Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 399 Ambush
The night is getting darker.

As mentioned before, this county town is not big and there is not much nightlife or anything like that. Usually, after 9 PM, everyone goes to rest.

The streets are deserted now. In this freezing winter, even the night watchmen are unwilling to come out. Only occasionally can you hear a bird's call—probably the call of a night owl hunting.

But in any case, it quickly faded into silence.

Time passed little by little until the moon was high in the sky, when the sound of footsteps on the snow broke the silence of the night.

Those were several people dressed in black robes.

These people were completely shrouded in thick robes, so their faces were not clearly visible, but their behavior was extremely suspicious—however, in the dead of night, no one paid any attention to them.

Moreover, in this treacherous world, it's always better to avoid trouble. Even if someone does see it, they'll basically ignore it.

These people walked along the dirty road until they reached the pharmacy, where they knocked on the door with a rhythm of two long knocks followed by one short knock.

soon.

Just like during the day, the boss shakily pushed open the door, glanced outside, and suddenly revealed a surprised smile.

"Gentlemen, are you here to support Second Master? How come you arrived so quickly?"

Upon hearing this, the leader paused for a moment, then responded with a burst of laughter.

"If that's what you think, then that's who we are."

It was clearly a sarcastic remark, but the boss didn't suspect anything and instead respectfully and politely stepped aside.

"In that case, come in quickly. The situation on Second Master's side is very troublesome, and he urgently needs your help."

The men walked into the house and casually took off their black robes.

If Zhou You and Feng Qianlin were here, they would definitely recognize these people.

The one in the middle had a face full of scars and hair as red as blood. Even just standing there, one could feel a strong sense of bloodlust. Just like his appearance, his name was also very famous. He was the fourth sworn brother of the chief of the northern bandits, known in the martial arts world as Helian Feng, the Red-Haired Iron-Chewing Man.

The one on the right, as wide as a pig, started stuffing food into his mouth after taking off his robe. Not satisfied with just chewing, he even reached out his fan-like hand and swept it across the medicine cabinet, actually chewing up the herbs and wooden boxes along with them before swallowing them.

—This is the Devouring Heaven Sect's method of consuming evil.

The person next to him was the complete opposite, as thin as a bamboo pole. Although he looked like a man, his face was covered with thick powder, clearly a master from the Boundless Sect.

These are all notorious bandits and powerful figures from the north, and even the entire Han territory—and that's where the problem lies.

Although the revolutionary army is not as powerful as the underworld, it is still a righteous organization dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt government for the people. It would be impossible for them to be associated with these people, let alone be used as external aid.

However, the owner of the herbal medicine shop still bowed his head respectfully and followed the same procedure as during the day, lighting the incense burner and serving tea.

Then Fang said.

"Master Feng has already made all the arrangements for me. All you need to do is pick him up and leave the city together. I've already taken care of the gatekeepers in the county; they definitely won't stop you."

However, before he could finish speaking, the skinny man from the Boundless Gate suddenly laughed.

“You’re quite thoughtful—but unfortunately, we’re not here to help your so-called Second Master; quite the opposite, we’re here to kill him.”

The boss slowly raised his head, but what appeared on his face was not shock or anger, but a bewildered and helpless expression.

In the blink of an eye, he lowered his head again and repeated that sentence.

"Master Feng has already made all the arrangements for me. All you need to do is pick him up and leave the city together. I've already taken care of the gatekeepers in the county; they definitely won't stop you."

This time, the skinny man didn't stop him. Instead, he pointed at the shopkeeper and seemed to finally burst into laughter.

"Brother He, this is truly amazing! What method did you use to turn such a loyal and steadfast person into this state?"

Helian Feng looked at the shopkeeper as if he were admiring a rare treasure, and then chuckled.

"This is Chief Yu's secret technique. It's said that after torturing the person until they are on the verge of death, you find all their close relatives and kill them one by one until they are completely mentally broken. Then you extract their soul, twist and change it completely, and finally put it back into their body, creating a puppet that is indistinguishable from a living person, but only knows how to obey commands."

