us brothers? We don’t dare to provoke them, so we can only endure the humiliation? Since Brother Chen has such pride, even if it’s a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den, I’ll accompany you!”