Chapter 106: Strategist Forbidden Entry

Just as Chen Le finished ordering his men to pursue Li Pingyang, his stomach let out a thunderous growl. With a grimace of agony, he clutched his midsection. He suddenly recalled that an hour ago, Li Pingyang had brought over sliced watermelon for the men of the Second Hall. It turned out he had held nothing but malice. Being the glutton he was, Chen Le had eaten the most, and it was only fitting that he was suffering the most now. Before offering the melon, Li Pingyang had instructed Su Liuwu to procure a packet of laxatives. Since this was his home, obtaining such things was no difficult task.

Chen Le realized now why everyone else had been eating while Li Pingyang merely stood by and watched without taking a single bite. He had thought it strange at the time.

"Li Fatty, just you wait!"

Chen Le gritted his teeth in fury, but before he could finish his curse, another sharp cramp tore through his gut. He scrambled toward the latrine with all the speed he could muster. By then, the four men—East, South, West, and North—were also suffering from severe stomach distress and arrived at the latrine door at nearly the same moment as Chen Le.

"I am the deputy commander! Let me go first!" Chen Le gasped, his face turning a shade of purple.

In such a desperate, life-or-death moment, who cared about his rank? It was a free-for-all! A-Ning, the "Swift Sword," hitched up his pants and shoved Chen Le aside. Just as he was about to succeed, Xi Li'an grabbed his leg and dragged him down. Seeing his chance, Zhou Tianlong tried to reap the benefits of their struggle, only for Wang Zhennan to tackle him. Xi Li'an scrambled up, triggered the mechanism on his belt knife, and ensnared Zhou Zhennan’s waist with a chain, yanking him back. Chen Le was soon dragged into the fray, and the group dissolved into a chaotic, writhing ball of misery.

Watching the five idiots fight over the latrine, Lu Qianxue couldn't help but chuckle. But her amusement was short-lived; a sharp pain pierced her own stomach, and her brow furrowed in distress. With small, hurried steps, she slipped past the distracted quintet and darted inside, locking the door firmly behind her.

Hearing the bolt slide home, the five men stared at one another. Chen Le was clutching Zhou Tianlong’s hair with such force that his wig was on the verge of coming off. Zhou Tianlong had his hands clamped onto Xi Li'an’s face, distorting it and exposing his gums in a look of ridiculous, slapstick agony. Xi Li'an had his index and middle fingers hooked into A-Ning’s nostrils, pulling upward, while A-Ning vented his frustration on Wang Zhennan. He wrapped his feet—which hadn't seen a wash in a decade—around Wang Zhennan’s neck; the sheer, pungent force of it nearly knocked the poor man unconscious. Wang Zhennan, not to be outdone, pressed his entire rear end into Chen Le’s face, leaving him unable to even draw a breath, terrified that the man might pass gas.

"Let go first," Xi Li'an choked out.

"You let go first!" Wang Zhennan retorted.

"Stop... stop arguing!" Chen Le gasped. "Let’s do this... I’ll count to three, and we all let go at once."

"Fine!"

Chen Le began to count. When he reached three, everyone released their grip. They finally realized that after all their fighting, they had let Lu Qianxue steal the prize. The five of them then scrambled toward the backyard, sprinting desperately toward the woods.

...

Elsewhere, Li Pingyang had reached the Second Hall, where the captives were being held. He saw two bandits standing guard at the gate, with a whole crowd gathered in the courtyard. Was this really necessary?

Chen Le had ordered heightened security, fearing someone might break in to rescue the prisoners. Seeing so many guards, Li Pingyang, who had already stepped out from behind a wall, quickly covered his face and turned to leave. There was no way to pull off a rescue now; he might as well give up and go to sleep.

"Who’s there?" a guard shouted upon seeing someone approaching, and he hurried over to investigate. Realizing he couldn't escape, Li Pingyang coughed twice and said, "It’s me."

Seeing that it was the strategist, the guard bowed respectfully, though he looked puzzled. "Strategist, what brings you here at this hour?"

Li Pingyang felt awkward. He couldn't exactly tell the man he was here for a jailbreak. He gave a faint smile and patted the guard’s shoulder. "The wind is cold tonight; don't catch a chill wearing so little."

He walked over to the other guard, adjusted his clothing, and reached up to pick a stray blade of grass from his hair. He glanced around casually. "Nothing, just out for a stroll."

Li Pingyang’s feigned concern touched the guards. His warmth was a stark contrast to the coarse nature of men like Chen Le. One guard puffed out his chest, insisting he wasn't cold and thanking the strategist for his care.

Li Pingyang then made a move to enter the courtyard, but the guard, previously so friendly, suddenly drew his blade to block the path.

"Deputy Commander Chen has forbidden the strategist from entering! Please do not make things difficult for us, or else..."

Li Pingyang didn't wait for him to finish. He patted the man’s shoulder, saying he wouldn't go in, all the while cursing Chen Le in his heart. In truth, he had come prepared, having set everything up during the day. He walked to the corner of the wall, pulled out a jar of wine, and offered it to the men.

"Deputy Commander Chen also said we aren't allowed to take anything from you," a subordinate said bluntly, pouring a bucket of cold water on his plans.

Li Pingyang looked helpless. "Is that so? What else did he say?"

"If you insist on breaking in, we are authorized to use necessary measures against you, at your own risk! Please, do not make this hard for us. You should go back."

As the guard finished speaking, the others drew their blades. Li Pingyang quickly stepped back, and they sheathed their weapons, staring at him expressionlessly, wondering why he hadn't left yet.

To their surprise, Li Pingyang simply sat down on the ground, opened the wine jar, and started drinking himself. The fragrance of the wine wafted over, and the men in the courtyard gathered around, swallowing hard, their eyes turning green with envy. Even the two guards, seeing that the strategist was fine, couldn't help but fix their eyes on the jar in Li Pingyang's arms.

Li Pingyang looked at them with amusement, raised the jar, and said, "It’s fine, I won't tell Deputy Commander Chen."

At those words, the guard on the left wavered first. He smiled and helped Li Pingyang up, telling him the ground was cold and inviting him to sit inside. The other guard wanted to object, but Li Pingyang had already crossed the threshold and handed the jar directly into his hands. Smelling the rich aroma of the wine, his resolve finally crumbled.

Soon, the group was arm-in-arm with Li Pingyang, drinking and laughing heartily. One of the men, who had the highest tolerance for alcohol, suddenly felt his head spin. Under normal circumstances, two bowls of wine wouldn't even be enough to satisfy his craving, let alone make him drunk. But today, for some reason, the moment the wine hit his stomach, his head began to buzz.

Finally, accompanied by a sensation of the world spinning, everyone slumped onto the table, one by one. Only Li Pingyang remained standing. Seeing them all down, he knew the drug had taken effect. Fortunately, he had anticipated that they wouldn't trust him and had prepared the antidote in advance.

Opening the door, Li Pingyang saw all the captives huddled together in a small room. Hearing the door open, an old man crawled up. Li Pingyang looked closely and recognized him as Su Baichuan, the head of the Su family and father of Su Liuwu. The old man was equally shocked to see Li Pingyang.

Li Pingyang spoke in a hushed tone: "Everyone has suffered. I am here to rescue you! Stay quiet, follow me, and I will lead you out of here."