Chapter 29

* * *

Xu Weiliang entered the room, knelt on both knees, and gently stroked his son's cheek. However, from the cold, lifeless body, there was no warmth to be felt. It was as if he was touching a dead animal, cold and strangely sticky.

He neither cried nor got angry. He just stared silently at his dead son. Then he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Was this how my son was supposed to die?"

The people in the room couldn't tell if he was speaking to them or lamenting to himself in his grief. So no one dared to speak, hesitating.

Xu Weiliang lifted his head and glared at the man with bandages wrapped around his torso.

"Didn't I ask you a question?"

"Y-Yes, yes? Ah! Yes! I didn't realize you were speaking to me..."

Xu Weiliang's expression twisted.

"Repeat what you just said. Who appeared?"

"W-Well, after the first group, three more appeared later: one with a spear, one with a bow, and one with a sword..."

"Exactly!"

The bandaged man trembled at the sudden outburst. Xu Weiliang, ignoring this, continued.

"Besides the usual bandits, five more experts capable of killing my son appeared?"

Xu Weiliang turned his gaze to another man in the room.

"And when you followed the trail of the escaped bandits, you found a river and a valley where the trail disappeared, making it impossible to pursue further?"

The man, caught in his gaze, hesitated before answering.

"......I am ashamed."

"Shamed? Is this something that can be resolved with shame? Listen, Wu Wushi. Tell me about our original plan. From the beginning, from the cause."

The man called Wu Wushi licked his lips and began to speak.

"......Despite clearly paying for it, the shameless ranch owners and their families claimed unfair trade. They threatened to protest and file a complaint with the Martial Arts Alliance."

"Right. They talked nonsense, forgetting the kindness we showed them. They used to run their ranches with the water from Mr. Songguang's river. When their threats didn't work, they abandoned their homes, wandered the wilderness, and turned into bandits, raiding my ranches and warehouses. They had no fixed base and were supported by the local residents, making it impossible to completely eliminate them."

Wu Wushi swallowed hard.

"......So, we planned to lure them out all at once by deliberately leaking the schedule of the carriage transport and preparing for this operation. We would run the transport carriage, and a backup team would be ready at a distance to ambush and eliminate the bandits in one fell swoop. It was a simple yet effective plan."

"But why did unknown people appear there?"

Wu Wushi's face turned pale.

"......I don't know. The information about the carriage transport was only given to the spies we had already identified. Unless the spy sold the information elsewhere..."

Xu Weiliang, about to explode in anger at his subordinate's answer, paused. He then turned to the bandaged man and asked.

"One of them. The one who was in the carriage with my son. Where was his body?"

The bandaged man, a bodyguard who survived by being pushed back by Jian Zhongchan's arrow, thought hard and answered.

"......He wasn't there. It seems he was taken away to open the money chest..."

"That brat! He was the spy!"

Xu Weiliang's confident statement made Wu Wushi cautiously object.

"......We know where his parents live...... If he was so obsessed with money that he would abandon his parents......"

"Jiang Shangzhu's parents died last month. Of old age."

The bodyguard's words made Wu Wushi fall silent, and Xu Weiliang's eyes glinted with even more determination.

"I will hold you accountable for failing to manage the transport personnel later. For now, find them. Do whatever it takes to find them. Kill everyone in the village, round up all the miners and burn their houses. Do whatever it takes! Find the bastards who killed my son, immediately. Immediately—!"

"Yes!"

Wu Wushi, the injured bodyguard, and the other swordsmen and thugs all answered in unison and hurriedly left the room.

Alone, Xu Weiliang looked dejected. He stared at his son's body with dull eyes. Sitting alone in the empty room, he turned his sorrow into boiling anger, vowing to avenge his son.

Ironically, this anger was similar to the anger of those who had been robbed and exploited. Xu Weiliang, however, believed his anger was more justified and intense, refusing to acknowledge it.

* * *

Jiang Shangzhu suddenly came to his senses.

He realized he was tied up and thrown on the ground. Understanding his restraints, he didn't move his body but rolled his eyes to survey his surroundings.

