Chapter 125: A Chill Through Every Fiber!

"Kill!"

"Show no mercy to those who dare to rebel!"

At this moment, dozens of corpses lay strewn across the wide street outside the Liu family mansion. Almost every one of them had been hacked to death; the carnage was so gruesome that even Li Yuanjing could not suppress a wave of nausea.

It took a long moment for Li Yuanjing to compose himself. He quickly stepped forward to greet the murderous-looking Zhang Yuzhu.

"Commander Zhang, what is the situation?"

"Sir, you have arrived?"

Zhang Yuzhu’s spirits lifted the moment he saw Li Yuanjing. Whether he could secure a promotion or a turnaround in his career depended not only on executing this operation flawlessly but also on how Li Yuanjing reported his achievements and spoke of him to superiors. He dared not show the slightest bit of disrespect.

He quickly cupped his hands in a respectful salute and said, "Sir, all the surrounding intersections have been firmly controlled by our men. Not even a fly could get out!"

"Furthermore," he continued, "I set a trap beforehand. I waited until the majority of those remnants of the Fragrant Incense Sect had entered before encircling the Liu mansion."

"Right now, there are about a hundred of them, most of whom are contained in the middle courtyard of the mansion. I expect they will be wiped out soon; they won’t be able to stir up any more trouble."

Upon hearing Zhang Yuzhu’s report, Li Yuanjing gave him a thumbs-up, but a chill crept up his spine. He knew Zhang Yuzhu had been suppressed by Zhang Zhiji for so long and was desperate to vent his frustration, but he never imagined Zhang Yuzhu would be this ruthless. He wasn't treating the Liu family as people at all, but rather as mere stepping stones.

However, the deed was done. The situation was irreversible, and it was unlikely that Zhang Zhiji would punish Zhang Yuzhu, so how could Li Yuanjing truly command him?

He quickly asked, "General Zhang, what is the current state of the Liu family? You know that Master Liu Yun has always been loyal to the Young Duke; he must not come to any harm."

Zhang Yuzhu gave a start and hurriedly slapped his forehead. "Sir, this all happened so suddenly that I truly did not consider that. However, the remnants of the sect shouldn't have broken into the rear courtyard yet. I imagine Master Liu is safe and sound."

With that, Zhang Yuzhu didn't bother with anything else and urged, "Sir, why don't you accompany me to the middle courtyard to see for yourself? If there are any issues, you can deal with them promptly."

Li Yuanjing understood perfectly well that Zhang Yuzhu was dragging him along to serve as a scapegoat. Yet, he had no choice but to follow Zhang Yuzhu toward the middle courtyard.

...

"Government dogs! If you want my life, you’ll have to pay with your own! Otherwise, forget it! Hahaha!"

"You lackeys of the corrupt officials, if you have the guts, charge in! If not, wait outside! Watch how we enjoy ourselves once we break into the rear courtyard! Hahaha..."

"Long live the Second Master..."

As Li Yuanjing and Zhang Yuzhu walked along the blood-stained stone path toward the middle courtyard, they heard the raucous shouting from within.

Zhang Yuzhu whispered to Li Yuanjing, "Sir, the leader inside seems to be the 'One Wall' Zhang Kewang, the second-in-command of the Boshan Gang!"

"'One Wall' Zhang Kewang?"

Li Yuanjing’s brow furrowed tightly. Like Feng Da before him, Zhang Kewang was a legendary figure in the areas surrounding Fengcheng, a true underworld kingpin.

Legend had it that this man possessed supernatural strength. Even in his youth, he was exceptionally brave. When the Yishui river trade was at its peak, while others could carry two sandbags at most, the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Zhang Kewang could carry eight at once.

Later, he gained great fame in the local underground fight clubs. Because the club organizers cheated him out of his earnings, he turned against them, single-handedly butchering seventy or eighty people with a blade before fleeing into the deep mountains to become a bandit. This had directly led to the rapid decline of the black-market fighting industry that had flourished in central Qizhou for hundreds of years.

Who could have imagined that the Fragrant Incense Sect would be able to command someone like Zhang Kewang? More importantly, how could a man like Zhang Kewang be so obedient to the sect?

"General Zhang, can you capture this middle courtyard quickly? I worry that if we delay, something unexpected will happen," Li Yuanjing said, gesturing to the billowing smoke rising around them.

