Chapter 129

  Youzhou, You Prefecture City.

  The city of Youzhou was not originally called by this name. This city had its own name, but since the king of Youzhou, Yang Long, sat in this place, it represented the entire Youzhou. Gradually, when people mentioned it, they thought of the three words "Youzhou City", and when mentioning Youzhou City, they would think of Yang Long who sat in this place.

  Yang Long's appearance did not resemble that of a military general, but rather that of a Confucian scholar. He often wore a plain white robe with a fan in his hand and a sword at his waist, riding in a sedan chair instead of on horseback. His build was also not tall and large, becoming even more frail as he aged.

  In a side room of the city master's mansion, the light was dim. On the altar, there were rows of memorial tablets. With the faint light from outside, one could make out the names on them...

  Zhou Yu, Qin Lei, Mu Renyi, Chang Feng, Li Shan, Pang Hu... The last name seems to be: Han Hujue...

  Yang Long sat cross-legged in front of the coffin, with a long sword placed on his leg, and a jug of wine and several bowls by his side.

  "Old Han, you're gone too. We were brothers from the same camp, and now I'm the only one left."

  "Chang Feng was the first to leave, back then we were all just small soldiers. Later, as our official positions grew bigger and bigger, the number of troops under us increased more and more, but the brothers by our side became fewer and fewer."

  "Lao Han, you're really something else, I'm so envious of you. When you leave, there's still me to see you off, but when I leave one day, there won't be anyone to see me off."

  "Brother Tiger, wait for me, I'll bring back the enemy's head and offer it as a sacrifice in front of your spirit."

  Yang Long stopped holding his cup, drank all the wine in the bowl, then stood up, grasped his sword and strode out of the room.

  The sunshine outside is quite good, and a group of people stand with their hands hanging down.

  "My lord!"

  "It's windy outside and we don't want to catch a chill, let's go to the warm room to talk."

  The house was not very big, with a kang burning inside, and a servant came in with a charcoal brazier to warm it up. Before long, the warmth spread throughout.

  "My lord, as per your orders, I have sent out the message and notified the bandits in Youzhou City to gather at Fengyutai. The name list is here, please review it, my lord." said Li Shan, the military advisor of Youzhou Prefecture.

  Yang Long stopped pacing and sat down on the kang, waving his hand: "Sit down, everyone, no need to stand. Let's take a look at the name list first."

  "My lord, these bandits are just a motley crew, they have committed numerous evil deeds in the past. If we really take them under our wing, won't it tarnish your reputation?"

  Yang Long tapped his fingers on the kang table: "Good things have good uses, bad things have bad uses, and even trash may not be useless. The key is how to use them. The banditry in Youzhou has been rampant for some time now. This group of people can never become our own, using them to hone our blade is fine too. Moreover, Qingniu Mountain..."

  "Your Excellency, I have been to Qingniu Mountain. Now it is under the control of a man surnamed Cheng. He has a very good attitude and seems eager to repay your kindness."

  "Hmm, it seems like a clever wall grass. Alright, let the military advisor meet him at the Wind and Rain Pavilion. If he's really useful, give him a small job. If not, then so be it. I won't attend this time, let the military advisor deal with these rustic people."

  "Yes!"

  "Uncle!" The door suddenly burst open, and a tall, burly man walked in: "A group of bandits, just wipe them out, why bother with so much trouble. Uncle, give me 500 soldiers, within a month I'll eliminate them all, and it'll be a simple matter."

  His name is Luo Tie, he is Yang Long's adopted son. He is extremely arrogant and looks down on everyone else. He dares to barge into Yang Long's place, and he is the only one who does so.

  Yang Long stopped and pouted, saying helplessly: "Get out, get out. These past few days have been watched closely, don't let him go to Fengyutai."

  ……

  Youzhou's thousand-mile land, once winter arrives, more than half of the people's energy is gone. Small households worry about food and clothing, while large households huddle in their homes, unwilling to venture out in this weather.

  The rules of a big family are many, and the young ladies in the boudoir are not allowed to go out easily. Only on the Lantern Festival and Qixi Festival can they go out for a stroll. Youzhou is even more secluded, with fewer entertainment activities, making life even more boring.

  A certain unnamed mansion in Youzhou City, inside Miss's embroidery building.

  The corpse of the maid on the ground, blood flowing all over the floor, and in the embroidered bed, the young lady of the house was stark naked, with a handkerchief tied around her mouth, but also completely naked.

  "Good girl, don't cry out loud, or your parents will come and scold you again, it's not worth being heartbroken."

  On the bed, a pale-faced man leaned against the headboard, his expression was a satisfied fatigue and complacency, playing with a delicate dagger in his hand. As he spoke, the dagger made a beautiful circle in his hand, cutting off a strand of hair from the young lady's forehead.

  Swallows fly alone.

  There is a notorious thief on the Youzhou Road, relying on his excellent lightness skills, entering homes as if no one was there. Relying on his good lightness skills, he also doesn't partner with others and does business alone, so he doesn't take anyone seriously. However, few people in the Green Forest know that Single Fly is not only a thief but also a flower thief.

  These years since his debut, he has harmed countless young ladies. However, such matters, even if they occurred, are considered family shame and cannot be made public. When teeth fall out, swallow them into the belly; when arms break, hide them in sleeves. Even if someone is driven to death, the family will fabricate a reason like "falling into a well" to deceive others.

  The young lady fell onto the bed, her face as white as paper from fright, but she couldn't utter a single word, only tears dropping down one by one.

  "I heard that the Yang family is going to make peace with the brothers on the An Dao road. Once I've gone and become a general or something, I'll come to your house in broad daylight to propose marriage. At that time, I'll also marry one of his thirty-odd concubines, so don't get angry, no matter what..."

  A lone hand suddenly slapped on the woman's shoulder, and Chi Guo's body trembled with unspeakable terror in her eyes.

  "You're the eldest son!"

  Having said that, Shan Fei let out a strange laugh and jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night after a few leaps.

  ……

  A wild man crosses, a thatched hut, a fishing boat moored on the frozen water.

  "Xiao Er's frostbite hasn't healed yet, if it continues like this, his leg will probably be crippled. Now the river is frozen, we haven't done any business for over half a month." In the thatched hut, a middle-aged man puffed on his tobacco pipe, tapping the bowl on the table: "Half a month ago, when we did that deal, we killed the woman and child, but let that man escape, otherwise we could have held out for a few more days."

  He lit another pack of cigarettes, took a deep breath and said: "This time the surname Yang wants to surrender us, I don't know what evil intentions he has, but in short it's an opportunity, at least we can eat our fill. Let's all go to Fengyutai to try our luck."

  Inside the thatched hut, there was no lighting, only the glow of the tobacco pipe flickering on and off. The man smoked while imparting life experiences to his several sons.

  In the distant wilderness, a hand stretched out from an abandoned tomb...

  Far away, on the top of Fierce Tiger Mountain, a fierce man opened his eyes in his sleep, turned over and rubbed his eyes to continue sleeping, with two large axes placed at the head of his bed.

  The King of Youzhou issued a single decree, and the dormant path of Youzhou was stirred. Many demon kings opened their eyes in hibernation, thinking of the same thing.

  Ten days later, Fengyutai Pavilion.