Chapter 31
The Dizzy Rabbit
In the back room of the dye house, the battle was nearing its end.
Xu Xian chopped down the last struggling child with a single stroke. As the child fell to the ground, the broken bricks he was holding finally loosened and rolled away.
Yang Xu pierced another boy's shoulder with his sword, pinning him to the wall until the boy's struggles gradually ceased.
The Black Cavalry were counting the casualties: four dead and nine wounded. Adding to the three who died in the battle at Jingzhou Post Station, the pursuit of the tax silver case has now resulted in the loss of seven brothers.
Xu wiped the blood off the knife with his sleeve. The children's bodies lay scattered on the ground, some still twitching slightly, others completely still.
Pharmacist Sun, along with several apprentices, was examining each patient one by one, moving those who could still be saved aside to receive treatment, and covering those who couldn't be saved with white sheets.
He would stop as he passed each small body, place his fingers on the child's neck to feel for their pulse, and then either shake his head or call out to someone.
Looking at the children covered with white sheets, Xu Xian was filled with many thoughts.
He turned away and looked towards the back hall entrance, where two experts at the Bone Tempering Realm were still fighting. After a while, they separated and stood panting.
Helan Heng leaned against the door leading to the inner room, his heavy sword resting on the ground.
Lu Jing stood holding his sword, panting heavily.
He Lan took a few deep breaths, then his gaze suddenly passed over Lu Jing and landed on the small corpses covered with white sheets in the courtyard.
After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and two streams of tears slid down from the corners of his eyes, flowing down the old scars on his face and dripping onto his clothes.
"In this life, there are two things you must do: repay kindness and take revenge..."
He opened his eyes, glanced back at the direction of the secret passage, then looked down at his hand that held the knife.
"I've avenged myself, well... I've done my revenge today, so I shouldn't run away..."
He sat down cross-legged, placed the heavy sword across his lap, looked up at Lu Jing, and said calmly.
"Commander Lu, my family has made a mistake, but we have our own unavoidable difficulties..."
"Your suffering shouldn't be borne by others..."
Xu interrupted him, stepped forward, and stood beside Lu Jing.
"I hope you can tell me something, like, who's behind you?"
Helan Heng looked at Xu Xian, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, as if he were smiling, but not quite.
"Lord Xu is right. My predicament should not be borne by others—especially these children."
He shifted his gaze and looked again at the small corpses covered with white sheets in the courtyard.
"I'm sorry, Lord Xu... I've become a villain, but I've also upheld my principles. Even though that person was a beast, he was still my benefactor..."
"Who is it—"
He Lanheng closed his eyes and calmed himself, raising his knife with one hand and slicing across the back of his neck with the blade.
Lu Jing's pupils contracted sharply, and he reached out to stop it, but the knife was too fast.
A head shot skyward.
The headless body was still sitting cross-legged, and with its left hand it reached up and caught the head, placing it steadily in front of itself.
Her eyes were still open, staring at Lu Jing, and a slight smile remained on her lips.
The bone at the wound on the neck was crystal clear, and blood was flowing out, but not much. The bone density of a person in the Bone Tempering Realm far exceeds that of an ordinary person. This cut was extremely clean, and even the bone fragments were cut neatly.
The courtyard was quiet for several breaths.
Lu Jing stood there, his sword tip lowered, staring blankly at the head on the ground and the headless body that was still sitting cross-legged, unable to utter a word.
He chased Helan Heng for over a year, and every time he almost caught up, Helan Heng escaped.
Today he finally didn't run away, not because he didn't have the strength to run away, but because he didn't want to run away anymore.
Xu Xian was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"It's a pity he should have known a lot... He collected Helan's body and took it back."
Two black-clad guards stepped forward, wrapped Helan Heng's body in cloth, and carried it out.
Yang Xu walked over and muttered, "Tsk... he's ruthless. He died just like that, without even taking a breath."
Xu Xian stood up, glanced at the pool of blood on the ground, and turned to walk into the inner room.
