CHAPTER 467: CHAPTER 467: SENDING YOU BACK

Gu Jinli grabbed him: "No need, they’re about to go down."

She had spread poison before making her move; it had been a while now, and Zhang Niu and his men would soon collapse.

Indeed...

Bang bang bang!

The sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground, nine river bandits, along with dozens of Zhang Niu’s underlings, all fell to the ground, motionless.

The two soldiers from the Military Office were terrified and turned to Gu Jinli, exclaiming: "Young lady, this poison of yours..."

It’s deadly!

Gu Jinli replied: "They’ve only fainted, they’ll wake up tomorrow. However, upon waking up they will fall seriously ill and be left with lingering illnesses."

The poison she concocted wouldn’t kill but would ruin one’s health, yet with the antidote, even the lingering illnesses could be cured.

Thus, her poison was quite benevolent.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers were relieved, pointing at Zhang Niu and his men, they asked, "What should we do with these people?"

"First, tie them up. You two stay here on guard, the rest of our brothers will arrive shortly. I’m going to help Grandpa," said Qin San Lang as he took the Gou He Blade from Zhang Huzi’s hand and instructed Gu Jinli, "Don’t move, stay here with them; I’ll be back very soon."

"Those two are skilled fighters, be careful. Take this poison with you; just throwing the powder into their eyes can bring them down," Gu Jinli handed the remaining poison to Qin San Lang.

Qin San Lang received it and vanished into the darkness like an arrow, following the sounds of the fight until he found Elder Qin who, fortunately, was unharmed. However, Gao Rui and Lian Qi were tough adversaries; their martial arts skills were indeed formidable.

Qin San Lang’s eyes glowed cold in the dark, fixated on Gao Rui and Lian Qi as they made their escape. In the blink of an eye, he intercepted them, the Gou He Blade in his hand fiercely chopping towards Lian Qi’s back.

Lian Qi sensed it and turned around, blocking Qin San Lang’s strike with his knife, a cold smirk on his lips. Yet he was caught off guard by the sudden release of poison from Qin San Lang, hitting him right in the eyes.

The poison was spicy and scorching, causing Lian Qi’s eyes to burn; he emitted a wretched scream: "Ah~ Despicable scoundrel! How could you use poison in a fair fight between men?"

While cursing Qin San Lang and wielding the Gou He Blade, following the sound to target Qin San Lang, Lian Qi swore to take Qin San Lang down.

Qin San Lang dodged swiftly, his body low like a cat, the blade whistling past and slashing across Lian Qi’s abdomen. He didn’t turn back but quickly lunged at Gao Rui, his Gou He Blade chopping fiercely at the back of Gao Rui’s leg.

With a crack, the long blade hacked into Gao Rui’s leg bone, bringing him down to his knees.

Gao Rui, also fiercely resilient, endured the searing pain, with fierce light bursting from his eyes. Thrusting his long blade fiercely behind him, he failed to hit Qin San Lang, who countered with a kick that toppled him to the ground.

Qin San Lang leaped up, his elbow striking forcefully against the back of Gao Rui’s spine, with a snap, his powerful arm force splintered Gao Rui’s backbone.

"Ah!" Gao Rui screamed miserably, calling out to Lian Qi for help: "Uncle Qi, save me!"

Bang—

Lian Qi had already hit the ground, succumbing to the poison.

Gao Rui didn’t last much longer either. The damp cloth over his face dissolved the poison, and he too was brought down by it.

After dealing with the two men, Qin San Lang hurried to Elder Qin: "Are you alright, Grandpa? Are you injured?"

Elder Qin shook his head: "Although I’m getting on in years, I’ve still got my skills. I’m not hurt."

Both Gao Rui and Lian Qi were indeed valiant; had San Lang not arrived in time, had the poison not been effective, it would have been hard to tell whose game it would have been tonight.

Thinking of Gu Jinli, Elder Qin asked anxiously: "What about Little Xiao Yu? Is she alright?"

"Grandpa Qin, I’m fine." Gu Jinli ran over and, after seeing Gao Rui and Lian Qi fall, she checked their pulses: "It’s done, they won’t wake up until tomorrow night at the latest."

