Traces on Stone

Shen Gui had already left the Liu residence.

Xu Yanqing staggered to A Yue's side. His stomach was churning, and he had already vomited up all his bile because all around him were mangled corpses.

Ah Yue asked, "Do you need me to help you?"

"It's nothing... I said I would protect you... Ugh..." Xu Yanqing covered his mouth with his one arm.

A-Yue smiled and nodded.

The two walked outside to chase after the man in gray.

This time, no one stopped them, and no one dared to stop them.

A-Yue lifted her foot, her toes touching the threshold, and stepped over it. The threshold of the Liu residence was behind her. The wind blew from the other end of the long street, stirring up the fallen leaves on the ground.

"You've made a scene today, but someone will still need to take charge of Changluo County tomorrow."

Liu Sanye's hoarse voice rang out from behind.

He tried to grasp at the last shred of reason: "The county government can't do anything about it, and the imperial court can't do anything about it. If one Liu family member is killed, there will be a second and a third. Someone has to set the rules in this place."

But no one paid him any attention.

At this time, the Liu residence was filled with corpses, densely packed and layered upon layer.

Master Liu stood in the hall, watching the three figures walk further and further away.

He still retained a shred of dignity on his face, the last vestige of dignity.

Master Liu raised his hand.

"close the door."

The local gentry was taken aback.

"I said close the door!" Master Liu suddenly raised his voice. "That man in gray didn't kill us! He must have something to hide! We haven't lost yet, don't panic!"

The local gentry was startled and hurriedly went to push the two large doors.

As long as the door is closed and no one outside can see inside, things can still be discussed.

But the door was only halfway opened when the crowd inside became chaotic.

One of the village chiefs stepped back, still saying, "This has nothing to do with my village. I'm just here to be a witness. Let me out!"

Another village chief muttered under his breath, "Witness? That's not what you just said."

"What did I say?"

You know the truth in your heart.

The two exchanged a glance, neither daring to say anything more.

The officials were also in chaos.

The clerk, carrying the files, first hid behind a pillar in the hall, but after taking two steps, he remembered that he couldn't leave the files behind, so he turned back to snatch them, but someone was faster than him.

An accountant had already picked up several ledgers, and with a sweep of his sleeve, he knocked over a teacup, spilling tea all over the floor.

"Put it down!" the clerk cried out anxiously.

The accountant turned around, his eyes red: "Are you just going to lay down and wait to die? My name is on this list!"

"My name is in it too! What if you take the ledger and then try to blackmail me!"

The two men reached out to grab it at the same time, tearing the ledger open and scattering the pages all over the floor.

Suddenly, many sounds arose in the hall.

Someone shouted to turn off the lights.

Someone called us to the backyard.

Someone shouted to close the door first.

Someone else whispered, "Burn it, burn it clean and everything will be fine."

When Master Liu heard this, he looked at these people who usually bowed and scraped to him, and at these people who gave him gifts during festivals. None of them had any loyalty on their faces.

There is only fear.

They used to be afraid of the Liu family, so they listened to them.

They are now afraid of the man in gray, so they want to clear themselves of any involvement first.

The Liu family had been in power in Changluo County for so many years, and now someone had kicked the sky away. Their first reaction was not to support the Liu family, but to find a place to take shelter from the rain.

Suddenly, Master Liu chuckled. Those around him didn't hear him clearly and thought he was about to speak.

But Master Liu turned and walked towards the backyard.

His pace quickened as he walked through the long corridor, past the flower hall, past the pond where koi carp were kept, and finally into the ancestral home.

The ancestral home door was half-closed, the incense inside was still burning, a memorial tablet was placed on the table, and several red lacquered boxes were placed against the wall.

He glanced at the memorial tablet first, then reached out and opened the box.

Gold bars, silver notes, jade pendants, land deeds, and several letters bearing the names of officials from the prefectural city were all buried at the very bottom.

Master Liu stuffed the silver notes into his pocket, rolled up the land deed, and wrapped it in cloth.

