Night fell, and the moon shone brightly.
In Lu Zhengming’s room.
Bang! Zhao Guang slapped the table and looked at the letter in his hand. He was furious. “How dare this Huang Shishan say that he wants the County Lord to pay his respects to him!”
Lu Zhengming’s expression did not change. He took the letter and looked at it. “The County Lord has already decided to wipe out the Huang family. Huang Shishan is already a dead man.”
“Hmph! Let’s see how long he can be arrogant for!” Zhao Guang’s expression was still very gloomy. Then, he looked at Lu Zhengming. “Master Lu, did the County Lord say how he’s going to wipe out the Huang family?”
“Not yet.” Lu Zhengming shook his head gently and smiled. “However, the County Lord’s martial cultivation is extraordinary. It’s easy for him to wipe out the Huang family. We don’t have to worry about failure at all.”
“Master Lu, actually, I’m a little curious. Why would a big shot like County Lord want to be the county magistrate of this small Juhe County?” Zhao Guang asked curiously.
In his heart, Cui Heng was an Immortal, an elusive existence.
A mere county magistrate of Juhe County was not worthy of an Immortal like Cui Heng.
“I don’t know either.” Lu Zhengming shook his head at first, then smiled. “But I have a guess.”
“What guess?” Zhao Guang asked curiously.
“Have you ever heard of the legend of earning merit and ascending?” Lu Zhengming chuckled.
“A storyteller told me about it, and some stuff about that was written in the books.” Zhao Guang nodded and said in surprise, “Master Lu, you mean…?”
“That’s right!” Lu Zhengming nodded solemnly and said, “I’ve seen the County Lord in action. His martial cultivation has completely exceeded my understanding. Even the top experts in the martial world who have cultivated inner strength are probably nothing compared to the County Lord.
“At this point in his martial cultivation, he can definitely be said to have cultivated to become an Immortal. Next, he will definitely pursue ascension. Legend has it that ascension requires accumulating merit. The County Lord probably came to Juhe County to accumulate merit!”
“Now that I think about it, you’re right, that should be the case.” Zhao Guang suddenly understood and clapped his hands. “That’s why the County Lord wanted to eliminate the Huang family as soon as he arrived. This is a great kindness. There must be great merit.”
“That’s not all. Actually, there’s another point.” Lu Zhengming waved his hand and said with a smile, “King Yan’s bandit army is about to attack Juhe County. There’s a saying that bandits are like combs. Once the bandits pass through here, the citizens of Juhe County might not be able to survive. If the county head can save Juhe County, there will definitely be great merit!”
A “Bi” was a close-toothed comb, a tool used in ancient times to clean scalp or lice.
As the saying went, bandits were like combs. Soldiers were like quails. In ancient times, they usually used the tactic of robbing commoners to replenish their supplies. Whether it was bandits or soldiers, it was common to have nine out of ten rooms empty after an army sweeps through a city.
“We’re actually helping an Immortal ascend?!” Zhao Guang’s eyes lit up and he became excited. “I, Zhao Guang, will definitely do anything for the County Lord!”
“It’s my fortune to be able to participate in such an earth-shattering event!” Lu Zhengming could not help but laugh.
Cui Heng’s room was not far from Zhao Guang and Lu Zhengming’s room.
With his cultivation realm, his five senses were extremely sharp, so he naturally heard their conversation.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at their speculations.
“It’s fine if I fly around during the day. However, I’m still 108,000 miles away from transcending a tribulation.” Cui Heng laughed.
Then, he raised his hand and grabbed lightly. Two faint red lights that only he could see appeared out of thin air and fused into his Golden Core to nourish his spirituality.
This was the joyful emotion of Zhao Guang and Lu Zhengming.
“After we wipe out the Huang family, we’ll distribute the land to the people. In that case, there should be a lot of joy.”
…
The next morning.
Monk Hui Shi stopped the task of copying the Lotus Flower Monastery’s martial techniques and disguised himself as the head of the constables again. He led more than twenty constables, along with the county governor, Lu Zhengming, and the official registrar, Zhao Guang, to the Huang family’s mansion.
There were nearly 30 people in this group. As they walked on the streets of the county city, they immediately attracted the attention and discussion of many people.
“They’re from the county office. What are they going to do? It looks like they’re going to the Huang residence?”
“They’re probably going to visit Old Master Huang. Hehe, another county magistrate who’s in cahoots with that necrotic Huang!”
“That doesn’t sound right. The atmosphere doesn’t look right to me. This doesn’t look like a visit. This looks like a raid!”
“Are you out of your mind? This is Juhe County. Who would dare to raid Old Master Huang’s house? Even the county magistrate would have his head removed!”
“But something doesn’t look right to me. The county magistrate who just arrived is a young man. He’s really not the type that would hit his head, right?”
“Stop dreaming. What can these dozens of guards do? Old Master Huang has an army!”
Everyone whispered among themselves.
They did not believe that the new county magistrate would dare to find trouble with Old Master Huang.
Old Master Huang’s name was Huang Shishan. As the largest landlord in Juhe County, he not only occupied a lot of land.
There were a total of 500 servants he had secretly trained. All of them were young and strong. They were well-fed, well-trained, and extremely skillful.
Especially during the chaos in recent years, the Huang family even obtained more than ten sets of refined iron armor!
A dozen armored warriors and nearly 500 burly private soldiers were enough to sweep through the entire Juhe County. No one would dare to resist.
The imperial court was no longer in charge here. To the Huang family, disobedient county magistrates could be killed if they wanted to!
The new magistrate must be tired of living if he thought of using dozens of bailiffs to trouble the Huang family.
Lu Zhengming, Zhao Guang, and Huishi naturally heard the discussions of the commoners.
But they didn’t care.
It was actually very normal for a group of commoners who had been bullied by the Huang family for nearly a hundred years to be afraid of them.
The three of them led more than 20 officers through the streets and straight to the Huang family mansion.
This mansion was indeed ridiculously large. It occupied a total of 200 acres. The buildings inside were even more corniced and carved. There were more than a dozen halls. There were more than 20 proper houses, and countless servants and storerooms.
It was like a palace!
As this place was built by the Huang family by forcibly occupying the common people’s fields, there were not many shops around the mansion. It had been transformed into various landscapes by the Huang family. There were ponds, rockeries, willow trees, gardens, and so on.
“Oh my god!” Lu Zhengming gritted his teeth and looked at the courtyard. He could not help but say, “As expected of a local emperor. This is really a f*cking palace!”
“Stop, what are you doing?!” When the guards of the Huang family saw that Lu Zhengming and the others seemed to have ill intentions, they immediately ran out and roared, “Do you know where this is? Hurry up and get lost, or I’ll chop your head off!”
“Who do you say will be beheaded?” Monk Hui Shi, who was acting as the leader of the constables, looked like he was wearing an irritable mask. He drew his saber and placed it on the guard’s shoulder.
“How dare you! This is the Huang family!” The gatekeeper was not afraid at all. He still roared, “I think you’re tired of living…”
Crack!
Before he could finish speaking, the blade flashed and the head of the guard flew out. Blood gushed out of the headless neck like a waterfall.
Monk Hui Shi calmly put away his saber. Without even looking at the headless corpse, he stepped forward and kicked open the door of the Huang family. He shouted sternly, “The officials are here to check on the taxes! Everyone from the Huang family, come out and squat down!
“Anyone who dares to interfere with our official business will be killed without mercy!”