"Brothers and sisters, charge!" The crowd of hundreds from Hongshu Slope roared, brandishing sabers, rakes, and hoes as they surged towards the besieged miners.
The mining camp faction, hoping to conjure a miracle of defeating a larger force, still harbored fantasies at the moment of drawing their weapons that the Hongshu Slope people were merely posturing and wouldn't dare to truly harm them.
As the two sides clashed, swords met steel, and the sounds of slaughtering shook the heavens.
Seeing the swords piercing towards them, the rakes striking, the miners were stunned. These wretched lowlifes from Hongshu Slope actually… actually dared to do something to them!!
Even more shocking was that many among the Hongshu Slope people possessed martial arts skills! And their combat prowess was no less than their own!
Lu Ye, with his excessive handsomeness, was undoubtedly an unparalleled master. He moved with the swiftness of the wind and struck with the speed of lightning, felling several burly men in the blink of an eye.
With him alone, they could have subdued all of them.
Seeing that the Hongshu Slope people's enthusiasm for fighting was quite high, he simply withdrew from the fray, leaving the opportunity to them. He stood beside the stout woman, holding her hand, and watched the spectacle with keen interest.
Besides him, there were over twenty youths with impressive skills. Even the group of women, including an old lady, were formidable.
These… these weren't mere peasants! They were utterly vicious, madmen of the martial world! It was simply inconceivable!
And the workers toiling at Hongshu Slope, armed with various farming implements, their eyes gleaming with ferocity, indiscriminately swung their tools at the miners upon sight. They looked as if someone was trying to steal their livelihood.
Logically speaking, the reaction of these workers was the most unexpected for the miners. They had originally believed these destitute wretches to be timid as mice, that even if they were made to crawl like dogs or eat feces, they wouldn't dare to resist. This had been the case for many years.
However, some things had quietly begun to change. Changes they could not have foreseen.
The magistrate Xue, pursued and dodging, managed to turn back during a brief respite to curse, "Madmen! A bunch of madmen! They even dare to hunt down an imperial official!!"
No one heeded his hoarse shouts. Slaps, fists, farm tools – whatever could be used was applied without mercy, relentlessly.
What imperial official? Sorry, they hadn't heard, nor did they recognize him.
They only saw a portly man who had come with the miners to bully them at Hongshu Slope.
Finally, after being slapped countless times, having the back of their heads struck repeatedly, and being kicked dozens of times, Magistrate Xue was bound tightly by the Hongshu Slope people.
Among them, Ji Cheng He and Ji Qin Shi had struck the back of his head five or six times each and kicked his posterior seven or eight times each.
The humiliation and bullying they had suffered at the town yamen years ago were finally avenged, and Ji Cheng He was quite satisfied.
Ah, it felt so exhilarating to be in a brawl.
The three mining bosses also became the most prominent targets. Almost everyone at Hongshu Slope knew the saying "to catch the leader first," so the mining bosses were attacked most ferociously.
Although they held large sabers, as soon as they raised them, the sabers were parried by weapons thrusting in from all directions, rendering them unable to draw them out or swing them down.
The quick-handed women seized the opportunity to stab them several times through the gaps.
The knife techniques of these women seemed to have been taught by a master, stabbing them until they bled profusely, yet without being fatal.
Thus, the three mining bosses also fell, instantly bound like dumplings by dozens of outstretched hands.
As for the guards and overseers, they had no intention of fighting to the death. While shouting war cries, their movements were as sluggish as slow-motion footage, some even remaining motionless, simply surrendering. This was because they were "sensible." The Hongshu Slope people didn't resort to violence; they merely gave them a light thrashing with their fists.
This battle was fought without suspense. It didn't take long before the mining camp faction was entirely bound.
Lightning specifically "attended" to the person who had stepped forward to accuse it of stealing ore. It bit through his neck, tearing him to shreds.
Only then did the Hongshu Slope people witness Lightning's "ferocity" with their own eyes. It turned out that this arrogant, large silver snake had merely suppressed its savagery out of respect for its master. Facing true enemies, it was domineering and cruel, showing no mercy.
Oh, and the Zhang family, who had specifically come to witness the misfortunes of Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, saw that a fight had broken out and immediately tried to slip away. However, they were also severely beaten by the workers, who mistook them for the mining camp faction.
The Zhang family cried out, explaining that they were not part of the mining camp, but no one listened to their pleas.
If they weren't part of the mining camp, why were they standing behind them? Waiting for them to drop their pants and defecate, then feasting on it?
To survive, people would say any shameless lie!
The Zhang family was beaten black and blue. Patriarch Zhang, already missing many teeth, had two more knocked out. Now, even when he wasn't speaking, air leaked out, and when he did speak, it was like a gale.
Zhang Jiawang had one leg broken and his arm dislocated. He also had two knives poked into his buttocks by some sinister brat.
Zhang Jiawang's wife, Madam Xue, had her scalp completely denuded of hair. Like her father-in-law, she too lost two teeth, and they were her front teeth. Now, whenever she dared to open her mouth to speak, people would burst into laughter.
In short, all the members of the Zhang family suffered heavy losses and were severely weakened in this spectacle.
Besides the Zhang family, Granny Chen was also taught a lesson. The women were quite fierce, specifically slapping Granny Chen across the face while yelling, "You damned old hag! For your foul mouth! For your foul mouth!…"
After slapping her, they didn't forget to stomp hard on her fingers.
Fortunately, Zhou Donggua's husband, Li Guaizi, intervened and persuaded the workers not to kill her.
For this, Zhou Donggua shot several venomous glares at Li Guaizi.
In the afternoon, the battle concluded. Bai Sheng granted the workers half a day off, with full wages.
During the fight, the workers had vented their pent-up frustrations. At this moment, they were all filled with passion and high spirits.
They told Bai Sheng and Lu Ye that if anyone dared to trouble Hongshu Slope again, they should be notified immediately. They insisted they wouldn't miss out on any future fights.
Only today did they truly understand how thrilling group fights were, especially when a group of people with a common goal fought together to defend their shared livelihood against enemies. It was incredibly satisfying!
Ah, life like this felt great!
After the workers left cheerfully, Lu Ye instructed the Hongshu Slope people to escort the mining camp captives to the interrogation rooms.
These interrogation rooms were originally thatched huts used to interrogate bandits. Later, at Lu Ye's request, they were rebuilt into several sinister stone houses, specifically for detaining prisoners.
Lu Ye kept only Ma San and Yang Ming from the guard team, along with Wang Xiaoma and Wang Zhugan. All other residents went home to attend to their own affairs.
Within the day, they were to extract confessions from the mining camp personnel through severe interrogation.