Under the dim night sky, large and small carriages and tents set up using the carriages as walls and pillars were visible. Though it was dark and he was on the ground, the carriages and tents seemed quite numerous. After rolling his eyes around, he noticed people gathered in a circle, a bonfire in the center, and they were fiddling with something.

One of them, who had been facing away from Jiang Shangzhu, suddenly paused and turned around. It was Yang Hong. Meeting Jiang Shangzhu's eyes, Yang Hong grinned and said,

"Did you sleep well?"

Jiang Shangzhu, about to answer, suddenly clamped his mouth shut. His expression showed a determination not to speak, even by mistake.

But Yang Hong looked at him with a mocking gaze.

"Idiot. What are you doing? Go ahead, keep your mouth shut. I hope you do the same when you die."

Jiang Shangzhu's expression changed. Yang Hong's words were neither a bribe nor a threat, just a taunt. Something clicked in his mind, and he wriggled closer, trying to see what was in front of Yang Hong and the gathered people.

There, as he expected, was the money chest. It hadn't been opened yet. Jiang Shangzhu let out a sigh of relief at this.

Yang Hong mocked him again.

"Hey. Are you stupid? Do you think we're still at the raid site, trying to force this open in a hurry?"

Jiang Shangzhu thought about his words for a moment, then his face turned pale. He spoke urgently.

"Wait! Don't do that! We had a deal! I'll open it! I know how! Just turn the handle—ugh!"

Someone stepped on Jiang Shangzhu's back. Surprised, he turned his head to see Jin Shuyan standing there, a leather strap in her hand, looking at him coldly.

Without a word, she brought the leather strap to Jiang Shangzhu's face.

"Wait! What are you doing? I'll tell you! I'll show you how to open it! Opening it quickly is in your best interest—ugh!"

Yang Hong watched and said,

"You hid the fact that Xushangzheng was in the carriage and that a backup team was following behind. Do you really think our deal is still intact?"

"No, no! Please, spare me! The fire at the couple's house was ordered from above! I didn't want to do it!"

Jin Shuyan kicked him hard in the side when he resisted. Then she wrapped the leather strap around his mouth, gagging him. Jiang Shangzhu could only make gurgling sounds, drooling. Jin Shuyan grabbed his legs and dragged him to a tree in a corner, tying him up.

Every time Jiang Shangzhu tried to resist, she kicked him hard in the stomach and sides. From the force of her kicks, she was clearly not an ordinary woman. Despite his martial arts skills, which were enough to provide final security in the carriage, Jiang Shangzhu couldn't recover from the kicks and trembled.

After thoroughly beating and tying up Jiang Shangzhu, Jin Shuyan dusted off her hands and returned to the bonfire.

Yang Hong, who had been watching, asked,

"What do you plan to do with him?"

"Kill him."

"......How?"

"I'd like to douse him in oil and burn him like the Hu couple, but......"

Jin Shuyan sat down and continued,

"......I can't do the same thing. I'll bury him."

"......Alive?"

She looked at Yang Hong straight in the eye and asked,

"Wouldn't that be merciful enough?"

Yang Hong, trying to smile despite her fierce gaze, turned his head. There, Zhang Jian was lying on his side, sipping from a wine bottle.

"The people here are really ruthless, aren't they, Brother Zhang?"

"Revenge is a personal matter."

Jin Shuyan glanced at Zhang Jian and said,

"......The Hu couple brought us together as a family when we were lost after losing our ranch to Xu Weiliang. They made us strong enough to fight back, even if clumsily. They were stronger than anyone among us, even without martial arts training."

Zhang Jian, who had been staring at the bonfire, looked at Jin Shuyan.

"Hmph. Is being a bandit the only thing a family can do? Raiding caravans in the wilderness and setting up tents?"

At that moment, Gong Ping, who was struggling with the money chest alongside Yang Hong, chuckled and said,

"......Well, it might be fun to live like that, you know."

A cold silence fell among the people watching them. Gong Ping, who seemed to have spoken without thinking, continued to struggle with the crowbar until his brother Gong Lang nudged him, making him realize the tension.

"......No, no, I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn."

"......It's fine. We are essentially bandits. We just steal from those who have more than they need and try to take even more."

