Chapter 286
Chapter 286
In Shen Lang's eyes, the tigress Ning Yan was somewhat cute, but to ordinary people, she wasn't cute at all—she was a nuisance. In her world, others had to yield to her; she had never in her life made way for anyone else. So, she truly let the reins go and spurred her horse on, intending to collide with the person in front of her. The horse she rode was a massive, valiant steed, a swift thousand-league horse.
Big Dummy, for his part, had never dodged anything coming his way in his life. Once, when a great tiger charged at him on the back mountain of Fengye Village, he didn't dodge. So now, too, he just stood there foolishly.
“This fool is looking to die!”
Ning Yan roared. She thought Big Dummy was provoking her and spurred her warhorse to go even faster. Everyone around them closed their eyes, as if they couldn't bear to watch what would happen next. They all thought the tall fool would surely be sent flying by the horse, then spit blood, his bones broken, and die a miserable death. It was truly a pity. None of them had ever seen someone so tall and large in their lives. But no matter how massive a man he was, he wouldn't be able to withstand a collision with a warhorse.
“Ah!”
Everyone covered their eyes, and the tigress let out a low scream. This was the first time she had ever hit someone with her horse, so she couldn't help but feel flustered inside. At the critical moment, she hastily pulled on the reins, trying to stop the collision. She wasn't as vicious as she imagined herself to be, but it was too late to pull the reins now.
Crash!
A loud sound echoed as Princess Ning Yan's warhorse slammed fiercely into Big Dummy with astonishing force and momentum.
‘Is he dead? I feel a little regretful. Why did I do such a thing?’
But the scene that followed left everyone stunned and speechless. The tall fool was unharmed. He had quickly squatted down, grabbed the horse's legs with both hands, and lifted with all his might. That massive thousand-league horse weighed well over a thousand catties. The big-butted princess was about 175 centimeters tall, so she would weigh around one hundred and twenty catties. The combined weight of the horse and her was quite significant—no, extremely heavy. But both horse and rider were mercilessly lifted by Big Dummy.
The thousand-league horse whinnied loudly, its upper body lifted into the air while its hind hooves remained on the ground, struggling desperately and kicking wildly. But no matter how much the horse thrashed, it couldn't break free from Big Dummy's grip. Everyone gasped in astonishment.
‘Incredible. I've never seen a giant with such superhuman strength.’
“Such a bold assassin! How dare you attack the princess! Kill him!”
At that, dozens of Princess Ning Yan's warriors rushed forward, surrounding Big Dummy in layers. Dozens of swords were pointed at his neck. Princess Ning Yan was first inwardly relieved that the man wasn't dead, but then she flared up in anger.
‘This tall fool blocked my path and even lifted my horse? This is a provocation. He's provoking me!’
And so, she drew her sword fiercely, intending to slash at Big Dummy's arm. Her target was his arm, not his neck.
Big Dummy ignored the dense ring of swords around him and looked at Ning Yan.
“Do you know Little Dummy? Do you know where his house is?”
Ning Yan was taken aback and asked,
“Aren't you the dummy?”
Big Dummy shook his head.
“No. I am Big Dummy. Shen Lang is Little Dummy.”
At that moment, Ning Yan quickly sheathed her sword.
“You… you know Shen Lang?”
Big Dummy nodded.
“Yes. I came to find him. Do you know where his house is?”
“What is your relationship with Shen Lang?”
“I'm Big Dummy, and he's Little Dummy, isn't he?”
The big-butted princess was puzzled.
‘Shen Lang is more cunning than a monkey. How could he have a dummy like you as a brother?’
But, big-butt, you should think about it. What kind of people does Shen Lang like to befriend? He likes to befriend dummies. Ning Yan, do you think you're much smarter than Big Dummy? Shen Lang went to great lengths to befriend you and become your brother precisely because you have big breasts and a simple mind. Not only does he consider you a brother, but he also secretly harbors a simmering desire to sleep with you.
Of course, the tigress was completely unaware of all this. All she knew was that Shen Lang had cured her illness and given her a new lease on life. Besides, he was a very interesting person, so from the day he cured her, Shen Lang had been Ning Yan's brother.
“Enough. Sheathe your swords. This dummy is one of us.”
At Princess Ning Yan's command, the dozens of warriors sheathed their swords.
“Dummy, I'll take you to Shen Lang's house.”
“Okay! I'm Big Dummy, not just Dummy.”
A female warrior beside her spoke up.
“Your Highness, Young Master Yun Mengze, the imperial envoy, will be waiting for you to race horses. He has been waiting at the racecourse for quite some time.”
“Tell that piece of trash to keep waiting. Isn't he a stud horse anyway? If he gets too bored waiting, tell him to go play with the other horses.”
Hearing this, all the female warriors were left speechless. Ning Yan looked at Big Dummy and said,
“Dummy, put the horse down! It's a mare. With you holding it up like that, what exactly are you trying to see?”
This tigress, as if it were only natural for her to be someone's brother, constantly spouted vulgar jokes. But Big Dummy didn't understand her words at all; he didn't even know the difference between a mare and a stallion. He put the warhorse down. Princess Ning Yan had originally intended to have one of her riders dismount and give Big Dummy a horse. But with his height and build, she figured even a warhorse would struggle to carry him.
“Big Dummy, you run behind me.”
