Flames raged fiercely inside the courtyard of the Tax Inspectorate in Huqi Town.
Several bailiffs and tax clerks with split heads and bleeding faces were desperately crawling toward the outside of the gate...
A few ragged men and women suddenly rushed up, frantically tearing, beating, and pounding on the bailiffs and tax clerks whose hands and feet were broken, using both hands and mouths!
Soon, these bailiffs and tax clerks who habitually abused and humiliated the commoners and prisoners... were all beaten to death right at the gates of the Tax Inspectorate.
A group of battered prisoners supported each other as they escaped from the prison yard, and an old man leaning on a wooden staff looked back...
A man wiping away his tears shouted aloud, "Old Man Hu! Madam Zhao who sells dim sum and three other women threw themselves into the fire! They took their own lives..."
"Sigh! What a damned world this is!"
The old man looked at the commoners peeking out from the streets, then turned back to tell the male and female prisoners, "Pack up your things, food, money, and weapons too... While that beast Constable Ma hasn't returned, let's hurry and flee into the mountains to the south! Escape as many as can!!!"
At the mouth of the mountain cave north of the town, Constable Ma looked at the young Martial Warrior before him with a hint of despair!
The black ash on the young man's face had already been streaked away by sweat, and his pair of bright eyes locked fiercely onto him.
"Constable Ma, you've committed too many atrocities, and now your time is up!"
Constable Ma clutched his shattered shoulder bone, wheezing as he said, "You're crazy! You're crazy! You dare to oppose the government? These... these prisoners are all meant to be sent into the mountains to mine for the Immortal Sect! What kind of person are you, daring to provoke the Immortal Sect?"
Lü Bufan recovered a breath of acquired True Qi, gripped his short sword tightly, and stepped forward...
"I'm just a person! A person who can't stand the beastly behavior of you lot!"
Several bailiffs, scared back into the depths of the mountain cave, watched in horror as this young Martial Warrior wielded that short sword and locked in combat with the staggering Constable Ma...
Furious roars accompanied the deafening crashes of the Martial Warrior's Gang Qi, fresh blood splattered everywhere... along with the dull thuds of the short sword piercing flesh and fists striking bodies!
A figure crashed heavily to the ground, and Constable Ma struggled desperately to rise...
A short sword stabbed down fiercely!
Constable Ma's eyes bulged as he stared fixedly at the short sword embedded in his chest, his gaze drifting upward... and suddenly he felt that the youth, whose face was covered in sweat and blood droplets, looked somewhat familiar!
"It's... you... you're... on Yanghua Street... that... lit... little... turtle..."
With red eyes, Lü Bufan pulled out the short sword and then slashed out fiercely!
Constable Ma's head rolled and flew into the air.
"Open the prison doors! Otherwise, I'll slaughter the lot of you!"
Several bailiffs who hadn't even reached the Martial Warrior realm felt their legs turn to jelly, dropping to their knees with loud thuds all around...
Lü Bufan panted, sitting down at the entrance of the mountain cave.
"Grandpa Chivalrous Hero... they've all been let go, not a single one is left... Grandpa, Grandpa, spare my life!"
A bailiff knelt on the ground, shivering as he looked at the god of slaughter sitting upon the stone!
Constable Ma... a dignified Third Realm Martial Warrior! To think he was beheaded just like that by this madman... How could the likes of them, mere mortal flesh, possibly be a match for him?
Lü Bufan only felt wave after wave of intense pain throughout his body, especially in his arms and chest, having taken several heavy blows from the injured Constable Ma... He feared his injuries were not light.
Lü Bufan looked with disappointment at the remaining prisoners who had fled, and asked, "Are any of you from the town? Bitterwater Alley... has anyone seen a boy named Liuzi?"
After a long while, a timid voice sounded, "Hero... I saw Little Liuzi once!"
"Where?"
"A few days ago, the tax officials pressed too hard, and a dozen of us thought about fleeing south... afraid of being caught and sent into the mountains to die in those immortal mines. As a result... we ran right into the government's Mountain Search Squad in the south, and they killed one on the spot! The rest of us scattered in all directions, and I saw Liuzi go into Old Dragon Gully with two other young men..."
"Old Dragon Gully..."
Lü Bufan recalled that Old Dragon Gully was the most sinister place in the vicinity of Huqi Town, with legends of people accidentally entering it and losing their lives persisting for so many years.
Lü Bufan's arms trembled slightly, and he nodded. "After that, Liuzi never appeared again?"
"Reporting to the little benefactor, those pursuers didn't dare enter that ghost place, so they brought us back here."
Lü Bufan sighed, "You all should pack up and escape quickly! Over at Little Cold Spring Mountain to the south, there's no government Mountain Search Squad... Take good care of the old and weak on the road, and flee as far as you can!"
"Little benefactor... you... This humble one understands! Benefactor, take care..."
A crowd of prisoners and refugees chattered noisily like a swarm of bees fleeing into the wilderness, leaving Lü Bufan's heart as cold as ice...
Who knew how many of these refugees could survive in the wilderness, and Two Realms Village was so small... Not to mention, Two Realms Village was targeted by that terrifying Immortal Sect force! There was nothing he could do to help...
Who told him to be nothing more than a minor Martial Warrior who hadn't even reached the third realm!
"Liuzi... where on earth have you run off to?"
Lü Bufan glanced at the bailiffs, nearly scaring the fellows into wetting their pants...
"Grandpa, spare my life! Grandpa, spare my life..."
"Scram!"
