Chapter 18: Water and Fire Are Incompatible (3)

  Liu Guan jia squeezed to Zhang Si ye's side, this Liu Guan jia was the manager who brutally beat Huo Xiao xie and his three companions a few days ago. Liu Guan jia leaned into Zhang Si ye's ear and said: "Tell Zhang Si ye that I've seen this kid before, two days ago he somehow climbed over the wall, stole some pastries and ran off, we caught him and beat him half to death."

  "What's his name?" asked Zhang Siye.

  Liu Guan said: "He should be called... Na... Po Tian, yes, Na Po Tian."

  Zhang Siye furrowed his brow and asked, "Is he alone?"

  Liu Guan said, "No, the four of them, all about the same age, were caught by us. They seem to be calling each other brothers... Ah, I remember now, these kids often collaborated in stealing chickens and dogs on the east market..."

  Zhang Siye didn't wait for Liu Guan to finish speaking, his brow furrowed and he exclaimed: "It's all over!"

  Hei San's words had barely fallen when he pulled out a small object from his bosom, swung his hand and sent it flying into the air. With a loud bang, it exploded, shooting out colorful sparks in all directions, extremely eye-catching.

  Just as everyone was stunned and looked up, another loud explosion was heard, and the courtyard wall was blown down by half. Moreover, white smoke billowed out, covering the sky and earth, absolutely not ordinary explosives, but smoke bombs mixed with white powder.

  Hei San Bian and Huo Xiao Ye instantly disappeared into the smoke, the crowd was in a state of great chaos. These people were also well-trained, unable to see anything ahead, yet they still rushed forward in a frenzy. Suddenly, several landmines were thrown out from the white fog, exploding as soon as they hit the ground, instantly sending over ten people flying, and a patch of blood red appeared in the white fog.

  Hei San Bian's name shook the Northeast, known as one of the four great thieves. This title wasn't just for show; he truly had exceptional skills. A great thief isn't a bandit leader; they usually work alone, don't occupy mountains or become kings, and prioritize stealth over violence. If they can get away with it, they won't kill people easily. Their methods are also more clever than those of bandits. While bandits rely on brute force, great thieves rely on cunning. Therefore, in the Northeast or anywhere else in the country, being called a great thief is considered higher status and more respectable than being a bandit leader. Hei San Bian was a great thief, but he also had a strong bandit aura. When others came to steal, they would dig tunnels and create holes; Hei San Bian would simply blast his way in with cannons! Of course, his escapes were just as daring.

  Hei Sanbian brought Huo Xiaoxie to Zhang Siye's mansion, and had already thought that it would be easy to get in, but difficult to get out. He feared that it would be hard to obtain the treasure and leave smoothly. So he arranged for several of Huo Xiaoxie's sworn brothers, Lang Deben, Lao Guanqiang, and Bi Hou, to wait outside the wall surrounding the mansion. As soon as they saw smoke rising, they would rush forward with explosives to blast a hole in the wall.

  Hei Sanbian was an expert in using gunpowder, and with a few touches on the wall, he could estimate how much gunpowder it would take to blast it open. Blasting it open was also an art, as it required creating a hole rather than bringing down the entire wall. For Zhang Siye's house, Hei Sanbian used the method of blasting a single hole, which was a clever calculation on his part. If he had blasted open the entire wall, people would have swarmed out, which wouldn't have been good; but with just one hole, the pursuing soldiers would have to crawl out one by one, delaying them for quite some time.

  Hei Sanbian dropped a few earth grenades, heard a burst of miserable cries, knew he had succeeded, and with a reverse swing of his rifle butt, knocked Zheng Fuquan unconscious. Hei Sanbian rushed to Huo Xiaoxie and shouted: "Run!"

  Two men carried Deputy Zheng, rushing towards the cave entrance. The two of them rolled and crawled, and in the blink of an eye, they had scrambled out. As soon as Xiao Huo got out, he heard Lang Deben yelling outside the cave entrance: "Big brother! Big brother!"

  "Damn it, you fools!" Huo Xiaoxie cursed. He wanted to scold a few more sentences, but before he could, Hei Sanbian had already dragged Zheng Fuguan away! Huo Xiaoxie hastily followed, and Lang Deben and the other three heard Huo Xiaoxie's voice, knew it was him, and rushed over upon hearing the sound.

