Chapter 81

Having arrived at the outskirts of Ti Lan Shan, Fang Xu changed locations, continued hunting down the vicious criminals, then lit a fire to grill meat and drink alcohol.

His luck seemed decent today; in one go he encountered a small squad of over ten people.

Martial artists like liquor; in this era, most martial artists enjoy a couple of drinks when they have nothing to do, perhaps because other entertainment options are scarce.

The squad of over ten, likewise full of bandit spirit, forced Fang Xu to take a sip of wine, eat some grilled meat, confirmed there was nothing wrong with the food and drink, then roughly drove him away and seized the fierce beast he had hunted and the fine liquor.

Fang Xu left resentfully, hid in the shadows, and quietly waited for the six slots on his friend list to gradually fill up.

This time the six "friends" came from Ji Province; among them, two had their vitality at 45%, while the remaining four were each at 15%.

Having achieved his goal, he didn't linger in the mountain and immediately returned to Maple Grove Town.

But just as he stepped outside the town, Fang Xu saw a scene that made his hair stand on end with rage!

Over ten martial artists surrounded a middle-aged man in fine silk clothing; two of them were roughly driving out the entire family of Old Man Xu, who lived outside the town, apparently preparing to seize his residence.

Fang Xu hid in the shadows, watching those martial artists punch and kick Old Man Xu's family, a faint trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

But soon, that trace of killing intent was completely concealed by him.

These people are strong; the martial artists accompanying them seem to have all reached the Warrior Master realm, and beside the middle-aged man in fine silk clothing stand two martial artists whose aura rivals that of Li Xun!

"Second Young Master, I didn't expect to find such a lovely girl in this poor, remote place."

The two martial artists, while grappling with Old Man Xu, suddenly noticed the girl who had been hiding behind him, and couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he immediately prepared to go over and take a look.

Old Man Xu and his wife's faces changed drastically; they tightly shielded their two children behind them and pleaded toward the middle-aged man and those martial artists: "Sirs, you can have the courtyard; please don't make things difficult for the children!"

The middle-aged man completely ignored him and walked straight toward the girl behind Old Man Xu.

The girl dodged fearfully, while Old Man Xu and his wife desperately blocked the middle-aged man's path.

After several attempts to grab were dodged, the middle-aged man gave a cold snort; without seeing how he struck, the heads of Old Man Xu and his wife in front of him shattered like watermelons hit by an iron hammer!

Red and white matter splattered onto the faces of the girl and boy behind them; the siblings, faces full of terror, watched their parents lose their heads, and both fainted from fright.

The middle-aged man slowly squatted, pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve, gently wiped the blood from the girl's face, examined it for a moment, nodded satisfied, rose and said: "Fetch some water to clean her thoroughly."

"Also, this boy should be cleaned as well."

Having said that, he strode straight toward the small courtyard.

Two martial artists stepped out from the group, lifted the frightened siblings, and carried them toward the courtyard.

Watching this unfold before him, Fang Xu clenched his fists, his face turning deathly pale!

He had anticipated that the opening of Ti Lan Shan's ruins would flood Maple Grove Town with martial artists, bringing disaster to the townsfolk, but he never imagined these fellows would be so arrogant!

In broad daylight, they seized others' homes, slaughtered ordinary commoners, and even spared no girl who had not yet reached the coming-of-age ceremony.

Beasts!

Cursing them in his heart, his mind raced into high gear!

These people are not weak; I cannot deal with them myself. To make them pay, I need to set wolf against tiger!

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Fang Xu went straight to Madam Wang's small courtyard.

Wang Ergou, relying on his status as the younger brother of a government soldier, had built a two‑courtyard residence in town, which appeared far more luxurious than the surrounding dilapidated homes.

As the saying goes, "The tree that stands out in the forest attracts the wind"—such a courtyard would likely draw the attention of powerful forces.

Although Madam Wang is not a peerless beauty, she possesses considerable charm; Fang Xu worried for her safety and prepared to send her first to the Hall of Far-reaching Aspirations to hide.

After explaining his purpose, Madam Wang glanced at the small courtyard with some reluctance.

