The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 16 A Heart of Iron for Killing

As Zhou Yan gripped the knife, his heart began to race.

He had witnessed the abilities of those monsters, as well as Pei Xuanbao and Shen Cangming's methods, but back then he only felt amazement, not the intense desire he felt now, perhaps because of what Shen Cangming had said.

Perhaps, he too can possess this power belonging to the [Beacon Tower].

He gripped the knife, tucked it into his belt, and composed himself, then looked at the people lying on the ground groaning in pain, and asked, "Where are they, Uncle Shen?"

Shen Cangming's eyes remained expressionless: "Sell it."

Zhou Yan said, "Okay, Uncle Shen..."

"Ok??"

"and many more……"

Zhou Yan slowly raised his head, his face blank.

"Sell it?!"

…………

Those people were indeed tied up by Shen Cangming and then 'sold'.

The so-called sale was actually a ploy to have Zhou Yan deliver the goods to the county magistrate. The government had special officials to catch thieves, and they would post notices and offer rewards for certain fugitives and thieves.

When encountering criminals, ordinary people could also hand them over to the authorities, so the spirit of chivalry was extremely strong at the time; of course, if one randomly arrested people and sent them over for a reward, one would end up in jail and be punished even more severely.

Shen Cangming instructed Zhou Yan to find the official in charge of apprehending thieves.

Zhou Yan had a smooth journey. When he arrived at his destination, while waiting for the official to count his copper coins, he was idly counting willow leaves when he suddenly heard a series of cries. Curious, Zhou Yan looked around and saw several people crying as they came out of the government office.

A man was supporting a woman who was crying so hard she was about to faint.

"My child!!!"

"My child!"

The sound was so mournful and sorrowful that it immediately evoked pity in the listener.

The constable who was recording Zhou Yan's story sighed:

"Both my son and daughter have been abducted."

"Poor thing, poor thing."

Human traffickers... they deserve to die.

Zhou Yan felt sorry for them and asked, "Is it still possible to find them?"

The officer in charge of apprehending the thief said, "It's difficult. In this day and age, there aren't enough people to search for him. We can only put up a notice and see if any wandering knights will go and capture this person."

"Look, there it is."

He pointed to the notice next to him, and Zhou Yan looked in the direction he was pointing, then his expression paused for a moment.

He recognized the person on the notice; that face, those eyes. He even knew the owner of that face would speak with that kind, gentle voice. Zhou Yan read the name aloud and said:

"...Wang Chun".

Wang Chun was the guy who sold him to the demon market and even bought his human flesh.

He recognized that face; it was him who had started it all. A surge of pent-up anger made Zhou Yan grip the knife. The more desperately he struggled in the demon market, the closer he got to death, the stronger his frustration with Wang Chun became.

If that guy were in front of him, Zhou Yan would have chopped that bastard in the head without hesitation.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to swallow this insult.

This is what is known as murderous intent.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, determined to chop this guy into mincemeat.

Those people walked past Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan saw the deep wrinkles on the man's face, heard the woman's wailing, and saw their hands, which were calloused, rough, and simple.

The woman's body trembled like a leaf falling in the autumn wind.

He kept muttering something, as if he was begging a deity to save his life.

They appealed to the government, but the government was too busy to help. They pleaded with the wandering knights, but the knights shook their heads at what they could offer. They had no power, so now they could only pray to heaven.

It's not about worshipping gods or believing in gods.

But aside from the possibility that some ethereal deity might still have a shred of mercy, what other options are there? If not, should we believe that the child is completely dead? If so, then perhaps we should pray to the deity.

I bow to this absurd fate, I bow to this absurd world and its mercy.

The woman, being helped up, clasped her hands together and said through teary eyes, "Greatly compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, Greatly compassionate Lingguan Lord, I beg you, please save my child, he is so young!"

She kowtowed forcefully, and the official in charge of apprehending the thief felt a pang of pity, while the surrounding people gossiped among themselves.

She looked up, blood flowing down her face, blurring her vision.

Some laughed, some sighed, and some couldn't bear it.

She couldn't see their faces clearly.

She suddenly felt a pain in her chest, a sensation of the world churning, an instinctive nausea and dizziness, her vision blurred, and all sounds became hazy, distant, and muffled.

Then, she heard a tearing sound.

The slightly stifling and chaotic atmosphere was suddenly torn apart. "Huh?!!"

