Niu Han's Death

"What a pity I couldn't be there myself. Still, since the Darkwater Centipede has withdrawn, it should have succeeded."

Su Yan was accompanying Zheng Penggang as they took Xie Yuzhu to the Mountain Market when he suddenly sensed something and knew that the Darkwater Centipede had struck.

Ever since refining the Darkwater Centipede, he had shared an unusual connection with it that allowed him to sense its condition.

But that connection did not let him possess the Darkwater Centipede and act through it. Otherwise, he would never have needed such an elaborate plan to deal with Niu Han and his gang.

"Perhaps things will change once my Insect Master level rises."

The two pushed Xie Yuzhu into the Mountain Market and headed straight for its eastern side.

The man known as Doctor Du was really just a humble mountain physician.

The Hundred Herbs Hall's main business was preparing all kinds of medicines, and its medical expertise was naturally outstanding.

But the Hundred Herbs Hall mainly served wealthy households, or at the very least, well-to-do families.

Unless they had nowhere else to turn, poor families generally could not cross the Hundred Herbs Hall's threshold.

Moreover, the Mountain Market only had shops that bought medicinal herbs, not shops that sold medicine.

So whenever the mountain folk from the surrounding villages fell ill, they came to the market to seek out Doctor Du, the humble mountain physician.

Bang, bang, bang.

Perhaps they had arrived too early. Zheng Penggang stepped forward and knocked on the door panel.

"Coming, coming."

After a long while, a voice came from inside. Someone removed the door panel from within and set it aside, and a scrawny old man with a white beard leaned out.

"What's the hurry?"

He was not annoyed, but his brow creased slightly as he looked at Xie Yuzhu on the handcart.

"Help him inside. What happened?" he urged.

Su Yan helped Xie Yuzhu up and, together with Zheng Penggang, brought him inside.

"Those thugs came to his door making trouble and gave him a vicious kick," Zheng Penggang said. "Please take a look at him. Brother Yuzhu's whole family depends on him."

"Ah." Old Doctor Du sighed. "Let me have a look."

He pulled open Xie Yuzhu's clothes, revealing a large, purplish-blue footprint.

"It's swollen this badly?"

His brow furrowed tightly. He pressed a hand against it, making Xie Yuzhu bare his teeth in pain.

"No damage to the bones?"

Suddenly, Doctor Du caught a faint fragrance on his hand. "Redwood Blossom?"

Doctor Du looked at Xie Yuzhu, so exasperated that he laughed. "You make your living in the mountains, yet you still use Redwood Blossom so recklessly? No wonder the bruising has spread like this. It would be stranger if it didn't hurt."

Xie Yuzhu looked embarrassed. "Well... isn't Redwood Blossom supposed to reduce swelling and relieve pain?"

"Only if you use it properly. Small amounts, applied several times, with warm water to wipe it down between applications. You can't use it all at once..."

Doctor Du could not tell whether the fellow was truly foolish or only pretending. "I'll clean it off, then work in some medicinal liquor with massage. Rest at home for a day or two, and you'll be fine."

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Doctor Du."

Xie Yuzhu's condition was nothing serious. Doctor Du immediately washed the area with a medicinal solution, then used massage to work in the medicine and disperse some of the pooled blood.

The treatment took neither too long nor too little time. Su Yan found a moment to buy a few baked flatbreads and shared them with Zheng Penggang.

It was about half an hour before Xie Yuzhu's treatment was finally finished.

"Move! Move!"

"Make way!"

They had only just come out when the street suddenly erupted into chaos. Six or seven men were carrying a litter with someone sprawled on it, shoving and barging through the crowd as they rushed straight toward Doctor Du's clinic.

They were coming so fast that Zheng Penggang and Xie Yuzhu hurried out of the way, pushing the handcart aside.

The men set down the litter, and Doctor Du hurried over.

"Doctor Du, save my big brother! A venomous insect came down from the mountains and injured him!"

