Chapter 117: Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger

  As soon as Shi Jin stepped onto Yuanbao Street, he could see the crowded and chaotic scene in the distance. The scattered footsteps behind him made Shi Jin vigilant. Without turning his head, he knew that those were not the footsteps of his brothers from Shaohua Mountain, because at this moment, they were all walking in unison behind him. But what he heard was a messy and disorderly sound, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, coming from tens of feet away.

  Shi Jin drew out the already unsheathed knife with a swoosh, and with a loud whoosh of his long arm, the blade cut off the silver-trimmed headscarf on Huang Tianba's head. Along with the headscarf, a bunch of black hair was also cut off. Just as the black hair floated to the ground, Huang Tianba closed his eyes and furrowed his brow tightly.

  What remains in Huang Tianba's mind, at this moment, apart from the darkness, is the scene that fell into his eyes, a plain blue wine flag hanging from a high wine rack. It was an inconspicuous and somewhat dilapidated wine house, but the fragrance of the wine inside was renowned throughout the city. And all of this, in Huang Tianba's mind at this moment, represents only one thing - that living is worse than dying.

  Huang Tianba is a dignified person, in Huayin County, even the original evil dog county magistrate has to buy his face everywhere, let alone ordinary people, who would dare not to retreat and yield when they see him. In these decades, he can be said to have gotten what he wanted, whether it was wind or rain, his momentum was great. But now that Shi Jing has tied him up with five flowers and brought him to Yuanbao Street, and hearing the sound of people clamoring in the distance, it must be that they want to humiliate me in public. The prestige built up over decades has become a major obstacle to life and death, without outsiders, it's not excessive to do whatever it takes to survive, but when facing others, one can't lose half a point of dignity. I'm afraid this life is going to end here, but I, Huang Tianba, since I'm called Tianba, will die with an overbearing attitude!

  "Take one step forward and with my next knife cut, I will have sliced off his..."

  Huang Tianba hadn't even finished thinking when Shi Jin's cold and menacing threat pierced his ears. He turned back to see that the people of Shao Huashan had all clenched their fists, with their right hands tightly grasping the hilts of their knives, as eighty men formed a semicircle, cautiously guarding against the group behind them.

  Huang Tianba gazed into the distance, and that group of people were none other than the Huang family guards who had dispersed earlier due to circumstances. At this moment, each of them was holding their knives upside down, standing far away with no expression on their faces, simply staring blankly at Shi Jin and Huang Tianba, as if they were all dead men. They stood motionless in place, looking listless and spiritless.

  However, in Shi's eyes, these people were not that simple. Their attire was indeed the dress of Huang's family guards, but they were probably not the same group of people who had scattered like birds and beasts after the tree fell. Because if they had a mind to protect their master, they would not have let Shi and his men leave in the alley of Huang's mansion earlier, even if their elder brother Huang Tianbiao was being held back. They would have stood far away, waiting for an opportunity to attack and rescue their master, just like now. But since they were doing this, Shi had no choice but to be on high alert.

  Just now Shi Jin, in order to test their true intentions, without saying a word, first cut off Huang Tianba's headscarf with one knife, to show his threat. But the numb expression on their faces and their silent attitude were enough to explain everything. However, Shi Jin did not dare to be careless, as they had almost reached the crossroads at this moment, and the other side of the street corner was where the Xing family gathered. If these people had any evil intentions, he feared that the Xings would be mistakenly injured.

  As Shi Jin's eyes were fixed intently on the group's every move, Huang Tianba also caught wind of their scheme. A chill crept into his heart, stirring up a wave of hidden pain within him.

  Huang Tianba hung his head low, slightly shaking it, and then raised his eyelids to look at the thirty or forty people. Although they were standing far away like scattered sand, Huang Tianba knew that there must be one person in front of or behind them, otherwise, so many people would not have been able to unify their thoughts so easily. But he was eager to know who that person was.

  In Huayin County, who can hide so many dissidents in his own mansion and use Huang Tianba's hands to do such a good job of hoarding gold and sharpening blades for others? If there is anyone with such wisdom in Huayin County, it would only be him. But now, who is this person secretly taking advantage, and who is the mastermind behind them?!

  Huang Tianba thought of himself being supported by others for many years, and he couldn't express his indignation. At this moment, he was not only afraid of the person hiding in the dark, but also afraid that Shi Jin would see through his current shameful situation and come to mock him. He wanted to cover up this shameful fact, so he couldn't bear to shout at those who were drinking: "My life is hanging by a thread, why don't you retreat? If you want to save me, why don't you fight?"

  Those people seemed to be deaf, after hearing the words, they didn't kowtow to Huang Tianba and then leave in tears. They also didn't suddenly clench their fists and shout "Follow Master to the Yellow Spring" before charging over with knives. Instead, as Shi Jin had expected, they stood quietly, standing still with exhaustion, like a gust of wind could blow them down, each one looking sickly and weak, without any backbone.

  "You... you... all of you!" Huang Tianba was so furious that he couldn't get the words out, his foot stomped on the ground and he burst into loud laughter, the sound of which was like a madman.

  Shi Jin had seen it early on, now this situation is self-evident, the performance is obvious, this group of people with ill intentions is not here to save Huang Tianba, if what they say is true, I'm afraid it's inevitable that there will be a bloody storm, only now it's not clear what card they are playing and which way they are pressing.

  Huang Tianba smiled and took a deep breath, his bright red face once again facing those people, lightly saying: "Come on!" Just like he was sparring with his young son at home every day, slightly playful, slightly joyful, and subtly hopeful.

  Huang Tianba's voice fell, and he suddenly jumped up from the ground, breaking free from the two young men of Shaohua Mountain who were watching him. He lifted his foot and launched a virtual attack on Shi Jin, then immediately rushed towards the wine shop with the high-flying wine flag.

  This sudden change was beyond Shi Jin's expectations, and his heart tightened involuntarily. Huang Tianba was indeed an old fox, and this move perfectly exploited the doubts in Shi Jin's mind at that moment.

  Shi Jin could have subdued Huang Tianba's momentum with just three moves, but he didn't dare to turn around now. In this eerie standoff, if he turned his head back, some of the Shaohua Mountain disciples who were still standing guard might fall down first. At this moment, Shi Jin didn't know who these people were here for, but Huang Tianba's meddling had put him in a difficult position. Even if they came to kill Huang Tianba, Shi Jin couldn't get away with it here.

  At the crossroads under everyone's watchful eyes, Shi Jin found it hard to stand by and let Huang Tianba die on the streets. The power of rumors was boundless, and a single word could be as fierce as a tiger.

  In the blink of an eye, Shi Jin saw through Huang Tianba's plan. Just as he was watching that group of people suddenly having a gust of wind at their sleeves, Shi Jin shouted loudly "Dodge" and hastily ordered the disciples of Shaohua Mountain to be on guard.

  As expected, before the words had even fallen, in the next second on this road, those who were previously weak and sickly were now flying about, shooting out large handfuls of sleeve arrows, shining brightly as they shot towards the crowd...