knife

Chapter 199 Escape
Wu De turned to look at He Zudao with some sadness.

I thought we had a chance to become friends!

He Zudao laughed and said, "If you want, you can still do it now. Wu De, we are different from those noble people. We all crawled out of the mud. No matter how clean we wash ourselves now, in the eyes of those people, we are still covered in mud."

Wu De shook his head: "By doing this, you have also let down the expectations of the Grand Chancellor and the Minister of the Guard!"

"Expectations?" He Zudao sneered. "They think they're so clever, but they treat us, father and son, like fools. It was the same twenty years ago, and it's the same now. They've used me, and now they're using me. What do we, the He family, owe them? Why do they have to squeeze every last drop out of us?"

"What makes you say that?" Wu De shook his head: "You have a deep misunderstanding of them."

"Old Wu, you're so naively adorable!" He Zudao looked at Wu De pitifully: "It's really hard to imagine how you managed to climb up to your current position in the Black Ice Platform, a place that eats people alive!"

"The world isn't all as filthy and corrupt as you imagine; there's always some clarity and purity among people!" Wu De said. "I've worked hard for decades, and my efforts have naturally paid off!"

"Effort doesn't necessarily bring rewards!" He Zudao shook his head: "Our He family is a typical example! Old Wu, this time, what you saw was that the Grand Magistrate and the Minister of War released me and gave me the opportunity to lead the army again. Isn't that a favor to me?"

Isn't that so?

“Of course not!” He Zudao laughed, but there was an immense sense of desolation in his laughter: “Like my father, I’m going to be their scapegoat again. Why did you send Liu Chengdong and the others to Chang’an for trial? It’s just to keep these people under your control as bargaining chips with powerful families.”

Wu De remained silent.

“Once they reach an agreement, I, this ruthless killer, will be discarded like worn-out shoes!” He Zudao looked at Wu De and said, “What do you think my fate will be at that time?”

“Da Yin is not that kind of person!” Wu De interrupted.

"You haven't experienced the ruthlessness of someone like Da Yin yet because you're not important enough! Or rather, your usefulness hasn't been fully exploited. Once it's been completely squeezed out, you'll be out of the game!" He Zudao laughed maniacally. "I'll cut off their resources completely, slaughter all their bargaining chips, and let's see what they do then! Hahaha!"

Wu De watched in shock as He Zudao stood up on the roof ridge and began to gesticulate wildly.

"They will hate me, this executioner, saying I'm a ruthless killer. But they will also hate those who unleashed this knife within me—Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao, those guys who wanted to use me and had already planned how to abandon me. Once they know that Liu Chengdong has been killed by me, they will surely be devastated. Hahaha, I will kill many more people like Liu Chengdong, and for each one I kill, I will respectfully submit a report to Chang'an to claim credit. Hahaha!"

Wu De also stood up: "Stop. This is enough. One Liu family is enough. Tens of thousands of people have already died in Jinyang. Enough blood has been shed."

"Far from enough!" He Zudao narrowed his eyes. "Old Wu, from the moment I was released from the fourth level underground of the Black Ice Platform, everything was already destined. The Great Qin was doomed sooner or later, so let me tear off this last fig leaf! Haven't those powerful families been hiding their true intentions, wanting to be a prostitute while also maintaining a virtuous image? Then let me set the example for them, giving them an excuse to eliminate traitors and cleanse the court of corrupt officials! Old Wu, are you going to work with me?"

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together!" Wu De shook his head.

"So, you're leaving Jinyang?"

"Yes!"

"Do you think you can leave?" He Zudao laughed.

"Whether it's possible or not, you'll only know by trying!"

"Alright, Lao Wu, I'll give you a chance. Beat me and I'll let you go!" He Zu said, "Actually, it doesn't matter. The army that will take out the second target has already set off. With the execution capabilities of my troops, even if these damn aristocratic families get the news, they won't have time to react effectively."

"The Wang family of Taiyuan?" Wu De exclaimed in shock.

"You guessed right! The wealth of the Liu family almost made my jaw drop. I want to see what the Wang family, which is similar to the Liu family, is like. Moreover, after taking Taiyuan, the entire Hedong region will basically be in my hands. Any obstacles will be minor and have nothing to do with the big picture."

At this point, He Zudao bent down and lifted a heavy sword from the roof ridge. "Old Wu, you probably think that once I control Hedong, I'll amass troops and march straight to Chang'an? Wrong! I'm not that stupid. I've lifted the curtain, and the performers will take the stage one after another. They'll raise their armies under the banner of punishing me, but they might not necessarily come to attack me! Because I'm a tough nut to crack! They might go to Chang'an first to take a look!"

