Chapter 46: The Nine-Striped Dragon's Desperate Situation (I)

  In this pitch-black room, after a brief whirring of gears, there was a rumbling sound in front of him, and a slit of light suddenly appeared before his eyes, growing wider and wider. Shi Jin was dazzled by the sudden burst of light and could hardly open his eyes, instinctively raising his hand to shield them with great effort.

  In the darkness, he slowly adapted to the brightness of the lamp, and through the gaps between his fingers, he squinted his eyes and took a clear look inside. It turned out that the person had manipulated some mechanism, revealing a hidden compartment with a secret room inside. The person placed Shi Jin on the bed in the secret room, helped him lie down, then quickly walked to the front of the bed, tightly grasping the long brass lamp post, and with a twist, a series of creaking sounds were heard as the door slowly closed.

  Shi Jin kept staring at his back, wearing a gray short robe, with a cyan scarf tied on his head, his figure slightly hunched, as if he had seen him somewhere before... Just now, when the officer was about to turn around, Shi Jin's eyes were fixed on him, and his heart almost stopped beating. He closed his eyes, ready to die, but suddenly a pair of warm hands appeared out of nowhere, and he was lifted up by the waist and carried into the alley. When they flashed past the door, the officer arrived just in time. If they had been one beat slower, the consequences would have been unthinkable. But when Shi Jin leaned against the door panel and got very close to the man, there was a faint scent of medicine on his body. Could it be that he was... The man turned around after twisting the lamp post and rubbing his hands together.

  As expected, Shi Jin's eyes lit up as soon as he took a glance, and he hastily exclaimed: "You are... Lí Bǎi Cǎo!"

  Li Baicao nodded at Shi Jin and hastily went to fetch hot water, placing it in front of the bed while speaking with Shi Jin: "Master, what's going on outside? The more I look, the more confused I become."

  Shi Jin licked his dry, cracked and bleeding lips, and now had a smile on his face as he said: "If they can't figure it out, that's even better. We just need to let them fight among themselves first, then we'll reap the benefits."

  Li Baicao brought over a small, brown earthenware jar at a quick pace, rolled up his sleeves, and forcibly opened the lid of the jar. Shi Jin immediately smelled a pungent medicinal smell and couldn't help but turn his head to see what he was doing. Li Baicao tilted the jar and poured out a dark red liquid that dissolved in the water as soon as it entered, like a cloud of mist spreading out in the water. Li Baicao felt that the amount was sufficient, then resealed the jar, carefully holding it with both hands, and placed it steadily on one side. Shi Jin took one look and knew that he didn't know what was inside the jar, but to Li Baicao, it must be a treasure.

  At this time, Li Bai Cao had personally taken the medicine and evened it out. He placed a towel in the scalding hot water, his two thin hands covered with white scars. At this moment, he was wringing out the towel with force, carefully cleaning the wounds around Shi Jin's head to toe.

  Li Bai Cao wiped his face with one hand and sighed painfully with the other: "Master of the house, why did you have to make it like this..."

  Shi Jin smiled and said: "It's not that I wanted it to be like this, but really, my luck is very bad. That old heaven has blinded its eyes, letting me..."

  Shi Jin hadn't finished speaking when Li Baicao gently pressed her lips against his, and Shi Jin fell silent.

  Li Bai Cao carefully cleaned the bloodstains on his right shoulder and said, "Master, we can't say such irreverent words to heaven and earth. Actually, the heavens still favor you."

  "What's the point of being so infatuated with me? I was alone and trapped in the formation, and it wasn't easy to catch a horse, but that beast pulled my tendons and bones. Alas...my life is good up to this point, truly there's nothing to say to heaven." Shi Jin stared blankly at the top of the bed, muttering to himself.

  Li Beicao rinsed the blood-stained towel in the medicine and then hung it up to dry. Then, continuing Shi Jin's words, he said: "This is just what you thought, Master. You think so, but there are many streets and alleys in Huayin County. If that horse had dragged you into another alley or thrown you off earlier or later, what would have happened? But it just so happens to be right at our own back door, isn't this heaven secretly helping you?"

  After listening to Li Bai Cao say this, eh, it really is like that.

  Shi Jin thought again in his heart, the same thing, with different focuses and ways of speaking, the meaning heard is also different.

  At this point, Shi Jin's mind turned quickly. In combination with the fact that he was in Huayin County, Shi Jin couldn't help but think about it. He really didn't know what that dog county magistrate said about Shi Jin, how he spoke of Mount Shaohua. With what kind of flowery language did he express his unmentionable goals, what kind of grandiose words would he use to mislead the people, these were all unknown to Shi Jin. In Huayin County, Shi Jin had no right to speak, and could only watch as that dog official spouted nonsense. If he said Shi Jin was human, then the people thought him human; if he said Shi Jin was a ghost, then the people wouldn't refute it. Therefore, at this moment, Shi Jin wanted to take down Huayin County, and first realized the importance of having the right to speak. As the saying goes, "people's words are to be feared", it is precisely this principle.

  Today Shi Jin made a big fuss in Huayin County, and the strength of Huayin County has weakened. At this moment, taking down this city is not difficult for Shi Jin. However, since Shi Jin was scolded by Zhong Guoliang that night, his mind has broadened, and "taking it down" is no longer a rough way of armed seizure of power. If Shi Jin takes down the city now, he will be inviting the siege of several routes of the Song Dynasty's army, which would be too much for his family's village, Shaohua Mountain, and Huayin County to withstand the iron cavalry.

  But Shi Jin wanted to take down the world, this first step not only had to be taken steadily, but also well and wonderfully. As the saying goes, "those who gain the people's heart will gain the world", Shi Jin suddenly thought of getting Lu Zhi that night, the first step was to make such a move.

  But at present, no one would believe the words of a rebel, although Liu County Lieutenant is dead, but it won't be long before the imperial court sends someone again. With control over the discourse power of Huayin County, I can control Huayin County for my own use. But how to grasp the discourse power of Huayin County for a long time, Shi Jin lay on this bed, but couldn't think of a way for the time being, thinking left and right, it seems that we still have to wait until we return to ShaoHuashan to see the brothers again before making considerations.

  "Hiss——" Just as Shi Jin thought of this, a sharp pain suddenly came from his right shoulder. Shi Jin was startled and couldn't bear the intense pain, taking a deep breath of cold air.

  "Don't move, don't move... bear with it for a moment, just a moment." Li Baicao was carefully applying a small dish of crimson sauce to Shi Jin's shoulder wound.

  Shi Jin looked at Li Bai Cao's hand and suddenly felt a shock in his heart, asking: "What...what's going on?"