Chapter Eighty-One

  As the saying goes, a good tiger can't withstand a pack of wolves, and two fists are hard to defeat four hands. Shangguan Yuanwu's cultivation is deep, and his spiritual martial skills are strong, but he can't withstand so many enemies. What's more, Bai Yu, Gu Yue, and others' cultivations aren't bad either, and any one of them isn't a weak character who can be easily defeated.

  Seven people roughly besieged Shangguan Yuanwu for more than thirty rounds, and the latter began to be unable to parry, defending more and counterattacking less, gradually only having the effect of parrying, with no power to counterattack.

  When the opportunity came, Tang Yin launched a series of swift attacks, forcing Shangguan Yuanwu to become flustered and use his Shadow Shift. At the same time, he suddenly appeared behind him and made a silent sweep with his leg.

  Shangguan Yuanwu felt his lower body being attacked, but the surrounding weapons coming from all directions had him struggling to cope. He dodged and weaved, but couldn't avoid it. With a dull thud, Tang Yin kicked his ankle, causing Shangguan Yuanwu to lose his balance. He let out a startled cry as his body uncontrollably leaned forward.

  Bang! Shangguan Yuanwu's tall and sturdy body, combined with his suit of divine armor, crashed to the ground like a fallen mountain, producing a tremendous noise.

  Before he could get up again, Tang Yin, Bai Yong and Gu Yue's weapons were all pointed at his body.

  "Don't move! If you dare to move again, I'll have your head chopped off immediately!" Tang Yin glared down at Shangguan Yuanwu, his voice cold and menacing.

  "Ah!" Officer Yuan Wu was unwilling to give up, struggling to get up again. Tang Yin's knife chopped down fiercely, striking right at Yuan Wu's chest, causing his front armor to shatter into pieces instantly, and he let out a miserable scream.

  Before he could catch his breath, Tang Yin shouted: "Tie him up!"

  Li Wei and Chen Fang each pulled out a long iron chain from the grass beside them, binding up Guan Yuanwu tightly.

  Just now, the two brothers of Shangguan Lai were still mighty and invincible, but now they have become Tang Yin's prisoners. The faces of the two men are ugly, lying on the ground waiting for Tang Yin to gnash his teeth. If their eyes could turn into knives, then Tang Yin's body would have been pierced with at least a few hundred holes.

  The two brothers, Shangguan, were bound like sheep to be slaughtered, and were carried by Bai Yong, Gu Yue and others, placed on horseback, and then the crowd walked out of the forest with flying colors.

  Bai Yong walked to Tang Yin's side, smiling and saying: "This time if it wasn't for Lord Tang taking the initiative to subdue Shangguan Yuanbiao, we really wouldn't have known how to deal with these two brothers!"

  This is the truth, and Shangguan Yuanbiao's cultivation is not inferior to that of Shangguan Yuanwu. If these two brothers join forces, Tang Yin and others will not only fail to gain an advantage but also find it difficult to protect themselves.

  After hearing his words, Tang Yin smiled lightly and didn't say much. Shangguan Yuanwu, who was lying on the horse's back, shouted loudly: "You still want to catch me? You'll have to practice for another hundred years..."

  He shouted halfway, Li Wei tore off another piece of cloth from the shell and stuffed it into Shang Guan Yuanwu's mouth with a hiss.

  This time is good, two brothers all became have mouth cannot speak of "mute".

  They triumphantly returned on this side, while Zhang Zhou also made smooth progress on the other side.

  He led the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers to launch an attack on the bandits. Whether in terms of numbers or combat effectiveness, they had an absolute advantage. Without the leadership of the Upper Officer brothers, the bandits were not a match for the officers and soldiers at all. They were quickly dispersed, some fled in disarray, and others who did not have time to escape became prisoners.

  When Tang Yin and others felt it, the battle was already nearing its end. Zhang Zhou led the main force to kill the bandit's stronghold on the top of the mountain.

  Before they could head up the mountain, Qiu Zhen rushed over from among the soldiers sweeping the battlefield. Seeing the captured Shangguan brothers, he was overjoyed and exclaimed: "This battle can be considered a great victory for us!"

  Here is the translation:

  Seeing Qiu Zhen here, apart from Bai Yong, everyone else was not surprised. As long as there's war, as long as battles break out, no matter how big or small the scale, no matter if their side has the upper hand, Qiu Zhen will always hide far, far away, as if afraid of being affected himself.

  "What's the situation like over here?"

  "The bandits can't withstand a single blow, our main forces have already dispersed them, and the remaining ones don't pose any threat." Qiu Zhen said with a shake of his head.

  Such a result was expected by everyone, and it wasn't until now that the Shangguan brothers realized they had not only fallen into someone's ambush but also their plan to lure the tiger away from its mountain. While the two of them were chasing after Bai Yong, the main force of government soldiers had already arrived to wipe out the place.

  The two brothers were both hateful and angry, but at this time they were caught by others, and it was too late to regret. The two of them were like defeated roosters, their originally high heads drooping down.

  Seeing this, Bai Yong walked to the front of the horse and looked at the two brothers who were filled with regret and had lost their spirit. He said: "How about it? Now you two know the severity of Mr. Tang! If you two can turn over a new leaf, I guarantee that you two will not have to worry about your lives, but instead be able to show off your skills in the army. But if you still refuse to wake up and continue to be stubborn, then this time you two are likely to meet with disaster, and no one will be able to save you!"

