A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Inside a brightly lit mansion on Diancheng East Street.

There were only four people in the living room, sitting around an eight-immortal table.

Sitting on the east side was a middle-aged man of medium height and stocky build, none other than Li Piaoling of the Guangzhou Iron Arm Martial Arts School.

"Lord Zhuang, our grand entrance into Diancheng to open an opium den is actually intended to lure out that blue-faced devil and eliminate him."

But yesterday you brought dozens of people into the city in full view of everyone, and today when you went out to inspect your business, you brought all of them along again. Isn't that a bit too ostentatious?"

Li Piaoling spoke in a deep, steady voice to Zhuang Chengxian, who was sitting on the west side, saying, "With so many men, all of them strong and armed, I'm afraid that Green-Faced Ghost is wary and won't show himself easily."

The legend of the Blue-Faced Demon has been circulating for three years in the surrounding three cities and seven villages, covering an area of ​​nearly a hundred miles.

Three years ago, the young master of Houji Dyeing Workshop in Tancheng forcibly took a female worker from the workshop. The female worker was violated and became increasingly thin after returning home, secretly crying and refusing to say more.

Her father saw that his daughter was crying so hard that she was almost blind. He tried his best to find out the truth, but to no avail. Instead, rumors came back from the city that his daughter was shameless and had seduced the young master of the house. The villagers all looked at her strangely and talked about her.

Enraged, the old man went to the dye shop to confront the culprit, only to run into the young master's gang of cronies who were out having fun. During the disturbance, the old man was shoved, causing him to fall and die at the bottom of the steps.

The government officials, having bribed the dye shop, concluded that the old man was being unreasonable and had fallen to his death, and took his body home.

Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, the female worker embraced her elderly father's body and threw herself into the river, committing suicide.

Such things are commonplace; a few kind-hearted people might sigh, but that's usually all that's done.

But that very night, a man wearing a dark green mask broke the limbs of the young master of the dyeing workshop in the brothel of Tancheng, hung him from the eaves with a hemp rope, and covered his back with a white cloth covered with bright red words of his crimes.

That piece of cloth, like a flag, fluttered in the sky above Tancheng, accompanied by the young master's screams, becoming an unforgettable night for many.

That was the first time the Green-Faced Demon appeared.

He was surrounded by a group of young men around the young master, and after a considerable struggle, he managed to defeat them and escape.

But when he reappeared three months later, he was a completely different person, ruthless and efficient.

The Wu family in Tancheng owned two rice shops, buying low and selling high, an opium den, and a gambling den. They were very wealthy, making a fortune every day. Every few days, several corpses would be carried out of the opium den, all of them dead from smoking. The people didn't investigate, and the officials didn't care. Human life was like grass, but money kept being made.

The second time the Blue-Faced Demon struck was in broad daylight. While Master Wu was inspecting the gambling den, he jumped down from the roof, ripped open Master Wu's stomach with a knife, and then jumped back onto the roof and left. Master Wu's henchmen didn't even have time to react.

Seven days later, the Green-Faced Demon struck for the third time, killing Scholar Zheng, who had taken over Master Wu's business.

The local government posted an arrest warrant, and the constables patrolled every night, but to no avail.

Three days later, however, it was heard that a murder had also occurred in Heyang City. The perpetrator was the same Blue-Faced Ghost, who killed a well-known local lawyer who specialized in handling cases for wealthy merchants. No matter if any member of a wealthy family was accused of rape, murder, theft, or hiring a murderer, as long as they hired this lawyer, they could be acquitted.

The lawyer had his tongue cut out; his death was extremely gruesome, shocking the entire city of Heyang.

The wealthy merchants were filled with apprehension, while the common people secretly rejoiced.

The three cities of Tancheng, Heyang, and Diancheng, the seven townships including Dawang Township and Huaihua Township, and more than ten nearby villages—all those with a bad reputation had been visited by the Blue-Faced Ghost.

In that very first year, thirty-seven villains were executed.

