The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 24 Pay Back the Money!
died? !
Zhou Yan was stunned. Thinking of the man who had finally grasped a sliver of hope in despair, he asked the constable in detail what had happened. The constable didn't know the specifics either, but just gave Zhou Yan a rough account of what had happened based on what he had heard.

After bidding farewell, Zhou Yan immediately headed to the north of the town.

With the description of the constable still in mind, Zhang Shoutian felt a glimmer of hope for survival after the constable left. He straightened his clothes, washed his face, and went from house to house asking and begging.

Finally, he found odd jobs in a caravan, earned a little money, and planned to return to his hometown along the gradually recovering trade routes.

He bought the seeds for next year's planting and carefully put them into a package.

He copied letters for people and washed and served dishes for them.

Later, while packing his belongings, he discovered that the copper coins were stained with blood. One of the merchants in the caravan had traveled all over the country and experienced many dangers. He said that these copper coins looked like something that monsters would use. He had also heard that a woman had gone to search for the Monster Market.

They said they were going to sell their own flesh.

They sold exactly three thousand coins.

Zhang Shoutian suddenly went mad.

No, whether he went mad or suddenly came to his senses, he cried and wailed for several days until he couldn't cry anymore. He calmed down, thanked the people he had troubled during this time, and then left the merchant who had promised to take him home.

He went to a deserted place and hanged himself with a rope.

It was only discovered by a passerby a couple of days ago.

Zhou Yan rushed out and first met up with Shen Cangming, who was waiting for him outside the town, to tell him about the matter. Then he went to the Righteous Society alone.

Uncle Shen hasn't been going into town lately, and Zhou Yan roughly guessed the reason, so he didn't ask.

That heavy armor—a testament to the chaos and absurdity of this world.

During the Tang Dynasty, there was a folk mutual aid organization called the Righteous Society.

The Dunhuang manuscripts state that, "[The righteous gatherings established here are prepared to ward off disasters, and to help each other sincerely, in order to provide relief to those in urgent need]." Zhang Shoutian was briefly taken in here, and Zhou Yan and the members of the righteous society said that they had seen Zhang Shoutian's body.

The young man from the righteous society was somewhat displeased and said, "Are you acquainted with this guy? If so, settle the bill for the money he spent here these past few days, and then deal with the body as you see fit. It's almost rotting."

The young man fanned his nose and walked away with a look of disgust on his face.

Zhou Yan apologized.

After the young man had walked away, Zhou Yan looked at the dead man, remained silent for a long time, sighed, and said, "...I thought I could let you live, but it was just a little short."

He reached out, trying to close Zhang Shoutian's eyes, but couldn't. Then he noticed something in the man's arms. He reached out and took the thing out of Zhang Shoutian's arms; it was a letter.

It was a white cloth with a message written in blood on it.

The characters are written very neatly.

"It must be Lord Zhou. I think if anyone could come back to see me, it would only be you. Lord Zhou is a kind person. He wanted me to live, so he made up a very nice story. I almost believed it."

“I told myself they would come home, so I worked very hard to earn some money to go back. I would work myself to exhaustion every day before I could fall asleep. But later, I found out the truth.”

"My daughter is gone, my son is gone, and now I don't even have a wife."

"Before, I thought I would try my best to hold on, thinking that no matter what, I would still have a home. But now that things have settled down, I have no home."

"I've been thinking about one question."

“My lord, just a few days after my wife sold herself into slavery, the government troops gradually restored order to the surrounding area, and the town began to recover. If we had held on, wouldn’t she have been spared from death? But why did it take just a few more days?”

"Is this God punishing us? It must be God punishing us."

“I didn’t touch those three thousand coins. If you’re willing, take this money and give a bowl of porridge to those homeless people. If we had a bowl of porridge back then, we might have been able to travel a little further.”

"If you find it too troublesome, you may take it yourself."

“I used to do odd jobs and barely made some money. I thought this amount should be enough to pay back my husband for that bowl of noodles.”

"If there's any left, please have a drink, my lord."

"Please don't take your anger out on that merchant, sir. You and he are both good people."

Finally, the last character is written with great solemnity.

"Zhang Shoutian, with his wife Yang Xiaomei, son Zhang Jincheng, and daughter Zhang Qiao'er."

"I bow my head in gratitude."

Several days ago, Zhang Shoutian wrote this letter, then went to a secluded place, took off the white cloth from his arm that he had been keeping vigil for the children, and then made a rope and hung it on a tree. He was just thinking about guarding the fields and living a good life.

Why? Why did it turn out like this?
Don't we have wise and great sage kings?
Zhang Shoutian placed his neck on the mourning cloth. The cloth was rough, like the feeling of his daughter and son touching his beard with their little hands when he came back from work. Zhang Shoutian's eyes widened slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips.

I'm home...

tear-

However, the mourning cloth tore in the middle, and Zhang Shoutian fell to the ground, his throat dry from the pain. But when he saw the mourning cloth hanging down, it fell on his face like the hands of children, as if the children didn't want him to come back, didn't want him to die.

