The iron gate of the fourth prison in Quancheng slowly opened.
"Hurry up!"
"Surround it!"
More than a dozen burly men who had been waiting in the plaza outside the gate rushed up and completely surrounded the iron gate.
Today, eight convicts were being released after serving their sentences.
The convict walking in front stopped dead in his tracks, dumbfounded.
What was going on?
More than a dozen burly men dressed in identical black suits stood with their hands behind their backs, their expressions cold and ominous - clearly they were up to no good.
The leader was a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man held a photo in his hand and compared it one by one to the convicts coming out of prison. It seemed like he was looking for someone, which made the convicts break out in a cold sweat as a creeping suspicion arose in their minds: "Could it be that among the people being released with me today, one of them has enemies with these people?"
To be pursued for vengeance right after getting out of prison, how unfortunate!
So, one after another, they ran as fast as they could.
Two minutes later.
The first seven convicts had successively left. Xiao Zhan was the last to walk out of the prison. As he closed the iron gate behind him, he casually glanced at the scene outside. His expression was as calm as still water. He asked, "Are you looking for me?"
"Young master!"
The middle-aged man's pupils suddenly contracted.
The dozens of burly men surrounding them also immediately tensed up, on high alert, their eyes fixed on Xiao Zhan's every move, ready to swarm him at any moment.
Xiao Zhan was nonplussed by this.
"Don't call me young master."
Xiao Zhan shook his head and brushed past the middle-aged man. "From the moment five years ago when I was framed and thrown into prison, then driven out of the Xiao family, I have not been the Xiao family's young master."
The middle-aged man stretched out his hand to block Xiao Zhan's chest, barring his way.
"Whether or not the young master acknowledges it, the Xiao family's blood still flows in your veins. The old matriarch has ordered us to take you back to the capital to see her..." As he spoke, he signalled with his eyes to the burly men surrounding them.
Instantly, the dozens of them swarmed forward, quickly tightening the encirclement.
Three layers on the inside, three layers on the outside.
Not even a fly could escape from this, let alone a person.
"What if I refuse?"
Xiao Zhan was unafraid. His gaze suddenly turned icy cold. He sneered, "Did that old woman tell you what you should do if I stubbornly refuse?"
"We must see you alive or see your corpse!"
The middle-aged man turned to face Xiao Zhan directly. He made no attempt to conceal the killing intent emanating from him.
They dared to kill!
Moreover, with the Xiao family's power in the capital, even if they really did bring back Xiao Zhan's corpse, they would not have to bear any consequences.
"Is that so?"
Xiao Zhan froze for a moment, then smiled.
His smile was tinged with sadness.
Five years ago, Xiao Zhan had still been the young master of the Xiao family in the capital city, a bona fide son of a prestigious household. His father doted on him greatly, grooming him to be the Xiao family's future heir. His marriage with the daughter of the prestigious Lin family in the capital had also been arranged. He had a bright future ahead of him.
However, the world was unpredictable.
His father passed away and his grandmother took over the reins.
Completely unlike his father, his grandmother had never liked Xiao Zhan since he was little, because Xiao Zhan's mother was from Quancheng and her maiden family was just an insignificant minor clan in Quancheng.
She was not from an appropriate background or household!
In his grandmother's eyes, Xiao Zhan's mother was nothing but a wild woman trying to cling to the Xiao family, while Xiao Zhan was just a wild child born from this wild woman. He was completely unworthy of inheriting the Xiao family's assets.
In fact, he was completely unworthy of even bearing the Xiao surname!
And so, five years ago when Xiao Zhan returned to Quancheng with his mother to visit relatives, a strange woman appeared in Xiao Zhan's bed and was caught in the act by people sent by the Xiao family. He was charged with rape and thrown into prison!
His mother was devastated, but was powerless to do anything. She returned to the capital and knelt outside the Xiao family's gates for three days and nights, begging his grandmother to show compassion and spare Xiao Zhan's life. Three days later she was sent to the hospital but could not be saved, and passed away!
It had been five years, five long years!
The hatred in Xiao Zhan's heart had not dissipated, and his grandmother clearly had no intention of letting him off either. The moment he walked out of prison, she wanted him dead!
"Young master, come with us."
Given the current circumstances, Xiao Zhan had no way to resist at all. Although the middle-aged man still called him young master, his tone and the expression on his face held not one shred of respect. "When we return to the capital, if you can kneel and repent in front of the Xiao family gates just like your mother did, perhaps the old matriarch in her mercy will give you a way to live."
In the middle-aged man's eyes, the current Xiao Zhan was as pathetic as a stray dog.
"A way to live?"
Xiao Zhan's gaze was as cold as a blade as he looked straight into the middle-aged man's eyes. He said in a low voice, "Unfortunately, even if you kneeled before me right now to repent, I would not give you a way to live!"
Bang!
The instant his words fell, the middle-aged man's body abruptly bent into a shrimp shape, like a fired cannonball flying backwards. He crashed violently into several of the burly men behind him, instantly knocking them over.
Everyone was stunned speechless.
Xiao Zhan had moved too fast.
So fast that no one saw clearly how he struck. They only felt a blur before their eyes and then bodies were strewn all over.
"You, shameless!"
The middle-aged man spat out a mouthful of dull blood. Clutching his stomach, he struggled for a long time but couldn't get to his feet. He roared, "Get him! Kill him! I want him dead! I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"
The dozens of burly men around them regained their senses and prepared to swarm Xiao Zhan.
Bang!
But at that moment, another muffled bang rang out. One of the burly men had just raised his fist halfway when a startling hole suddenly appeared in his wrist.
Blood spurted, spraying onto the faces of the others.
Everyone froze again.
That was a gunshot!
And what had instantly punctured through that burly man's wrist was an actual bullet!
"All of you stop immediately! Whoever dares to move will be killed without mercy!"
A roar came from the distance.
The burly men reflexively turned their heads in unison. They saw that the originally empty street behind them was now filled with dozens of dark green military jeeps charging towards them in a long line.
Several soldiers in camouflage were standing side by side in each jeep, each armed with an assault rifle.
The scene was extremely shocking!
"Surround them all!"
In the blink of an eye, the dozens of jeeps stopped in the plaza outside the prison. All the soldiers jumped down from the vehicles and surrounded the burly men with three more layers of encirclement, aiming their assault rifles and the dark muzzles directly at the burly men's heads.
Gulp gulp gulp...
An eerie silence descended on the scene, broken only by the sound of frantic swallowing.
Although the burly men were all specially trained bodyguards of the Xiao family, with courage beyond ordinary people, and had committed their share of murder and smuggling, in front of these formally armed soldiers they were still not enough to see.
If they had been ordinary people, they probably would have been scared into wetting their pants by this scene.
"You, you all..."
The middle-aged man lying on the ground had a face pale as iron. His back was drenched with cold sweat. He said in disbelief, "Who exactly are you people? Is there some misunderstanding here? We're the Xiao family's bodyguards from the capital city..."
Capital city! Xiao family!
The middle-aged man's gaze fixed on the middle-aged general who had issued the orders just now, hoping the Xiao family's reputation in the capital would have some effect.
The middle-aged general had the insignia of a major general on his shoulders.
However, the general did not even glance at the middle-aged man. He completely ignored the man's words and walked straight to Xiao Zhan. He saluted respectfully and said guiltily, "Wolf King, I'm sorry for arriving late."