Chapter 54: That Will Cost Extra

"Zhu Tong!"

Lei Heng was utterly shocked. Zhu Tong had actually been captured alive?!

How could this be? Zhu Tong's martial arts skills were superior to his own—where on earth did Liangshan find so many top-tier experts?

"Cough, cough... Village Chief, Lei Heng, run! These people from Liangshan are too powerful!"

With his hair disheveled, Zhu Tong lacked the usual graceful demeanor of the "Lord of the Beautiful Beard." Yet, the very first words he uttered after being thrown from his horse were urging Chao Gai and Lei Heng to flee!

It was evident that Zhu Tong was indeed a man of great loyalty and honor.

However, a moment later, he realized that Chao Gai had already been subdued and captured by Ren Yuan.

"Brother, this garrison inspector has some genuine skill; he traded over fifty blows with me. Although his force of more than two hundred men was completely wiped out by our battalion, instead of retreating back to Yuncheng, he bolted straight toward East Creek Village. And just like that, we ran him down and captured him," Yuan Lang said with a smile, addressing Ren Yuan.

"What?!"

Lei Heng was dumbfounded. The garrison troops were completely gone? They were utterly ruined now; upon returning, both garrison inspectors would most likely be stripped of their ranks!

"Your entire force is wiped out, yet you still came running to deliver a warning. Well played, Zhu Tong, you truly are a man of steadfast loyalty."

Ren Yuan patted Chao Gai on the shoulder.

"Cherish having a brother like this, and stop trying to court death day in and day out."

"Hmph! How can one tolerate another sleeping soundly beside their couch? Ren Yuan, if Liangshan hadn't expanded at such a terrifying speed, I would never have set up this banquet today!"

At that moment, Chao Gai suddenly stiffened his spine, convinced that this entire predicament was Liangshan's fault.

"When Liangshan expanded, did we ever make a move against East Creek Village? You were simply terrified that we might set our sights on your family fortune. But you know what? I never even intended to give you any trouble in the first place!"

"In the very beginning, I even considered inviting you to join us on the mountain. But now, it seems that chance is gone forever!"

"You dare say you never harbored any intentions toward East Creek Village?!"

Refusing to believe him, Chao Gai glared at Ren Yuan as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

"I didn't! Believe it or not!"

Ren Yuan couldn't be bothered to argue further with Chao Gai; those with different paths cannot make plans together.

"If you refuse to believe me, there's nothing more I can say."

Chao Gai fell silent. If things were truly as Ren Yuan claimed, then his actions today were nothing short of utterly ridiculous—he had simply brought this suffering upon himself for no reason!

"Ren Yuan, this time we admit defeat. Now that you have the upper hand, state your terms. What will it take for you to release the Village Chief?"

With the Yuncheng reinforcements gone, Wu Yong panicked inwardly. At this moment, his only desire was to secure Chao Gai's safe return.

"Release him? That's easily done—pay up!"

Ren Yuan remained entirely relaxed. From the direction of Yuncheng, the remainder of his battalion was continuously marching closer; the troops under his direct command were now no fewer than the entire population of the Chao Family Manor.

"That is not what you said just now."

"Wu Yong, oh Wu Yong, when you engineered this plot to lure us here, did you only consider a successful outcome, without ever accounting for the possibility of failure? You truly fail to look ahead and behind."

"Chao Gai was captured in combat, so demanding a ransom is only natural."

"Scholar, say no more."

Chao Gai himself felt deeply humiliated. After this battle, his reputation as the "Tower-Shaking Heavenly King" would likely be the laughingstock of the pugilistic world for a long time to come.

"I captured you, and my brother captured Zhu Tong; both of you command a high price. Add to that Wu Yong, Liu Tang, Li Kui, and Lei Heng, who all made their moves earlier."

"For the six of you, five thousand strings of cash per person. Just give me thirty thousand strings in total."

"Thirty thousand strings! Why don't you just rob us!" Chao Gai winced in absolute agony. Even with his vast family wealth, thirty thousand strings of cash would be enough to break his bones and drain his vitality.

"I am robbing you,"

Ren Yuan replied with utter frankness, showing not a shred of embarrassment.

"When I arrived at your manor today, I tipped your estate servants a total of thirty liang of silver. Now I'm asking you for thirty thousand strings of cash—which amounts to fifteen thousand liang of silver—that is entirely reasonable."

"I don't have that much silver on hand!"

In truth, Chao Gai did have it, but he simply refused to part with it!

"Hmph! Ren Yuan, don't be so arrogant! We have reinforcements coming from Jizhou as well!"

