Traveler Major League

Chapter 315 It’s him
The night was like a heavy piece of black brocade, covering the entire county town tightly. The moonlight was blocked out and there was dead silence all around.

An eerie silence permeated the streets of the county town. Occasionally, the sound of dogs barking seemed particularly abrupt in the empty night, adding a sense of eeriness.

The mansion of Master Xiao was brightly lit, forming a sharp contrast with the dead silence outside.

Inside the courtyard, Master Xiao sat upright on the armchair, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm, and a chilling aura emanating from his body.

In front of him, kneeling was a man covered with wounds. He was the brother who came from the mountain to the city to deliver a letter to Han Yuechuan.

The man's clothes were torn and the bloodstains were shocking in the dim light.

"Tell me! Who are you? What are you doing here?" Master Xiao slammed the table so hard that the teacup on the table bounced high up. The scalding hot tea splashed out and fell on the precious sandalwood table, leaving a dark stain.

The man closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth tightly, like a silent statue. No matter how Master Xiao threatened him, he didn't say a word.

When Master Xiao saw this, a ruthless and resolute look flashed in his eyes, and he winked at his men beside him.

In an instant, two burly men holding red-hot irons slowly approached step by step.

With a "hiss", the pungent smell of burnt flesh instantly filled the air. The man could no longer bear it and let out a heart-wrenching howl of pain. The sound traveled far away in the silent night.

Late at night, in the study.

"It turned out to be the bandit Han Yuechuan!" Master Xiao's hands were shaking violently with excitement. He had grasped a huge handle. "No wonder, no wonder he acted like this, how could there be such an official!" He finally realized that everything could be explained.

Master Xiao wrote a secret letter overnight and sent it to Xi'an, asking his son, who was an official there, to use the secret to bring down Han Yuechuan as soon as possible. He should not be afraid of spending money and must act quickly to avoid any further complications.

In the days that followed, the apparent calmness of the county was finally broken.

The person who came from the mountain to report the news said that the brother who had gone to the city to deliver the letter had not returned yet.

When Master Zhang heard this, his heart suddenly tightened and his expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly pulled Han Yuechuan aside, took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said in a low voice: "It seems that the situation has changed. I'm afraid our secrets have been exposed."

Han Yuechuan's face darkened and he immediately sent people to investigate, but found nothing. He only knew that there was no news of the man after he left the city, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.

At night, the tense atmosphere became more intense, like an invisible net that tightly bound everyone.

"Let's run away!" Master Zhang's face was filled with fear, and his voice was trembling a little. His relatives were all in the city. This was a matter of life and death. Once exposed, the consequences would be disastrous.

"What a joke!" Han Yuechuan frowned, his expression determined. "I rode into the city on horseback to be an official with great dignity. I have an imperial decree. Even if I have to leave, I must ride out of the city with dignity. Tomorrow morning, I will interrogate Xiao in court at the county government office, find out his crimes, and execute him. Let the people see how I eradicate this big bully!"

"It is certainly glorious to do so, but I am afraid of the time..." Master Zhang still has a worried look on his face and is hesitant to speak.

But Han Yuechuan had made up his mind, and Master Zhang could only make suggestions but was powerless to change it.

Early the next morning, Han Yuechuan sent Du Shaoling and Yu Ting to deliver a letter to Mr. Xiao's house, inviting him to a banquet. This was their plan. As long as Mr. Xiao dared to come, they would immediately arrest him and ransack his house.

The story told by Lao Kong came to an abrupt end here.

"And then?" Chen Feng listened intently, his face full of anxiety, and asked hurriedly.

"Then?" Old Kong laughed coldly, his laughter full of vicissitudes and sadness, "The Xiao family is a large family with many men. Since they knew Han Yuechuan's background, how could they go to the Hongmen Banquet? Du Shaoling, Yu Ting and others were surrounded by the Xiao family's men and surrendered their weapons. Mr. Han was imprisoned in the rear county government office by Mr. Xiao and all the gentry in the city, and he couldn't even take a step out."

"It was not until half a month later that the Xi'an Provincial Government sent people to investigate the matter. They found out that Han Yuechuan was indeed a bandit who forged his household registration and resume to buy an official position. There was evidence of both witnesses and objects. A month later, he was ordered to be executed immediately."

The setting sun was as red as blood, and the bluestone road was filled with the turbid tears of the people who were seeing them off.

