The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1640 Looking for Death
Huoshan is too small; the town itself is only a few hundred meters in circumference. You can walk around the whole town in no time.

As prominent figures in the county, it was hard to miss that Yang Sanshui and his gang, including their leader Yang Sanshui, had all disappeared in just over a day. After all, they were usually very well-known and their presence was extremely noticeable. The sudden disappearance of not just one or two people, but none at all, naturally raised suspicions.

In particular, some people noticed the strange behavior of the three thugs. After they called everyone to the gambling den, those people never showed up again. And when they inquired about the situation with the lower-ranking thugs, they remained tight-lipped.

So those with vested interests frantically sought information, because the unknown terrified them...

Fortunately, Wang Yan was always a considerate and kind person. He didn't keep people waiting for long. On the third day, he made a public appearance with Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang.

Accompanied by a gang of thugs, they inspected gambling dens, opium dens, and brothels, and even shut down the opium den on the spot, converting it into a restaurant...

"The person who came here is not a good person."

Huo Shan, from the Huo Shan Martial Arts School, stood with his hands behind his back at the entrance, watching the commotion across the street. He was dressed in coarse cloth and short, stocky clothes, with bulging temples and sharp, piercing eyes—clearly a skilled martial artist.

"Master, we..."

Huo Shan asked, "Have you found them?"

"They're all dead. They were buried in a big pit in the ravine outside the city, thirteen people in total. They didn't use any fancy techniques, they don't look like they have any martial arts skills. They look so young, their hair hasn't even fully grown in yet, how much skill could they possibly have? Should we give him a try?"

“Then it wasn’t him. You can tell from his every step that he’s measured with a ruler that he has a solid lower body and is balanced from left to right, so his hand skills must be excellent.”

Huo Shan has practiced martial arts for twenty years, and his skills are quite good, as is his eyesight.

Or to put it another way, in the world of martial arts where bravery and fighting are commonplace, the fact that he can still stand here unscathed after twenty years speaks volumes.

After conveying his message inside the opium den, Wang Yan shooed all the opium smokers out. Amidst the commotion, he left the opium den and saw Huo Shan and his group diagonally opposite him.

Their eyes met, and Wang Yan stepped forward: "I see that this master has a restrained and imposing presence. He must be Master Huo from Tianjin."

"It is indeed I. I see that your movements are full of martial arts skills, so you must be quite skilled. May I ask how I am addressed?"

"My name is Wang Yan. I greet Master Huo." Wang Yan bowed respectfully.

Huo Shan returned the greeting and said with a smile, "Brother Wang doesn't like this hibiscus ointment?"

"That 'lotus ointment' is utter nonsense. Opium dealers are all sons born without an anus. I wonder what Master Huo's opinion is?"

"What advice do you have? Let me tell you, brother, this deal doesn't belong to Yang Sanshui, but to Yang Qianxiong, the big boss. This is a top-notch deal, and I'm afraid this matter won't end well."

"Thank you for the reminder, Master Huo." Wang Yan cupped his hands in greeting and asked with a smile, "I wonder if there are any bandits causing trouble outside the city or in the mountains?"

"I've been here for three years and haven't heard of any bandits." Huo Shan smiled. "This place is surrounded by mountains, with a small population and not very wealthy. Bandits would go hungry. Brother Wang is probably too young to know that those who keep their word in this world are not lowly bandits."

Just then, a series of rapid footsteps approached. Everyone instinctively looked over and saw a man in official robes leading the way, followed by more than ten constables, each carrying a sword, and some even holding spears.

The group of thugs and the onlookers instinctively dispersed, revealing Wang Yan and Huo Shan.

"You're the new guy?" The man in official robes glanced at Wang Yan sideways.

Huo Shan spoke considerately in a low voice: "This is Magistrate Fan Zhao, the clerk of this county."

"This humble one, Wang Yan, greets Fourth Master."

Fan Zhao snorted: "Someone reported that Yang Sanshui and his group have gone missing, and it's said that the last person they saw was you. What do you have to say about that?"

"I've heard that to catch a thief, you need to get the stolen goods. Fourth Master, it shouldn't be me speaking, it should be the one who 'rumors' speaking. The last person I saw was me, which means I killed the person, so he needs to produce evidence. There should be witnesses and physical evidence, right? Otherwise, I might as well say that this 'rumors' killed him. Fourth Master, don't you think that makes sense?"

Fan Zhao laughed, laughing at Wang Yan's blatant lies. Now, everyone who knew the news knew that Wang Yan had killed the man, and basically everyone knew that the body was buried outside the city.