The following year, not only did the government and legitimate authorities investigate the whereabouts of this blue-faced ghost, but many people in the underworld also offered a high reward for his head.

But in that same year, the Blue-Faced Demon did something big.

He assassinated the magistrate of Heyang County.

In Heyang City, when it comes to the most evildoers, those wealthy merchants, boxers, and lawyers don't even come close; the most prominent one is this county magistrate.

This county magistrate took office in the fifteenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, which is 1889 in the Gregorian calendar.

In the year he took office, he used the pretext of Emperor Guangxu's investiture of his empress to add an extra congratulatory tax to Heyang City.

For more than a decade, the people of Heyang City have been filled with complaints and living in misery, secretly calling the county magistrate "three feet above the sky."

The magistrate of Heyang County knew that he had committed many evils and would be targeted by the Blue-Faced Demon sooner or later. He was accompanied by six guards when he went out, had constables guarding his yamen, had more than twenty strong young guards at home, kept more than a dozen wolfhounds, and had ten muskets at his disposal.

The blue-faced demon attempted to assassinate him three times, but failed the first time because a vicious dog warned him.

During the second assassination attempt, the Blue-Faced Demon seemed to have a great understanding of the habits of wolfhounds, killing them as easily as killing chickens. In the blink of an eye, he killed seven vicious dogs, broke into the study, and was scared away by the muskets.

The third time, the blue-faced demon used a sharpened long bamboo pole to throw it over the wall opposite the magistrate's house.

A bamboo pole pierced through the window, impaling two guards and turning them into bloody gourds. The magistrate of Heyang County was so frightened that he fled in all directions with his guards.

In the chaos, the blue-faced ghost, disguised as a guard with his face smeared with ash, seized the opportunity and slit the throat of the magistrate of Heyang County.

After this incident, the Green-Faced Ghost's reputation grew even more infamous. Those who were rich and heartless, who bullied men and women, not only feared him like a ghost or a god, but even ordinary people began to fear him. They no longer dared to regard him as a chivalrous knight, and secretly regarded him as a monster.

Some families even secretly set up memorial tablets for the Blue-Faced Demon.

The death of the magistrate of Heyang County alarmed the Guangdong Governor-General, who was furious and ordered a large reward for his capture.

However, even after the wanted posters on the wall were battered and tattered by wind and sun, there was still no sign of catching the Blue-Faced Demon.

The blue-faced demon continued to seek out evil, wielding his knife to kill, especially those who traded opium and ran opium dens; one by one, they would die.

By the third year, no opium dens dared to open in the surrounding three cities and seven villages. Those who had behaved badly were either killed or sold their property at a loss and moved to other places with their families.

But selling opium is a highly profitable business, and such a large piece of lucrative territory in the three cities and seven towns is really tempting.

General Nalando of Guangzhou set his sights on this place.

He personally invited three highly renowned boxers from Guangzhou, paid them a generous deposit, and promised them great profits, asking them to accompany his subordinate, the nominal admiral Zhuang Chengxian, to the three cities and seven villages to find a way to eliminate the Blue-Faced Demon.

The title of admiral sounds impressive, but a nominal admiral has no real power. Even someone like Zhuang Chengxian has to be polite to these three famous boxers.

Faced with Li Piaoling's question, Zhuang Chengxian first put on a kind smile on his thin, goat-like face and said, "Bringing these thirty elite soldiers is the general's idea, and there are naturally deeper considerations. Master Li, don't be impatient, let me explain."

You should know that in the past three years, almost everyone in the three cities and seven villages has been terrified by that blue-faced devil. We should disguise ourselves as wealthy merchants from out of town, and come to this dangerous place to seize the opium trade. It is normal businessmen to bring dozens of guards with us.

If we don't bring it, that blue-faced demon will become even more suspicious, and the ordeal will only drag on longer.

Li Piaoling's eyes darted around, and she nodded: "That makes sense."

"Moreover, Master Li doesn't need to worry that the blue-faced ghost won't dare to come."

