Chapter 174: Bird in a Cage
February 7th, dusk.

Three tightly packed carriages slowly emerged from the East Lake Gang. They passed through streets and alleys, twisting and turning, abandoning the crowded and crowded streets and choosing the quiet and deserted alleys, heading straight for the Gaosheng Inn.

At the back door of Gaosheng Inn, more than a dozen sturdy men armed with knives and swords jumped out from the two carriages in front and behind. After getting off the carriages, they quickly split into two groups, looked around cautiously, and guarded the entrances and exits at both ends of the alley, not allowing anyone to approach.

Liu San trembled and wandered around three or four times, then quickly walked towards the carriage in the middle and whispered, "Boss, I didn't find anything unusual, get off!"

"Ah."

With a light response, Li Lao Hu, wearing a black cloak and a bamboo hat, was carefully supported by two strong men, quickly got out of the carriage, and followed Liu San into the back door of Gaosheng Inn.

"Haha... the reputation of the Xianwang Mansion is indeed impressive, forcing the powerful Li Lao Hu to disguise himself before going out."

As soon as Li Lao Hu stepped into the room, he was met with a barrage of unreserved ridicule from He Shan, which made him feel ashamed and annoyed. He hurriedly took off his cloak and hat, revealing a square face that looked gloomy.

"Master He, please don't make sarcastic remarks. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. I am just temporarily avoiding their sharp edge!" Li Lao Hu walked to the opposite side of He Shan with a snort, sat down and defended himself, "Liu Xunyi and Pan Chuba are in full swing now, I will not argue with them for now. Humph!"

"You are useless!" He Shan looked at Li Lao Hu with disdain, and scolded him with a smile, "Where is the fearless Li Lao Hu back then? Now, in your own territory, you are frightened into this state by an outsider. It's really shameful! I let you lead the big and small gangs in Yingchuan for so many years, is this the only courage you have?"

He An, who was standing aside, waited for an opportunity to sneer and said, "Boss Li is different now. Back then, he had nothing and was on his last legs, so he was naturally fearless. Now he has everything, including pots, pans, jade, fine wine and meat, and the abbot is always by his side. He has many wives and concubines, so naturally he has to cherish his life. Haha..."

Hearing He Shan and He An's sarcastic ridicule, Li Lao Hu was furious, but he did not dare to act rashly due to the current situation and He Shan's status. He could only remain silent and silently endure their sarcastic ridicule, secretly sulking.

"Tell me! What do you want to talk to me about today?" He Shan asked impatiently, "I am busy with official duties and don't have time to chat with you."

Li Lao Hu's eyes changed, and he suppressed his anger and slowly said, "I'm sure Lord He should know Li's current situation. I have no other intentions here, I just want to ask Lord He to save me!"

After saying that, Li Lao Hu reached into his bosom, tremblingly took out a thick stack of banknotes, and slowly placed them on the table with reluctance, saying, "Here is a banknote of one million taels, please accept it, Mr. He!"

He Shan glanced at the table and sighed awkwardly, "This... I'm afraid it's not a good idea! I don't accept rewards without merit, so I'm afraid I feel ashamed to accept so much money."

"Master He, please accept it!" Li Lao Hu suppressed his anger, gnashed his teeth and knelt on the ground, kowtowed respectfully to He Shan, "Master He, don't worry, this is just the deposit. After this matter is resolved, there will be double the amount of silver notes!"

"Hehe..." He Shan smiled softly, signaling He An with his eyes to accept the banknotes. He then personally helped Li Lao Hu up and asked with a smile, "I will keep these banknotes for you. I just wonder how you plan to let me save you?"

"The Xianwang Mansion is bullying us too much. I would like to ask you to send troops immediately to capture and kill Liu Xunyi and others." Li Laohu's eyes were red, and he said angrily, "It would be best to kill them one by one, so that the people of the Xianwang Mansion will never dare to set foot in Yingchuan again."

"This..." He Shan was embarrassed, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate. You and I both know how powerful the Xianwang Mansion is. Even Luoyang General Wang Xutong couldn't defeat him. How can I, a small official from Yingchuan, be their opponent?" After saying that, He Shan pretended to be helpless and explained, "I have been friends with you for more than ten years. It's not that I don't want to help you this time, but I can help you, but I can't sacrifice my life in vain, right?"

Seeing this, Li Lao Hu's heart sank immediately. He wanted to ask again, but he saw that He Shan had made up his mind and his expression was firm, so he knew that it would be difficult to achieve his wish.

Li Lao Hu thought for a moment and said, "Then please send troops to help me take back the lost territory. Now I have to be careful to prevent the attack from the Xianwang Mansion, so I have recalled all the disciples to prepare for the emergency. At present, there is no one to defend the territory, and no one to rescue it. In just a few days, dozens of places were swept by the Xianwang Mansion, and the losses were heavy. There are also some people who are ready to take advantage of the situation and want to divide up my Donghu Gang's business. So I would like to ask you to send troops to guard for me for a few days. After this storm is over, I will deal with them one by one."