Niu Dang wailed as though crying for his parents, while Su Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled inwardly.

What a coincidence. Wasn't the man on that bamboo litter none other than Niu Han?

Niu Han's right hand had been completely severed, the stump bound with strips of cloth. One eye was a bloody mess, covered in burns.

His breathing was as faint as a thread, his face ashen.

Decisive enough, at least.

The severed hand certainly was not the Darkwater Centipede's doing. The cut was clean. He had probably been poisoned, and his underlings had chopped off his hand in an attempt to save him.

One glance was enough for Su Yan to know that he could not be saved.

Sure enough, after examining him, Doctor Du's face darkened, and he shook his head. "It's too late. The poison has reached his heart. No one can save him."

"Serves him right!"

Watching from a distance, Zheng Penggang cursed under his breath. "Heaven claims the wicked. That Niu Han deserved to die. Brother Yuzhu's been avenged."

They were standing amid the crowd, and his voice was low, so Zheng Penggang was not worried about Niu Dang and the others overhearing.

But Xie Yuzhu was in no state to answer. Shock filled his heart as he stole a glance at Su Yan's expression.

Su Yan looked perfectly normal, leaving him unsure whether he had done it.

What sort of means could this be?

"Brother Yuzhu?"

Zheng Penggang noticed something was wrong. Only then did Xie Yuzhu hastily come back to himself. "Ah... let's not stand around watching."

Su Yan smiled. "Uncle Penggang, let's head back to the village."

Niu Han died before they could even get him back to Oxheart Village.

The news spread through the entire Mountain Market like water boiling over. Plenty of poor families in the surrounding villages had owed Niu Han money.

His death was a cause for universal rejoicing. Even the teahouses were filled with cheerful discussion.

With such a major incident in Oxheart Village, the constables and bailiffs stationed at the Mountain Market could hardly stand by and do nothing.

They immediately began investigating, first taking Niu Dang and the others in for questioning.

Although Niu Dang and the others had been there the night before, they had not been in the inner room and had no idea what the Darkwater Centipede looked like when it attacked.

They had only heard Niu Han shout that it was an exotic insect, so naturally, they believed the same.

What they told the constables, of course, was that an exotic insect had come down from the mountains to kill people and drink their blood, injuring several of their brothers.

They gave a full account of everything, including how they had gathered to collect debts and seek revenge the following day.

But that detail drew no attention from the constables or bailiffs, since they had already seen Su Yan bring Xie Yuzhu into the Market Ward early that morning.

After a few rounds of questioning, the matter was settled: an exotic insect had somehow come down from the mountains and harmed people.

Not a single person suspected that Su Yan had been behind it.

Only Xie Yuzhu had guessed part of the truth, but he would never breathe a word of it, even if it cost him his life.

"He's grown up. Brother Dahe has finally been avenged."

"Husband, what are you saying?"

At home, Xie Yuzhu gazed at the tael of silver and the food Su Yan had left behind, murmuring to himself.

Li Lian had not heard him clearly. Xie Yuzhu brushed it aside with a joke and said, "Nothing. Yan has grown up. Brother Dahe doesn't need to worry anymore. The boy's got ability."

He grinned. Niu Han was dead, and his nephew had proved himself capable. Both were good things.

Li Lian nodded. "Young Yan is capable, and he remembers kindness. He's a good child. He's of a suitable age, too. Why don't we arrange a marriage for him and find a girl to help with his household..."

"Oh, stop fussing over nothing. He'll surely become a first-rate martial artist, a man of real standing. What mountain girl could be a match for him? Don't go making decisions for him. Yan can manage his own affairs."

Xie Yuzhu interrupted his wife. "Put the silver away. Once I've rested for a few days, I'll go back into the mountains with Guo Peng and the others. After paying the summer tax and the mountain fees, we'll save some silver and see about teaching A Bao a trade. There's no future in making a living in the mountains like this..."