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Chapter 101 A Gathering of Heroes

Just as Lu Chen was watching the death row inmates test the medicine, in Shanyang Prefecture...

Black Kill Pavilion Headquarters.

The original body had already been removed and buried.

In this heat, it simply won't stay open.

A woman with a voluptuous figure stood at the spot where Lu Chen and his group had fought that day, looking at the traces of battle in the courtyard.

"The swordsmanship is superb; I've never seen such sword marks before!" Xiangfei's face was veiled in white, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye made her look very alluring.

However, at this moment her eyes were filled with hatred and madness, ruining that beauty.

"The skill in hitting the tip of the launched needle is extremely exquisite."

In her hand was a steel needle with a bent tip.

"The ground looked like it had been plowed out, with scrap metal everywhere—was it some kind of explosive concealed weapon?"

Standing before the large tree that had been destroyed and broken by the debris, she stroked the scars on the trunk, lost in thought.

Looking at the pool of blood and deep slash marks on the ground, and stroking the crater, Xiangfei's tear mole at the corner of her eye was bright red and seemed about to drip: "He's incredibly strong, capable of turning a person into a bloody mist. Even I can't do that. Is this person a specialist in body tempering?"

"Furthermore, there was no trace of this person using internal energy throughout the entire courtyard. Could it be that he only used physical strength to fight from beginning to end?"

She had this absurd idea, then shook her head and dismissed it.

That's impossible.

She knew Meteor's strength; if she wasn't careful, even she would get injured. She didn't believe that anyone in the world could slaughter an entire Black Kill Pavilion with just their physical strength.

Even if a martial saint came, it wouldn't work!

"How did he do that? Who is he? Where is he? Where is he!"

Xiangfei tried to recreate the battle scene, but she always felt that something was missing.

"Of all the people I know, there are fewer than five who are skilled enough to be proficient in both swordsmanship and concealed weapons. Three of them are unlikely to have done such a thing, and the other two have neither the reason nor the time—who is it? Who is it?!"

She let out a roar, and blood trickled from the corners of her narrow eyes.

"If none of these five are it, then a completely new and powerful expert has appeared! Who has a grudge against my Black Kill Pavilion? The Lin family? The Sun family? No, no, it can't be them. Their methods are different!"

Xiangfei looked pained, then suddenly frowned.

She remembered something small.

"In other prefectures, there hasn't been a complete annihilation of the Black Killing Pavilion, but recently, the Black Killing Pavilions in Shahu County and Yuncheng County were wiped out one after another! And it seems the killers used concealed weapons in both cases!"

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

This unfamiliar expert is very likely not from out of town, but a local expert!

"The fact that the Black Killing Pavilion in Shahu County was the first to be involved in an incident suggests that this person is very likely from Shahu County, or from the surrounding area!"

The white veil on Xiangfei's face moved without wind, and her black hair flowed freely.

Go to Shahu County and Yuncheng County; you might find more there!

She left barefoot.

When they left the city, the group of five were covered in dust and grime. They entered Shanyang City and just missed Xiangfei.

The middle-aged man at the head of the group suddenly narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Xiangfei's back.

"It's nothing." Uncle San shook his head, watching the figure disappear into the distance. "Let's go, let's find an inn to stay in first."

In the Shanyang Prefecture government office, Prefect Fang Jian looked at the seemingly respectful but actually disregardful eunuch before him with a gloomy expression.

"Was the tax increase His Majesty's idea or the Empress Dowager's? Is the Prime Minister aware of this?"

He suppressed his anger and questioned Li Ying.

Li Ying is the eunuch in front of me.

He was fair-skinned and beardless, with triangular eyes and a delicate, feminine appearance. He was slightly hunched over, with a smile on his face.

"Lord Fang, I just wanted to let you know that the north has been plagued by war for years and there is a shortage of food. The Empress Dowager is also concerned about the soldiers in the north. I heard that Shanyang Prefecture has done well under your leadership in the past two years, with a bumper harvest. That's why she has put some more responsibility on you. The Empress Dowager still thinks highly of you."

Fang Jian's face twitched.

"I need to submit a memorial to His Majesty and inform Prime Minister Sima of this matter. It makes no sense for Shanyang Prefecture to bear the burden of the border soldiers' food rations alone, especially at a rate of one-tenth of the tax; this is tantamount to forcing them to their deaths!"

He said in a deep voice, his anger rising rapidly, wishing he could beat this damned eunuch to death on the spot.

This "one-tenth tax" doesn't mean paying only one-tenth of the grain tax annually; rather, it means adding one-tenth to all existing taxes.

Taxes were already heavy. In good years, people could still have some grain left over. But in famine years, many people sold their children and land, becoming slaves.

These past two years have indeed been blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests in Shanyang Prefecture. However, it is precisely during these years of plenty that we need to store up more grain and silver to prepare for years of famine.

Even in years of plenty, there are no good harvests. If a year of disaster comes, how will they survive?

"This is the Empress Dowager's decree. If Lord Fang has any objections to the Empress Dowager, you can speak to me, and I will pass on your message!"

However, we are determined to buy this grain. If Lord Fang does not cooperate, someone else will naturally do so!

Li Ying smiled and waved the imperial edict stamped with the seal in her hand.

Fang Jian clenched his fists, took a few deep breaths, and had no choice but to bow and accept the imperial decree.

