The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 020 Schadenfreude

The incident happened so suddenly that County Magistrate Fan Zhengren and Clerk Shi Teng had no time to react.

They were talking as they walked leisurely towards the county prison. Just as they reached the vicinity of the prison, they heard a commotion across the street—hurried footsteps mixed with the clanging of metal. Fan Zhengren instinctively turned his head and his expression instantly changed drastically.

Zhou Lun charged straight at him, carrying a long sword, followed by a dozen men, each wielding various weapons, looking menacing.

In an instant, Fan Zhengren's mind went blank, and he was completely terrified. As a scholar and civil official, how could he have ever seen such a scene? He stood there dumbfounded, forgetting even to run.

"Protect the adults!"

The county's newly appointed head constable, Dong Jincheng, was the first to react. He took a step forward... but instead of moving forward, he leaped backward.

He shouted sharply, but his hands pulled hard to the left and right. Before the two constables next to him could react, they were pulled and stumbled involuntarily in the direction Zhou Lun was rushing towards.

Dong Jincheng, however, used this momentum to instantly appear beside Fan Zhengren. He had already drawn the iron ruler from his waist, adopting a posture of loyal protection, and grabbed Fan Zhengren, running wildly towards the county prison gate that was just a stone's throw away without looking back.

Before the two constables who were being pushed out could figure out what was going on, they bumped right into Zhou Lun, who had already arrived in front of them.

Startled, they had no time to react. They stumbled and tried to dodge, but it was too late. They watched helplessly as Zhou Lun, like a tiger descending a mountain, swung his long sword with great force...

"what!"

The two unfortunate men only had time to let out a scream before blood spurted from their chests, and they collapsed to the ground.

"kill!"

Zhou Lun pointed his long sword forward and continued charging forward without stopping.

At that moment, Wang Tieniu and his men caught up. Seeing Zhou Lun kill two constables in one move, he was instantly filled with rage, his face turning bright red.

"Kill them!"

Wang Tieniu roared and charged forward with his weapon. Seeing how brave the two leaders were and how easily the constables could be defeated, the young men behind him grew bolder, shouting battle cries and following Zhou Lun as they charged forward with their weapons.

Although Zhou Lun acted quickly, due to the "obstruction" of the two constables, by the time he dealt with the two guys, Fan Zhengren and his group had already fully realized what was happening.

Dong Jincheng had already dragged Fan Zhengren to the entrance of the county prison, and they were just a few steps away from stepping inside. At this moment, the clerk Shi Teng also came to his senses, his face changed drastically, and he took off running, shouting as he ran, "Traitors! Help! Save us! Block them! Block them!"

Although the constables were terrified of Zhou Lun's ferocious appearance, they had no choice but to resist. The two brothers who had been cut down by Zhou Lun earlier, though not dead, lay on the ground groaning in agony; the bloody scene was right before their eyes. Besides, the county magistrate and the registrar were present, so even if it was just for show, they had to put up a fight.

Several constables gritted their teeth and pulled out the iron rulers they carried, trying to block Zhou Lun and his group's path.

But at this moment, how could they possibly stop Zhou Lun's ferocity?

Leaving aside Zhou Lun's tall stature and immense strength, he was not only skilled in martial arts but had also learned the "Eight Blades of Breaking Peak" in his younger days. His longsword wielded without any fancy moves—simply chopping, parrying, slicing, thrusting, and hacking—yet it was unstoppable. Furthermore, the constables had already lost their courage; even two or three of them combined couldn't withstand Zhou Lun's onslaught from the very first exchange. When Wang Tieniu and the other able-bodied men joined the fray, the situation became even more dire.

Raising his hand, Zhou Lun parried the opponent's iron ruler with a single stroke. With a flick of his wrist, his body moved with the blade, and the long sword in Zhou Lun's hand nimbly spun half a circle before sweeping it horizontally towards the opponent's front.

A scream rang out, the iron ruler in the constable's hand clattered to the ground, his face contorted in pain as he collapsed, rolling and howling. Zhou Lun, however, didn't even glance at him, his feet never faltering as he continued charging forward.

