Chapter 1637: Seeking Death

Huoshan is too small. The essence of the county seat is only a few hundred meters in radius; you could walk through the whole county seat in the time it takes to stretch your legs.

As figures with faces in the county, in the span of a day or so, the gang's upper echelon, including the boss Yang Sanshui, all disappeared. It was hard not to notice. After all, they used to walk sideways like crabs, and their presence was too strong. Suddenly not seeing them—and not just one or two, but all of them—wasn't that a sign of abnormality?

Especially since someone discovered the abnormality of the three little hooligans; they called everyone to the back of the gambling den, and those people never appeared again. And when they inquired about news from the little hooligans below, they were also tight-lipped.

Thus, those with vested interests frantically inquired about the news, because the unknown made them fearful...

Fortunately, Wang Yan was always a considerate person, a kind person. He didn't make people wait too long, and on the third day, he appeared openly with Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang.

Accompanied by a group of little hooligans, he inspected the gambling den, the opium den, and the brothel, and closed the opium den on the spot, turning it into a restaurant...

"The visitor is not kind."

Huoshan of the Huoshan Martial Arts School stood at the door with his hands behind his back, watching the excitement across the street. He was in coarse cloth attire, short and sturdy, with bulging temples and sharp light in his eyes—one look and you could tell he had mastered martial arts.

"Master, shall we..."

Huoshan asked: "Did you find the people?"

"They are all dead, buried in a big pit in the mountain hollow by the house outside the city, thirteen people in total. The method of killing had no pattern; looking at them, they don't seem to have martial arts. They look very young, not even fully grown; how much martial arts could they have? Should we test him?"

"Then it wasn't him who did it. Look at his every step; it's like being measured by a ruler. You can tell his stance is solid, his left and right are balanced, and his hand skills must not be bad."

Huoshan had practiced martial arts for twenty years; his skills were not low, and his eye for talent was not bad either.

Or to put it another way, in the martial arts world of fighting and killing, the fact that he could still stand here intact after twenty years fully explained many problems.

Wang Yan conveyed the spirit inside the opium den, drove out everyone smoking opium, and walked out of the opium den amidst the noise, just seeing Huoshan and the others diagonally across.

Their eyes met, and Wang Yan stepped over: "I observe that this master's spirit is restrained and he is majestic and extraordinary. You must be Master Huoshan, who came from Tianjin, right?"

"It is indeed me. I see that the brother's walking gait is full of martial arts; you must have extraordinary skills. I wonder how to address you, brother?"

"I am Wang Yan. Nice to meet you, Master Huo." Wang Yan cupped his hands in greeting.

Huoshan returned the greeting and smiled: "Brother Wang does not approve of this 'Hibiscus Paste' (opium)?"

"Dog shit Hibiscus Paste. Those who sell opium are all people who will have no descendants. I wonder what teachings Master Huo has regarding my opinion?"

"How can you talk about teachings? It is good to let you know, brother, that this business is not Yang Sanshui's, but Yang Qianxiong's of the wealthy Yang household. This is a top-tier business under heaven. I am afraid this matter cannot be settled easily."

"Many thanks to Master Huo for the reminder." Wang Yan cupped his hands and asked with a smile, "I wonder if there are mountain bandits causing trouble outside the city or in the mountains?"

"I have been here for three years and have never heard of mountain bandits." Huoshan smiled. "This place is surrounded by mountains on all sides, the population is not large, and it is not considered wealthy. Mountain bandits can't get enough to eat. Brother Wang is afraid he is young and doesn't know that in this world, the ones who have the final say are not the mountain bandits who can't be brought to the table."

Just at this moment, a burst of dense footsteps came. Everyone subconsciously looked over and saw a person wearing official robes leading the way, followed by over ten yamen runners, each carrying a knife, and some even holding long spears.

A group of hooligans and the onlookers in the distance subconsciously scattered, revealing Wang Yan and Huoshan.

"You are the new one?" The person wearing official robes looked at Wang Yan sideways.

Huoshan whispered considerately: "This is the County Magistrate's assistant, Official Fan Zhao."

"I am Wang Yan. Nice to meet you, Fourth Master."

Fan Zhao hummed: "Someone reported that Yang Sanshui and his group went missing. It is said that the last person they saw was you. What do you have to say about this?"

"I heard that to catch a thief, you must catch the stolen goods. Fourth Master, it shouldn't be me speaking; it should be the person who 'said' it. The last person they saw was me, which means I killed them? Then he must produce evidence. Witnesses, physical evidence—all must be present. Otherwise, I could also say this 'said' person killed them. Fourth Master, don't you think that is the logic?"