"A masterpiece, truly a masterpiece!"

The skinny man gently stroked the boss's face and couldn't help but sigh.

"By the way, Chief Yu, is there any intention of transferring this technique to me? I'd rather forgo the reward this time and just take this method."

However, Helian Feng interrupted him mercilessly.

"My advice is that you should give up. All of Chief Yu's skills are extremely evil. Ordinary people would die if they touched them, not to mention that this skill is said to involve some supernatural elements."

Upon hearing that term, the skinny man immediately withdrew his hand as if he had been stung—but he quickly realized that this was a bit too cowardly, so he gave a dry laugh.

"Since it's Chief Yu's unique secret technique, I'm too embarrassed to take it from him. We'll talk about it later, later, hahahahaha."

Hearing this conversation, the store manager seemed completely oblivious, keeping his head down and speaking softly.

"Please hurry on your way, everyone. Second Master probably won't be able to wait much longer. The situation is urgent now, and the longer we delay, the greater the danger will be."

Helian Feng just stared at the boss, then suddenly shook his head, and kicked him aside.

"Do you need to waste your breath? We'll go find your second uncle ourselves. You're just a broken puppet, sitting there obediently like a puppet, nagging on and on, isn't that it?"

Even after rolling around on the ground several times and being covered in bruises, the man continued to talk.

"This is our last chance, we must—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

His body rolled down next to the fat man, who seemed to have just finished eating what was next to him. He grabbed the boss's head, and with a 'crack', he actually tore it off and stuffed it into his mouth.

Its speed was so fast that the skinny man couldn't even stop it and could only exclaim in shock and anger.

"You idiot, didn't you know this was meant to guide us, and you just ate it like that?"

Helian Feng, standing to the side, waved his hand and said casually.

"It's alright. The location was decided long ago. I'm just here to confirm it. There's no need to ruin our relationship over something like this."

After saying that, he looked at the bloodied and mangled face that was still resolutely saying something, and suddenly revealed a mocking smile.

"Ha, a bunch of idiots."

Feng Qianlin lived not far from the herbal medicine shop.

It was an ordinary-looking courtyard in a secluded location. At first glance, it looked just like any other house, and there were no other houses around. There was nothing else to say about it.

The owner of the herbal medicine shop bought this courtyard a few years ago, using it as a warehouse to store goods. However, with all industries declining today, the place has been idle for a long time and is now a perfect hiding place. The people put on their black robes again and moved much more cautiously than before. Even as they were almost there, Helian Feng kept giving each of them instructions.

"In short, never underestimate your enemy. Although according to intelligence, the most troublesome Chen Xun is gone, for some reason, a disciple of the White Gate has joined Feng Erye's side. Several people have already fallen at his hands, including the old ghost of the Divination Gate, the guy from the Leather Gate, and the great shaman that Chief Yu specially invited from the grasslands."

Even the talkative skinny guy, the others stopped talking and nodded silently.

Before long, they arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

Helian Feng didn't push him away immediately, but instead gave a wink to the person next to him.

Soon, a person came over, took out an incense burner that looked very similar to the one in the herbal medicine shop, threw in a few dark-colored medicinal herbs, and then lit it.

Soon, billowing smoke rose and enveloped the entire courtyard—only after confirming that the fog had completely permeated it did Helian Feng breathe a sigh of relief.

This is a special sleeping powder concocted by the chief boss. If you accidentally inhale it, even tigers and elephants in the mountains will be unconscious for days and nights!
After taking the antidote to clear his head, Helian Feng gave a signal, and the fat man from the Devouring Heaven Sect patted his belly and, like a wild boar, broke through the door and rushed inside!
The skinny man from the Boundless Gate swayed his waist like a slippery snake, following closely behind. Next to him were several other men who were vaguely resembling a military formation.