Halfway through wrapping the offerings, he looked at the altar again.

The ancestral tablets are still there.

Third Master Liu reached out and touched the edge of the memorial tablet.

In the end, he didn't take it; the package wasn't big and could only hold gold and silver.

Another shout rang out from outside.

"The accounting office is on fire!"

Master Liu's hand trembled, scattering the silver notes all over the ground. He bent down to pick them up, but before he could even grab the first one, the ground suddenly shook, and the incense burner on the offering table jumped up and crashed to the ground, scattering incense ash everywhere.

Master Liu suddenly looked up.

"Boom—"

The second tremor was much stronger. The beams made a muffled thud, as if they had been pulled from the ground. The walls of the ancestral house cracked, and dust fell down in a flurry.

Master Liu steadied the box and shouted, "Someone come here!"

No one answered; chaos had broken out outside.

Some people were shouting for firefighting, some were shouting that the earth was turning over, and some were shouting that the Liu family was being punished by heaven.

The east wing collapsed first; tiles slid off in large pieces, beams and pillars broke, and the courtyard wall crumbled inward.

Next came the tent, where the flames, swept up by the collapsing wind, shot up and ignited the old lanterns under the eaves.

The crowd erupted, and the village head stumbled and ran out, scattering the account books in his arms all over the ground. A local gentryman tripped over the threshold, and as he got up, someone behind him stepped on his clothes.

Some people escaped through the back door, some rushed towards the warehouse, and some tried to pull their relatives away. The accountant stood up against a pillar, and just as he took a step, a beam above him crashed down and broke his leg. He screamed and reached out to grab the person next to him, but that person didn't even look at him, kicked his hand away, and ran away.

Uncle Liu heard the sounds outside while inside the ancestral house.

He tried to stand up, but his feet got stuck in the scattered banknotes and he couldn't get them out.

The altar overturned in another tremor, and the entire tabletop fell on him.

Master Liu groaned, his chest sank, and his breathing became erratic. He braced himself against the altar with both hands, trying to push it away.

It can't be pushed.

The crack in the corner of the wall widened, and a brick fell down, landing next to his face. Master Liu's face was covered in ash, but his eyes were still open.

He looked at the memorial tablets.

The memorial tablet was half overturned, and the other half was crooked, like a group of dead people looking down at him.

Suddenly, Master Liu chuckled briefly, then coughed up blood.

"I've given so much to Changluo County..."

He gritted his teeth, his voice caught in his throat, and the light in his eyes faded.

On his deathbed, he still couldn't understand... that people don't necessarily need to be controlled by someone to live.

The ancestral home collapsed with a crash, and at that moment the plaque of the Liu residence fell from the gate tower, the two characters "Liu Residence" smashing onto the stone steps and cracking in two.

The onlookers retreated further.

Someone at the street corner took off running towards the county government office, but turned back halfway because there was no one in charge of the county government office now.

Taking advantage of the chaos, several local ruffians rushed through a side gate and soon came out carrying their belongings, followed by servants from the Liu family. The two sides then engaged in a fierce fight against the wall.

Someone shouted to report it to the authorities.

Someone shouted, "Run for your lives!"

Some people even knelt on the street, kowtowing to Shen Gui and begging for mercy.

Shen Gui didn't even glance at it.

He didn't come to take over Changluo County, nor did he intend to establish new rules here; he was simply kicking away what was blocking the way.

As for what's outside the door, what potholes are on the road, and which way the wind is blowing, that's none of his business.

A-Yue looked back at the collapsed Liu residence, dust drifting onto her face, but she just blinked.

Xu Yanqing pushed a cart from the back of the crowd. The cart was very old, with a piece of wood missing from one of the wheels, and it creaked when pushed.

He glanced at Shen Gui, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt, but he didn't dare to ask.

just now,

Xu Yanqing witnessed Mr. Shen stomp his foot on the ground, and the next moment an earthquake struck the Liu residence.

It's so unrealistic, yet somehow it makes sense in some ways.