Chapter 72

"Shi Hu, the Heavenly King Shi."

At the city gate, Lin Dao finally saw this tyrant recorded in history books.

He stepped forward two paces, looking down from above at Shi Hu on the couch. "Finally I've seen you."

Not reading history books, one does not know what misfortune is.

Not reading biographies, one does not know what cruelty is.

Shi Hu's cruelty was beyond description.

To Shi Hu, killing people was nothing but a trivial matter, like breathing and drinking water, something he did every day.

He loved grand projects, conscripting hundreds of thousands of civilian laborers year after year to build great palaces and such.

Countless were those who lost their homes and lives because of this.

He loved war, mobilizing hundreds of thousands to fight at the drop of a hat.

Those who died on the battlefield, those who died on the road, were beyond counting.

He loved women, forcibly seizing women from all under heaven to Ye City to select and bestow as rewards.

Because of this, countless tragedies of ruined families, husbands killed and wives taken occurred.

As the saying goes, superiors set the example for inferiors; with a Heavenly King like Shi Hu leading by example.

The yamen of Shi Zhao in every region were darker than the next.

Throughout the Northern Regions, every state, province, and county was a life worse than death.

Shi Hu was a genuine tyrant.

Every extra day he lived, more people would die because of him.

Such a cruel wretch actually met a good end in history—truly Heaven was blind.

The entire obese body of Shi Hu, bound by rope to the couch, was likewise surveying Lin Dao.

There was one thing he had never been able to understand.

"Since you are a godly person, why meddle in mortal secular affairs?"

In Shi Hu and others' eyes, Lin Dao's miraculous feats were undoubtedly displays of holiness before mortals.

He truly could not understand why such a godly person with great divine power would bother with human worldly matters.

He believed in Buddhism and knew that Buddhist great powers never concerned themselves with mortal secular affairs.

Why was Lin Dao different from Buddhist great powers?

"Because I find you displeasing."

Lin Dao's expression darkened. "You lowly mixed barbarians dare to run rampant, bring calamity, and tyrannize the Central Plains."

"If I don't wipe you out, I cannot rest easy."

The Jie People were originally slaves of the Xiongnu, with a status even lower than cattle and sheep.

By chance, they actually seized the opportunity to grow powerful, even taking over more than half of the world.

It's all the Sima Clan's fault!

Shi Hu simply closed his eyes. "Victors and vanquished—why say more?"

"You are so magnanimous."

Lin Dao shook his head. "That only makes me look like I'm beneath you."

At this point there wasn't much more to say.

"I told you before, I'd give you rockets."

Lin Dao simply stated his position. "I'm a man of my word; I said I'd give you rockets, so I'll give you rockets."

"I've prepared over a hundred big rockets for you here, and made you a Rocket Chair."

"In a moment I'll send you up to heaven."

Shi Hu didn't understand what Lin Dao was saying, but figured it couldn't be anything good.

He had committed countless evils and slaughtered heavily in his life.

He had once ordered many people executed in all sorts of cruel ways.

In the past, seeing those people in their dying agony, he only felt inexplicably excited.

But now that it was his own turn, he couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Yet he cared about face, and stubbornly held back, saying nothing.

"Lord."

Lin Dao was about to arrange people to bring the Rocket Seat over when Wang Meng stepped forward to advise.

"From top to bottom in the army, all deeply hate the Stone bandit."

"May the soldiers be allowed to take revenge and vent their hatred?"

Lin Dao looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Slice his flesh and distribute it among the army to comfort the soldiers' anger."

Now Lin Dao understood—Wang Meng wanted to give Shi Hu death by slicing.

He hesitated slightly. "But I said I'd give him rockets."

"Lord, do not worry." Wang Meng glanced at Shi Hu on the bed. "The Stone bandit is obese; even minus a hundred-plus jin, he won't die right away."

"Your heart is truly ruthless." Lin Dao clicked his tongue. "Then you handle it."

"Remember, he must keep his breath, so he can sit on the rocket."

"Here~~~"

Soon, Shi Hu's piercing screams split the clouds.

At first, it was accompanied by loud cursing, full of foul language and vigor.

But before long, only pleas remained — pleas for a swift death.

No one answered him; the armored guards surrounding him kept slicing away, one cut at a time.

Packed into clay pots and sent to the army for the soldiers to share.

After that, Shi Hu could not even howl; he was gasping his last, liable to breathe his final breath at any moment.

Wang Meng waved his hand, and a soldier immediately stepped forward, pouring a bowl of richly fragrant medicinal soup into Shi Hu's mouth.

It was a top-grade life-sustaining elixir; Shi Hu soon had the strength to scream miserably again.

Over at Lin Dao's side, he was inspecting the chair specially custom-made for Shi Hu.

He had specially ordered a batch of extra-large Sky-Piercing Monkeys, roughly a hundred of them.

They possessed stronger thrust, capable of lifting heavy objects into the sky.

Naturally, the length of the ignition guide lines needed to be calculated and reset so they would ignite and ascend together as much as possible.

After about an incense stick's time, the noticeably thinner Shi Hu was carried over and firmly bound to the chair.

Having lost several hundred catties of fat, he still had not died for the moment.

The dazed Shi Hu forced his eyes open with difficulty.

He looked at Ran Min, a sound like a broken bellows struggling from his throat.

"Good grandson, remember — you must avenge Grandfather!"

Ran Min's face turned ugly to the extreme in an instant.

This was truly applying eye medicine in front of his face.

"Cut out his tongue!" Wang Meng scolded. "At death's door and still trying to sow discord, showing off his verbal cleverness."

