Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 217 Fishing in troubled waters
Two hours later,

In Cui's warehouse,
At this time, the door was closed and Gong Tianwu was squatting beside it, teasing two half-grown puppies.

Hasar was resting in the backyard with four newly bought slaves. Only Cui Ziyang looked a little anxious and flustered, pacing back and forth in the house.

He usually chats and laughs with others, but at this moment he had a rare serious face, and even kept taking big puffs of chewing tobacco - a specialty of the neighboring country.

Suddenly, the front door rang, and then my second uncle Cui Zicheng came in in a panic and said in a low voice:
"It's moving. The Governor's Office has sent many people to go directly to the Xu family of Baoshenghao."

Gong Tianwu smiled after hearing this, and then said to the inside:
"Hasal, here comes the chance."

Hasar came in with four herdsmen, all of whom were wearing leather armor and had knives on their waists.

The four shepherd slaves seemed a little green and a little nervous, but at this moment, there was a murderous aura in Hasar's every move.

Cui Ziyang suddenly swallowed his saliva and said to Gong Tianwu in a panic:

"Seventh brother, Seventh brother, why don't we just forget it?"

Gong Tianwu smiled slightly and said:

"Uncle San, wait for our good news."

Then they all got on a tattered ox cart and drove towards Baosheng Pawnshop, which was a street away. Big Ears and Red Hair also stayed under the canopy of the cart.

This pawnshop belongs to the Xu family of Baoshenghao and is quite famous in the city.

Soon, the ox cart arrived at the door of the pawnshop.

A gust of cold wind blew up the dead leaves on the street corner, making a rustling sound, and an ox cart creaked as it slowly passed by.

Gong Tianwu lifted a corner of the car curtain and glanced at the two guards at the door of the pawnshop. The two were leaning against the door frame and chatting, unaware of the danger approaching.

"Get started." Gong Tianwu said calmly.

The four shepherd slaves' breathing suddenly became rapid, but then they drew their bows and arrows at the same time.

Four arrows flew out from the air with a sharp whistling sound and went straight to the two guards.

Maybe it was because some people were nervous because it was their first time going into battle, so two of the four arrows missed the target, and the accuracy was incredibly poor.

Fortunately, one of the shepherds did not show any mercy and shot an arrow that hit a guard's right chest and penetrated deeply.

The unfortunate fellow's eyes immediately widened, he groaned, staggered back a few steps and fell heavily to the ground. Blood instantly dyed half of his clothes red. He pressed his wound helplessly and gasped.

The other guard reacted slightly faster, and the arrow grazed his arm, leaving a bloody mark.

He was so frightened that he hadn't figured out what was going on. He could only turn around and run away instinctively.
However, just after he ran two steps, he was hit hard on the back of his head by a flying stone. The guard felt dizzy, his eyes went black, and he fell to the ground.

Hasar had already jumped off the ox cart with a stern look in his eyes. Although his right hand was disabled, the flying stones thrown by his left hand could still hit the target with every shot, and their power was amazing within twenty steps.

Gong Tianwu blew a whistle, and after receiving the order, the two dogs immediately rushed into the pawnshop like arrows.

There was a flash of blood in Red Hair and Big Ears' eyes, their fangs were exposed, and their demon wolf blood was completely aroused at this moment.

At this time, the pawnshop was brightly lit. Two clerical officials, one big and one small, were chatting and laughing, while the other two guards were leaning against the wall and taking a nap.

Suddenly, they heard a strange noise outside the door. One of them opened his eyes in surprise and saw a black shadow rushing towards him - the red-haired man bit his throat and blood spurted out.

The other man tried to flee in terror, but was ferociously tackled to the ground by Big Ears, who growled and bit him hard. The man screamed in agony and struggled hard.

Hasar and four shepherd slaves followed closely behind and rushed into the pawnshop. They were stunned when they saw the situation in front of them. They probably didn't expect that the two dogs were so powerful!
Gong Tianwu also walked in immediately, glanced around and said:

"We are here to seek wealth. If you cooperate, we will spare your lives."

After hearing this, the two court officials didn't dare to say a word. After all, the property belonged to their boss and their lives were their own. They cooperated fearfully.

Suddenly, the red-haired man stood up, flapping his ears, and then he let out a "Woo woof" and rushed out.

Seeing its appearance, Gong Tianwu and Hasar immediately chased out. When they arrived at the back door, they immediately found a figure running away quickly with a saddle bag on his back.

