Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: Death to the Assailants
The moonlight was dull in the dark sky.
The wind fanned the flames, and the glow of the fire painted the sky red. It also cast a red light on Su Mu’s grim face.
The chaotic sound of footsteps and the clamor of screams and cries filled the alleyways.
The joy of mastering Skin Quenching was completely washed away by the blaze.
Su Mu didn’t know if the powerful Martial Artists of this world could extinguish a massive fire with a wave of their hand, but he certainly couldn’t.
He had desperately used his saber to hack down two walls, barely managing to halt the fire’s spread, but that was the absolute limit of his abilities.
By now, the courtyard he rented had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
The neighboring houses had also burned and collapsed, their owners’ faces filled with terror, too devastated to even weep.
Most of the families living in this alley were poor commoners.
For a poor family, losing their home to a fire was like the sky falling down.
They toiled day in and day out just to keep themselves fed and warm. How could they possibly have the extra money to rebuild their homes?
Without a home, when the harsh winter arrived, they would most likely starve or freeze to death.
The poor had such a small margin for error; a single disaster, natural or man-made, could spell their utter ruin.
Su Mu stared at the traces of fire oil on the ground. The arsonists clearly hadn’t cared about harming innocents. To ensure he burned to death, they had even splashed oil into his neighbors’ yards.
Otherwise, the fire wouldn’t have spread so quickly.
"How utterly brazen."
Su Mu muttered to himself, "Blatantly trying to assassinate a constable leader of the South City Bureau... Do they really think I’m such an easy target?"
A certain emotion in his eyes grew increasingly intense.
’I didn’t want to stir up trouble. I just wanted to lie low for a few days before heading to the Inner City.’
’But since you won’t let me have any peace, then none of us will have any!’
"Stop crying."
Su Mu walked over to his neighbors, who were sitting on the ground wailing, and pulled two silver ingots from his pouch, pressing them into their hands.
Thankfully, he hadn’t forgotten to grab his money pouch when he fled the fire.
The silver in his pouch had been exchanged from the silver notes Steward Xu had left him last time.
Su Mu had spent less than half of it over the past few days, leaving him with over two hundred taels.
After giving silver to the affected neighbors in amounts corresponding to their losses, Su Mu saw a familiar face.
Liu Hongyu stood awkwardly before Su Mu, her index fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
"Miss Liu, I’m sorry."
Su Mu connected the nervous girl before him with the one who had proudly suggested he become a constable. He wondered if she had ever found a suitor who met her standards.
The courtyard Su Mu rented had originally belonged to a cook named Liu Hai. After Liu Hai and his family met with disaster, Liu Hongyu, his only niece, had inherited it.
Su Mu handed two silver ingots to Liu Hongyu.
Fifty taels. It was more than enough to compensate for the small courtyard.
"This is too much..."
Liu Hongyu clutched the two silver ingots. By the time she worked up the courage to speak, Su Mu was already far in the distance.
Her eyes filled with dejection. ’If I had agreed to the marriage back when my cousin was still alive, would things be different now?’
’Instead, here I am, watching that heroic figure walk away, forever beyond my reach.’
...
「Guangfu Square, Xu Mansion.」
The Xu Mansion appeared unremarkable from the outside, but its interior was a different story, filled with pavilions and verandas, carved beams and painted rafters. It was only a slight step down from the estates of the great families in the Inner City.
"Heh, Steward Xu, that fire—even if it didn’t kill the brat—is sure to have taught him a lesson. He won’t dare act so arrogantly in front of you again."
A young man dressed as a household servant reported to Steward Xu, clearly trying to take credit.
"Daring to oppose our Xu Family in Guangfu Square... he must have a death wish!"
Steward Xu sneered.
BANG!
The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden, dull thud shattered the night’s silence.
"Who is the blind fool making that noise? If you disturb the Master, do you have a death wish?!"
Steward Xu’s face darkened instantly. With a flick of his sleeve, he strode toward the front courtyard, the source of the noise.
The household servants who had just returned from the arson followed close behind, rolling up their sleeves like a pack of sycophants.
When Steward Xu arrived with his men at the main gate of the Xu Mansion, he immediately saw the shattered door bolt on the ground and the gate hanging wide open.
A young man with a long saber at his waist was just stepping over the threshold into the Xu Mansion.
"Su Mu! Are you insane!"
Steward Xu shrieked. "Do you have any idea where you are?"
"South City Bureau business. All uninvolved parties, stand aside."
Su Mu’s tone was calm as his gaze swept past Steward Xu to land on the servants behind him.
The servants with their rolled-up sleeves and short clubs were the very same men he had glimpsed earlier.
He had been worried it would be a hassle to find the culprits within the Xu Mansion, but he hadn’t expected to meet them so easily.
The Xu Family had lorded over Guangfu Square for so long that they’d grown brazen, not even bothering to cover their tracks.
"Conducting an investigation? Here? In my Xu Mansion?"
Steward Xu laughed, enraged. "Go back and ask Zhao Ji if he would dare to conduct an investigation in the Xu Mansion!
"You must be blind!
"It seems tonight’s lesson wasn’t enough. You really won’t be satisfied until you’re staring at your own coffin!"
THWACK!
Before Steward Xu could finish, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. An immense force followed, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying backward uncontrollably.
"Steward Xu!"
The crowd of household servants scrambled to catch the flying Steward Xu, the momentum of the impact sending them staggering and nearly collapsing into a heap.
"For arson and assault, you are all under arrest."
Su Mu slowly lowered his right foot as he spoke.
"You bastard!"
Steward Xu felt as if his guts had been ruptured by the kick. He wiped the corner of his mouth and saw blood on his hand. He was about to lose his mind.
He might only be a steward, but he was the steward of the Xu Mansion!
Who didn’t treat him with the utmost respect on a daily basis? Even the bigwigs of South City were courteous to him.
When had he ever been beaten like this?
"Beat him to death!" freёwebnoѵel.com
Steward Xu shrieked. "Get him! All of you, get him! Beat him to death for me!
"Don’t be afraid! This is the Xu Mansion! If you beat him to death, I guarantee you’ll be fine!"
The seven or eight household servants exchanged glances, savage grins spreading across their faces.
They gripped their wooden clubs and closed in on Su Mu.
’Killing a squad leader... that’s something they could brag about for the rest of their lives.’
Watching the servants close in, Su Mu’s expression remained unchanged, as placid as still water.
"Add another charge to the list: assaulting and attempting to murder an Official."
Su Mu said, slowly drawing his saber.
"Get him! A country bumpkin who hasn’t even begun Quenching Body thinks he can run wild in the Xu Mansion just because he’s mastered some saber form?
"The sheer audacity!"
Steward Xu clutched his stomach, shouting, "I’m telling you, you can’t even defeat the servants of the Xu Mansion!
"All of you, attack! His clumsy little saber tricks can’t hurt you! Beat him to death with your clubs! I’ll give five taels of silver to every man who does!"
At the mention of silver, the household servants grew even more frenzied.
WHOOSH!
Several clubs swung down in wide arcs, whistling through the air.
Steward Xu was right. Someone who hadn’t even begun Quenching Body, even if they had mastered a saber art, could never defeat so many strong, able-bodied men.
"According to Da Xuan Law, for publicly resisting arrest and attempting to murder an Official, the punishment is death."
Su Mu’s voice rang out.
SHING!
A streak of white light flashed before their eyes.
