Chapter 34: Which Adult Would Get Angry At A Child?
On the other side.
Hong Yuan flung the blood from his long saber and also heard County Lieutenant Zhang’s shout, a hint of amusement appearing on his face.
This County Lieutenant Zhang was all thunder and no rain, shouting loudly about catching the thief but not ordering the guards to attack.
He had thought that after delivering the Family Reunion, he would still need to beat and kill some people to break out, but it turned out to be even easier than expected.
In fact, it was because he acted too quickly, sending off all the able-bodied men who could take charge in just one or two breaths, so without a backbone, how could they issue orders?
And with County Lieutenant Zhang, who harbored ill intentions, Hong Yuan had instead become a side dish.
Suddenly, Hong Yuan’s ears twitched, and he looked toward the curtain behind Huang Yihe’s corpse.
In this front courtyard, a main platform had been set up, separated from the houses behind by a curtain.
Rip!
Hong Yuan slashed the curtain open with one saber stroke and walked in unhurriedly.
He only saw behind the curtain.
On the corridor, a beautiful woman with her head adorned with pearls and jade, dressed in a gold-woven gown, was holding a child and running in panic.
Perhaps running too hastily, she stepped on her skirt hem and suddenly stumbled, falling to the ground.
The child in the beautiful woman’s arms immediately cried out in pain, and the woman quickly covered his mouth, struggled to her feet, and ran off, soon turning the corner of the corridor.
Hong Yuan followed behind and heard a crisp “creak,” like the sound of a certain room door opening.
A smile appeared on his face, his steps neither fast nor slow; turning the long corridor, he saw a room door slightly ajar, as if in too much haste it hadn’t been closed in time.
Hong Yuan chuckled lightly and pushed the door open to enter.
This was a study.
Given the layout of the house, located in the center, it should be Huang Yihe’s study.
Hong Yuan’s gaze swept around, seemingly casually, but under his powerful observation, every trace was revealed in detail.
In a moment, Hong Yuan noticed a faint bulge beside the bookshelf against the left wall; he reached out and pressed it.
With a “click,” a hidden compartment appeared.
Hong Yuan narrowed his eyes, confirmed there was no danger, then reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out a square box.
With a “click,” the box opened.
Inside was a stack of silver notes; Hong Yuan took them casually, flipped through them roughly, and they were identical to the ones he had seen in the Biwu Immortal Realm.
All the silver notes were hundred-tael bills from Baoji Zhenji, totaling about five or six thousand taels.
This was undoubtedly a huge fortune, and Hong Yuan unceremoniously pocketed them with a smile.
Besides the silver notes, there were three green jade small bottles and a sheet of gold foil paper engraved with densely packed tiny characters.
Hong Yuan grabbed the three green jade small bottles, weighed them, and there was immediately a slight rattle inside; they contained some kind of pills.
Each of the three green jade small bottles had a small paper label stuck on it; the one with the most had: To Commander Xiang.
The next was: To Commander Guo.
The last was: To Commander Yang.
“What kind of pills?”
Hong Yuan’s gaze fell on the gold foil paper, his eyes sharpening as he saw written on it: Red Pill Spring Returning Pill Technique.
‘Ingredients: Must be girls under eighteen, with deep blessings, both parents alive, beautiful in appearance…’
‘Ceremony: Three matchmakers and six betrothals, joyous celebrations, grand banquet to dispel their baleful aura.’
‘Strip off all clothing, apply a mixture of beeswax and cinnabar…’
‘Use the girl’s sweat, essence blood, and tears as auxiliary materials…’
‘Spring Returning Pill complete, extends life and prolongs years.’
Bang!
Hong Yuan’s palm suddenly crushed the three small bottles, and in his hand, green-glowing fragments and red pill powder from the broken pills intertwined instantly.
Looking at these, he felt that when he killed Huang Yihe earlier, he had acted way too quickly!
He rubbed the gold foil paper in his palm, turning it into a sprinkle of gold dust that drifted down.
‘Commander Xiang, Commander Guo, Commander Yang…’
Hong Yuan noted down these three people.
Though he didn’t know their specific names, the ranks of commander and commander were undoubtedly big shots in the prefecture city.
It didn’t matter; just to meet the conditions for opening the Great Year Blessed Land, he would have to step over these big shots one by one anyway.
Stepping out of the study, Hong Yuan glanced around and strolled onward.
Behind a rockery not far from the study.
Under a large green stone shaded by flowers and trees.
