Chapter 132: All Dead (Part 1)

In the main hall of the old camp yamen in Zhihai Town.

Lü Zhenduan stood to the side, watching with his own eyes as the doctor with crane-like hair and a child-like face used a silver chopstick to prop open Zhao Fucheng's mouth.

He poured a whole gourd of Shengmai Drink down.

The bitter smell of the thick ginseng soup permeated the main hall, everywhere.

But after such heavy medicine was sent down, there wasn't even a hint of a 'gurgling' sound in Zhao Fucheng's stomach, so he knew the person was thoroughly dead.

Sure enough, the old doctor sighed, shook his head, and after trying to treat the dead horse as a living one by inserting a few needles, he raised his head.

"Zaicheng Lü, this Commander Zhao's heart-qi has dissipated; he has already ridden the crane to the west."

"Doctor, I wonder what the cause of Commander Zhao's death is?"

"Commander Zhao died from the rupture of qi and blood within his skull.

This kind of illness is a sudden death syndrome that mostly only the elderly get.

For the young and strong, those who drink alcohol often might occasionally get it.

However, it is often lighter, called 'Wind Phlegm'.

As for martial artists and cultivators, if they injure their heads while fighting others, they might also lose their lives because of this.

Or if the technique they are tempering is the power of qi and blood, they might go into demonic deviation when operating it..."

Perhaps because the deceased had an official position.

The old doctor explained the possibilities of Zhao Fucheng's cause of death in extreme detail, trying hard to get rid of the suspicion that his medical skills were not refined and he had treated a person to death.

Lü Zhenduan listened quietly, and not only did he not make things difficult for the old doctor, but he also dutifully presented the medicine money.

And regardless of the reason, watching a person die before one's eyes naturally made it difficult to continue the meeting.

Except for Lü Zhenduan, who remained in charge of the main hall, everyone else went to busy themselves with Zhao Fucheng's funeral with tearful faces.

Among them, there were two who went to report the funeral.

One was named Jin Shanliang, who, like the dead ghost Zhao Fucheng, was also a commanding officer of the Longhu Shogunate;

The other was named Qian Wanbao, whose official position was smaller, just a hundred-man commander.

Like Zhao Fucheng, they had all risen to their positions relying on Zhang Gui's promotion and their own efforts.

And it was precisely because of the second point that the three of them betrayed their old master immediately after Zhang Gui disappeared and became Lü Zhenduan's running dogs.

Walking on the steaming training ground of Zhihai Town.

Jin Shanliang kept his head down and said nothing.

Qian Wanbao, however, seemed a bit uneasy and suddenly said:

"Second Brother Jin, do you think Boss Zhao's death was really an accident?"

"If it wasn't an accident, what else could it be?"

Jin Shanliang asked back, surprised, after coming to his senses.

"I can't say, but Boss Zhao had already entered the Dao; how could he be discussing matters properly in the main hall,

and then die inexplicably?

Now that I think about him treating us to wine and gathering us to swear brotherhood, it's as if it were right before my eyes."

Jin Shanliang said nothing more upon hearing this, but a trace of secret joy rose in his heart.

These officers of the Longhu Shogunate who betrayed Zhang Gui and defected to Lü Zhenduan had similar positions and all wore the hat of 'traitor'.

No matter how many reasons they found, they would be criticized by others for a lifetime.

So, whether it was because they were birds of a feather or huddled together for warmth, they soon hooked up and swore to be 'benevolent brothers'.

Zhao Fucheng and Jin Shanliang, whose official titles were both commanding officers, were the boss and second boss of this group of 'brothers'.

Zhao Fucheng was older, was the vanguard who defected to Lü Zhenduan earliest, and was the one who first proposed that everyone swear brotherhood and share honor and disgrace, so he became the boss.

He pressed Jin Shanliang down.

But now the boss was dead, so wouldn't the second boss get the opportunity to become the 'big brother'?

Thinking about this, Jin Shanliang's voice softened.

"Little Brother, don't think so much; sending off our big brother properly is the right thing to do now.

