After Li Chouxin's retreat, Zhang Xiaopan had nothing to do, and followed Zhang Rao all day long, and rarely appeared even in front of the teachers.

On the third day of Li Chouxin's retreat, Zhang Xiaopan still followed Zhang Rao in and out of major shops as usual, and tasted a lot of Jiangzhou delicacies during the period.

That night, Zhang Rao was taking Zhang Xiaopan to eat in a restaurant, but was attracted by the panic and noise on the street.

The two looked out, only to see many people with large bags of things in their arms frantically fleeing towards the city, as if they were frightened by something, and the two were also very strange, so they called the shopkeeper who was closing the store.

"Little second brother, what's going on outside? Why are you in such a hurry to close the door, isn't there still a lot of diners who have not dispersed? Zhang Rao asked.

The shopkeeper looked flustered, and said to Zhang Rao: "Master Zhang, I think let's stay here for a while, Jiangzhou Wharf was attacked by pirates, and many people outside the city fled into the city. ”

Zhang Rao was also more surprised, after all, he had been in Jiangzhou City for more than a year, and he had never heard of pirates here, and this pirate who suddenly appeared was indeed too sudden, so he asked again towards the shopkeeper.

"Xiao Er, why did this Jiangzhou suddenly become pirates, why have you never heard of it on weekdays?"

Shopkeeper looked at Zhang Rao's curious look, and patiently explained: "Young Master Zhang doesn't know, Jiangzhou is originally close to the sea, and it is relatively wealthy, does the prefect of Jiangzhou have any ability, so Jiangzhou has always been a place where pirates love to come and plunder, but I don't know why it suddenly stopped in the past two years, but I didn't expect it to appear again now, these pirates are all extremely vicious, not only have excellent skills, but even the strategy is much better than the government, so who knows if this government can resist it, alas, it is fate." ”

When Zhang Rao heard this, he realized that it was not that Jiangzhou had always been stable, but that he had not encountered pirates in Jiangzhou in the past two years.

At this time, the diners in the restaurant didn't know why, and they were noisy, but under the patient explanation of the shopkeeper, they gradually calmed down, and even began to be a little worried.

At this time, Zhang Xiaopan asked: "Little second brother, where did these pirates come from, how can they be so powerful?" ”

Dian Xiaoer explained: "Little brother doesn't know, this pirate was originally an outlaw in the southeast coastal area, all of them committed crimes and fled to the sea, and finally gathered into a gang, but in recent years, it has become more and more rampant, and even the government has nothing to do with them, but it is very powerful." ”

Zhang Xiaopan also looked incredulous when he heard this, it was really hard to imagine that there were still pirates who dared to come to make trouble in this era, and he really didn't take the court seriously, so he said: "Xiao Er, can't the government really defeat these pirates?" ”

Xiao Er shook his head and said: "If it is an ordinary pirate, as long as the government works together, it will be dealt with, but I am afraid that what kind of Poseidon Gang, Water Ghost Gang or the like will come, then the government will be defeated if it resists for a while and a half, and now it can only be expected that it is an ordinary pirate." ”

Zhang Rao and Zhang Xiaopan only then understood, and after about half an hour, the street was quiet, and the people in the restaurant thought that the pirates had been repelled, and everyone was happy.

The two also thought that it was an ordinary pirate, so they planned to get up and leave the restaurant, and the other diners also shouted for Xiao Er to open the door of the restaurant and go home.

And Zhang Rao suddenly realized that something seemed wrong, if the pirate was repulsed, he should have seen pedestrians on the street, but not only was the street terrifyingly quiet, but even the people from the official palace who should have returned after winning the battle had not appeared for a long time, and things would definitely not be so simple.

Just as the shopkeeper was about to open the door, Zhang Rao suddenly shouted to stop it.

"Wait! Don't open the door yet, something is wrong!! ”

Hearing Zhang Rao's shouting, the shopkeeper was also taken aback, and quickly retracted his hands that had been stretched out, and looked at Zhang Rao blankly, while the other diners also quieted down and looked at Zhang Rao as well.

Zhang Rao also expressed the doubts in his heart, and dissuaded the diners to wait and see for a while before making a choice.

Sure enough, after everyone waited for a while, the street was still terrifyingly quiet, and only the sound of the wind blowing straw and miscellaneous litter could be heard, which really made people's backs chill.

But there are still people who can't hold it back, clamoring to go out, and the shopkeeper is blocking it in front of the door, and he is about to be unstoppable.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of bells on the street, but this sound was not like the sound of bells on the horses of the government, the sound was obviously much thicker, and the sound was also a little gloomy.

Zhang Rao and Zhang Xiaopan also looked towards the crack in the window, and the people in the store seemed to be holding their breath at this moment, waiting for the result.

I saw a very strange pennant coming from a distance, and the sound of the bell was from the bell hanging under the flag, the bell was black, much bigger than the ordinary bell, it looked very weird, not like a normal bell.

