Settling the Score

A sudden voice shattered the silence. Scarface and the others all turned towards the doorway. When they saw Jiang Che walking in, they were all stunned into silence.

"What, don't recognize me?"

Jiang Che smiled faintly.

"How dare you! Who let you in!"

Scarface immediately shouted, but a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Shouldn't Jiang Che have been taken away by Gou Buyi for punishment?

Why is he here?!

As soon as his words fell, a group of soldiers in paper armor rushed in from outside the tent, led by Geng Dabiao.

Gou Buyi was already under guard. Liu Zhi had mobilized the soldiers but handed the task of apprehension to Jiang Che, allowing him to personally get revenge for the previous coercion.

Everyone held sharp blades, pressing them against Scarface and the others' necks. They were so terrified that cold sweat streamed down their faces, and they didn't dare to move.

"Jiang Che... what do you want? Who gave you the right to barge into the tent?" Scarface's wrist trembled as he pointed at Jiang Che.

"Captain Zhu gave me the right. Do you have a problem with that?"

Jiang Che casually pushed someone aside, stretched, and sat down. He grabbed a new bowl, poured himself some wine, and drank it in one gulp.

"You... what did you say?"

Scarface's eyes widened, full of disbelief.

Jiang Che really enjoyed seeing his expression and chuckled, "Gou Buyi embezzled grain and fodder, bought low and sold high, and bullied people with his authority. It's all out now, and he's about to be executed. You are all accomplices, and I'm here to take you in."

"You're talking nonsense."

Scarface's face changed drastically.

"Otherwise, why do you think I dared to force my way into the camp?"

"I don't believe you."

"Believe it or not, but when the blade falls on your head, don't believe it then either."

"How... how could this happen..."

Scarface opened his mouth reflexively.

He couldn't understand what was happening at all.

"I won't waste any more words. In short, whether you can survive depends on how many crimes of Gou Buyi you can confess. Of course, you can also choose not to speak. My brother here used to slaughter pigs and cattle before joining the army. He's best at skinning and deboning. I'd actually like to see it."

Jiang Che picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth, chewing as he pointed at Geng Dabiao.

"You... you dare to use torture? I don't believe it!"

Scarface snorted coldly, guessing that Jiang Che was bluffing.

"You are all facing the death penalty. What's wrong with a little torture? You don't think anyone will stand up for you anymore, do you?"

Jiang Che shook his head and waved his hand. Geng Dabiao immediately understood, drew a sharp knife from his waist, and the surrounding soldiers quickly tied Scarface up.

"Plop."

The blade sank into flesh. Geng Dabiao expressionlessly slid the knife along Scarface's body, while also explaining to Jiang Che, "Brother Che, this is how I used to do it when slaughtering cattle. First, I'd separate the bones from the flesh. As long as you find the right spot, killing people is no different from killing cattle."

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Scarface's face contorted in pain, and he couldn't help but roar, but no one stopped him.

"Alright, let's dismember one of his arms first, then we'll go one by one..." Jiang Che nodded, carefully observing Geng Dabiao's technique. He didn't know why, but he felt no discomfort watching such a scene.

"I... I'll talk, I'll talk..." Before Scarface could confess, one of his brothers beside him turned pale with fright and quickly shouted.

"Speak."

"Gou Buyi, he..."

With a beginning, there was a continuation.

Starting with that person, the rest of them, also terrified of this method, hastily spilled all the beans. They didn't seek to live, only to end it quickly.

Among the soldiers, one person held a brush and began to record.

Scarface had already fainted from the pain. He was woken up by a basin of cold water, but the pain radiating from his body still made his face contort in agony.

"If you talk, I'll give you a quick end. If you don't... I'll peel you off, bit by bit."

Jiang Che walked up to him and said word by word.

"I'll talk..."

Scarface met Jiang Che's gaze. He could tell that the other party wasn't joking. Gritting his teeth, he began to confess.

The case of Gou Buyi's corruption was handled very quickly. With Zhu Sheng's order and the confessions of Scarface and the others, Gou Buyi's fate was sealed. In fact, after only a few hours, he would face his death.

All the soldiers in the camp were summoned, their gazes fixed on Scarface and the others being dragged away, and on Jiang Che, who was wearing the cotton robes of an auxiliary soldier.

"Jiang Che."

Gou Buyi looked up and turned towards a figure standing to the side.

Jiang Che ignored him.

"Brother Che, Little Gouzi has something he wants to ask you," Gou Buyi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice.

Only then did Jiang Che turn his head.

"What is it?"

"Today, in the main tent, you put your life on the line in front of Captain Zhu and my brother to report my corruption. Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision, or had you been planning this for a long time?"

Gou Buyi stared at him intently.

"What do you think?"

Jiang Che didn't answer, instead asking a question.

"It must have been planned long ago, right?"

Jiang Che offered no comment, merely saying:

"Actually, I'm a bit confused myself. You blew my private transmission of martial arts out of proportion. Weren't you afraid I'd go all out and report you for selling off grain and military supplies? I didn't expect you to really not be afraid."

He had exposed Gou Buyi in public, and it had indeed been planned for a long time. However, before that, he was just an auxiliary soldier with no capital to make accusations, nor anyone to back him up.

He had to wait until he had cultivated Savage Bull Strength and gained Liu Zhi's attention before he could act.

He had actually been enduring it all this time.

"I..." Gou Buyi was momentarily speechless. After a few breaths of silence, he said, "I was just carried away and overlooked this matter."

With Gou Buren's protection, many people in the camp knew about his dealings, but nothing had ever happened to him. Facing an auxiliary soldier with little ability to resist, why would he have specifically thought of this?

"It's fine, just be more careful in your next life,"

Jiang Che smiled.

A long while later, accompanied by a few muffled groans, Gou Buyi, Scarface, and the others were beheaded. Their bodies slumped powerlessly to the ground, the blood splashing out several meters.

These first enemies he had encountered in the camp had now perished.

However...

Jiang Che's gaze shifted towards a certain direction in the camp.

Having personally taken down Gou Buyi, Gou Buren would absolutely not let this go. And then there was the Cao Gang of Yanggu County. He still couldn't afford to relax in the slightest.

"You've executed Gou Buyi. How do you feel about it now?"

Inside the tent, Liu Zhi asked with a smile.

"It's like a weight has been lifted from my heart."

"What do you think about what happened today?" Liu Zhi took a sip of wine, looking at Jiang Che with a smile, a hint of hidden meaning in his eyes.

Jiang Che remained silent for a moment:

"Your subordinate's understanding is shallow, I can't quite grasp it."

"The main reason you were able to kill Gou Buyi wasn't your accusation and exposure, but because Captain Zhu wanted him dead. Do you understand?"

"Why are you saying this, sir?"

"I just want you to understand that without a powerful position, without extraordinary strength, the lives and futures of both you and I are merely at the whim of others,"

Liu Zhi said solemnly.