Chapter 183
183 Capture One and Make an Example of Him
Tu Gang rode his old horse out of the city. Just as he reached the city gate, he met Li Yu and Yang Wei, who were driving the carriage back to the city. Tu Gang, who was riding on the horse, watched blankly as Li Yu drove the carriage from the opposite side. He pulled the reins and placed the horse in the middle of the road. He touched his thigh and smiled lecherously, thinking, “Damn! There’s really such a good-looking woman. I’ll snatch her back and wait for Boss to have enough fun. Hehe…”
Li Yu held the reins and looked at Tu Gang, who was blocking the city gate. She casually picked up the whip and watched Tu Gang drive the short-legged old horse to the carriage. He grabbed the bridle and smiled lecherously. “Yo! Where did this little girl come from? Come play with me…”
“Play with you?” Li Yu looked at Tu Gang’s unrestrained appearance and gently waved the whip. She sneered. “Where do you want to bring your aunt to play?”
When Tu Gang saw Li Yu asking him, he smiled even more brazenly. He let go of the hand that was holding the stirrup and reached out to touch Li Yu’s face. “Green Dragon Stronghold! Follow me, I’ll bring you to Green Dragon Stronghold to eat and drink well…”
Li Yu snorted and waved the whip in her hand. The whip shot out like a snake and wrapped around Tu Gang’s neck. Li Yu pulled hard and Tu Gang fell from the horse’s back and fell to the ground. Yang Wei jumped out of the carriage and stepped on Tu Gang’s face, crushing him back and forth. “Impudent dog, how dare you to be rude in front of my Madam.”
Tu Gang held his breath and his eyes were fierce. He grabbed Yang Wei’s feet and lifted them up, wanting to flip Yang Wei to the ground. Yang Wei used the force to flip sideways and land steadily on the ground. Li Yu jumped out of the carriage and kicked Tu Gang in the chest. She said coldly, “I was worried about not being able to find the Green Dragon Stronghold. You came at the right time.” Tu Gang tilted his head and fainted from Li Yu’s kick.
The passersby watched from afar as Li Yu carried Tu Gang into the carriage and drove into the city.
Everyone began to discuss among themselves. Passerby A said, “I know that that dog belongs to Green Dragon Stronghold. He snatched our village’s Xiaozhong’s wife and even crippled Xiaozhong. The Tu family can’t do anything to him. He’s a vicious fellow.”
The woman beside her looked at her with admiration. “That woman’s martial arts are really good. Whose family is she from? I’ve never seen her before!”
“I heard that the new county magistrate is good-looking, and so is the county magistrate’s wife. Could that woman be the county magistrate’s wife?”
The old man carrying the burden said, “The county magistrate’s wife? How can that be? The women of the government don’t even come out of their houses. How can they know kung fu? Go to work! You still have to hand over the grain in a few days. Alas! It’s been a year. When will it end?”
Li Yu brought Tu Gang home and asked Yang Wei to bring the horse to the cowshed. She carried Tu Gang into the woodshed.
Ruyi was about to bring the women he had bought to see Li Yu when he saw Li Yu carrying an unconscious man to the woodshed. He hurriedly followed her in. “Madam, where did you catch this guy?”
Li Yu smiled faintly and said, “He said that he was from the Green Dragon Stronghold. I was just worrying about not being able to find the people from the Green Dragon Stronghold when he bumped into me.”
Ruyi tied Tu Gang to the pillar with a rope and splashed a bowl of water to wake him up. Tu Gang shouted fiercely, “How dare you tie me up? Do you know who I am?”
Ruyi picked up a piece of wood on the ground and slapped Tu Gang’s mouth. “Tell me, who are you? Where is the Green Dragon Stronghold?”
Tu Gang’s face turned pale from the pain. He spat out a mouthful of blood and glared fiercely at Li Yu, who was standing coldly at the side, and Ruyi, who was in front of him. “I’m a right-hand man of the head of Green Dragon Stronghold. If you know what’s good for you, let me go quickly. Otherwise, my leader will destroy your entire family.”
