So Ma Dingfu couldn’t clarify Zhou Anju’s origins?
"Are you not being sincere enough?" Li Banfeng cut his face again.
Ma Dingfu gasped with difficulty. "I truly don’t know. Ever since I arrived at Flying Eagle Mountain, Zhou Anju has been the Fortress Lord of Iron Gate Fort. I even heard that he led people to attack Flying Eagle Mountain; he was our sworn enemy. Until one day, our Head of the family called back to the mountain and sent to Iron Gate Fort. Only then did I learn that Zhou Anju was friends with our Head of the family. He said Lord Zhou of the Fortress was an extraordinary person, with an unfathomable cultivation level and unfathomable sches, and told to follow Lord Zhou’s orders from then on. Whatever Lord Zhou asked to do, I did."
"Did Lord Zhou ask you to sleep with his wife?"
Ma Dingfu explained, "According to our Head of the family, Lord Zhou was an omnipotent person, and I have always respected the Fortress Lord. When I got to Iron Gate Fort, he made his attendant, publicly claid I was a practitioner of Ho Cultivation, and even arranged a house for . Initially, he valued highly and discussed so confidential matters with , until one ti, he had a disagreent with Yu Hequan in the fort, and things changed."
"How did things change?"
"Yu Hequan was a Second Layer practitioner of Ho Cultivation, freshly arrived at the fort. He was young and brash, speaking to the Fortress Lord without any respect. The Fortress Lord didn’t take it to heart, but Yu Hequan kept pushing his limits, and at one point, while speaking to the Fortress Lord, he even pushed him. Whether it was intentional or not, that push was quite forceful. The Fortress Lord took half a step back and almost fell. At that mont, I was the only one beside the Fortress Lord. No one else was present. The Fortress Lord simply laughed it off. But once we returned to his residence, Lord Zhou ordered to kill Yu Hequan."
A group of practitioners of Ho Cultivation listened, their eyes blazing with anger. Many among them recognized Yu Hequan; the young man hadn’t been at the fort long before he died. They had little affection for Yu Hequan, perhaps not even much of an impression of him. But they rembered the Fortress Lord claiming at the ti that Yu Hequan had died because he left the fort without permission and was killed by bandits!
So Yu Hequan had died at Ma Dingfu’s hands! How much blood had Ma Dingfu stained his hands with? How many practitioners of Ho Cultivation had died at the hands of Zhou Anju and Ma Dingfu? Those two beasts!
So people spat at Ma Dingfu; others shouted insults.
Li Banfeng asked everyone to quiet down, as he still had important questions. "How did you kill Yu Hequan?"
Killing a practitioner of Ho Cultivation in their own ho was extrely difficult. Even with a cultivation level one Layer higher, it would be hard to succeed.
Ma Dingfu said, "Lord Zhou said he understood Yu Hequan’s intentions—that speaking so disrespectfully was actually Yu Hequan’s way of trying to stand out, hoping to be valued by the Fortress Lord. He instructed to deceive Yu Hequan, telling him there was an assignnt from the Fortress Lord that required him to go outside the fort to handle it. Yu Hequan fell for it. As soon as he left the fort, he walked into my ambush, and I took his head right off. Later, I told everyone in the fort that he was killed by bandits.
"At first, I didn’t understand. Yu Hequan, that fellow, was quite loyal. Although he didn’t quite understand propriety, if disciplined properly, he could have been a useful person. Why did he have to be killed? But unexpectedly, after I killed him, Lord Zhou began to distance himself from and no longer discussed confidential matters with . I initially thought it was because Yu Hequan shouldn’t have been killed, that Lord Zhou regretted it and was therefore taking his anger out on .
"After many days, I finally understood the real reason. The issue wasn’t with Yu Hequan; it was with that stumble. Yu Hequan wasn’t so high-level Cultivator. For him to be able to make Lord Zhou stumble... well, it made Lord Zhou’s cultivation level seem rather unclear, perhaps not so unfathomable after all. Yu Hequan was dead, and apart from , nobody knew about this.
"Sotis I also wondered, if one day I killed Lord Zhou, would the position of Fortress Lord then be mine? I only thought about it and never let it show, but I reckon he discovered my thoughts anyway."
No need for Ma Dingfu to guess; Zhou Anju had definitely discovered his thoughts. As a charlatan with almost no cultivation level, for Zhou Anju to have controlled Iron Gate Fort for decades, no such intentions could be hidden from his eyes.
Ma Dingfu looked up at Li Banfeng. "Hero, you’ve killed Lord Zhou and unseated . From now on, you will be the Fortress Lord of Iron Gate Fort. I, Ma Dingfu, will listen to all your commands. I’d go through fire and water, willing to die a thousand deaths for you!"
Li Banfeng laughed. "Do you take them for fools, or do you take for one? You expect to spare your life just because you utter promises of going through fire and water and being willing to die a thousand deaths?"
"Hero, just tell what to do! As long as you spare my life, I’ll do anything!"
"Alright, we’ll have a private chat in a bit," Li Banfeng turned to the group of practitioners of Ho Cultivation. "Don’t just stand around. Sweep the fort. See if there are any more of Zhou Anju’s and Ma Dingfu’s followers. Round them up and deal with them.
"Get everyone out of the main residence. Give Zhou Anju’s Ladies and Maids so resettlent money and send them packing. They are never to step foot in Iron Gate Fort again.
"No one is allowed near the east annex. Do you even know which way east is? Once you’ve cleared everyone out, vacate the residence imdiately.
"Then go check the main gate; make sure it’s securely shut.
"Next, go halfway up the mountainside. There’s a platform on the cliff. Check if there’s an ambush there.
"That platform will need guards from now on. You’ll take turns standing watch.
"When I say platform, do you understand ? Do you know how to get there?
"Damn it! Bring the roster! Send a group up there imdiately. Don’t wait for Flying Eagle Mountain to attack while the fort is still undefended!"
「...」
Everyone dispersed to carry out their tasks. They had previously thought of beating this "Peddler" to death on sight, but today, for so unknown reason, they just obeyed his orders.
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