Fan Zhao laughed, laughing at Wang Yan's lying with his eyes open. Now everyone who knew the news knew that the people were killed by Wang Yan, and basically everyone knew the corpses were buried outside the city.

He asked: "Then tell me again, how did the subordinates who followed Yang Sanshui in the past all come to follow you?"

"How would I know? They all said I could lead them to earn silver, so they said they wanted to follow me and sell their lives to me. Don't you agree?"

Hearing Wang Yan's words, the little hooligans on the side responded repeatedly, indicating that their Master was right.

"Fourth Master, you listen, it is all heartfelt words." Wang Yan laughed, his face full of innocence.

Fan Zhao stared straight at Wang Yan: "Kid, in this territory, it is not for you to do whatever you want."

Wang Yan laughed loudly: "We came from Hefei. My second brother here, he doesn't want to leave, saying Hefei is prosperous. I said that place is no good; there are too many big figures, and it is too hard to settle down and do business. Maybe one day you will be troubled by someone for no reason, with nowhere to seek help. Killing people and then running away is a waste of effort.

It is better in this small place; there are not so many big figures, the government is much kinder than in the province, and we little people just struggle back and forth. Isn't that right, Fourth Master, Master Huo?"

"Are you threatening me?" Fan Zhao said gloomily.

"Fourth Master, you have thought wrong; I am speaking from feeling. I truly feel this territory is good. I have only been here for three days, and I already have over thirty brothers following me, plus a gambling den, a brothel, and a lending business. Adding these up, even in this small place, it is worth a few thousand taels. My brothers are all very supportive of me."

Wang Yan spread his hands and swept his gaze; Zhao Erhu, Jiang Wuyang, and the few little hooligans with knives on the side gripped their knife handles tightly.

Fan Zhao glanced and sneered: "Do you want to rebel?"

"Fourth Master, you are joking. I am just a mud-legged person who has only lived a few good days and wants to live even better days; I don't want to hang my head on my belt."

Wang Yan laughed: "Speaking of which, Fourth Master, I feel Master Huo and the Bai household are more like rebels."

"Oh, is that so?" Fan Zhao laughed loudly. "Master Huo, did you hear that?"

"Fourth Master, how could I not hear it?" Huoshan shook his head with a bitter smile and cupped his hands to Wang Yan. "I don't know why Brother Wang says this? If you don't give me an explanation, then I will have to learn from Brother Wang's high skills."

Wang Yan said: "The day before yesterday, I heard Yang Sanshui introduce the situation here, saying there are four major forces in Huoshan: the three major households of Yang, Bai, and Liu, and the other is Master Huo's martial arts school."

"I don't know how my opening a martial arts school has anything to do with rebelling?"

"Rebelling is not empty words, not treating guests to dinner; you need people under you. Master Huo's martial arts school is flourishing, with over a hundred people under him, all good men who have practiced martial arts, and they go on escorts, practicing the way of military coordination. If you really want to rebel, these hundred people are enough in this territory."

Huoshan laughed loudly: "According to Brother Wang's theory, I am afraid all the escort agencies under heaven are going to rebel."

"I don't know if they are rebelling, but they know quite a few people from all walks of life; who knows which god they are connected to? We are talking about the possibility of rebelling, not who is going to rebel. Master Huo, look at Fourth Master; his face has turned ugly."

"Fourth Master, I have never had any intention of rebelling; you must not overthink it."

Huoshan hurriedly spoke to appease him, because at this moment, Fan Zhao's face was truly very ugly.

Fan Zhao exhaled to calm his mood and asked: "What about the Bai family?"

"Still what Yang Sanshui said, saying the old master of the Bai family believes in Buddhism, the young master went abroad to study and believes in God, and the two of them are preaching together. I heard that the situation in the south is quite chaotic, and those who believe in God are called the 'God-Worshipping Sect,' and those who believe in Buddhism have the 'White Lotus Sect.' Yang Sanshui also said the Bai family has dozens of guards and servants, plus the young men from the tenant farmers; if they gather them, there are also hundreds of people."

Wang Yan seemed to know nothing, looking at Fan Zhao, who was trembling a bit, in surprise. "Eh? Fourth Master, why is your face a bit dark? Oh, and you're sweating, look at that."

Fan Zhao stared straight at Wang Yan, seeing Wang Yan smiling and calm, and finally looked away, turning and leaving with a group of yamen runners.

He had wanted to give this new dragon crossing the river a warning, but he never expected that he would be the one scared out of his wits.

Seeing Fan Zhao leave with his men, Huoshan said: "Brother Wang is truly quick-spoken, but sometimes, food can be eaten indiscriminately, but words cannot be spoken indiscriminately; otherwise, if it causes any misunderstanding, that would not be good."

