Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 77 Smiling Tiger

Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, he was able to remain calm and composed when the militiaman tried to question him, and then slap him away.

He looked at Mu Qingfeng, "Qingfeng, I really can't understand how they got out so easily? Registrar Jia is dead, but where is the magistrate? The city is in a state of panic, and the city gates are leaking like sieves."

Mu Qingfeng smiled smugly. This was entirely due to her quick thinking, and the fact that she could amaze Chen Tou'er so much made her feel that this adventure was completely worthwhile.

"Boss, you don't know this, our magistrate is obsessed with women and debauchery. Even if the whole county were to be blown up, he wouldn't come out. The county clerk isn't even in the county. Right now, the task of searching for you is being handled by County Lieutenant Lin. This County Lieutenant Lin usually doesn't do anything except lead the militia to bully men and women. He took over this mess for a while, and actually, besides giving a death order for everyone to search, he hasn't done anything else."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan thought, "Wow, this small county town has quite a few leaders, but unfortunately, none of them are in charge." No wonder he had previously thought that all the major and minor affairs in the county were handled by a single clerk. From this perspective, Clerk Jia must be working incredibly hard.

Mu Qingfeng tossed his long ponytail and continued, "Besides, I'm practically the only one left who knows you're Liu Feng's man. The constables who interrogated you before, and Registrar Jia, are both dead. So now, nobody in Baishi County knows that Chen Wu is Liu Feng."

Lin Fan nodded. It seemed to make sense. If that old fox, Clerk Jia, came in person, he would most likely not be able to escape. Clerk Jia had said before that the yamen was full of fools, and now that he thought about it, it seemed somewhat believable.

This time, I completely overestimated the county government's organizational capabilities, which is why I initially thought it would be difficult for me to escape.

Lin Fan's old horse stopped; it had delivered the goods to their destination.

"Boss, should I give you a ride?"

Lin Fan dismounted and stood on the ground, looking at the dashing Mu Qingfeng riding on horseback. Did this mean they would ride together?

Lin Fan shook his head, "No need, you've already gone to enough trouble. I can walk the rest of the way myself. Qingfeng, I've caused you trouble this time, consider it an obligation."

Mu Qingfeng smiled brightly, "No need to say that."

She touched her chest. "I don't understand why, but I always feel that helping you is the right thing to do."

"Take care, boss. See you again someday."

Lin Fan scratched his head. "Actually, you don't need to call me boss anymore. I wasn't a constable to begin with."

Mu Qingfeng tilted her head, her ponytail swaying behind her. "Then what should I call you?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment and said, "My real name is neither Liu Feng nor Chen Wu. Hmm, I also wanted to tell you, but, hehe, knowing too much isn't a good thing. If we meet again next time, I'll tell you."

"Alright." Mu Qingfeng reined in his horse, turned around and went back, leaving Lin Fan with a dashing waving back view.

Lin Fan had already taken off his constable uniform and changed into ordinary clothes. As he walked, he took out some dry rations from his bag and started eating them. These were prepared for him by Xiao Duanmu.

Since Lin Fan was walking on two feet, other people soon appeared on the official road, including oxcarts, horse-drawn carriages, and donkey carts. Soon, Lin Fan blended into the group like an ordinary person.

As evening approached, a traffic jam occurred. A group of bandits blocked the intersection, and a fat man riding a short horse supervised the bandits collecting tolls.

Those with connections would let people go after receiving money, specifically targeting the easier targets and pulling them aside; quite a few people were already standing there. After a while, when it was almost time, they would make them strip naked and search them.

The smiling tiger's eyes swept over a pretty young woman who trembled behind her husband. He was already plotting how to get her to serve him willingly.

After all, the eldest brother has rules, and as the leader, Smiling Tiger cannot lead the way in breaking those rules.

"Everything is great in the mountain stronghold, except for the lack of women."

As the smiling tiger was sighing, he heard a cry of "Ah!" from afar. He looked closely and saw one of his men clutching his neck and collapsing to the ground.

In the dim light, a figure darted swiftly from one bandit to another, and each of them fell down within moments.

At first, a few people gathered together, wanting to surround and kill him. But after their blades were cut off by the black knife and their necks were slashed open by the sickle, the bandits began to flee.

They don't need to run faster than this madman, just faster than their companions.

The reason they thought he was crazy was that a master with such strength would definitely not charge him tolls if he just showed up. Even if he asked to borrow some money for the journey, Seventh Brother would probably agree, since people in the underworld value loyalty the most.

But the madman didn't say anything, as if he had some deep-seated hatred for them, and started killing them without saying a word.

The smiling tiger shouted, "Why are you running? He's all alone, what's there to be afraid of? Our leader is about to start an uprising, are you going to run like this when we get to the battlefield?!"

But bandits are bandits; they've never been to a battlefield, so there's no point in talking to them about these things.

Smiling Tiger spurred his horse, drew his short knife, and dragged the fleeing bandits toward Lin Fan, yelling, "A bunch of cowards! Deal with that bastard first, then we'll deal with you!"

The ponies weren't running very fast, but Lin Fan charged straight at him. The Smiling Tiger's short sword wasn't suitable for riding; to strike someone off the horse, half of their body would have to be bent over.

With a clang, the two blades clashed. The Smiling Tiger was so shaken that he almost lost his grip on the knife, but Lin Fan fared even worse; his black-bladed dagger was sent flying far away.

Smiling Tiger picked up the short knife in his hand with a pained expression and looked at it; it was even chipped.

"This is...this is a rare blade forged from fine steel!" the Smiling Tiger said with heartache.

Suddenly he felt a chill down his spine. Without thinking twice, he jumped off his horse and looked back. He saw that Lin Fan had hooked the saddle with his sickle after the fight, and after running alongside the horse for a while, he flipped himself back onto the saddle.

Smiling Tiger was startled; he had never seen anyone so reckless. Seeing Lin Fan also dismount, he hurriedly shouted, "Friends from the road, state your name. My elder brother is known as General Huang, and is renowned for his chivalry. Is there some misunderstanding? Why don't we go to the mountain stronghold for a chat?"

The smiling tiger was genuine; this man seemed like a rough-and-tumble hero, not some official. He probably acted this way because his relatives and friends had been accidentally injured. But ultimately, he was on their side; once things were cleared up, they could become friends despite the conflict.

That's how it's always like in folk tales: outlaw heroes fight fiercely, then shake hands and make peace, drinking and laughing together. My elder brother said that now is the time to need men, so any good heroes we find must be brought up the mountain.

Lin Fan grinned, "What, big brother, don't you recognize your little brother? You didn't agree when I said I wanted to join the group a while ago."

Smiling Tiger didn't remember such a thing, and quickly waved his hand, "Brother, there must be some misunderstanding here. With your skills, I'd be more than happy to welcome you."

Lin Fan wasn't there to argue with him. His right hand had been dislocated from the knife and was hanging there, so he was frantically swinging the sickle at the smiling tiger with his left hand.

Smiling Tiger possessed agility disproportionate to his physique, easily dodging every attack from Lin Fan. Once he calmed down, he realized that this person was fast and strong, but lacked any skill or technique. It seemed that he was talented but had not received any guidance and had been practicing blindly on his own.

"Brother, don't push your luck. I'm a smiling tiger, not a paper tiger, and not someone anyone can bully."

With a whoosh, a flash of cold light appeared, and the Smiling Tiger drew his blade.