Gao Da's luck was not good. It should be said to be very bad.
He knew that a bailiff had secretly slipped away from the noodle stall, but he didn't care because most bailiffs were cowards who were afraid of death. Moreover, in his judgment, a mere province couldn't possibly produce any extraordinary figures. His and the mute woman's reactions could be considered quick. They returned to the courtyard, picked up the child, and headed toward the city gates. It was impossible for the government to react.
When he was about half a li away from the city gates, he heard the heavy sound of the city gates closing, as well as chaotic shouts and nervous dispatches. Gao Da's eyes were wide open as he looked at the distant city gates and the increasing number of bailiffs gathering there. His heart grew cold as he felt great shock and surprise.
He turned his head and glanced at the woman beside him. Her earlier movements had been too rushed. There was sweat on the woman's temples. Her face was flushed red, and her clear eyes were filled with terror and unease.
Gao Da patted her hand and said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
The mute woman's mouth was half open as she nodded. She thought that her husband had killed a bailiff and was going against the court. Her family of three would probably not be able to survive. A trace of bitterness rose in her heart and seeped into her eyes. It looked very sorrowful.
No one knew where the city gates had received the order, but they tightly closed the city gates and did not expand the scope of the search. Thus, it gave Gao Da some time to react. He furrowed his brows. Holding the child and the mute woman's hand, he walked toward the residential area in the back. In a moment, he disappeared into Dazhou.
…
…
Gao Da's luck was very bad because a member of the Ministry of Justice's special division had chosen to gather in Dazhou. Coincidentally, this special division member had been sent by the Great Scholar of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, He Zongwei. He was investigating Tiger Guard Gao Da, who might have escaped from Dong Mountain.
He Zongwei had maintained peace in Jingdou these months because he knew that even with his power and connections in court and the Emperor's favor, it was not enough to shake Fan Xian's position. Thus, he had been carrying out that matter in secret.
He wanted to use Wang Qinian or Gao Da to open up this opening. However, after months of investigation, Wang Qinian of the Overwatch Council still did not have a single clue. Even though it was clear that Lao Wang was hiding with his entire family, the special case department could not find any breakthrough. On the contrary, under the powerful pressure and support He Zongwei exerted, the Ministry of Justice officials began to investigate the minute details at the foot of Dong Mountain. They faintly touched upon Gao Da's escape route. In the end, they locked onto a possible hiding spot in one of the seven provincial counties south of Dongshan Road and north of Jiangbei Road.
Dazhou was one of them.
In the vast sea of people, it was extremely difficult to find an ace that everyone thought was dead. Moreover, it was impossible to issue an arrest warrant for this matter. Thus, the aces of the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice had been searching the seven provincial cities and the surrounding villages for the past six months like searching for a needle in a haystack. However, they still hadn't found him.
Other than the aces of the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice, there were also a few aces of the internal court that He Zongwei had sent. Although the Qing Emperor had given this power to He Zongwei to protect his personal safety, He Zongwei had already placed all of his chips on Wang Qinian and Gao Da. Thus, he had sent all of them.
Seeing that Dongyi had been leveled and Fan Xian was about to return, Scholar He still did not hear any good news from his subordinates. Thus, he began to feel anxious. Although he maintained a calm and warm expression in front of his subordinates, in his private orders, he began to exert powerful pressure.
The aces of the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice were almost driven crazy by this pressure. They had gathered in Dazhou to exchange the information in their hands and to communicate with each other. They hoped to be able to find the Tiger Guard who had already disappeared.
Coincidentally, the bailiffs they had sent into the city to check the household records were slacking off and entered a noodle shop. The owner of the noodle shop rose up and killed someone.
Before the bailiffs who had slipped away could return to the Dazhou government, they first saw the sinister-looking and unreachable officials of the 13 yamens.
In his terror, the bailiffs reported what had happened in the noodle shop to these officials from Jingdou. The officials of the Ministry of Justice, who were about to go crazy from Scholar He's pressure, felt a buzzing in their heads. Although they couldn't confirm who the owner of the noodle stall was, the criminal investigation officials' extremely sensitive intuition and powerful execution allowed them to immediately bypass the jurisdiction of the Dazhou government and directly give the order to close the city gates.
Gao Da's family of three was sealed inside Dazhou.