The wealth she had accumulated over the years of marriage to Wang Ergou had been handed over to the government office as a fine after the fire at the charity estate, and this small courtyard constituted all her possessions; she did not want to give it up.

But when she heard of Old Man Xu's family's misfortune, fear overcame everything; she simply packed a few personal belongings and followed Fang Xu to the Hall of Far-reaching Aspirations.

After listening to Fang Xu's account, Lu Qingluo also grew solemn, and immediately told Madam Wang: "The Hall of Far-reaching Aspirations still has some empty rooms; sister, tidy one up and stay there."

Madam Wang nodded gratefully, picked a room in the outer courtyard, and began to tidy it.

"Senior sister, these outside martial artists act so lawlessly that the townsfolk are likely to suffer, and even the Hall of Far-reaching Aspirations is not very safe."

Fang Xu said with a solemn expression.

Lu Qingluo currently possesses only the eighth level of the Martial Practitioner realm; although I myself have the strength to slay martial artists below the Warrior Master level, I am still not strong enough.

"When Young Master Yun departed, he said he would send people from the Yun family to look after us."

"I don't know where the Yun family's people who came this time have gone."

Lu Qingluo spoke with a worried expression.

Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then remained silent.

The three people residing in the Hall of Far-reaching Aspirations are the ones most deeply bound to him in this world; should anything happen to them, the consequences would be unthinkable!

He needed to come up with a plan.

Since his own strength was insufficient, he could only continue to rely on external forces!

At present, among the forces he could align with, the Wu count as one, and the Southern Wu are not weak in strength.

But the Southern Wu, being remnants of the Mu Yun Kingdom, are regarded as a target for everyone to beat in the whole Yu Kingdom; now that so many martial artists have come to Maple Grove Town, they probably dare not show themselves openly.

With the help of Yun Wan and Yun Qing, the Yun family could still be relied upon to some extent.

Yun Qing has just gone back, and the Yun family hasn't arrived in Maple Forest Town yet.

Apart from the Yun family and Wu, the only person I can count on is Li Xun.

After spending several days together, Fang Xu found that while Li Xun's personality was a bit odd, he wasn't hard to get along with—maybe it was worth giving it a try.

"Senior sister, please look after Madam Wang and Mu; I'm heading out for a while."

Fang Xu cupped his fists at Lu Qingluo, left the Hall of Distant Aspirations, and headed straight to the town office.

Seeing it was him, the Jinlin Guard on duty let him in without question.

In the office courtyard, Li Xingchao, Yun Jin, and Xu Liang were discussing things, while Li Xun stood silently to the side, afraid to speak up.

Seeing Fang Xu arrive, he cupped his fists at the three, stepped forward, frowned, and asked, "What happened?"

Fang Xu's thoughts stirred, and he immediately clasped his hands and shouted, "Crown Prince, save my life!"

His shout instantly drew the attention of Li Xingchao and three others nearby.

"Xun'er, who is this person?" Li Xingchao asked, frowning.

Li Xun turned, clasped his hands, and said, "Father, this person is called Fang Xu, a martial artist from Maple Forest Town who once followed this subordinate in handling the shaman's affair."

Fang Xu?

Yun Jin frowned slightly and said, "But isn't that the Fang Xu that Wan'er last saw?"

Li Xun clasped his hands and said, "Exactly."

Li Xingchao pondered for a moment and said, "Come up and speak."

Upon hearing that, Fang Xu glanced at Li Xun, saw no reaction, and went straight to stand before Li Xingchao and his three companions.

"Young man Fang Xu, I pay my respects to the Seventh Prince and to the two seniors."

Li Xingchao nodded slightly and said, "Why did you just shout for Xun'er to save your life?"

Fang Xu dared not delay, immediately described the tray he had seen today and mentioned his own worries.

After listening, Li Xingchao remained silent, his reaction causing Fang Xu's heart to sink slightly.

It seems this Seventh Prince cares nothing for the lives of ordinary folk; in his eyes, human life is as worthless as weeds.

It stands to reason, when Li Xingchao first arrived at Maple Forest Town, didn't the Golden Scale Guard also massacre the streets, turning them into rivers of blood?

(End of chapter)