Chapter 92: Daoist Li

The boulder that had pressed on his heart for many days finally dropped, and Li Yuan, uncommonly at ease, fell into a heavy sleep; when he opened his eyes again, the heavy rain had stopped and the sky was faintly bright.

"Old Han's bone-setting skill is truly divine—one little shake, and most of my hidden injuries flared out."

Stretching his sinews, Li Yuan felt transparent both inside and out:

"Refreshing!"

Listening to the crackle and pop of his joints rubbing together, Li Yuan felt his internal force had improved again, and his Seven Star Horizontal Training Body seemed to have made considerable progress as well.

"Truly, Zi Nve Wu Gong!"

Muttering to himself, Daoist Li felt his mood was even brighter than today's weather.

The Soldier Dao Combat Killing Hammer—use it when he wants, practice it when he wants, no longer needing to avoid anyone; Cao Yan's spying and suppression were now completely gone.

The current Weapon Forging Shop had only two shopkeepers—Old Zhang and himself.

"Today, I'll reward you with a dab of pill!"

Scraping a pinch of Zeng Xue Dan powder with his fingernail for the little mouse, Li Yuan strode into the courtyard, and with a flick of his wrist, his training hammer was already tearing through the air.

Not the Bai Yuan Hammer, but the Combat Killing Hammer!

……

……

The sounds of killing from the inner and outer cities lasted for a full night.

The next day, when the anxious citizens pushed open their doors, they were astonished to find that it seemed as if nothing had happened the night before.

Squads of city guards patrolled the streets; the cold rain through the night had washed away all traces.

"Captain Qiu?"

A street vendor cried out in surprise, spotting Qiu Da, who had been missing for many days, on the street.

Dressed in his soap-colored uniform, carrying a broken broadsword on his back, just as usual, he hurried past with a group of government office Runners, drawing much murmuring discussion and great astonishment.

Only a very few people knew what had happened.

"The Sanhe Gang's headquarters caught fire, and quite a few people died! Just as dawn broke, I saw cart after cart hauling who knows how many corpses out of the city…"

"More than the Sanhe Gang? The Firewood Gang and the Fishermen's Gang got hit too! Good riddance—Laozi chops firewood every day, working myself to the bone, and they take half of it as tribute!"

"I heard they murdered Commander Qiu, and the my lord of Divine Weapon Valley came to settle the score!"

……

Qiu Da stopped, glanced at the breakfast stall by the road, and the few diners quickly lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

"Cao Yan of the Weapon Forging Shop, colluding with over a dozen factions in the inner and outer cities and conspiring with the great bandit Nian Jiu, murdered County Magistrate Lu and Commander Qiu; last night they were already executed!"

A government office Runner struck a bronze gong, announcing loudly.

On every street, government office Runners made announcements, soothing the people and enumerating the crimes of each faction.

Only then did the citizens of the inner and outer cities learn what had happened, and all were in an uproar.

Those executed factions, to them, had all been towering giants of no small consequence; collapsing entirely in a single night naturally caused tremendous shock.

"The Sanhe Gang, Firewood Gang, and Fishermen's Gang headquarters are all empty; the various small leaders, along with the resisting members, were all cut down… the city guards are still tallying the seized goods."

Listening to his subordinate's report, Qiu Da's face was expressionless, but his heart was immensely gratified.

Over the past few months, he had been hiding about like a rat in a gutter, nearly hacked to death on the streets several times—all thanks to these people.

"Uncle, you can rest in peace now!"

Qiu Da's heart darkened.

Even though these murderers had been executed, his uncle would not return; the backbone of the Qiu family had been broken clean through, and unless he too cultivated to Internal Vigor, it would be hard to regain their former prestige.

Even the family business he had reclaimed might not necessarily be kept safe.

Unless he could once again connect with Divine Weapon Valley…

"Captain, th-there's one faction where nothing happened last night…"

Qiu Da suddenly raised his head; across a long street, he had already seen the faction the government office Runner spoke of:

"The Weapon Forging Shop!"

……

There are three bitter labors in the world: punting boats, forging iron, and grinding tofu.

