Chapter 75: The Cruel Merchant Borrows a Knife to Kill (I)

  "Hahaha——!" Kong Ru heard his words and laughed, saying extremely disdainfully: "Those thieves, surrounded by government troops, cut off from food and water, can't hold on for much longer before the city is breached. Since you said you could take care of it, then you should go to the city gate now to help them out. Otherwise, in a few more days they'll starve to death... Oh, I get it, you want to take care of their funeral arrangements! Hahaha, well, you've come to the right person. I, Kong, have always been a kind and generous person. I see that you still have some skills, as long as you follow me honestly, today's matter will be written off, and we have plenty of money. You can bury whoever you want."

  "Mr. Kong, your kindness is truly moving heaven and earth! I'd like to thank you on behalf of the brothers of Mount Liusha!" Shi Jin said with a bow, continuing: "However, Mr. Kong, I didn't come here today to ask for your sponsorship for coffins, but to tell you something!"

  "Oh? Please go on, I'm all ears!" Kong Rong put on a pretentious air of respect, tilting his head to gaze at Shi Jin with a hint of a sly smile.

  Shi Jin pointed at Kong Rong with one hand, strolling around him in a leisurely manner while saying in a stern tone: "Old Master Kong, you must be vigilant at all times about what you can and cannot do, who you are and who you cannot be!"

  "Oh——! Such profound truth, it really made Confucius feel deeply enlightened! Enlightened! So dare to ask this learned young man, since you know this truth, do you now know what you can't do? Do you know who you are and who I am?" Confucius said with a sarcastic laugh.

  Shi Jin stood before Kong Rong and the two men locked eyes. Shi Jin said slowly, "I certainly know who I am, and who you are!"

  Kong Ruo's smile gradually faded from his face, clearly having no patience to play with Shi Jin anymore. His expression changed, and he pointed at the space between himself and Shi Jin, saying viciously: "The distance between us is not just three steps apart, but life and death! If I want you to live, even if you're in agony, you won't die; if I want you to die, even if you cling to life, you won't survive! You should know..."

  Shi Jin didn't wait for him to finish, raised his hand and blew a whistle. Suddenly, more than 100 people appeared on the four sides of Kong's dye house, each drawing their bows and arrows, with curved knives at their waists.

  This sudden turn of events made everyone present lose their smile, and even the arrogant Huang Erlang was suddenly frightened out of his wits, standing in place with a stunned expression, his greedy and timid heart began to erode his last bit of willpower, and his legs also involuntarily trembled slightly.

  Kong Ru's heart was also shocked, and the light contemptuous gaze on his face was like shattered ice shards, awkwardly condensing on his face, slowly falling off without reservation. Kong Ru thought back to the previous dialogue, re-savoring Shi Jin's words, only then did he taste a new flavor. But regret came too late, however, Kong Ru still had an ace up his sleeve, and since this card hadn't been played yet, he wouldn't panic in his heart.

  "Boss Kong, you and I are indeed separated by life and death. You're a clever man, so you must have guessed who I am and what I'm here for. Let's not waste any more time." Shi Jin looked at Kong Ru with a hint of a smile, seeing his eyes slightly trembling, knowing that he was struggling intensely in his heart. He continued: "As you said earlier, now it's my turn to say it back to you! I think you still have some 'capital', as long as you follow me sincerely, everything can be discussed, and everything is fine!"

  Kong Ruo glanced at the archers on the three-sided house, and the arrows that flickered in the lamplight made him feel a little apprehensive. But so many years of doing business in both the black and white ways had also given him his own set of methods. He forced himself to calm down and carefully pondered Shi Jin's intentions.

  At this moment, Kong Ruo already knew that the young man who was pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger was actually Shi Jin, the one from the rumors. What he wanted was just water and food. The water was in this well, but the food only he himself knew about. For now, the importance of grain for defending the city could almost determine victory or defeat. In other words, as long as the grain was in his hands, Shi Jin was still in control, and these bandits had no way to deal with Kong Ruo.

  Kong Ruzi's mind was at ease, and he no longer looked as frightened by the numerous arrows on the roof. A smug expression reappeared on his face. Kong Ruzi walked up to Shi Jing and patted him on the shoulder, saying with a carefree tone: "What's good to talk about? How are we going to discuss it?"

  "Hasn't it become obvious enough by now?" Shi Jin crossed his arms over his chest, casting a glance at the eaves of the house, the implication of which was self-evident.

  Kong Ru's mouth twitched, and he burst out laughing: "You're a complete idiot, a bandit with no brains. The current situation hasn't reached the point where I need to beg you... You understand what that means..."

  "You're just a businessman, only thinking about money and profit. You want to use this to blackmail us? That's really shameless! We're more professional than that!" Shi Jin said, waving his hand.

  A dozen or so sturdy men suddenly jumped down from the roof, and the leader was none other than Golden Footboard. It turned out that when Shi Jin was teasing those dozen or so thugs, he had already harbored the intention of destroying the Huang family's power. Not only did he want to eliminate the Huang family's influence, but also wanted to take this opportunity to re-establish the prestige of Shaohua Mountain. Gu Er conveniently made a secret gesture to Golden Footboard to gather his men and come over, but unexpectedly Kong Ru arrived, and Shi Jin quickly changed his plan and used it to greet him instead.

  At this moment, Jin Jie received Shi Jin's instructions, and more than a dozen good men drew their knives in hand. Taking advantage of the suppression by the archers on the roof, they also showed their usual ferocious appearance when robbing on the road. They dominated the scene with their feet kicking horizontally and vertically, quickly disabling Huang's henchmen, making them beg for mercy one by one.

  Jin Jiaoban swaggered in front of Huang Erlang, saw his frightened appearance, and looked down on him even more. He lightly tapped the back of Huang Erlang's neck with the back of his knife, scaring him so much that he wet his pants.

  "Know what this thing is?" he growled in a low voice.

  "Know... know... is... knife" Huang Erlang felt the back of the knife knocking against his neck, cool and cool, and his last will also collapsed.

  Jin Jieban shook his head, continuing with a tone of great regret: "This is what they call discipline! Unfortunately, you didn't get it right..." As he spoke, the man beside Jin Jieban swung his wooden sword with great force.

  "Ah! Spare my life! Spare my life... This is what they mean by 'rules'! A hero spares lives, I'll remember that..."

  Jin Jieban patted his head with the blade and said fiercely: "Just remembering is not enough, you must also be mindful!"

  "Be careful! Little one must be careful! Good fellow, don't kill me... Don't kill me."

  Jin Jieban's words thoroughly frightened the greedy and timid Huang Erlang. Jin Jieban gave a signal to his brothers, and immediately someone came forward and tightly bound Huang Erlang. Jin Jieban wrapped his arm around Huang's neck and said slowly: "You'd better behave, come on, earlier you were so arrogant, now it's time for you to recognize the master of Shao Hua Mountain."

  Saying that, Jin Jiabang forcibly turned Huang Erlang's face to face Shi Jin, and continued: "This is my big brother, you can take a closer look, his real name is Shi Jin, nicknamed Grandpa, do you know how to address him now?"

  "Ah... oh no!" Huang Erlang was punched on the head by Jin Jiaoban, seeing stars everywhere, and realized he had misspoken. He quickly corrected himself: "Grandfather, Shi Grandfather!"

  "Ah! That's right!" Golden Lotus said, pulling him to the front of his elder brother Shi Jing, and respectfully said: "Elder brother, I've brought the person here for you. Whether to kill or to punish, it's up to you!"