…
…
After a night of light, the officials of the Ministry of Justice had already confirmed the identity of the noodle shop owner. Regardless of whether it was the chopsticks broken in two or the wound of the bailiffs who had been decapitated, it all showed that this person had brilliant knife skills and ruthless attacks. How could an ace of this realm be hiding in a small city selling noodles? There was definitely something fishy going on.
The officials of the 13 yamens were all very nervous. Torches were lit all around the noodle shop, illuminating everything inside. They thought to themselves, After working hard for more than a year, they should have finally found the right person, right? The fiery red light shone on the faces of all the officials of the Ministry of Justice. They stared nervously and excitedly at the ace of the internal court in the noodle shop, hoping to receive his final confirmation.
The pale-faced ace of the internal court gently used his fingertips to press down on the broken part of the chopsticks. After a moment of silence, he nodded.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice met each other's eyes. They couldn't hold back the joy in their eyes. In order to investigate this groundless court criminal, they had endured too much pressure from Scholar He. Furthermore, it was a matter without any foundation. They had run around the seven Roads of the Qing Kingdom for an entire year before finally placing their target near Dazhou. They had not expected their luck to be so good. Their target had jumped out on its own so quickly.
The ace of the internal court was directly under He Zongwei's command. However, he had risen and fallen in the Palace these years. He didn't know why Scholar He wanted to investigate this matter. He only knew that the escaped noodle shop owner was probably the only Tiger Guard left in the world. A glimmer of worry flashed through his old face. He didn't know what kind of danger was hidden behind this matter.
The old people in the Palace all knew that the Tiger Guards were vicious people that Minister Fan had single-handedly trained. The Emperor had used the Dong Mountain incident to cut off all of Minister Fan's powerful wings. How could there still be one left in Dazhou?
The eyes of the internal court ace suddenly lit up. He wondered if Scholar He had received the Emperor's secret edict, which was why he had gone through so much trouble to find this person. What about Sir Fan junior? If the news of this person's survival was known by Sir Fan junior, what would the consequences be?
These were things that only major figures had to consider. They were only officials and subordinates. They acted according to orders. Since it was a court criminal who had escaped before the battle, he had to be captured. The internal court ace looked at the joy in the officials' eyes and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He thought to himself that these officials probably didn't know how terrifying the Tiger Guards were.
Particularly, a Tiger Guard who had learned to escape before the battle.
…
…
The city had been sealed for an entire day and night. The Dazhou Zhizhou also learned of this matter. Although he was angry that some unruly commoners had dared to kill his own bailiffs, compared to such a major matter as sealing the city, he was more angry for some unknown reason. These people from the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice dared to interfere with local politics. Did they not understand that once the city was sealed, the people in Dazhou would have a hard time living?
After the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice revealed the secret order from the Hall of Governmental Affairs and the identity of the internal court ace to the Zhizhou, he immediately fell silent like a quail. He knew that the noodle stall owner was not only a court criminal but also had a terrifying background, which was why so many people from Jingdou had come to capture him.
The Dazhou Zhizhou immediately expressed his attitude. He mobilized all of the officials and bailiffs in the provincial yamen and began to cooperate with the officials from the Ministry of Justice from Jingdou to sort through the city. All of the local elders in charge were also mobilized.
In a place like the Qing Kingdom, once the local government mobilized all of its power, it was not difficult to find a few people in the city. Since the criminal had a wife and child, he had to sleep, eat, and interact with people.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice were very satisfied with the strength of Dazhou's cooperation. They believed that in at most two days, they would be able to force the criminal out of the private residence in Dazhou.
Gao Da, who had been hiding in the private residence, had not eaten for a day and night. He carefully hid his tracks and only took a risk to steal a few pieces of clothing and some food and water for the child. The Tiger Guards had never received training in hiding. After following Fan Xian for a few years, if Gao Da truly hid by himself, it would probably be difficult for anyone to find him.
Just as the government had judged, he had a wife and child by his side. This was the most troublesome matter. The mute woman's spirit had been tortured to the point where it was almost unbearable. Her large eyes were full of sorrow.
Gao Da knew that if the government wanted to find the three of them, it would take at most two days. After thinking for a long time, he decided to take the initiative and break out.
