Yang Zhi nodded, "I once met someone who called himself Iron Arm Divine Fist, Li Tong. He was from the Li family in the Southern Border. The bow he used was made of fine steel, and it was particularly large."
Yang Zhi gestured to indicate the size of the bow, then continued, "At this distance, only he could achieve a heart-piercing shot."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ce hurried to pull Yang Zhi to see Liu Rumei, "Brother Yang Zhi, tell Miss what you just said again."
Yang Zhi repeated everything from beginning to end.
After listening, Liu Rumei suddenly slapped the table, "So, the one who fled to Qing Niu County might be this Iron Arm Divine Fist, Li Tong?"
Liu Ce cupped his fist and said loudly, "Miss, I must immediately take people to the county town to capture this scoundrel."
Yang Zhi also quickly pledged his support, "Miss Liu, we, the Vermilion Bird Gang, are willing to offer our services."
Liu Rumei initially hesitated to let Yang Zhi go, but considering Yang Zhi knew the so-called Iron Arm Divine Fist Li Tong, she felt his presence would be useful. Therefore, she nodded and said to Yang Zhi, "In that case, I shall trouble you, Gang Leader Yang."
Soon, more than ten swift horses galloped out of Hetou Village. Liu Ce, Yang Zhi, and Zhang Qian split up, each leading a few subordinates towards Qing Niu County.
At this time, in Qing Niu County, Yang Chun and the others were already fast asleep.
Originally, Yang Chun had maintained a certain level of vigilance upon arriving at the inn. However, after waiting for more than half an hour with no activity, he finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep. After all, he had been traveling for a full day and night and was truly exhausted.
While they were sound asleep, Liu Ce and his men quietly entered the Bifang Inn. Liu Ce displayed the Liu family's waist token, which carried considerable weight in the county town.
Based on Zhang Qian's description, the innkeeper quickly pointed to a guest room, "Master Liu, the three people you mentioned are in here. They haven't come out since checking in this morning."
Liu Ce gestured to Zhang Qian and Yang Zhi. The three of them drew their weapons and surrounded the room.
Upon reaching the door of the room and carefully examining it, Zhang Qian led two men to the back window.
With everything prepared, Liu Ce made a signal. Yang Zhi stepped forward and kicked the door open with a loud bang, then plastered himself against the adjacent wall.
Inside the room, Yang Chun and the other two were sleeping soundly when they were startled awake by the sudden commotion. Yang Chun reacted the quickest. The moment he opened his eyes and saw the door kicked open, he knew something was wrong.
He reached for the repeating crossbow by his pillow and fired three arrows towards the doorway. Then, he threw down the crossbow, grabbed his sword, and ducked down, landing on the floor. Immediately, he kicked the back window open with a loud crash. As the window flew open, he heard the sound of blades slicing through the air, and several short arrows flew towards him.
Yang Chun quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding them.
He understood then that the back window was blocked, and his only escape was to charge forward.
Meanwhile, the other two henchmen had also woken up. Seeing the door kicked open, they grabbed their weapons and charged forward without a word. Tragically, as soon as they stepped out the door, before they could even see their enemies, their heads were severed.
Yang Chun found himself in a predicament, with no way out the back and blocked from the front.
At this moment, Liu Ce flashed into the doorway, holding a repeating crossbow, and shouted at Yang Chun, "Li Tong, where do you think you're running?"
Yang Chun was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood. He wondered if Li Tong's enemies had mistaken him for someone else and were now pursuing him.
With this thought, he chuckled and cupped his fist towards Liu Ce.
"Brother, I think you've made a mistake. My surname is not Li, nor is my name Tong. My surname is Yang, and my name is Yang Chun."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Zhi, standing nearby, suddenly raised an eyebrow. He emerged from behind Liu Ce and looked inside. To his surprise, he exclaimed, "Is your nickname San Jin?"
Yang Chun was taken aback. He looked at Yang Zhi, "You... how do you know?"
Yang Zhi's expression suddenly became agitated, "I'm Wu Jin!"
Upon hearing Yang Zhi's words, Yang Chun was even more stunned. After a long pause, he suddenly came to his senses, "You're Xiao Zhi, where have you been all these years?"
Hearing Yang Chun's words, Yang Zhi was overjoyed. He strode into the room and grasped Yang Chun's arms with both hands.
"Third Brother, I never imagined we'd meet in a place like this."
Yang Chun looked at him, also full of emotion, "Yes, haven't we seen each other for almost twenty years? We were still studying in school back then."
What?
They were actually acquaintances. Liu Ce was also somewhat bewildered and waved for his men to stand by.
Yang Zhi pressed Yang Chun, "Are you with Iron Arm Divine Fist Li Tong?"
Yang Chun finally came back to his senses. No wonder Liu Ce had shouted about capturing Li Tong from the start.
However, he couldn't reveal everything at this point, so he answered vaguely, "You... you must have mistaken me for someone else. I have always been called Yang Chun and have never used the name Li Tong."
Just then, Zhang Qian returned from around the back window and pointed at Yang Chun, sternly saying, "You are clearly lying. Last night you killed five members of the Liu family. You still claim you are not Li Tong?"
What kind of logic was this? Yang Chun was confused for a moment, but he felt guilty being exposed by Zhang Qian.
His mind raced, and he came up with an idea, "Alas, someone was following us when we came down the mountain. I had no choice but to eliminate them."
Yang Zhi stomped his foot in anger, "Second Brother, you are foolish! Do you know who you killed? It was Liu Yuanwu, the second son of Duke Huguo."
Yang Chun shook his head vigorously, "I don't know who this Second Young Master you speak of is. We just came down from Qing Niu Mountain, and someone was following us, so I dealt with him."
This excuse seemed perfect and unassailable.
However, Liu Ce understood that with Liu Yuanwu's death, and these people coming down from Qing Niu Mountain afterward, they were naturally suspects.
A thought struck him, and he turned to ask Yang Chun, "Did you take refuge in Centipede Ridge?"
Yang Chun was momentarily startled, then he chuckled, "Yes, yes. Having nowhere else to go, I had to make a living in Centipede Ridge. But we only rob the rich to help the poor."
Hearing this, Liu Ce had his suspicions. Da Lao Hei returning to the stronghold and Yang Chun coming to the county town was clearly a diversion tactic. What else could this be but guilt?
With this thought, he deliberately sighed, "Alas, since you are all acquaintances, I will be frank. My young lady has already led people to surround Centipede Ridge. Brother Yang Chun, you should not go back."
Yang Chun's heart sank upon hearing this, but he had to feign extreme surprise on the outside.
"What does this mean?"
Yang Zhi, however, burst into laughter, "What does it mean, Brother? As long as you don't go back, Brother, this matter has nothing to do with you. Let's find a place to drink ourselves silly."
After speaking, Yang Zhi gave Liu Ce a look. Liu Ce understood; Yang Zhi clearly didn't fully believe Yang Chun's words either, and this was another attempt to test him.