Gong Ping scratched his head at her answer. When Yang Hong started fiddling with the lock again, Gong Ping quickly moved to his side to avoid Jin Shuyan.

Zhang Jian, still lying on his side, took another sip from his wine bottle.

What is justice, and how far should it be defined? Is the justice imposed by the powerful on the weak right? If their power is justice, should we just be exploited without resistance? When your children are starving because there's no food for tomorrow, and a young boy is coughing up blood from inhaling too much dust in the mines, can you still call us bandits after experiencing that? Why did our grandparents and parents come to this new continent? Because they couldn't bear to live in such a world anymore.

Jin Shuyan, sitting with her right knee hugged, spoke calmly. Gong Ping, who had been looking at the money chest, turned his head awkwardly and said,

"......Sorry, I spoke out of turn."

"......It's fine. We are bandits, after all. We just take from those who have too much and try to take even more."

Gong Ping scratched his head. When Yang Hong started fiddling with the lock again, he quickly moved to his side to avoid Jin Shuyan.

Zhang Jian, still lying on his side, took another sip from his wine bottle.

Where should justice be defined, and is the justice imposed by the powerful right for the weak? Is this the revenge of the weak against the powerful? He didn't feel the need to speak up to defend or criticize Jin Shuyan. That wasn't his job. He was a martial artist, not a moral teacher. Each person had to find their own answer.

So, he just raised his head and looked at their camp.

Bonfires were lit here and there, and people were gathered around them, laughing and chatting happily. Their clothes were old and dusty, but they didn't look like people who were worn out by life. They also didn't look like a bandit gang that raided any carriage and killed everyone.

Zhang Jian and Yang Hong's gang had arrived here to avoid the backup team that might pursue them from the raid site and to borrow time and equipment to open the money chest. They had crossed a river and a valley, making it difficult to track them.

After arriving, Yang Hong and the Gong brothers received thin wires and crowbars from the locals and immediately started working on the money chest. The contents were likely solid silver coins and gold ingots, so a bit of rough handling was fine. This made Jiang Shangzhu's role meaningless.

For Yang Hong's gang, even in the worst-case scenario, they could just force it open. There was no reason to protect Jiang Shangzhu and risk a conflict with the locals. Of course, the desire for a larger share of the loot after his disappearance was also a factor.

They agreed to divide the money chest's contents eight to two. The locals would only take back what they had lost to Xu Weiliang. During the journey, they agreed that Zhang Jian would take six parts, and the rest would take one part each. Even Gong Ping, who was often angry, didn't object to the ratio. He thought it wasn't bad to get something even if they didn't make a big haul, just for the excitement of the chase.

In any case, both Yang Hong's gang and the locals were in good spirits about the money they would get. Zhang Jian, looking at them, suddenly spoke to Jin Shuyan.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"There's an inn in Qing Shui Valley."

"......Yes, there is one."

"There's a child there. I asked, and the innkeeper isn't the child's mother. She's just taking care of the child temporarily because the parents are dead."

Jin Shuyan hesitated for a moment, then looked down and said,

"......Yes, that child is the Hu couple's son. He's very smart and strong like his parents. Why don't we raise him? It's too dangerous. Raiding ranches and breaking into warehouses is too early for him."

Zhang Jian didn't ask any more. He nodded, as if he had learned what he wanted to know, and took another sip from his wine bottle.

At that moment, there was a click from Yang Hong's hands, which had been fiddling with the money chest. It hadn't been long since he found a small hole hidden by the handle.

"Ah! Finally!"

"Ah! Is it gold?"

The people watching looked at Yang Hong with eager eyes. He smiled to himself, enjoying the attention, and after a few more fiddles, said to Gong Ping,

"Alright. Use this now."

"Force it?"

"The mechanism can only be fully opened with a key. But we've done enough, so you can break it with the crowbar."

Gong Ping, spitting on his palms, inserted the crowbar into the gap of the money chest and pushed with all his might, his face turning red.

The next moment, there was a dull thud as the money chest broke open, and the lid flew up. The people watching and Yang Hong's gang leaned in eagerly.

"......What is this?"