Chapter 56: Shocking

Before the city gate of Fucheng.

Bang! Bang-bang!

Suona horns and gongs led the way, a large banner bearing the character “Mourning” advanced ahead, paper money fluttered everywhere, and wailing echoed for miles.

A long procession, like a dragon, approached from afar; those driving and walking all wore mourning clothes, weeping bitterly, the flag of the Four Seas Consortium clearly visible.

“The Four Seas Consortium? They’ve lost another one?”

“Looks like it. And it’s a big one—another job by the Tiger’s Den?”

People near the gate murmured among themselves; some wore smug expressions, harboring old grudges against the Four Seas Consortium.

Even so, they made way—the Four Seas Consortium’s core members had died one after another, their power greatly diminished, but they were still beyond the reach of ordinary folk.

Everyone held their breath, watching this staggering wealth pass before their eyes, yet none dared to reach out and touch even a single item.

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“The criminals who murdered our Long clan’s youths—the 347 bandits of the Tiger’s Den—have been executed!”

The crowd buzzed with noise, most disbelieving.

“What’s the Four Seas Consortium?”

“The criminals who murdered our Long clan’s youths… an unnamed individual, have been executed!”

After that came bolts of cloth, grain, livestock, and more.

The last prisoner cart was a single compartment, treated like Lu Jingtian and Zhou Kun—only the face had been violently gouged out, unrecognizable.

A group of hangers-on joined in the clamor.

As the mourning procession drew closer, their pupils contracted.

Simultaneously, large groups of people rushed off in all directions, spreading the shocking news.

“I know the Scorpion Tail Tiger—she’s this bitch!”

Then a roar erupted, the crowd boiling like a firecracker ignited in their midst, thunderous echoes ringing endlessly.

Gold, silver, pearls, and jade piled into mountains on the carts! Glinting in the sunlight with dazzling hues—not just one cart, but the second, the third—all filled with gold and jewels, not a single other item mixed in.

Besides, the dead deserve respect; yielding the road to the deceased is nothing.

More and more people gathered, stunned.

The crowd’s eyes brightened.

Lu Jingtian’s head, mounted alone on a prisoner cart, passed straight through the gate; everyone along the way recoiled in fear, clearing a path, their gazes turning backward.

White cloths were pulled off cart after cart, revealing stacks of human heads, merely crudely tanned, covered in ash and bloodstains, nearly filling the cage-like carts.

Several others testified: unlike the Tiger’s Den’s boss, who kept to his lair, this Tiger of the Heavens frequently led raids to collect tolls, and many recognized him.

The second prisoner cart’s white cloth was torn away, revealing a large, slightly darkened head—eyes wide with fury, as if still burdened by unfulfilled ambitions.

“Of the ‘Seven Tigers,’ only the ‘Golden Hand Tiger’ Zhou Sheng and the ‘Earth-Treader Tiger’ Lu Hou remain. Any of you know their whereabouts?”

“And this…”

“The criminals who murdered our Long clan’s youths—‘Eastern Mountain Flying Tiger’ Lu Jingtian—have been executed!”

Others didn’t recognize this powerful forest lord who ruled the Tiger’s Den—but the Brocade Dragon Consortium had collaborated with the Tiger’s Den many times; how could he not know him?

“Father, your vengeance is avenged!”

“Has the Tiger’s Den truly been wiped out? Heaven has eyes!”

Behind the gold and jewel carts came carts loaded with iron weapons—seven or eight of them—swords, spears, halberds, and sabers bound like firewood, stacked high.

The crowd fell utterly silent, not even a pin could drop.

Someone screamed like a madman.

The tanning quality was inferior, but the overall features were still clear.

The Righteous Brotherhood was deeply rooted in Fucheng, backed by powerful figures; even if Yang Dongsheng was dead, they wouldn’t collapse. The Four Seas Consortium wasn’t a martial sect built on force—this must end here.

Many wept uncontrollably, voluntarily clearing the path; some, overcome with emotion, cut strips from their undergarments to use as mourning headbands, wailing loudly. Most now believed.

