Revenge

When Zhang Laochong and Zhang Da came out of the Li Clan compound, several of the Li Clan's farmhands were bringing Master Hong's body back.

Zhang Laochong saw that Hong Wenjun, normally so imposing and domineering, now had his neck bent and his head shifted onto his shoulder. His death had been gruesome.

There was a black mark at his throat, as though someone had shattered it with a single punch.

Father and son had seen life and death before, but seeing Master Hong, who normally swaggered unchallenged around these parts, punched so hard that his head had been knocked out of place still filled them with dread.

Martial artists truly were terrifying.

Fortunately, whoever had beaten Master Hong to death was on their side. They just did not know whom Zhang Lingfeng had persuaded to act. Could it have been that Senior Brother Wu?

Father and son did not linger.

With Master Hong dealt with, Little Moon Mountain's water supply belonged to the Zhang Clan, unless the Li Clan had the guts to come and seize it. Of course, even after losing all their water sources on Little Moon Mountain, the Li Clan could not be underestimated. On the surface, they were still considerably stronger than the Zhang Clan.

They would have to plan this carefully.

"Master, we've brought Master Hong back."

A farmhand called out.

Although Li Mingtian had prepared himself, the state of Master Hong's corpse still gave him a fright.

Wang Fang ran out to inspect it, and her little face also turned pale with fright. She silently cursed him as useless and slipped out through the back gate. She had originally come today to watch the Zhang Clan bow their heads. Instead, she had seen Master Hong beaten to death by the Zhang Clan, and Little Moon Mountain's water supply had become theirs instead.

"Father, what should we do now?"

Li Hongwei asked.

"Was Zhang Lingfeng the one who killed Master Hong?"

Li Mingtian asked.

"No, it was someone we've never seen before, about the same age as Zhang Lingfeng."

One of the farmhands who had been there answered.

Li Mingtian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhang Lingfeng could beat Master Hong to death, hard days lay ahead for the Li Clan.

Still, Zhang Lingfeng's ability to get someone to kill Master Hong made Li Mingtian deeply wary.

"Where's Wang Fang?"

He remembered how Zhang Lingfeng had rescued Wang Biao before. Supposedly, he had asked a senior brother from the martial arts school to help. Could the man who killed Master Hong have been that same senior brother?

"She left."

Li Hongwei said.

"That damned girl used us as her spear, then ran off fast enough when something went wrong."

Li Mingtian's expression darkened.

If Wang Fang had not egged them on, leading them to mistakenly believe that the senior brother backing Zhang Lingfeng was merely someone whose eyes lit up at the sight of money, the Li Clan would never have seized those three hundred and sixty mu of land.

Now Master Hong had been beaten to death.

Wang Fang had simply run off, and they would have to pay the Zhang Clan for water from now on—four hundred and fifty-six taels a year. Their entire harvest across all three growing seasons each year amounted to only that much.

The Zhang Clan was giving them a taste of their own medicine, trying to force the Li Clan to sell those seven hundred and sixty-three mu of land for a pittance. The boomerang had come back awfully fast.

"Father, come up with something!"

Li Hongwei urged anxiously.

"Send Master Hong home and give his family some silver. Have them notify his fellow disciples. As long as someone is willing to avenge Master Hong, we'll still have the final say over Little Moon Mountain."

Li Mingtian said.

"That's a good plan. I'll arrange it right away."

Li Hongwei brightened and personally led the men taking Master Hong's body home.

"Damned bitch."

Li Mingtian was still dwelling on Wang Fang.

When Wang Biao had gotten into trouble, Master Wang had brought Wang Fang to ask him for help, but he had refused. After all, the authorities were involved, and Li Mingtian had not dared interfere.

He had never expected Zhang Lingfeng to be the one who ultimately rescued Wang Biao, or for the Zhang Clan to obtain those three hundred and sixty mu of land from the Wang family. Originally, the Li Clan and the Zhang Clan had lived in peace, and the Zhang Clan would have paid the Li Clan for water every year according to the rules.