He asked, "Then tell me again, why are all these men who used to follow Yang Sanshui now following you?"

"How would I know any of this? They all say I can help them make money, and they want to follow me and risk their lives for me. Don't you agree?"

Upon hearing Wang Yan's words, the thugs nearby echoed his sentiments, indicating that their master was right.

"Fourth Master, listen to these words, they come from the bottom of my heart." Wang Yan smiled, his face full of innocence.

Fan Zhao stared intently at Wang Yan: "Boy, you can't do whatever you want in this place."

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "We came from Hefei. My second brother didn't want to leave, saying Hefei was too prosperous. I said that place wouldn't work; there are too many important people there. It's too difficult to make a living peacefully. You might get into trouble for no reason one day and have nowhere to turn for help. If you kill someone and then run away, all your hard work will be for nothing."

"It's so much better here in this small town. There aren't so many big shots, and the officials are much more amiable than in the provincial capital. It's just us little people struggling to make ends meet. Isn't that right, Fourth Master, Master Huo?"

"Are you trying to scare me?" Fan Zhao said ominously.

"Fourth Master, you've misunderstood. I'm just speaking from the heart. I genuinely feel this place is great. I've only been here three days, and I already have over thirty brothers following me, along with a gambling den, a brothel, and a loan shark business. All of this combined, even in this small place, is worth at least several thousand taels. My brothers are all very supportive of me."

Wang Yan shrugged and swept his hand over, while Zhao Erhu, Jiang Wuyang, and several thugs with knives gripped their knife handles tightly.

Fan Zhao glanced at it and scoffed, "You want to rebel?"

"Fourth Master is joking. I am just a peasant. I have only enjoyed a few good days and I want to live even better days. I don't want to risk my life."

Wang Yan chuckled, "To be honest, Fourth Master, I feel that Master Huo and the Bai family are more like rebels."

"Oh, really?" Fan Zhao laughed heartily. "Master Huo, did you hear that?"

"Fourth Master, how could I not hear you?" Huo Shan shook his head with a wry smile and cupped his hands to Wang Yan. "But I don't know why Brother Wang said that. If you don't give me an explanation, then I'll have to see what Brother Wang's tricks are all about."

Wang Yan said, "The other day I heard Yang Sanshui introduce the situation here. He said that there are four major forces in Huoshan: the three major families of Yang, Bai and Liu, and the other one is Master Huo's martial arts school."

"I wonder how opening a martial arts school has become related to rebellion?" "Rebellion is not just empty talk or a dinner party; you need men to lead you. Master Huo's martial arts school is thriving, with over a hundred men under his command, all skilled martial artists who have also worked as镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) and have mastered the art of combined arms warfare. If we were to truly rebel, these hundred-plus men would be more than enough for this area."

Huo Shan laughed heartily: "According to Brother Wang's logic, all the escort agencies in the world are probably going to rebel."

"Whether it's a rebellion or not, we don't know. Anyway, we know all sorts of people, and who knows which deity we're connected with? We're talking about the possibility of a rebellion, not who is planning one. Master Huo, look at Fourth Master, his face is getting ugly as we talk."

"Fourth Master, I have never had any intention of rebelling. Please don't overthink it."

Huo Shan quickly tried to comfort Fan Zhao, because Fan Zhao's expression was really bad at that moment.

Fan Zhao took a deep breath to calm himself down and asked, "What about the Bai family?"

"It was Yang Sanshui who said that the patriarch of the Bai family is a Buddhist, and the young master went on a study tour and became a believer in God. The two of them preach together. I heard that there's quite a stir in the south, it's the God worshippers, there's something called the God Worshipping Society, and there's also a White Lotus Society that believes in Buddhism. Yang Sanshui also said that the Bai family has dozens of guards and servants, plus the able-bodied men from the tenant farmers, so they can make up several hundred people."

Wang Yan seemed oblivious to everything, looking at the slightly trembling Fan Zhao with surprise, "Hey? Fourth Master, why is your face a bit dark? Oh dear, you're sweating too, take a look."

Fan Zhao stared intently at Wang Yan, but seeing Wang Yan's calm and composed demeanor, he finally looked away and left with a group of constables.

He had intended to give this upstart a hard time, but unexpectedly, he ended up being so frightened that he lost his composure.

Seeing Fan Zhao leave with his men, Huo Shan said, "Brother Wang is indeed a straightforward person. However, sometimes you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Otherwise, it would be bad if it caused any misunderstandings."