She remembered that Qin San Lang and others were planning to encircle the river bandits and instructed: "If you want to interrogate them, you can give them the antidote. After taking the antidote, they’ll wake up in fifteen minutes."

She also asked, "Do you still have an antidote? Do we need poison to encircle the river bandits? I’ve made some more, if you need it, go back and get it?"

While talking, her nose suddenly wrinkled, and she leaned closer to Qin San Lang, "You’re wounded, there’s a smell of blood."

Qin San Lang smiled and said, "Gao Zhong is cunning. He split his bandit group in two, using one part as bait. As soon as the bandits were caught, he immediately fled with the other half. We caught up with them."

Not only was Gao Zhong cunning, but he was also extremely brave, and he had someone named Yan Wu by his side who was even more formidable. During the fight with them, Qin San Lang got slashed in the back.

"A minor injury, just a bit of blood loss," Qin San Lang untied the rope around his waist, disarmed Gao Rui and Lian Qi’s arms, and then tied up their hands and feet.

"River bandits broke into the county government tonight?" Elder Qin frowned and said: "These bandits are way too bold. Who could be backing them to make them so audacious?"

The reason why no one has been eradicating the river bandits from the Huai River is not only because they are brave, but also because the bandits have powerful backers.

Without saying, these backers are naturally those with power and influence.

Qin San Lang said, "No matter who the backer is, with the support of the Zheng Family and the Shangguan family, they are doomed."

Gu Jin’an, Scholar Shang, Jiang Jiao, and the son of County Magistrate Xu had already gone to the Zheng and Shangguan family shops in the Prefecture, where the shopkeepers dispatched swift horses to send the message to the Zheng and Shangguan families in Jinling Prefecture. With his request, and once the encirclement of the river bandits is successful, it will also be an opportunity for the Zheng and Shangguan families to gain merit and face, so they should agree.

These two families are not only noble families but also part of the royal family. As long as they intervene, they can undoubtedly crush the backers behind the river bandits.

However, Elder Qin was not pleased about this; he felt a wave of melancholy.

His family served a Founding Hero of Great Chu, having witnessed the rise of Great Chu step by step. But now, Great Chu was not only facing drought and military disasters in the Northwest but was also plagued with "insects and ants" in the South... Great Chu is truly worrisome.

"San Lang, Zhang Niu’s gang has been tied up. How much longer before our people arrive?" a soldier ran over to ask.

Qin San Lang said, "Uncle Yu is already on his way with more men; I estimate they will arrive in about half an hour."

He had ridden a fast horse to get here, as the Military Office did not have enough horses, so the others had to rely on their legs. He rushed here after learning from Gao Zhong’s bandits that Zhang Huzi had also led another group of bandits to Tianfu County.

Zhang Huzi was from Yushu Village, and he had a younger brother here. If he came to Tianfu County, the primary hiding place would undoubtedly be Yushu Village. Concerned for Elder Qin’s safety, Qin San Lang had hurried here, only to find out upon arrival that among the bandits with Zhang Huzi was also a son of Gao Tong.

Qin San Lang said to Gu Jinli, "Xiao Yu, I will escort you back first."

Gu Jinli nodded, greeted Elder Qin, and followed Qin San Lang as they left.

When the two soldiers saw her leaving, they came over to express their thanks: "Miss, we thank you for this time. If it hadn’t been for your timely arrival, we brothers might have been done for."

Remembering the vicious attack from Zhang Huzi, both were still filled with dread.

Gu Jinli smiled and said, "It’s a minor matter; you brothers don’t need to worry about it."

The soldiers were pleased: "True to someone skilled in martial arts, straightforward indeed."

After expressing their thanks, Gu Jinli followed Qin San Lang away.

Qin San Lang brought the horse over and pointed to its back, "Mount up. I’ll lead you back."

Gu Jinli could ride horses; with a step into the stirrup, she mounted the horse.

Qin San Lang led the horse from the front, and after a short duration, he said, "You shouldn’t have come alone; it was very dangerous. As a young lady, you don’t need to take such risks."