Chương 38: Father and Son of the Zhao Family, Dead.

Giant Willow Village.

"Hello there! What's everyone gathered around for? So lively!" Seeing the goofy-looking Pockmark Guo greeting the crowd, everyone collectively gasped and took a step back. Then, they all reacted. Wait a minute, ghosts don't have shadows! Instantly, the crowd erupted into a cacophony of voices.

"Pockmark Guo! You're not dead?!"

"Pockmark Guo! How are you still alive?!"

"Your whole families are dead!" Pockmark Guo retorted with a dark face, eliciting a roar of laughter from the crowd. Subsequently, everyone turned to look at the Zhao father and son with bizarre expressions. Old Zhao was completely bewildered. Utterly stupefied. Blinking rapidly, he looked over at his son who was just regaining his senses. Lord Hu felt his brain short-circuiting. Staring blankly for a long while, he blurted out:"Pockmark Guo, you're not dead?"

"Lord Hu, I'm fine." True to his nature as the ultimate lackey, despite being asked such a question, Pockmark Guo still smiled obsequiously and replied. Motherf cker, I can see you're fine! * But the problem is, WHY are you fine?!

"Then back there, how did you..." Lord Hu said, winking frantically to signal him.

"Lord Hu, when you pushed me down and those bandits caught me, I thought I was a goner! But thankfully, Master Song happened to pass by and routed the bandits, allowing this lowly one to keep his life!" Pockmark Guo sighed, looking like a man who had just survived a disaster. With his usual dopey, honest expression, no one would have thought he was lying. Whoa! Because they believed he wasn't lying, the crowd was utterly shocked. The amount of information in that statement was simply too massive!

What a heartless, vicious bastard! Pushing your own trusted subordinate into the path of danger just to buy time to escape! And afraid your deeds would be exposed, you even tried to frame someone else for it! You even exploited our trust, almost causing us to make an unforgivable mistake! Fury instantly ignited within the crowd. Eyes burning with anger locked onto the Zhao father and son. Old Zhao remained completely bewildered. Could that unfilial son be hiding something from me?

But I know everything that happened today! Since when are there blind bandits robbing the road around here?! Then what exactly happened?! Director! I think I was handed the wrong script! Old Zhao felt so aggrieved he wanted to cry. Lord Hu's brain simply couldn't process this either. But the confusion was quickly replaced by rage. The feeling of being betrayed drove him mad.

"Pockmark Guo! Stop spitting blood and framing me! To think I treated you so well all these years!" Pockmark Guo wore a wronged expression, standing there stammering, unable to speak. Sigh. Still trying to deny it? Looking at Pockmark Guo's honest face, did everyone not already know what kind of virtues the Zhao father and son possessed? Who to believe was glaringly obvious.

"Alright, disperse. There's nothing to see here." Right at that moment, Song Que spoke up, seemingly concluding the story just like that. He then drove his cart forward. If they didn't explain this clearly today, the Zhao family would lose every ounce of their prestige in the village. When the time came and they got beaten or killed, they wouldn't even know who to cry to. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the father and son's eyes turned red. What a vicious kid! To actually employ such a venomous scheme!

This is literally pulling the firewood out from under the pot! And that bastard Pockmark Guo! Turning on us at the critical moment and delivering a fatal blow! Zhao Hu charged forward like a madman, grabbed Pockmark Guo's arm, and roared:"Pockmark Guo! Explain yourself clearly to everyone! Did that kid Song Que threaten you?!" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Lord Hu, nothing of the sort! Master Song even saved me! Besides, I'm fine now. Can't we just pretend nothing happened? Isn't that for the best?" Pockmark Guo wore an honest expression, speaking as if he were being considerate of Zhao Hu.

"Release your mother's farts!" How could Lord Hu endure this? He swung his fist and landed a solid punch on Pockmark Guo, sending him flying backward, a mix of blood and teeth flying from his mouth. Still not satisfied, Zhao Hu charged forward and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks.

"That bastard Guo! If you don't explain everything clearly today, I won't let you off!" Seeing his ruthless assault, the crowd prepared to step forward and intervene. Who could have expected that at this moment, a shocking twist would occur? Pockmark Guo, who had been holding his head and taking the beating, suddenly went completely berserk. Pulling a dagger from his waist, he chased after the Zhao father and son, slashing frantically while roaring furiously:" You Zhao scum! Your granddaddy has had enough of you!

Treating me like a dog to order around was one thing! Throwing me down to die, I even tolerated that! But you shouldn't have pushed me to a dead end!" His dagger swung fast and accurate. Caught completely off guard, the Zhao father and son sustained multiple fatal slashes. Collapsing to the ground, they gasped for air as blood sprayed high into the air. Their eyes widened in sheer unwillingness, but it was clear they were beyond saving.

Having hacked the two men, Pockmark Guo seemed to suddenly realize what he had done. Trembling with fear, he stood amidst the surrounding crowd without trying to run. His lips moved silently a few times before he finally brought the dagger to his own neck and slit his throat. Everything happened so fast that no one had time to react. By the time they did, three people were already lying in a pool of blood in the courtyard. These were mere villagers who had never experienced such brutal violence.

Screaming in terror, their faces pale as sheets, they scattered far away. Absolutely no one dared approach to check if anyone was still alive. Standing from afar, Song Que silently took in everyone's reactions. Only then did he reach up and lightly touch his own neck, shivering slightly as he shook his head and sighed. I was practically acting with my life on the line back there! The feeling of dragging a blade across your own throat... how many people can truly understand that?