Our brothers kowtowed to the ground together, which is equivalent to being born of the same mother.

Big brother is gone, but I am still here.

How about this, I will first take out a hundred-tael silver note as the 'white gift' for our group of brothers.

Tonight, you go run errands and call all the brothers to my house.

Let's discuss properly what to do next."

Since the day of swearing brotherhood, Qian Wanbao had never heard Jin Shanliang call him 'Little Brother' so affectionately without using his surname, so he was stunned for a moment.

But what the other party said was proper etiquette, and he took the initiative to take out silver; his words and actions had no flaws at all.

Although it was suspicious, he could only nod and agree.

At this time, the two had already walked to the front of Zhao Fucheng's house.

Qian Wanbao stepped forward, grabbed the copper ring on the door, and patted it 'deng deng deng' a few times.

Seeing no response, he had to pat the door even harder.

And Jin Shanliang behind him, seeing Qian Wanbao agree to invite people for him, felt happy in his heart and began to conceive how to face the 'brothers' he invited tonight,

and what to say to make them convinced and become his arm.

He didn't notice that the force Qian Wanbao used to smash the door was getting bigger and bigger.

It shook the two wooden doors until they swayed.

Acting on the old door frame, it caused half of the tile eaves to suddenly collapse, smashing onto Qian Wanbao's head.

Immediately, another corpse fell to the ground.

Zhang Gui in the distance watched this scene quietly, turned around, and floated away.

Wandering to the pier, he randomly found a restaurant and ordered a top-tier banquet with four cold and eight hot dishes.

He began to eat and drink leisurely.

The ancients said that Qin Hui still had three confidants.

Not to mention that his kindness to his officers and soldiers, if not as heavy as a mountain, was definitely deep and righteous.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food.

Some officers of the Longhu Shogunate who were unwilling to betray their old master came looking for him.

The leader was a dull-looking, big-nosed, big-faced, fleshy-lidded, short-statured strong man.

Seeing Zhang Gui, he stepped forward very calmly, knelt on the ground, and whispered:

"Longhu, our foundation and wealth have all been seized by Prince Zhen!

And there were many traitors; that Zhao Fucheng was previously valued by you..."

"That's enough, Ding Chengqi; Zhao Fucheng is a dead man, why do you still mention him?"

The short, ugly man Ding Chengqi was the successor cultivated by the former Zaicheng of the Longhu Shogunate, Li Yunbo.

It is said that the stranger his appearance, the more inner beauty he had.

But previously, in Zhang Gui's view, his talent was just so-so.

And it seemed that because he was ugly and felt stifled in his heart, Ding Chengqi always 'looked at' his peers who were handsome with 'different eyes'.

Making people even less willing to value him.

But now, because of one advantage—sufficient loyalty—Zhang Gui had to look at him with new eyes.

"What are you standing there for? Why don't you get up from the ground?"

"Longhu, I saw Zhao Fucheng at noon..."

"This is Zhihai Town, my fief.

If I want someone to die at the third watch, who can keep them until the fifth watch?

I suppose you knew I was back, have been looking everywhere, and haven't heard the news.

Zhao Fucheng is dead, and Jin Shanliang and Qian Wanbao are also dead."

Zhang Gui smiled faintly and said leisurely:

"I heard that there were more than a dozen of them who followed Lü Zhenduan and even swore to be 'righteous brothers'.

This is truly excellent.

Everyone 'does not seek to be born on the same year, month, and day, but seeks to die on the same year, month, and day', which can be considered as fulfilling their wish."

Ding Chengqi prided himself on his ability to recognize people; although he was convinced by Zhang Gui's character and bearing and was loyal,

he also had places where he was dissatisfied with him, that is, he was unwilling to 'be close to gentlemen and far from villains'.

He didn't demote Zhao Fucheng, Jin Shanliang, and their ilk, whom he had long seen were not good things.

But now Ding Chengqi discovered that it wasn't just that Longhu didn't see his, Ding's, superior qualities.

Actually, his own understanding of Longhu was also just a glimpse through a tube.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 133 =====