"This……"

"Sir He!" This time, before He Shan could evade, Li Lao Hu took the lead and said, "You said that you didn't want to go against the Xianwang Mansion, and you dared not kill their people. I can understand all this. But there is no need for you to kill anyone, or even confront Liu Xunyi head-on. You only need to send troops to guard in the name of suppressing the riot. The disciples of the Xianwang Mansion smashed, looted and burned everywhere in Yingchuan. You are the lord of Yingchuan. It is your duty to send troops to suppress the riot and maintain stability. Moreover, for so many years, I have been loyal to you and respectful to you in every way. Don't you want to help me with such a small matter now?"

Seeing Li Lao Hu's increasingly anxious eyes, He Shan smacked his lips repeatedly and said evasively: "What you said makes some sense. Let me think about this matter again..."

"Think twice?"

Faced with He Shan's endless excuses, Li Lao Hu, who had been patient, finally exploded and said angrily, "Master He, I have been filial to you for so many years, so I will not mention this matter. In the past few days, I have sent people to beg you no less than ten times, and offered countless gold and silver treasures. It can be said that I have spent a lot of time and effort, exhausted my family wealth, and begged you in every possible way. But you have repeatedly refused. Today, I, Li, risked my life and came here to beg you in person, but you have been talking about other things and perfunctorily giving me excuses. What do you mean?"

He Shan was furious and shouted coldly, "Li Lao Hu, who do you think you are? How dare you yell at me? I am giving you a huge honor by coming to see you today, but you are pushing it too far and don't know what's good for you. Even if I don't help you with this matter, what can I do? Without me, you will die sooner or later!"

"What good!"

Li Lao Hu was the leader of a gang, and he was used to showing off his power. How could anyone dare to speak rudely to him? So he immediately became furious, slammed the table, and shouted angrily: "Don't force me! We are grasshoppers on the same rope. If something happens to me, you will not be able to get away with it either!"

"What do you mean?" He Shan shouted coldly, "You are you, I am me, what does your life or death have to do with me?" "I know all the ugly things you have done in Yingchuan over the years." Li Lao Hu sneered, "I won't talk about the corruption and abuse of power, but do you still remember the three concubines you kept in Nancheng? You think you can hide it from the world without anyone knowing, but in fact I have already found out in secret. If you are unwilling to help me this time, I will expose all your ugly deeds before I die. Then I will see if your crippled wife will let you go? How will your father-in-law punish you?"

"You!" He Shanwan didn't expect that Li Lao Hu would dare to secretly investigate his background. He couldn't help but tremble with anger. His narrowed eyes were suddenly filled with murderous intent. He said coldly, "Li Lao Hu, you dare to threaten me?"

"Master He, you and I have been connected for a long time. If you are willing to save me, I promise that you will have a good life in the future." Li Lao Hu grinned, "But if you want to add insult to injury, neither of us will survive!"

"you……"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, which made Li Lao Hu instantly nervous. Liu San and two Donghu disciples took out their steel knives and stared at the door cautiously.

"Sir, the wine you ordered is here!" The waiter's voice came from outside the room.

Hearing this, Li Lao Hu and the others breathed a sigh of relief. On the other hand, He Shan and He An's eyes moved and they looked at each other subconsciously. He An asked loudly, "But is the wine heated?"

"Don't worry, sir. The wine is already hot and you can drink it now."

"Very good!" He Shan agreed, then turned to look at the suspicious Li Lao Hu, and said in a gentle tone, "We don't need to argue. After all, things haven't gotten out of control yet. Haha... If you have anything to say, we can talk about it over a drink. I'll save you, I'll save you!"

While he was speaking, He Shan had slowly stood up, and under the gloomy gaze of Li Lao Hu, he walked towards the door with He An.

Hearing this, Li Lao Hu thought that his threat had worked, so he was overjoyed, and at the same time he subconsciously relaxed his guard.

After opening the door, He Shan and He An walked out one after another. Then, a conversation could be heard from outside, seemingly far away.

"Master He, all your things are ready, you can take them now!"

"Thank you! Thank you! In that case, I won't bother you any more!"

"Master He, please!"

Hearing the strange greetings outside the door, Li Lao Hu couldn't help but feel suspicious. He suddenly stood up and called to Liu San and the others, "Come with me to take a look!"

But before Li Lao Hu could take a step, a figure flashed outside the room and pushed the door open.

Li Lao Hu looked closely and suddenly realized that the person who came in was not He Shan or He An, but Liu Xunyi, whom he had been on guard against day and night. Behind Liu Xunyi were Xu Heng, Tang Cong, Liao Chuan, and Liao Hai.

"you……"

"Boss Li, how are you?" Liu Xunyi walked towards Li Lao Hu while slowly drawing out his sword.

Seeing this, Liu San and two Donghu Clan disciples immediately roared and rushed forward with their swords. Before Liu Xunyi could respond, Xu Heng and his men had already taken action and killed them instantly.

In an instant, a strong smell of blood quietly filled the small guest room.

"you……"

Li Lao Hu had already been frightened by Liu Xunyi, and was now shocked and angry. But he knew clearly that everything today was a trap, a deception to deliberately lure him out.

"Li Lao Hu, you will surely die if you do too much evil." Liu Xunyi came to Li Lao Hu, and before he could hastily draw his sword, the cold blade had already pressed firmly against his neck. Liu Xunyi said expressionlessly, "For so many years, you have committed numerous crimes in Yingchuan, murdering and setting fires, bullying and bullying, forcing women into prostitution, and robbing. These crimes are truly unforgivable. Today is the day you die!"

……

(End of this chapter)