198 Fighting Evil with Evil
At night, Li Yu wore a dark green shirt and pants. She jumped out of her courtyard wall and went to the Zou family on West Street. She walked from the alley beside the Zou family to the backyard of the Zou family. Then she stepped onto the courtyard wall and jumped into the Zou family’s courtyard.
Standing at the foot of the courtyard wall, she saw a faint yellow light coming from the window paper of the main room on the left. He walked to the door of the main room, took out a thin knife, and opened the door latch.
After entering the room, he saw that the doors on both sides of the hall were open. She stuck her head out and looked at the oil lamp on the left. There was a man lying on the bed with gauze wrapped around his eyes. It was Zou Zude. He looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was fat and had an ugly face. On the right was Old Woman Tong, who had a sallow and mean countenance
Li Yu lit the incense and inserted it into the room before turning around to go out. She sat under the eaves of the porch for a while. Then she went to the kitchen to wet the cloth covering her face and went to Zou Zude’s room. She extinguished the incense and opened the window. She tied Zou Zude up with a rope and gagged him. She took out her dagger and grabbed Zou Zude’s foot and severed his hamstring. Zou Zude shook with pain. After she severed the other hamstring, Zou Zude’s head lolled and he fainted.
After Li Yu cut off the tendons in his hands, she untied the rope and the rag that covered his mouth. She did the same with the old woman. She tied the old woman up and cut off the tendons in her hands and feet. She used their blood to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui, the deity vanquisher of evil beings, on the wall before climbing over the wall and going home to sleep.
At midnight that day, Zhou Jia, Shen Wu, and Ruyi had already brought their people to the Green Dragon Stronghold.
Ruyi, Shen Wu, and the soldiers disguised as bandits led the mules carrying gravel and straw to the stone wall. The bandit on duty behind the stone wall shouted, “A plate of pig head meat.”
Ruyi replied, “Tiger Head Stronghold robbed it.” The mountain bandits inside came out with a smile. “Have you sent the food back?”
Ruyi and Shen Wu walked toward the bandits with the mule. “Yes! We’re finally back! I’m exhausted!”
The two bandits raised their torches. One of them looked at the sack on their backs and the other looked at Ruyi and said in confusion, “I don’t think I know you.”
Before he could finish speaking, Ruyi and Shen Wu cut his throat. Ruyi and Shen Wu dealt with the two mountain bandits guarding the corner. They led the mule and continued up the stone steps. Zhou Jia raised the crossbow and followed the two of them up the mountain.
The soldiers who followed him up the mountain carried crossbows and machetes.
In the middle of the night, the bandits on the mountain fell into a deep sleep. Before they could recover, they were gently laid down by Ruyi and Shen Wu.
After dealing with the mountain bandits on sentry duty, Shen Wu gestured to the back. The soldiers stood in front of the cave in batches. When all the soldiers were standing in front of the cave, Shen Wu waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to enter with crossbows and machetes. Wails and sounds of killing rang out in the cave. For a moment, blood and flesh flew everywhere. The Green Dragon Stronghold had become a battlefield.
Ruyi and Shen Wu dealt with the bandits guarding the entrance of Zuo Qing’s cave. They didn’t expect there to be bandits guarding inside. The sound of fighting woke up Zuo Qing, who was sleeping soundly with his concubine in his arms. Zuo Qing knew that something was wrong. He turned around, picked up the two sabers by the bed, and jumped up to fight Ruyi, who had rushed in.
After Zhou Jia shot down a few bandits with the crossbow, he pulled out his machete and started fighting with the bandits. One of the bandits raised his saber and slashed at Zhou Jia’s back, but he was kicked away by Shen Wu and stabbed into his chest.
Ruyi and Zuo Qing were locked in a battle. Zuo Qing raised his two daggers and slashed at Ruyi’s head. After Ruyi blocked it with his saber, Zuo Qing slashed at Ruyi’s neck with his other dagger. Ruyi’s throat was about to be cut open.
Zhou Jia activated the sleeve arrow, and it flew out and hit the steel knife in Zuo Qing’s hand. Zhou Jia shot out the sleeve arrow one after another. Ruyi took advantage of Zuo Qing’s fatigue to cut open his back. Zuo Qing swayed and fell to the ground.
Half an hour later, the battle ended. Everyone began to clean up the battlefield, capturing more than 30 bandits and more than ten wives and concubines of Zuo Qing and the others.
In the two-on-one battle, some of the soldiers Shen Wu brought with him were seriously injured and more than ten were lightly injured. Shen Wu and Zhou Jia took out more than ten boxes of gold, silver, and jewelry from the dark hole in Zuo Qing’s cave. There were also more than a hundred stones of food, cloth, and wine in the storeroom.
After the search was over, Shen Wu put his arm around Zhou Jia’s shoulder and pointed at the gold, silver, jewelry, and property deeds. He said, “Brother Zhou, we soldiers are all rough people. We risked our lives on the battlefield for these things. Everyone has a share. The rest will be reported to the Imperial Court.”