But Wang Fang's instigation had led the Li Clan to mistakenly believe that Zhang Lingfeng had little connection with that senior brother. Only then had they cut off Little Moon Mountain's water supply, intending to take those three hundred and sixty mu of land.

Now they had failed to get the land.

The Zhang Clan had seized their water supply and taken five hundred taels of silver as well. Their losses had been devastating.

The more Li Mingtian thought about it, the more he felt that Wang Fang had engineered their conflict with the Zhang Clan because the Li Clan had refused to help rescue Wang Biao.

After successfully killing Master Hong, Wei He ran all the way back to the county town and went straight to Warm Breeze Hall to demand that Chen Sanshi release his sisters.

At the time, Zhang Lingfeng was practicing his fist technique at the martial arts school, and Zhang Pingping was doing the accounts in the back courtyard. Chen Sanshi looked at Wei He calmly and tossed him the IOU. "Here's your IOU. From now on, your debt to Warm Breeze Hall is wiped clean."

"Where are my two sisters?"

Wei He cared more about whether his two elder sisters were alive or dead.

"I arranged for them to stay at an inn last night. By now, they should be home, waiting for you to come back for a meal."

Chen Sanshi teased.

"Fine. My sisters had better both be unharmed."

Wei He ran all the way home again and, sure enough, found his two sisters there. After asking them, he learned that they had been taken to an inn and confined there the night before. Apart from losing their freedom, they had suffered no harm and had only been released that morning.

"Little brother, did you offend someone?"

His eldest sister asked.

"No, it was a misunderstanding."

Wei He did not want to explain.

"They said that if you need silver in the future, you can still go to them, but you mustn't refuse to repay it."

His second sister said quietly.

"Hmph, they've really gone too far!"

Wei He was furious.

But seeing that both his sisters were safe and sound, he could only let the matter rest. He knew that his sisters had emerged unharmed not because Wei He had made the people of Warm Breeze Hall fear him.

It was precisely because these two sisters existed that the people of Warm Breeze Hall believed they could keep him in hand. Otherwise, they would probably have killed him long ago.

I must break through to Dark Force.

Wei He silently swore to himself.

Inside the martial arts school.

Zhang Lingfeng practiced the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist over and over. Watching his cultivation progress slowly rise eased his mind somewhat. He knew that seizing Little Moon Mountain's water supply was equivalent to gripping the lifeline of the Li Clan's seven hundred and sixty-three mu of land there. The Li Clan certainly would not let the matter rest.

Even if the Li Clan sold those seven hundred-odd mu of land to the Zhang Clan for a pittance, their foundations would still be stronger than the Zhang Clan's. Only by becoming a Dark Force expert himself could he completely intimidate the Li Clan.

And force the Li Clan to willingly sell them the land below Little Moon Mountain for a pittance.

At the same time, with Master Hong dead, the Li Clan would certainly make other moves.

They would probably continue hiring martial masters, or engage a Dark Force expert to resolve the matter. But getting a Dark Force expert to act would cost a considerable sum.

Moreover, Master Hong had been a Peak Ming Jin expert. Ordinary Dark Force experts would be unwilling to provoke someone capable of beating him to death.

Wu Yun, for instance.

He was clearly a Dark Force expert, but if asked to deal with Master Hong, he would not necessarily agree.

First of all, many personal connections were involved. If Master Hong's master or fellow disciples came knocking, he would also have to step forward to deal with all sorts of trouble.

Eliminating Master Hong, with whom he had no quarrel, for a little silver was plainly not a deal Wu Yun would make.

Thus, the Li Clan probably would not be able to enlist a Dark Force expert's help. At most, they would ask someone to mediate and get the Zhang Clan to reduce the water fees, preventing problems with the harvest on those seven hundred and sixty-three mu of land.

As for whether anyone would avenge Master Hong?

As the saying went, when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered; when a man died, his lamp went out. Before dealing with Master Hong, Zhang Lingfeng had investigated his background. Killing him would not bring any trouble afterward.