Fortunately, the heroes arrived quickly. They probably sensed something unusual from my anxious voice. Moreover, the fact that I mentioned the old campus was itself a signal, as this place had hardly been used since the new campus was built.
About ten minutes later, the auditorium was packed. Li Shishi had already quietly told the heroes what had happened, and they were all indignant and eager to fight. Seeing that about 80-90% of the people were there, I said somewhat awkwardly, "Um... please, the teachers whose names I've mentioned, leave... uh, things are a bit urgent, I'll explain later—Teacher Cheng Fengshou, Teacher Duan Tianlang, and their fellow disciples and students, please leave. Teacher Tong Yuan, please leave..." I turned around and saw Xiao Liu, and said with a wry smile, "Xiao Liu, you get out too!"
Xiao Liu stepped forward and said, "Brother Qiang, we've heard about what happened. What do you suggest? Cooking is just a side job; fighting and taking over other people's territory is our specialty!"
I was taken aback. Sure enough, Cheng Fengshou and Duan Tianlang were both looking at me with serious expressions, clearly already aware that Baozi had been taken hostage. However, although they had spent half their lives practicing martial arts, they were honest men, and naturally, they weren't as excited as the bandits when faced with such a situation. They all wanted to know what my next move was.
I asked urgently, "How did you know?"
Xiao Liu said, "I didn't know at first, but everyone was talking about it just now. We're not deaf, so naturally we knew that Brother Qiang was in trouble." This was the biggest problem I overlooked. I should have realized that the heroes and these people had been living together day and night and were already very close. Even if they were intentionally trying to avoid anything, with so many people talking, they were bound to overhear some things. Besides, the heroes would have already exploded upon hearing this kind of thing. Could you really expect loudmouths like Li Kui and Hu Sanniang to discuss it quietly like Wu Yong and Lin Chong?
This is getting more and more chaotic, and now this bunch of people have gotten involved. I never intended for Cheng Fengshou and his group to fight for me. They are skilled in martial arts, but they are all law-abiding citizens. Firstly, I don't want to force them, and secondly, they are the future hope of Yucai School. The bandits don't care about such a large-scale commotion; they already have little time left. But Cheng Fengshou and his group are officially teachers. Leading a group of teachers to disrupt a gang's territory—it's hard to avoid being on CCTV's "Focus Interview." How can I let these talented people leave their teaching positions with such a stain? Although this incident will cost me my job as the principal of Yucai School, this school represents my hard work, and I don't want it to end up as an empty shell.
I waved my hand and said, "Teachers whose names I just called out, please leave. This matter has nothing to do with you."
Tong Yuan pointed angrily at Fang Zhenjiang and the other heroes beside her and said, "What about them? I just don't understand. We get the same salary, so why are they treated like royalty?"
Cheng Fengshou, Duan Tianlang, and the others had probably noticed this problem long ago, and they were all looking at me.
Fang Zhenjiang quietly pulled Yuan aside and said, "Just leave when I tell you to. We're staying not because we're more valuable than you, but because our lives are cheap. Can't you guess the consequences of getting involved in this?"
Tong Yuan shouted at me, "Tell me what you plan to do first!"
As soon as I heard that, I knew I had to go all out today, so I said, "I'm going to take some men and smash up Lei Laosi's place until he hands over my wife. Ladies and gentlemen, you're all teachers, so let's not talk about being role models. Anyone who comes with me tonight will either lose their job or end up in jail. I don't need to tell you that, do I?"
As expected, Cheng and Duan's fellow disciples murmured in surprise.
Tong Yuan still pointed at Fang Zhenjiang and asked, "What about him? Why are you so comfortable taking him with you?"
Fang Zhenjiang's face darkened, and he said, "Say less. We have important business to attend to. Don't meddle in things that aren't your business." This was the first time Fang Zhenjiang had ever argued with his girlfriend.
Tong Yuan readily agreed, "Fine, I won't interfere with you, and you shouldn't interfere with me. I'm definitely going this time. I haven't met Sister Baozi much, but we're like sisters."
Seeing her resolute attitude, I said, "Okay, then, apart from Teacher Tong, everyone else I just called out..."
Cheng Fengshou suddenly stepped forward, smiled憨厚ly, and said, "Team Leader Xiao, we're just a few farmers, how could we be qualified to be teachers? The reason I call you Team Leader Xiao is because I remember the night we first met. That night was truly unforgettable!" He even had a smug expression as he spoke.
I:"……"
I knew he was referring to the night we fought with the heroes during the martial arts tournament, but his words were far too ambiguous. Everyone knew he was a kind and honest man, and any misinterpretation of his words was purely a result of a sordid mind, yet we couldn't help but chuckle.
Cheng Fengshou continued, "As I've said before, although we may be a bunch of frogs in a well, we haven't forgotten the code of honor among men. If we encountered this today, we would stand up for the country even if it were a stranger, let alone with so many like-minded fellow practitioners. Forget about teachers or principals; for the sake of our friends, we have to help. At worst, we can go back to farming." His fellow disciples cheered and agreed.
Now, among the "outsiders," only Duan Tianlang remains, and Duan Tianbao and his disciples are eagerly awaiting his response. Duan Tianlang is a man of exceptional skill, having once proclaimed himself "invincible" at the martial arts tournament. However, the longer you spend with him, the more you realize that he is actually a rather cautious person. His character is similar to his martial arts style; he often thinks several steps ahead of others, and therefore is always more careful. He came to Yucai School with the unwavering dream of revitalizing the Duan family's martial arts. Asking him to do something that would tarnish his reputation and certainly get him expelled from the teaching profession is extremely difficult.
As expected, Duan Tianlang remained silent for a long time, and Huang Jiaojiao's face was also expressionless. Duan Tianbao anxiously tugged at his sleeve and said, "Brother, say something!"
