Chapter 132 – The Task Is Complete, Drawn into the Mass Grave’s Ghost Domain - Part 2

Four days later.

Viewed from above, many of the households in Autumnlake County had their doors shut. A group of lightly armored soldiers went door to door, knocking loudly and shouting.

“Open up! Time to pay taxes!”

“You used to pay the Mountain Gang, but now things have changed—you pay us!”

“Open this door!”

If a resident opened up, the soldiers would barge in and seize anything of value—calling it

tax collection

or labeling it

suspicious property

that needed to be confiscated. If they found a young woman in the house, they would leer at her. Though they might not grab her right away, they had plenty of ways to coerce the family into giving her up. Only then would they relent.

Some officers were even more brazen. If they found a beautiful girl, they’d haul her off on the spot, claiming she might be part of the Mountain Gang remnants and needed to be

investigated

. Everyone knew what fate awaited her.

As for families who refused to open their doors, the soldiers simply kicked them in.

Scenes like these played out across the county, everywhere you looked. The local people lived in constant fear but had nowhere to run, forced to endure this torment. The soldiers behaved this way because their superiors allowed it.

Zhao Xiantong, once a Red Lotus Rebel, now lorded over these newly conquered territories with his men. In his mind, they deserved to reap the spoils together, using Autumnlake’s wealth to reward their efforts.

At that moment, the short man was soaking in a bath, women draped on either side of him. A tall young woman stood in front, forced to endure his every whim.

By now, Zhao Xiantong was convinced more than ever that returning to enjoy a fief of his own was the right call. The Central Plains might be more prosperous, but it was also more dangerous; one wrong move there could be fatal. It was far safer here, and besides, having reached sixth rank, he figured his 200-year lifespan entitled him to some pleasure.

Together with General Mammoth, Zhao Xiantong now essentially controlled both Bluepond and Autumnlake—the land, the money, and the women were all theirs.

Laughing heartily, Zhao Xiantong reached out and snatched the hem of a maid’s dress. She had been bringing him a tray of wine, and he yanked her into the water with a splash, ignoring her terrified screams. Then he pulled every woman in the room over to him and announced gleefully, “Let’s play a little game.”

Before long, Zhao Xiantong wrapped a black cloth over his eyes. The maidservants scattered in all directions, laughing nervously as he blundered around trying to grab them. Whenever he caught someone, he pounced right then and there, taking his pleasure with her on the spot.

Amid this raucous commotion, a light cough suddenly sounded from the back of the house.

Zhao Xiantong tore off the cloth and eyed the women. “You lovely things wait right here,” he said with a smirk. Throwing on a black robe, he opened the rear door.

Outside stood a man as solid as a bronze statue, General Mammoth, watching him with a cold, stony gaze.

“What’s this about, General?” Zhao Xiantong asked, frowning slightly.

In a low voice, General Mammoth said, “When you hunted down the Mountain Gang survivors, did you miss one—the young lady of the Mountain Gang, Ming Shu?”

“Ming Shu?” Zhao Xiantong rubbed his chin, trying to recall. “Doesn’t ring a bell. The ones I chased down were captured and hauled off to the mass grave. I tried to force them to reveal the Mountain Gang’s vault, but they were stubborn. I chopped down more than half of ’em and left a couple alive in the dungeon to interrogate further.” He paused, scowling. “So what’s the big deal about this Ming Shu?”

“Our men sent word. She’s hired some escorts in Gemhill County and plans to lure us into an ambush at the Mountain Gang’s hidden vault,” General Mammoth replied.

Zhao Xiantong snorted. “I bet Blood Scissors told you that? Come on, Ming Shu’s not even seventh rank, right? She’s basically doing us a favor, leading us straight to their treasure. Once I get my hands on her...” He adjusted his belt with a wicked grin.

Then he changed topics, dropping into a casual tone. “Anyway, we’ve got a decent handle on what’s happening in Gemhill, Flowerpath, and Southsky. There’ve only been a couple of ghost domains cropping up—one at a carpenter’s shop in Flowerpath, another in the black market over in Gemhill. Hardly any casualties at either place, so the chance of them spawning these undying husks is practically zero.

