Burning the Wicked with Raging Fire

"I am Wang Polo Six. I learned my skills in the Kunlun Mountains from a young age and have a reputation for bravery in the surrounding villages. I once wrestled a mad bull with my bare hands, earning me the nickname 'Bull-Tearing General'."

The man in grey held a white-wax staff and stood at the foot of the steps. He was as thin as a stick, but his voice was quite loud.

"Although my master instructed me to 'use high skills sparingly' before I descended the mountain, for Master Huang's sake, I've decided to make a move today!"

"I am Liao Zude, nicknamed... my nickname is 'Sky-Piercing Demonic Dragon'. I've loved fighting since I was a child and have been the terror of Meixi Village, Lingqian Village, and Jinshui Village. If you have the guts, come out and fight me for three hundred rounds!"

Seeing that their side had many experts, the guards, who had been somewhat timid, now jumped up and shouted insults.

"Don't be a coward, come out for a one-on-one fight."

"Didn't you want to uphold justice? Come out and fight to the death with real swords and guns, don't hide like a woman."

"Come out, come out! You can kill people, so show yourself if you dare!"

Despite their curses, there was no response from the other side. Huang Wencai felt a little relieved, realizing they were just ordinary thugs who had somehow killed Hu Chang and were now trying to scare them with ghostly tricks.

He then thought, "Hu Chang was supposed to kill Li Hu. Could this be related to the Sun Moon Divine Cult?"

"That shouldn't be it. The information was clear: Cloud Water Hall offended the Grand Commander and was annihilated on Mount Heng."

"It seems I'll have to prepare a generous gift tomorrow to visit Hall Master Xu of Flying Phoenix Hall."

After shouting insults for a while, everyone grew tired.

There was no response from outside. In the dark night, only the sound of a flowing stream could be heard.

Huang Wencai arranged for the night watchmen and returned to his room, still uneasy. It wasn't until he picked up the thick Fish Scale Register and flipped through more than ten pages that he finally felt a little calmer.

After another two cups of tea, he felt a bit sleepy, but then he heard a scream from outside: "Master, it's bad! Someone else is dead!"

Everyone lit torches and crowded into the courtyard.

The deceased was the one called 'White Horse Divine Spear', Ma Youde. A pool of dark red liquid lay beneath him.

He had been stabbed in the back. By the time they found him, he was already cold, having died without a sound.

Ma Youde had been the first to jump out and had asserted that the opponent had few people.

Unlike the later ruffians, he had real experience in the martial world. He had even led a small escort team with six or seven brothers, but they had disbanded due to a dispute over profits.

While Hu Chang's death was terrifying, it had happened outside the Huang manor, creating a psychological distance.

But Ma Youde was killed right in the courtyard. The opponent had infiltrated the manor and might even be nearby. Despite so many people, they hadn't seen a shadow, moving like ghosts. This fear undoubtedly escalated.

Huang Wencai trembled and said, "Wang... Wang Polo Six, you can ride a horse. Hurry to the stables in the back courtyard, go to Pingding City, and find Hall Master Xu of Flying Phoenix Hall to ask for his help. Tell him the Huang family will double their annual tribute from now on."

Wang Polo Six accepted the order, mainly wanting to escape the Huang manor as quickly as possible.

A moment later, he returned in a hurry, holding two broken reins, his face ashen. "Master, both horses are gone."

"They were let go by him. What formidable skills, what meticulous planning."

Huang Wencai was utterly terrified. The opponent was not only skilled in martial arts but could also read minds, seeming to anticipate his thoughts.

He walked into the courtyard, lifted his robe, and knelt. "Hero, great swordsman, sir, I, Huang Wencai, admit defeat. What are your demands? If you want wealth... or my life, just come and get it."

More than a dozen torches illuminated the courtyard as brightly as day. They were like an island surrounded by darkness, their faces filled with fear.

There was still no movement from the surroundings.

"Wang Polo Six, Liao Zude, come here."

Huang Wencai quietly called the two aside.

They asked, "What are your orders, Master?"

He whispered, "This can't go on. If we don't survive until dawn, we'll be scared to death if we're not killed. I'll lead people to attract their attention, and you two will go out through the side gate, borrow horses from Great Benefactor Zhou in Lingqian Village, and then go to Pingding City to bring reinforcements back."

Liao Zude was about to refuse, but Wang Polo Six quickly stopped him and spoke first, "Don't worry, Master, we guarantee to complete the mission. But if we go to find Hall Master Xu in the middle of the night and he refuses to see us, should we prepare some silver for a bribe?"

"You are thorough in your considerations."

Huang Wencai nodded, reluctantly taking out a silver note. "This is five hundred taels. Act as you see fit on the road. If the Huang family can safely overcome this calamity, I will reward you with another thousand taels of silver."

"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master." Wang Polo Six took the silver note.

While Huang Wencai led other guards to search every corner of the manor with torches, the two men sneaked out through the side gate.

After walking half a mile, they reached a patch of woods with a small path in between.

It was nothing unusual to pass through during the day, but under the cold moonlight, it suddenly became extraordinarily eerie and terrifying. Recalling the severed head displayed on the bamboo pole in front of the Huang manor, their minds began to race.

Liao Zude shrank back. "Brother Wang, you go first."

Wang Polo Six quickly replied, "No, no, Brother Liao, you go ahead."

"Aren't you the 'Bull-Tearing General'?"

Wang Polo Six said helplessly, "I was drunk then. I didn't see clearly and thought it was a twisted pastry from Sister-in-law Zhang's hair. I did grab it, but I didn't hold on. The water buffalo broke three of my ribs, and I was bedridden for a full one hundred and eighty days."