Li Yu whipped Tu Gang and kicked his knee. She pointed at Tu Gang and said, “You better tell me the truth. What’s your name? What are you doing in the Green Dragon Stronghold? How do we get to the Green Dragon Stronghold? Otherwise, I’ll let you know what it means to live a life worse than death.”
“Ah!” Tu Gang screamed in pain. He straightened his neck and pretended to be tough. “Again! Bitch, I’m not a good man if I tell you.”
Li Yu looked at Tu Gang sinisterly. “Yes! Your courage is commendable. Ruyi, I’ve heard of a punishment that can make people suffer for three days and three nights without dying. I want this good man to have a taste.”
Ruyi bowed and said, “Please instruct me, Madam.”
Li Yu said word by word, “Go to the blacksmith shop and make an iron brush. Then, boil a pot of water and peel him clean and tie him to the bench. Have you seen we remove a pig’s hair?” Ruyi nodded. Li Yu chuckled. “It’s good that you know. Just like how we remove the hair of a pig, pour boiling water on him a few times, and use the iron brush to brush away the flesh on his body, revealing his bones. Oh! Don’t let him die too quickly. Let me think. Just brush twice a day!”
Tu Gang felt his blood run cold. He shook his pants and said timidly, “Monster, you… you’re a monster…” His head tilted and he fainted.
Ruyi’s scalp went numb when he heard this. He thought to himself, Where did Madam hear of such a cruel punishment? He had goosebumps all over.
Ruyi looked at the unconscious Tu Gang and said hesitantly to Li Yu, “Madam, are we really going to make iron brushes to brush him?”
Li Yu smiled and shook her head, gesturing for Ruyi to walk out of the woodshed. She looked at the unconscious Tu Gang. “Aren’t you very tough? I haven’t done anything to you!” Li Yu woke Tu Gang up. “I don’t care if you tell me or not. You’re not the only one in the Green Dragon Stronghold. When the iron brush is done, I won’t want to hear it from you anymore.”
Tu Gang was scared out of his wits. His body trembled like a sieve. He secretly glanced at Li Yu, and Li Yu’s sinister description rang in his ears. His eyes were filled with fear. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk. My name is Tu Gang. I’m the trusted aide of the head of the Green Dragon Stronghold. As for the way to the Green Dragon Stronghold, you can leave from the Western City Gate and walk to the foot of the mountain. There’s a big green rock. Walk up the mountain from there and follow the path. Turn left and walk for a while, then turn right, and walk until you see a waterfall. Climb over the waterfall and climb over a stone wall.”
Li Yu gestured for Ruyi to note it down outside the woodshed and asked, “Is there no one guarding the village along the way?”
Tu Gang nodded vigorously. “Yes, there are slogans! It’s different every day. On the day I came out, the people guarding the road shouted, “The green dragon pressed down on the tiger’s head,” and the people who were entering the village replied, The tiger’s head was like rotten tofu. And when returning, one shouted, “A plate of pig’s head meat,” The people above responded, “The tiger’s head stronghold snatched it, ” and finally, the guards would ask,” Who is here?” The reply would be, “There are only these few bastards,” I don’t know what slogans to shout tomorrow.”
Li Yu said coldly, “You better not lie to me. You should know the consequences of lying to me.”
“I donn’t dare to lie to you.” Tu Gang started crying. He gritted his teeth and promised, “If I lied to you, you… you can brush me with an iron brush.”
Li Yu glanced at him and turned to leave. Tu Gang heaved a sigh of relief and closed his eyes to rest for a while. Then, he opened his eyes and looked around the woodshed and the ropes tied to his body. His eyes darted around as he thought, “I can’t wait for death. I have to think of a way to escape after dark.”
Li Yu took a look at the route that Ruyi had recorded and returned to the courtyard. She said to Ruyi, “Watch him carefully. Don’t give him anything to eat. He definitely has to find an opportunity to run. Let him run. We’ll follow him quietly.”
Ruyi nodded. “Yes, Madam. Go take a look at the two old women you bought!”