Chapter 123 - 110: Letting Go
"Taking my silver and doing nothing... a bunch of bastards!"
Liu Chuanzhi left the Government Office, his face grim.
He never imagined that everything he had so carefully planned would now come to nothing.
He had spent several thousand taels of silver, and now not a single person was willing to help his family.
’Sooner or later, I’ll make them all pay.’
"That’s him! The one who visited the brothel yesterday and didn’t pay! Get him! Beat him senseless! Teach him that our girls can’t be had for free!"
He had just left the Government Office and turned into an alley.
Liu Chuanzhi heard shouting and wondered who it was that didn’t pay after a night at the brothel.
But then he saw several burly men charging right at him.
’Is the guy up ahead?’
The question had barely formed in his mind when, before he could even react, the burly men surrounded him and threw a sack over his head.
"What are you doing? Let g—"
He couldn’t even finish his sentence before a flurry of punches and kicks rained down on him.
"Agh, hssss—"
Liu Chuanzhi felt sharp pain wracking his entire body, and all he could do was groan in agony.
He didn’t know how long it had been, but just as he felt himself about to black out...
"Hey, wait a minute. I think we got the wrong guy. The man we’re after was wearing red, but this one’s in green."
"You’re right. Let’s get out of here before that son of a bitch escapes."
Then, Liu Chuanzhi heard the sound of footsteps hastily retreating.
His entire body ached. It took him a long while before he could finally pull the sack off his head.
"Hssss—"
The moment he tried to stand up, Liu Chuanzhi sucked in a sharp breath.
’It hurt. It hurt so damn much.’
"Wait, where’s my money pouch?"
Just as he managed to prop himself up to lean against the wall for a moment, he realized with a jolt that his money pouch was gone.
"A pack of damned thieves! They stole my money! My silver!"
Liu Chuanzhi remembered there were still one thousand taels of silver in the pouch. It was all bribe money for securing his father an official position.
Not only had he failed in his task, but now his silver had been stolen as well.
Clearly, their story about the unpaid brothel fee was just an excuse. They had been after his silver all along.
There was no doubt in his mind: they must have been sent by the very people he had met with today.
Grief and rage overwhelmed Liu Chuanzhi, making him forget the pain in his body. He immediately struggled to his feet, only to fail and collapse back onto the ground.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile...
In Shanyang Prefecture, at the Yingbin Building.
"Zhang! I didn’t expect to see you here today. Come on, we martial brothers aren’t leaving until we’re drunk!"
Fang Hu tore the seal off a wine jug with one hand, grabbed it, and filled the two earthenware bowls on the table.
He then pushed one of the bowls toward Zhang Boyang.
"I’ll drink first to show my respect. Zhang, feel free to drink at your leisure."
With that, Fang Hu raised his bowl, tilted his head back, and drained it in a single gulp.
"Bottoms up!"
Zhang Boyang also drained his bowl in one go before speaking.
"Haha, I didn’t expect to run into you here either, Fang Hu."
"You were especially impressive in the battles during the Mo Mountain encirclement, Fang Hu. You’ve earned a great deal of military merit. You’re sure to be promoted to a full-fledged Military Officer this time."
"Congratulations are in order!"
Zhang Boyang smiled sincerely. Though Fang Hu looked rough on the outside, he’d always known his junior brother to be a reserved and righteous man.
But as soon as he said this, a flicker of dejection crossed Fang Hu’s face. He poured himself another bowl of wine and tossed it back.
"What is it? Is something wrong, Fang Hu?"
Seeing Fang Hu’s expression, Zhang Boyang knew something was wrong. Fang Hu was a man who wore his heart on his sleeve; his thoughts were always easy to read on his face.
A look like that definitely meant trouble.
"Could it be that something’s gone wrong with your assignment?" Zhang Boyang asked.
After Shanyang Prefecture City issued its summons, he too had been forced to join the campaign to crush the Mo Mountain Tribe.
However, the Martial Scholars like him, who were drafted from the various counties, were mostly assigned to their own County Guard Army units.
Zhang Boyang was no exception. However, he had managed to gather some information. For instance, he knew that Fang Hu had joined the Prefecture City Guard Army and had earned great distinction on multiple occasions fighting alongside them.
Now, the campaign against the Mo Mountain Tribe was over.
It was naturally time for rewards to be distributed based on merit. Even Martial Scholars from the outlying counties, like them, had come to Shanyang Prefecture. The prefecture was fulfilling its promise, allowing them to exchange military merits for court resources—things like higher-quality Secret Medicines, more advanced Secret Manuals, or even an official post if one’s merits were sufficient.
Zhang Boyang knew what Fang Hu wanted: to become a true Military Officer and bring honor to his ancestors.
