The continuous thunder made Cheng Yaojin excited.
He patted Fang Er and said.
"How many hits do you think this pedantic fellow can take?"
The old man surnamed Liu on the side glared at Cheng Yaojin upon hearing his words.
As if intending to reprimand him for his disrespect.
Cheng Yaojin noticed his gaze and turned to look at him.
He raised his fist.
"What! Recognize this? Pedantic fellow!"
After threatening the old man surnamed Liu, he turned to Fang Er with a confident expression.
"Brother, come, let's bet. I bet ten boxes of cigars they can't last a hundred strikes!"
"Holy cow!"
"A hundred strikes!"
"Can it even strike a hundred times in half a month?"
Fang Er rolled his eyes at Cheng Yaojin.
"You might as well just ask for them directly!"
"Speaking of which, do you have ten boxes of cigars?"
Cheng Yaojin instantly looked wronged, blinking his eyes at Fang Er.
"Brother, give me ten boxes of cigars."
Fang Er dug into his ear.
"What did you say? The thunder was too loud, I couldn't hear clearly."
Cheng Yaojin replied with a serious expression.
"Brother, give me...!"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Fang Er.
"Not that sentence, the one before it."
Cheng Yaojin thought for a moment and said.
"I said, brother, let's bet, I bet ten boxes of cigars, ...!"
Before he could finish his sentence again, Fang Er interrupted him once more.
"Okay! Deal! I bet they can't last a hundred strikes."
Cheng Yaojin was stunned!
"No! Brother, it's me betting they can't last a hundred strikes!"
Fang Er waved his hand.
"Forget it, forget it, let's not bet. I'll give you two boxes when we go back for a drink later."
Cheng Yaojin quickly agreed.
After a while, he felt that something was still not right.
Fang Er ignored him and continued to focus on the shelter.
Kong Yingda placed his hand on Yin Leizhen's body, his face filled with excitement.
"Brother Yin, after this, I will abandon my official post and travel the land, spreading the teachings of the sages!"
Yin Leizhen shook his head instead.
"Brother Kong! I believe we should first reclaim the position of Imperial Tutor!"
"Then resign! Let the current emperor know that it is we who reject him, not he who rejects us!"
The old man surnamed Luo also chimed in.
"Yes! Brother Yin is right! After we resign, we can travel the land together!"
"This constant heavenly lightning, yet it cannot harm us in the slightest, it must be the sages displaying their might."
"From this, it is evident that Confucianism is destined for prosperity!"
"At that time, with disciples all over the world! This Great Tang will undoubtedly be ruled by us Confucians!"
Looking at Kong Yingda and the others in the shelter acting so smug, Fang Er even began to worry for them.
Worrying that they would suffer a stroke from their arrogance before being struck by lightning.
He glanced at Cheng Yaojin again. This guy was still mumbling about what exactly had gone wrong.
But before he could figure it out, a thunderous clap sounded directly above his head.
Then, a lightning bolt of unprecedented thickness flashed from the clouds directly overhead.
It descended along the Luoyang shovel!
The forty-meter-long Luoyang shovel instantly turned red.
Then, countless small electric snakes emerged around it.
Fang Er instinctively looked towards the shelter.
The four old men sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the dry grass, their hair instantly stood on end, and then, as if hit by a vehicle, they were violently thrown far away!
Kong Yingda, who was furthest from the iron tower, collapsed into the mud and water, twitching continuously, occasionally opening his mouth to exhale a puff of white smoke.
The other three, being closer to the iron tower,
Were even more tragically off.
The old man surnamed Luo had half a shoulder missing.
The one surnamed Qi was slightly better, his body was still intact.
The most miserable was Yin Leizhen. He was closest to the iron tower, and his entire body had turned into charcoal!
Even that wasn't the end; he flew directly onto the iron frame!
His entire body had split open!
Seeing Kong Yingda still able to move, Fang Er breathed a sigh of relief.
Although this person was detestable, he was still a member of the Kong family.
It wasn't that Fang Er feared the Kong family, but rather that he had to show some respect to the old scholar.
He glanced at Cheng Yaojin. This guy hadn't noticed anything happening in the shelter at all.
Instead, he was muttering something. Seeing Fang Er look at him, he suddenly said.
"Brother! No! Elder brother bet they couldn't last a hundred lightning strikes!"
"How did ten boxes turn into two boxes?"
Fang Er was speechless.
He pointed to the shelter and walked over to the old man surnamed Liu, who looked shocked and fearful.
"Did you see clearly?"
"Go report to the Kong family. This Marquis is waiting for them!"
After saying that, he walked back towards the manor, holding his umbrella.
If the Kong family didn't know any better and came looking for him, heh, then he wouldn't blame himself for being truly ruthless!
The previous drizzle had intensified, with large raindrops hitting the old man surnamed Liu's face, yet he seemed oblivious.
"Where is the promised righteous energy protecting the body, impervious to a hundred tribulations?"
"Where is the promised manifestation of Confucius, protecting Confucian scholars!"
"Why!"
"One moment everything was fine, the next it all reversed so suddenly?"
He stood there, completely bewildered, staring at the three people sprawled in the mud and water, and the dismembered body of Yin Leizhen, muttering incessantly.
Cheng Yaojin spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground after seeing the fate of Kong Yingda and the others.
"Serves them right!"
Then he mounted his horse and rode into the heavy rain, chasing after Fang Er.
"Brother, wait for me, cigars! Cigars!"
In the palace, Li Shimin, hearing the thunder outside, suddenly felt that something might be amiss.
He immediately sent someone to check on Fang family manor.
An hour and a half later, Lai Yifa, soaking wet like a drowned hen, returned to the Palace of Two Poles.
"Your Majesty, that Dr. Kong and three other doctors were struck by lightning!"
Li Shimin was startled.
"What's the situation?!"
Lai Yifa looked terrified.
"Your Majesty, when I arrived, they were all under the iron tower that was attracting lightning. Yin Leizhen was turned into a charred lump by heavenly lightning!"
"Dr. Kong, Dr. Luo, and Dr. Qi were slightly better, but it seems they may not survive either."
Li Shimin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Kong Yingda didn't die, everything would be fine. As for the deceased Yin Leizhen.
He could only blame himself for choosing such an inauspicious name.
Yin Leizhen.
Lightning rod.
Heavenly lightning strikes him, and it would be wrong if he didn't die.
"Have the imperial physicians prepare, and notify the imperial guards to be ready. Bring them back when the rain stops!"
Strangely enough, as soon as Fang Er entered the courtyard, the heavy rain stopped.
Cheng Yaojin dismounted his horse, wiped the rain from his head, and then gave a shake.
"Heh! Look! It's great not to have hair!"
Then he looked at his own wet clothes and then at Fang Er's figure.
Helplessly, he called out to Zhang De at the door.
"Go, find me a set of your clothes!"