Chapter 116: Blood Rain and Strong Wind

  Just as Shi Jin stepped onto Yuanbao Street, he could see in the distance that it was submerged in a sea of people. The scattered footsteps behind him made Shi Jin vigilant. Without even turning his head, he knew in his heart that those were not the footsteps of his brothers from Shaohua Mountain, because at this moment, they were all walking in unison behind him. But what he heard now was the sound of dozens of feet behind him, chaotic and disorderly, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

  Shi Jin drew out the already unsheathed knife with a swoosh, and with a loud whoosh of his long arm, the blade cut off the silver-trimmed headscarf on Huang Tianba's head. Along with the headscarf, a bunch of black hair tied up in a knot was also cut off. Just as the black hair floated to the ground, Huang Tianba closed his eyes and furrowed his brow tightly.

  What remains in Huang Tianba's mind is, at this moment, besides the darkness, the last scene that fell into his eyes was a plain blue wine flag hanging from a high wine rack. It was an inconspicuous and somewhat dilapidated wine house, but the fragrance of the wine inside was renowned throughout the city. And all of this now represents only one meaning in Huang Tianba's mind - life is not as good as death.

  Huang Tianba is a dignified person, in Huayin County, even the original evil dog county magistrate has to buy his face everywhere, let alone ordinary people. Anyone who sees him dares not to retreat three steps back. In these decades, he can be said to have gotten whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, and his momentum has been great. But now that Shi Jin has tied him up with five flowers and brought him to Yuanbao Street, and hearing the sound of people clamoring in the distance, it's clear that they want to humiliate me in public. The prestige built over decades has become the biggest obstacle to survival. In a place without outsiders, it's not excessive to do whatever it takes to survive, but in front of people, one can't afford to lose even half a bit of dignity. I'm afraid this life is going to end here, but I, Huang Tianba, since I'm called Tianba, will die with an air of dominance!

  "You take one step forward, and with my next knife strike, I will cut off his..."

  Huang Tianba hadn't even finished thinking in his mind when Shi Jin's cold and menacing threat pierced into his ears. He turned back to look, only to see that the people of Shaohua Mountain had all clenched their fists, with their right hands tightly grasping the handles of their knives, eighty men forming a semicircle, cautiously guarding against the group behind them.

  Huang Tianba gazed into the distance, and that group of people were none other than the Huang family guards who had dispersed earlier due to circumstances. At this moment, each of them was holding their knives upside down, standing far away, with not a hint of expression on their faces, but merely staring blankly at Shi Jin and Huang Tianba, as if these people were all dead men. They stood motionless in place, looking listless.

  But in Shi Jin's eyes, these people were not that simple. Their clothes were indeed the attire of the Huang family guards, but they were probably not the same group of people who had scattered like birds and beasts earlier. Because if they had a mind to protect their master, they would not have let Shi Jin and his men leave earlier in the alley of the Huang family's mansion, where they had the advantage of terrain and momentum. Even if their eldest brother Huang Tianbiao was being held back, he would still be standing far away, looking for an opportunity to break through and rescue his master, just like now. But since they were doing this, Shi Jin could only focus on fighting them.

  Just now, Shi Jin made a move to test their true intentions. Without saying a word, he first cut off Huang Tianba's headscarf with one knife, as a show of threat. But the numb expressions on their faces and their silent attitude were enough to explain everything. However, Shi Jin did not dare to be careless. At this moment, they were already near the intersection, and on the other side of the street corner was where the civilians gathered. If these people had any evil intentions, he feared that the civilians would be mistakenly injured.

  Just as Shi Jin was closely watching the group's every move, Huang Tianba also noticed their trick. In his heart, a chill spread through his heart and spleen, stirring up a hidden pain.

  Huang Tianba hung his head low, slightly shaking it, and then lifted his eyelids to gaze at the thirty or forty people. Although they were standing scattered in the distance, Huang Tianba knew that there must be one person among them, or behind them, otherwise, so many people would not have been able to unify their thoughts so easily. But now he urgently wanted to know who that person was.

  In Huayin County, who can hide so many dissidents in his mansion and use Huang Tianba's own hands to do such a good job of nurturing gold and accumulating sharpness for others? And if there is such a wise person in Huayin County, it would only be him. But now, who is the one secretly taking advantage of this situation, and who is the mastermind behind these people?!

  Huang Tianba thought of himself being supported by others for many years, and he couldn't express his indignation. At this moment, he was not only afraid of the person hiding in the dark, but also more afraid that Shi Jin would see through his current shameful situation and come to mock him. He wanted to cover up this shameful fact, so he couldn't bear to shout loudly at those people: "My life is hanging by a thread, why don't you retreat? If you want to save me, why don't you fight?"

  Those people seemed to be deaf, after hearing this, they didn't kowtow to Huang Tianba and then leave in tears. They also didn't suddenly clench their fists and shout "Follow the master to the Yellow Springs" before charging over with knives drawn. Instead, they stood quietly, standing wearily on the spot, as if a gust of wind could blow them down, each one looking frail and weak, without any backbone.

  "You... you... all of you!" Huang Tianba was so furious that he couldn't get the words out, and with a sudden stomp of his foot, he burst into loud laughter, the sound of which was like that of a madman.

  Shi Jin had seen it early on, now this situation is self-evident, and the performance is even more obvious. This group of people with ill intentions did not come to rescue Huang Tianba. If what was said is true, I'm afraid it's inevitable that there will be a bloody storm, but for now, it's unclear what card they are playing or which direction they are heading in.

  Huang Tianba smiled and took a deep breath, his face flushing red as he faced those people again. He said softly, "Come on!" Just like when he was at home playing with his young son, there was a hint of playfulness, happiness, and a slight glimmer of hope.

  Huang Tianba's voice fell, and he suddenly let out a loud whoop, jumping up from the ground and breaking free from the two young men of Shaohua Mountain who were guarding him. With a swift kick, he launched a fake attack on Shi Jin, then immediately turned and rushed towards the wine shop with its high-flying banner.

  This sudden change was beyond Shi Jin's expectations, and his heart couldn't help but tighten by three points. And Huang Tianba was indeed an old fox, this move perfectly utilized the doubts in Shi Jin's mind at this moment.

  Shi Jin could have subdued Huang Tianba's momentum with just three moves, but he didn't dare to turn around now. In this eerie standoff, turning around might cause some of the Shaohua Mountain disciples who were still standing guard to fall down first. At this moment, Shi Jin didn't know who these people were here for, but Huang Tianba had shifted the responsibility onto his shoulders. Even if they came to kill Huang Tianba, Shi Jin couldn't let them pass.

  At the crossroads under everyone's watchful eyes, Shi Jin found it hard to stand by and let Huang Tianba die on the streets. The people's mouths were as fierce as tigers, and the power of rumors was boundless.

  Just in the blink of an eye, Shi Jin saw through Huang Tianba's plan. Just as he was watching that group of people suddenly having a gust of wind blowing from their sleeves, Shi Jin loudly shouted "Dodge", hastily ordering the disciples of Shaohua Mountain to be on guard.

  As expected, before the words had even fallen, in the next second on this road, those who were previously weak and feeble suddenly soared into the air, shooting out large handfuls of sleeve arrows that shone brightly as they shot towards the crowd...