The executioner tied Han Yuechuan's arms behind his back and the rough hemp rope cut deeply into his faded blue shirt, leaving bloody marks.

The execution ground in the southern suburbs was only three miles away, but the escort team felt like they were walking on thorns. Every step was extremely heavy, and it took them half an hour to walk. The newly painted ghost-head knife shone with a cold light in the twilight, and that cold light pierced people's hearts.

The sound of suona was like crying and tearing every tile of the roof. The silent people built a wall of sadness with their eyes.

"Make way!" The bailiff swung his whip, sweeping across the incense table and fruit offerings on the street, causing the fruits to roll all over the ground.

An old woman tremblingly held up the wine cup, and turbid tears dripped into the wine. She poured the wine into the ruts of the prison cart, and the wine was instantly swallowed up by the yellow earth.

A child in mourning clothes held up a steamed bun. The oil paper wrapper still had traces of being scorched by last night's lamps, bringing a hint of the warmth of worldly life.

"Master Han!" The cloth shop owner pushed the soldiers away, rushed to the prison van, and handed a full bowl of liquor to Han Yuechuan's cracked lips.

As the wine mixed with blood slid down his throat, Han Yuechuan saw the white hemp tied to the wind chimes on the eaves - it was the hemp rope he had untied from the shopkeeper's beam when he collected donations last year.

Things in this world are unpredictable, and now it has become a farewell item.

The crowd suddenly parted like a tide, and the sedan chair of the new county magistrate stepped closer, crushing the ashes of paper money on the ground.

"It's past three quarters past noon!" The gavel slammed down, and the sound like tearing cloth startled a flock of jackdaws. The dusk slowly enveloped the city like linen soaked in blood.

With the blade raised high, Han Yuechuan took a last look. He saw the lame night watchman hiding behind a locust tree and secretly wiping his eyes, he saw the white velvet flowers in the hair of the tavern proprietress, and he saw the faded umbrella of all people fluttering on the city wall.

It was the people's reluctance and concern for him, and also a testimony to his short official career.

Lao Kong's voice suddenly got stuck in his throat, as if choked by sadness.

"He just left like that." His cracked fingertips unconsciously rubbed the corner of his clothes, his voice hoarse, "The blue cloth shoes stepped on the incense tables of thirty-six households, crushed the liver and gallbladder of the elders in seventy miles..."

When Chen Feng heard the sound of his Adam's apple rolling, his heart was filled with shock and grief.

When Lao Kong talked about this, tears blurred his eyes, his face drooped under the light, and he was still muttering: "Gone, gone!" It was as if Han Yuechuan was still in front of him, calmly going to die. A closer look showed that his tears had already fallen, wetting his long beard.

Chen Feng and other listeners were silent, immersed in the sad story told by Lao Kong, unable to extricate themselves.

"So what happened to Master Xiao later?" Chen Feng couldn't help but ask again.

"He's dead, killed by Du Shaoling and Yu Ting. It's not their fault. If they hadn't defected, Lord Han wouldn't have survived, and they themselves would have died. Later they were able to take revenge, so it was an explanation." Lao Kong's voice was a little hoarse, revealing fatigue and helplessness, as if telling this story had exhausted all his strength.

"Where is Master Zhang?" Chen Feng asked again.

"Master Zhang? Alas, after Han Yuechuan was arrested, he saw that the situation was not good, so he crawled through a dog hole to save his life. I heard that his family was robbed at home, and all his family members died at night, leaving only him alive."

"Later, he did not leave the county town immediately. He risked being beheaded and quietly mixed in with the common people. He saw Han Yuechuan off before quietly leaving.

"He is old and no longer has the energy to seek revenge. He can only hide away. Of course, what else can he do? He can only muddle through the few remaining years of his life..."

"Well, Master Zhang might be him." After a long time, Chen Feng suddenly realized and whispered to Cheng Dong.

"Well, it's almost right. You heard him talk about many things, but if you hadn't experienced them yourself, I'm afraid it would be difficult for him to describe them so vividly!" Cheng Dong nodded in agreement.

"Indeed." Chen Feng agreed, thinking that Lao Kong's tears all over the floor were the best proof.

However, Chen Feng was just making random guesses. No one asked Lao Kong. Why bother uncovering his painful memories? Just let the pain settle slowly with time.

(End of this chapter)