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Of course, we have to comfort the dead and injured brothers. Brother Shen, just make the arrangements.”
Shen Wu thought to himself he was right about Zhou Jia. He laughed and said, “I knew Brother Zhou was different from those rotten officials. Then I’ll distribute to the soldiers first. We’ll split ours after we destroy Tiger Head Stronghold!”
Zhou Jia nodded with a smile. After Shen Wu distributed the bounty to the soldiers, everyone carried the spoils of war into sacks and baskets. They carried them with rakes and horses and moved them down the mountain.
At this point, the Green Dragon Stronghold that had been entrenched in Qingchuan for many years had been reduced to ashes.
Zou Yaozong woke up early in the morning. He wore a straw hat and went to Zou Zude’s house secretly. He stood at the door and knocked for a while, but no one answered. He felt puzzled, but he didn’t care. He turned around and went home secretly.
An hour later, the old woman endured the pain and crawled to the door of the courtyard. She knocked on the door with her head and shouted, “Help! Help! Help!”
When the neighbor next door heard the shout, he ran to the Zou family’s door and asked, “Old Woman Tong, did your man hit you? Why are you shouting for help in the middle of the day? Your courtyard door is closed. Even if I want to save you, I can’t enter!”
The old woman shouted miserably, “Go to the Zou family and call someone over. A thief came to my house last night! He cut off the tendons of my hands and legs!”
The neighbor thought to himself that there must have been a thief. He didn’t hear anything at his house! From the sound of the old woman, it doesn’t seem fake! “Alright, I’ll help you call someone.”
The neighbor hurriedly ran to Zou Yaozong’s house and called the Zou family over. Everyone carried bamboo ladders and climbed into Zou Zude’s house. They saw Old Woman Tong lying at the entrance of the courtyard. Her limbs were limp and she could not lift or stand.
Everyone hurriedly entered the house and saw Zou Zude, whose tendons had also been severed, and Zhong Kui’s blood-red portrait on the wall!
The woman who was watching the commotion whispered, “So that’s how it is. This is karma! This is to persuade the world that one should accumulate virtue and not do things that are unacceptable!”
The group of people was terrified and hurriedly went to the government office to report the case.
After Li Yu crippled Zou Zude and his wife, she woke up early in the morning and saw that Old Madam Liu, Aunt Zhang, and the others had already dried the wheat seeds.
Under Little Peach’s guidance, Madam Li and Zou Xia seemed more alive than when they came. They helped Li Yu filter the wheat seeds in the courtyard.
Only then did Li Yu realize that Zou Xia was a beautiful girl.
198 Fighting Evil with Evil
At night, Li Yu wore a dark green shirt and pants. She jumped out of her courtyard wall and went to the Zou family on West Street. She walked from the alley beside the Zou family to the backyard of the Zou family. Then she stepped onto the courtyard wall and jumped into the Zou family’s courtyard.
Standing at the foot of the courtyard wall, she saw a faint yellow light coming from the window paper of the main room on the left. He walked to the door of the main room, took out a thin knife, and opened the door latch.
After entering the room, he saw that the doors on both sides of the hall were open. She stuck her head out and looked at the oil lamp on the left. There was a man lying on the bed with gauze wrapped around his eyes. It was Zou Zude. He looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was fat and had an ugly face. On the right was Old Woman Tong, who had a sallow and mean countenance
Li Yu lit the incense and inserted it into the room before turning around to go out. She sat under the eaves of the porch for a while. Then she went to the kitchen to wet the cloth covering her face and went to Zou Zude’s room. She extinguished the incense and opened the window. She tied Zou Zude up with a rope and gagged him. She took out her dagger and grabbed Zou Zude’s foot and severed his hamstring. Zou Zude shook with pain. After she severed the other hamstring, Zou Zude’s head lolled and he fainted.
After Li Yu cut off the tendons in his hands, she untied the rope and the rag that covered his mouth. She did the same with the old woman. She tied the old woman up and cut off the tendons in her hands and feet. She used their blood to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui, the deity vanquisher of evil beings, on the wall before climbing over the wall and going home to sleep.
At midnight that day, Zhou Jia, Shen Wu, and Ruyi had already brought their people to the Green Dragon Stronghold.
Ruyi, Shen Wu, and the soldiers disguised as bandits led the mules carrying gravel and straw to the stone wall. The bandit on duty behind the stone wall shouted, “A plate of pig head meat.”
Ruyi replied, “Tiger Head Stronghold robbed it.” The mountain bandits inside came out with a smile. “Have you sent the food back?”
Ruyi and Shen Wu walked toward the bandits with the mule. “Yes! We’re finally back! I’m exhausted!”
The two bandits raised their torches. One of them looked at the sack on their backs and the other looked at Ruyi and said in confusion, “I don’t think I know you.”
Before he could finish speaking, Ruyi and Shen Wu cut his throat. Ruyi and Shen Wu dealt with the two mountain bandits guarding the corner. They led the mule and continued up the stone steps. Zhou Jia raised the crossbow and followed the two of them up the mountain.
The soldiers who followed him up the mountain carried crossbows and machetes.