The time to break out was chosen at dusk, the time when people most easily relaxed. This was also the first day after the noodle stand murder.
In the blood-like dusk, Gao Da, with a cloth chain tied to his chest and the child tied to his chest, held his wife's hand and slowly walked toward the city gate.
He thought for a long time and still could not think of a way to take his family over the tall city walls, so he could only choose to force his way through.
He walked step by step toward the city gate. The soldiers and bailiffs at the gate were nervously watching the people going in and out. Although the city was sealed in name, in reality, the villagers responsible for carrying water and bringing in vegetables could still enter and leave the city. However, the security here was very strict. It felt even stricter than in Jingdou.
A few officials of the Ministry of Justice from Jingdou held a portrait and coldly and meticulously examined everyone's appearance.
As he got closer and closer to the city gate, Gao Da felt that his hands were slightly wet. It was not from his nervousness but from his wife's hands. He turned his head to glance at the mute woman and found that her body was already trembling.
It looked like he would not be able to hide it from the sensitive officials of the Ministry of Justice at the city gate. Gao Da sighed in his heart. Of course, he had never thought about sneaking out.
The family of three stood in front of the city gate in front of the officials of the Ministry of Justice, bailiffs, and soldiers. They were only 27 feet away from the line that led out of the city.
Outside the city gate, there was a donkey cart carrying vegetables.
Gao Da's eyes were fixed on the donkey cart.
"The city has been sealed. No one is allowed to enter or leave," a soldier said in a loud voice to Gao Da. It was clear that these three people could not be farmers outside the city.
The aces of the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice narrowed their eyes. They looked at the family close at hand. Their pupils gradually constricted. The portrait in their hands gradually fell to the ground. Their hands slowly moved toward the hilt of their knives.
It was too easy to recognize. They recognized at a glance that the newcomer was the court criminal they had been chasing for a year.
They had jumped out of their own accord and come to the city gate. Did they want to kill their way out of the city gate?
The aces of the Ministry of Justice slowly walked out from everywhere and gradually surrounded the family of three.
Before the encirclement had even closed in, Gao Da had already raised his face and calmly glanced at the nearest ace of the Ministry of Justice. There was no emotion in his eyes, only coldness.
"Surrender …!" The ace of the Ministry of Justice suddenly felt a wave of danger coming at him. He roared loudly and pulled out the knife at his waist at the same time.
Surrender. He only had time to say the first two words. The second two words were drowned out by a spray of blood. In a flash, Gao Da took two quick steps forward. His hand moved like a dragon and slashed at the ace's wrist.
The ace of the Ministry of Justice had no time to react. He could only quickly retreat. But just as his wrist was still swinging in the air, it broke with a crack.
Gao Da snatched the knife and swung down with his elbow, leaving behind a smear of blood and the collapsed body of the ace of the Ministry of Justice.
He then retreated to the mute woman's side and looked coldly at the aces and soldiers of the Ministry of Justice charging at him. There was no trace of fear or self-doubt. There was only great confidence.
With a knife in hand, who could stop him?
The knife flashed. Gao Da held the knife and charged toward the city gate with his wife and child. There was no one in front of the knife. Every time the knife came out, someone would die. He used the blood and the sound of the wind to open a path. In an instant, he was about to break through the city gate.
This was victory in the word "courage". In an instant, he stunned the hearts of all the officials of the Ministry of Justice. They looked at the powerful figure and found it difficult to surround him.
The distance of seventy feet was not far, and the car was not far either. Gao Da's body and face were already stained with a lot of blood. His hand was still tightly holding onto his mute wife, carefully protecting her. The price he paid was a few more wounds on his body.
The aces of the 13 yamens were indeed powerful, but they were not as terrifying as Gao Da's bravery.
Gao Da roared. Like a blood dragon, he shattered the combined attack of the three aces in front of him. The knife shattered into countless pieces. He used these pieces to open a path and charged out of the city.
At this moment, a palm pressed down in the dusk. It came from the direction of the carriage and slapped toward his face.
Gao Da gave a muffled grunt. He lowered his waist to the ground and threw out a punch.
The fist and palm collided. Wind and smoke rose up outside the city gate.
When the smoke fell, the ace from the internal court looked at him in a daze and said, "Gao Da, you really didn't die."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
