Chapter 249: A Warrior’s Fury Is Unstoppable
Yun Ce had experienced many things, whether in the ancestral land or in the Great Han, but he had never encountered such crude and low-class extortion.
It was still under the pretext of the Emperor taking a wife to extort him.
At another time and place, Yun Ce would beat the shit out of these people, making them engrave the five words “extortion will get you beaten” into their genes, so that even if they were reincarnated, they wouldn’t dare mention the word extortion again.
But not now; his own Shehuo was about to devour Tai Prefecture’s Shehuo, and he still needed to go assassinate Tai Prefecture’s Inspector. In the face of such important matters, better to avoid trouble than invite it.
Thus, Yun Ce took out thirty taels of gold and handed them to the officer.
The officer pocketed the thirty taels of gold directly, then said with a smiling face: “Tomorrow, this official is also getting married. Shopkeeper, why don’t you give the congratulatory gift all at once and save us the trouble of coming back.”
Yun Ce looked at this greedy fellow, smacking his lips without saying a word.
Perhaps realizing Yun Ce was a timid fool with more money than sense, they came back—nine people in total, eight of whom were getting married tomorrow, and one who was smarter, claiming his old mother was having a birthday.
Yun Ce, troubled, pulled a fried bean from his sleeve, crushed it, and put the pieces in his mouth to chew.
The leading military officer reached out to push Yun Ce. After being dodged, he wasn’t annoyed and still said with a smiling face: “Gold that sees the light in Taizhou City no longer belongs to you. Hand it over obediently. You’re a businessman; you know what it means to lose big over something small.”
1 The grain and oil shop next door to the left had its shopkeeper and family of four standing despondently at the door. From the luggage in their hands, it was clear they weren’t planning to run the shop anymore.
1 The carriage and horse shop next door on the right had its owner tossing luggage onto the carriages and horses, apparently not planning to continue business and preparing to leave.
1 The brothel across the street showed no movement, but from the madam watching the commotion from the second-floor window, her expression showed her mood wasn’t good either. Thinking about it, if everyone with a bit of money in Taizhou City ran away, who would she do business with?
1 “Look clearly, and don’t think you’re the only one suffering losses. There are plenty worse off than you. This is the Inspector’s Junshu Order. Don’t think you can escape.”
1 Yun Ce looked at the military officer and said: “I don’t want the guesthouse anymore.”
1 The military officer smiled and looked around, then said to Yun Ce: “Are you seeing them abandon home and flee, and thinking you can flee too?
1 Let me tell you, the city gate was closed yesterday evening. No one can get out.”
1 Yun Ce pointed at the overcast sky and said: “Last night there was Mid-Autumn Snow, and winter thunder rumbled again. Aren’t you afraid of the Divine Dragon’s wrath if you keep doing this today?”
1 The military officer glanced again at the increasingly grim crowd around and said: “This is the Inspector’s Junshu Order, and also the Transport Commissioner’s directive to the Inspector. You could say it’s His Majesty’s decree. Run? Where can you run to?”
1 Hearing this, Yun Ce finally understood something. No wonder when he entered the city yesterday, the people of Taizhou City were so cold; no matter who it was, upon learning they had to pay a sum tomorrow they absolutely couldn’t afford, even if Yun Ce were ten times more handsome and the red date horse ten times more majestic, they probably wouldn’t spare a glance.
2 At the same time, Yun Ce suddenly realized something else: his own Shehuo could devour Tai Prefecture’s Shehuo not because his was so powerful, but because Tai Prefecture’s Shehuo had lost the offerings of myriad homes’ lights and was at its weakest point at this moment.
2 After figuring these two things out, Yun Ce grabbed the military officer’s head and viciously slammed it straight into the ground. The officer’s entire head was crushed through the stone slab by his immense force and embedded in the ground.
2 Before the other eight officers and soldiers could react, Yun Ce quickly did the same to them, burying their heads into the ground in an instant.
2 Yun Ce looked around and saw the grain and oil shop family of four silently return inside and tightly close the shop door. The carriage and horse shop people also drove the carriages and horses back in and tightly shut the gate.
2 Only the madam across the main street had some guts, shouting loudly at Yun Ce.
2 “Young Master, if this matter is settled, my place has a few pure courtesans who can keep you company.”
2 With that, there was a ‘clang’ as she shut the window tight and said no more.
2 Those who fled weren’t just the neighbors; there were also onlookers not far away. In the blink of an eye, Yun Ce was the only one left on the entire street.
2 Yun Ce grabbed the military officer’s leg, dragging him without disturbing the head buried in the ground, and shook out his own gold from the officer’s bosom. Seeing only his thirty taels, Yun Ce shook again unwillingly, confirming it was indeed only his thirty taels of gold. Clearly, these guys knew their actions today wouldn’t be easy and started with someone like him who seemed foolish, rich, and timid.
2 In the end, their first show of force crashed into Yun Ce, this steel plate.
3 With this new discovery, Yun Ce naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make his own Shehuo even stronger. Ignoring the few with heads buried in the ground “sleeping,” he closed the guesthouse gate tight like the others and stayed inside.