"I understand, Master Huo, you're really trying to scare me."

Huo Shan exclaimed and waved his hands repeatedly, "Brother Wang, you've misunderstood. I was talking about the Bai family; they're not to be trifled with."

"It's alright. The Bai family believes in Buddhism and God. Whether it's Buddha or God, they are all magnanimous people. Why would they hold a grudge against me?"

Wang Yan looked at Huo Shan with a smile, "Master Huo, do you think I'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't sleep!"

Huo Shan gave Wang Yan a deep look, then cupped his hands in a respectful bow, turned around, and went back to his martial arts school...

In some aspects, Huoshan County is even better than large cities like Hefei, such as the roads. As a place where generations have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, many of the streets have been well-maintained. Most roads in Huoshan County are paved with bluestone slabs.

In Hefei, and even in Beijing, only a few places have well-paved roads; most of the rest are dirt roads, which turn into mud pits on rainy days.

On the other hand, thanks to generations of accumulation, the houses in this city look quite nice from the outside, with white walls and blue tiles, especially those near the river, which look quite good.

Wang Yan led a large group of people around the city. This was a necessary step to let people know that he had arrived and that he had gained power.

After he had circled around and dismissed his thugs, he followed a young man to a house.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I smelled the aroma of meat.

Wang Yan took a deep breath: "Madam's cooking skills are quite good."

"Please sit down, please sit down. We've been waiting for you. Let's have a good drink together." Fan Zhao walked over enthusiastically and waved for the young man following behind to leave.

Wang Yan sat down at the table with a smile, letting Fan Zhao pour the wine. During this time, she also saw Fan Zhao's wife serving the dishes, as well as Fan Zhao's two children.

This was a small county, and Master Fan Zhao, the fourth master, was a low-ranking official with a meager salary and few other sources of income. He also had to bribe his superiors, so he wasn't particularly wealthy. In fact, even Master Fan Zhao wasn't as rich as Yang Sanshui. Therefore, his household had no servants or maids; all the work was done by his own family.

"The Fourth Master's family is so happy, it's truly enviable."

Fan Zhao shook his head with a wry smile: "It's like cooking oil over a blazing fire, it's already on fire, Brother Wang!"

"How dare I address the Fourth Master as a brother?"

"Oh, don't be so modest." Fan Zhao said with a mournful face, taking a sip of his drink first. "Brother apologizes to you. It was my fault today for standing up for the Yang family and causing you trouble. But to tell you the truth, I didn't originally intend to do anything. No one would act rashly if they didn't know your background. I just took money from the Yang family and ran an errand. Eat some meat, eat more."

There were quite a few dishes, including steamed chicken, fish stew with tofu, scrambled eggs, and steamed pork with rice flour, all authentic Anhui cuisine. Even Fan Zhao couldn't eat this every day, but his sincerity was evident.

Wang Yan, eating a chicken leg, said, "You're in too much of a hurry."

"How could I not be anxious? Brother, to be honest, after listening to what you said, I'm not sure about Huoshan, but the Bai family is most likely going to rebel. Moreover, the Bai family has very close ties with the county magistrate and the registrar, and I don't know if they're in cahoots. I'm afraid they'll be in big trouble soon. How can I not be anxious?"

"You probably didn't understand what I meant."

"What does that mean? It's a matter of life and death, what else could it mean?"

Wang Yan shook his head: "Huo Shan said if he were me, he wouldn't sleep tonight. He can always wait two or three days."

Ok?
Fan Zhao realized what was happening and gasped, "You mean they're going to attack you?"

"I didn't hide what I said, and besides, I've offended the Yang family. It's perfectly justified to make a move now. Who knows if it was the Yang family, the Bai family, or Huo Shan who was just angry and embarrassed? As for you, you'll have to wait and see if I live or die before you decide."

Now that I've said what I needed to know, everyone knows. And what's the result? You're the one who's most impatient. What would you do if I died today? You wouldn't be able to pretend to be ignorant then. Or... are you here to test me?

Meeting Wang Yan's meaningful gaze, Fan Zhao shook his head repeatedly: "Absolutely not, Brother Wang. If I really had any ideas, I shouldn't have shown up today. Who would have thought that you would say something so important so easily?"

Wang Yan shook his head again: "Look, you're still in a hurry. No matter how much I say, it's just talk. The Bai family hasn't really rebelled. If you jump out now, it's like hanging yourself in front of the King of Hell, you're asking for death!"

The phrase "seeking death" comes from drinking.

Fan Zhao shuddered, his face turning deathly pale...

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