Zhang Yuzhu looked helpless and gave a bitter smile. "Sir, I wish I could wipe them out quickly, too. But the walls of the Liu mansion are incredibly thick. My men are spread thin guarding the intersections and fighting the fires, the cannons from Fengcheng County cannot be used, and the bandits have handguns. We simply cannot break through for the time being..."

"I..."

Li Yuanjing felt a headache coming on. What appeared to be a great victory for Zhang Yuzhu was, in reality, a complete shattering of the previous balance. The fact that he couldn't even take the middle courtyard was disastrous. If this dragged on, Li Yuanjing dared not imagine the consequences. The military failure was minor, but who could control the political fallout? Don't forget, even though the Great Qian Dynasty was teetering, it hadn't completely collapsed yet.

After a moment of thought, Li Yuanjing exhaled a long breath. He stopped pressuring Zhang Yuzhu and told him to continue commanding the battle, then called over the leader of the Yi-Ding cavalry, ordering him to send someone to the county office to fetch the "red-haired" man. Li Yuanjing had to confirm if the man in the middle courtyard was indeed "One Wall" Zhang Kewang.

He then turned to a leader of his personal guards. "You lot, quickly circle around to the rear courtyard. Tell Master Liu Yun and the others to escape immediately. Don't worry about anything else—saving their lives is the priority!"

"Yes!"

Both groups hurried off to carry out their orders. However, just as Li Yuanjing was about to catch his breath, shrill screams erupted from the direction of the rear courtyard, followed by the cries of many women, as if something horrific had occurred.

Zhang Yuzhu panicked and rushed to Li Yuanjing’s side. "Sir, things look dire. The rear courtyard... it seems the remnants of the Fragrant Incense Sect have broken through!"

Li Yuanjing was so furious he could have jumped for joy had the situation not been so dire. He hissed, "Zhang Yuzhu, what the hell have you been doing? Are you trying to put the Young Duke in a position of total disgrace?!"

"This... I... I beg the Sir to give me some guidance..." Zhang Yuzhu lowered his head in apparent shame.

But the moment he bowed his head, hidden from Li Yuanjing's view, a sinister smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Although the movement was subtle, Li Yuanjing had been staring at him intently and caught the slight twitch of his cheek muscles. It struck him like a bolt of lightning, sending a chill through his entire body. He had thought Zhang Yuzhu’s excessive bloodshed was merely for venting; now, he realized the truth: Zhang Yuzhu had likely been in league with the Fragrant Incense Sect all along! The disaster in the rear courtyard was likely a plot orchestrated by Zhang Yuzhu himself.

Li Yuanjing managed to keep his expression steady and sighed helplessly. "General Zhang, what advice could I possibly offer now? We must ask the Young Duke to decide! Otherwise, neither of us can bear this responsibility."

Zhang Yuzhu bowed. "I will follow whatever you arrange, Sir!"

Seeing that Zhang Yuzhu was unfazed by the prospect of the Young Duke’s arrival, the chill in Li Yuanjing’s heart deepened. Could this man be planning to eliminate the Young Duke as well?

With the Young Duke not yet present and surrounded by Zhang Yuzhu's men, Li Yuanjing knew he couldn't control the situation. He turned to the leader of the Yi-Ding cavalry. "Brother, the situation here is spiraling out of control. I must trouble you to fetch the Young Duke and General Zhang Wuwei immediately! Bring all the men to restore order!"

The leader did not hesitate, bowing deeply. "Yes!"

As he watched the man leave, Li Yuanjing sighed deeply and turned his gaze back to Zhang Yuzhu. He could only hope that Zhang Zhiji—or rather, the Duke of England, Zhang Wen—was capable enough to hold Zhang Yuzhu’s family hostage or possess some leverage to keep him from going further, lest the entire situation collapse.

Before Li Yuanjing could even catch his breath, a soldier shouted from nearby, "General, it's bad! Master Liu Yun has been captured and taken into the middle courtyard..."

"What?" Li Yuanjing and Zhang Yuzhu both cried out simultaneously.

As he looked at Zhang Yuzhu’s feigned expression of shock, Li Yuanjing finally understood why "One Wall" Zhang Kewang had been holding the middle courtyard so firmly instead of trying to break out.