“Still, those three counties formed an alliance. Apparently, they’re protected by someone called the Blood Blade Patriarch. No one seems to know exactly who he is, but Blood Scissors thinks the sect master of the Blood Blade Sect, Tie Sha, might have the answers. He also suspects it could be connected to one of their elders named Li Yuan. Tie Sha isn’t weak, but Li Yuan supposedly has family and property. Maybe in a while we can grab a few people from his tavern business and squeeze some answers out of them.”

General Mammoth shook his head. “Not yet. Don’t start seizing people until we know exactly how strong that Blood Blade Patriarch is. No sense stirring up unnecessary trouble.

“However...” His expression turned icy. “Don’t be fooled. I fully intend to strike. Those three counties are no small prize. If we manage to swallow them up, we can greatly expand our power base. Who knows how many foot soldiers they could provide? For you and me, that’s the real key to securing our future.”

Zhao Xiantong grinned. “A well-thought-out plan before action—no wonder you’re the general.”

General Mammoth said, “I suspect that Blood Blade Patriarch is investigating us as well. Keep your eyes open.”

As they spoke, a maid suddenly rushed over, handing them a letter with trembling hands and lowered head. “M-my lord, someone shot this onto the door with a dart just now...”

Zhao Xiantong took the letter and reached out to grope the maid before waving her away, then offered the letter to General Mammoth.

The general shot him an icy glare. “Control yourself.”

A fleeting look of resentment passed through Zhao Xiantong’s eyes, but he simply smiled and said, “Your advice is noted, General.”

General Mammoth tore open the letter, then let out a cruel laugh. “We were just talking about Ming Shu, and here she is. She’s set a meeting place and says only one person can go; otherwise, she’ll vanish. So who’s going, me or you?”

Zhao Xiantong shrugged. “No need for you to step in. I can handle this. If it’s just one person, so be it. I’d like to see what trick this girl is trying to pull. The meeting place looks close to the mass grave, though. Heh... So all this time, they’ve been hiding the vault near the mass grave and never said a word.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next evening.

Nightfall brought sweltering heat, followed by a sudden downpour whose droplets hammered the ground like arrows. Sheets of rain filled the air, and the entire county echoed with the sound of rushing water.

Seated in a teahouse, Li Yuan silently observed the tumult of Autumnlake. Unlike Gemhill, Autumnlake’s proximity to the southern mountain wilderness lent a primal, ancient freshness to the air.

Leaning against the table, Li Yuan dozed with a pot of tea and a plate of fruit. A faint flicker of the blood veil across his skin was enough to deter any troublemakers from coming too close.

Overhead, two white finches circled—one trailing just behind the other—as they kept watch on the young lady of the Mountain Gang. Meanwhile, the seven other mercenaries had all chosen to stick by Ming Shu for the chance at the vault. A thousand taels of gold was too tempting to pass up.

Yet Ming Shu wasn’t in a hurry to reveal the vault’s location, saying she needed to wait for her intended target to appear. The others were getting impatient, pressing her to act, but she only answered with a gentle smile and told them to trust her timing.

“She’s not foolish,” Li Yuan thought. “She must know that even an oath on one’s inner demon can be unreliable.”

Indeed, Li Yuan had long found the notion of such oaths questionable. Anyone could mouth the words while silently telling themselves,

I don’t really mean it.

Would it still hold any weight?

And so, Ming Shu continued to dangle the Mountain Gang vault as bait, waiting for her quarry to take the hook.

Li Yuan, in turn, was using Ming Shu as his own bait. Of course, if all went well, he planned to take over the Mountain Gang vault afterward; he was hardly wealthy himself. And once he got his hands on the vault, capturing Zhao Xiantong and General Mammoth would just be a matter of course, serving as a convenient form of

payment

for his efforts.

The higher one’s cultivation rank, the more money it took to sustain further advancement. At this point, even the income from the Ginger Tavern and distillery wouldn’t cut it. Li Yuan needed funds, lots of them.