sinovels Chapter 78 Pretending to be a Tiger to Eat a Pig: Lin Zhennan
Chapter 78 Pretending to be a Tiger to Eat a Pig: Lin Zhennan
Big business?
When Lin Zhennan, who was hiding in the shadows with Shen An and observing the situation, heard those three words, his heart sank.
What he was most worried about was that local tycoons like Li Donglai, who had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, would choose to join forces with these two devils for the sake of profit.
If that's the case, it will be extremely difficult for him to rescue his men and the entire shipment.
So he instinctively wanted to show himself, but a cold hand silently pressed down on his wrist as he was about to draw his sword.
After an afternoon of rest, Shen An had recovered to his peak condition and was confident that he could deal with the two men. However, he wanted to see what Li Donglai would do.
"Wait a little longer," Shen An said in a very low voice. "Look closely, Li Donglai's anger is not fake."
Lin Zhennan was taken aback and followed Shen An's gaze.
Under the firelight, Li Donglai's face did not change much, but his neck was tense, his fists were clenched, his knuckles turned white from the force, and his whole body exuded a violent aura.
As expected, what happened next was exactly what was going on.
"Big business? Why don't you let those people go and we can talk slowly?" Li Donglai suppressed his disgust and tried to make one last effort.
"Business is of course something to discuss. We two brothers are very interested in what you've been doing since you joined Songshan," Black Bear said in his usual slow and deliberate tone. "But before that, we brothers need to fill our stomachs first."
Upon seeing Li Donglai, Black Bear knew that a shortcut to the mission had arrived. He and his brother had naturally known about the Songshan Sect's recruitment of local strongmen in eastern Hunan before coming to Hunan. In his view, what else could Songshan be doing recruiting people in Hengshan territory besides gathering intelligence? In that case, Li Donglai must have quite a bit of stuff, and perhaps they could find out about Qu Yang's matter here.
"In that case, there's no point in discussing it?"
"Business is certainly negotiable." White Bear interrupted him impatiently, pointing at the bound bodyguards and laughing arrogantly, "But Li Longtou, don't even think about these bodyguards."
Li Donglai laughed, but the laugh was more like a grimace; his lips twitched, and his eyes were filled with barely suppressed anger and disgust.
He spat out the words through gritted teeth: "I, Li Donglai, only do business with people. What kind of business can I possibly have with beasts like you?"
These bodyguards' lives matter too. If Li Donglai were to stand by and watch them be roasted and eaten like livestock today, what would his brothers who risked their lives for him think of him? How could he ever stand on the Xiangjiang River again?
To eat one's own kind when there is no shortage of food is truly a challenge to everyone's bottom line. Li Donglai's gang was not entirely united by interests; if he stood idly by and watched things develop, morale would crumble, and the group would become difficult to lead.
Besides, he genuinely couldn't stand it anymore.
"Brothers!" A resolute ruthlessness flashed in Li Donglai's eyes. He waved his hand sharply, giving his men a desperate order: "Prepare the fishing nets and spearguns! Form a long pole array! Even if it costs us all our blood, we'll chop these two beasts up and feed them to the fish!"
"Yes!" Although his desperate men were afraid, they were no less resentful than Li Donglai. They roared in unison, and with a "whoosh," they unleashed their fishing nets, and several ten-foot-long fishing spears were aimed at the white bear's vitals.
A bloody battle is about to break out!
Now that it has been determined that Li Donglai is a friend, not an enemy, and the two sides are about to clash, Lin Zhennan naturally has no reason to continue to wait and see.
He drew his longsword from his waist with a backhand motion and leaped to the side of Li Donglai's battle group.
On Black Bear's side, the bound镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) saw Lin Zhennan appear, and their lifeless eyes instantly blazed with hope. Especially the two old镖师 leaders, Cui and Ji, were so excited that they cried out, tears mixed with snot streaming down their faces.
Although the two had followed him for many years, they had never seen him draw his sword. Now, seeing him leap and bound with the agility and swiftness of a cat, they couldn't help but feel that they were saved.
"The chief镖头 (chief镖头, a term referring to a bodyguard or镖师) is quite old, yet his skills are still so agile. The Lin family's ancestral martial arts are indeed extraordinary! We are saved!"
The martial arts hierarchy in the world of Swordsman is comparable to India's caste system. Lin Zhennan's martial arts skills, at the level of the Four Heroes of Qingcheng, are already unattainable for his bodyguards and ordinary highway robbers.
This is also the reason why the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) hired by Fuwei镖局 (escort agency) are not very skilled in martial arts. However, if he had hired some镖师 with high martial arts skills and seen through his martial arts background, the massacre of Fuwei镖局 would probably have happened a few years earlier.
After landing, Lin Zhennan stepped forward towards the "Northern Desert Twin Bears" and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Lin Zhennan of Fuwei Escort Agency is here! May I ask if you two are the 'Northern Desert Twin Bears'?"
"Oh?" The polar bear and the black bear were both taken aback, and their gazes toward Lin Zhennan became more serious.
"Fuwei Escort Agency... Lin Zhennan?" Black Bear clicked his tongue, pondering, "Is he a descendant of Lin Yuantu, the chief escort who once shook the martial arts world with his Seventy-Two Styles of Evil-Repelling Sword Technique?"
Lin Zhennan flicked his wrist, twirling his longsword in a flourish, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, exuding an aura of profound and unyielding authority. He declared proudly, "Indeed, it is my ancestor!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the two northern bears changed simultaneously.
They exchanged a glance and both saw fear in each other's eyes.
Lin Yuantu was a ruthless man who, with just a sword, could kill so many that the entire martial arts world fell silent.
Even after so many years, the fearsome reputation of the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique" is still enough to terrify any ill-intentioned person.
Although the two brothers were arrogant, they weren't stupid.
Outsiders don't know the details of Lin Zhennan's kung fu. Although he is probably not as good as his grandfather, they also don't know how much of Lin Zhennan's skills he has learned from Lin Yuantu. If he turns out to be a tough opponent, they won't be able to get away with it.
Moreover, as far as they knew, many wanted to investigate the Lin family's resources, but none dared to make the first move. The two brothers had no grudge against the Fuwei Escort Agency, so why should they be the ones to stick their necks out?
It's not worth it for a few bites of food.
What's more, there's also the reckless Li Donglai nearby, leading a group of fearless thugs. Those gleaming fishing spears and bamboo poles may not look particularly conspicuous, but if they were to get stabbed, it would be enough to give them a hard time.
No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you're still afraid of a spear.
The black bear's eyes darted around, and he had already made up his mind. He slowly stood up, leisurely patted the grease off his hands, then disgustedly wiped them on his pants, and winked at the white bear.
Seeing the prize about to slip through his fingers, White Bear was extremely unwilling, but he knew that this charcoal-faced man was far more shrewd than he was, and listening to him would be the right thing to do. He glared fiercely at Li Donglai and Lin Zhennan, snorted coldly, and said reluctantly, "Consider yourselves lucky today! We brothers have important matters to attend to and can't be bothered arguing with you bastards!"
Upon seeing this, Li Donglai and Lin Zhennan both breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it was frustrating, fighting would only increase casualties, and saving lives was the best possible outcome.
Having said that, the polar bear grabbed a huge bundle beside him and turned to leave. The black bear chuckled, seemingly intending to abandon the captured镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) and retreat together.
The two of them, together, were about to swagger away from there when...
A voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens.
"Did I let you leave?"