Chapter 223: A Brawl

Strangely enough, he felt as though he knew this girl, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall where or when they had met.

The girl made a series of gestures. Because a tree blocked his view, Li Zhao had to squint for quite a while before he finally realized that she was frantically pointing toward something.

That way?

He turned to look, and he saw a wall of floodwater charging in from the distance. The muddy torrent reared high, carrying with it the momentum of ten thousand warhorses.

“A flood! Run!”

His playmates screamed and bolted for the riverbank. But the Li brothers were still standing in the middle of the river, where the water already reached their waists. They could no longer run to the banks just as the other kids did.

Before they could make it to the riverbank, the raging current crashed right onto them.

Water closed in from every direction, forcing its way into Li Zhao’s mouth and nose, carrying clumps of grass, mud, and broken twigs. Every so often, he was tossed above the surface and could hear the horrified shouts of people on the banks.

Flailing desperately, his hand suddenly caught hold of a tree root.

This root, which had been worn smooth from years in the river, had become his lifeline. Li Zhao clung to it with all his might, and at that very moment, his older brother swept past and seized his leg.

Now both their lives hung from that same piece of root.

On the riverbank, the Li Family servants were in chaos, shouting and scrambling to find a way to rescue the two young masters.

Li Zhao coughed and choked on several mouthfuls of water before realizing in terror that the tree root could not withstand the current. It was starting to bend outward.

It was about to snap.

With a sharp crack, the root tore free, dragging with it a long strip of bark.

Both boys screamed in fright.

The bark still clung to the branch, but only loosely.

Li Zhao turned and shouted at his brother, “Brother! The root’s breaking free!”

But his older brother, who was usually so clever, was not listening at all. At the moment, his brother just screamed, “Pull me up! Hurry, pull me up!”

Each time he yanked on Li Zhao’s leg, the bark tore a little more.

At this rate, they would both die here.

Li Zhao glanced from the bark to his brother, then suddenly kicked down hard.

“Ah! What are you doing? Help me!” the older boy screamed. He clung fiercely to Li Zhao’s leg, but the younger brother only kicked harder, until one final blow landed square on his forehead. The older boy’s head snapped back, he swallowed a mouthful of water, and his grip loosened.

With that, the current took him.

Li Zhao burst into tears, clutching the bark as he clawed his way up the tree root.

However, he had barely climbed up a meter when something heavy tugged sharply at his waist, as though someone had seized him from behind with inhuman strength.

He looked back, and to his absolute terror, he saw his brother drifting amid the rushing water, his bloated, pallid face twisted in a grotesque grin. His eyes bulged from their sockets as he rasped, “I missed you so much. I couldn’t let you go. Come with me, little brother. Let’s be together forever.”

Li Zhao’s eyes widened in horror. Then he noticed that the “belt” around his waist, the one his brother had gifted him, had turned into a snake of water, its forked tongue flicking out.

Before he could react, the snake struck, sinking its fangs into his waist.

Li Zhao screamed in agony and let go.

A wave crashed over him and dragged him under.

He tried to struggle, but his older brother’s corpse wrapped him in a deathly embrace, pulling him straight to the riverbed.

He never knew how many mouthfuls of mud and weeds he swallowed. The last thing he saw was his brother’s swollen, ghastly smile.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Now we’ll always be together. Aren’t you happy?”

* * *

Dawn was just breaking.

Half-asleep, the two bedwarming maids heard Old Master Li’s throat making a strange wheezing sound. They did not think much of it. After all, it was not that odd for old men to make noises in their sleep.

But then the sound grew louder. The old man’s mouth gaped open, yet he could not breathe.

“Ah! The old master’s choking on phlegm again!”

The girls drew straws to see who would have to help him. The loser pouted, dawdled, and finally bent over to clear his throat.

It did not work.

Moments later, the entire Li Family estate erupted in panic. The old patriarch’s face had turned a deep purple, and nothing the family tried could revive him. Before the physician could even arrive, the old man stiffened and died. He was gone, just like that.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he had passed away.

Later, the family summoned a coroner from the local government office to perform an autopsy. The man fished out a lump of chewed greens from the old man’s throat.

“So the patriarch choked to death on vegetables?” Those from the Li Family had difficulty believing the cause of the death.

Then Li Zhao’s sixth grandson suddenly pointed at the canopy over the bed. “Look, the warding plaques, they’re cracked!”

Everyone crowded around. Sure enough, both bronze plaques bore thin fissures. The lines were small, but enough to render their magic useless.

“But the lovebirds are still alive! Didn’t the master say that if an evil spirit came, they’d eat the birds first?”

The pair of lovebirds in the cage was still flitting about energetically.

At that moment, the eldest son, Li Zhi, reached up and untied the red sachet above the bed. One glance inside made his face turn ashen.

He poured the contents onto the table.

The yellow talisman paper had been soaked through, and the cinnabar ink had blurred into a red smear.

In short, the protective talisman was ruined.

“This was a protective talisman drawn personally by Grandmaster Zhang of Cloud-Piercing Pavilion!” Li Zhi ground out through his teeth. “Evil spirits can’t approach. Someone must’ve poured water on it and damaged the plaques on purpose!”

All eyes turned toward the two bedwarming maids.

One of the other servants immediately fell to her knees. “Last night, before bed, the old master checked both items himself. They were perfectly fine then!”

Old Master Li had always been cautious with his life; it was true that he personally inspected both safeguards every night before sleeping.