The beautiful woman, her gown stained with mud, nervously held the child, listening to the footsteps fading away.
The child bit the woman’s palm, immediately causing her to cry out “ah” in pain as she withdrew her hand covering the child.
This child was only about eight or nine years old, wearing a gold collar, his round chubby face fair and rosy, but now his eyes were full of resentment: “Mother, Father is dead, Grandfather is dead too…”
“Don’t speak.”
The woman quickly covered the child’s mouth again, leaning to his ear and gritting her teeth: “Chen’er, you must remember, remember that person…”
“Remember what?”
Suddenly, a low voice sounded right above her head.
Though the voice was soft, to the woman it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, scaring her soul out of her body.
The woman stiffly raised her head.
She immediately saw a tall, slender figure on the rockery stone, his face unclear under the glow, but those calm, indifferent eyes made her body go limp.
Run away!
The woman roared inwardly over and over, but her body felt drained, without a shred of strength.
She only saw the man leap down, landing with a bang right in front of her and the child.
“You killed my father, killed my grandfather, I want to kill you…”
The eight- or nine-year-old child already understood quite a bit, especially in a noble clan; now his face was ferocious, full of hatred, and he grabbed a pebble to throw at Hong Yuan.
Pfft!
The pebble landed on his clothes and slid off.
Hong Yuan glanced at it, flicked his finger to brush the dust from his robe, “Oh? How do you plan to kill me?”
“I want to kill you like I killed Pearl, throw you into the snake pit to feed the snakes…” the child shouted.
The beautiful woman’s eyes were bloodshot; somehow she mustered strength again, pulling the child into her arms and covering his eyes with her hand:
“No! Don’t kill my child, he didn’t mean it, he didn’t see you!”
Hong Yuan said indifferently: “Don’t worry, what adult gets angry at a little child?”
As he spoke, Hong Yuan reached out to push away the beautiful woman’s hand, meeting the child’s hateful eyes, and smiled: “Remember this face of mine, don’t forget it; next time we meet, come find me for revenge.”
“When I grow up, I’ll definitely kill you.” The child glared at Hong Yuan, his originally cute round face twisted.
At that moment, chaotic footsteps sounded.
County Lieutenant Zhang led numerous guards, herding a crowd of Huang Mansion women from the front courtyard.
While walking, he loudly ordered: “All Huang Mansion household guards stay outside on watch, keep a sharp eye, don’t let the thief escape; Zhang family guards follow me in to capture him.”
Some Huang Mansion household guard leaders and guard captains were unhappy and wanted to enter the inner courtyard too, but County Lieutenant Zhang left over ten guards with blades to watch them, forcing them to give up.
The beautiful woman’s face lit up with joy; she opened her mouth to shout but remembered the fierce person was right in front of her.
But as she looked up, the figure had suddenly vanished without a trace.
The beautiful woman felt like she had escaped death, overjoyed, and hurriedly picked up the child, staggering toward County Lieutenant Zhang: “Lord Zhang, this concubine… this concubine is here.”
That short distance felt like she exerted all her strength; by the time she reached County Lieutenant Zhang, she was nearly exhausted and stumbled to the ground.
County Lieutenant Zhang quickly reached out to support her, half-pulling the woman into his arms, looking at the child she held and asking: “This is…”
“Lord County Lieutenant, this is the wife and son of the Huang family young master.”
A Zhang family guard spoke up.
County Lieutenant Zhang nodded and softly said to the woman in his arms: “Madam, are you alright?”
“This concubine thanks Your Lordship for your concern; fortunately, Your Lordship arrived in time, or this concubine would have suffered at that thief’s hands.” As the woman spoke, she turned to the child, gritting her teeth: “Chen’er, you must remember that person; when you grow up, tear him to pieces…”
Before she finished, miserable screams filled her ears; she looked up in shock and saw the women herded by the Zhang family guards being hacked down one by one.
Puchi!
County Lieutenant Zhang held the beautiful woman with one arm, but from his other sleeve suddenly shot out a short blade, stabbing into the woman’s chest.
Blood splattered.
The woman gaped, staring blankly at County Lieutenant Zhang’s smiling face.
In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed Zhang family guards grinning ferociously, one reaching out a thick hand to grab the yelling Chen’er.
Pressed to the ground, a hard chop severed the head.
The woman’s vision darkened; the last thing she heard was County Lieutenant Zhang shouting urgently: “The thief is ruthless, don’t harm my brother Huang’s family.”
