Big Firework, Peaceful Heaven Sect Comes Knocking

Liu Laizi's small courtyard was considered high-end even in Tongzi Ward.

The neighbors around him had long been unable to bear the disturbance and had been forced to move away. Now, after being knocked down by those hooligans, the place had become a garbage dump.

It was a dark, windy night.

Su Xinghe had a two-foot-long chisel tucked into his clothes.

Like a man returning home, he climbed over the wall from a small alley and entered a courtyard.

He had secretly visited this courtyard several times already and had more or less figured out the daily routines of Liu Laizi and his gang.

So after confirming the Fortune Archway, he had come over without hesitation to make his arrangements.

Liu Laizi was not a Martial Warrior, nor had he practiced any true martial arts. He was an ordinary man through and through.

But such hooligans were not to be underestimated. In a real fight, ordinary people were no match for them at all. Even if they committed crimes, they knew plenty of familiar faces at the Public Security Office.

The reason Su Xinghe had not acted all this time was, on the one hand, that there had been no need to.

After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty was now at the height of its power. Local yamen not only had martial artists, but Public Security Offices equipped with firearms as well.

On the other hand, he had been waiting until he broke through to Internal Strength, preferably until he became a martial artist.

Then he would not need to lift a finger. Just his name alone would be enough to scare off those little thugs.

But recently, his frequent purchases of meat to nourish himself for martial training had drawn the gang's attention.

He had no choice but to send them a little "gift" first.

He could not use the outer courtyard gate. If there were any markings on it, his plan might fail.

He climbed over the wall from one side of the courtyard. Inside, it was pitch-black.

After entering the kitchen, Su Xinghe spread out the two cloth bundles where he stood. He took out the three formulas inside and divided half of each into bamboo tubes, one by one.

Once inside the kitchen, Su Xinghe spread out two cloth bundles on the ground. He took out the three ingredients inside and packed half of them separately into bamboo tubes.

He threw off the proportions of the remaining half. Using whatever he could find, he found a clay jar and placed it beneath the pile of firewood.

Next came the ignition mechanism.

He tied the bamboo tubes filled with the mixture together one by one, then stuffed and connected them tightly with cotton thread soaked in lamp oil. Finding half a leftover candle in the room, he arranged them all behind the main gate.

All it would take was one push from outside. The candle flame would topple and trigger the explosion.

Estimating that the timing was about right, he lit the candle, blocked its light with a stool, and swiftly returned to the kitchen.

He closed the door, climbed over the courtyard wall, and then rushed in the direction of the Central River.

He shut the door, climbed over the courtyard wall, and sprinted toward Central River.

About two minutes later,

Just as Su Xinghe jumped into the river, a tremendous boom came from Tongzi Ward.

"Boom—"

The massive explosion instantly rang through the entire western part of the city. The constables from the Public Security Office who had been patrolling the streets blew their bamboo whistles as they raced over.

The first constable to reach the scene took one look and knew something was terribly wrong.

The acrid smell of gunpowder in the air, the blast crater left by flying debris—this was gunpowder, an absolutely forbidden substance in the Great Zhou Dynasty, permitted only for storage and use by the county yamen and the military.

With a grim expression, he walked over to the several people who had been blown senseless.

"Liu Laizi!"

"You're dead!"

He turned and bellowed at the yamen runners under him:

"Seal off the scene! Before the lords from the Inspection Bureau arrive, not even a fly is allowed to leave!"

The Lin County Martial Dao Bureau had three subordinate offices. The head of the Inspection Bureau was served by the seventh-rank director of the Martial Dao Bureau. The Bandit Suppression and Public Security Offices, meanwhile, had heads of only the eighth rank.

Eight-Zhang Street, in the south of the city.

A dull boom sounded in the distance, followed by the bamboo whistles of the Public Security Office drawing nearer and nearer.

Near Veteran's Trade House, inside a small courtyard.

"Red Sister, people from the Public Security Office are here!"

"It's fine, as long as it isn't the Bandit Suppression Bureau."

"Madam, the Inspection Bureau's carriage has appeared too!"

"Bad luck!"

"Could those beheading thieves have caught wind of something?"

"Cancel the operation. Send someone to find out where the trouble came from!"

Very soon.

More than twenty burly men in black escorted one person in red and one in white as they withdrew from the courtyard with practiced familiarity.

Little Beggar, dark circles beneath his eyes, picked at his noodles for a couple of bites.

Little Beggar, dark circles beneath his eyes, picked at his noodles for a couple of bites.

"Boss, it looks like Liu Laizi and the others got arrested."

"Mm."

Su Xinghe was eating noodles too, but he did not look up.

Little Beggar tilted his head and pressed close to his ear, looking extremely mysterious.

Little Beggar tilted his head and leaned close to Su Xinghe's ear, looking mysterious.

"Granny Huang, who lives beside the main hall next to mine, said last night that those bad guys offended the Holy Mother. The Holy Mother sent down Red Lotus Fury and blew up their home."

"From now on, we should set up a monument to the Holy Mother in the temple and worship her every day."

The moment he heard that name, Su Xinghe's heart sank.

When had this Peaceful Heaven Sect spread into the city?

"You'd better not touch that thing. If the Public Security Office catches you, I won't come and bail you out!"

"You'd better not touch that stuff. If the Public Security Office takes you away, I won't be coming to bail you out!"

Little Beggar did not seem afraid. He cocked his head and studied the expression on his boss's face.

Only after several breaths did he give a sullen snort.

Su Xinghe did not indulge him.

