Rebel

The East Market gathered most of the Merchants from Hua County and its surrounding areas, with the Zhang Family having the most shops.

Since ancient times, they had held a Monopoly on local grain and Medicine, and when they were prosperous, their Medicine even sold beyond Qingzhou.

However, they had declined now, their influence shrinking and confined to a Cornered Land.

Even so, with just these two businesses, the Zhang Family's wealth would never cease.

Now, with the Epidemic spreading, the apothecaries in the East Market were packed, and three additional shops had even been opened.

People came and went incessantly, but there were two types of people missing.

One was the Scholars, and the other was the poor.

Outside the apothecaries, the Common People hesitated, their faces gaunt.

Along the walls and in the alleys, many starving people were piled up. They didn't even have the luxury to hesitate, only begging from the wealthy patrons and Merchants coming and going in the East Market.

But most of the starving people were infected with the Epidemic, so no one dared to get close. Those who could even sent their Servants to drive them away.

"Give us something to eat... my child hasn't eaten in two days," a woman holding a small boy pleaded mournfully.

A Warrior subordinate, clad in armor, saw her dirtiness and feared she had the Epidemic. He yelled, "Get lost! I got my illness from you people."

He himself had contracted the illness and wanted to tough it out, as Medicine was too expensive now.

But unexpectedly, his condition worsened, so he had to come buy Medicine. After all, he earned a high income working for the Zhang Family.

But it was still a large sum of money. He wondered what his Lord was doing by keeping all these sick people in the city.

"I'm not sick, not sick. This humble servant is already recovered and won't get sick again. Please, sir, give us something to eat," the woman quickly explained.

Although her face was gaunt, she was indeed not sick. Or rather, her family had fallen into ruin because they bought Medicine to treat her illness.

What was even more unbearable was that even though she was cured, she still had no income. Her original employer no longer hired her for sewing and washing, and her family's livelihood was cut off.

"Stop the nonsense," the Warrior said, walking away directly. "My Lord is too kind. He should have driven you all out long ago, or the Epidemic wouldn't be so Rampant."

The little boy suddenly shouted, "The Epidemic came from the army. My mother got it from washing your clothes."

"Don't talk nonsense!" The woman quickly grabbed the boy.

But the Warrior, seeing others gather around because of the remark, became furious and drew his saber, hacking down. "How dare you spread rumors!"

The saber light was cold and sharp, flashing down.

However, a dusty, disheveled young man suddenly leaped into the fray and caught the steel saber with his bare hands.

"Hmph?" The Warrior glared at him, noticing the young man was in tattered clothes, his shoes worn out.

"What are you!"

The Warrior unleashed his True Qi, pressing down on the saber with all his might.

However, not even the young man's skin was broken. Instead, the young man gripped the blade and, enveloped in a terrifying airflow, pushed back.

"Thwack!"

The young man forcefully pressed the back of the saber into the Warrior's neck, blood splattering.

Seeing someone kill a Zhang Family subordinate, the surrounding people were stunned.

A middle-aged swordsman in brocade robes from an apothecary stepped forward, his voice cold, "Are you trying to Rebel!"

After speaking, he froze. He saw that the young man was not alone.

Behind the young man, a large group of Martial Artists were approaching, their numbers so great they blocked the intersection.

Each of them was strong and robust, wearing colorful training clothes and carrying weapons. The line stretched far into the distance, clearly hundreds or even thousands of Wandering Knights.

They walked, raising dust and making thudding sounds as they advanced layer by layer.

Although they weren't in any formation, their collective approach was filled with murderous intent, and they were clearly not here for a friendly visit.

"Put down your weapons! Who allowed you to gather... you stop right there!"

The young man's footsteps didn't falter. He still held the saber and raised it, swinging it towards the swordsman's face.

Because he had just killed the Warrior, the corpse was still hanging from the saber's back, meaning he was dragging a dead body as he advanced.

