Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

"Senior Pockmarked Face..." Zhang Zhiwei was speechless. Feng Ping's ability to give himself nicknames was getting more and more outrageous.

Seeing Feng Ping take the lead, Yan Yang and several other Huode Sect disciples also clasped their fists and bowed, saying in unison, "Greetings, Senior Zhang Mazi."

Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand casually, his gaze sweeping over the empty, messy living room and the neatly stacked account books, and asked in a flat tone, "Is everything divided up?"

"Reporting to Senior, the distribution is basically complete. All accounts have been verified and recorded."

Yan Yang answered respectfully, handing over a thick list at the same time.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't even glance at the list, nor did he ask how much money was left. Instead, he asked meaningfully, "How does it feel?"

Yan Yang paused for a moment, pondered for a moment, and then said sincerely, "I feel... much more at ease. But along with that ease comes a greater sense of confusion."

"Feeling grounded, yet not quite grounded?" Zhang Zhiwei aptly summarized his conflicted feelings.

“Yes,” Yan Yang nodded and said, “Thanks to your guidance, senior, this matter has touched me deeply. Jiudu is just a small place in Sichuan.”

"For ordinary people here, Luo Xinian and his brother, the county magistrate, would be a huge deal, but on a national scale, they are just insignificant nobodys."

"And what happened here is just the tip of the iceberg, not even the tip. The thought of how many similar or even worse sufferings exist in the world makes my heart ache. I want to do something, but I don't know where to start or how to do it!"

Yan Yang looked at Zhang Zhiwei, opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

Actually, if there weren't any senior or junior brothers around, he might have asked if he could join "Zhang Mazi" as well. Although everyone was condemning what Zhang Mazi and his ilk had been doing lately, he felt it was meaningful.

However, he belongs to a sect and cannot act so recklessly. If he were to say these words, it would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the Huode Sect.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with some of the elders in the sect, it was, after all, the place where he had grown up, where his relatives and friends were, and he couldn't bear to leave.

"Taking down Luo Xinian isn't enough, what else do you want to do?" Zhang Zhiwei looked at Yan Yang with some surprise. He didn't expect that his casual action would have such a big impact on him. Or rather, he had woken him up with a heavy blow. This was the real Yan Yang.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't realize that Yan Yang intended to follow him. Even if he had, he wouldn't have accepted it. Zhang Mazi's operation would end in Sichuan and wouldn't be promoted nationwide for the time being, since Xiao Shuai was about to take action.

Next, we need to unite all our forces to face the Japanese pirates. At this critical juncture, there's no need for me to cause trouble.

Most importantly, he lacked confidence in doing this well, so he could only try it in this small place. Let alone promoting it nationwide, even promoting it throughout Sichuan could encounter huge backlash.

Only truly virtuous people can handle such earth-shattering, transformative events properly.

Although Zhang Zhiwei considered himself very clever, brave, and resourceful, he felt that he lacked moral character in such matters and could only act rashly and do things that involved fighting and killing.

Even this land redistribution was just a spur-of-the-moment decision on his part.

His purge of the local landlords was not, in essence, for the benefit of the vast majority of peasants. After all, the world is now controlled by landlords; if you are given something today, you will be robbed again tomorrow, so it's meaningless.

He wanted to prepare for the upcoming major battle by eliminating the landlords who controlled various industries and were always ready to profit from the national crisis. He wanted to obtain a sum of money to fund the Sichuan-Chongqing army, and at the same time, fill the gaps with his own people to take over the landlords' businesses and create a stable rear area.

Therefore, once he has dealt with those tough landlords, Zhang Mazi's operation will be over, and there will be no point in Yan Yang following him.

However, Zhang Zhiwei was willing to point out a clear path for Yan Yang. He pointed northeast and said to Yan Yang:
"If you don't have an answer, then follow this road northeast all the way to Yanzhou City."

"Yanzhou City?!" Yan Yang's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "I've heard of it, I... I'll go there right now."

"Senior brother, we still need to go back to the mountain gate!" Xiao Wu reminded him from the side.

Yan Yang's attitude was firm: "You all go back first. I just said that I want to be alone for a while. I will go back naturally after I have figured some things out."

"Senior Brother Yan..."

Fengping wanted to persuade him again.

Yan Yang waved his hand to interrupt: "Junior Brother Feng, there's no need to say any more. My mind is made up."

Fengping looked at his senior brother.

After a moment of contemplation, the eldest disciple concluded that, in a sense, it was actually a good thing that Yan Yang did not return to the mountain gate.

