Chapter 57: At Last Arriving at Jiangzhou City, the Land of Despotic Behavior

    "You're an official?" Jiang Liuer looked at the terrified clerk.

    The clerk trembled but dared not remain silent: "I’m not an official, just a minor functionary. I never harmed the villagers of Wu Family Village—I was only following the prefect’s orders to invite Wu Qigui to a wedding banquet..."

    Jiang Liuer’s eyes lit up: "You serve that villain Liu?"

    The clerk looked confused: "Villain Liu? What villain Liu?"

    Without explaining, Jiang Liuer pressed closer: "Why would the prefect invite such a despicable gentry to a banquet? Speak everything you know!"

    The clerk dared not hide anything.

    He spilled all the details at once.

    After listening, Jiang Liuer frowned: "Why do all these powerful men, once they rise to glory, insist on marrying beautiful wives and throwing lavish feasts as if shouting it to the heavens?"

    Wolf Wuji had done the same.

    So had that villain Liu.

    But Liu was even more outrageous than Wolf Wuji—this would be his umpteenth concubine, living a life of decadence.

    The funds for his extravagant feasts likely came from extorting and exploiting the people.

    And it was this very man who had stolen Jiang Liuer’s life as an official’s heir!

    "Take us to Liu’s private residence," Jiang Liuer commanded.

    The clerk nearly wept: "I don’t know any villain Liu!"

    "The prefect!" Jiang Liuer snapped.

    The clerk paled: "But the prefect’s surname is Chen..."

    Jiang Liuer’s brow furrowed.

    Terrified, the clerk hastily corrected himself: "The prefect is Liu! Villain Liu! Don’t kill me—I’ll take you to his residence!"

    As they exited the compound with the ashen-faced clerk, villagers began gathering.

    Seeing Jiang Liuer’s bloodstained clothes and fierce demeanor, they praised him for killing Wu Qigui.

    Jiang Liuer immediately warned: "Don’t spread rumors. Unless you witnessed it, don’t claim I killed anyone."

    Murderers faced execution.

    Jiang Liuer severed evil, not lives.

    Some villagers tearfully thanked him, claiming a righteous official had finally arrived to free them from Wu Qigui’s oppression.

    Others begged him to stay, fearing another tyrant would replace Wu.

    But Jiang Liuer had vengeance to pursue.

    "I’m no official—I’m a Tang citizen like you," he said. "I simply have the courage to wield a sword for justice. If more dared oppose tyranny, scum like this would vanish."

    A villager asked: "What if we’re outmatched?"

    Jiang Liuer replied: "Don’t fight alone. Gather ten brave souls, and the tyrant’s guards lose their edge. Rally a hundred, and the tyrant flees. Assemble a thousand, and the officials will execute him preemptively."

    The villagers exchanged uneasy glances.

    The clerk nearly wet himself: Is this youth teaching rebellion?

    Shouqing understood the first two points but not the last: "Why would officials kill the tyrant for a thousand people?"

    Jiang Liuer explained: "To quell public fury, or the officials themselves would fall."

    Shouqing shuddered: "Your wisdom humbles me, friend."

    Sheathing his sword, Jiang Liuer said: "Just my musings. If I ever became a corrupt official causing such outrage, this knowledge might save my neck."

    Shouqing disagreed: "You draw your sword against evil—how could you ever harm the people?"

    Jiang Liuer felt a pang of guilt.

    He’d indeed once considered becoming a corrupt magistrate if monastic life failed.

    After declining villagers’ gifts, they worked together to dispose of the "mysterious massacre" evidence.

    As Jiang Liuer put it: "Now they’re accomplices—they won’t betray us."

    ......

    Later, guided by the clerk, they entered Jiangzhou’s bustling district.

    Yet twelve years of misrule left even prosperity feeling lifeless.

    Guards ignored suspicious characters entering the city, while ordinary folk faced interrogation.

    Jiang Liuer watched a barely disguised demon stroll unchallenged through the gates.

    When their turn came, guards demanded thirty coins per person.

    Hu Yuyu protested: "That demon paid nothing! Thirty coins could buy a chicken!"

    "Pay or leave," the guard retorted.

    The clerk nearly fainted, knowing the harmless-looking youth was a killer.

    Desperate to avoid trouble, he flashed the prefect’s token.

    The guards immediately groveled, letting them pass.

    Hu Yuyu glared: "If they’d resisted longer, I’d have shown them why Foxes of Fierce Tiger Mountain aren’t to be trifled with!"

    Jiang Liuer observed: "Rotten leaders breed rotten underlings."

    Shouqing frowned: "The demonic aura here... I’ve heard lawless lands attract evil. This might be Tang’s most corrupted prefecture."

    "Most regions have few demons now. Even Wolf’s Ravine was tame compared to this," he added.

    Guided by the trembling clerk, they reached the prefect’s lavish estate—built on blood and extorted wealth.

    The clerk relayed: "Young hero, Liu... the villain went sightseeing with his new concubine. He’ll return eventually."

    Jiang Liuer said calmly: "I’ll wait."

    His constant sword fiddling betrayed his impatience.

    The clerk ventured: "I’ve guided you... I’m just a messenger. Could you...?"

    Jiang Liuer waved dismissively.

    Overjoyed, the clerk thanked him—until Jiang Liuer added: "But you might warn him. Shouqing, watch him until Liu dies."

    The clerk despaired—this changed nothing!

    "Master, what’s wrong?" Hu Yuyu noticed Jiang Liuer pacing outside.

    He hesitated: "Liu took his concubine out, leaving his ‘official wife’—my mother—here. I need to see her... but what if I feel nothing?"

    Hu Yuyu urged: "You came this far. Meet her regardless."

    Realization struck.

    He vaulted the wall.

    ......