According to the rules, the Empress Dowager's edicts could only govern the affairs of the inner palace and the imperial clan, and should not interfere in politics. However, the current situation is special. The Empress Dowager holds great power, has troops under her command, and many nobles support her.

He sighed inwardly, pondering how to minimize the impact of this tax increase on ordinary people.

"Second Young Master, based on the information you provided, we analyzed a lot of news about Shanyang Prefecture along the way and discovered a problem!"

-

In a secluded courtyard in Shanyang Prefecture, a burly man with a leopard's head, round eyes, a swallow's jaw, and a tiger's beard bowed to Yang Ce, who was sitting in the seat of honor, and said...

This man was eight feet tall, with a robust and imposing physique. He wore a blue brocade robe and had a shrewd and wise look in his eyes that was completely different from his appearance.

"Oh, Uncle Zhan, go ahead and speak!" Yang Ce immediately stepped forward and spoke.

Yang Zhan took out the intelligence collected by the Yang family and marked it on several pieces of paper.

"Here, in Shahu County of Shanyang Prefecture, is the first case of the Black Killing Pavilion being wiped out. At the same time, a county lieutenant was murdered at home. Both places bear the bloody name of the Flying Eagle Caravan."

"What does this have to do with the person I was talking about?"

Yang Ce was puzzled.

What exactly is the Flying Eagle Caravan?

never heard of that.

"The perpetrator in both cases may be the same person! And there were traces of concealed weapons at the scene."

Yang Ce became more serious.

"Following that, the Black Gang and Flying Eagle Horse Gang in Shahu County, as well as the Black Killing Pavilion and Flower Gang in Yuncheng County, all showed similar traces. I have reason to suspect that it was all done by one person!"

"This person committed numerous crimes in Shahu County, and the origin of everything is this place. This person, and even the experts behind him, are very likely from this place!" He said with certainty.

"Perhaps he had family or friends killed or captured by these gangs, which is why he went on such a vicious rampage!"

A hint of sarcasm appeared on Yang Zhan's face: "This guy is probably new to the game, yet he has quite a sense of justice, huh!"

"Uncle Zhan, do you think it's possible that these two aren't the same person? The person you're talking about should be different in strength from the one I know, right?" Yang Ce pointed out the problem.

Yang Zhan laughed: "Of course, young master, you said that the person you met was extremely powerful, at least at the peak of the Innate Realm, and he also destroyed the Black Killing Pavilion in Shanyang Prefecture. He shouldn't be so stingy as to take action against a small gang in the countryside."

"But!" he changed the subject, "it's impossible for someone to suddenly become a master without any prior training or knowledge!"

Yang Ce nodded.

Without proper breathing techniques, at best one can only reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and it's impossible to break through to the Innate Realm.

"Therefore, I suspect that the murderer in those cases in Shahu County and the person you met, young master, are very likely the same person, or more likely, they are in a master-disciple or father-son relationship!"

"You mean—if we can't find this person, then we'll go find his family? Use his family to force him to show up?" Yang Ce slapped his thigh, extremely excited.

Yang Zhan nodded with satisfaction.

Young master has grown up!

"That's right. Since this person is so mysterious, and we don't know where he is or who he is, let's force him to come out on his own!"

"If a cultivator at the peak of innate ability is difficult to deal with, how can a body-tempering martial artist not be difficult to deal with?"

Yang Zhan said with a smile.

"So, Uncle Zhan, what are your plans?"

"Go to Shahu County, lure that hot-blooded young hero with a strong sense of justice, and once we catch him, our young master's enemy will naturally be caught!"

Yang Ce smiled, looking quite pleased.

"Then who should we ask to seduce him?"

"Hehe, young master, since we know that the so-called young hero may be from the vicinity of Shahu County, then we should naturally use people from Shahu County as bait."

"I specifically checked the records. Previously, Qingnu captured a batch of goods from Shahu County and sent them to Shanyang Prefecture. He originally planned to refine them, but coincidentally, the alchemist was refining another batch of spirit pills, so the timing was not right. In addition, the Black Killing Pavilion has recently lost a lot of people and needs to replenish its ranks, so they took that batch of people and prepared to train them into assassins."

Yang Zhan continued, "I've already instructed them to bring them over; they'll arrive in three days. We'll use them as bait. If this person is truly from Shahu County, given his character and behavior, I don't believe he can resist! This plan will be foolproof!"

Looking at Yang Zhan's confident demeanor, Yang Ce suddenly felt a little uneasy for some reason.

Why does this sound so familiar?

However, after looking around, he felt at ease.

With such a powerful lineup, there's no way there can be any problems!

There were quite a few of them this time.

Yang Zhan, a servant of the Yang family, possesses the strength of the Lesser Completion of the Yuan Realm.

Brother Sha, with the strength of the entry-level Yuan Qi Realm, has a fierce personality and is skilled in the Blood Battle Blade Technique. He grows stronger with each battle and once single-handedly killed a general of the Northern Barbarians who was at the minor completion of the Yuan Qi Realm. He was originally at the minor completion of the Yuan Qi Realm, but his realm declined due to injury. However, he is still not to be underestimated.

The maid, Piaopiao, was over forty years old, but looked no different from someone in their twenties. Her lightness skill was extremely graceful, and she was at the peak of the Innate Realm.

In addition, he also took away his elder brother's three guards, all of whom were at the peak of the Innate Realm and skilled in combined attacks. The three of them together would be difficult for even a peak Innate Realm expert to withstand.

With such a strong team, he refused to believe they couldn't avenge themselves!