As the senior disciple of the sect, he was much more mature than Feng Ping. He could see that Xiao Wu and another junior brother were indeed coerced, and even if someone came to question them, they could push all the responsibility away.

But Yan Yang is different. In his current state, it's hard for him not to run into trouble. Perhaps it's not a bad thing if he doesn't go back. The senior brother said:

"Junior Brother Yan, I respect your choice."

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior Brother!" Yan Yang said with a smile.

Seeing that Yan Yang was determined to go, Zhang Zhiwei reminded him: "If you set off, you must remember the meaning of the journey itself. The destination does not represent everything. The local customs, landlords and common people, bullies and bandits you see along the way are part of your journey. Before you reach the destination, use your eyes to observe their spirit and see if you can find the answers you are looking for."

Yan Yang nodded repeatedly: "I will definitely keep your instructions in mind. On this trip, I will only use my own two feet to measure the distance. I don't even know how to use any means of transportation."

"Nonsense! I'm telling you to travel, not to go through ascetic practices. Just be a normal person," Zhang Zhiwei said.

Yan Yang: "…………"

Zhang Zhiwei didn't continue on this matter. He changed the subject, saying, "It's time to honor my 'IOU'."

Yan Yang immediately gathered his thoughts and said, "Senior, after compensating the villagers, the Luo family's treasury has about 757,000 silver dollars and a number of gold bars left, all of which have been packed into boxes. Please check them, Senior."

He pointed to several heavy wooden crates in the corner. This was almost all the cash that Rossini could use; his greater wealth consisted of land, shops, and other real estate, which had already been returned to the people.

Zhang Zhiwei walked to the boxes, reached out and waved his hand, and the several large boxes vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.

The Huo De Sect members were not surprised by this scene. Given the strength displayed by the senior Zhang Mazi, it was quite normal for him to have spatial equipment.

After collecting the money, Zhang Zhiwei did not leave immediately. Instead, he suddenly struck, his movements as swift as lightning, pressing down on Yan Yang's crown chakra. His speed was so great that Yan Yang and all the surrounding Huode Sect disciples had no time to react.

"Let go of my senior brother!"

"Senior, what are you doing?"

"Don't be impulsive! Don't be impulsive!"

The reactions varied: some shouted angrily, others tried to persuade them, while Fengping stood in front of them, yelling that they shouldn't act impulsively. However, Fengping was overthinking it. Even without his intervention, his fellow disciples wouldn't have acted rashly. After all, they weren't fools, and they were aware of the difference in their abilities.

Yan Yang snapped out of his daze and immediately sensed the abnormality within his body. He quickly reassured everyone, "Don't panic! Everyone, don't panic! Senior... Senior isn't trying to harm me! He's helping me!"

As everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, they saw Yan Yang stretch out his hand, and a ball of golden flame emerged from his palm.

"Look, the Golden Fire is back. Not only that, I can feel that the... I... the talisman within me has... has been restored again."

Before he finished speaking, tiny flames escaped from his seven orifices, and his whole body turned into a ball of blazing flames with a "bang" and disappeared, only to reform five meters away.

Not only can he use Gold Flame, but he can even use Fire Release techniques!
Yan Yang was overjoyed to have regained his lost skill.

The other disciples of the Fire Virtue Sect looked on incredulously. They had never seen a conversion talisman destroyed, let alone a lost conversion talisman that could be regained without the sacred fire.

If someone can do something like this, who exactly is this Senior Zhang Mazi, and how capable is he?
"Although a few people ran away and I had to clean up their messes, I'd say you barely passed. I'm taking back the previous punishment!"

After saying this, Zhang Zhiwei turned to leave.

"Senior, stay!"

"Senior, stay!"

Yan Yang and Feng Ping spoke at the same time, but Zhang Zhiwei didn't stop. Right under their noses, he vanished like a dream.

The group stared blankly at the spot where Zhang Zhiwei had left.

Feng Ping seemed to be deep in thought. Although all the signs pointed to Senior Brother Zhang from Longhu Mountain, without seeing it with his own eyes, it was still just a guess, and he dared not be 100% sure.

Yan Yang bowed deeply to the empty space, his tone extremely solemn: "I will never forget the kindness of your guidance and life-saving grace today!"

"Senior brother, are you really sure you've decided to go?" Xiao Wu asked again to confirm.

"Yes, I have to go," Yan Yang replied decisively.

Seeing that he had made up his mind, no one tried to persuade him anymore.

