prynovel Chapter 52 Kidnapping
Chapter 52 Kidnapping
"Xuan Le underestimated her opponent," Jiang Qi said modestly, offering Xiong Kuohai a bowl of rice.
"In martial arts combat, there's no such thing as underestimating your opponent!" Xiong Kuohai waved his hand, spilling most of the wine from his bowl. "A win is a win! A loss is a loss!"
He let out a burp, but abruptly changed the subject, lamenting, "However... this Litong Money Shop is really having a run of bad luck. The small competition just ended yesterday, and now this has happened."
"What happened?" Jiang Qi's heart skipped a beat. Pang Zhan hadn't noticed anything unusual this morning.
"The Righteous Red Gang!" Xiong Kuohai lowered his voice, looked around, and said, "Those bastards are no saints at all! They're Li River bandits!"
You know the River-Turning Crocodile, right? The one who was killed by Lord Ke Jinglan of the Dang Kou Army last month.
But their leader, "Flipping River Dragon," has escaped! This Righteous Red Gang is just a front set up by Flipping River Dragon to cover his tracks, extort money, and kidnap people!
He leaned closer, his breath reeking of alcohol: "Fifth Master and Seventh Master of Litong Money Shop have been kidnapped by Fanjiangjiao's men! They're demanding a ransom of five thousand taels each, ten thousand taels for both of them!"
Master Pang has been kidnapped?!
Jiang Qi paused slightly in his wine bowl, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"The River-Turning Dragon has this ability? Fifth Master Pang and Seventh Master Pang are both in the late stage of the Blood-Burning Realm, and the Pang family has so many experts..." Jiang Qi asked in a deep voice, his mind racing.
"That Kou Jiao was originally a great bandit with nine perfect Qi and blood, otherwise he would have had a hard time escaping from the Dang Kou army."
Xiong Kuohai chuckled and said, "I heard that this time, his strength has increased even further; he's probably... already stepped into the tenth stage of Qi and Blood!"
Ten channels of Qi and Blood!
Jiang Qi's gaze darkened.
My current true qi and blood are comparable to the ten Dao, so I may not be unable to fight.
"With such rampant activity, why hasn't the bandit army made a move?"
"Why not? Commander Ke personally led the team, and all of the Yihong Gang's hideouts in the city were wiped out, and a large number of people were arrested."
Xiong Kuohai shook his head, "But that Jiangjiao is very cunning. It seems that he had planned it all along. Before the Dangkou army took action, he took his core subordinates and the two gentlemen and slipped away."
However, this matter is tricky. The Pang family is afraid of killing the hostage, so they dare not push too hard.
"As for the bandit army, we don't know where the River-Turning Dragon is hiding; we have no way to use our strength."
He took a swig of wine and sneered, "Besides, in my opinion, even if Fanjiangjiao gets the ransom, those two gentlemen... don't have much of a chance of coming back alive."
These bandits are ruthless and rarely leave any survivors.
Where are they hiding?
Jiang Qi felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the leather map from last night.
Black Fish Bay? Reed Marsh?
"Guardian Xiong, I am truly unable to hold my liquor today. How about we call it a night? Tomorrow I will return to the hall to drink with you."
Jiang Qi had lost interest in the banquet. He couldn't stand idly by, as Master Pang had provided him with financial assistance and given him a knife.
Xiong Kuohai shook the nearly empty wine flask and grinned, "Brother Jiang, even if you wanted to drink, it's all gone! Alright, have a good time today."
Tomorrow, I'll have three big jars of strong liquor ready, waiting for you!
He stood up unsteadily, burped a few times, and then strode away.
Once Xiong Kuohai's figure disappeared, the gentleness in Jiang Qi's eyes vanished.
He hurried back to the washroom, took out the leather map, and examined it by the light.
In the northern suburbs, along the Lishui River, at Black Fish Bay, amidst reed marshes.
The two marked locations have complex terrain, making them easy to hide in and also convenient for escaping by water.
It is highly likely that Fanjiangjiao, who was originally a river bandit, is hiding here.
After a moment's thought, Jiang Qi made up his mind.
After changing into black clothes and covering his face with a mask, his figure blended into the night.
