Chapter 00110: Taking a Prisoner Back
# Taking a Prisoner Back
Chapter 110
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 110: Taking a Prisoner Back
With the backing of the soldiers, He Lingchuan had initially felt at ease when facing the fat man.
But now, something felt off.
Unlike small villages, towns often had wealthy landowners who would fund and train local militias, especially in turbulent times when such armed forces were necessary.
The fact that these bandits had managed to take over a town suggested they had a significant numerical advantage.
If the fat man lied about one thing, he could lie about everything.
He Lingchuan stuffed the flatbread back into the fat man's mouth, opened his shirt, and used a dagger to carve a cross over his heart.
Blood immediately gushed out, flowing quickly.
The fat man let out a muffled cry of pain, his face contorted, and his throat made gurgling sounds.
Next, He Lingchuan handed the dagger to Madam Zhu and guided her to press the blade tip into the cross.
"Hold it steady. One more inch, and he's dead."
Madam Zhu hesitated for a moment before gripping the dagger with both hands.
"If you shout, she stabs your heart. If you answer carelessly, she stabs your heart," He Lingchuan said, patting the fat man's shoulder.
"She hates you to the core. It's best not to test her. Understood?"
The fat man nodded cautiously.
"Let's play a game called 'Race Against Time,'" He Lingchuan said with a smile.
"If you answer all my questions before you bleed out, I'll stop the bleeding and spare your life. How about that?"
The fat man nodded much faster this time.
He Lingchuan nodded in satisfaction.
Just a few months ago, he wouldn't have been capable of such ruthlessness.
But after several life-and-death battles, he had come to understand one thing: showing mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself, especially when the enemy's malice remains unextinguished.
He removed the flatbread and asked, "Which town do you still have people in?"
"Qianteng... Town."
"How many people?" He Lingchuan frowned.
"Can't you be more proactive? Do I have to ask every question like you're a puppet?"
The fat man struggled to speak.
"We took the town two days ago. There are still two hundred men there."
So the bandits numbered around four to five hundred in total? "Ordinary bandits don't have such numbers. Where are you from?"
"Hongchuan!" the fat man answered.
"Our hometown was flooded, and there was no money to be made there anymore. So we decided to move elsewhere."
"Here?" He Lingchuan turned to Madam Zhu.
"Is this place rich? What's the population like?"
Madam Zhu shook her head.
"The land isn't fertile, and there aren't many people."
The fat man quickly added, "We're just passing through! Boss Lu plans to head further south!"
Bandits passing through were the most ruthless, as they only planned to strike once.
As they spoke, a commotion broke out outside.
He Lingchuan turned to one of his guards.
"Go see what's happening."
The guard went out and soon returned to report, "There's a sudden surge of fish in the lake, washing up on the shore. The ground is now covered with flopping fish."
"Fish?" He Lingchuan was taken aback by the answer.
But at that moment, hurried footsteps echoed outside, accompanied by the crunch of shoes on gravel and mud.
From the sound of it, there were at least a dozen people.
Had the fat man's reinforcements arrived? The four of them tensed up.
He Lingchuan's hand went to the hilt of his sword as he pointed at the fat man.
"Drag him into the inner room."
Fortunately, the footsteps passed by the door without stopping.
The entire eastern part of the village seemed to be filled with such footsteps.
He Lingchuan couldn't resist opening the door to look outside.
He saw a large group of soldiers running quickly and beckoned the nearest one over.
"What's going on?"
"We're fighting with the villagers! The prefect is also at the west side of the lake!"
They were already fighting? He Lingchuan was shocked.
"Is my father alright?"
"I don't know. Three whistles were blown, summoning us to reinforce them."
The whistles were the Blackwater City Army's rallying call, with different signals indicating different commands.
He Lingchuan closed the door and turned back.
His guard asked, "Should we go help?"
"Wait, hold on!" He Lingchuan's mind raced.
He wasn't at the lake, so he didn't know how the fight had started.
But starting a battle now was undoubtedly too early, unless his father had seized an opportunity... or Boss Lu had.
To put it coldly, He Lingchuan wasn't the leader of the guard unit.
Even if he rushed over now, he wouldn't be able to control the situation or turn the tide.
What else could he do?
A dozen ideas popped into his head, but he dismissed them one by one.
Finally, He Lingchuan sent another guard to the west side of the village.
A short while later, the guard returned, panting.
"The prefect has made peace with the other side."
"Is he injured?"
"No."
"Are there any bandits outside the house?" He Lingchuan was already forming a plan.
"None. They've all gone to the lake."
He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. Go help in the inner room."
The three of them entered the inner room, where the fat man was being held under Madam Zhu's watch.
The wound on his chest had been roughly treated and had stopped bleeding.
The fat man was still gagged, his face pale, but otherwise unharmed.
"Take him to my father's place."
The three of them lifted the fat man and, before leaving, glanced around.
The area was indeed empty.
Both the bandits and the soldiers were now gathered at the lake.
They quickly escorted the fat man toward He Chunhua's residence.
Just a quarter of an hour ago, this area had been swarming with bandit spies.
How could they have openly transported a prisoner? Fortunately, with the fight breaking out, both sides' attention had been diverted, allowing He Lingchuan to seize the opportunity to take the fat man back.
Good things never come easy.
When they were about forty or fifty steps away from their destination, a door to a nearby house suddenly opened, and a woman peeked out.
She seemed to be checking the surroundings but immediately spotted He Lingchuan and his group escorting the fat man, with Madam Zhu in tow.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Of course, Madam Zhu saw her too.
The woman froze for a moment, then pulled her head back and tried to close the door.
Madam Zhu rushed forward and pushed the door open, preventing her from shutting it.
The woman cried, "You can't do this! You're going to get us killed!"
Madam Zhu gritted her teeth.
"Come with us, or I'll kill you!" She feared the woman would report them to the bandits.
"Are you insane? The soldiers won't stay!" the woman shouted.
"Once the soldiers leave, the bandits will still be here!"
As the two struggled, the guard turned to He Lingchuan.
"Young Master?"
He Lingchuan whispered, "Go help!"
The guard rushed forward to assist Madam Zhu in pulling the woman out.
Terrified, the woman let out a piercing scream, "Help!"
Madam Zhu immediately let go and stepped back.
"Forget it!"
"Forget it?" He Lingchuan repeated.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Madam Zhu's eyes shifted from confusion to determination.
"Let's go!"
The four of them ignored the woman and continued escorting the fat man.
The wooden door closed, and the woman's screams ceased.
From there, they encountered no further obstacles.
No more villagers appeared, even though they had clearly heard the woman's loud cries.
(End of Chapter)