Stronger by Killing

Gu Zhan immediately turned his head to look at the Fat County Magistrate,

At that instant, the Fat County Magistrate shuddered all over, breaking out in a cold sweat,

Looking at Gu Zhan’s eyes as calm as still water,

He swallowed hard, feeling a wave of deep emotion in his heart,

He wondered just how many people one must kill to cultivate such a murderous aura!

The Fat County Magistrate gently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said softly, "Gu... Lord Gu, I’m not sure if this counts as a clue or not..."

"You don’t need to worry about that much," Gu Zhan said plainly, "You only need to say what you know. As for whether it’s a clue, I will judge that myself."

"Alright, alright,"

The Fat County Magistrate hurriedly said, "The day before the incident, Hundred Households You drank with me. During that time, he mentioned that he’d caught a few merchants, who might have been Mang Mountain Thieves in disguise.

When Hundred Households You first arrived at Youyang County to set up the Hundred Households Office, we hit it off right away. So he said, if it’s certain, he’d give me a share of the credit, which is why I remember it so clearly."

After speaking, the Fat County Magistrate looked at Gu Zhan eagerly and said, "Because Hundred Households You died, this matter was never investigated in detail, so I’m not sure whether it’s connected to the Hundred Households Office massacre."

"Mang Mountain Thieves?"

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Fat County Magistrate hurriedly explained, "Lord Gu, you may not know, but the Mang Mountain Thieves were formerly the Feiyu Army, always harshly suppressed by the Court and the Righteous Dao Martial World."

Mentioning the name Feiyu Army,

Gu Zhan immediately realized.

Five years ago, the late Emperor died, and a battle for succession broke out in Great Xia’s Capital City. Among those fighting, the Feiyu Army caused the biggest commotion, supporting Prince Ning’s claim to the throne. They fought all the way to the Imperial City, nearly killing the current Emperor and his associates of that time.

But at the crucial moment, no one knows exactly what happened; it’s only known that the Feiyu Army’s twelve Commanders-in-Chief were killed and Prince Ning committed suicide, bringing that grand struggle for the throne to an end.

Afterwards, the new Emperor purged the Feiyu Army,

Tens of thousands of Feiyu Army were slaughtered, but some still managed to flee the Capital City. Later, they scattered and drifted about, falling to the Demonic Dao and killing countless civilians. Not only were they hunted by the Court, but the Righteous Dao Martial World also sought to exterminate them,

Since then, the Feiyu Army dispersed everywhere and went completely quiet.

Now, according to the Fat County Magistrate,

It should be that a group of surviving Feiyu Army remnants hid in Mang Mountain, took control of the territory, and became bandits.

The Fat County Magistrate continued, "That group of Feiyu Army remnants took refuge in Mang Mountain and became known as the Mang Mountain Thieves. Because of Yunxi’s special circumstances, the Court eventually let it go, and the Righteous Dao Martial World did organize some extermination attempts in the first two years,

But Mang Mountain is just too vast and the terrain harsh, infested with bandits and easy to defend but hard to attack. The Feiyu Army hid in seclusion and never showed themselves, so the matter just died down. Still, the Feiyu Army has always been fiercely opposed by both the Court and the Righteous Dao Martial World."

Gu Zhan nodded,

He had also heard of the Feiyu Army; nowadays, they’re universally condemned, wanted by the Court, and branded as the Demonic Dao by the Righteous Dao Martial World.

The Fat County Magistrate sighed and said, "Back then, Hundred Households You also said that if it was certain those people were remnants of the Feiyu Army, and he followed the trail to more of them, that would be the greatest achievement imaginable, but who would’ve thought, sigh!"

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes and said, "You mean, the Hundred Households Office massacre is very likely the work of the Mang Mountain Thieves?"

Just then, Zuo Yang clasped his fists and said, "My lord, if it was the Mang Mountain Thieves, that would make sense. With their strength, they could absolutely massacre the Hundred Households Office, but..."

"But what?" Gu Zhan asked.

"But," Zuo Yang said, "the Mang Mountain Thieves couldn’t just come and go as they please. Without someone responding to them, they couldn’t have done the job so cleanly, and the Hundred Households Office couldn’t possibly have failed to notice them entering the city."

"Someone was providing cover for them."

Zuo Yang nodded, "Otherwise, there’s no way the Hundred Households Office wouldn’t have noticed. After all, besides the two hundred or so in the Hundred Households Office, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has set up plenty of covert posts throughout the city. How could they have avoided every line of sight?"

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes and said, "Who do you think in Youyang City could avoid the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s covert posts and cover the Feiyu Army to come to the Hundred Households Office?"

Zuo Yang said slowly, "The local noble families."

Gu Zhan nodded and said, "It could only be them!"

"Right, Lord Gu," the Fat County Magistrate hurriedly said, "I just remembered something else. After those suspected Mang Mountain Thieves were caught, the Dong Family sent someone to negotiate, saying those men were merchants there to trade with their Dong Family, and even offered to vouch for them, but Hundred Households You refused."

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes and asked, "What happened to those suspected Mang Mountain Thieves?"

"Dead," said the Fat County Magistrate, "Only a few charred corpses were found in the Hundred Households Office prison. Judging by their builds, they were those men."

Gu Zhan’s gaze turned icy and he said in a deep voice, "To the Dong Family!"

...

Youyang is in a special position, bordering two other county mansions, and not far away there’s a top-tier sect, the Lingxi Sword Sect, overseeing things. The level of commerce far outstrips that of Pingyang City, the prefecture seat.

This naturally attracted quite a few second- and third-tier powers to develop here, but the most successful are the few noble families. Without exception, all these families are deeply entangled with the Lingxi Sword Sect.

And the Dong Family is one of the biggest noble families in all of Youyang.

At this moment,

Inside the ancestral manor of the Dong Family, a host of high-ranking members rushed into the study of the Patriarch Dong.

"Patriarch, that Gu Zhan is already on his way to our house with his men!" an old man said anxiously, "Gu Zhan’s a living god of slaughter—the dozens of gangs in Pingyang City were wiped out by him, including Red Flower Society and Juyi Manor, those big gangs not a bit weaker than our Dong Family!"

"Exactly, Patriarch, Mang Mountain has gone too far this time! They did all the killing, but dumped the mess on us. We told them again and again not to kill, but they wouldn’t listen!"

"Those people from Mang Mountain really don’t play by the rules. We warned them—Pingyang Prefecture’s Embroidered Uniform Guard isn’t like before— but they wouldn’t listen. Now look what’s happened: Gu Zhan’s not someone who’s easy to deal with!"

Patriarch Dong was a refined, gentle-looking middle-aged man. He calmly instructed the servants to serve tea, then spoke slowly, "No need to panic, everyone. It’s natural to be wary of Gu Zhan, given his fearsome reputation—just think of that bloody night in Pingyang City. There aren’t many who don’t fear him. Still, here in Youyang, we have someone that even Gu Zhan dares not provoke, don’t we?"

As soon as Patriarch Dong finished,

All of the Dong Family’s senior members understood. Someone asked, "Patriarch, what’s Lingxi Sword Sect’s stance?"

Patriarch Dong gently chuckled, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s reconstruction—for the three great sects and four great noble families, it’s not about giving Gu Zhan face, but showing respect to the Sixth Young Master. Now that’s done, the Sixth Young Master doesn’t need to show deference anymore, so what does Gu Zhan count for?"