Su Xinghe did not indulge him.

"Are you full? If you are, hurry out of the city and help me call someone over!"

In Su Xinghe's plan, he had never intended to blow Liu Laizi's gang to death.

It was not that he did not want to. His skills were simply too poor.

The crude, low-purity gunpowder he had made by hand weighed less than five pounds. Rather than an explosion, it had really been more of a deflagration. In his previous life, it would have amounted to no more than a little firework.

His main purpose had been to draw in the Public Security Office and get Liu Laizi's gang arrested.

If they could be sentenced to beheading, all the better.

If they could not be sentenced to death, they could at least be locked up for a while. By then, once he broke through and became a martial artist, it would no longer matter.

Just after leaving Tongzi Ward, he saw a fresh notice posted at the crossroads.

Just after leaving Tongzi Ward, he saw a fresh notice posted at the crossroads.

It listed Liu Shishan, Zhang Niu... twenty-two names in total. Colluding with the remnants of the Peaceful Heaven Sect, secretly storing gunpowder, plotting wrongdoing...

Su Xinghe did not care where those twenty-two people had come from or whether they would be beheaded.

He only wanted his family to live well.

For three days in a row, the city underwent a massive manhunt.

The Martial Dao Bureau took the lead, with personnel from its three subordinate offices joining the city defense troops and county yamen runners. They searched house by house, even the Lu Family's old residence failing to escape the sweep.

Su Xinghe returned to Tongzi Ward as usual and saw from afar that a large crowd had gathered at the entrance to the alley leading to his home.

They pointed and whispered as they discussed something.

Just as he was about to approach, a small, thin figure darted out from the side.

"Boss, your father and younger brother are here."

"But it looks like they brought two friends back. I don't know what happened, but they started arguing inside."

Little Beggar stepped closer and whispered into his ear.

"Arguing..."

Su Xinghe paused. He immediately thought of a certain possibility. With a slight nod, he parted the crowd and squeezed inside.

Inside the alley, a small head poked out from the second-floor loft.

Her chubby little face was full of worry.

"Big Brother Su!"

"They seem to be arguing inside. Hurry and take a look."

"Xiaoya."

Su Xinghe looked up and greeted the girl, then habitually swept his gaze toward the ground floor.

The main gate was half-open. A familiar female figure leaned against it. She did not speak today, but her delicate face was full of disgust.

He did not waste any time.

The sound of someone slapping a table came from inside his own courtyard. Without slowing, he opened the courtyard gate beneath the curious gazes of the onlookers.

Perhaps because he had recently learned true martial arts, his hearing had improved considerably. Across the small courtyard, he could clearly make out the conversation inside.

"It's impossible for you to quit the Brotherhood now!"

"You've attended so many classes these past two months, and Lord Liu has spent a great deal of effort on you as well. Now, either obediently come back with me, or pay one hundred taels of silver as a fee to study under a master."

But Su Xinghe's heart suddenly jolted; he knew the person speaking.

But Su Xinghe's heart gave a violent jolt. He knew the man speaking.

Another familiar voice immediately rang out. It was his father, Su Cheng.

Another familiar voice immediately rang out. It was his father, Su Cheng.

"You didn't say that before. Besides, we haven't learned anything!"

Bang!

Clatter...

"The Brotherhood is supposed to help one another! If you failed to learn because you lack the talent for martial arts, can you blame anyone else?"

"The Brotherhood helps one another! If you haven't learned anything, it's because you have no talent for martial arts. Can you blame anyone else for that?"

The grating voice spoke viciously.

A young man's low roar answered him.

"Our family has no money!"

"No money? Then use this courtyard as collateral. You can talk again once you have silver!"

The man with the grating voice was the leader of a small gang outside the city, but Su Xinghe knew that he secretly worked for the Peaceful Heaven Sect.

The original owner of this body had been lured by him into Breeding Cave, ultimately dying after his qi and blood were drained away.

He did not know whether this time the man had come for him.

But now that they had come to his doorstep, there was no avoiding them.

Outside the door.

Su Xinghe took a deep breath and steadied himself.

Bang!

The tightly closed door was shoved open with force.

Everyone inside immediately turned to look.

"Father, you're back!"

Ignoring the two "guests," he first greeted the dark-skinned middle-aged man seated in the place of honor in the main hall.

His gaze swept over them, pausing for a moment on his younger brother, Su Haitao, before turning to his mother, who was hiding in the kitchen and secretly wiping away her tears.

His gaze then swept across the room, pausing briefly on his younger brother Su Haitao before turning toward his mother, who was secretly weeping in the kitchen.

"Brother..."

Su Haitao was twenty this year. His handsome, dark features resembled Su Xinghe's by seventy or eighty percent. He merely lacked some maturity and steadiness, while carrying more of a young man's distinctive cold pride.

The two brothers had originally been about the same height, but after Su Xinghe learned true martial arts and underwent a second growth spurt, he had grown another three inches or so.

Su Cheng's expression was complicated.

He looked at the eldest son who had suddenly barged in.

Half a year had passed since they last met.

His son had grown taller, and his frame had become much sturdier and steadier. Standing tall and spirited, he truly looked somewhat like a martial artist now.

Though Su Cheng's heart still ached over the silver they had been swindled out of,

He had also practiced that Ascending Dragon Stance with Su Haitao.

He and Su Haitao had practiced that "Ascending Dragon Stance" as well.

It was just that the results were rather difficult to put into words.

How should he put it...

It really was effective.

But the father and son were at a farmstead outside the city. Even with strength to spare, they had nowhere to use it.