Having sighed in admiration of his own performance, he shook his head and drove the cart away from this place of trouble. No one reacted to his departure. The crowd of villagers was like a flock without a shepherd, staring blankly at each other, not knowing what to do. Finally, someone shouted:"Go find Uncle Zhong!" Everyone agreed profusely, dispatching a man on a donkey to immediately race back to town to report the news.... Song Que didn't care about any of this.

After escorting the three members of the Li family back to their home, he immediately returned to Mirror Lake. He had long tossed today's events to the back of his mind. He had done everything he could. His immediate priority now was to increase his strength as much as possible. As long as he was strong enough, what did it matter if it was the Black Tiger Gang or the Yellow Tiger Gang? Anyone who refused to accept it would be punched to death!

Song Que had completely torn away his psychological constraints; his thinking had become this simple and brutal. Looking at the sack of medicinal herbs, not caring about what prescriptions they belonged to, he threw everything into a pot to boil. He ate ginseng roots like they were candied fruit, one after another. Soon, his body felt like it was on fire, burning fiercely. Supplied with abundant energy, the Tesseract spun violently.

Grandee Song paid no mind to the outside world, focusing entirely on strengthening himself.... Nighttime, Yellow Leaf Town. The Black Tiger Gang headquarters was brightly lit. The servants tiptoed around nervously, terrified of making a sound and displeasing the masters. Only from the distant central hall could the occasional sound of shattering dishes and furious roars be heard. In the meeting hall, Feng Han sat with bloodshot eyes, glaring at the dozen or so men standing below him.

Everyone here was a high-ranking member of the Black Tiger Gang. Having just received the news that the Gang Leader's disciple, Ou Tiande, had been beaten to death and his body dumped in the wilderness, they had all rushed over frantically. Four neatly arranged corpses lay in the center of the hall, creating an incredibly heavy and gloomy atmosphere. After a long while, Feng Han asked in a dark voice:"You've examined the bodies. Have you seen any clues?"

"Gang Leader, Old Wei and the two Ou family disciples were hacked to death by a saber. Young Master Ou was severely injured by kicks and then, likely realizing he couldn't escape, committed suicide," one man stepped forward and reported.

"Do you think I can't see that?! Say something useful!" Feng Han bellowed furiously.

"Please quell your anger, Gang Leader. I observed that Young Master Ou suffered massive blunt force trauma before dying, indicating the assailant's kicking strength is extraordinary. It must be over a thousand catties. That kind of power is extremely rare in Yellow Leaf Town."

"Furthermore, to effortlessly slaughter four people and erase all traces at the scene to prevent our investigation... the number of people in this town capable of doing this, excluding those of us here, can be counted on two hands."

"Gang Leader, I think Old Fourth makes sense. The most suspicious ones are those grandsons from the Iron Blade Society. They know they can't beat you, so they specifically targeted Young Master Ou and his group." Feng Han's face remained dark. The decisive battle before the New Year had solidified his position as overlord, leaving him deeply satisfied. Who could have expected that a streak of terrible luck would follow, with bad things happening one after another?

First, someone swept nearly five hundred taels from their casino. That was fine; they could slowly recoup that loss. Then, a minor leader was poisoned in his own home. And now, his own disciple had just been snapped like a twig! One could imagine Feng Han's fury, but it was accompanied by deep suspicion. Connecting these incidents, it wasn't hard to deduce that someone was intentionally targeting the Black Tiger Gang. Are they not afraid of the fish dying and the net tearing? Are they not afraid of my revenge?!

The multitude of questions gave him a splitting headache. Massaging his throbbing temples, he turned to his eldest disciple, Yue Chao, and asked:"A'Chao, what clues have you found on your end?"

"Master, this matter is truly filled with suspicion. The servants reported that since yesterday, Junior Brother only met with those two Ou family brothers. This morning, he left through the West Gate with them early on. He was never seen returning to the town, nor did he inform anyone of his whereabouts."

"Could it be that the guards changed shifts and didn't notice Tiande returning?"

"Impossible, Master. Who in this town doesn't recognize Junior Brother? If he returned, it's impossible no one saw him. We can be certain he either never returned to town or never entered openly." Hearing this, the gang bosses felt their heads swell with confusion. The chaotic clues made their stomachs churn. At this moment, someone offered a theory:"Gang Leader, is it possible Young Master Ou was stuffed into a carriage, taken to the wilderness, and dumped?"

"Elder Xing, I had the same concern. But we still don't know how the opponent managed to take down Junior Brother, and why Junior Brother would commit suicide. I can't figure these two points out." Hearing this, Elder Xing replied without a second thought:"What else could it be?! Someone wanted to capture Young Master Ou to extort the Gang Leader's martial arts from him!

But because Young Master Ou was courageous and unyielding, preferring suicide over confession, they had no choice but to dispose of the bodies and mess up the scene!" That makes perfect sense! Incredibly logical! With that explanation, everything seemed to fall into place. The villain used the Ou family disciples to lure Young Master Ou out of the town. Then, they ambushed and subdued him, intending to interrogate him for martial arts manuals to find an opportunity to deal with Feng Han!

It was as if the clouds had parted in everyone's minds. They all loudly praised Elder Xing's brilliance.