"Let's do it." Cheng Muyun stood up and waved his hand.
The Dongzhou soldiers waiting outside the door immediately rushed in, their footsteps shaking the floor.
Their movements were rough yet efficient. The soldier carrying the blue-and-white porcelain vase casually wiped the dust off the vase with his sleeve, while the soldier carrying the mahogany furniture dragged the tables and chairs on the ground, making a screeching sound.
Someone climbed a ladder and tore the Western oil paintings off the wall, frame and all; someone used a bayonet to pry open the safe, and the sound of gold bars rolling into sacks echoed in the hall, as if striking Chairman Luo's nerves.
Chairman Luo was pinned to the ground. He wanted to shout "Stop!" and curse "robbers!" but his mouth was stuffed with burlap, and he could only let out desperate sobs, his face covered in tears and snot.
After an unknown amount of time, the soldiers filed out carrying heavy sacks. The mansion, which had been filled with rare treasures, was now empty, with only broken porcelain shards, torn silks, and trampled carpets scattered on the floor.
Cheng Muyun leaned back in the rosewood chair that originally belonged to Chairman Luo. The dragon carvings on the back of the chair were digging into his shoulder, but they did not affect his comfort at all.
The fingertips tapped lightly on the smooth tabletop, making soft "tap, tap" sounds, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow, as if timing the plunder.
Zhang Qi was extremely ruthless when he tied them up. The thick hemp rope left deep red marks on Chairman Luo and Miyata Takejiro's arms, binding the two tightly to the gilded pillars.
Miyata Takejiro's kimono was torn askew, revealing his white undergarment, and his face bore bruises from being hit with a gun butt.
Chairman Luo slumped against the pillar, his enormous belly rising and falling with his rapid breathing, cold sweat trickling down his forehead through the folds of his skin.
After doing all this, Zhang Qi picked up a torch from the corner of the wall. The burning flames licked the dry wooden handle, making a soft "crackling" sound.
He walked up to Cheng Muyun and reported in a deep voice, "Young Marshal, everything is ready."
Cheng Muyun slowly straightened up, and as he took the torch, the flames made his pupils shine.
He turned to look at Chairman Luo under the pillar. Despair welled up in the man's eyes like water, his fat face was scrunched up, and he was still making whimpering pleas in his throat.
Cheng Muyun suddenly laughed, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes. He raised his chin and said, "Take the thing out of his mouth."
Zhang Qi reached out and ripped the rag out of Chairman Luo's mouth, causing a string of saliva to rise from it.
The moment the rag hit the ground, Chairman Luo cried out at the top of his lungs, "Mu Yun! Cheng Mu Yun! Please! Let me go! I'll give you all my money, the goods in the warehouse, the bank savings, everything! Please, for... for Yun Qiao's sake, let me go this time!"
He begged for mercy incoherently, his fat hands struggling in vain, and the rope tightened even more.
Cheng Muyun picked at his ears, as if he was stung by the noisy crying.
He walked over step by step in his military boots, the sound of his heels hitting the floor echoing in the empty hall, each sound like a blow to Chairman Luo's heart.
He stopped as he approached, looking down at Chairman Luo with a fierce glint in his eyes, like a poisoned knife: "Chairman Luo, let me guess,"
He paused, his voice as cold as ice, "Do you think that once my Zhuohua dies, I can forget my hatred, elope with your daughter, and continue to be a good son-in-law of your Luo family?"
The two characters “Zhuohua” struck like a thunderbolt, making Chairman Luo freeze in shock.
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief—he had always thought that Cheng Muyun was seeking revenge for him being burned to death, but he never imagined that Xu Zhuohua, whom he regarded as a stumbling block, would be so important in Cheng Muyun's heart.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Cheng Muyun's next words left him speechless.
"Let me tell you," Cheng Muyun's voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed pain and anger, "Xu Zhuohua is my life! She died in my arms, and I watched her turn into charred remains! She's dead, and I don't want to live anymore! But before I die, I'll make you taste what it means to wish you were dead!"
"No...it wasn't me...I didn't start the fire..." Chairman Luo was so frightened that he stammered incoherently as he tried to explain.
"Not you?" Cheng Muyun laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm. "Without your tacit approval, without Miyata Takejiro's instigation, would they dare to touch my people?"
He leaned closer to Chairman Luo, the torchlight casting flickering shadows on his face. "Chairman Luo, don't you like fire? You were so proud of the Cheng Mansion burning to ashes, weren't you? Today, I'll let you experience firsthand what it feels like to be burned to a crisp, and whether it hurts."
Chairman Luo's face turned deathly pale instantly, his pupils dilated with fear, and he opened his mouth to beg for mercy and scream, but Zhang Qi quickly covered his mouth.
A muffled "whoosh" sound squeezed out from between his fingers as he shook his head desperately, his face covered in tears and snot.
Cheng Muyun didn't look at him again, and turned to walk towards the center of the hall.
He raised the torch, the flames leaping in his palm, making the lines of his profile appear even more hard and cold.
The surrounding Dongzhou soldiers had already received orders and lit their torches, throwing them onto the velvet carpeted floor, the windowsills with heavy curtains, and the corners piled with valuable timber.
"call--"
Dry fabric ignites instantly upon contact with fire, flames leaping up and quickly licking at the curtains, rolling towards the drapery.
Cheng Muyun threw the torch in his hand to the ground, and the flames spread along the carpet, quickly reaching the base of the pillars.
Chairman Luo watched helplessly as the flames drew ever closer, the scorching heat searing his skin and the thick smoke making him cough violently.
Cheng Muyun turned and walked out, the fire behind him growing stronger and stronger. The crackling sound of the fire was mixed with Miyata Takejiro's suppressed roar and Chairman Luo's desperate sobs.
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