Cursing the Zhang Family to Death

Another old man tried to smooth things over. "Your Excellency the Prefect, please do not be angry. The village elders merely have a knot of anger in their hearts that they cannot vent, which is why they acted so passionately..."

"A knot of anger they cannot vent? Easy enough!" the prefect said with a smile. "Go to Zhang Prefecture and curse them out. Then your anger will be vented!"

"Thank you, Lord Prefect, for granting permission!" The old man rose to his full height. "Village elders, let us follow the prefect's instruction and go to Zhang Prefecture to curse them out!"

Heh heh!

The prefect went straight into the inner hall.

After leaving the Prefectural Manor, the old man shouted all along the way, "This old man has been ordered by Lord Prefect to curse the Zhang Family! Make way!"

Curse them?

Would cursing them once settle the matter?

What kind of solution was that?

Lin Su was speechless to the point of choking up...

He had to admit it: there were no human rights in Feudal Society. If they wanted to bring down the Zhang Family, they still had a long road ahead!

The citizens on the streets lost all their fervor as well. Go curse Zhang Prefecture? They had little interest in that. With two hundred lives on their backs and blood all over their hands, they could only curse them? That was far too dispiriting. Thus, though the old man shouted all the way, only a handful followed him. It was too humiliating.

Yet the old man did not care in the slightest. Reaching the gates of Zhang Prefecture, he began to curse outright!

"The Zhang Family has Stirred Up public outrage! This old man has come under Lord Prefect's explicit instruction to curse Zhang Prefecture! People of the Zhang Family, listen well..."

Lin Su's face was covered in black lines. Which side was this old man even on?

Why did he feel as though a traitor had emerged from his own ranks?

There was no way to continue today, so forget it. Let public sentiment continue fermenting.

What was the point of coming here with such fanfare just to curse them once?

Was he planning to use this bout of cursing to draw a full stop under the matter?

All the servants at Zhang Prefecture laughed. An instruction from Lord Prefect? Curse away, curse away! This, they could accept!

The old man began, "Those of the Zhang Family who forcibly seized women are guilty of crimes deserving ten thousand deaths!"

The instant his voice fell, ten of the eighteen servants at Zhang Prefecture's gate suddenly toppled over stiffly!

Old Master Zhang, seated in the main hall, suddenly tensed all over, his face changing drastically. "Words Become Law..."

He raised a hand and clutched his throat tightly, his face turning a deep livid blue!

"Those of the Zhang Family who murder and take lives are guilty of crimes deserving ten thousand deaths!"

Every servant at the gate fell at the same time. Within Zhang Prefecture, over a hundred more people collapsed simultaneously.

Old Master Zhang's grand chair overturned, and he plunged headfirst to the ground.

Lin Su's eyes suddenly lit up...

Prefect Lei, who was remotely monitoring Zhang Prefecture through the Official Seal, also changed expression abruptly. "Words Become Law! Ultimate Literary Heart—who is this?"

"Those of the Zhang Family who forcibly seize the people's wealth are guilty of crimes deserving ten thousand deaths!"

With a boom, another hundred people collapsed within the Zhang Family estate!

"Those of the Zhang Family who prey upon the countryside are guilty of crimes deserving ten thousand deaths!"

A streak of golden light suddenly shot skyward from the Prefectural Manor and connected with the Literary Temple like a Golden Bridge. Prefect Lei stepped across the Golden Bridge, arriving with a thunderous shout. "Who dares slaughter innocents wantonly?"

The old man raised his eyes and stared directly at Prefect Lei, barking, "What right does one who aids a tiger in its evil have to wield the Official Seal?"

As his voice fell, a shadow suddenly covered the Official Seal. Its golden radiance vanished, and Prefect Lei fell from the sky, landing before the old man with a pale face...

"Haha, I'm done cursing. That felt good!"

He took one step and suddenly arrived above the Yangtze River. Stepping through the void once more, he vanished without a trace...

"Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart, Ultimate Literary Heart—which Great Confucian was that?" Countless people on the outskirts gazed toward the Yangtze River.

The misty waters stretched vast and boundless. Where was there any trace of a person?