The secret door to the passage was open, and the empty dye vat in the corner had been pushed aside, revealing a dark opening.
He drew his goose-feather sword and slipped inside.
Yang Xu followed behind, limping. His left arm had already been hastily bandaged by Pharmacist Sun and was in a sling around his neck. His eyes were wide open as he followed them inside.
"Tsk... How come I never thought these guys had a backup plan? These Gu Masters are like eels, they always have a hole in the ground. They got away again this time!"
Xu Xian, however, looked relaxed as he walked slowly, chuckling softly.
"Let's go inside and take a look. Maybe we can find the 'rabbit' that's been knocked unconscious."
"What rabbits? We're here to capture people, what would we need rabbits for?"
Yang Xu followed behind, leaning on his knife, and tilted his head to look at him.
"Tsk... If you can catch that Gu Master, I'll buy you a cartload of rabbits, alive or dead, and a turtle too, to make a pair with your sister's."
Xu Xian suddenly stopped and raised a torch to illuminate the secret passage ahead.
Yang Xu followed from behind and looked ahead in the firelight. He saw two people lying side by side in the secret passage, their limbs twisted and bent backward, as if they had been broken by something.
There was no blood at the cut, but the subcutaneous muscle and veins were clearly shattered into a mass.
The Gu Master's eyes were still darting around, filled with terror, while the shop owner wet himself, foaming at the corners of his mouth.
Both of them are still alive and conscious, but unable to move their bodies.
"Me...not a child?"
Yang Xu stared blankly at the two of them, opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
"Tsk...who the hell did this?"
Xu Xian shook his head and kicked the Gu Master with his foot. "I don't know. Who knows what illness these Gu Masters have? Maybe some kind person helped us."
...
The Gu Master and the shop owner were carried out of the secret passage by the Black Cavalry. Both of them had broken limbs and hung limply beside the stretcher, like two bundles of straw that had been ripped out of their bones.
The Gu Master was still holding on, gritting his teeth and remaining silent; the shopkeeper had been groaning the whole way, and only shut up after Liu Shan yelled at him.
The group returned to the Inspection Bureau, where Mo Feichang was sitting under the old locust tree, drinking tea.
Upon seeing the two human figures on the stretcher, the hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.
Xu briefly recounted the events at the dye house: the dark room, the child controlled by the Gu worms, Helan Heng's suicide...
He pointed to the two stretchers, "When this humble servant and Lord Yang chased him into the secret passage, he was lying there with his limbs broken. We didn't see anyone else."
"Didn't you see anyone else?"
Mo Feichang put down his teacup and bent down to examine the severed wound on the Gu Master's arm.
The bone fragments at the break were neatly broken, as if they had been shattered from the inside by an extremely strong and concentrated force, yet there wasn't even a bruise on the skin surface.
He straightened up and glanced at Xu Xian, whose expression was impeccably sincere.
Mo did not ask any further questions.
"I will personally conduct the trial..."
He straightened his cuffs and walked towards the interrogation room. "You'll be sitting in on the proceedings."
The interrogation room was brightly lit with candles, and the sorcerer and the shop owner were tied to two iron chairs respectively.
The Gu Master's hands and feet had been simply bandaged by Pharmacist Sun. The broken bones were misaligned, but at least the bleeding had stopped.
He surveyed the racks of torture instruments on the four walls, his eyes showing no fear.
The shop owner kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone, his fingers constantly digging into the armrests of the iron chair, until his fingernails were full of rust.
Mo, seated in the presiding judge's chair, cut to the chase, "Who broke your limbs?"
The Gu Master thought about it and felt that this matter could be explained, since it had nothing to do with what they had done.
A small figure flashed through his mind... a twelve or thirteen-year-old, holding a turtle, tilting his head and asking him, "Do you want to lie down by yourself or should I help you?"
He was about to describe the face when the words suddenly caught in his throat.
The face became increasingly blurry and distant in his mind. In just a few breaths, only a vague outline remained before it disappeared completely.
