Chapter 111: Be a Good Person in Your Next Life

As Wanyan Hongxi waved his hand and granted Zhang Chu’an and the others the positions of Prefect and Inspector, their revolutionary base once again experienced a second explosive surge.

The first surge came from Hong Qi Gong’s Beggar’s Sect and Qiu Chuji’s Quanzhen Sect, who poured out their entire fortunes to support them; after understanding their principles and actions, these two forces not only provided personnel and resources, but Qiu Chuji and his disciples even donated all their land and wealth to the revolution, and Hong Qi Gong contributed every asset of the Beggar’s Sect—so much so that most of the Pure Robe Faction left the Beggar’s Sect entirely.

Hong Qi Gong often mocked himself: “This Beggar’s Sect of mine is now truly nothing but a bunch of beggars huddled together.”

Yet they felt no regret; after all, this land was still under Jin rule—what use were money and property here? If they could drive the Jin out and let the common people live well, they would gladly sacrifice their lives, let alone mere wealth and assets.

Thus, these two forces became veteran partners of the Revolutionary Army; whenever the army developed new weapons, they invited the leaders of these two factions to observe—such as the 107 rocket launchers Zhang Chu’an had exchanged for.

With twelve deafening roars, the cannon barrels fired their shells in a torrent like wind and rain, streaking toward the sky. In an instant, the distant mountaintops were plunged into wild destruction.

The violent explosions shook the earth and sky, trembling every soul as if tearing the entire world apart; the vast seas of fire left observers speechless, flames dancing like dragons in furious motion.

Such power delivered a profound shock to Hong Qi Gong, Qiu Chuji, and other ancients.

Qiu Chuji and Hong Qi Gong had seen firearms before; Qiu Chuji, as a Daoist, was even an expert in crafting them and had witnessed military-grade weapons.

For instance, incendiary weapons relied on gunpowder’s combustible properties to burn enemies or ignite targets, and also emitted poison gas and smoke to inflict harm. Primary weapons included fireballs, thorn fireballs, thunder fireballs, smoke balls, poison smoke balls, iron-beaked fire kites, bamboo fire kites, rockets, and fire cannons.

Rocket-type weapons attached gunpowder tubes to the front of arrows; when ignited, the backward jet of gas propelled the arrow forward.

Explosive weapons used gunpowder burning inside sealed containers to generate intense heat and gas, causing the container to explode and kill enemies. In warfare, commonly used explosive weapons included thunder cannons, iron fire cannons, and thunderclap bombs. The thunderclap bomb was the most powerful: its shell was cast iron, filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse. Upon detonation, the iron shell shattered into deadly fragments.

But these weapons were nothing compared to what they had just seen—they were like toys in a child’s hands.

As they marveled at the weapon’s power, they heard Zhang Chu’an sigh: “It’s agonizing to deploy twenty artillery battalions at once—I’ve spent years hoarding these resources, and now I’ve spent a fifth of them. How can I possibly face the Jin’s million-strong army—men like tigers, horses like dragons, climbing mountains like apes, diving into rapids like fish, their might like Mount Tai?”

The other six Quanzhen Seven were stunned. Until now, they had only heard Qiu Chuji complain about Zhang Chu’an’s lack of martial virtue, thinking it was just jest—but now, hearing Zhang Chu’an’s lament, they realized Qiu Chuji had been mild-mannered in his description.

“‘Men like tigers, horses like dragons, climbing mountains like apes, diving into rapids like fish, their might like Mount Tai’—isn’t that just hyperbole?” Sun Bu’er asked doubtfully.

“Sister, you’re right—it’s hyperbole. ‘Men like dragons’ is hard to judge since I’ve never seen one, but what difference does it make whether it’s a tiger or a horse? Both get crushed into pulp. Besides, those phrases describe the Jin army in its early days; today’s Jin forces have decayed. If they truly had a million such troops, the Song would’ve been wiped out long ago,” Qiu Chuji couldn’t help retorting, knowing Zhang Chu’an well.

This man remained as monstrously insane as ever. He had thought it was bad enough when he brought a guard company to beat him up—until he saw Ouyang Feng surrounded by an entire brigade.

Undeniably, Ouyang Feng was formidable—one of the Five Greats, powerful in martial arts and skilled in poison and snakes—but he had met Zhang Chu’an, who cared nothing for rules or martial virtue.

Ouyang Ke had barely set foot on Zhang Chu’an’s territory before being captured; Zhang Chu’an declared he would first publicly castrate him, then wrap him in a fishing net and slice him to pieces.

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Feng raced from the Western Regions on horseback, caused chaos in the base, then went to the dungeon to rescue his nephew—only to be trapped inside.

Ten thousand men with rifles—even if all Five Greats came together, they’d kneel. How much less could one Ouyang Feng stand? A man as calculating as Ouyang Feng should never have missed Zhang Chu’an’s setup.

But Zhang Chu’an truly treated Ouyang Ke as less than human: first he shattered his limb joints with gunfire, then severed all his meridians, then deprived him of food, water, and sleep—any time he dozed off, men shone blinding lights into his eyes.

This method of torture was quiet, yet excruciating.

Every day, the maidservants who visited him told Ouyang Feng what they’d seen, driving him to the brink of madness—if this continued, his son would be tortured to death, and he had only this one son.

In desperation, Ouyang Feng was predictably captured alive. Seeing another of the Five Greats taken alive, Hong Qi Gong felt sorrow and tried to plead for mercy—but Zhang Chu’an flatly refused, pointing at Ouyang Ke’s nose: “This brat tried to steal my brother’s girlfriend. Now he’s in my hands—do you think I’ll let him off easy?”

Hearing this, Ouyang Feng threw back his head and laughed aloud: “Nephew, you made your brother wear a green hat—and even got him to raise your child. You didn’t lose out.”

Zhang Chu’an scratched his head and interrupted: “Hold on—you didn’t even succeed. At this point, you probably haven’t even held her hand.”

The month of torture drove Ouyang Ke to roar: “I didn’t succeed! Why are you treating me like this? Even those who did succeed weren’t treated this cruelly!”

“It’s unavoidable,” Zhang Chu’an replied. “You admit you made someone’s husband a cuckold. How everyone will cheer when I punish you— the worse I make it, the more they’ll applaud. So of course I’ll use the cruelest methods.”

Zhang Chu’an’s matter-of-fact tone left the uncle and nephew stunned—but what came next shocked them even more.

“Moreover, though I intended to torture and kill you both out of hatred for my brother’s rival, publicly I can claim you were evil-doers, and my actions uphold justice and right the wrongs of victims. No matter how powerful a martial artist, the Revolutionary Army will bring him to justice and restore justice to the victims’ families.”

“And since you hold high status and great influence in the martial world, the more horrifically you die, the more the martial sects will fear opposing us—otherwise, they’ll meet your fate. Look: by slicing you to pieces, I satisfy myself, win the people’s hearts, and terrify the martial world. Why wouldn’t I do it?”

At that moment, Ouyang Feng felt he didn’t deserve the title “Poison Master.” He had always thought himself wicked—but he never imagined a human heart could sink so low. Live your next life as a good person—he had no mind for evil.