He finally succumbed to the intense pain and began to cry.

He cried so bitterly, so painfully. This man, who had only studied for a few years, trembled as he put away the mourning cloth, took out a hemp rope, and once again resolutely wrapped it around the tree. He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and the tears that flowed from his eyes were stained with blood.

he died.

He hung there, the wind swaying his body, as if keeping vigil. He was only discovered at the end; Zhou Yan carefully put away the letter, his gaze sweeping over the package, but he didn't find Zhang Shoutian's.

He realized something, gripped the knife, and strode out.

Wang Erlang was cooking and eating soup dumplings outside when he saw the young man come out with a sword at his side. He said impatiently, "Have you seen him? He's been here for several days. Pay up, and then we'll discuss what to do with him. Do you want him cremated or buried here?"

"Let me tell you in advance, this money doesn't come easily, we have to collect it."

Zhou Yan said, "That's right, you won't be shortchanged on the money; but I want to ask, where is my friend's package?"

Wang Erlang paused, his eyelids blinked unconsciously, and his pupils looked diagonally downwards:

"What package? I don't know."

Zhou Yan held the blood-written letter: "He left a message. If you don't believe me, go and report it to the authorities."

Wang Erlang shouted, "You, you outsider, how can you be so unreasonable? We kindly helped you settle your friend's affairs, and you refuse to pay and are even causing trouble here. Are you trying to extort money from us? Help! Help!"

"Someone's trying to scam me, someone..."

With a clang, the Hungry Ghost Blade was drawn an inch from its sheath.

With the knife held upside down in his right hand, Zhou Yan pressed it directly against Wang Erlang's neck. With a muffled thud, Wang Erlang was pinned down next to the stove. The immense force rendered Wang Erlang unable to move. The boy's eyes were clear and bright, yet they carried an indescribable sense of oppression.

That menacing aura made Wang Erlang's courage tremble.

Zhou Yan said, "I said, where's the bundle?!"

Wang Erlang stammered, "I... no, it was Lin Rongxuan, who was in charge of the righteous society's finances, who took it."

"He... he used it, I didn't know."

"I'm just a lowly servant."

Zhou Yan exhaled, managing to control his emotions.

Although he was angry, he could still suppress it. He knew it was normal for the young man to have complaints about taking care of the body. He sheathed his knife and asked, "So, where is he? Did he hide the money?"

Wang Erlang's face turned slightly pale.

With just one word, he ignited Zhou Yan's fury.

Wang Erlang stammered, "Bet..."

"It's a bet."

? ! ! !
The sound of the zither strings at Zhou Yan's waist vibrating was crisp, as if the string of reason in the young man's mind had snapped at that moment. He sold his daughter first, then his son, and then his own flesh and blood to earn three thousand coins.

Did you gamble?

Zhou Yan asked for the location of the gambling den. Wang Erlang's face turned pale. He thought the young man was about to draw his sword, but then the sound of footsteps exploded out.

Zhou Yan gripped his knife and galloped out, then leaped onto his horse.

The horses neighed, and this time Zhou Yan was no longer timid as a novice rider. He galloped like thunder. In the dark gambling den, several lamps were lit, but the atmosphere was inexplicably dim.

Lin Rongxuan gambled for three days and three nights.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the gambling table, mentally chanting, "Big! Big!" He had already lost a lot of money and had no choice but to resort to some dead people's items. At first, he hadn't intended to use them; he really hadn't planned to.

But later, I got a little angry.

It's not his fault.

Besides, this isn't using it, it's just borrowing it slightly.

As long as you have the capital!
As long as I have capital, I can pay it back once I win money!

It's not like I'm not going to pay it back!
I misappropriated that three thousand yuan, and I gave him four thousand, five thousand!

The gambling den owner opened the betting pool, and it was small. He lost again. Lin Rongxuan's eyes reddened, and he said, "Again! Again..." He reached for his money and found it was empty. He was filled with regret: "Damn it, how did I leave behind three thousand coins?!"

"Forget it, it's money from the dead anyway, nobody's going to come and ask for it back."

Just then, a series of conversations suddenly came from outside, turning into a noisy commotion.

Then came the sounds of fighting.

Then, the two men guarding the gambling den burst through the door with their backs, staggered back, their faces pale. A young man, holding a knife in his right hand, strode forward, raised his head, and his black and white eyes flickered with light and shadow.

“Lin Rongxuan…”

The power of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman was roaring within Zhou Yan's body.

He recognized the tattered package, saw the rag doll lying on the ground, trampled into mud, and saw the newly bought seeds for next year scattered everywhere.

Like that pitiful, frail hope of surviving, like a candle flame.

He pointed the knife in his hand forward.

That anger, that indignation that he himself didn't know why, burned like fire in his heart, filled his voice with something intense, and his longsword emitted a shrill screech.
"Give me my money back!!!"

(End of this chapter)