3 The beans boiling in the pot were done. Yun Ce dug a big basin for the red date horse and filled a rice bowl for himself. The beans were stewed perfectly, with bean paste at the bottom.
3 Actually, the red date horse preferred raw beans, but Yun Ce was reluctant to let it eat raw ones. Eating too many raw beans followed by a bellyful of cold water would make the area within ten zhang of the red date horse uninhabitable, not to mention that the Thunder Smoke Beast’s farts were inherently toxic.
3 Before Yun Ce finished his bowl of boiled beans, the gate was suddenly rammed open with a ‘clang.’ Yun Ce, eating beans in the front yard, sighed, set down his rice bowl, soothed the red date horse to continue eating, and walked toward a group of officers and soldiers carrying ramming wood. With one kick, he sent the arm-thick ramming wood flying out the gate, then unleashed a flurry of left and right kicks, sending the officers and soldiers who had just charged in flying back out the gate.
3 He reached the gate again and found it already smashed by the ramming wood, with a group of officers and soldiers still standing outside. Though some were struck by the suddenly flying ramming wood and people, suffering broken bones, most still clustered at the guesthouse entrance, shouting and yelling as if not yet reacting, demanding to capture Yun Ce the thief.
3 The leading green-robed official, seeing Yun Ce come out, pointed at him to speak but was lightning-fast approached, jumped on, and had his head slammed into the ground.
3 By the time those on the periphery realized what was happening, Yun Ce had already planted over twenty people headfirst into the street.
3 Some tried to run but found their reactions too slow; before they could get going, they were planted into the street by Yun Ce, fast as lightning.
3 Yun Ce stood on the now-empty street, counting his planting achievements: in a mere moment, he had planted 127 people into the street.
3 He was very satisfied with his planting accomplishment—at least there was no blood visible on the street. The unique urban smoke and fire scent was blown over by the cold wind, quite refreshing.
4 Looking back, he saw the cold wind blowing through the gate, swirling some fallen leaves inside. Yun Ce placed the few ramming woods the officials had brought at the gate entrance, blocking the wind from entering the guesthouse.
4 After handling these matters, the beans in Yun Ce’s rice bowl had gone cold—not because he hadn’t killed fast enough, but because snow was falling from the sky again. Yun Ce caught some flakes in his hand, feeling each snowflake carrying Tai Prefecture Shehuo’s intense warning to his own Shehuo.
4 He poured the cold beans to the still-eating red date horse and prepared to go back to rest his spirit properly, so he could continue sending his Shehuo to Tai Prefecture’s Divine Dragon Hall that night.
4 This guesthouse was actually quite good; the quilts inside were stuffed with shredded Yi Tree cloth, finely hammered with heavy hammers, then fluffed by some unknown method—very warm when covered. Yun Ce decided to use this method at home too after returning.
4 As for outside, Yun Ce wasn’t too worried. Having killed over a hundred with one move, given the government officials’ temperament, they wouldn’t immediately send more people; they’d spend time investigating his identity and purpose.
4 If they found Yun Ce was someone they couldn’t afford to provoke, they’d likely seek reconciliation before things blew up.
4 If Yun Ce was just an ordinary noble, Taizhou City might not necessarily take his life; as long as his family compensated according to their terms, the matter could be dropped.
4 If Yun Ce was a brainless martial brute, it would be perfect to send people to surround and kill him, to intimidate the disobedient in the city.
4 Before sleeping, Yun Ce sighed that whether in Chuyun Prefecture or Tai Prefecture, the managers in both places seemed extremely selfish. For their own private gain, they never considered others’ thoughts, naively believing that as long as their martial power was sufficient, they could shut everyone’s mouths.
4 After sleeping less than the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, Yun Ce felt the bed trembling slightly. Irritated, he threw off the just-warmed quilt, dressed, and got out of bed.
5 Someone was riding a horse madly galloping around this street nonstop—this dream-disturbing behavior was truly vile.
5 The ramming wood blocking the gate had been moved away at some point. Stepping out, Yun Ce saw many cavalrymen on the street and fixed his gaze on the face of a young armored soldier directly facing the gate.
5 He said angrily: “Was it you galloping wildly through the city on horseback?”
5 Seeing Yun Ce come out, the young armored soldier was about to speak when a burly armored soldier beside him raised his horse spear and charged at Yun Ce on horseback.
5 Yun Ce punched the horse spear aside, grabbed it, and swept his arm forcefully. The burly cavalryman had strong horsemanship and didn’t fall, but Yun Ce exerted force again, and the knight and warhorse crashed to the ground.
5 Furious, Yun Ce stepped forward two paces and punched the knight’s helmet. With the sound of the helmet shattering, his head was planted into the ground.
5 Irritated, Yun Ce glanced at the struggling warhorse, pressed down its huge head, and planted it into the ground too. The noisy neighing abruptly stopped.
5 Tomorrow’s military review, blood boiling,
