Chapter 41 A Choice

The burly man wasn't fazed by the words; his dark face and clear eyes simply stared down at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng was rarely treated like this, given his height.

"Open the door," Chen Xiaomeng also sensed something was off. She pressed the wooden hairpin against the temple of the bearded man, who was as good as useless, and threatened, "Hurry up!"

The village chief and the others also moved closer, intentionally or otherwise, until the two groups were only a few meters apart.

"You can try taking another step forward," Jiang Cheng said, turning his head to look at the village chief and his group, who were itching to move.

Unlike Chen Xiaomeng's threat, Jiang Cheng's warning had an immediate effect, and the village chief and his men stopped moving.

Their gazes subtly focused on the tall, sturdy man.

Jiang Cheng used a match to light the half-burned candle on the candlestick, making his intentions clear.

The man's height almost reached the ceiling, and his dark face was shiny with oil. But in the end, he didn't attack. Instead, he stepped forward again, gripped the crack in the door, and slowly pulled the secret door open.

This alone showed that the man was stronger than Jiang Cheng.

"Back off!" Chen Xiaomeng shouted.

The man looked at her and silently took two steps back.

Jiang Cheng pulled the bearded man, who was slumped on the ground, over to use him as a shield, and let Chen Xiaomeng go in to check first.

After she went in, Jiang Cheng dragged the bearded man bit by bit towards the door.

At this point, the village chief and the others couldn't stay calm any longer and slowly pressed forward.

Jiang Cheng was in an awkward situation. If he wanted to pull the bearded man into the secret door, he would have to open the door wider, otherwise the bearded man wouldn't fit.

But if he did that, he couldn't guarantee that he could dodge into the secret door and close it before the tall, sturdy man attacked.

The strange sense of urgency was becoming more and more obvious. This was a sign that the iron door was about to collapse.

Li Lu had already returned to the real world through the iron door.

And they could already guess what had happened to Yu Man.

"Close the door!" Chen Xiaomeng's voice came.

Jiang Cheng didn't hesitate. He immediately pushed the bearded man, who was being used as a hostage, towards the tall, sturdy man, then quickly dodged back into the door, preparing to close it.

The series of actions was completed in an instant, but just as the door was about to close, a figure crashed in like a tank.

Although Jiang Cheng was prepared, he was still knocked back two meters.

The force was unimaginable.

"Thump!"

A figure fell to the ground in the darkness, wailing like a slaughtered pig.

It was the bearded man.

The two-meter-tall figure stood at the entrance of the secret door. It seemed that he hadn't bothered with the bearded man. Instead, he had used the bearded man's body to crash in.

And the most awkward thing was the location of the iron door.

It was on the wall next to the secret door.

The tall, sturdy man, whose face couldn't be seen clearly, stood there like an iron tower.

Terrible...

Chen Xiaomeng didn't hesitate and immediately rushed towards the tall, sturdy man. She could already see the village chief and the others rushing towards them with murderous intent from the crack in the door. If they rushed in, it would be too late.

If that was the case, Chen Xiaomeng would end things first.

Taking advantage of the tall, sturdy man's unfamiliarity with the dark environment and his eyes not yet adjusted, she leaped high, planning to use the wooden hairpin to cripple his eyes first.

But she underestimated the tall, sturdy man.

A gust of wind swept over her. The tall, sturdy man raised his log-like arm while she was still in mid-air, so fast that it was a blur. Chen Xiaomeng's heart went cold in an instant.

Jiang Cheng couldn't rescue her in time and could only watch as she crashed into the man's fist.

The next scene could already be predicted. The frail Chen Xiaomeng would have at least a dozen bones broken by the punch, and then fall to the ground, her fate unknown.

The bearded man, who had been pretending to be dead for a long time, suddenly had bright eyes.

The next second...

"Pfft!"

It was the sound of a sharp object piercing flesh.

Chen Xiaomeng's attack didn't miss. She pierced the tall, sturdy man's palm.

And the ferocious fist didn't land on Chen Xiaomeng's frail body. Instead, it turned into a palm at the last moment and steadily caught Chen Xiaomeng in mid-air.

Then, under the latter's incredulous gaze, he slowly put her down.

After hearing the dense footsteps coming from outside the door, the tall, sturdy man slammed his powerful back against the door, and the secret door closed with a "click."

Chen Xiaomeng looked at the tall, sturdy man as if in a dream, trying to figure out why he had done this.

The man pulled the wooden hairpin out of his palm, wiped it on his clothes, and handed it back to Chen Xiaomeng. He didn't say a word, from the time he was injured until now.

"A Su Mu!" The bearded man, who had witnessed everything, was going crazy. He cursed loudly, "You ungrateful bastard, who took pity on you and your mother and saved you when you were desperate! Who gave you food!"

"It was my father! It's the village chief of Xiaoshijian Village!" His face was flushed with excitement, and blood flowed from his previous wound from time to time. "Is this how you repay him?! You..."

He stopped there because Jiang Cheng stepped forward and kicked his jaw out of alignment.

"You..." Chen Xiaomeng raised her head and looked at the tall, sturdy man's face, as if trying to capture the answer she wanted.

"The village chief and the others...are not doing the right thing," the tall, sturdy man shook his head. His voice was hoarse, but his eyes were exceptionally clear.

He lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong.

"They shouldn't kill people," he paused and added, "Many people. I told him, but he didn't listen. He can't keep making mistakes."

"My mother said before she returned to Changsheng Tian that whatever you do, it's a debt you owe. Changsheng Tian remembers everything, and it will be paid back one by one." His voice was pious and hoarse.

The iron door made its last buzzing sound and was about to disappear.

Jiang Cheng thought for a while, then pulled out the iron piece and walked towards the bearded man, who was cowering on the ground. The bearded man seemed to know what he was going to do next and tried his best to crawl into the corner.

But he was no match for Jiang Cheng's speed.

However, the tall, sturdy man stepped forward and stopped him. The man shook his head, "Please don't kill him. The village chief only has this son left!"

Jiang Cheng looked at him, "Then what about you?"

The tall, sturdy man shook his head reassuringly, pointed a finger at the ceiling, and said, "Changsheng Tian said that everything is a debt, and you can't avoid it."

The bearded man, whose jaw had been kicked out of place, suddenly made a humming sound, as if he also agreed with the tall, sturdy man's decision to spare his life.

Jiang Cheng thought for a while and said, "How about this? You turn around, and then I stab him to death. You pretend you didn't see it, so the debt will be mine and it won't have anything to do with you."

The bearded man was stunned for a few seconds, then "woo woo ah ah" even louder, thrashing and slapping the ground like a fish out of water.