Watching Ren Yuan open his mouth wide like a lion, Wu Yong felt extremely aggrieved, feeling that this was a direct slap to his face!

"As expected, Jizhou is involved as well."

Mo Sheng and Guanghui exchanged glances, admiring their leader's foresight even more.

"Ren Yuan, release the Village Chief and the garrison inspector right now! This matter ends here! Otherwise, when our reinforcements arrive, we will settle both old scores and new!"

"Brother, why does this scholar keep boasting? Our military strategist is so much better than him," Mo Sheng muttered as he looked at Wu Yong, unable to hold back his mockery.

Their own strategist was truly the best!

"You're actually insulting our strategist by comparing them. Our strategist is naturally miles ahead of this fellow."

Ren Yuan completely disregarded Wu Yong. Keeping Chao Gai under control, he turned to Lei Heng and said, "Inspector Lei, I heard that in the past you slaughtered cattle, lent money at usurious rates, and were quite fond of gambling. Do you dare to place a wager with me?"

"What do you want to bet on?"

Ever since Zhu Tong had appeared, Lei Heng's heart had been suspended entirely over his friend's safety, leaving him no room to focus on anything else.

"Let's wager on whether the troops arriving from Jizhou shortly will be your reinforcements or my Liangshan grand army!"

Ren Yuan possessed absolute confidence regarding the Jizhou front, because stationed there were Sun An, Chen达 (Chen Da), and Yang Chun leading an entire battalion of infantry, along with the Water-goddess-like Ruan Xiao-wu and Ruan Xiao-qi leading the naval forces!

With such an array of forces, he had nothing to fear from Jizhou reinforcements.

No matter how formidable Zhang Shuye (the chief official of Jizhou) might be, it was highly unlikely he would personally take the field at this juncture.

Besides, on the second battalion's side, Sun An was practically at the ceiling of martial prowess; with him in command, there was nothing to worry about!

This round... was a guaranteed victory!

"Who is even stationed near Jizhou? Aside from Wang Lun?"

Lei Heng turned to ask Wu Yong, since the scholar possessed some knowledge of these deployments.

"None, just him alone. Who knows if Jizhou will even dispatch any renowned generals."

Wu Yong was filled with bitter regret. Why on earth had he agreed to cooperate with Wang Lun? Now look at him—he had made a complete fool of himself.

Wang Lun, you truly are a pig-headed teammate!

"If the force that arrives in a moment turns out to be your subordinates, I will swallow my pride and release your sworn brother."

"But if the force that arrives is my Liangshan grand army, then I'm terribly sorry—if you want Chao Gai back, the price goes up!"

"Fine! I'll take that bet with you! But you must not harm the Village Chief!"

As the highest-ranking official among their remaining group, Lei Heng stepped forward and accepted the wager.

The two opposing factions maintained their formations. The men of Liangshan were radiant with high spirits, eager to leap back into battle at a moment's notice.

In contrast, the members of the Chao Family Manor looked deeply dejected, especially since their leader had been captured.

A short while later, the sound of marching footsteps echoed from the direction of Jizhou, prompting everyone to stretch their necks and peer eagerly down the road.

Amidst rolling clouds of dust, a detachment of troops wearing the uniforms of the Jizhou garrison appeared, marching rapidly toward them!

"Hahahaha!"

Wu Yong burst into laughter once again! He had never felt so exhilarated in his life!

"Scholar, why are you laughing again?"

Liu Tang was startled once more. What was wrong with this wise counselor? He kept bursting into laughter for no apparent reason—was there something wrong with his head?

"Ren Yuan! Open your eyes and look closely! Those are the reinforcements from Jizhou! You've lost! Hand over the Village Chief immediately and beg for mercy, otherwise, don't blame us for showing no mercy under our blades!"

Wu Yong was currently overflowing with smug triumph!

"Do us all a favor and look more closely!"

Being tall, Ren Yuan had a much clearer vantage point.

"Take a good look at what is marching directly behind those Jizhou soldiers!"

Everyone strained their eyes to look, only to see a massive banner fluttering behind the vanguard of the Jizhou troops!

Emblazoned upon it was a single, gigantic character: "Liang"!

"Those aren't reinforcements! That's the Liangshan army!"

Only then did the crowd realize the truth: the Jizhou garrison hadn't won any battle at all—they had been utterly routed and were fleeing back in defeat!

"Wu Yong, what else do you have to say for yourself now?"

Ren Yuan fixed his gaze on Wu Yong, his face filled with utter disdain.

"I really dislike your attitude just now! Therefore, if you want to ransom your people now, the price just went up again!"