The Weapon Forging Shop was one of the few notable factions in the inner and outer cities, but the apprentices who joined it were inevitably

the relatively poorest sort of people.

The government office Runners struck their bronze gongs making announcements, and the apprentices of the Weapon Forging Shop naturally heard too, but apart from a few who fled, most of the apprentices did not leave.

"The Head Shopkeeper is dead too?!"

Zhang Ben, hungover, walked out rubbing his brow; hearing this news, he was instantly stunned: "How—how could that be?!"

He rushed into the crowd in three quick strides, saw Cao Yan looking like a lump of mud, stumbled, and nearly fainted.

"Master!"

Wang Hu reacted quickly, caught Zhang Ben, and pressed hard on his philtrum; after quite a while, Zhang Ben finally gasped out a breath:

"Damn it all, who's trying to wipe out our Weapon Forging Shop?!"

Not leaving a single way out!

Qin Xiong, Tang Tong, Yu Zhen, Cao Yan…

In less than a year, the managers of the Weapon Forging Shop had actually died off one whole batch!

"Master, please accept our condolences!"

"Old Zhang, don't be too grieved; if something happens to you, what will become of us?"

"Old Zhang…"

A crowd of apprentices and guards surged forward, afraid that something might happen to Zhang Ben too.

"I, I…"

Zhang Ben panted heavily, only then remembering: "Zhao, Zhao the Foreman?"

"Zhao, Zhao the Foreman…"

The faces of the surrounding apprentices all changed, but it was Wang Hu who lowered his head and replied:

"Zhao, Zhao the Foreman fled with his whole family last night… now, I'm afraid, I'm afraid they're all in the mass grave…"

"What?!"

Zhang Ben nearly fainted again.

Listening to the apprentices all chattering at once, he finally learned just how much had happened the night before.

Over a dozen factions inside and outside the city—apart from the Weapon Forging Shop—had all been wiped out; aside from ordinary apprentices and rank-and-file, every leader and steward had been strangled by the City Guards!

"What about Li Yuan!!"

Shoving aside the apprentices around him, Zhang Ben's face went deathly pale; he didn't dare imagine it any longer.

Wang Hu and the others exchanged glances; they hadn't dared set a single step outside the Weapon Forging Shop, but hearing the bronze gong outside, their faces were none too good either.

At that moment, a voice came through:

"Master Li is naturally unharmed."

"Who?"

Zhang Ben steadied himself, only then to see a procession of government office Runners filing in:

"Qiu Da? You, you're all right?"

Qiu Da had been wanted, and it had caused quite a stir a few months prior; he naturally knew about it, and had even sighed at how the tea grew cold once a man was gone.

"Thanks to the rescue of Heroine Fang and the protection of Elder Han, Qiu Mou was lucky enough to escape with his life…"

Qiu Da cupped his fist lightly, his manner mild, which made the fierce-looking government office Runners behind him all stare in surprise—toward those other houses earlier, the Constable had certainly not been this polite.

"It's good that Constable Qiu is safe and sound."

Zhang Ben felt he must have drunk too much the night before: "The Master Li that Constable Qiu mentioned is…?"

"None other than your beloved disciple, Li Yuan, Master Li!"

"Li Yuan?!"

"Constable Qiu called him Master Li?!"

"Li Yuan, he, he…"

Zhang Ben was somewhat dazed, and the apprentices erupted in an uproar; even Yue Yue Yunjin, Wu Ming, and the others nearby couldn't help but stare in surprise.

Although Qiu Da was only a Constable, he had cultivated internal force several years earlier, and with his band of government office Runners under him, his reputation inside and outside the city was no small matter.

"Master Li should be having his morning meal; once he arrives, you'll all understand."

A government office Runner stepped forward to say this, feeling all the while that something was off in his heart.

Li Yuan's reputation was no small thing—a rising star of the Weapon Forging Shop, a craftsman who could forge superior-grade blades, with a perfected Hammer Technique, the foremost talent of Gao Liu County favored by Heroine Fang, the Weapon Forging Shop's half-Shopkeeper…

Yet a year ago, he had been nothing more than a down-and-out from the Firewood Fishery.

