"Kill the villains!"
The atmosphere was charged, everyone swinging their weapons. Any discerning observer could see how much Fort Lord i Wannian desired the perfu earlier. This ant that if the deal succeeded, they would all enjoy the good life in the future!
However, just at that mont, suddenly, inside the hall...
CLANG!
Soone’s mouth began to overflow with white foam, and the knife in his hand dropped to the ground.
Then a second person, a third, a fourth...
Soon, they were falling in droves.
Just monts before, these n had been full of imposing vigor. Now, more than half of them had suddenly collapsed. The few who remained standing could only do so by propping their hands on tables or walls for support.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The hall doors were kicked open from the outside. A group of knife-wielding n rushed in, led by Hongba.
Following Hongba were mbers of the Unity Gang and the Cart Gang.
"Brothers, kill!"
It was a one-sided massacre. The victims, too weak to even resist, were hacked down one by one.
Shrieks and screams echoed continuously. So tried to escape, but the poison rendered them immobile.
i Wannian stood frozen on the spot. Even for an old scher like him, his mind seed to short-circuit.
What, exactly, was happening?
It wasn’t until a cold sensation touched his neck that he slowly, belatedly, turned his gaze.
He looked at the one holding the knife to his throat... his very own nephew.
"Nephew... Xiao Yibo, what is this?"
Xiao Yibo’s face no longer showed its previous grief and indignation, nor any trace of humility. Instead, a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Hongba, shouldering his own blade, walked up to Xiao Yibo, gestured towards i Wannian with his chin, and said, "Still not doing it? What are you waiting for?"
"Doesn’t Mr. Bei want to interrogate him?" Xiao Yibo asked, a little confused.
He had thought that capturing the fort lord alive for Mr. Bei would be the greatest rit, so when administering the poison, he had deliberately spared i Wannian and the food at the two or three tables of his closest confidants.
"Mr. Bei doesn’t have ti to interrogate him. Kill him quickly. There’s still a lot to do. Don’t dawdle."
Xiao Yibo nodded.
Just then, i Wannian, already at knifepoint, suddenly bellowed, "Xiao Yibo, they are your father’s murderers!"
SLICE!
The blade slid down.
The Fort Lord of i Village, this old man possessing both comrcial acun and ambition, slowly slumped to the ground.
In the last fleeting monts of his life, all he saw was red... red... red blood.
Perhaps because he rarely killed, the angle and position of the blade caused i Wannian’s blood to splatter all over Xiao Yibo’s face.
Xiao Yibo stood there, feeling the sticky warmth on his skin.
Hongba walked right over, reached out his big, rough hand, and roughly rubbed Xiao Yibo’s face.
Xiao Yibo’s face, which had borne a ’made-up’ cold and ruthless expression, was instantly sared into a ss.
"I said, there’s a lot to do! What are you standing there dazed for?"
Xiao Yibo wasn’t angry. He just stared blankly down at the lifeless i Wannian in the pool of blood and murmured, I know he decided to help because he valued the perfu. But I also know that if I had truly been desperate and co to him for refuge, he would have given a al for my father’s sake.
"Oh? So the great filial son is having second thoughts now?"
Xiao Yibo took a deep breath. It seed he was answering Hongba, yet also himself: But I don’t just want a al to survive! I don’t just want to be full! I want to eat well, to eat better and better!
「 」
On the second floor of the small building, Blind Bei and Xue Three stood on the balcony. All around them, shouts of killing and cries of fear filled the air.
i Village was near Tuman City and Hutou City. Located within the patrol range of the local military, it had rarely suffered the calamities of war. Whether it was incursions from barbarian tribes or feuds between forts, this place was seldom affected. Thanks to its business of running a ’highway service station,’ the people here lived quite well.
But the true rule of this world had never changed: if you decided to strike at others, you had to be prepared to be struck in return.
The fort’s defenses were breached from within; they offered no protection at all. Especially after the hundred most elite mbers of i Village were poisoned and annihilated in the hall, those who remained were rely a disorganized mob.
"Hey, Blind Man, do you know what I admire most about you?" Xue Three asked.
Blind Bei leaned his hands on the railing, pretending he could ’gaze’ at the scenery, and said, "I only know there’s more than one thing about worthy of your admiration."
"Hmph... Shaless."
"Hehe."
Xue Three stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck just a bit over the railing as if he too could enjoy the view, and continued, "Your ability to bullshit people—I really fucking admire that."
"Actually, it’s alright."
"How did you fool them? Especially that ’filial son.’ Damn, if I hadn’t known that you’d also sensed it—because there’s no way you wouldn’t have—I would have struck first and dealt with him myself. The way he endured humiliation and bided his ti, he could be sworn brothers with Goujian."
"It’s simple. I gave them what they desired. Hongba craves immortality. Especially after witnessing A Ming’s undying body, he’s beco a complete fanatic."
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