This domineering display left people stunned.

"Brocade Swordplay!" The middle-aged swordsman's eyes gleamed with ferocity. He instantly drew his sword and unleashed a set of elegant sword techniques that flowed like mercury.

Clang, clang, clang! The steel sword cut into flesh, indenting the skin and muscle, but the blade couldn't penetrate!

The young man, enduring the barrage of sword shadows, swung his saber.

"What Martial Arts?" the middle-aged swordsman wondered inwardly. He dodged backward, his toes touching the ground, gliding elegantly and easily evading the attack.

He even counter-attacked with a backhand sword strike, precisely aiming for the young man's eye!

However, what was horrifying was that as the sword pierced his eyeball, the young man didn't even blink!

Instead, he glared with his large eyes, a roar echoing from behind him. He instantly charged forward, swish, and appeared right in front of the swordsman's face.

"Clink!"

The middle-aged swordsman watched with his own eyes as the young man used the thin membrane of his eyeball to literally bend the sharp sword tip!

to the point where the steel sword bent to its limit and snapped with a crisp sound.

This scene directly scared the middle-aged swordsman so badly he wet himself!

"Uh, eh?" His expression instantly lost control, revealing a look of horror that was difficult for ordinary people to achieve.

"Pfft!"

The young man's right hand moved like a whirlwind, piercing through his neck, and now two people were impaled on the sword's back.

"Dudu!"

From behind, another Zhang Family warrior attacked his nape with his sword. In an instant, he had already struck twice.

The young man's body was surrounded by surging qi, and the attacker felt as if he had suddenly been pushed against a wall by a hand.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." His neck was gripped, and he felt like he was caught in a gale.

"Monster... Whoosh, whoosh..."

Countless streams of qi violently scraped at him, tearing at his face, contorting it into various shapes. His entire body was tossed about in the young man's hand.

This time, the young man's right hand didn't move. He gripped the warrior with his left hand and plunged him onto the sword with a "pfft."

The fight, though it sounds slow, actually took only a few breaths.

From beginning to end, the young man held the original warrior's sword, and then, in a flash, he impaled three warriors, one of whom was the middle-aged swordsman, a master of the first rank.

These scenes stunned all the remaining warriors.

Even his own companions who had come with the young man were shocked. A young man riding a monkey and wielding a spear couldn't help but touch his neck.

The techniques were too terrifying. There were no discernible techniques at all; it was all done casually, as if he were just messing around.

Yet, it was incredibly effective, giving a sense of effortless mastery, truly unpredictable and uncatchable.

"So... so strong..."

Many warriors responsible for guarding the medicinal herbs surrounded the young man. They were clad in armor and held steel swords, yet they hesitated, like the common people who couldn't afford medicine and dared not enter before.

"Are you... human or demon?"

"I am a commoner," the young man replied honestly.

The young man was Yan Nu. After speaking, he turned his back to the enemy.

The warriors were bewildered. At this moment, the wandering knights who had followed the young man charged forward like a swarm.

The scene was instantly filled with flashing blades and sword shadows. The common people and merchants screamed in fear and fled into their shops, not daring to come out.

Meanwhile, Yan Nu had walked up to the woman.

The woman was terrified, clutching the little boy tightly. The little boy, however, looked at him boldly.

Yan Nu quickly threw away the gourd-shaped flask in his hand, squatted down, and with a kind smile, pointed to the grain store opposite the apothecary: "Go get whatever you want to eat."

The little boy looked at his mother, but she dared not move.

Yan Nu stood up and walked into the grain store. Then he heard a "dong, dong, dong..."

First, the roof beams were lifted, and then the four walls collapsed, leaving only mountains of grain exposed.

"This is the Zhang family's shop..."

Someone inside the shop weakly said, covering their head and crouching.

"That's right! We're going to distribute everything belonging to the Zhang family!"

Yan Nu said, smashing his way through, destroying all the signs with "Zhang" on them.