But instead of going to those two places, they went to the bandit's military headquarters.
Going into a bandit's den alone to rescue someone is too risky.
The River-Turning Dragon possesses ten streams of qi and blood, indicating it has powerful subordinates and holds hostages in its hands.
To be on the safe side, let the bandit army go first.
......
The Dang Kou Military Headquarters is located in the north-central part of Licheng, adjacent to the City Lord's Mansion.
In the darkness of night, two majestic stone lions stood in front of the government office, and the lanterns under the eaves emitted a dim yellow light, illuminating four armored soldiers standing at the entrance with spears, their solemn aura palpable across the street.
Jiang Qiyin observed for a moment from the shadows on the opposite street corner, then went around to a corner of the side wall.
He took out the leather, exerted his wrist strength, and the map shot out.
"How dare you!" The guards at the gate were alarmed, and several men quickly came running after them amidst the shouts.
Jiang Qi moved like smoke, making several turns before disappearing into the twilight.
Inside the Dang Kou military headquarters, an officer who looked like a squad leader picked up the leather and examined it. After just one glance, his expression changed drastically. Without daring to delay, he immediately ran into the headquarters.
Before long, the main gate of the government office was opened wide, and torches were lit!
Ke Jinglan, clad in black armor and exuding a commanding presence, strode out with a stern expression and a leather map in his hand.
Behind him, more than twenty elite Dang Kou soldiers stood silently in formation, their swords and armor clanging, their killing intent filling the air.
Under the cover of night, Jiang Qi followed silently.
......
Black Fish Bay.
The Li River makes a sharp bend here, forming a river bend covered with dark black aquatic plants, where blackfish often gather, hence the name Blackfish Bay.
Under the moonlight, deep in the river bend, a water fortress can be vaguely seen, with faint lights shining from within.
The main hall of the village was brightly lit.
A burly man, shirtless and revealing strong muscles and covered in ferocious water beast tattoos, sat in the main seat covered with animal skins. He was tearing into a charred and juicy animal leg with one hand and drinking heartily from a wine jar with the other.
He had a rugged face, eyes like copper bells, and a beard like steel needles under his chin. He was clearly a notorious river bandit, the River-Turning Dragon!
To the left and right sat two burly men with imposing presence. One of them had a tanned complexion and a sinister look in his eyes; he was named Ghost Hand Three.
The other man was one-eyed and had a scar on his face; he was called One-Eyed Kui.
Both of them were experts in the Nine Paths of Qi and Blood, and were the right-hand men of the River-Turning Dragon.
Just then, a henchman brought in two sobbing young women: "Brother, we just 'invited' them from a nearby village, you see..."
The drunken Jiang Jiao glanced sideways at the two women's beautiful faces and graceful figures, grinning to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth, and lewdly said:
"Good, take it to the back room. I'll give it to you as a reward after I'm done enjoying myself!"
"Thank you, Brother Xie!" Several leaders in the hall immediately gleamed with lust and thanked him repeatedly.
Flipping River Dragon swallowed a large mouthful of meat, then gulped down half a jar of wine. He wiped his mouth and asked, "Haven't you found Sixth Brother yet?"
Ghost Hand Three glanced at One-Eyed Kui and replied in a low voice, "Brother, the brothers we sent out to search haven't reported back yet. They say something might have happened."
Fan Jiangjiao's face darkened, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. He slammed the wine jar heavily on the table: "Useless thing!"
He then asked, "Has Litong Money Shop replied yet?"
"No, brother..."
"Hmph!" Fan Jiangjiao's face grew even more ferocious. "You're asking for it! San'er, go and take some things from those two 'distinguished guests,' like ears or fingers, and send them to the Pang family!"
Let them know I don't have the patience to waste time with them!
"Alright, big brother!" Ghost Hand Three grinned as he stood up, picked up a bull-ear-shaped dagger, and headed towards the back of the village.
......
In a damp and dark stone cell in the back village, seven or eight people were imprisoned, mostly wealthy people who had been kidnapped or unlucky men who had offended river bandits.
In the innermost room, two people were locked up alone: Fifth Master Pang Yun and Seventh Master Pang Wei.