“Mm, okay!”
Princess Ning Yan turned her horse and rode back into the city, heading for the Jin Clan's villa. The big-butted princess had a habit of racing her horse at full speed, and once she got going, she enjoyed the ride without a care for anyone else. Therefore, her thousand-league horse galloped faster and faster, paying no mind to Big Dummy. The warhorses her warriors rode were not as magnificent as her thousand-league horse, so in a short time, they were left far behind her. Fortunately, she was heading down Xuanwu Avenue, where there could be no assassins.
Only after riding like a madwoman for a good while did Princess Ning Yan remember that the tall fool was following her. When she looked back, she saw Big Dummy grinning at her with his mouth wide open, less than three chi away. Princess Ning Yan was dumbfounded at that moment.
‘What kind of body does this tall fool have? Not only is he strong, but he's also fast? I know your legs are long, but you're too fast even for that. I'm riding a thousand-league horse. I've galloped for several li, yet you're not only keeping up effortlessly, but you look like you could go even faster?’
A short while later, Princess Ning Yan and Big Dummy arrived at the Jin Clan's villa. Big Dummy excitedly bounded inside.
“Little Dummy, I'm here, I'm here! I haven't seen you in half a year, and I missed you so much. Master just left me at the capital's entrance to run an errand, so I came to find you myself. Master said he found a bride for me and told me to go on a blind date. What's a blind date? Master told me to have a duel with Grandmaster Ning Jue's disciple, but who is Ning Jue? Little Dummy, Little Dummy!”
Big Dummy was extremely excited. For the past half year, the person he had missed the most was Little Dummy, Shen Lang. Now that he was finally about to see him, he shouted in delight as he rushed into the Jin villa. Unfortunately, Shen Lang wasn't home. Only the beautiful Xiao Bing, who was halfway to being the lady of the house, was there. She was still awake, embroidering Shen Lang's clothes. This lustful wench was too excited at the thought of sleeping with her master tonight to feel the need for sleep.
When she saw Big Dummy, she was first startled, then she glared at him. Instead of being happy to see an old friend, she paid him no mind at all. This girl was a young snob. After becoming Shen Lang's woman, the only people in her eyes were Shen Lang and Mulan; she didn't even care about Jin Mucong, let alone Big Dummy. In her eyes, Big Dummy was just a tall fool and an idiot who freeloaded off his friend. Her master hadn't abandoned his poor old friends even after becoming wealthy, but someone like Xiao Bing would have long since disowned even her poor relatives and cut all ties.
***
The Manyeon County Office.
Magistrate Wang Jiegua of Manyeon was not in a position to know secrets like who was behind the burning of the ancestral temple. In truth, only the King, Su Nan, and Su Jianting knew the facts, and the Su Clan would never expose them. When even the King, knowing the true culprit, wasn't pursuing the matter, wouldn't it be shameful for the Su Clan to reveal the secret to the public? Even if they could expose the secret to make Shen Lang pay for his crime, if the story got out, the world would only think, ‘Shen Lang single-handedly outsmarted the Su Clan!’ and admire him for it. Besides, the most crucial point was that the one who initially carried out the burning of the ancestral temple was Princess Ning Yan. How could they possibly hold her accountable?
When Wang Jiegua heard that Shen Lang had come with warriors to take Jin Mucong back, he was first surprised, then overjoyed.
‘Shen Lang, you are too audacious. Do you think this is Xuanwu City? This is the capital! How dare you come to a county office in the capital and try to snatch a prisoner from the jail? You're courting death. Not even the Count of Xuanwu will be able to save you, and neither will that fool, the Fifth Prince.’
Wang Jiegua looked at Mrs. Jin and said,
“I'll have a carriage prepared for you. You and your husband are to go out of the city at once to the fields and catch some leeches.”
Mrs. Jin sprang up excitedly and said,
“There's no need to go to the fields outside the city. The pond behind the county office here is full of leeches. I'll take some people and catch a full bowl right away.”
Magistrate Wang Jiegua was appalled by her.
‘This woman is truly vicious. It seems she had already thought of this cruel punishment and even scouted out a location for the leeches beforehand.’
“Go!”
At Wang Jiegua's command, Mrs. Jin took a towel, squatted down to wipe herself, then dressed herself seductively and went to the pond to catch leeches with a swaying gait. This woman was too seductive for her own good. Wang Jiegua felt that even with his impressive physique and stamina, he had a hard time keeping up with her. Last night, during the blood-drop paternity test, he had thought Shen Lang had pulled some trick, but now it seemed highly likely that the gang leader's wife had been unfaithful in the past.
“I'll sleep with her just ten times, then cut ties immediately. No, let's make it fifteen! Hmm, maybe twenty?”
Magistrate Wang Jiegua changed into his official robes, took a deep breath, and then shouted in a furious voice,
“Men! Assemble all the troops to face the group attempting to free the prisoner. Immediately notify the Manyeon County Chiliarchy and request reinforcements at once.”
In reality, Shen Lang had only brought a few dozen warriors, and he had deliberately asked Eunuch Lü Jun to stay inside the sedan chair. And Thirteen was causing a commotion outside.
Bang!
With a loud bang, the gates of the Manyeon County Office flew open, and a hundred bailiffs rushed out from inside to confront the dozens of warriors led by Shen Lang.