"Quick! Close the door!"

At this moment, Dong Jincheng and Fan Zhengren had already run into the county prison gate. He was panting heavily as he shouted urgently to the two guards at the gate, asking them to quickly help close the gate.

Once the door is closed, they will be safe for the time being. The county jail's doors are very heavy; once the bolt is on, they cannot be broken open by manpower alone without tools. Moreover, there are jailers inside, and the police station is not far away. With such a major incident, it won't be long before constables, police officers, and even soldiers from the city arrive to provide support. As long as they can hold out until reinforcements arrive, everything will be fine.

"Wait for me! Don't close the door! Wait for me!"

Just as Dong Jincheng and his two servants were frantically trying to close the gate, the clerk Shi Teng and his two attendants had already rushed over. Seeing the gate slowly closing, Shi Teng was extremely anxious. He hadn't even gone inside yet; if the gate closed, wouldn't he be left outside?

The murderous figures that appeared out of nowhere behind him were extremely fierce, and the screams of the constables echoed one after another, making Shi Teng's legs go weak with fear. If his attendants hadn't been supporting him as he ran, he would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

If he couldn't get into the county prison, his fate was predictable. Shi Teng was extremely anxious. He shouted at the top of his lungs and gritted his teeth as he ran as fast as he could. He couldn't give up this path to survival no matter what.

Dong Jincheng hesitated as he was closing the door. Although County Magistrate Fan Zhengren had already entered, Shi Teng was still outside. Moreover, as the registrar, Shi Teng was, after all, his superior. What if he closed the door before Dong Jincheng could, and Shi Teng was harmed by these rebels?

But then Dong Jincheng thought again that while Shi Teng was important, his own life was even more important! Besides, as long as he could protect Fan Zhengren, what did the death of a mere clerk matter? If Shi Teng were killed by the thieves outside, it might actually be a good thing for him.

He had protected Magistrate Fan Zhengren and made a great contribution. Perhaps he could take this opportunity to be promoted from a clerk to an official and become a registrar.

Thinking this, Dong Jincheng no longer hesitated. His movements didn't slow down; instead, they quickened. At the same time, he urgently shouted to the servants on the other side, "Quick! Close the door! If we can't stop those thieves, our lives will be in danger!"

"Yes, yes, close the door, close the door quickly!" Fan Zhengren urged anxiously from the side. At this moment, how could he care about Shi Teng? No matter how important Shi Teng was, could he be more important than his own life?

"Damn it! Wait for me! Wait for me!"

As the gate slowly closed, Shi Teng was so anxious that tears almost welled up in his eyes.

He never expected that those two bastards, Fan Zhengren and Dong Jincheng, would not care about his life or death. How could they be like that?

Is this okay?

In his haste, before Shi Teng could even begin to curse, a sudden, powerful force surged from behind. Shi Teng's entire body involuntarily tumbled forward, and along with the two constables supporting him, the three of them rolled on the ground like gourds, landing face-first in the dirt.

The fall left Shi Teng completely disoriented, his vision blurring, and it took him a while to regain his senses. Looking up, he saw a figure had already passed him and was rushing towards the closing door. Without pausing, the figure slammed into the door.

"Bang..."

With a muffled thud, the door that had just closed was suddenly flung open. The door panel sprang inward, revealing Dong Jincheng's utterly astonished face behind it.

"Haha! Hahaha!"

Shi Teng, who had fallen to the ground, was stunned for a moment, then slapped the ground with his right hand and burst into wild laughter.

Serves you right for not waiting for me! Serves you right for planning to lock me out! Now look what's happened, I'm not doing well, and neither are you! The door has been smashed open, and there wasn't even time to put the latch on inside. Without the door blocking your way, where can you run to?

Shi Teng thought gleefully, feeling not the fear he had felt earlier, but rather an indescribable sense of relief and pleasure.

We live together, we die together! You think you can abandon me? No way!

Struggling to sit up from the ground, he stopped running and just stood there watching, a slight smile even on his lips.