Zhuang Chengxian raised his teacup with an air of self-importance, took a small sip, and said calmly, "Before we came here, the General had already reviewed the case files of those three cities and seven villages."

The masters were looking at the section on coroners' autopsies in the scroll, so that they could deduce the methods of the Blue-Faced Ghost from the traces of injury and have a better understanding of the situation.

I have little insight into martial arts, so I had to focus on other areas with a few advisors from the general's mansion. Among them were some situations that were very noteworthy.

For example, in the first year of his crimes, in addition to killing those big merchants, he also killed Li the Cripple from Dawang Township, Huang the Granny from Liushu Township, and others.

Compared to those big businessmen, the influence of these insignificant people is naturally a drop in the ocean and not worth mentioning. They have only done some trivial things such as starving their mothers to death, crippling their wives, poisoning their mute daughters-in-law, and abducting a few orphaned girls from out of town to brothels.

Neither professional assassins nor rebellious traitors would bother to pay much attention to these insignificant figures. Yet, the Blue-Faced Demon went after them one by one, killing everyone in these three cities and seven villages known for their wickedness.

Upon hearing this, Li Piaoling found it quite absurd and laughed, "Killing even old women and cripples? Could it be that there are truly people in this world who indiscriminately uphold justice, regardless of age?"

Li Piaoling and Zhuang Chengxian burst into laughter, and even the boxers sitting on the north and south sides couldn't help but smile.

There's no way around it, this assumption is just too ridiculous.

Even Wong Fei-hung, the most famous martial arts master in Guangdong a few years ago, who was skilled in both medicine and martial arts and could kick seven times in mid-air in an instant, each kick capable of splitting stone tablets, could only manage to keep himself clean and not associate with those who sold opium.

If he were to suddenly go down the street and kill all those unscrupulous merchants, villains, and old hags, people would no longer praise his reputation; they would only think he had gone mad.

In those days, from the mountains down to the seas, both at home and abroad, evildoers were everywhere, trading opium, which was even a legal business now recognized by the Qing government.

To kill all those damned people, how many knives would have to be broken? Unless it's a complete upheaval, a complete rebirth, how could it possibly be possible?

People born and raised in the Qing Dynasty are extremely rare; very few would even dare to entertain such a thought. To actually carry it out for three years is simply insane. There is no other explanation.

But after Zhuang Chengxian laughed, his face suddenly darkened, and he said, "But the person we're dealing with this time might actually be a real madman."

His expression changed, and the smiles of the other three gradually faded as well.

After a moment of silence at the table, the bald old man sitting on the north side finally spoke: "Then this blue-faced ghost must be quite young."

"really."

Zhuang Chengxian nodded. "The same analysis was made by the staff of the General's Mansion. There are also some other pieces of evidence. For example, after he assassinated the magistrate of Heyang County, several of the foreign guns that the magistrate had gathered were stolen."

Later, in several of his crimes, he directly killed his targets with a foreign-made gun.

The Blue-Faced Ghost's kung fu was not weak, but the older generation of boxers were very resistant to foreign guns. This was a deeply ingrained mindset, and there were almost no exceptions among the older generation.

Just like during the Boxer Rebellion, when the Boxers sometimes captured foreign guns, the big boxers absolutely refused to touch them. Some young men even thought that these things were Western monsters and should not be kept. Only a very few young people were willing to use them.

Zhuang Chengxian added, "Furthermore, those foreign guns didn't come with much ammunition. After the Green-Faced Ghost used it all up, he never used the gun again. He probably didn't have any way to get ammunition, which means he didn't have any complicated organizational support around him."

The dark-skinned, tall, and muscular man sitting on the south side then spoke up: "But judging from the coroner's examination results, this blue-faced ghost's skills have improved significantly."

It seems that this year they've hit a plateau, unable to unleash any more sophisticated techniques. For a young person to make such progress, they would undoubtedly have a mentor constantly guiding them.

