Chapter 42: Settling Accounts

Looking at the iron door before him, Feng Zi silently recalled the structure of the Heizhu Stronghold in his mind, realizing that behind this door lay the mountain body of Heizhu Mountain.

"So that's how it is," he subconsciously rubbed his chin, thinking to himself:

"The mountain is solid and not easily noticed, and one only needs to hide clues like account books; there is no need to excavate much of the mountain."

Thinking this way, Feng Zi understood that the wall he had "forcibly demolished" was the secret door concealing the hidden chamber.

But after searching for a while, he still could not find the switch for the secret door.

This was perfectly normal; after all, those few leaders had to deceive Sun Min, and since the other party was the heir of a great clan and well-informed, how could he let him find it so easily?

But this place would not be used again, so if the secret door was ruined, it was ruined. Feng Zi thought "forget it" to himself and began to grope carefully over the iron door.

Before long, he found a peculiarly shaped keyhole on the bottom right corner of the iron door, disguised as a decorative pattern.

Feng Zi inserted the key he had found and slowly turned it, only to hear a dull sound of springs turning from behind the door.

He applied a little force and slowly pushed open this heavy cast-iron door—

Just as Feng Zi had guessed, the hidden chamber behind the door was not large, just a small room less than five meters in length and width.

The furnishings inside were also exceptionally simple, with only a set of table and chairs, and a few books placed on the table.

Feng Zi stepped forward and flipped through the books on the table, realizing that these were all Martial Arts Techniques; he figured they must be the martial foundation for the Martial Artists of the Heizhu Stronghold.

Relying on his memory, which far exceeded that of an ordinary person, he read through these techniques again and committed them to heart, though he had no intention of practicing them for the time being:

One cannot digest too much at once; for Feng Zi, his main practice was still his Fist Technique, and dabbling in too much would not help him master the essence of the martial path.

Furthermore, the archery and movement techniques he practiced were already enough to make up for his own shortcomings, so the best choice was to continue practicing along this path.

But after flipping through all the books on the table, Feng Zi subconsciously frowned—he still hadn't found any evidence related to the Sun Family!

"Something's not right, very not right..." Feng Zi frowned in confusion, feeling deeply puzzled:

He knew well that for ordinary Martial Artists, Martial Arts Techniques were extremely important, but to go to such great lengths to hide a few techniques here... he always felt it was unreasonable.

While pondering, Feng Zi subconsciously paced back and forth in this hidden chamber, wanting to find some clues on the walls.

But the surrounding walls were the solid mountain itself, empty of everything; instead, a slightly protruding floor tile caught his attention.

He knelt on one knee, moved the floor tile aside, and sure enough, found a sealed box beneath it.

Feng Zi hurriedly unsealed the box and discovered a ledger lying inside, complete and without any title!

He took out the ledger and flipped through a few pages; it was filled with the information he needed!

"As expected, these mountain bandits were still of some use..." Feng Zi was overjoyed:

With this, everything needed for his plan was prepared, and he no longer had any worries.

He hurriedly found a blank ledger in the stronghold, sat back down at the table in the hidden chamber, and copied the information from that ledger once more.

And when Feng Zi put both the original and the copy into his pack and walked out of the storehouse, it was the darkest moment of the day.

"Calculating the time, I cannot waste any more time." Feng Zi pondered to himself and returned to the main hall of the Heizhu Stronghold.

The corpses of the six leaders still lay in a pool of blood.

"Although you committed many murderous sins while alive, you have paid with your lives, which can be considered the result you deserved."

Feng Zi stood before the corpses of these six people and whispered an apology: "But unfortunately, your heads are still of use, so I cannot let you be laid to rest."

Having said that, he drew his hunting knife and cut off the heads of the six bandit leaders all at once!

Afterward, he left the Heizhu Stronghold without looking back, heading straight for Daishan County in the east.

When the sun had just risen from the east, many of the people in Daishan County had already begun their day.

And then, they saw Feng Zi, covered in blood, carrying six heads as he walked along the streets of Daishan County!

"Murder, murder!" At the first sight of him, the crowd almost all reacted with this extreme terror.

But soon, some bold people fixed their eyes on him, saw the heads in Feng Zi's hands clearly, and said in disbelief:

"Wait... look, aren't those the leaders of the Heizhu Stronghold?"

Hearing these words, the surrounding people one after another gathered their courage to look, saying incredulously: "It really is! A righteous person actually wiped out these mountain bandits!"

This heart-stirring news spread as if it had wings, at a speed Feng Zi could hardly imagine.

Before long, this road leading to the center of Daishan County—that is, the road leading to the Sun Family—was packed with the county's commoners.

People watched Feng Zi with eager eyes and said fervently: "Great, the great scourge of the Heizhu Stronghold has finally been removed; from now on, we don't have to live in fear anymore!"

Under such eager gazes, Feng Zi's heart remained as still as water; he simply carried the six heads silently, walking along the road at a steady pace.

Before long, servants of the Sun Family who had received the news arrived before him.

Looking at the heads Feng Zi was carrying, those servants were also very surprised and asked suspiciously: "Your Excellency Cun Xin, how did you manage to do this?"

To this, Feng Zi's only reply was a faint, "You know the answer, yet you ask."

Without waiting for those servants to question him further, Feng Zi struck first, killing them all!

It was so sudden and so violent that the people present were shocked by his sudden attack.

But before the situation could spiral further out of control, Feng Zi finally spoke, saying in a loud voice:

"People of Daishan County, I know that you have suffered greatly at the hands of the mountain bandits; many have been bankrupted by them, and many have had their families destroyed by them.

"Therefore, I could not stand by and took action, helping you eliminate such a great scourge; this is the proof!"

Having said that, he walked forward while raising the heads he was carrying, letting everyone see the faces of these bandits clearly.

And after hearing Feng Zi's impassioned speech, the people who had originally fallen into great shock and panic gradually regained their calm.

Seeing this, Feng Zi slowly lowered his raised hand and announced magnanimously:

"Debts must be repaid, and murder must be paid for with life; this is only natural! I have already upheld justice for you, but this is not enough!

"Because these mountain bandits were merely the spears in someone else's hands; the guy who directed the Heizhu Stronghold is the true culprit who makes you live in fear day and night, unable to live your lives in peace.

"I can tell you clearly, they are the local tyrants of Daishan County, the Sun Family—

"Today, I will act on behalf of Heaven and cleanse the filth for you all!"