Slap!
County Lieutenant Zhang pushed away the still-warm corpse in his arms; as he drew the blade, he wiped the blood on her full bosom, his face calm as water.
“Lord, we caught this girl; how to dispose of her?” A guard dragged over a girl in red makeup, eyes red and swollen with tears, to report.
This girl was the concubine Huang Guiling was to take today, now full of fear, body trembling.
“You come to me for something this trivial?” County Lieutenant Zhang glared at him and waved: “Deal with her quickly.”
The guard didn’t hesitate, nodded, and thrust his long saber toward the girl’s chest.
Puchi!
The sound of the blade cutting air rang out, but the one screaming was the guard; an arm flew into the air.
County Lieutenant Zhang only saw a blur before him; a person appeared, so fast he couldn’t react; as the guard’s arm was severed, the blade didn’t stop, a flash grazing past his cheek.
County Lieutenant Zhang felt stinging pain at his left ear; one ear had been sliced off by the blade light and fallen to the ground.
“Don’t shout! Shout and I’ll chop your head!”
A cold chill at his neck made County Lieutenant Zhang swallow his cry of pain.
A bloodied steel saber pressed against his neck.
The hand gripping the saber was slender and fair, with distinct, even joints—a very beautiful hand.
The hand’s owner was an exceptionally handsome and heroic youth.
This youth smiled at him: “When it comes to ruthlessness, it’s still you officials who are the cruelest!”
Hong Yuan sighed, looked at the wide-eyed head on the ground, and shook his head: “We meet again… pity, someone robbed me of the kill.”
“Young hero, I have no grudge against you…” County Lieutenant Zhang endured the severe pain, forcing a smile.
The Zhang family guards were all furious, their master losing an ear under their protection and now held hostage.
When the master is humiliated, the subordinates die.
The master could kill them without it being excessive.
But fearing for County Lieutenant Zhang’s safety, they could only glare angrily, not daring to move.
“Of course no grudge.”
Hong Yuan smiled faintly: “I don’t like holding grudges; usually if there’s a grudge, I find a way to settle it quickly; likewise, I don’t like owing favors…”
“So, I helped you deal with the Huang family, gave you such a big bargain; if you help me with a little something to repay the favor, no problem, right?”
“Young hero, what do you need Zhang to do? Just say the word.” County Lieutenant Zhang was furious inside but could only endure.
“First…” Hong Yuan pointed at the tear-streaked girl in red makeup and smiled: “Send this little girl back to her family, poor child—you actually wanted to kill her? Are you even human?”
Heh heh!
County Lieutenant Zhang sneered inwardly: ‘You little brat were far more ruthless killing Huang Guiling’s whole family.’
“Give her extra silver to calm her nerves; and with your means as County Lieutenant Zhang, you can surely track down Huang Guiling’s previous concubines and the girls he grabbed, right? Send some money to their families too!”
Hong Yuan looked at County Lieutenant Zhang and said indifferently: “The Huang family industry is probably all yours now; after taking so many benefits, paying a little is reasonable, right!”
“Very reasonable.” County Lieutenant Zhang nodded vigorously.
He was extremely annoyed: for such a small matter, couldn’t you just say it directly?
As Qingxu County Lieutenant, even the county magistrate was just a rubber stamp before him; as head of the Zhang clan, he was practically the local emperor of the county.
Though losing an ear wouldn’t cost him power, it was still a huge loss of face.
“Second, help me deal with a few people…”
Hong Yuan named some individuals.
County Lieutenant Zhang nodded repeatedly; finally, he heard the other laugh: “That’s it then; if County Lieutenant Zhang wants revenge later, I’ll be waiting anytime.”
“No, no.”
County Lieutenant Zhang hurriedly denied; suddenly his neck relaxed, the black-clad figure flickered before his eyes, leaping up nimbly like an old ape onto the roof, vanishing after a few jumps.
Only then did County Lieutenant Zhang understand why the other appeared so fast earlier; such lightness skill was unprecedented in his life, reminding him of those wandering knights in sword master novels who scaled walls and roofs!
‘Damn it, the Zhang family needs to recruit—no, train some real masters from now on!’
‘And this little brat…’ County Lieutenant Zhang clutched his left ear, blood seeping from his fingers, ‘I can’t deal with you for now, so report to the prefecture city and let Commander Xiang handle it.’
Nearly four thousand words, begging for monthly tickets!