The triangular flag was red and black, wrapped in a red border on the outside, and pure black in the middle, with three big characters embroidered on it, exuding an eerie and bloody atmosphere.

Behind the banner came a team of people, everyone looked fierce and vicious, with large and small scars on their faces, looking very oppressive, and the leader was much more vicious than the people behind him, and the size was much larger than the others, a thick gold necklace hung on the thick neck, with a fierce face, and walked in front of the crowd with a big knife in his hand.

Behind him, several pirates were escorting the captured prefect and several officers and soldiers, kicking and beating as they walked, looking very embarrassed.

"Dragon Island? Where did this pirate come from? Zhang Rao asked curiously.

At this time, the shopkeeper was already so frightened that his legs trembled after he knew that the pirates who came were pirates from Evil Dragon Island, and even his voice trembled when he answered Zhang Rao.

"Evil. Dragon Island! It is the most inhumane and cruel pirate in the southeast coastal area, and under normal circumstances, it rarely invades the interior, and only plunders at sea. ”

When Zhang Rao and the others heard this, they were all shocked.

Dian Xiaoer continued: "The leader of the evil dragon island is called Jiao Long, but he is a great pirate who does a lot of evil, not only hijacking the passing merchant ships, but even their peers are not spared, for the brutal nature of life, the target he sees has never survived, entrenched in the East China Sea all the year round on the evil dragon island, ordinary merchant ships and pirates do not dare to pass through there, many people would rather go around dozens of nautical miles than get involved with him a little, you can imagine how terrifying the pirates of this evil dragon island are." ”

Zhang Rao asked, "What?" Is it really that powerful?? ”

"Young Master Zhang, don't believe it, people who have lived by the sea for a long time are famous for their color change, this Jiao Long is not only brutal by nature, but also strong in martial arts, in the early years, the imperial court sent many officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress, but no one came back alive, and later the martial arts people on the rivers and lakes also spontaneously organized to encircle and suppress, all of them were spared, so there is a saying on the rivers and lakes, that is, 'as soon as the evil dragon comes out, the head is in a different place', and everyone avoids it."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, everyone was completely silent, and he felt that he had made a fatal mistake even if he breathed harder.

Zhang Xiaopan listened on the sidelines and did not express his position for a long time.

Zhang Rao looked out the window at this time at the pirates of Evil Dragon Island who had approached, and it was indeed as the shopkeeper said, there was a feeling that no one should be approached, and the people in the official mansion who were escorted were already so frightened that their faces were colorless, and even the clothes on their lower bodies were wet with scared urine.

Coincidentally, the group of people suddenly stopped when they arrived at the bottom of the restaurant, just because there was an empty square outside the restaurant, and they thought that the pirate should be here to kill people and establish power.

Zhang Rao couldn't help but take another look, and then shifted his gaze to Zhang Xiaopan, Zhang Xiaopan still didn't say a word, but the sword in his hand was already clenched, as if he was waiting for the immortal to come out of the sheath.

"Brother Xiaopan, what do you want to do?? Don't?? ”

Zhang Rao looked at Zhang Xiaopan with some surprise, and Zhang Xiaopan also replied: "It's just in time, I'm worried that no one will accompany me to practice these days." ”

Zhang Rao's face changed, and he said: "Brother Xiaopan, don't be impulsive, although your swordsmanship is excellent, but you can't be underestimated, not to mention that the strength of the other party is still unknown, let's wait and see." ”

Outside the restaurant, the pirates lit a fire in the square, illuminating the whole square, and even the face of each pirate could be seen clearly, more than 100 people, surrounding the entire square, and the captured prefect and officers and soldiers were also escorted to the fire and knelt down.

A moment later, the horn sounded, as if to make a declaration to the people of the entire Jiangzhou, and this Jiangzhou had become their bag.

After Jiao Long stopped the trumpet, he walked in front of the kneeling man and said loudly: "I will either not come out of the Evil Dragon Island, since I have come out this time, this Jiangzhou will be regarded as our brother's new stronghold, it is much better than the Evil Dragon Island, brothers, what do you say?" ”

I saw that all the pirates were cheering, and shouted at Jiao Long: "Evil dragon, evil dragon, swallow the sky!" ”

Seeing this, Jiao Long was also very happy, and asked again: "Brothers, since we want to settle here, what should we do first?" ”

"Of course it's the seizure of the mansion!" A little minion on the side answered loudly.

Jiao Long shook his head and said, "No, no, no! Sooner or later, there will be a mansion, and the first thing we have to do is, of course, kill people and establish prestige, only when prestige stands, can we take root steadily! Only when everyone is afraid of us can we serve us better! ”

When everyone heard this, they shouted the slogan they thought they were proud of, and for a while, the entire Jiangzhou City seemed to be occupied by the eight words they shouted.