Several constables tore through the air and rushed into Zhang Prefecture. Of the more than seven hundred and twenty people inside, only over seventy women and children remained. Everyone else had died miserably on the spot, every one of them with shattered hearts and split foreheads. Even the godlike Old Master Zhang, once a Third-Rank Official and now a Literary Heart expert, had died an unnatural death with his forehead and heart ruptured.

"Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart, Words Become Law—who was it? Who?" Not a shred of color remained in Prefect Lei's face as he trembled in place.

Prefect Lei had intended to protect the Zhang Family, because his entire political future lay in the hands of the Minister of War. But how could he have imagined that old man was a Great Confucian at the Ultimate Literary Heart, possessing the Literary Way Power of "Words Become Law"?

With a single curse, more than six hundred members of the Zhang Family died.

With this one bout of cursing, the Zhang Family's ancestral residence had been almost entirely emptied!

And most incredible of all, this cursing had actually been authorized by him, the prefect!

So in the end, whose hands had destroyed the Zhang Family?

Lin Su's?

That Great Confucian's?

Or his own, Prefect Lei Zhongzhou's?

Lei Zhongzhou's head was about to explode...

Lin Su was equally dumbfounded.

His heart pounded wildly. So this was how one cursed people.

Qiu Mochi came up from behind him. "Did you recognize who that person was?"

Lin Su blinked. "Nope!"

"Really?" Qiu Mochi pressed.

"Really... But... but that big mouth of his and those yellow buckteeth had a bit of old-time flavor. They looked vaguely familiar..."

Qiu Mochi burst into laughter. "Junior Brother, I'm leaving. I'll come drink your wine in a couple of days!"

With a wave of his hand, a Golden Page appeared before him, bearing a single wildly soaring character: "Boat." He stepped onto the golden boat and flew toward the Yangtze River. With a light wave, he disappeared amidst the waves.

Lin Su's heart gave a slight jump. That worked too?

Though one had not reached the Literary Heart Realm, possessing Golden Pages personally inscribed by a Literary Heart Realm expert could likewise grant the power of flight?

That old fellow Bao Shan, stop putting on airs over there. Get yourself here properly and give me a stack of Golden Pages. I want to fly...

Others might not have known who that old man was, but Lin Su naturally did.

It was Bao Shan!

Lin Su slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

This was a place of trouble; he could not remain long.

His Literary Altar had formed, and he was already an expert. Once he slipped into the crowd, no one could identify him. The next moment, he crossed half the city. Along the way, he even encountered those two scholars running naked, screaming themselves hoarse as they ran, "I am trash!"

They were nearly insane already.

Lin Su returned to the Lin Family. Everyone in the household stood in two rows, and even the Wine Factory workers had come over, each filled with passion. The moment Lin Su entered, both rows shouted together, "Welcome, Top Provincial Scholar!"

Lin Su jumped in fright.

Xiao Yao bounced out from the front. "Young Master, you became the Top Provincial Scholar! Madam says you're attending the Deer Cry Banquet, so bring me some venison, okay..." Familiar glistening drool appeared at the corner of her mouth again.

Lin Su gave her a sharp knock on the head. "Who told you there's venison at the Deer Cry Banquet? Do you know what 'deer cry' means? It compares scholars to young deer. If they slaughter deer and eat meat at the Deer Cry Banquet, are you wishing scholars a future soaring ten thousand miles, or cursing them to die? I tell you to study, but you refuse. All you think about all day is eating..."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lin Jialiang came down from above and hugged Lin Su tightly. "Third Brother, Mother has already prepared the sacrifice. We've been waiting for you. Come with me. Today, Father will truly smile."

Whether Father smiled or not, Lin Su did not know, but Madam Lin truly was smiling.

The sacrifice was more lavish than ever before.

Thinking back to the time when the Lin Family suffered catastrophe, even when honoring their ancestors, they had only a few coarse buns. Today, the five sacrificial animals were all present, fine wine wafted fragrance through the air, and Madam Lin's eyes brimmed with tears...

"San Lang, offer the first stick of incense for today's sacrifice," Madam Lin said.

"No, Mother. I'll do it together with Second Brother, and offer one on Eldest Brother's behalf too!" Lin Su grabbed Lin Jialiang. The two of them held three bundles of incense and inserted them into the incense burner together.

Lin Jialiang's heart was full of warmth.

Children of great households were often competitors, but their Lin Family was an exception. He was willing to yield his place to Third Brother, because Third Brother was stronger than him!

