Chapter 261 - 160: Let Him Off

Li Gang and Zhang Shiyang watched the scene unfold, their legs grew weak with fear and they staggered back repeatedly.

Li Gang shouted in a trembling voice, "Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! We surrender!"

He had witnessed the power of the gun before today. He knew that in front of that dark muzzle, even martial arts masters have no ability to challenge.

Therefore, he was smarter than Cao Xiong. He understood very well that at present, apart from surrender, there was no other choice.

But Gou Sheng’s mind was stubborn. Just thinking of how these few guys almost caused him to be demoted from overseer to laborer, anger welled up inside him.

Ignoring their pleas, he raised the gun again and aimed at Li Gang.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot rang out.

Li Gang fell to the ground with the shot, a bloom of blood flower blossoming on his chest, yet his eyes just happened to meet Cao Xiong’s.

His eyes were wide open, seemingly wanting to use that unwilling gaze to slice Cao Xiong a thousand times.

Unfortunately, he could no longer do that; he had already lost his breath in an instant. His head tilted and remained motionless.

Gou Sheng’s gun muzzle then switched to Zhang Shiyang.

Zhang Shiyang was so scared that he slumped to the ground, clutching his head and cried out, "Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! I didn’t do anything!"

At this critical moment, a deep and authoritative voice came from the darkness.

"Gou Sheng, stop!"

Prince Zhao, who had been focusing on Cao Xiong, swept through like a phantom in the night; his gaze like a blade, coldly scanning each person present.

Gou Sheng’s gun muzzle trembled slightly, then drooped down.

"Zhao... Mr. Zhao..."

Gou Sheng stammered, the anger on his face dissipated, replaced by a thread of fear.

He was afraid that in anger, Prince Zhao would punish him by making him do labor.

Prince Zhao ignored him and walked to Cao Xiong’s side, glanced at his wound, and said flatly, "Take him away! No need to trouble the doctor to treat his wound, he won’t live until tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The patrolling soldiers rushed forward swiftly and dragged Cao Xiong away.

Cao Xiong’s face was as pale as paper, yet a cold smile hung from the corner of his mouth, his voice extremely weak.

"Zhao Zun, you... think you’ve won? I won’t let you go even as a ghost..."

Prince Zhao looked at him expressionlessly and waved his hand, "Take him away."

On the mining field, everyone was awakened by the gunshots and poked their heads out of the shacks.

Seeing Li Gang lying on the ground and Cao Xiong being dragged away, their eyes were full of fear and anxiety, and no one dared to entertain the thought of escaping easily.

Seeing one captured and one dead before him, Zhang Shiyang was so frightened his legs trembled, his face colorless; the shovel in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but realized that he couldn’t utter a single word, just swallowing hard.

Once Cao Xiong’s figure disappeared into the darkness, Prince Zhao turned and walked to Zhang Shiyang.

Seeing Prince Zhao stand before him, Zhang Shiyang feared he might not escape death today, he scrambled to his feet and directly knelt down.

"Zhao, uh... Prince... Prince. Spare me, I... I haven’t done anything."

Zhang Shiyang couldn’t even speak properly, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"Mr. Zhang, why do you do this?"

Prince Zhao gazed down at him from the backlight, without a hint of compassion in his eyes.

"Did you all think the Prince would give you a chance to escape? How naive."

"Have mercy, Prince! Have mercy on me, Prince!"

Zhang Shiyang’s face was ghastly pale, kowtowing repeatedly, his voice filled with fear and despair.

Prince Zhao lightly curled his lips, "However, Mr. Zhang, I still want to thank you all. With your attempt to escape tonight, I can make an example."

Speaking, Prince Zhao raised his hand and pointed at those shackled prisoners tentatively looking out, his tone strangely relaxed.

"Look, instantly one dead, one injured. Those prisoners may not dare to act rashly in the future."

Zhang Shiyang dared not respond, only kneeling on the ground and quickly glanced towards the direction of the shacks.

Sure enough, under the faint light, those prisoners were glancing over with a face full of fear, seeming to discuss something in whispers.

Zhang Shiyang could guess without hearing that they were discussing the power of those two gunshots just now.

Zhang Shiyang anxiously glanced at Prince Zhao again, then hurriedly lowered his head.

At this moment, he realized that everything tonight was intentional by Prince Zhao, the purpose being to use them three as chickens.

Cao Xiong and Li Gang were soldiers, skilled in martial arts. Even they were battle chickens that fell instantly under the gun muzzle, what could he, a scholar chicken, do?

Thinking this, he finally gave up, his body weakened, and he sat limply back on the ground.

"Prince... Prince, I... no, it’s my fault, I won’t run again."

"Haha, that’s right, Mr. Zhang."

Prince Zhao mocked, curling his lips: "With your exquisite skills as a craftsman, if you were like those two, shot dead with one bullet, tsk... that would be truly a pity."

Prince Zhao emphasized the words "one bullet" and "dead," making Zhang Shiyang’s back hair stand on end.

"Have mercy, Prince, have mercy!"

He didn’t know what to say, only endlessly pleading for mercy.

Prince Zhao’s mouth curled higher, he sighed pretentiously.

"Ah! Mr. Zhang has a skill, unlike those two idiots who deserve to die. The Prince cherishes talent, so... Mr. Zhang, don’t think about escaping back to Capital City, stay with the Prince and serve him. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shiyang dared not refuse, he immediately knocked his head repeatedly.

"I... I am fearful, I will only follow the Prince’s orders, only follow the Prince’s orders."

Although he came from a craftsman background, he managed to mingle in the court for a few years. He certainly understood Prince Zhao’s implied meaning, which was as long as he behaved obediently, Prince Zhao would spare him.

Thus, between escaping and life, he could only choose life.

"Good! Mr. Zhang, please rise."

Prince Zhao’s smile deepened, he stepped forward to help Zhang Shiyang up, his tone softened.

"Canzhou needs skilled craftsmen like Mr. Zhang right now. From tomorrow, you and your craftsmen will return to Yong’an City! Any tasks, the Prince will send someone to inform you."

"Yes! Yes! Thank the Prince for sparing me."

Zhang Shiyang said fearfully, hanging his head, not daring to look at Prince Zhao directly.