And it wasn't just them—Qiu Da himself felt quite ill at ease; he still remembered, over half a year ago, the respectful manner of that apprentice he had come to interrogate, led there by Qin Xiong.

It had only been a year…

……

"Old Han really knows how to play it—over a dozen houses inside and outside the city, and he really left the Weapon Forging Shop untouched."

Carrying a great hammer over two meters long while eating his morning meal, Li Yuan was rather astonished.

He naturally knew his limits; with Cao Yan as one of the chief culprits, the Weapon Forging Shop couldn't possibly escape the purge, so last night he had only pleaded for Zhang Ben.

"Who would have thought!"

Finishing the remaining steamed buns and eggs in a few bites, Li Yuan at an unhurried pace made his way toward the Weapon Forging Shop, toying with the long-handled six-ridged hammer he had swapped out, feeling quite reluctant in his heart.

This was the first third-tier weapon he had gotten his hands on, and it was a long-handled heavy hammer that suited him extremely well.

"It's just one third-tier heavy hammer; once I enter the Divine Weapon Valley, fourth-tier and fifth-tier ones might be a dime a dozen!"

Comforting himself in his heart, Li Yuan walked into the Weapon Forging Shop.

He had originally planned to head straight to the forging room, but the moment he stepped inside, he sensed something was off; looking up, he saw Zhang Ben inside, along with several dozen apprentices and helpers.

"Wh-what's going on?"

Even Li Yuan was a little creeped out by being stared at so fixedly by such a large crowd.

"Master Li!"

And then Qiu Da stepping out from the crowd made Li Yuan even more astonished.

What the hell?

But after only a brief pause, Li Yuan had already come back to his senses, knowing this must be because of Han Han Chuijun.

Having figured out the cause and effect, Li Yuan didn't correct Qiu Da's form of address either, and asked:

"What business does Constable Qiu have?"

Meeting again after a year, this Constable Qiu had weathered considerably, and become considerably more smooth as well, and lightly cupped his fist:

"Qiu Mou was passing by the Weapon Forging Shop and thought you might need hands, so I came to wait here…"

"Helpers?"

Glancing at the complex, reverent expressions of the Weapon Forging Shop crowd, Li Yuan caught on:

"And then?"

This master wasn't taken for nothing—was he planning to leave the Weapon Forging Shop to me?

No, those who need to be dealt with still have to be dealt with!

Li Yuan turned the thought over in his mind, while Qiu Da cupped his fist:

"At your command!"

"In that case…"

Li Yuan thought for a moment, said nothing, and instead looked at Zhang Ben: "Master, what do you think?"

"Big trouble — Cao Yan colluded with bandits to ambush Commander Qiu, which is tantamount to treason…"

Zhang Ben's face darkened. He hated Cao Yan for dragging everyone down, yet had no idea how to handle it, so he could only wave his sleeve and leave:

"You, do as you please."

Seeing Zhang Ben had nothing to say, Li Yuan recalled what the books recorded about how the various sects dealt with rebels, and asked: "Mm… what about the Cao family?"

"Reporting to Master Li!"

The government office Runner behind Qiu Da cupped his fist and replied:

"Master Sha came before dawn. Everyone surnamed Cao was taken — they're all at the county government office now, awaiting Elder Han's decision."

"What about Captain Zhao?"

"He, he fled with his whole household last night, but ran straight into Master Sha. All of them, Fu Fa."

"What about Wang Gong?"

"Thrown into the great prison, awaiting sentencing."

"…"

Truly, withering everything in its path, decisive in killing.

Li Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words. He glanced at the many apprentices and guards whose faces had gone deathly pale:

"Everyone who needed killing has been killed. The Shopkeeper of the Weapon-Forging Shop — right now it's just me and Master. What do you want me to deal with?"

Qiu Da said nothing, only gazed at the front and rear courtyards of the Weapon-Forging Shop with undisguised envy.

How was this any kind of test?

Li Yuan's heart began to race. He understood now.

The Weapon-Forging Shop bore the surname Li!