Chapter 523: Not Only Stupid, But Also Stubborn

"Wait a moment, do we have a grudge between us?"

Shen Yu had absolutely no impression of the person before him. Yet, what was this inexplicable hatred about? He could even clearly feel the bone-deep hatred in the other person's eyes.

But Shen Yu could be entirely certain that he had never seen this fellow before. His memory was very strong; even if he couldn't claim to never forget anything he saw, he would at least have some impression of anyone he had met.

But this person before him—sorry, he really couldn't recall him at all.

"Of course we have a grudge, and it is a bone-cutting grudge!" He pulled open the black robe that had been shrouding his body, revealing a face inside that was almost entirely corroded, a sight that made one's heart jump with fear.

"Do you know why I have become this ghostly mess? It is all thanks to you!"

"Lord Shen may have forgotten a small character like me, but I will never forget who brought all of this about!"

"It was you, it was you, Shen Yu, Lord Shen!"

Looking at Shen Yu, the other person gritted his teeth, looking as if he wished he could charge up, chop Shen Yu into pieces, and chew him up.

"Lord Shen may not recognize me. My name is Lu Muyan, and my father is Lu Chengnian. I wonder if Lord Shen still has an impression of him?"

"It is one thing that you killed my blood relative; although I do not wish to admit it, my father did indeed deserve to die."

"But why did you slaughter my father-in-law's entire family? They were innocent, and you even humiliated my fiancée right before my eyes. This bone-cutting grudge has caused me to suffer heartbreak day and night!"

"Lu Chengnian? Are you talking about that hypocrite from the Northern Region? The one known as the 'upright Prefect Lu'?"

Shen Yu had an impression of this name, and a deep one at that. As a local official, Lu Chengnian had managed his reputation very well; his reviews were quite good in both the civilian world and official circles.

But in reality, when disaster relief was being carried out in the Northern Region, the people under this Prefect Lu's governance were among those who suffered the most.

What was even more hateful was that the grain Shen Yu had gone to great lengths to obtain and send to various places was meant to provide early relief to the disaster victims. Yet, this fellow actually dared to collude with local grain merchants to resell the relief grain.

Countless commoners outside froze or starved to death, while they themselves lived in luxury.

Even as the people under his governance wailed from hunger day after day, this Lord Lu continued to live his life of ease, completely disregarding the life and death of the starving people outside. For such a person, Shen Yu naturally dealt with him directly once he encountered him.

Regarding this matter, he had a clear conscience!

"Your father, Lu Chengnian, was corrupt and took bribes, embezzling relief grain and causing countless commoners to freeze or starve to death, with countless others selling their children or even resorting to cannibalism. The tragic state of it was truly shocking."

"Such a corrupt official naturally deserves to be executed by all; I killed him with a clear conscience before heaven!"

"Yes, a corrupt official does indeed deserve to be executed by all, but my fiancée was innocent, and my father-in-law's family was innocent!"

"Why did you take action against them? Why did you slaughter their entire family, just because they sheltered me, the son of a corrupt official?"

Looking at Shen Yu, the hatred in Lu Muyan's eyes grew even more intense. He had no objection to Shen Yu killing his father; he also knew exactly what his father had done.

Even daring to embezzle disaster relief grain—no one would spare him.

But what he could not reconcile himself with was his father-in-law's family. He had been a guest at his future father-in-law's home when he suddenly heard the news about his father.

Just when he was in a state of constant panic, his father-in-law's family not only did not kick him while he was down, but instead helped hide his tracks and helped him escape a disaster.

And his fiancée was even more protective of him in every way, refusing to leave him even though he was the son of a disgraced official, and insisting on marrying no one but him.

Such deep affection and righteousness moved Lu Muyan, who already understood the coldness of human nature, deeply, and he swore to spend his life protecting this woman who had captured his heart.

But then, a large group of Black-Clad Guards showed up at the door, claiming they were acting on Shen Yu's orders to capture him, and incidentally to exterminate his father-in-law's family for daring to harbor him.

They even said it was to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey," so that other corrupt officials would not dare to reach out their hands.

Those Black-Clad Guards killed everyone they saw, bullied women, and acted recklessly. They had received a "kill-on-sight" order, which was why they acted so lawlessly there—everyone was going to die anyway.

And his fiancée was humiliated right in front of him, crying and begging him to save her amidst her wails of pain.

Yet he could only watch this scene helplessly; even if he ground his teeth to dust and gave his all, he was simply powerless.

Every time he recalled this bone-deep pain, it was like his heart being gouged out, torturing him day after day. It kept him tossing and turning, unable to sleep night after night.

"Shen Yu, after I luckily escaped that day, I swore that I would definitely take revenge on you. I want to avenge Ling'er!"

"But I was hunted down, and had no choice but to flee all the way to Xiaozhou. I had hoped to hide in Cannibal Valley or Evil Man City, but I never expected that by some twist of fate, I would end up here!"

"Because of you, I have suffered the pain of ten thousand insects biting my heart every day, a pain like being sliced by a thousand knives, but I endured it all. It was this hatred that allowed me to hold on!"

"The reason I endured that daily pain was so that one day I could stand before you and take my revenge. I succeeded, Ling'er, I succeeded!"

Having said this, the man in the black robe could not help but laugh loudly, and as he laughed, it turned into loud sobbing, his face covered in tears!

"Wait a minute!" Looking at the person's face, Shen Yu could not help but interrupt, "Lu Muyan, are you certain your father-in-law's family was harmed by this official?"

"What, Lord Shen dares to do it but doesn't dare to admit it? You are nothing more than this!"

"Wrong. This official has always dared to act and dared to admit it, but there are some pots I will not take the blame for!"

Raising his head to look at the other person, Shen Yu shook his head slightly, "This official walks straight and sits upright. I never hold back against corrupt officials, but I have never wantonly killed the innocent, let alone harmed the innocent!"

"If your father-in-law's family were not wicked and evil people, how could I possibly have taken action against them!"

"Furthermore, if you understood this official, you would know that even if they were wicked and evil, I would not let the Black-Clad Guards take action. Because I like to do it myself. You cannot imagine the joy of doing it yourself!"

"Young man, have you been deceived by someone?"

"Impossible. How could the Black-Clad Guards be fake? Besides, what virtue or ability do I, Lu Muyan, have to make those Black-Clad Guards cooperate to deceive a small character like me?"

"Those Black-Clad Guards clearly said that day that it was your order; I remember it very clearly!"

As he said this, the sky full of Black Beetles swirled around the man in the black robe, making his already ugly face appear even more ferocious.

"It is precisely because of this that I must take revenge on you. I will kill you with my own hands!"

"Wait, let's sort this out first. How is it impossible for the Black-Clad Guards to be fake? Besides, even if they were Black-Clad Guards, can you be certain they were really sent by me?"

"Also, Xiaozhou is hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Northern Region, and one has to cross quite a few places. How did you manage to escape here?"

"How incompetent would the Black-Clad Guards have to be to not be able to catch a young master like you after such a long time? Have you not thought about these things?"

He was eighty percent sure that this Lu Muyan had been fooled by someone. As for why the other party would do this, it was somewhat puzzling.

Just as Lu Muyan himself evaluated, he was nothing more than a young master before. When the Black-Clad Guards came to his door, he watched his fiancée being humiliated and was helpless.

It was conceivable that his strength should also be average. For such a person, what virtue or ability did he have to be plotted against like this?

"I, I... Impossible. Shen Yu, stop trying to deceive me. Today I must have you die; no one can stop me!"

Being stupid is one thing, but being this stubborn as well—there is no saving him!