"I understand; Master Huo, you are the one truly threatening me."

Huoshan said 'oh' and waved his hands repeatedly: "Brother Wang misunderstands, misunderstands. I am talking about the Bai family; they are not to be trifled with."

"No matter, the Bai family believes in Buddhism and God; whether it is the Buddha or the Lord, they are both magnanimous people; how could they have the same knowledge as me?"

Wang Yan looked at Huoshan with a smile. "Master Huo, do you think I can sleep tonight?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't sleep!"

Huoshan looked at Wang Yan deeply, then cupped his hands, turned, and returned to his martial arts school...

Some aspects of Huoshan County are even better than big cities like Hefei, such as the roads underfoot. As a place where generations of people have lived for hundreds or thousands of years, many of the roads on the streets have been repaired. Most of the roads in Huoshan County have been paved with bluestone slabs.

In Hefei City, or even in the capital, only some places have good roads; most of the rest are dirt roads, which are mud pits on rainy days.

On the other hand, through generations of accumulation, the houses in the city look quite good from the outside, with white walls and blue tiles, especially in places near the river, which feels quite good.

Wang Yan took a large group of people for a stroll around the city; this was a necessary step to let people know he had arrived and let people know he already had power.

After he circled around and dispersed the little hooligans, he followed a young man to a household.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he smelled the aroma of meat.

Wang Yan took a deep breath: "The Madam's craftsmanship is not bad."

"Sit, sit, we were just waiting for you. We must have a few good drinks." Fan Zhao walked over enthusiastically and waved for the young man behind him to leave.

Wang Yan sat at the table happily, letting Fan Zhao pour the wine, and during this time, he also met Fan Zhao's wife, who was serving the dishes, as well as Fan Zhao's children.

This was a small county; Fan Zhao, this Fourth Master, was an unranked minor official with little salary and not that many other sources of income. He also had to send silver to those above him, so he was not that wealthy. Truth be told, Fan Zhao's official position was not as wealthy as Yang Sanshui. Therefore, there were no servants or laborers at home; everyone in the family did the work.

"Fourth Master's family is happy; it is truly enviable."

Fan Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile: "Cooking oil on a raging fire; the fire is already on the roof, Brother Wang!"

"How dare I call Fourth Master brother?"

"Oh, don't be humble." Fan Zhao said with a mournful face, drinking a cup himself first. "Brother, I apologize to you. Today it was my fault for standing up for the Yang family and finding trouble for you. But I will tell you the truth: I didn't intend to do anything originally. If you can't figure out someone's background, no one will act lightly. I took the Yang family's silver and just ran an errand. Eat meat, eat more."

There were many dishes: steamed chicken, fish stewed with tofu, scrambled eggs, steamed pork with rice flour, etc. —all authentic Huizhou cuisine. Even Fan Zhao couldn't eat this every day; his heart was quite sincere.

Wang Yan was eating a chicken leg: "You are too anxious."

"How can I not be anxious? Brother, to tell you the truth, after listening to your words, I can't figure out Huoshan, but the Bai family is eight or nine out of ten going to rebel. And the Bai family has close dealings with the County Magistrate and the Registrar; I don't know if they are in the same group. I am afraid a great disaster is imminent. You say, how can I not be anxious?"

"I am afraid you didn't understand my meaning."

"What meaning? The fire is burning my eyebrows; what other meaning could there be?"

Wang Yan shook his head: "Huoshan said if he were me, he wouldn't sleep tonight. Two days or three days, one can always wait."

Hmm?

Fan Zhao reacted and gasped: "Are you saying they are going to take action against you?"

"I didn't hide what I said, and I offended the Yang family. It is only natural for them to take action at this time. Who knows if it was done by the Yang family, or the Bai family? Or maybe it was done by the infuriated Huoshan? As for you, of course, you are waiting to see if I die before deciding.

The words I said have already gone out, and by now, everyone who should know knows. And the result? You are the most anxious one. You say, if I die today, what will you do? Then you won't be able to play dumb anymore. Or is it... you came to test me?"

Facing Wang Yan's meaningful gaze, Fan Zhao shook his head repeatedly: "Absolutely not, Brother Wang. If I truly had any thoughts, I shouldn't have shown up today. Who would have thought that you would say such a big thing with a touch of your upper lip to your lower lip."

Wang Yan still shook his head: "Look, still anxious. No matter how much I say, it is just talk. The Bai family hasn't really rebelled yet. You jumping out now is like hanging yourself in front of the King of Hell—seeking death!"

The two words 'seeking death' were shouted out.

Fan Zhao shuddered, his face turning pale...

?? Daily thanks to the big brothers who tipped, voted for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1638 =====