And it seems that this figure should also have practiced martial arts, and his skills are at least at the level of a martial artist. The red-haired man should be unable to catch up with him.

Gong Tianwu immediately raised the Demon Crane Crossbow and pulled the trigger, but... he didn't hit it at all!

At this time, the distance between the two sides had widened to fifty meters.

Gong Tianwu spit angrily and threw the Demon Crane Crossbow to Hasar:
"You come."

Hasar had used this crossbow several times before. After raising the crossbow, he took aim for no more than half a second and then pulled the trigger directly.

At this time, the man had already escaped a hundred meters away, and then after running for another ten meters or so, he suddenly lost his balance, fell heavily to the ground, rolled violently on the ground for seventeen or eighteen times, and finally collapsed on the ground, his life or death unknown.

Seeing this, Hasar couldn't help but look at the crossbow in his hand and said from the bottom of his heart:

"nice one!!"

Then he pulled out the knife with his left hand and ran over quickly, and Gong Tianwu followed slowly.

When the two men came to the man, they found a large pool of blood flowing out from under his body. His eyes had completely lost focus and he was already in a dying state.

The man was wearing a fairly high-end leather armor, but it did not provide any protection against the shooting of the Demon Crane's crossbow. The crossbow arrow shot into his heart from behind and then penetrated from the front.

At this time, Gong Tianwu felt that Hasar's archery skills were truly amazing. He could still hit whatever he pointed at from such a distance. You have to know that he had only tried shooting this crossbow five or six times before.

Hasar felt that this crossbow was too powerful. Compared with it, his previously famous eagle-shooting bow on the grassland became useless.

After searching the corpse, Hasar rudely stripped off the leather armor on his body, then walked up to Gong Tianwu carrying a heavy bag and whispered:
"Sir, here are gold and silver treasures, as well as land deeds."

Gong Tianwu took the bundle, weighed it, and sneered:
"The Xu family really has hidden a lot of good things."

At this time, the rest of the people also came to help, stripped the escaped man clean, and then returned to the pawnshop.

There was a sudden sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the pawnshop, and the four shepherd slaves quickly turned into porters, laboriously moving boxes of valuables onto the ox cart.

At this time, people around came to watch trembling with fear, but no one dared to step forward.

Soon, Gong Tianwu turned around and walked out of the pawnshop. The two dogs followed him. The bloodshot in their eyes gradually faded, and they returned to their usual docility.

The ox cart slowly drove away and disappeared into the night. Inside the pawnshop, the bodies of four guards lay scattered across the ground, their blood staining the blue brick floor red.

Not only that, there was also billowing smoke three streets away. That place was none other than the residence of the Xu family, the owner of the pawnshop, Baoshenghao.

After Hasar returned to his residence, Gong Tianwu called him over and praised him, "Well done."

Hasar knelt down, put his hand on his chest and said sincerely:
"Master, this is what I should do."

Gong Tianwu nodded slightly:
"Loyalty is the price you pay, but I should also give something in return for loyalty. Otherwise, who will be loyal to me in the future?"

After finishing speaking, Gong Tianwu threw a booklet to Hasar:

"This is a top-level internal skill. It contains the tips and tricks for practicing. As for the medicines consumed in the practice, I will provide them."

Hasar took it and looked at it, and found three words written on the surface of the booklet: No Leakage Body.

Immediately afterwards, Hasar opened his mouth wide, an indescribable ecstasy suddenly surged into his heart, and he hurriedly kowtowed to Gong Tianwu repeatedly.

As for the origin of the internal energy technique, he didn't ask much.

In Hasar's heart, the value of the marquisate that has been passed down for several generations is still very high, and it is not surprising that it can produce such a treasure.

Of course, Hasar didn't know that this internal skill was a masterpiece that Gong Tianwu had discovered after many reincarnations!

Moreover, Gong Tianwu had carefully revised this book of mental skills based on his level of peak foundation building and martial arts. How could a mere marquisate possibly produce such a treasure?
***
The blazing fire illuminated the face of Li Tao, the governor.

In front of him were kneeling a dozen men, women, old and young, all shivering in the cold wind.

From the fire and smoke in the distance, screams could be heard one after another.

Not only that, bloody corpses were also dragged over.

Placing them on the left were Li Tao's personal soldiers, their bodies covered with white cloth.

Placed on the right are the corpses of the Hu people who were captured from Xu's mansion. Although they were wearing Han clothes, their features were very obvious and easy to identify.