He used to be a fourth-rank military officer, but he had done too many things like killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, and was accused by officials in the court, so he had no choice but to go up the mountain and become an outlaw.

His cultivation level might not be that high, but he's far superior to those bastards when it comes to this kind of encirclement and attack!
However, despite his thorough preparations, he encountered no resistance whatsoever.

The courtyard was quiet, as if everyone had fallen into a deep sleep under the influence of the incense.

Was it really that smooth?
Even so, Helian Feng remained vigilant. He waved his hand, signaling a quick-thinking person to check the other rooms.

Soon, he turned back, then spread his hands and shook his head.

There were no ambushes.

Helian Feng breathed a brief sigh of relief, then sent the fat man as the vanguard, using the same trick to break open the door again.

Sure enough, those people were lying on the bed in the room, seemingly unconscious!
This happened so smoothly that it left him stunned for several seconds.

—This really came so easily, with immense wealth just slipping through their fingers?
This time, Helian Feng stopped the fat man and then took the lead in touching him.

In any case, this credit certainly cannot be given to anyone else—and after obtaining this fortune, one can recruit a large number of soldiers and horses; at that time, it's uncertain who will ultimately claim the title of commander.
However, the moment he lifted the blanket, his expression suddenly became extremely blank.

There was indeed someone lying in the bed.

It's the same as the number of people.

It looks no different from what I guessed.

Apart from
Those lying down were not the only ones alive.

In his gaze, three paper figures lay side by side, their faces painted with bright red paint, so glaring that it seemed to be mocking him!
A few seconds later, Helian Feng suddenly roared.

"We've been exposed!! How did these bastards find out?!"

But no one answered.

Everyone's face was equally grim—and it's no wonder, after all, the cooked duck had flown away right before their eyes!

"--No, the creases on this bed are still fresh, they shouldn't have gone very far - chase after them, we outnumber them, we can wear them down!"

The others had no objections, except for the fat man from the Devouring Heaven Sect, who seemed to have discovered something and pointed to a note.

"Boss, there seems to be something here."

——What the hell?
Although he was filled with shock and anger, Helian Feng still turned his head to look in the direction the fat man was pointing, out of caution.

It was a talisman.

Helian Feng recognized at a glance that it was definitely not a powerful thing, at most a talisman to start a fire, but that was not the problem.

It's the thing below.

It's a dark, powdery substance.

As a general who held the rank of fourth grade, even though the Qing Dynasty now looked down on everything foreign, he still had access to firearms.

Therefore, he also recognized what it was.

--gunpowder.

And it was a considerable amount of gunpowder!

His face suddenly changed from anger to terror, then from terror to paleness, and finally from paleness to despair.

In the end, he only managed to utter one sentence.

"You sons of bitches, you schemed against me—"

The explosion was deafening, blowing half of the house away!
Zhou You, who was already on the city wall, heard the sound of the explosion and laughed sarcastically.

"Ha, a bunch of idiots."

— He found the explosives among the train wreckage, thinking they might come in handy, but he never expected they would actually be used.

Feng Qianlin also looked at the sudden burst of flames, then exhaled.

"Thanks to Brother Zhou, otherwise we would have really been in trouble this time. But how did you know that the herbal medicine shop owner was problematic?"

Zhou You pointed to his nose and said with a smile.

"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that because of the cultivation method I practice, my sense of smell is more sensitive than that of ordinary people. Although the shopkeeper stayed in the pharmacy and used incense to cover up the smell, the stench of rotting corpses could not be completely concealed."

"I see. It's such a pity, such a good person."

Feng Qianlin sighed for that person, but immediately realized something was wrong.

Their original plan was to take advantage of the chaos while the city guards were distracted by the explosion and sneak out through the city gate.

But at this time.

But the soldiers did not move an inch.

Everyone stood there, stunned, and then looked at the group with the same blank stares.

Then, everyone suddenly broke into a smile.

"Second Master Feng, it's been a long time."

"The game should end now. This time, I'm coming to chase you myself."

(End of this chapter)