Chapter 72: The Ghost Face Knife Everyone Hunts

The next morning early.

Li Rui took Wang Zhao and Yang Yong to the county government office.

With his face as a Hall Master of Tian Di Alliance,

the clerks in the household office did not make things difficult; within less than half an hour, all procedures were completed.

Walking out of the county office gate,

Yang Yong and Wang Zhao felt as if they were dreaming.

“I’m a free man?!”

Since the moment they sold themselves into servitude, they had never imagined they could ever be freed from their bonded status.

Li Rui genuinely rejoiced for the two of them.

Having once been low-status servants themselves, they understood better than anyone the emotions Yang Yong and Wang Zhao felt now.

“If you’re willing, you can work for me—I’ll pay you wages. If not, I’ll find a way to get you a few acres of land outside the city.”

Yang Yong and Wang Zhao both looked bewildered.

They had grown accustomed to life under the Zhu household, obeying every order without ever having the power to choose.

Now suddenly being given a choice, they were at a loss.

Li Rui sighed softly.

He understood this feeling perfectly.

“No rush. You two have nowhere to stay—just stay with me for now. When you’ve decided, let me know.”

Before he finished speaking,

Wang Zhao shot up his head, firm: “Master, you taught me to raise horses and freed me from bondage—this debt I can never repay in this life, so I’ll serve you as your ox and horse!”

Li Rui laughed bitterly: “I helped you buy your freedom, not to make you my slave again.”

Wang Zhao grinned foolishly and scratched his head:

“Either way, I’m sticking with you for life.”

Yang Yong also made up his mind: “Old Li, if you don’t mind, I’ll sweep your floors. My mediocre skills probably aren’t worth your notice—I can’t be a guard anyway.”

Li Rui: “Do as you please.”

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong moved into the mansion beside Tianyi Hall.

Li Rui went to the building himself.

He informed Zhou Shulin and Liang He that two new people had moved in.

To prevent misunderstandings.

After finishing this, he led the two into the main residence.

“Holy mother, a four-courtyard mansion!”

Even the Zhu family, one of the top households in the city, lived in a five-courtyard home—but Li Rui, just one man, lived in a four-courtyard one. The luxury of the rich was truly unimaginable.

“Wasted, wasted.”

Yang Yong walked through every room inside and out.

Seeing the abandoned chambers, he kept lamenting.

Li Rui had once been a stable hand, and that was why he had a single room.

He was different—he had spent most of his life sleeping on a shared bunk with other guards, and even as he grew older, the number of people sharing it only decreased from over a dozen to four or five.

Every night, snores shook the walls.

Yang Yong didn’t hesitate—he immediately began cleaning the rooms.

He had dreamed of having a courtyard like this.

In his dreams, he’d often imagined how he’d arrange a big house—now he finally had the chance.

He rolled up his sleeves and set about restoring the neglected rooms.

Otherwise, as the village elders said, an empty house loses its qi and leaks away fortune.

Watching Yang Yong work,

Li Rui didn’t bother to stop him—since he was paying wages, it was only right for Old Yang to do some labor; otherwise, their relationship would turn sour.

Besides, Yang Yong and Wang Zhao themselves would feel guilty.

At most, he wouldn’t treat them like servants under the Zhu household.

He was now a Hall Master and Black Market official.

Supporting two people was no problem.

Wang Zhao was initially stiff and reserved, but after seeing the stable, he perked up immediately.

He swept and cleaned the place inside and out several times.

Li Rui sighed helplessly: “There are no horses in the stable.”

But Wang Zhao wouldn’t listen—he insisted they’d surely need it soon.

He cheerfully and skillfully scrubbed the entire stable from top to bottom.

Seeing he couldn’t be stopped, Li Rui let them have their way.

Back in the house,

he smiled faintly.

“More people make it livelier.”

Several miles outside Qinghe City, in the mountain forest,

a fat, round-bellied bald giant staggered through the trees, cursing as he walked.

“Tang, and Song—you bastards, did I kill your whole families? Why’d you hit me so hard?”

“Ow.”

The bald giant winced.

His mouth had been smashed by Tang Sheng’s punch—now swollen black and blue, bleeding.

“Fuck, I’ll repay this grudge, Ghost Lord will make you all die—kill, kill, kill!”

The bald giant’s name was Huyan Zhuo.

In the martial world, he had a far more famous title—Ghost Face Knife.

Even now, Ghost Face Knife Huyan Zhuo couldn’t understand: he’d just returned to Qinghe from another county,

so why did Tang Sheng of the Tian Di Alliance treat him like a mortal enemy?

Gui Ming Jiao was hated by all.

But he remembered the Tian Di Alliance had always been half-hearted about dealing with them.

He shook his throbbing head:

“To hell with it—if they dare hit me, they all die. Kill, kill, kill!”

If he hadn’t run fast enough,

he might have lost his life—this grudge must be repaid!

The Black Market was as bustling as ever.

Merchants came and went without end.

Li Rui walked down the Black Market’s streets with his hands behind his back.

But given his status in the Black Market, even without wearing the Tian Di Alliance uniform, he’d still be recognized—so he skipped the pretense and strode openly.

Some well-informed merchants greeted him with flattery upon seeing the Black Market’s authority.

Others, unaware of his identity, still regarded him with greater respect due to his aura.

A man’s clothes make him, a horse’s saddle makes him.

Though Li Rui was older, the Tian Di Alliance uniform accentuated his vigor—the golden thread embroidery along the edges lent him an air of nobility.

Not to mention his current muscular build—though hidden under clothing, it gave him an entirely different presence.

Now that he was a Hall Master, he couldn’t dress like a pauper.

Legend said some reclusive masters could appear unkempt to show their detachment.

But Li Rui wasn’t qualified yet.

Wearing this outfit through the Black Market, everyone looked at him with awe.

“Old man, sell me all your Hanlu grass—I’m not stingy, I’ll give you eighty cash, how’s that?”

A thin, sharp-eyed young man crouched before a small stall.

“This—”

An old man, weathered by years, stared in shock.

He was a local herb gatherer.

Disgusted by the low prices offered by herb shops, he’d reluctantly paid the entry fee to sell medicine in the Black Market.

He hadn’t expected his first customer to be such a big one.

Eighty cash!

That would feed his family for days.

“Sir, you’re generous—I’ll wrap it up for you right away.”

“Good.”

The thin man nodded, satisfied.

A flicker of hidden cunning passed beneath his eyes.

The old man tied up a large bundle of herbs and handed it to the skinny monkey man, who promptly pulled out exactly eighty copper coins and left, clutching the herbs happily.

Li Rui saw this scene.

He felt a slight stir in his heart.

The herbs the skinny monkey man had bought glimmered with golden light.

That meant one of the herbs was a spirit herb!

He bought a spirit herb for eighty copper coins.

Huge profit!

(End of Chapter)