"Kill them all! Cut off their heads and display them around the city. Tell them this is what happens when you betray your own people."

Li Tao's voice was so cold that it seemed as if it had been frozen in ice.

Chen Xiang, who was standing next to him, was shocked and couldn't help but whispered:

"Please think twice, sir. No one will say anything if we kill the chief culprit, but I'm afraid it will be a problem if we just wipe out the whole family."

Li Tao gritted his teeth and sneered:

"In troubled times, severe punishments are needed. Who could have imagined that there were more than a hundred Naiman people hiding in the Xu family? If they were to seize the house and attack during the fierce battle, the consequences would be disastrous."

"If I don't destroy their family today, I will be destroyed by the barbarians or the king tomorrow!!"

After hearing what Li Tao said, Chen Xiang nodded silently and said:

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

Then another personal soldier walked in quickly and whispered something to Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang stepped forward and whispered to Li Tao:

"I just received news that the Xu family's Baosheng Pawnshop was robbed. The person who did it was Cui Ziyang from the Marquis' Mansion. He also sent you a famous painting and a Ru kiln porcelain."

After hearing this, Li Tao snorted coldly and said:

"In addition to Baosheng Pawnshop, the Xu family also has a carriage and horse business, a grocery store, etc. Did anyone from the Marquis' Mansion go to touch them?"

Chen Xiang immediately went to ask:

"No, only Baosheng Pawnshop was attacked."

Li Tao said very straightforwardly:
"The status of the Marquis' Mansion is sensitive. I am not suitable to touch them easily."

"Besides, Cui Ziyang came to report the news and eliminated a major hidden danger for us. To be honest, he has made an invaluable contribution, and he has also acted in a measured way."

At this point, Li Tao waved his hand and said:
"Reply and tell them that I accepted the gift, but this won't happen again. Do this in your name."

After hearing this, Chen Xiang nodded in agreement:
"Yes, my lord."

***
It is said that some are happy while others are sad.

Tonight can be said to be the end of the Xu family, but in the Cui family warehouse it seems like New Year's Day and is filled with a joyful atmosphere.

At this time, the door of the warehouse was closed, and there were more than a dozen boxes piled up in the middle room. Cui Ziyang was counting the goods with a smile on his face, and at the same time began to record the list in the account book.

According to Cui Ziyang's preliminary estimate, the harvest included 30 pieces of silk, more than 200 kilograms of various precious furs, 10 gold bars, and 270 silver treasures.

The identity of the man who escaped and was killed was also found out. He was the third young master of the Xu family. Even if he was alive, he would have been beheaded by Li Tao, so his death was not in vain.

A box was also found on him. Cui Ziyang was too busy to look at it carefully at the time, but then he suddenly discovered three land deeds in the box.

Corresponding to these are three farms outside the city, two large and one small, with about 1,000 acres of dry land and more than 300 acres of irrigated land.

This thing solved Gong Tianwu's urgent problem. After all, he had few people under his command and the Cui family warehouse could still accommodate them.

But sooner or later he would have to build up his own armed forces. With these three manors, he would be able to mobilize at least a cavalry of four to five hundred people.

As for the rest of the valuable pawn items, they need to be carefully counted separately.

After making such a huge fortune, Gong Tianwu's wealth quickly expanded tenfold. No wonder others say that doing business with no capital is the fastest way to make money and it can also be addictive.

The next day, after the Naiman tribe discovered that their traitor had been killed, they became furious and attacked the city in anger.

However, the weakness of the grassland tribes lies in this kind of siege warfare, so after leaving hundreds of corpses under the city wall, they retreated in disgrace.

But just when it was getting dark, there were shouts and screams in the distance. It turned out that the Marquis of Zhenbei was personally leading a large army to attack the central military tent of the Naiman tribe at night. However, perhaps it was God's will, as the leader of the Naiman tribe, Bogu Han, was actually inspecting the camp at that time.

So the two sides gradually turned the war into a protracted one. Fortunately, Li Tao opened the city gate and led his army to fight. The two sides cooperated internally and externally and finally defeated the Naiman people.

But strictly speaking, this battle could only be considered a tragic victory. Although the Naimans were repelled, the casualties on the Sansheng City side were also quite heavy.

It is worth mentioning that after making sure that the Naiman people were repelled, Gong Tianwu immediately asked Hasar to take four herdsmen out for a stroll.

In fact, to be more precise, it can be said to be taking advantage of troubled waters to see if there are any loopholes to be found, but one must always put one's own protection first.

(End of this chapter)