The constable was stunned. He looked up and saw the young man standing in front of the notice board. Zhou Yan had taken down Wang Chun's notice with one hand. He held a knife in one hand and the reward notice in the other. He felt the gazes of many people and took a deep breath.

He walked up to the officer in charge of apprehending thieves and placed the notice on the table.

"The bounty on this person."

"I took it."

The constable stared at the young man and said in a low voice, "This matter cannot be faked. Judging from your appearance, you don't seem to have any martial arts skills, and besides, those two children are probably..."

Zhou Yan said, "At least we can save these two people."

Besides, Wang Chun is determined to fight anyway, but martial arts, martial arts...

The officer who was arresting the thieves was stunned, staring at the middle-aged couple.

Looking at Zhou Yan again, the constable's expression changed slightly, and he stood up solemnly and said:

"Hero!"

As Zhou Yan picked up the copper coins to leave, the officer who was arresting the thieves reached out and pressed Zhou Yan's hand down. He then exchanged the coins for some more and said in a low voice, "Those were perforated coins and clipped coins. They are light. Brave man, please take these."

"Good money!"

Zhou Yan: "…………"

Damn you.

………………

Amidst the wailing and nearly kneeling of those people, Zhou Yan awkwardly and hastily fled, finally returning with a bag of rice and a large pile of copper coins, panting heavily. Shen Cangming was cleaning the horse's coat and counting the things he had brought back.

Shen Cangming said, "It has decreased."

Zhou Yan didn't understand these things, so Shen Cangming said, "In every larger town, there are officials who catch thieves. If a thief is caught, there will be a reward. As for the money of the reward, part of it is borne by the local government, and the other part is borne by the Pingzhun Bureau."

Zhou Yan said, "The Pacification Commissioner's Office?"

Shen Cangming said, "Yes, the imperial court controls market prices to prevent wealthy merchants from manipulating prices and to stabilize grain prices, so that low grain prices do not harm farmers and high grain prices do not harm the people. You can see a lot from the problems and changes in the prices set by the Price Equalization Bureau."

"If you ever need money in the future, you can try looking for these bounties..."

Zhou Yan sat down beside him, took out a bounty from his pocket, and placed it next to him.

Shen Cangming glanced at it, but didn't say anything, waiting for Zhou Yan to speak.

Zhou Yan said, "This is the enemy who sold me to the demon market, and today, I saw..." He recounted everything he had witnessed that day, finally exhaling and saying:

"I want revenge."

Shen Cangming asked, "How do you intend to take revenge?"

Zhou Yan gripped the knife, unsure if revealing his feelings would give Uncle Shen a bad impression, but he still answered directly:

"kill."

"He sold me to the demon market, and I want to get him back."

"Only killing is possible."

Shen Cangming nodded and said, "This is what he did to you, harming your interests and life, so it's only natural that you want to retaliate in a more brutal way. You can do that."

"Is there any other reason?"

Zhou Yan said, "He abducted children; he deserves to die."

Shen Cangming said, "This is compassion and morality, but if it is for this reason, you should not kill him. Instead, you should take him to the authorities and let him be executed according to the law. This will also serve as a warning to others."

"not enough."

Shen Cangming was tall and imposing, with sharp, angular eyebrows and eyes like tempered blades. Looking at Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan's heart pounded. He felt as if Shen Cangming was directly staring into his very soul. Shen Cangming said in a deep voice:
"What other reasons are there?"

Under such scrutiny and subtle pressure, Zhou Yan's experiences, anger, resentment, and pity all converged and transformed into the final, most essential, and purest thing.

Zhou Yan finally put down the knife, and the broken knife was placed in front of him and Shen Cangming.

The warhorse, which was chewing on bean cakes with its head down, twitched its ears.

He raised his head alertly.

It was pure killing intent.

Zhou Yan said, "I've seen many things he did, not just for me, but for others as well, and these things make me unhappy... I don't know, but perhaps, even if he hadn't sold me out..."

Even if it's just a fleeting encounter, or even if it's just knowing what this person did.

"I'll be unhappy too!"

"So, I'm going to kill him!"

It was no longer because of events, no longer because of other people, but for a purer reason: injustice breeds discontent. Shen Cangming looked into his eyes, slightly amazed by his rapid transformation and growth. A hint of softening appeared on his cold, hard face as he said:
"You are now qualified to wield a knife in this world."

"Starting today, I will practice martial arts."

(End of this chapter)