Xu Xian chopped down the last struggling child with a single stroke. As the child fell to the ground, the broken bricks he was holding finally loosened and rolled away.
Yang Xu pierced another boy's shoulder with his sword, pinning him to the wall until the boy's struggles gradually ceased.
The Black Cavalry were counting the casualties: four dead and nine wounded. Adding to the three who died in the battle at Jingzhou Post Station, the pursuit of the tax silver case has now resulted in the loss of seven brothers.
Xu wiped the blood off the knife with his sleeve. The children's bodies lay scattered on the ground, some still twitching slightly, others completely still.
Pharmacist Sun, along with several apprentices, was examining each patient one by one, moving those who could still be saved aside to receive treatment, and covering those who couldn't be saved with white sheets.
He would stop as he passed each small body, place his fingers on the child's neck to feel for their pulse, and then either shake his head or call out to someone.
Looking at the children covered with white sheets, Xu Xian was filled with many thoughts.
He turned away and looked towards the back hall entrance, where two experts at the Bone Tempering Realm were still fighting. After a while, they separated and stood panting.
Helan Heng leaned against the door leading to the inner room, his heavy sword resting on the ground.
Lu Jing stood holding his sword, panting heavily.
He Lan took a few deep breaths, then his gaze suddenly passed over Lu Jing and landed on the small corpses covered with white sheets in the courtyard.
After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and two streams of tears slid down from the corners of his eyes, flowing down the old scars on his face and dripping onto his clothes.
"In this life, there are two things you must do: repay kindness and take revenge..."
He opened his eyes, glanced back at the direction of the secret passage, then looked down at his hand that held the knife.
"I've avenged myself, well... I've done my revenge today, so I shouldn't run away..."
He sat down cross-legged, placed the heavy sword across his lap, looked up at Lu Jing, and said calmly.
"Commander Lu, my family has made a mistake, but we have our own unavoidable difficulties..."
"Your suffering shouldn't be borne by others..."
Xu interrupted him, stepped forward, and stood beside Lu Jing.
"I hope you can tell me something, like, who's behind you?"
Helan Heng looked at Xu Xian, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, as if he were smiling, but not quite.
"Lord Xu is right. My predicament should not be borne by others—especially these children."
He shifted his gaze and looked again at the small corpses covered with white sheets in the courtyard.
"I'm sorry, Lord Xu... I've become a villain, but I've also upheld my principles. Even though that person was a beast, he was still my benefactor..."
"Who is it—"
He Lanheng closed his eyes and calmed himself, raising his knife with one hand and slicing across the back of his neck with the blade.
Lu Jing's pupils contracted sharply, and he reached out to stop it, but the knife was too fast.
A head shot skyward.
The headless body was still sitting cross-legged, and with its left hand it reached up and caught the head, placing it steadily in front of itself.
Her eyes were still open, staring at Lu Jing, and a slight smile remained on her lips.
The bone at the wound on the neck was crystal clear, and blood was flowing out, but not much. The bone density of a person in the Bone Tempering Realm far exceeds that of an ordinary person. This cut was extremely clean, and even the bone fragments were cut neatly.
The courtyard was quiet for several breaths.
Lu Jing stood there, his sword tip lowered, staring blankly at the head on the ground and the headless body that was still sitting cross-legged, unable to utter a word.
He chased Helan Heng for over a year, and every time he almost caught up, Helan Heng escaped.
Today he finally didn't run away, not because he didn't have the strength to run away, but because he didn't want to run away anymore.
Xu Xian was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"It's a pity he should have known a lot... He collected Helan's body and took it back."
Two black-clad guards stepped forward, wrapped Helan Heng's body in cloth, and carried it out.
Yang Xu walked over and muttered, "Tsk... he's ruthless. He died just like that, without even taking a breath."
Xu Xian stood up, glanced at the pool of blood on the ground, and turned to walk into the inner room.