Zhang Rao watched from upstairs and said, "I didn't expect that this pirate does have some means and knowledge, but I'm afraid it's too good." ”

Zhang Xiaopan also recognized Zhang Rao's words, and replied rarely: "It's indeed a bit of a stinky fart." ”

After a commotion, Jiao Long signaled his subordinates to start killing the officers and soldiers first, one by one, and several officers and soldiers also died tragically under the knife, and every time they cut down, the pirates were shouting a sentence to the surrounding houses: "Only by surrendering can you live!" ”

For a while, the whole restaurant was panicked, and some people proposed to open the door and go out in order to survive, surrendering to the pirates, thinking that they should surrender and live early, otherwise the pirates will go crazy, and the entire Jiangzhou City will be afraid that no one will be spared.

But he was stopped by Zhang Rao.

"What? How many people do you get scared when you kill them? If you go out now, maybe you will fall into their trap, and maybe you will die! ”

As soon as Zhang Rao's words came out, everyone neither advanced nor retreated, and they were restless in the building.

At this time, Jiao Long walked to the prefect's side, put the knife on the prefect's neck, and shouted loudly: "Fathers and fellow villagers, if you want this dog official to live, everyone will go out, and our brothers on Evil Dragon Island will never harm you." ”

But after a while, no one came out, and the prefect under the knife was already a puddle of mud, and he barely knelt down by relying on two pirates.

Jiao Long stepped forward and said to the prefect: "You dog official, it seems that you are not doing very well, you see, no one in this ordinary person is willing to come out to save your life, if I kill you now, will it be regarded as eliminating harm for the people?" ”

When the prefect heard this, he cried bitterly, but this was also the reason why he completely angered Jiao Long, looking at the prefect's crying face, Jiao Long didn't say a word and directly stabbed the prefect.

"Phew! Soft bones, no wonder they lost the city so quickly! I'm really ashamed to kill you! ”

Everyone saw that the prefect was dead, and the inside of the restaurant became quieter, which directly formed a sharp contrast with the atmosphere outside.

After a while, Jiao Long saw that no one was willing to come out, so he made a gesture towards his subordinates.

Looking in the direction of Jiao Long's gesture, two pirates were escorting the two children forward.

At this time, Zhang Rao also looked at the visitor, but he was angered by this scene, and stomped his feet and said: "Beast, don't you even let go of children?" Is it tolerable or unbearable! ”

Zhang Xiaopan was also attracted by Zhang Rao's words, and looked closer to the window.

The two little beggars, dressed in tatters, were almost five or six years old, and were being escorted towards the dead prefect and others, and the two little beggars were full of fear in their eyes, their bodies trembled, but they were stunned and did not ask for mercy.

After being pressed to the ground and kneeling, Jiao Long smiled: "Look, even the little beggar is much more backbone than this so-called parent official!" ”

This remark drew merciless ridicule from the pirates, and those who got close to it spat at the prefect's corpse from time to time.

At this time, Jiao Long also became more and more arrogant, and shouted loudly to the surroundings: "Fathers and fellow villagers, you are not willing to save the talented dog officer, do you even want to watch these two poor children become the souls of my sword?" ”

It was Jiao Long's words that completely angered Zhang Xiaopan.

Zhang Xiaopan gritted his teeth, remembering that he was also a little beggar at the beginning, if it weren't for Brother Pei Chen, he might still be a little beggar now, and his mind suddenly recalled those painful memories of his beginning, and the immortal in his hand was also shaking.

Just when he was about to make a move, he was stopped by Zhang Rao.

Jiao Long continued to shout: "Folks, if I count to three and you don't come out, I will slaughter the city after I kill these two children, you can think clearly!" ”

Jiao Long said as he walked towards the two little beggars, stood behind the little beggars with a knife, and opened his mouth a few times.

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

Just three times later, Jiao Long saw that no one came out, so he angrily raised his big knife and landed at one of the little beggars.

Seeing that the blade was about to touch the back of the little beggar's neck, Jiao Long also looked proud.

With a "bang", the big knife in Jiao Long's hand was suddenly shocked two or three feet away, and a wooden sword was firmly inserted in front of Jiao Long, which frightened Jiao Long into taking a few steps back.

The little beggar also saved his life at the last moment.

Jiao Long looked around in horror, but there was no human figure, and he sighed in his heart that the power of the sword just now was far above his own, but relying on the large number of people, Jiao Long still shouted tentatively around.

"Who is it! How dare you do something bad to me! Kind of come out for me! ”

It was at this moment that a steel knife flew into the air, landed steadily next to the wooden sword, and plunged deep into the ground.

Before Jiao Long and the others came to their senses, Zhang Xiaopan flew out of the window and landed in front of the wooden sword, followed by Zhang Rao, who fell in front of the knife.

The two looked at each other, then drew their swords, walked over to the two little beggars, and helped them up.

Seeing this, Jiao Long said: "Look, I'll just say that there are still people in Jiangzhou City who have some human feelings, you two bastards, report your name!" ”

"Zhang Xiaopan!"

"Zhang Rao!"

The two of them said their names one after the other, and they didn't say a word more.