Liao Zude scoffed, "So you're the 'Bragging General'."

Wang Polo Six retorted, "And you're the 'Sky-Piercing Demonic Dragon'?"

"I made that up."

Liao Zude looked back at the Huang Family Manor, where lights were still visible. "Should we go back?"

Wang Polo Six shook his head and said, "Absolutely not! We've done too many wicked things for Huang Wencai over the years. The other party came knocking for revenge, and before we even met them, they killed two people. They kill like chickens! If we stay at the Huang manor, not one of us will escape. Besides, these five hundred taels of silver notes are enough for us brothers to live a life of leisure for a while."

"Brother Wang's considerations are indeed thorough. Then let's enter the woods together."

The two held hands and slowly walked into the woods along the small path. After only seven or eight steps, they were suddenly tripped by something.

They looked closely and saw more than a dozen green bamboo poles on the ground, all cut to the same length. They emitted a cold, pale light under the moonlight, like the soul-snatching staffs of the Impermanence Ghosts. The two felt a chill run down their spines, their scalps tingling.

Looking back, at the end of the bamboo forest, a man in black was running towards them with a sword in his hand...

The mountain wind suddenly rose, and the stream flowed long.

There was the smell of blood in the wind.

There was the sound of weapons clashing in the water.

At the entrance of the Huang manor, two more green bamboo staffs appeared.

Soon there were more.

Four.

Five.

Nine.

The guards who had abetted evil lost their will to resist and fled the Huang manor in small groups. The sounds of weapons clashing, begging for mercy, and shouting for killing came from all directions.

Among these people, half of them died from friendly fire due to extreme tension and the inability to see clearly in the dark.

Finally, eighteen green bamboo poles surrounded the grand entrance of the Huang manor, like a drawn circle of imprisonment.

The manor was silent.

The ordinary servants and maids had fled; they were not troubled.

Zhang Yu walked alone under the corridor, clad in a black robe, carrying a black sword. His handsome face, illuminated by the dim lamplight, was indistinct, neither happy nor sad, only exuding an aura of blood.

He had already figured out Huang Wencai's residence and pushed the door open directly.

"You've finally shown yourself?"

Huang Wencai sat in his chair, with only the Fish Scale Register in front of him. He looked at the newcomer, his eyes revealing shock at how young the man was.

"I thought Wang Liyu was still alive and had returned for revenge. Later, I thought, with his intelligence, he wouldn't be able to use such methods. For the sake of my imminent death, could you tell me your name so I don't die a confused ghost in the underworld?"

Zhang Yu walked to the desk, picked up the Fish Scale Register, read a few pages, and then casually threw it back on the table, laughing, "The one who went out with Wang Liyu was a young man named Zhang. You were a bit too hasty with your actions."

"Zhang... Zhang Yu?"

"It's rare that Master Huang still remembers me."

Huang Wencai's face turned ashen. "Remember? Of course, I remember."

Zhang Yu chuckled, "Yes, I've flipped through this Fish Scale Register day and night. Some past events are bound to come to mind when I dream at midnight."

"The Zhang family's land, no, the entire Fish Scale Register is yours."

Huang Wencai took out a wooden box, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

"Zhang Yu, you... spare my life, and the Huang family will give you this much every year."

Zhang Yu pulled out a chair and sat opposite him. "Money is not important to me."

Huang Wencai held onto a sliver of hope. "Then what is important to you?"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then looked at Huang Wencai with a smile and said, "People like you not existing is very important to me!"

Huang Wencai was stunned for a moment. Knowing he had no chance of survival, he stopped begging and stood up, laughing heartily.

"That's impossible! Absolutely impossible! You'll never achieve it."

"Do you know Gaoping Lake? The current Prime Minister, the master of scholars, a righteous and upright official of the highest caliber in the land. His family owns a hundred thousand mu of fertile land in Yingtian Prefecture, and his servants can beat a county magistrate at will."

"Am I the only one in this world annexing land and destroying families? Am I the only one bullying men and women, forcing good women into prostitution? Or am I the only one committing arson and acting immorally for personal gain?"

"If one Huang Wencai dies, how many more will there be? Can you manage them all?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black sword pierced through his heart.

He drew the sword, and blood gushed from the hole.

Huang Wencai collapsed into his chair, his eyes gradually losing focus. He reached out his hand one last time, as if to grasp the Fish Scale Register on the desk. The foundation of five generations, yet he couldn't reach it. His hand fell powerlessly in the air.

"Matters of the world can be dealt with later."

He sheathed his sword, and the blade emitted a faint hum.

"What's before me, if it's unjust, must be spoken of."

Zhang Yu opened the small box. A golden light emanated from it. Inside were small gold ingots, each weighing five taels. Roughly estimating, there were at least twenty ingots, totaling over two hundred taels of gold.

In the market, gold was more valuable than silver. A hundred taels of gold could be exchanged for about thirteen hundred taels of silver from the Huang family.

Zhang Yu went to the backyard. Next to the stable was a woodshed. Looking through the window, he saw thirteen or fourteen women locked inside, most of them scantily clad, emitting a foul odor. These were all good women Huang Wencai had abducted to appease his guards.

Seeing him, some of the women looked terrified, while others appeared dazed.

Zhang Yu swung his sword, breaking the iron lock, and gave each woman a gold ingot. "The Huang family is destroyed. You can all go home now."

The women walked out of the prison. The Huang manor was already ablaze in several places. They looked at the dazzling flames, their faces filled with excitement and joy. The coffin that had hung over Meixi Village was finally burned away.

When they turned to thank the swordsman in black, he had already vanished.

So, there was still justice and retribution in this world, it just needed someone to carry it out!