In the past, this sign was a symbol of status. No one could cause trouble in the Zhang family's shops.

And now, all of this would become history.

"From today onwards, there will be no more Zhang Clan in Hua County!"

After he smashed open all the grain and medicine stores, he leaped into the air, unleashing a Fierce Blast from the Sky, like a meteor, crashing into the crowd.

"Common people, get inside! Warriors, lie down! Those who don't fear death, come and stop me!"

Yan Nu said, casually killing two warriors with higher martial arts skills.

The East Market was, after all, just a market. The Zhang family had only stationed a small number of warriors there. Furthermore, Yan Nu had already eliminated the masters, so the remaining ones were quickly cut down.

"Pfft!" Huang Banyun suddenly stabbed and killed a wandering knight who had taken advantage of the chaos to rush into the cloth shop to steal money.

"Yan Nu, be careful. Some of our people are taking advantage of the chaos to rob others."

Yan Nu turned back and glared. He had specifically smashed open the Zhang family's shops while leaving others intact, partly because he was only targeting the Zhang family, and partly to leave these houses for the common people to take shelter from the fighting.

He hadn't expected people to specifically break into those shops?

There were nearly a thousand wandering knights, a mixed group. Some were truly dedicated to chivalry, but others were essentially bandits.

After occupying the East Market, these people were clearly divided.

Yan Nu was ruthless, charging directly into the fray and killing about fifty of them in two rounds within the East Market.

Li Xiang also roared in fury amidst the crowd: "We rise up to eliminate the wicked and protect the good, to aid the common people."

"Distribute the Zhang Family's goods to the people, but leave all other shops untouched! Otherwise, don't blame my sharp blade!"

He had prestige, and over a hundred sworn brothers. Soon, he led his men to maintain order.

At this point, the East Market was completely occupied. Some wandering knights distributed medicine, money, and grain, while others gathered, preparing to attack the treasury.

However, they didn't notice.

Three wandering knights, who hadn't participated in the looting earlier, had changed their clothes and smudged their faces amidst the chaos, blending into the common people.

These three individuals did not wish to rebel; they intended to escape the East Market and defect to the Zhang Family.

They knew Shen Leling had become Zhang Feng, and such intelligence would surely be an opportunity for advancement, earning them a handsome reward!

"Bang!"

Suddenly, earth surged, and rocks wrapped around their legs. Then, like rolling stones, they were dragged directly before Yan Nu.

"Ah?" The three were terrified and struggled desperately, but their legs were locked by the stones.

Feng Junyou emerged from beside Yan Nu, his expression playful. "You three little brats, daring to cause trouble right under my nose, old ghost? You must be out of your minds!"

The three were stunned, not expecting their every move to be seen by this ghost.

It made sense; how could they dare to scheme in front of a ghost?

Little did they know, Shen Leling had anticipated this all along, which was why she had Feng Junyou follow Yan Nu.

On one hand, to assist. On the other hand, Feng Junyou's Rock Thrust could protect Yan Nu. Yan Nu had too much True Qi, and an excess burst might cause him to injure himself... with rocks to cushion it, not only would he be fine, but they could even execute a combo.

"We were wrong! We just didn't want to rebel..."

Yan Nu asked what was going on, and Feng Junyou explained the three's scheme.

Before Yan Nu could fully understand, Li Xiang, having heard half of it, was already furious. "You're trying to get all of us killed!"

With that, Li Xiang beheaded the three in front of everyone.

He raised his sword to the sky: "The Zhang Family oppresses the common people, disregards human life, acts against righteousness, incurring the wrath of gods and men, and defying heavenly principles!"

"Today, we undertake this great endeavor solely to serve our country and save the people."

"Anyone who disobeys orders will be beheaded! Anyone who plunders the people will be beheaded! Anyone who colludes with the enemy will be beheaded!"

p.s: Sorry.