The secret door to the passage was open, and the empty dye vat in the corner had been pushed aside, revealing a dark opening.
He drew his goose-feather sword and slipped inside.
Yang Xu followed behind, limping. His left arm had already been hastily bandaged by Pharmacist Sun and was in a sling around his neck. His eyes were wide open as he followed them inside.
"Tsk... How come I never thought these guys had a backup plan? These Gu Masters are like eels, they always have a hole in the ground. They got away again this time!"
Xu Xian, however, looked relaxed as he walked slowly, chuckling softly.
"Let's go inside and take a look. Maybe we can find the 'rabbit' that's been knocked unconscious."
"What rabbits? We're here to capture people, what would we need rabbits for?"
Yang Xu followed behind, leaning on his knife, and tilted his head to look at him.
"Tsk... If you can catch that Gu Master, I'll buy you a cartload of rabbits, alive or dead, and a turtle too, to make a pair with your sister's."
Xu Xian suddenly stopped and raised a torch to illuminate the secret passage ahead.
Yang Xu followed from behind and looked ahead in the firelight. He saw two people lying side by side in the secret passage, their limbs twisted and bent backward, as if they had been broken by something.
There was no blood at the cut, but the subcutaneous muscle and veins were clearly shattered into a mass.
The Gu Master's eyes were still darting around, filled with terror, while the shop owner wet himself, foaming at the corners of his mouth.
Both of them are still alive and conscious, but unable to move their bodies.
"Me...not a child?"
Yang Xu stared blankly at the two of them, opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
"Tsk...who the hell did this?"
Xu Xian shook his head and kicked the Gu Master with his foot. "I don't know. Who knows what illness these Gu Masters have? Maybe some kind person helped us."
...
The Gu Master and the shop owner were carried out of the secret passage by the Black Cavalry. Both of them had broken limbs and hung limply beside the stretcher, like two bundles of straw that had been ripped out of their bones.
The Gu Master was still holding on, gritting his teeth and remaining silent; the shopkeeper had been groaning the whole way, and only shut up after Liu Shan yelled at him.
The group returned to the Inspection Bureau, where Mo Feichang was sitting under the old locust tree, drinking tea.
Upon seeing the two human figures on the stretcher, the hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.
Xu briefly recounted the events at the dye house: the dark room, the child controlled by the Gu worms, Helan Heng's suicide...
He pointed to the two stretchers, "When this humble servant and Lord Yang chased him into the secret passage, he was lying there with his limbs broken. We didn't see anyone else."
"Didn't you see anyone else?"
Mo Feichang put down his teacup and bent down to examine the severed wound on the Gu Master's arm.
The bone fragments at the break were neatly broken, as if they had been shattered from the inside by an extremely strong and concentrated force, yet there wasn't even a bruise on the skin surface.
He straightened up and glanced at Xu Xian, whose expression was impeccably sincere.
Mo did not ask any further questions.
"I will personally conduct the trial..."
He straightened his cuffs and walked towards the interrogation room. "You'll be sitting in on the proceedings."
The interrogation room was brightly lit with candles, and the sorcerer and the shop owner were tied to two iron chairs respectively.
The Gu Master's hands and feet had been simply bandaged by Pharmacist Sun. The broken bones were misaligned, but at least the bleeding had stopped.
He surveyed the racks of torture instruments on the four walls, his eyes showing no fear.
The shop owner kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone, his fingers constantly digging into the armrests of the iron chair, until his fingernails were full of rust.
Mo, seated in the presiding judge's chair, cut to the chase, "Who broke your limbs?"
The Gu Master thought about it and felt that this matter could be explained, since it had nothing to do with what they had done.
A small figure flashed through his mind... a twelve or thirteen-year-old, holding a turtle, tilting his head and asking him, "Do you want to lie down by yourself or should I help you?"
He was about to describe the face when the words suddenly caught in his throat.
The face became increasingly blurry and distant in his mind. In just a few breaths, only a vague outline remained before it disappeared completely.