Li Zhi turned to a waiting servant, who nodded frantically. “Yes, yes! I saw it myself! Old Master Li checked everything before lying down.”

“Then someone must have sabotaged the charms and cast a curse.” Li Zhi’s veins bulged at his temples. “Find out who did it! Now!”

“Could it be the Zhan Family?” asked his younger brother Li Rong, his eyes practically spewing flames. “They’ve always been at odds with us. They’ve been cursing us ever since that dispute over the land purchase! I heard Zhan Laoqi swearing that he would see to it that our father died horribly. And one of their youngsters learned some spellcraft! He might’ve used a divine technique to murder our father!”

The Li Family’s grief quickly turned into rage.

Someone shouted, “Right! Bring the Zhan Family here to pay with their lives!”

Li Rong hesitated. “Wait, shouldn’t we have proof first?”

“Proof? How are we supposed to get any proof? They used evil magic! What proof could there possibly be?” Li Zhi barked. “So what do you propose we do instead?”

Li Rong was not quick-witted at the best of times, and now his mind was quite muddled. His clever sixth son happened to be away from Dunyu today, leaving him without counsel.

Another voice shouted, “Half their family’s already fled the city! If we don’t chase them now, it’ll be too late!”

Indeed, the Zhan Family had begun moving out just yesterday. They clearly intended never to share the same city with the Li Family again. If they struck before leaving, venting years of hatred, it would make perfect sense.

The fury that the members of the Li Family were feeling drowned out the reason in their minds.

Soon, the members of the Li Family had begun chanting, “Blood for blood!”

Li Rong had still been trying to restrain them, urging calm. But Li Zhi shot him a cold sneer. “Our father was cursed to death, and you want us to remain calm? Are we all drunk while you’re the only sober one?”

Li Rong’s tongue froze. Li Zhi pressed on with more insults until the blood of everyone else in the family was boiling.

When Li Rong saw even his own retainers wavering, he knew that if he did not join in, he would be finished later, both politically and within the family. Neither he nor Li Zhi had the prestige of their late father. To show weakness now would be suicide in the looming struggle for control.

Thus, the two brothers became rivals in grief and fury, each trying to outdo the other in filial outrage. They cried harder, shouted louder, and vowed vengeance more passionately until, swept up by their own theatrics, they gathered every guard and private soldier they could muster.

The uproar soon spread through the entire city.

By the time the authorities and the cityfolk caught wind of it, the Li Family’s private troops had already stormed into the Zhan Family estate, which was in the southern region of Dunyu. They seized the women and children, beat the men senseless, and left the once-grand Zhan Residence in ruins.

Looters joined the chaos, overturning chests and stripping valuables.

The Zhan Family was one of Dunyu’s old noble families, so their fortune was understandably immense. For the retainers of the Li Family, each trinket pocketed could be sold later for a tidy profit.

A separate detachment even rode south to chase the fleeing members of the Zhan Family.

Because the new governor-general had not yet arrived, the provincial and prefectural administration was being handled by two deputies, namely the chief of staff[1] and the attendant officer[2]. When they reached the scene, their scalps went numb. They hurriedly ordered the constables to stop the fighting.

However, the Li Family had long grown used to throwing their weight around in Dunyu. In their frenzy of grief and rage, they ignored every command.

The Zhan Family’s bodyguards put up a defense, but they were outnumbered.

One young constable rushed forward to pull a Li Family soldier off a bleeding victim, only for Li Zhi himself to punch him square in the nose. Blood gushed. The constable, newly appointed and barely out of his teens, did not even recognize who had hit him and swung back on instinct.

Li Zhi staggered from the blow.

That was all it took. The Li Family retainers lunged forward, raining blows on the constable’s head.

The constables tried to break them up, and then others began beating the ones trying to break up the fight.

Within moments, the entire southern region of Dunyu dissolved into a seething brawl.

Crowds of people, three layers thick, packed the streets, craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

This was the Li Family and the Zhan Family, two of the city’s most illustrious families, and they were currently rolling in the mud like mongrels, clawing and biting at one another.

So much for noble dignity. At this moment, they looked no different from rabid dogs.

“Where’s Peng Ju’an?” the chief of staff roared when he realized the riot was beyond control. “He’s the military affairs officer. Why isn’t he here?”

A subordinate answered nervously, “Sir Peng is resting at home today.”

“Then drag him back from Qingping Township if you have to!” The chief of staff was drenched in sweat despite the winter chill. “And bring his whole detachment here to restore order! I want every last one of them here!”

Xia Province had only about a thousand and six hundred troops. Until the new governor arrived, they were all under the military affairs officer’s command.

The messenger sprinted off.

But even after half a day, he did not return.

Qingping Township was barely five kilometers away. A round trip between Dunyu and Qingping should have taken less than two hours, even on foot.

The chief of staff’s heart sank.

Peng Ju’an had not shown up, and now one of his subordinates had gone missing too. Could it be that Qingping Township had been attacked?

Lately, small Baling detachments under Nian Zanli had been raiding border towns with increasing boldness. Although Qingping Township lay far from the front line, the thought could not be dismissed.

The enemy cavalry was swift, so anything was possible.

Meanwhile, the Li Family’s private soldiers were still pummeling those from the Zhan Family into the ground. Several men lay sprawled and groaning, blood pooling beneath them.

The women of the Zhan Family wailed, filling the entire area with their cries.

1. The chief of staff is basically the head office worker, in charge of handling document work, coordination among bureaus, and administrative tasks. ☜

2. The attendant officer is basically the senior deputy to the provincial governor. ☜