Yet Third Brother always remembered his two elder brothers.

The three Lin brothers were bound by flesh and blood; the three Lin brothers would live and die together!

"Father, honored ancestors!" Lin Jialiang bowed. "Third Brother took the Provincial Examination today and won the position of Top Provincial Scholar! This is the Lin Family's glory of a hundred years. We inform our ancestors so that we may share this honor!"

Lin Su stepped forward as well and bowed. "There is one more matter today that this child must report to Father and the Founding Ancestors. The Zhang Family committed every evil and plagued Haining, Stirring Up public outrage. An expert has already acted and slain more than six hundred members of the Zhang clan! The utterly wicked Zhang Family has been uprooted from Haining."

Madam Lin suddenly raised her head, and Lin Jialiang was stunned as well.

"Third Brother..."

"You probably do not know what happened afterward. We'll discuss it in detail later..."

After the sacrificial rites were complete, the feast was laid out. Lin Su told them everything that had just happened.

Madam Lin drained three cups in succession and became utterly drunk!

Lin Jialiang stared at Lin Su for a long while. "Third Brother, only now do I understand why you dared to gamble. Your wisdom and schemes are truly beyond my reach."

"As long as we brothers are of one heart and work together, that is enough. My methods are your methods too!"

"Brothers of one heart, working together!" Lin Jialiang clinked cups with Lin Su. "After drinking this cup, we should send good news to Eldest Brother. You will personally write this letter of celebration."

Those of the Literary Altar could send letters via goose.

Lin Su had not been capable of writing directly to Eldest Brother before, but now he was.

He wrote very simply and finished quickly, but when it came time to seal the letter, he stopped...

"Third Brother, what is it?"

"Second Brother, Eldest Brother is fighting at the border. Do you think he needs War Poems too?"

"Of course!" Lin Jialiang grew excited. "That War Poem you wrote last time, 'A sword's cold light shines upon forty provinces,' has apparently spread through the army and become a weapon for soldiers to kill enemies... Could it be that Third Brother has another new work?"

"That previous poem enhanced individual combat power. This time, I have another poem for joining forces in attack, specifically for confronting powerful enemies on the battlefield."

That was wonderful!

Lin Su lifted his brush and began writing in his distinctive handwriting. "How Is The Will Of Today's Beheading..."

Lin Jialiang recited it line by line, unable to contain the light in his eyes.

Another Seven-Colored War Poem, and just as Third Brother had said, it was a poem for combined attacks, most suited to killing enemies on the battlefield.

How delighted would Eldest Brother be upon receiving such a marvelous poem?

Just as they expected, a golden goose tore through the air and landed in Lin Zheng's hands at the border. Lin Zheng opened the golden paper, and his entire body shook violently. The hands that had never trembled even after slaughtering thousands upon thousands now quivered like leaves in the wind...

"Young Master, has something major happened?"

Lin Zheng slowly raised his head, his face covered in tear tracks. "Third Brother took the Provincial Examination and claimed the title of Top Provincial Scholar!"

Ah! The old Lin Family troops raised their spears high in unison, their cheers shaking heaven and earth.

"He also personally wrote a Seven-Colored War Poem and gave it to me..."

"How Is The Will Of Today's Beheading? Starting A Business Is Difficult, With Many Battles; when I go to the Yellow Springs, I shall summon my old troops..."

The winds and clouds suddenly stirred across the battlefield. Countless phantom figures emerged from the iron-blooded battlefield ahead, and all the soldiers atop the walls were greatly alarmed.

"..." Lin Zheng forcibly stopped before the final line and carefully put away the golden paper. This poem was no trivial matter. They were not fighting the enemy before them now. Only when a powerful foe appeared would it be time for the poem to display its divine might, leaving behind the Lin Family Iron Guard's earth-shaking achievements upon this iron-blooded battlefield!

Their side was filled with thunderous cheers and soaring spirits, but on the city wall opposite them, a commander's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

The Lin Family Iron Guard was actually so tenacious. In three battles that should have been certain death, they had forcibly carved their way through enemy formations with that War Poem and returned alive. And now they had gained something new, making every one of them this jubilant...

He needed to put in more effort and utterly destroy the Lin Family Iron Guard.