"General Ran set right what was chaotic — he is a hero among heroes."

"The Lord will surely reward and employ him heavily; how could someone like you manipulate him?"

While speaking, Wang Meng quietly stepped on Lin Dao's instep without changing expression.

"Mmm~~~"

Lin Dao nodded and voiced agreement: "What Jinglue says is very true."

"Ran Min is a hero among heroes; his merits will naturally be judged by posterity — no need for your idle talk."

An armored guard stepped forward and forced Shi Hu's mouth open.

A sharp blade went in and stirred; with his mouth full of fresh blood and minced flesh, Shi Hu was reduced to a low rasp in his throat.

"Send him on his way."

Lin Dao nodded in signal; a group of armored guards advanced with torches, simultaneously igniting multiple guide lines.

"Your entire Stone Clan, all the Jie People, will go down to accompany you."

"Every one of you will sink in the Hell Sea for endless time, never to achieve rebirth."

The already moribund Shi Hu revealed a look of terror in his eyes.

He believed in Buddha, so naturally he had heard of entering hell.

It is laughable to say — a believer in Buddha who committed countless evil deeds.

Who knows if some Great Power might give him a chance to lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.

If there truly were, and Lin Dao came to know of it.

Then he would surely smash every temple in the world!

Amid dense hissing sounds, the chair with Shi Hu bound upon it suddenly shot skyward in a great cloud of smoke and dust.

Xie Yi and his daughter, watching from afar, cried out in unison.

"He really flew up~~~"

Flight — the dream of countless people in the Ancient world.

How many longed to soar lightly through the heavens like birds.

Even donning wings and jumping from towers and cliffs with kites on their backs, the number was beyond count.

Yet never had anyone succeeded.

Until today, the First Flying Man was born.

After all, it was not a proper rocket; after rising a distance, it very obviously began to veer off direction.

Tilting as it flew toward the City Exterior.

Shi Hu on the chair trembled all over, breathing powerlessly.

His eyes saw only Blue Sky, White Clouds, Azure Sky clear as washed.

His chaotic mind was blank; he only felt his buttocks growing hotter and hotter.

In just a dozen or so breaths, Shi Hu, already dozens of zhang aloft, suddenly burst into brilliant bloom.

Over a hundred large rockets exploded~~~

Fire light, smoke, fragments of all kinds fluttered down like raindrops.

A generation's Tyrant Overlord, dead without an intact corpse~~~

"Great Marshal!"

Ran Min stepped forward, bowed in salute: "There are still quite a few Shi Clan Members inside the city; I request orders to go clear them out."

This is — declaring loyalty?

Lin Dao glanced at Wang Meng; seeing him nod slightly, he agreed at once: "Then this matter is entrusted to you."

"Great Marshal, rest assured."

Ran Min's waist bent even deeper: "I will absolutely not let a single one escape!"

Before death, Shi Hu dug a huge pit for him.

Ran Min had no choice; he could only do his best to make up for it.

After Ran Min left to arrest the hiding members of the Shi Clan, Lin Dao looked at Wang Meng: "Gold, precious medicinal herbs, pearls and gems, valuable items—gather them all and hand them over to me."

Both Shi Hu and Shi Lei had once engaged in grave robbing on a large scale.

They dug up a great deal of gold, silver, and jewelry.

Coupled with their years of plundering in the Northern Lands, their wealth was undoubtedly staggering.

Although a great fire had been set to burn everything, it was likely that much could still be found.

"Rest assured, Lord."

Wang Meng probably also understood that the vast amount of supplies Lord had obtained needed these things as a catalyst.

On this matter, he was even more attentive than Lin Dao.

After the great battle to seize the city, matters had not decreased at all; instead, they kept increasing.

Not long after Wang Meng left here, Qin Lang rode his horse over there.

"Lord."

Qin Lang dismounted, stepped forward, and reported: "In the various palaces, many palace maidens and noble ladies were found, as well as female riders."

"Female riders?"

"Yes." Qin Lang explained: "The Stone bandits selected over a thousand women and trained them to ride horses for the imperial guard."

"They accompanied him on hunts, military campaigns, and tours."

"May I ask, Lord, how should they be disposed of?"

Lin Dao's brow slowly furrowed: "How many?"

"Altogether, I fear there are tens of thousands."

Qin Lang paused: "In the various palaces, many Qianghu are wantonly slaughtering and killing; they have already killed many."

"Assign the Han women to the military units."

"The rest, you handle as you see fit."

Qin Lang bowed his head: "As you command~~~"

Outside the city, so many soldiers, civilian laborers, refugees, and Wild People were madly hunting down the fleeing Hu captives.

Presumably, this time many people would obtain Hu heads and be promoted to Military Households.

Once they became Military Households, they naturally had the qualification to be assigned women.

Fortunately, there were no Holy Mother bitches here who would say Lin Dao did not respect women, did not ask for their own wishes, and so on.

In such a chaotic era of war and turmoil, simply being alive was already a stroke of heaven-sent luck.

As for wishes.

If it were the Eastern Jin, or other Hu armies that had breached Ye City.

These women would either be served on tables or thrown onto blankets; being able to survive would already be a luxury.

Xie Daoyun walked over with a smile: "Grand Commander truly possesses noble integrity."

"Hmm?" Lin Dao raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

"Those who can enter the Stone bandits' palace must be beauties."

"Grand Commander distributing them all to his subordinates is truly noble integrity."

Lin Dao was stunned; he truly had not thought of it that way.

"I am a person who does great things."

"Women only slow down the speed at which I draw my sword."

End of Chapter