Chapter 6

Achou was startled and turned his head to see a giant man, eight feet tall, standing in front of him. The man had a leopard-like head, round eyes, and a beard like a spear, exuding a formidable presence that was intimidating. Looking at his attire, he was dressed like a Kunlun person!

The giant saw him in a daze and shouted loudly, "Young man, do you know the way to the Governor's Office?"

Achou's heart stirred, and he hurriedly nodded, saying, "I know, ten large coins!"

The giant glared at him, "What?"

Achou quickly corrected himself, "I know, but to lead the way... it costs two large coins!"

The giant finally understood his meaning and laughed heartily, "You, young man, are quite amusing. Alright, I'll give you ten large coins, lead the way quickly!"

Achou happily replied, "Alright! Sir, please follow me!"

Achou led the giant and turned around to walk. He had short legs, and the giant's one step was equivalent to his five. The giant, growing impatient, picked him up and placed him on his shoulder, shouting, "Where should we go? You point the way!"

Achou was startled by his action, but sitting on the giant's broad shoulder felt surprisingly stable. Calming down, Achou directed the way, and the giant, carrying Achou, walked swiftly. In no time, they arrived at the front of the Governor's Office in Guangzhou.

In front of the office, a group of Kunlun people were gathered, making loud noises.

"Kunlun slaves, Silla maids"

Just like Filipino maids in later times, Silla maids were known for being obedient and capable, while Kunlun slaves were known for their gentle nature. They were the first choice for Tang people when buying slaves. These Kunlun slaves were not African blacks but referred to people from the Malay Archipelago, generally dark-skinned people, all called Kunlun by the Tang people.

Although Kunlun people were known for producing slaves, they also had merchants and wealthy people. These Kunlun people were wealthy merchants. When the giant arrived at the Governor's Office, he put Achou down and stepped forward, shouting, "I just returned to the ship and heard something serious happened. You all came to the Governor's Office to appeal. What exactly happened?"

Seeing him, the Kunlun people felt as if they had found their backbone and immediately surrounded him, their emotions running high, and they cried out in sorrow and anger, "Young master, we are so wronged!"

Achou stood to the side, listening to their babbling, and gradually understood the situation.

It turned out these Kunlun people were doing business in the Tang Dynasty for the first time. After arriving at the port, they paid taxes according to regulations, thinking they could trade freely. However, the port official extorted money from them. Initially, they tried to avoid trouble and gave the official some goods.

But the official, taking advantage of their inexperience, became even more greedy when he saw they were new and did not offer the goods voluntarily. He demanded more and more.

The Kunlun people's ship was not particularly large, and the value of their goods was limited. They could not afford such extortion. When they refused, the official became furious and incited his subordinates to provoke them. A fight broke out, and the official's subordinates beat one of the Kunlun merchants to death. The Kunlun merchants, enraged, carried the body to the Governor's Office to appeal.

Hearing their story and seeing the body wrapped in white cloth on the ground, the giant was enraged and shouted, "The Tang official is too oppressive! What does the Governor of Tang have to say?"

A merchant replied, "We have already submitted our petition and are waiting for the Governor's response."

As they spoke, the doors of the Governor's Office opened, and an official in a light green robe walked out, followed by a group of guards who stood on either side.

The merchants rushed over and said, "Mr. Qiu, what will the Governor do about our appeal?"

The official, in his thirties, with a thin face and sharp triangular eyes, stroked his sparse beard and said coldly, "The Governor's order: You, the unruly people, refused to pay taxes and falsely accused the officials of murder. Your behavior is despicable! Arrest them and throw them in jail!"

The Kunlun merchants were shocked and angry, causing a commotion. The giant, standing at the back, heard everything clearly and stepped forward, shouting, "Corrupt official! How dare you twist the truth!"

Mr. Qiu was furious, pointed at him, and shouted, "In front of the Governor's Office, this man dares to be so insolent. He must be a dangerous criminal. Arrest him and beat him severely!"

"Who dares to do it, you rat!"

The giant roared like a thunderbolt and advanced instead of retreating.

Several officials pounced at him, one with an iron chain and another with a wooden collar. The chain was thrown over the giant's head, but he stood firm, not moving an inch.

