Sweep Yuan

Chapter 28 The Chaos Has Only Just Begun

Upon hearing Shishan's words, the station patrons all shrank back and fell silent, none daring to stand up and express their resolve.

Managing a station riddled with internal conflicts requires far more than just a few people kneeling in front of the ranks.

Beyond these management personnel, there were many more station chiefs and even ordinary station staff who did not receive salaries from the imperial court but instead acted as accomplices to the wicked.

Although the station servants were government-employed slaves of the Yuan Dynasty, they themselves were divided into rich and poor, high and low classes.

The rich curry favor with the upper class by giving them money and goods and keeping an eye on the lower class, while the poor have to bear the heavy burden of their relocation.

The oppressed station households did rebel, but their rebellions were far less frequent than those of ordinary households, and the scale of their uprisings was much smaller. Before they could escalate, they were suppressed, followed by even more brutal exploitation.

No one could be sure that the Red Turban Army leader on the stage would really stand up for them and let them kill Wang Baiyin and the others.

Moreover, these traitors who act as accomplices to the tyrants all have families to support; are we to kill them all?
It should be noted that after this battle, only about twenty people actually died on the battlefield. The Master Shi on the stage was a great philanthropist who even went to great lengths to treat the wounded enemy soldiers. Could he really be so ruthless as to eliminate them completely?

Ishiyama had anticipated this outcome, but since the situation was already under control, he wasn't in a hurry to wait for a response.
If the people of Huxi Village, who are of the same clan and lineage, could abandon Hu Pingren's family, then the conflict at Chulan Station, which is even more acute, is definitely not a stagnant pool. Beneath the surface of calm, there must be turbulent undercurrents.

Sure enough, not long after, someone stood up in anger. It was Wu Liujin, who had been in a daze ever since his wife was killed.

"This damned world should have been overthrown long ago! If you ask me, none of these heartless corrupt officials should be spared! Kill them all! Kill them all!"

For his meritorious service in identifying and capturing prisoners, Wu Liujin was arranged to sit outside the prisoner's quarters. At this moment, he was embracing his deceased wife, his body covered in blood, his eyes bloodshot, and he was shouting these words through gritted teeth, his expression ferocious and terrifying.

But in Shishan's eyes, it was the most beautiful scenery in the world—the indomitable cry of the oppressed!

"Very good! A true man should dare to stand up and shout out his indomitable spirit."

It's difficult to stir up the numb emotions of the lower classes, but once the first person steps forward, a second and a third will soon follow...

"Last winter, my father was beaten to death by Chen Sili for shortchanging his father by half a liter of horse feed. If I don't avenge this, I will be unworthy to be a son!"

This man was Zeng Xing, the station keeper who had secretly opened the station gate. He was arranged by Shi Shan to sit next to Wu Liujin.

"Alright! I'll take care of this for you!"

With such a role model, the station staff, who had long harbored resentment, finally could no longer hold back.

"The envoy was supposed to offer food and drink to the visiting envoys, but the king, with a disdainful look, presented my little Dou'er with this! This damned king, Dou'er is only eight years old! Waaah—King, you disdainful look! I want to drink your blood and eat your flesh!"

"Besides these corrupt officials, there's also Yuan Tong, that lackey, who's always tipping off the postmasters and supervisors. He should be killed too!"

"Yes, and Ma San too. He got himself into a lowly official position and treated us like pigs and dogs. He can't be allowed to stay!"

"You, how could you slander someone's innocence for no reason?"

"Hmph! Which one sent their own wife to the envoy's bed? You have the nerve to claim innocence? You're worse than a pig or a dog, killing you would be too good for you!"

"you you--"

"Kill them! Kill all these beasts!"

Seeing the surging emotions of the grassroots workers below the stage, Ishiyama decided to add fuel to the fire.

"Good! Very good! If we want to restore the world to its rightful owners, then everyone should stand up and rebel against this damned world! Those who want to join us in this rebellion should not hesitate."

He paused, then pointed to the kneeling Red management team in front of him, his tone chilling: "Kill them now and prove to me your resolve to rebel!"

The weapons in the soldiers' hands were confiscated at the end of the battle, and Ishiyama has no intention of returning them to them for the time being.

Clearly, the only way to take revenge on the corrupt officials and their lackeys who had oppressed him for years was to rely on his own body and use the most primitive, bloody, and barbaric means of retaliation.

Without hesitation, some residents immediately took action.

"Kill, kill them!"

"Kill the corrupt official!"

"what--"

Amidst shouts of killing, Wu Liujin was the first to act, aiming two fingers at Wang Baiyin's eyes.

Zeng Xing followed closely behind, lunged at Chen Sili, and bit him on the neck.

The stage was instantly filled with blood and screams, and more and more prisoners began to stir. All the bullying, oppression and injustice they had suffered in the past were released at this moment.

Punching, kicking, pinching, biting, and even swallowing the bitten flesh raw.

The woman who was crying out about the murder of her daughter Dou'er was pushed out of the crowd and unable to get close to Wang Baiyin, so she pulled out the hairpin from her hair and, imitating the private punishment of "piercing the ear," stabbed it hard into the ear of Liu Ji'an's wife.

An hour ago, the station guards were numb and allowed themselves to be driven away and slaughtered. Now, they have transformed into vengeful ghosts with bloodshot eyes, wanting only to take revenge using the bloodiest and most brutal methods they can think of.

The number of seats in front of the stage was ultimately limited, and there were fewer opportunities for the Red Guards to "prove their determination to rebel" among the prisoners. Only a few prisoners were able to squeeze to the front of the stage to carry out retaliatory actions.

Most people could only stand on the periphery, waiting anxiously for the guards in front to throw out blood-stained clothes and pieces of flesh from time to time, and then fight and tear them apart to vent their anger, or perhaps—fear.

Those station clerks who usually fawned over officials just to get a few scraps of food also wanted to "show their determination" to Shishan, in order to sever ties with their past.

But before these people could even get to the front of the stage, they were spotted by the station guards who had been tormented by them. The latter grabbed the former and punched them mercilessly. The cries of the victims did not elicit any pity from the attackers, but instead attracted even more avengers.

"Good bite! Bite them to death! Bite them all to death, don't let a single one escape! Hahaha!"

Tong Si'er didn't know anyone in Zhan Chi Nei, but she was unusually excited because she shared the same hatred as the lower-level station residents. She even forgot to count the supplies and waved her little fists and shouted wildly, wishing she could take their place.

The brush in Chen Cheng's hand fell to the ground. He turned around in horror to look at Tong Si'er, as if he were seeing a vengeful ghost about to burst out of the ground.

Once the brawls and killings among the lower-ranking station guards begin, this bloody feast of revenge completely spirals out of control.

In less than a short while, the once life-saving workshop had become a battleground for primitive beasts, and the numb and cowardly station guards had transformed into brutal demons who devoured human flesh and drank human blood.

The setting sun, like blood, cast a crimson glow on the red walls of Chulan Station.

Outside the barn, herbal healers sweat as they save lives, while in the center, fellow healers fight amongst themselves, creating an extremely bizarre apocalyptic scene.

The scene was so bloody and horrific that even some of the Red Turban Army soldiers guarding the perimeter could not bear to look. Shi Shan, who had drawn this bizarre picture with a single hand, remained standing on the platform, his expression growing increasingly cold.

He wasn't born cold-blooded, but rather he was acutely aware of a harsh reality:

The chaos has only just begun.

(End of this chapter)