In the middle of the night, the bandits on the mountain fell into a deep sleep. Before they could recover, they were gently laid down by Ruyi and Shen Wu.
After dealing with the mountain bandits on sentry duty, Shen Wu gestured to the back. The soldiers stood in front of the cave in batches. When all the soldiers were standing in front of the cave, Shen Wu waved his hand and ordered the soldiers to enter with crossbows and machetes. Wails and sounds of killing rang out in the cave. For a moment, blood and flesh flew everywhere. The Green Dragon Stronghold had become a battlefield.
Ruyi and Shen Wu dealt with the bandits guarding the entrance of Zuo Qing’s cave. They didn’t expect there to be bandits guarding inside. The sound of fighting woke up Zuo Qing, who was sleeping soundly with his concubine in his arms. Zuo Qing knew that something was wrong. He turned around, picked up the two sabers by the bed, and jumped up to fight Ruyi, who had rushed in.
After Zhou Jia shot down a few bandits with the crossbow, he pulled out his machete and started fighting with the bandits. One of the bandits raised his saber and slashed at Zhou Jia’s back, but he was kicked away by Shen Wu and stabbed into his chest.
Ruyi and Zuo Qing were locked in a battle. Zuo Qing raised his two daggers and slashed at Ruyi’s head. After Ruyi blocked it with his saber, Zuo Qing slashed at Ruyi’s neck with his other dagger. Ruyi’s throat was about to be cut open.
Zhou Jia activated the sleeve arrow, and it flew out and hit the steel knife in Zuo Qing’s hand. Zhou Jia shot out the sleeve arrow one after another. Ruyi took advantage of Zuo Qing’s fatigue to cut open his back. Zuo Qing swayed and fell to the ground.
Half an hour later, the battle ended. Everyone began to clean up the battlefield, capturing more than 30 bandits and more than ten wives and concubines of Zuo Qing and the others.
In the two-on-one battle, some of the soldiers Shen Wu brought with him were seriously injured and more than ten were lightly injured. Shen Wu and Zhou Jia took out more than ten boxes of gold, silver, and jewelry from the dark hole in Zuo Qing’s cave. There were also more than a hundred stones of food, cloth, and wine in the storeroom.
After the search was over, Shen Wu put his arm around Zhou Jia’s shoulder and pointed at the gold, silver, jewelry, and property deeds. He said, “Brother Zhou, we soldiers are all rough people. We risked our lives on the battlefield for these things. Everyone has a share. The rest will be reported to the Imperial Court.”
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Of course, we have to comfort the dead and injured brothers. Brother Shen, just make the arrangements.”
Shen Wu thought to himself he was right about Zhou Jia. He laughed and said, “I knew Brother Zhou was different from those rotten officials. Then I’ll distribute to the soldiers first. We’ll split ours after we destroy Tiger Head Stronghold!”
Zhou Jia nodded with a smile. After Shen Wu distributed the bounty to the soldiers, everyone carried the spoils of war into sacks and baskets. They carried them with rakes and horses and moved them down the mountain.
At this point, the Green Dragon Stronghold that had been entrenched in Qingchuan for many years had been reduced to ashes.
Zou Yaozong woke up early in the morning. He wore a straw hat and went to Zou Zude’s house secretly. He stood at the door and knocked for a while, but no one answered. He felt puzzled, but he didn’t care. He turned around and went home secretly.
An hour later, the old woman endured the pain and crawled to the door of the courtyard. She knocked on the door with her head and shouted, “Help! Help! Help!”
When the neighbor next door heard the shout, he ran to the Zou family’s door and asked, “Old Woman Tong, did your man hit you? Why are you shouting for help in the middle of the day? Your courtyard door is closed. Even if I want to save you, I can’t enter!”
The old woman shouted miserably, “Go to the Zou family and call someone over. A thief came to my house last night! He cut off the tendons of my hands and legs!”
The neighbor thought to himself that there must have been a thief. He didn’t hear anything at his house! From the sound of the old woman, it doesn’t seem fake! “Alright, I’ll help you call someone.”
The neighbor hurriedly ran to Zou Yaozong’s house and called the Zou family over. Everyone carried bamboo ladders and climbed into Zou Zude’s house. They saw Old Woman Tong lying at the entrance of the courtyard. Her limbs were limp and she could not lift or stand.
Everyone hurriedly entered the house and saw Zou Zude, whose tendons had also been severed, and Zhong Kui’s blood-red portrait on the wall!
The woman who was watching the commotion whispered, “So that’s how it is. This is karma! This is to persuade the world that one should accumulate virtue and not do things that are unacceptable!”
The group of people was terrified and hurriedly went to the government office to report the case.
After Li Yu crippled Zou Zude and his wife, she woke up early in the morning and saw that Old Madam Liu, Aunt Zhang, and the others had already dried the wheat seeds.
Under Little Peach’s guidance, Madam Li and Zou Xia seemed more alive than when they came. They helped Li Yu filter the wheat seeds in the courtyard.
Only then did Li Yu realize that Zou Xia was a beautiful girl.
