Ruan Zijí originally wanted to persuade his uncle again, saying that they should look at the weapons in Young Master Xie's hands and that it wasn't necessary to risk his life. This deal didn't seem profitable at all.
However, seeing his uncle beaming with joy, as if he had struck a great bargain, he suddenly felt he was overthinking.
His uncle might appear a bit rough around the edges, but he wasn't truly brainless.
Since Uncle had dared to sign the life-and-death agreement, he must not be joking with his own life or the lives of the soldiers under his command.
Ruan Lizhi was overjoyed, thinking he would soon get his dream weapon. "After signing the life-and-death agreement, can we fight? Although we haven't seen the weapons in your hands, we can judge their power from the scene. If we really fight, this small residence of yours will likely be leveled. Shouldn't we find a more spacious place?"
Xie Jiang said, "Of course, we can't fight in my residence. It's not worth it to compensate for my residence just to beat up Second Master Ruan."
Ruan Lizhi asked the servants of the Xie residence to pour him another cup of tea. He didn't care about the small advantage Xie Jiang had gained in words; everyone had gone through the impetuous youth.
Xie Jiang suggested, "There are many wasteland areas outside the city. After we sign the life-and-death agreement, let's go outside the city to spar."
Ruan Lizhi nodded, "Going outside the city is good. It's open and spacious, making the fight more enjoyable."
Nie Tong brought the Four Treasures of the Study and walked directly towards Ruan Lizhi, placing the prepared life-and-death agreement on the table beside him.
Ruan Lizhi glanced at it and immediately picked up his brush to ink it.
Xie Jiang asked Nie Tong to go out and give instructions for everyone to prepare to warm up their muscles.
Nie Tong left without a sound after receiving the order.
Ruan Lizhi thought Nie Tong was going to instruct his subordinates to prepare weapons. He quickly signed his name on the life-and-death agreement, and fearing that Xie Jiang might procrastinate or find excuses, he even pressed his handprint.
"When can we go out of the city?"
Ruan Lizhi took the life-and-death agreement and slapped it on the desk beside Xie Jiang.
Xie Jiang picked it up, checked it, confirmed it was correct, and signed it.
"Second Master Ruan is too impatient. It also takes time for me to arrange for people to transport the weapons."
A life-and-death agreement was a waiver signed by both parties before engaging in an act that involved life and death, stating that neither party would pursue the matter regardless of the outcome.
"That's true." Ruan Lizhi paced around the hall for two laps and then sat back down.
Such powerful weapons must be large.
As for how the bandits of Huang Lanshan, whose lair was deep in the mountains, managed to transport such behemoths in, they had discussed it along the way. Their conclusion was that the great weapons were transported in parts and assembled on-site for use.
This was because they had not found any traces of super-large weapon transportation on the mountain paths leading up and down the mountain.
Therefore, they could not follow the transportation traces to find where Xie Jiang had hidden these weapons.
Ruan Lizhi asked casually, "Can they be transported within a morning?"
The time taken for transportation would be enough to determine where the weapons were hidden.
Xie Jiang put down the life-and-death agreement and stood up. "It won't take a whole morning. If we leave the city now, the weapons will be almost ready. Shall we go now?"
"Let's go, let's go, let's go now!" Ruan Lizhi excitedly slapped the table and walked out with Xie Jiang.
However, as soon as they stepped out of the reception hall, a sharp, cold net fell from the sky.
~
Xu Hengyan was in the county office holding a meeting with his subordinates.
Guang Bai quietly entered and whispered a few words to Xu Hengyan.
Xu Hengyan quickly gave a few instructions and then got up to leave.
"How did it start fighting?" Xu Hengyan asked Guang Bai as he headed towards the back office.
Guang Bai recounted everything Ruan Lizhi had done after arriving at the Xie residence.
Xu Hengyan paused, preparing to turn back.
Since Ruan Lizhi was determined to fight, he would let Little Xie handle it properly.
Guang Bai quickly added, "Second Master Ruan signed a life-and-death agreement. If you don't stop him, it's very likely that Second Master Ruan will not return from this trip to Ninghe."
Young Master Xie probably tricked Second Master Ruan into signing the life-and-death agreement with the intention of killing him directly.
Second Master Ruan is truly...
He had personally witnessed the tragic fate of those bandits, so why did he still dare to easily sign a life-and-death agreement with Young Master Xie?
"Little Xie wouldn't..."
Xu Hengyan couldn't finish his sentence because even he didn't believe that with a life-and-death agreement signed, what would she dare not do?
At that time, the life-and-death agreement would be thrown in front of the Ruan family members of the An Yuan Marquis's mansion, and they would not be able to do anything to her openly. Once the life-and-death agreement was signed, it was a matter of fate.
If the Ruan family retaliated in secret, she would be even more fearless.
She would only wish the Ruan family made a bigger fuss.
Xu Hengyan hurried towards the Xie residence.
As soon as he reached the back street, he heard Ruan Lizhi's earth-shattering, howling voice.
Ruan Lizhi's more than ten personal guards, who were waiting outside the Xie residence, had already been taken down by Xie Jiang's subordinates, their arms dislocated. They were all bruised and battered, bound tightly, and thrown on the ground.
Because their mouths were gagged, these guards couldn't even curse or call for help. They could only puff up their faces and make muffled sounds.
Seeing this, Xu Hengyan breathed a sigh of relief.
Ruan Lizhi's guards were only tied up. She probably didn't intend to kill Ruan Lizhi, but Ruan Lizhi was definitely going to suffer.
Listening to the sounds of blows landing on flesh from inside, Guang Bai felt his bones ache even through the large gate.
Second Master Ruan had probably never suffered such a loss in his life, right?
As soon as Xu Hengyan entered the gate, he saw a net that had already been tightened completely.
There were two people in the net...
They had already been coiled into a ball.
Ruan Lizhi and Cao Mian had their heads touching, their faces touching, their chests touching, and their four legs twisted together like a rope.
The net that tightly bound them was inlaid with dense, sharp objects that gleamed with cold light.
Ruan Lizhi and Cao Mian were not wearing full armor, and their bodies were covered in blood.
Da Chui and Nie Tong and a few others were围着this giant ball of net, hitting it fiercely with a stick after stick, enjoying themselves immensely.
Guang Bai swore he heard a cracking sound as soon as he entered the door!
Was it Ruan Lizhi's bone that broke? Or Cao Mian's bone?
Nie Tong and the others were really ruthless.
Da Chui was also among them?
Da Chui...
Wouldn't a blow from Da Chui cause a crack!
Guang Bai thought that perhaps both of their bones had broken.
Xu Hengyan stood at the doorway, looked at the miserable state of Ruan Lizhi and the other man, and tried to intervene.
"Stop hitting!"
Nie Tong and the others looked back. Seeing that the one speaking was Young Master Xu, not their young master, they raised their sticks and continued to hit.
Xie Jiang was sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, eating fruit and watching the show.
Xu Hengyan walked towards her. As he got closer, he saw that there was another person under the shade of the tree.
It was Ruan Zijí, who was squatting against the trunk of the tree with his back to everyone, covering his ears with both hands.
What a case of "out of sight, out of mind." He was truly a good nephew to his uncle.
To avoid displeasing Xie Jiang, he could pretend not to see his own uncle being beaten to death.
Ruan Zijí felt it was alright.
Although his uncle was howling miserably, he had plenty of energy. His uncle's voice could be heard two streets away, so he should be fine.