"Let’s not talk about it. Drink," Fang Hu said, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further.
The truth was, he had heard a rumor from his superior, Shangguan.
The rumor was that he very likely wouldn’t be selected this time, because several others in the same group came from influential backgrounds.
Although their military merits couldn’t compare to his, he couldn’t compete against their influence. He would most likely be weeded out.
Rather than let his military merits go to waste, it would be better to exchange them for more resources or silver coins.
"Haha, I take it Yu’Er wrote to you as well? I was planning to exchange some merits for healing medicine, but I didn’t expect him to have already recovered. It seems fortune truly favors the worthy!"
Zhang Boyang felt that classic affection a father-in-law has for his son-in-law. Although the relationship between Fang Yue and his daughter, Zhang Shu, was like fire and ice, he knew the problem lay mostly with his daughter.
But that didn’t affect Zhang Boyang’s high opinion of Fang Yue.
The young man had talent, guts, and ability. He was respectful to his elders, and his character was impeccable.
That was precisely why he kept trying to match Fang Yue with his daughter.
A man like Fang Yue could suffer a temporary setback, but he would always recover quickly. Defeat wouldn’t crush him; it would only make him stronger.
Fang Hu nodded, a look of gratification on his face. He had failed at too many things in his life.
But there was one thing he had done right, one great success: taking Fang Yue as his disciple and guiding him onto the path of a Martial Artist.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been home. Once this is all over, I’ll return to my old village and never leave again."
Fang Hu let out a long sigh. Throughout his life, every time he reached a critical juncture, he would ultimately fail because someone else had a stronger family background or greater influence.
How could one not feel disappointed and discouraged?
"Alright, alright, let’s eat and drink. Stop thinking about these worries. Things will work themselves out. Until it’s over, no one knows for sure what will happen," Zhang Boyang consoled.
Several rounds of drinks and dishes later...
Both being Martial Artists with high tolerance for alcohol, they finished two whole jugs of wine before leaving with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, swaying as they went.
’Those two are connected to that Fang Yue fellow?!!’
Just then, a portly man who had been sitting at the table next to Fang Hu and Zhang Boyang stood up. He watched the two of them recede into the distance, lost in thought.
A moment later, a wide smile spread across his face.
’Heh heh, it looks like I’ve found the perfect gift for my visit to young Fang.’
~~~~~~~
Da Liushu Village, at the threshing ground by the entrance.
"Zhi, are we just letting them go like this?"
Fang Cheng asked, a resentful look on his face as he watched the government constables from the Government Office shackle the gambling house’s thugs and its Shopkeeper.
Early that morning, men from the Xiahe County Government Office had arrived in Da Liushu Village. After a discussion, they stated that Shopkeeper Qi and his men were involved in a major case and had to be taken into custody.
They had shackled Shopkeeper Qi and all the thugs from the Four Directions Gambling House and were escorting them back to Xiahe County.
"We can’t very well keep them here as beasts of burden for the rest of their lives, can we? Even if they wanted to stay, I’m not about to feed them," Fang Yue said with a faint smile. ’These men claimed the Wei Family was their backer. So why would these government constables show up now to take them away?’
’How did the Government Office even find out what happened here?’
’And to send so many men to ’arrest’ them... I’m afraid this is more of a rescue than an arrest.’
"Hmph. Those bastards are getting off easy," Fang Cheng grumbled.
"Those men nearly destroyed our family. Now the Government Office takes them away... who knows if they won’t just turn around and let them go."
"Who knows? They say he who lives by injustice will die by it. After all the evil they’ve done, who can say how long they have left? They might just drop dead before they even reach the county town."
Fang Yue smiled faintly. His gaze followed the distant procession, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Then, he turned and headed for home.
It was getting late. If he and Fang Cheng didn’t head back soon, their mother would come out calling them home for dinner.
~~~~~~
「Three days later, at dusk.」
"*Phew*... we’re finally almost there. After being so humiliated by that little bastard Fang Yue, I’ll make sure he pays for it."
Qi Yishou cursed, grimacing in pain. His body was covered in whip marks, and every movement sent a fresh wave of agony through him.
"Shopkeeper, you are wise! We endured humiliation for the greater good. The day will come when we can take our revenge openly!" the pedantic Scholar flattered with a simpering smile.
"You worthless bastard, get lost! Say one more useless word and I’ll rip your tongue out."
Qi Yishou flew into a rage upon hearing the pedantic Scholar’s words.
Back in Da Liushu Village, this bastard hadn’t shown the slightest mercy with his whip.
The wounds covering his body were all from this pedantic Scholar.
If it weren’t for his severe injuries, which made every movement agonizing, he would have slapped the pedantic Scholar silly.