Chapter 153: Headless Fly
"Giddy up! Giddy up, giddy up...!" A series of rapid hoofbeats, accompanied by sharp whip cracks, echoed from the end of the street behind them! Pedestrians hurriedly scrambled to both sides in panic. Xiaoyao Lang was pulled back to reality, quickly pulling Hei Xiong to the side of the road. Several fast horses galloped past him, accompanied by a gust of wind; the riders were none other than the Grandmaster and his entourage!
Before the dust had settled, a scholar next to Xiaoyao Lang spat, "Bah! A bunch of unruly bastards! When Lord Yi was here, who dared to ride a horse recklessly in the street? Truly lacking in manners!"
His companion beside him tensed up and quickly tugged at his sleeve, lowering his voice to dissuade him: "Brother Rong, be careful what you say! This Grandmaster is ruthless! Just yesterday he led his men to wipe out the entire Ma Family Village. We can't afford to offend him!"
"Ma Family Village?!" Xiaoyao Lang suddenly stepped forward, grabbing his companion's collar like a ghost, his eyes sharp as knives. "What did you just say? What happened to Ma Family Village?!"
Caught off guard, his companion struggled to breathe as his clothes tightened around him. Meeting Xiaoyao Lang's murderous gaze, he was terrified: "I...I...I didn't say anything!"
"Huh?!" Xiaoyao Lang suddenly increased the pressure on his five fingers.
"Ugh!" His companion cried out in pain, stammering, "...It's...it's Ma Family Village! The entire Ma Family Village...was wiped out yesterday by a Grandmaster and his men...leaving no one alive!"
"Not a single chicken or dog... shall be spared..." Xiaoyao Lang felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. How he wished he had misheard! His voice was terrifyingly deep, trembling with the last trace of disbelief, "Which... Ma Family Village?!"
The scholar surnamed Rong beside him was also intimidated by this imposing manner, and added in a trembling voice: "In the territory of Longyang City, which other Ma family estate could there be?! It is naturally... the estate of that horse-breeding tycoon, the old master Ma Kaitai!"
The words struck like a bolt from the blue! Xiaoyao Lang slowly released his grip, muttering, "Forgive me." Before he finished speaking, he had already mounted his horse as gracefully as a roc.
"Hehehe..." Black Brother seemed to sense Xiaoyao Lang's anger. He let out a long neigh, spread his four hooves, and like a black lightning bolt, rushed straight towards Majiazhuang!
His companion, still shaken, straightened his ripped clothes, watched the dust settle around the street corner, and muttered under his breath, "Is this guy crazy?! It's like seeing a ghost!"
Rong Shusheng patted his companion on the shoulder and sighed, "So be it... Longyang City can never go back to what it used to be."
In the Zhujiazhuang area, five soup kitchens were hit by a series of tragic incidents in which refugees died from poisoning. Thousands of corpses lay scattered in various refugee camps, a shocking sight.
“Your family members are utterly depraved, poisoning and harming refugees; their hearts deserve to be condemned!” a tall, thin middle-aged man shouted, raising his arms.
"Smash his soup kitchen! Demand justice from the Zhu family for the dead refugees!" A hot-blooded young scholar followed closely behind, his voice fervent.
"We demand justice!..." In an instant, hundreds of people, filled with righteous indignation, surged towards Zhu Family Village like a tidal wave, completely blocking the gates of the manor.
More than ten furious refugees took the lead in the attack, smashing the soup kitchen next to the village gate to pieces, and also turning the three earthen stoves into mud.
The tall, thin man brandished his carrying pole and roared, "Come with me and charge in! Slaughter the entire Zhu family to avenge our dead relatives!"
"Charge!" "Revenge!" "Get justice!" Before the words were even finished, a hundred or so refugees, wielding sticks and even stones and earthenware pots, rushed towards the gate of Zhu Family Village like a flood bursting its banks. They couldn't even muster a decent weapon.
From the top of the watchtower, Zhu Ziqiao coldly surveyed the scene, his voice dripping with hatred as he clenched his teeth: "They're all scoundrels! My Zhu family has been providing them with porridge for half a month, and they've raised a bunch of ingrates!"
In front of the manor gate, several loyal and strong men guarding the manor fought desperately with their bare hands against the surging refugees. However, two fists are no match for many hands, and after only a few exchanges, they were knocked to the ground by the tall, thin man and instantly swallowed up by the crowd.
"Awooo!..." The refugees screamed and rushed through the gates of the village, surging in frantically, unaware that they were stepping into the gates of hell.
Seeing this, the hundreds of refugees on the outskirts whispered among themselves: "Quick! Don't miss this opportunity! Let's rush in together! Zhu Family Village is incredibly wealthy; there must be plenty of valuables inside, or at the very least, some food!"
Another man, his face contorted with greed, chimed in loudly, “Exactly! The Zhu family poisoned so many people, whether they were framed or not, they're in the wrong no matter what! We were spared, so what's wrong with taking some of their valuables? It's only right!”
Most people harbored this thought in their hearts. Although they were unarmed, they were blinded by greed and followed the hundred or so people, forming a dark mass that surged toward the manor gate.
Zhu Ziqiao made a sudden gesture and uttered two words: "Release the arrows."
As soon as the sound faded, "Goo!" The sound of the bow being drawn was as deep as muffled thunder. Then, "Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." Arrows from the arrow towers on both sides of the manor gate poured down like a torrential rain, mercilessly pelting the refugees pouring into the manor. The tall, thin man was instantly riddled with arrows.
"Ah!... Uh ah... Uh..." The shrill screams, the painful groans, and the desperate cries exploded from the courtyard in an instant, continuous and piercing to the heart.
"Run!..." "...Back up!..." Those who hadn't yet rushed in were terrified, screaming and struggling to retreat.
But it was too late! The crowd behind, unaware of what was happening, continued to push and shove, desperately trying to push forward, completely blocking the people in the courtyard from being caught in a hail of arrows. The cold arrows continued relentlessly until countless fletchings drew a clear line between life and death at the gate of the manor, and blood flowed like a river.
"...They're all dead..." "They're all dead..." The refugees outside the manor gate were horrified by the sight of corpses strewn all over the ground. Their earlier anger and rage vanished completely! They dared not make a sound or move again.
At this moment, Zhu Ziqiao, holding a cold, long sword, strode out of the manor gate, followed by dozens of soldiers with piercing eyes and gripping large swords, exuding a murderous aura.
Zhu Ziqiao surveyed the mess, stood before the manor, and raised his voice like thunder: "Listen up, everyone! The gates of the Zhu family are not a place for you to run wild! I hope you will not act recklessly again, lest you lose your lives in vain!"
From the crowd, a spirited man raised his head and shouted back, "You surnamed Zhu! Don't think that just because your Zhu family dominates Baiyun City, you can act with impunity! Today, you poisoned refugees, and the evidence is irrefutable. The long arm of the law will catch you! Even if you kill us all today, you can't silence the public! The thousands of people of Baiyun City will never recognize a thief as their father, and will not allow such a vicious family to become the city lord's mansion!"
Many refugees, still shaken and harboring resentment, then began to clamor: "That's right! We won't agree to the Zhu family becoming the city lords!..."
Zhu Ziqiao's eyes grew even colder as he listened, and he said loudly, "My Zhu family opened the porridge distribution point to help everyone and prevent you from starving to death in the wilderness. But unexpectedly, some villains secretly poisoned the porridge, causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people. My Zhu family is heartbroken!" His words were filled with an undeniable sorrow.
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