This man had a northern accent; he was Wang Xiongjie, nicknamed "Iron-Toed Fire Dragon," who had come from the north to Guangzhou to open a school and teach students, and had made quite a name for himself.

People in Guangzhou all know that he has a keen eye for kung fu, and the conclusion drawn from the autopsy report should be correct.

Zhuang Chengxian praised, "Master Wang and General Wang share the same view. There must be a master by the side of the Blue-Faced Ghost, but this master has not shown any sign of appearing when the Blue-Faced Ghost was in danger several times."

It's highly likely he's an old boxer whose skills have declined, but whose insight and eyesight remain. Once we eliminate the Blue-Faced Demon, this old man is no threat.

The bald old man from the north also picked up his teacup. The teacup, which was the right size for an ordinary person, looked extremely small in his calloused hands.

"A young man with youth, talent, and ideas, but unfortunately a bit crazy."

He swallowed the scalding hot tea in one gulp, and as he opened and closed his mouth, wisps of steam escaped, his voice carrying a captivating and powerful tone.

"Then let's wait and see. This green-faced ghost will definitely come within three days. Once he comes, we'll let him know what kind of person he should be and what kind of things he should do in this world."

Going down the wrong path will lead to utter destruction.

click!

The ceramic teacup was seemingly casually gathered up by the bald old man's palm and crushed into a handful of sesame-sized crumbs, which spilled from his large hand and scattered on the table.

Crushing ceramic with bare hands is not difficult, but to make only such a soft sound and to crush it so finely indicates that there is no trace of harshness in the fist technique, a level that ordinary boxers cannot reach.

Li Piaoling's eyes narrowed, and he thought to himself: "That old bastard Zhu Changshou has been famous for at least thirty years, his physical strength should have been declining long ago, how come his kung fu seems even more refined? The bonuses General Nalan promised him are probably much more than what I received."

As Li Piaoling turned his head, Wang Xiongjie also turned his gaze away. The two looked at each other, their expressions and eyes mirroring each other perfectly.

Zhuang Chengxian was actually happier than the other two at this moment.

The more capable Zhu Changshou is, the more secure his mission will be.

Every time that blue-faced demon made a move, he would strike directly at the leader. Zhuang Chengxian was put in charge of this matter. Although he was trusted by the general, he was also acting as bait.

However, apart from Zhu Changshou, what truly put Zhuang Chengxian at ease was the thirty elite soldiers patrolling various parts of the mansion.

As is well known, the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners were long gone, mere paper tigers. The Guangzhou General was said to be able to control the military power of the entire Guangdong province, but apart from the impressive number of troops under his command, in terms of actual combat, he was probably no match for the Boxers of yesteryear.

The Guangzhou general was well aware of this, and for the sake of his life and family, he kept a group of elite soldiers under his command and trained them well.

These thirty men were transferred from there. They were all graduates of Western-style schools, of extremely high quality, and what was even more remarkable was their unwavering loyalty to the General of Guangzhou. They were ruthless in their burning, killing, looting, and strictly obeyed orders.

The foreign guns they were equipped with this time were high-quality items that the Guangzhou General had just purchased from the Americans this year.

Several years ago, the Americans fought against the Spanish and suffered losses in firearms. They painstakingly developed this batch of new guns, which are more powerful than the old-fashioned foreign guns. Each gun costs fifty taels of silver, not including ammunition.

When test-firing, the gun could still penetrate a thick wooden target wrapped in three layers of cowhide from fifty paces away.

More importantly, this gun has a novel design. Untrained people don't even know how to fire it, so they don't have to worry about the green-faced ghost snatching it away and posing a threat to their side.

Zhuang Chengxian stroked his long, thin beard and took a sip of tea with a smug look on his face.

Everything is ready; all that's left is for that green-faced demon to take the bait.

………………

The lights were still on in the mansion.

Beyond the dark courtyard wall in the southeast corner, a head wearing a bluish-black mask suddenly appeared, coldly staring at the mansion.