  "Hei San Bian shouted: 'Come and help!' Lang De Ben and they ran over"

  Everyone has run out of the white smoke and can see each other's faces clearly now.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié was startled when he saw them. He only saw Làng Dé Bēn, Lǎo Guān Qiāng and Biě Hóu, all three of whom had dark faces and were covered in blood from head to toe. The three of them didn't care about anything else, they helped Huǒ Xiǎo Xié drag Zheng Fù Guān away as they ran.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī Zhēn Zhōng Yī Suān, Shuō Dào: "Nǐmen Zěn Me Huì Shi?"

  Translation:

  Huo Xiao's face turned sour as he said, "What's going on with you guys?"

  "Detonator's too short! Lucky it didn't kill us!"

  Huo Xiao Xie's anger surged in his heart as he gazed at Hei San Bian's figure, cursing inwardly: "You scoundrel Hei San Bian, you've brought my brothers here to send us to our deaths!" Huo Xiao Xie continued to curse, but for now, he still needed Hei San Bian to lead the way in their desperate bid to escape, so he gritted his teeth and followed closely behind him as they fled forward.

  Behind Zhang Siye's house, someone had already crawled out of the hole and was pointing at the backs of Huo Xiaoyu and others, shouting "They're in front!" A large group of people were chasing after them!

  "Hei San Bian shouted ahead: 'Hurry up! Hurry up!'"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié followed closely, running for another ten or so meters, when a narrow alley appeared on the right side. Hei Sān Biān pulled them into the alley and continued to sprint wildly, while the sounds of pursuit behind them grew closer and closer.

  This alley is a deserted alley with high walls on both sides and no houses. The weeds are dense, but it's quite secluded.

  Hei Sanbian turned his head to look, and the people from Zhang Siye's house had already rushed into the alley. Hei Sanbian burst out laughing and cursed: "Damn it, you asked for it! Looking for death!" After laughing, Hei Sanbian took out a landmine from his bosom and violently smashed it onto the ground not far behind him. It was strange that he didn't throw it at people, but instead threw it on the ground. However, when the landmine hit the ground, it didn't explode, but instead erupted into a huge fire. The flames were extremely fierce, clearly fueled by gasoline.

  The pursuers of Zhang Siye's family were also fierce, seeing the big fire rising, they did not retreat, someone shouted: "Charge! Charge!" But as soon as the words fell, only a loud rumbling sound was heard, and flames burst out from under their feet, instantly blasting these people to pieces, and there was no more human voice.

  Hei San Bian burst out laughing and continued to run forward. Huo Xiao Xie's heart sank: "This Hei San Bian is indeed a madman who kills without batting an eye!"

  A few people ran a little further, and at the front corner, a tall horse was tied up. Hei San Bian ran over, and next to him, a person stood up shakily. Seeing their appearance, he knew they had encountered something big, but this person was also muddle-headed, and still asked: "Master, Master, I've been waiting for you all night, will you give me five times the horse money as promised?"

  Hei Sanbian raised his hand and shot an arrow, hitting the man's forehead, and he died instantly.

  "Hei San Bian cursed: 'Your mother's melon seeds! Who agreed to give you five times the horse money?'"

  Hei Sanbian's move also scared Huo Xiaoxie and the others half to death. Hei Sanbian cursed, "Bring that man over to me on horseback!" Huo Xiaoxie and the others didn't dare disobey, and quickly pushed Zheng Fuguan onto the horseback. Hei Sanbian stepped into the stirrup and mounted his horse, laughing loudly: "You few kids! You've done well! If you can still be alive when you see me again, I'll reward you heavily! Let's go!"

  He cracked his whip on the horse's belly, and it galloped away at once.

  He stretched out his hand, at a loss, and muttered: "Hei Dà Yé... aren't we walking together?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī bā zhǎng pāi zài Làng Dé Bēn nǎo mén shàng, mà dào: "Tā bǎ wǒmen shuǎi le! Kuài pǎo ba! Zhè cì wǒmen shì shā tóu de zuì le!"

  The four little guys finally came to their senses and sprinted forward with all their might!

  Hei San Bian whipped the horse into a frenzied gallop, and as they approached the end of the alley, a three-pronged fork in the road appeared. Hei San Bian knew that reaching this fork meant he was halfway to success, and thinking back on his actions tonight, he couldn't help but feel smug, shouting: "This is the life!"

  Hei San Bian had just finished speaking when a dark object suddenly came crashing down in front of him. Hei San Bian was quick-witted and swiftly dodged to the side, but the object still managed to hit his shoulder, pinning it down!