Duan Tianlang remained expressionless and said, "Everyone else is leaving, what's the point of us staying? Even if I have over 3,000 students under my command, they'll still talk behind your back after learning your skills, I understand that. A teacher's job is to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts, with imparting knowledge being the most important thing—but I still think what you're doing is wrong, so I'll reserve my opinion for now."
Duan Tianlang's disciples were stunned for a moment, then suddenly cheered in unison. I had heard Duan Tianlang say that these disciples were all local thugs and ruffians he had subdued with great effort. Only after his strict discipline did they become decent human beings. Now these guys had learned a lot of skills but had no place to use them, so they were probably itching to put them to use. When they heard that their master had actually agreed to "send troops," they were all jumping for joy.
At this moment, all the lords gathered together. Although they had different identities and backgrounds, they were all working towards the same goal: to punish evil and promote good. Lei Laosi's reputation was too bad. As a member of the underworld, he had aroused public indignation and was not far from death. Moreover, he dared to kidnap the wife of the 109th hero of Liangshan, a reserve deity, and the principal of Yucai School!
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Thunder Strikes the Whole City (by the Fourth Brother)
Looking down at the crowd of people filling the pit, I felt a surge of happiness despite the urgency of the situation—hundreds of people were willing to fight me with just a word; my childhood dream had finally come true!
Wu Yong noticed that I was a little excited, so he walked over to me and whispered, "Say a few words to everyone."
I jumped onto the podium and said slowly in a deep voice, "We never wanted to start a war, but we have never been afraid of war. Now, the time for battle has come. The enemy's spear is already at our throats, and we can smell what they ate for dinner just by looking at their burps..."
Xiang Yu, who had just arrived, said, "The first few sentences were quite good, but the rest were a bit disgusting."
Zhang Shun shouted at me from below, "Stop talking nonsense. We didn't get a chance to fight last time. Hurry up and assign tasks, or we won't be able to fight this time either."
Wu Sangui said, "The mission is simple: uproot Lei's territory. But we have an extra mission this time: capture him. So we need more manpower than last time." With these people helping me, smashing Lei Laosi's place will be a piece of cake. The difficulty lies in finding people in the chaos. That's why Wu Sangui told me early on that the more people the better.
Wu Sangui handed the map to Wu Yong: "Military Advisor Wu has a deep understanding of the situation of everyone in Liangshan, so you should take charge of the specific deployment."
Wu Yong didn't refuse. He took the map, looked at it for a while, and said, "In that case, let's divide into 7 groups..."
Fang La interjected, "You guys just need to book six venues, and leave the last one to me and the brothers."
With him and the Four Heavenly Kings, their fighting strength was no less than any other group. These five were undoubtedly capable of conquering cities and seizing territory, but they were a bit weak in controlling the situation after a victory. Wu Yong said, "Then I'll find a few more brothers..." But he looked at all the people below with difficulty. More than 50 heroes divided into 6 groups were already short-handed. Duan Tianlang said, "My useless disciples can follow Old Wang and the others to help out. As for me, I'm willing to follow Master Wu's arrangements."
Wu Yong nodded and said, "That would be perfect. I'll have to trouble Brother Duan to personally lead a group to join forces with Instructor Lin to attack Qian Leduo." Duan Tianlang knew this was just a polite way of putting it. When it came to strategic vision, he was naturally no match for Lin Chong. Although he was being asked to lead the team, everything still had to be arranged by Lin Chong. Without further ado, he stood with Lin Chong.
Cheng Fengshou was treated the same way. Since they were guests, most were assigned as deputies, so they would at least bear less responsibility later. With these two groups, the seven teams averaged over a dozen people per team. Wu Yong had considered everything carefully, grouping several experienced and prudent men with a few fierce generals into each team. After the assignments were finalized, Wu Yong said to Wu Sangui and Xiang Yu, "Brother Wu and Brother Overlord should ideally provide support from the center. Once we receive news of Baozi, we will pounce with lightning speed."
Xiang Yu thought he would definitely have to take the lead, but upon hearing Wu Yong's words, he hurriedly said, "Military Advisor Wu is indeed very thoughtful. I, Xiang, with my mere courage, have overlooked this most important matter." At this moment, individual courage was no longer important. With so many strong men around, Xiang Yu no longer cared about taking on the role of the vanguard.
I noticed a pretty girl standing next to him, Zhang Bing, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "You're here too?"
Zhang Bing smiled and said, "Don't underestimate me. I can easily take on three or five ordinary people."
Since I met Zhang Bing, I really think she is at her most adorable right now.
Lu Junyi stood up and said loudly, "Alright, let's set off now. This battle concerns the lifelong happiness of our brother Xiaoqiang. I hope all leaders will handle it with caution and prioritize the overall situation. If anyone fails due to personal reasons, they will be punished according to military law!"
The heroes, who were bandits in peacetime and soldiers in wartime, all obeyed Lu Junyi's words with utmost respect. Cheng Duan and the others couldn't help but be secretly astonished.
Wu Yong took out his phone and checked the time, saying, "It's 8:35 now. You each group have 25 minutes to get to your positions. Wait for my unified command at 9:00 and we'll move out together. Do not act on your own!"
Everyone agreed, and with a rumble, they set off.
At the 300th Yue Family Army's table, Wei Tiezhu and Li Jingshui watched as others walked out one by one, both showing eagerness. This kind of task was naturally second nature to them, and the 300th Army had a close relationship with them; if it were any other favor, they would have already volunteered. But at this moment, military orders came first. Many soldiers looked at Xu Delong, their eyes filled with expectation and anxiety.
Xu Delong walked up to me and said apologetically, "Xiaoqiang, we should be helping out at a time like this..."