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“The criminals who murdered our Long clan’s youths—‘Tiger of the Heavens’ Zhou Kun—have been executed!”

“Get real—when did you ever say that?” At the front of the procession, Long San’s expression remained impassive as he began intoning in a drawn-out tone.

More than a dozen carts filled with human heads passed one after another.

What he hated most were these hypocrites who claimed to uphold righteousness yet disguised themselves to participate in the murder of his children and kin! Too bad his uncles and elders forbade him from acting on impulse.

After the prisoner carts passed, those still watching gasped for breath.

“This man’s lost his mind.”

The next cart—clearly a wagon loaded with gold and jewels!

“When did this gate become the Four Seas’ property?”

Each head was recognized, yet no one dared raise their voice; they whispered quietly to their companions.

These people either had deep financial ties or an irreconcilable hatred toward the Four Seas Consortium, unwilling to believe.

“Lu Jingtian!”

But one man wasn’t afraid—he wore the insignia of a Qi Refining cultivator from the Brocade Dragon Consortium and shouted: “When they arrive, they enter!”

Someone could no longer bear the tension and asked.

“That’s him!”

“The criminals who murdered our Long clan’s youths—‘Scorpion Tail Tiger’ Xu Erniang, ‘Down-the-Mountain Tiger’ Lang Yi, ‘Mountain-Cleaver Tiger’ Zhou Kuang—have been executed!”

“It’s fake! The Four Seas Consortium hired master disguise artists to forge this!”

Someone stared fixedly at the three golden carts, trembling, his eyes filled with greed that nearly drove him mad.

Many people shuddered, their pupils dilating.

Some clenched their jaws, trembling, forcing themselves to make no sound.

“That’s correct—this is the Tiger’s Den’s second-in-command, ‘Tiger of the Heavens’ Zhou Kun. Years ago, he led a raid on our escort company’s cargo and shattered two long swords with nothing but his bare hands.”

Long San barked.

“Old Lu was blind—why pick a fight with a power that spans the entire Yue Kingdom? I told you he’d meet a bad end!”

“Down-the-Mountain Tiger…”

The first cart came into view—not cargo or coffins, but a single human head! Not just any head—exquisitely tanned using advanced techniques and precious materials, lifelike even after death, its face still tinged with faint color.

Compared to the first two Tigers, these lower-ranked bosses were the ones who regularly led raids and collected tolls; nearly everyone who traveled between Dongling Prefecture and other prefectures knew them, had paid them, or had loved ones killed by them.

“That’s right! Get behind me, you bastard!”

The Tiger’s Den was surely destroyed.

Yet they never lost control, never truly took a step forward.

The crowd erupted completely.

“How much silver did this damned Tiger’s Den steal over the years?!!”

The crowd’s expressions changed, sensing the fury in his voice, silently guessing whose head occupied the solitary prisoner cart.

The crowd fell still.

The Brocade Dragon Consortium’s Qi Refining cultivator screamed, face ashen.

“Zhou Wu’s head… I recognize him—he was a bully in my village years ago, then said he was going to make his name in the martial world.”

“‘Eastern Mountain Flying Tiger’ of the Tiger’s Den? Impossible!”

The head had faintly gray temples, radiating fierce authority, still intimidating even in death.

The next prisoner cart, its white cloth pulled away, revealed three heads—beautiful, rugged, or handsome—clearly visible.

“Li Neng—I know him. He came to the Spring Blossom Pavilion for wine and courtesans every ten days or so.”

Kick a man when he’s down! When the Tiger’s Den was powerful, they dared not move. Now only a few stragglers remained—what was there to fear?

If they could capture one and torture him into revealing the Tiger’s Den’s hidden treasure…

“I don’t know the Golden Hand Tiger, but I saw the Earth-Treader Tiger Lu Hou at the Spring Wind Pavilion just a few days ago!”

The surrounding cultivators’ eyes instantly burned with hunger.

(End of Chapter)