  Shangguan Yuanbiao suddenly lifted his head, his eyes wide open and staring at Bai Yong without blinking.

  Bai Yong reached out and pulled out the cloth stuffed into his mouth, knowing he had something to say.

  Just as he was about to speak, Yuwen Yuan suddenly burst out in a loud voice: "Damn you despicable scoundrels! Once I get out of this predicament, I will chop you into pieces..."

  Before he finished speaking, Bai Yong shook his head and stuffed the cloth back into his mouth, sighing: "You're really a hopeless case, do you two think you still have a chance to escape? Once we return to Heng City, it will be your death sentence!"

  "Wooo... Wooo..."

  Shangguan Yuanbiao's eyes bulged even bigger, and his throat occasionally made a low humming noise, but unfortunately he couldn't utter a single curse.

  After waiting for more than half a watch at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Zhou finally led his soldiers down the mountain.

  As the crowd watched, the fire alarm was clearly a fruitful victory, not only capturing a large number of bandits, but also recovering a lot of weapons and supplies. Among them, eight soldiers were carrying four large boxes, just by looking at the outside, it was clear that what was inside was not ordinary things. Qiu Zhen's eyes lit up, he quickly stepped forward, letting the soldiers stop, then he opened the box to take a look, inside were gold and silver.

  "Haha, Tang... sir, we've struck it rich this time!" Qiu Zhen shouted back.

  Tang Yin urged the horse to move forward, lowered his head and took a look, his heart shook, and he turned back to look at the Shangguan brothers. He said in a low voice: "The evil diseases of the two of you on the plain can be seen from this! I now have some doubts about whether Shangguan Yuanji's support for the army is provided by you two brothers, you are actually colluding with each other!"

  "Wooo..."

  Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao shouted in unison, their eyes wide with rage, the corners of their eyes almost splitting apart. This was no laughing matter; if Tang Yin insisted on saying so and used it as evidence to convict him, his elder brother would end up like himself. The key point was that they had never given Shangguan Yuanji a single penny, whereas Shangguan Yuanji had always advised them to stop their nefarious activities.

  Just by looking at the reactions of the two brothers, Tang Yin guessed that things were not as he had said, and secretly laughed to himself. His face didn't show any expression, cold as ice, and he deliberately intimidated them: "Wait until I've settled this, then I'll take you brothers to task!"

  "Wooo... wuuuuu..."

  The shouts of the Shangguan brothers grew more frequent.

  Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong looked at each other, both of them curled their lips, neither of them said a word.

  The battle went smoothly, not only successfully capturing the Shangguan brothers, but also destroying the bandits' lair, capturing a large number of bandits, and also searching for a huge amount of gold and silver. This result was something that no one had expected when they came.

  Tang Yin led his troops to victory and returned. Afraid of accidents on the way, the troops marched overnight and returned safely to Heng City early next morning.

  The news of their victory over the bandits had already spread back to Heng City, and officials from the county and city came out to welcome them. From a distance, they saw Tang Yin, and the crowd rushed forward to greet him, bowing down to the ground. They praised him one after another, saying: "Lord Tang is indeed extraordinary and brave, winning a great victory over the bandits in his first battle! With Lord Tang presiding over Pingyuan County, it will be a blessing for our county and its people!"

  "Great General Tang is mighty——"

  Everyone loves to hear eulogies, and Tang Yin is no exception. Although the flattering smiles on everyone's faces make him feel dazzling, he still accepts the words of praise with a sense of security and complacency.

  He sat on his warhorse, with the corners of his mouth raised and his tiger eyes curved, nodding to the crowd and smiling as he said: "You gentlemen have also worked hard. With you gentlemen in charge of government affairs within the county, I can be at ease when I am out on business!" But though this was what he said aloud, in his heart he was secretly planning that when the time was ripe, he would carry out a major purge of all the officials within the county.

  "Ah, Lord Tang is too kind!" The officials were overjoyed and escorted him into the city with great fanfare.

  Logically, annihilating a large gang of bandits should be a joyful event. However, within the city walls, everything remains gloomy and lifeless. Except for officials coming out to welcome them, the citizens inside the city are still apathetic. Not to mention welcoming them with applause, even onlookers gathering to watch the excitement are scarce, with everyone displaying an attitude of "it's none of my business".

  This scene made Tang Yin frown and his joy greatly reduced. Wasn't what he did good enough?

  He turned around and waved at Zhang Zhou behind him, calling him to his side, and said in a low voice: "General Zhang, why do I feel that the people seem to be indifferent to the bandits?"

  "Oh!" Zhang Zhou sighed, and said seriously: "Although Officer Shang's brother is a bandit, he has never robbed passing civilians, only targeting merchants, so the civilians don't have too much malice towards them!"

  In fact, he said it more gently. In the hearts of the people, they all think that Tang Yin is a new county guard who is eager for achievements and does not dare to attack the barbarian soldiers actively, so he can only take action against the bandits within the territory.

  The common people all have a psychology of resentment towards the rich, and the brothers' actions of specifically robbing the wealthy are very much in line with the common people's psychology. Therefore, from the bottom of their hearts, the common people do not hate the bandits, but instead detest the officials who pretend to protect them but are actually unable to do so.