Chapter 171: Retribution

Slash!

White blade in, red blade out!

Scalding blood spurted forth, splattering across Zhao Quan’s entire face, making his cheeks feel strangely “warm.”

The sudden scene left everyone frozen in place!

Zheng Er was the first to snap back to his senses and was about to strike at Zhao Quan, but then he realized—the “bloodstained blade” was not in Zhao Quan’s hands!

Whoosh!

The blade carved a half-circle through the air right in front of Zheng Er’s face. If not for his foot slipping and causing him to fall backward, that single strike might have sent him straight to the afterlife.

The blade, which no one was wielding, moved of its own accord. Failing to take Zheng Er’s life, it did not pursue him further but instead turned and charged toward the other thugs!

“Ghost! A ghost!”

“That blade is being held by a ghost! How else is it moving on its own?”

“Run! Brother Zheng Er, run!”

“This is hell!”

Their panicked cries did nothing to save them.

The long blade, dripping with fresh blood, seemed to be firmly grasped by some unseen “ghost,” swiftly reaping the lives of the villains one by one!

In just a dozen breaths, the only one still alive at the scene was Zheng Er, who had wet himself in terror!

The blood-drenched blade angled downward, its crimson tip dripping blood along the snowy ground, forming a scarlet line that stretched all the way to Zheng Er’s feet before finally stopping.

“No! Don’t kill me!”

“My brother is Zheng Wuwei!”

“If you kill me, he’ll slaughter your whole family!”

“My brother can even kill ghosts!”

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The bloodstained blade struck Zheng Er’s body dozens of times before finally stopping!

Gulp.

Zhao Quan swallowed hard. He could feel someone gripping the blade, staring at him with piercing intensity!

At the same time, the blade that had once belonged to him was now pointing directly at him!

Clang!

The blade flew through the air and stabbed firmly into the snow right in front of Zhao Quan’s feet!

Terrified, Zhao Quan fell onto his backside, gasping for air as he stared intently at the blade before him.

“Big Sister Mao, come back with me.”

Mu Sheng took Mao Cuicui’s hand and led her away.

Mao Cuicui stared blankly at the long blade embedded in the snow, her expression indescribably complex.

What had just happened did not fill her with fear. On the contrary, for the first time, she felt an overwhelming sense of security.

Because, in that moment of blurred vision, she saw—the blade that had slain the villains was tightly gripped by Brother A’Yong.

At this moment, none of the constables even noticed Mu Sheng and Mao Cuicui leaving.

They remained standing stiffly in place, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. It took them a long while before someone finally broke the silence, venting their terror through curses.

“Hell! This is straight-up hell!”

“My neck’s freezing! Someone check—do I have someone behind me?”

“Who dares to look? Someone check my back too!”

The noise around him finally pulled Zhao Quan back to his senses. He felt a rush of blood to his head, making him dizzy, and instinctively turned his gaze toward the new grave beneath the old tree.

Faintly, he thought he saw a transparent figure standing before the grave. Though it was only an outline, the face that surfaced in his mind was unmistakably the stone broker Huang Yong.

Gulp.

He swallowed hard, trying to ease the suffocating tightness in his throat. Bracing himself with one hand on the ground, he pushed himself up.

His gaze swept toward Zheng Er…

At this moment, the once-arrogant and domineering “second-generation bandit” was nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

Regaining some clarity, Zhao Quan barked, “Shut the hell up, all of you! Is the problem here really the ghost?”

“The problem is that Zheng Er is dead!”

His words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over the terrified constables, jolting them back to reality.

Indeed, the supernatural was terrifying… but it hadn’t actually harmed them!

But Zheng Er was dead!

And Zheng Wuwei would undoubtedly take his revenge on them!

“We’re done for! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come! Now that Zheng Er is dead, we’re the ones who’ll take the fall first!”

“I’m not afraid of dying, but my family is still here!”

“No, I have to send my wife and kids away tonight! Zheng Wuwei and his men are beasts—falling into their hands is worse than death!”

“Yes! Pack up and leave Shanyang County overnight!”

The constables spoke anxiously, one after another, and as they talked, they all began turning away, ready to flee.

Clang!

“Stay right where you are, all of you!”

“If anyone dares to leave, I’ll cut them down myself!”

Zhao Quan drew the bloodstained blade before him and roared in fury.

Seeing this, the oldest constable cursed back, “Zhao Quan! You selfish bastard!”

“There were more than thirty of us earlier, but only a few of us came. And now that this has happened, you want to turn your blade on us?”

“So Zheng Er was right about you after all!”

“You’re just a bully among your own! A useless embroidered pillow—flashy on the outside but hollow inside!”

Hearing this, Zhao Quan’s forehead veins bulged as he bellowed, “Idiots! You’re all idiots!”

“This is Shanyang County! The bandits patrol day and night! Do you really think you can flee with your families without being noticed?”

“And if you’re caught, do you know what will happen?”

“Even if you confess everything, you’ll still die!”

“At least right now, the matter hasn’t been exposed yet—we still have time to figure out how to survive!”

The old constable knew Zhao Quan was right.

After a long sigh, he changed his tone and asked, “Then tell us—what should we do? Those of us who followed you here, even if we don’t talk about loyalty, at least we didn’t abandon you in battle.”

“We shouldn’t be the ones to suffer the most, should we?”

Zhao Quan sheathed the bloodstained blade and turned away. “First, clean up the scene. Take their bodies back to the yamen.”

“Report this to Magistrate Lu and see if he has a way to resolve it!”

With that, Zhao Quan stepped forward and began gathering Zheng Er’s corpse.

A moment later, the youngest constable hesitated before running up to help.

One by one, the other constables followed suit, cleaning up the scene and hoisting the corpses onto their shoulders.

Before long, they had gathered all the bodies, erased the bloodstains, and set off briskly toward the yamen.

“Your worldly karma is settled. Go to the underworld and report yourself.”

A calm voice drifted through the air.

It was Gu Ning’an—he had been standing beneath the old tree the entire time, hidden from the others’ sight by a spell.

“Thank you, sir!”

The ghostly figure of Huang Yong bowed three times to Gu Ning’an, his expression solemn.

“Sir, I can never repay your immense kindness. In my next life, I am willing to be an ox or a horse to serve you!”

Gu Ning’an waved his hand. “Go. I won’t be accompanying you. And don’t entertain any foolish thoughts of running away…”

“Sir, rest assured. My life may be worthless, but I would never break my word.”

Huang Yong hesitated briefly before continuing, “Before I leave, I have one last request. I don’t know if you would grant it.”

“Speak.”

“Sir, you possess great abilities… Could you help Cuicui forget me? Forget the past?”

“You think making her forget would be a good thing?” Gu Ning’an asked coolly.

Huang Yong was taken aback. “Of course. Those filthy, painful memories—it would be best if they were wiped away completely…”

Gu Ning’an nodded. “Fine. I’ll ask her if she wants to forget.”

“Sir, can’t you just erase them directly?”

“I’m afraid that, because of me, she might refuse to let go.”

“That’s her choice. Even if you believe it’s for her own good, you can’t make that decision for her.”

Huang Yong was silent for a long time before bowing deeply once more.

“Thank you, sir… I will take my leave now.”