"By the way, when that senior left just now, he said that he cleaned up the mess for the few who ran away. Does that mean that the county magistrate and that Ye Maoshan who escaped earlier were both dealt with by the senior?" said the senior brother of Huode Sect.

“That must be it!” Feng Ping said. “Otherwise, the county magistrate would have definitely caused some trouble after running away for so long.”

Yan Yang said, "Thanks to the senior's help in cleaning up the mess, if that county magistrate were still alive, the land we distributed might have been taken back. But now that he's dead, even if the new county magistrate is also a bastard, a new emperor brings a new court, and he has no reason to deal with the current situation. He's just annoyed for no reason... Senior Zhang Mazi!"

…………

…………

While the people of Huodezong were distributing land, Lü Ci was not idle either. He was dealing with two gangs of bandits supported by Luo Xinian and the county magistrate.

Don't underestimate the fact that the other party is just a county magistrate, whose strength is no match for a powerful warlord like Liu Mang. However, when it comes to using methods, he is in no way inferior.

He openly collects taxes and seizes land, while bandits secretly rob and plunder. He can even use the pretext of suppressing bandits to ask his superiors for money. The temple is small but the wind blows strong. They have figured out how to keep bandits around for their own benefit.

Lu Ci infiltrated the mountain stronghold. In reality, he entered openly and brazenly, and then used his Ruyi Jingo to kill the bandits before they could even see him. In this way, no one could see him. This was a perfect infiltration.

This principle was learned by Lü Ci and Zhang Zhiwei.

It was lunchtime, and Lü Ci soon arrived at the heart of the stronghold, the "Hall of Righteousness." Even before he got close, he could hear a great commotion inside, with people playing drinking games and hurling insults.

Lu Ci stood expressionless outside the hall, lightly tapping the wall with his fingertips. With each tap, an invisible, powerful force, like a venomous snake, pierced through the wall, meandered along the ground, and precisely struck the head of a bandit who was reveling in the moment.

He used great restraint, his strength was contained within, and he did not cause any bloody scenes of heads exploding. Those who were hit only trembled and then collapsed silently.

At first, the bandits assumed their companion had collapsed due to alcohol intoxication and mocked him for his poor drinking capacity. But as one after another, people inexplicably collapsed, the atmosphere gradually became eerie.

"This is... poisoning? The food contains..."

Before he could finish saying the word "poison," a surge of energy emanated from beneath his feet, traveled up his body, and finally exploded inside his skull with a bang, turning his brains into a mess.

This scene threw the bandits in the hall into complete chaos. They really thought there was poison in the food or drink, and they all bent over like shrimp, trying to induce vomiting, but to no avail, and more and more people collapsed.

In the midst of the panic, some people gave up resisting and lay on the ground waiting for the "poison to take effect," while others shouted and ran out of the hall. It wasn't that they had noticed Lü Ci; they wanted to rush out to find the antidote, a doctor, or perhaps they didn't want to find anything at all, they were simply running around in a state of utter confusion.

Which way should we go?

Lu Ci wouldn't let these bandits escape. He stood by the door, and when someone came out, he reached out from behind, grabbed their neck, cut off their voice, and crushed their spine.
These bandits were not extraordinary individuals; they were all ordinary people who only had a few guns and could bully ordinary people who had no weapons. However, in front of a ruthless person like Lü Ci, they couldn't cause the slightest disturbance.

He would crush each one that came out, the whole process flowing smoothly, as if he were killing a chicken.

…………

Moments later, corpses littered the ground.

Lu Ci walked into the hall, where there were still a few living people, all women. They were huddled together, trembling, looking at the corpses on the ground with both fear and pleasure in their eyes.

The pleasure came from the corpses on the ground, and the fear came from Lü Ci wearing a mahjong tile mask.

Lu Ci looked at the women in front of him without any emotion in his eyes. He had seen far too many of these kinds of things. In which bandit den were there not a few women who had been kidnapped and violated?

He pulled a wad of silver dollars from his pocket and threw it in front of the women:

"I am Zhang Mazi's man. We Zhang Mazi specialize in robbing the rich to help the poor. Now, you are free. Take the money, pack your valuables, and go down the mountain!"

Zhang Mazi's affair caused quite a stir, and even these women, living in a bandit's den, had heard about it.

Upon seeing Lü Ci's signature mahjong mask and being offered a way to survive and money, they had no more doubts. They knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly, and were moved to tears of gratitude.

If Zhang Zhiwei were here, he might have stopped them from kneeling. But Lü Ci did not.

He stood before them, doing nothing. A few kowtows were all it took to repay their life-saving grace; he could bear that debt. (End of Chapter)