Ragged, bruised, and battered, the bailiffs felt as though they had received a grand amnesty, scrambling and stumbling in a panic toward the town.
Lü Bufan felt as if he were on the verge of fainting away.
Suddenly, a shadow lay down beside Lü Bufan without a sound.
"Big Black! Why are you here?"
Lü Bufan grabbed the giant black dog that had appeared by his side out of nowhere, and instantly... an indescribable and unfathomable aura enveloped Lü Bufan from Big Black!
Lü Bufan felt the pain in his injuries subside significantly, and he quickly crossed his legs to sit and regulate his breathing.
Big Black yawned lazily, glanced in the direction of the town, and lay down to sleep.
As dawn approached, Lü Bufan exhaled a long breath of foul air... and felt that his vibration-damaged internal organs had stabilized, leaving only his bones and muscles aching dully.
Lü Bufan stood up and looked toward the town, while Big Black beside him was still fast asleep.
"Thank you, Big Black!"
Big Black opened its eyelids and glanced at Lü Bufan.
Lü Bufan chuckled, "I know what you mean... But I want to go save Liuzi myself, and I don't want to trouble you over such a small matter! If the Immortal Sect finds out about your whereabouts, I'm afraid there might be danger..."
Big Black revealed a trace of disdainful expression and stepped forward toward Huqi Town.
Lü Bufan hurried to follow, suddenly remembering... he had promised Big Black to find it something delicious in town!
The town was gripped in panic and total chaos; the Tax Inspectorate had been burned down... yet Tax Clerk Zhao happened to have booked a tender young girl who had just been initiated at Spring Splendor House last night, managing to escape disaster!
Word had it that most of those locked inside the Tax Inspectorate were locals, and these prisoners, driven to extremes by the heavy abuse, had brutally beaten the three junior tax clerks and five or six bailiffs to death...
Tax Clerk Zhao knew that this time, he was utterly finished.
A tall, upright youth in plain clothes wore a bamboo hat to conceal his face, carried a bundle on his back, and had a massive black dog trailing behind him.
Man and dog entered the town unhurriedly. Everywhere there were whispering, bewildered commoners, along with a few night watchmen and bailiffs who had escaped disaster and were peeking around...
Lü Bufan walked with familiar ease to the front of a small shop, where an old man wearing a greasy apron sat by the doorway.
Seeing a customer arrive, the old man slowly stood up to greet him...
"Little brother looks rather unfamiliar. Are you here to buy pressed salted meat?"
Lü Bufan nodded. "Give me five pounds of pressed salted meat, plus three roast chickens... Old keeper, how come the steamed bun shop on the next street is closed?"
Failing to recognize Lü Bufan, Uncle Mang sighed and said in a low voice, "Everyone's gone, how could it not close?"
"What happened? I heard that shop's steamed buns were exceptionally delicious!"
Uncle Mang looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "Buy your food and leave this place quickly, it's not peaceful! At that steamed bun shop, the proprietor's elderly sister-in-law was beaten to death by bailiffs this January! Their little grandson was also seized and sent into the mountains... From last year until now, taxes have more than quintupled, and many people can't pay anymore... And then their households are ruined and families destroyed... How tragic!"
Lü Bufan paused for a moment, lowered his head, and said, "This world... deserves to die!"
"Young man, don't talk too much, hurry and leave! Oh, I have pressed salted meat, but no roast chickens. Three hundred cash in total... two and a half taels of silver will do as well."
Lü Bufan pulled out a few pieces of broken silver and asked softly, "Does Uncle still manage to pay the tax silver?"
Uncle Mang gave a bitter smile. "Just barely scraping by! My good-for-nothing son works as an accountant at Landowner Qian's place, so the Tax Inspectorate gives us a bit of face, allowing us to hang on to a breath of life!"
Lü Bufan laid down a few pieces of broken silver, expressed his thanks, picked up the oiled paper package containing the pressed salted meat, and vanished around the street corner.
Uncle Mang picked up the broken silver and discovered there was actually over three taels! He bit it to make sure, then relaxed... and suddenly felt it rather strange!
"How did he know others call me Uncle Mang? Isn't he an outsider? Why does he feel a bit familiar?"
Carrying the oiled paper package, Lü Bufan went to another street to buy plenty of dry rations and salt, then led Big Black out of Huqi Town and into the mountains.
Sitting in the exact spot where he had roasted the mountain hare yesterday, Lü Bufan lit a fire once more.
Big Black ate the pressed salted meat Lü Bufan had bought, seemingly finding the taste quite acceptable.
Lü Bufan stared blankly into the campfire.
As darkness fell, the bushes nearby rustled once again.
The little beggar appeared with two little followers.
Crouching far off in the distance on the ground, the little beggar saw Lü Bufan beckon to her.
Lü Bufan looked at the little fellow sitting obediently before him and asked, "Are you a girl?"
The little beggar, whose face was stained with filth and grime, instantly revealed a trace of nervous wariness, but ultimately nodded.
Lü Bufan took out a large package of dry rations and salt, pushed it forward... "Take these supplies. Recently, a large group of government soldiers and catchpoles will likely come to Huqi Town to suppress bandits... You all must hurry and flee south. Once you enter the fringes of Two-World Mountain, head west and don't get too close to the Two-World Mountain territory. Then... see if you can find a place to settle down somewhere closer to Western Liang."
The little beggar kept her head lowered, then suddenly spoke in a faint, girlish voice, "I know! You're a great chivalrous hero... Those running-dog bailiffs in Huqi Town, you killed them, didn't you?"