Wu De untied the package on his back, opened it, took out the two iron spears inside, slammed them together in his hand with a clack, and with a flick of his wrist, the spear shadows blurred.

"Let's see what you've got!"

"I knew it!" He Zudao laughed. "Anyone who can kill Sima Lang in the street must be a Xuan Yuan Ninth Rank cultivator. But Old Wu, I'm no less capable than you!"

Holding his sword with both hands, He Zudao stood with his legs spread on the roof ridge. A halo of light rippled out from the heavy sword. "Fight me to the death! If you win, you can go wherever you want!" "Alright!" Wu De didn't say much. With a clang, his iron spear exploded, red cherry blossoms burst open, and countless spear flowers bloomed in the air. A cold shadow, however, was waiting for him among these chilling spear flowers, silently attacking He Zudao.

With a roar, He Zudao swung his two-handed sword down heavily. There were no fancy moves, no sword light or shadow, only incredibly strong force.

The He family's kung fu is all about hard power and brute force, a typical fighting style in the midst of a massive army.

As the spears and swords clashed, invisible shockwaves rippled outwards in concentric circles. Wu De, who had launched the aggressive attack first, was thrown far away like a ball being tossed around in the air. He tumbled and rolled through the air before crashing onto the opposite rooftop.

Just as his back was about to touch the roof ridge, the spear was already extended, touching the beast head on the eaves. Wu De's whole body instantly stretched out from being curled up, and then, like a bird, he flew away into the distance in a flash.

"Escaped?" He Zudao gripped his sword, somewhat bewildered, but then burst into laughter: "Old Wu, even someone like you has learned to cheat. What else is there to say about this world? But Jinyang is now my domain. You won't be able to escape so easily. Men!"

Dozens of soldiers poured out from under the house.

"Issue the order to conduct a city-wide manhunt for Wu De and his associates."

"promise!"

In the dark corner, Wu De landed silently like a bat. As soon as he landed, a side door on the street corner opened, and Wu De slipped inside.

Inside the house stood nine fully armed soldiers of the town's garrison.

As soon as Wu De entered, he immediately took off his clothes, and the people inside rushed over to help him put on the garrison's armor.

In a short time, these people had transformed into a small team under He Zudao's command.

“Commander, we can still fool the enemy in the dark, but we won’t be able to at daybreak!” one of them said. “These troops were all handpicked by He Zudao from the Southern Garrison. They know each other very well. Once daybreak comes, we will have nowhere to hide. So we must escort you out of the city before dawn.”

Wu De nodded: "Once we leave the city, they won't be able to do anything to me!"

As they spoke, drums and horns sounded outside, and the sound of cavalry hooves approached from afar and then receded into the distance. Thanks to the efforts of the messengers, the order to search for Wu De and his cronies spread throughout the city in a short time.

In a very short time, the dark city of Jinyang was illuminated.

Wu De and his group also emerged from the darkness, carrying torches and long guns, hurrying through the streets and alleys.

This small team, fully equipped with garrison gear, is now completely inconspicuous in Jinyang City.

This small team weaved in and out of the room, occasionally bursting through doors with shouts and shoveling valuables into bundles to carry on their shoulders, making them look no different from other search teams.

Around four in the morning, they stopped at one of the houses. There was a deep well in the house. Standing by the well, the team members cupped their hands and said, "Commander, have a safe journey!"

"Next, He Zudao will definitely be recruiting in Jinyang. You guys are all good people, usually doing manual labor, which is exactly the type He Zudao likes. Take this opportunity to join him, and I will re-establish contact with you!"

"understand!"

Wu De took off his armor and handed it to them, even discarding the spear in his hand, taking only his real weapon from among the spears, a thin sword, and then jumped into the well with a thud.

He took a deep breath and swam down. After about ten feet, he found a hole on the well wall, went in, swam a few more feet, and with a splash, he poked his head out, swam to the side, climbed onto the bank, and walked forward along a narrow passage.

This road leads all the way out of the city.

As dawn broke, Wu De pushed aside a pile of loose soil and withered leaves in front of him, crawled out of a small hole, and looked back. The majestic city of Jinyang was only a mile away from here.

After carefully glancing around, Wu De took off running south.

It's too early to say that he has escaped He Zudao's pursuit. However, once he leaves the city and is no longer in a narrow place where he will encounter the army, it will be enough for a master like Wu De to escape.

(End of this chapter)