The giant did not dodge, letting the chain stay on his head. He punched the official with the wooden collar, and with a "thud," the official's neck was broken. The giant snatched the wooden collar, split it in half, and hit the official with the chain on the head, causing a loud "thud" and a splatter of blood and brains.

The giant, covered in blood, looked even more terrifying. Mr. Qiu retreated in fear, shouting, "The criminal is killing people! Kill him quickly!"

The giant sneered, "Come on, let's see who kills who!"

He shook his arms, and the official with the broken neck fell to the ground. The giant turned to the frightened Kunlun merchants and shouted, "You all, go back to your ships and wait. Since the Governor of Guangzhou won't give us justice, I will seek it myself!"

The merchants, hearing this, carried their companion's body and retreated like a tide. They were ordinary merchants, outraged by the injustice but not daring to kill. Seeing the giant kill two officials with ease, they were terrified and fled.

The giant, seeing the merchants retreat, roared and charged into the Governor's Office with the two halves of the wooden collar. The guards and officials, seeing the Kunlun giant kill their colleagues, were enraged and attacked him with knives and spears.

The Governor of Guangzhou, Lu Yuanrui, was the commander of the Guangzhou military district. His guards were all skilled fighters, especially adept at coordinated attacks. They rushed forward, seemingly chaotic, but their movements were well-coordinated.

For a moment, the giant was surrounded by flashing blades and spears, but he wielded the two halves of the wooden collar like a tiger among sheep, breaking swords and spears and sending guards flying. Many guards crashed into walls, doors, or over their colleagues, landing in the courtyard.

The giant's strength was overwhelming, and he advanced without any sophisticated techniques, destroying everything in his path, unstoppable.

Mr. Qiu was terrified, fell to the ground, and crawled backward, shouting, "Help! Help! The criminal is..."

Before he could finish, the giant stepped on his back. Mr. Qiu was halfway over the threshold when the giant's foot came down, and with a sickening "thud," his body was flattened to the level of the threshold.

Mr. Qiu's hands clawed at the ground as he tried to crawl inside, but with a "rip," his official robe tore off, leaving him in his undergarments, half his body bloody and his intestines trailing behind. His upper body was inside the door, but his legs were still outside the threshold.

The giant's foot, using the iron-clad edge of the threshold, had cut Mr. Qiu in half.

Achou, standing in the street, was stunned. He had heard stories of knights from his elders, but he never thought that one person could stand up against injustice and treat the Governor's Office as nothing.

"Is this possible? Is this possible?"

The open red gate of the Governor's Office opened a new world in Achou's young heart.

The blood feud of his village, the hatred for his parents' death, and the pain of his sister's loss, Achou had never forgotten. But he knew he was powerless to avenge them. The killers were officials, and he had learned that the soldiers in that armor were from the capital, the Dragon Guard, the emperor's personal cavalry.

He wanted to report the crime, but the suspicious cover-up by the Shaozhou government clearly indicated they were part of the conspiracy. If he entered the Shaozhou government office, he would likely become a corpse in a ditch. What else could he do? He wanted to live with dignity, but he couldn't even do that. How could he avenge them?

So he buried the hatred deep, too afraid to think about it. The pain and the burning hatred tormented his soul, but he had no power to avenge. He could only endure. Now, this Kunlun man showed him a new world.

The guards, seeing Mr. Qiu's terrifying state, retreated in shock, leaving a half-circle of space around him. Mr. Qiu, sensing the change, turned back and saw that only half his body had escaped the threshold. He screamed, blood gushing from his seven orifices, and died of fright.

The giant roared, leaped into the air like a hawk, and threw the two halves of the wooden collar at the guards' weapons. He drew his long sword, and in the air, the sword glinted in the sun, dazzling to the eye.

Achou, standing outside the office, was stunned. The giant's sword glinted, blinding him, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw the guards lying in all directions, some moaning and rolling, others charging toward the back of the office. The giant had entered the main hall.

Achou stood across the street, the strange bodies and the smell of blood around him. People were running and shouting, and others were watching. Achou's heart was pounding, his legs trembling, and despite the bright sun, he felt cold.

He never expected the Kunlun man to be so fierce, and he never thought killing could be so simple.

Yes, the Kunlun man's entry into the Governor's Office gave him one feeling: simple! So simple!

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Note: The last part of the text seems to be a promotional message for a book, which I have not included in the translation.