Chapter 47: A Priceless Promise
The battle dust settled in the City Lord's Mansion.
The soldiers who came to support the military camp earlier mainly maintained order outside the mansion. Only a few participated in the battle, and most of them were still waiting outside the mansion, vaguely hearing the sounds of the fighting inside without fully understanding the situation.
After the matter was settled, the soldiers who had gathered outside the mansion began to leave. Only a few were sent to the City Lord's mansion to do some miscellaneous tasks like carrying bodies.
Old Huang and the monk, along with other former subordinates of Qiao Mu, happened to be among them.
"What? The City Lord's son is dead? Killed by a murderer? Oh heavens—"
Old Huang couldn't help but exclaim, drawing the unfriendly gazes of the people around the City Lord's mansion.
"Heavens...heavens are jealous of talent indeed, to take away the City Lord's young son!"
Old Huang's shoulders trembled slightly, his old face contorted with grief.
Only when the onlookers saw this scene did their curious stares finally leave.
In reality, Old Huang was tightly pinching his own thigh to suppress a burst of laughter.
The wheels of justice turn slowly but surely!
He thought that someone like him would never be able to get revenge in his lifetime, and could only swallow his anger and compromise like everyone else in the city.
If he didn't drink three big bowls of wine when he returned home today, his wife, who had a miscarriage because of him, would be angry with him!
In these past few years, he had occasionally fantasized about taking a life for a life and killing the young master without caring about the consequences.
But he still had six children at home... If he did such a thing, it wouldn't be as simple as leaving them as orphans and widows, it would be a complete disaster.
"The person who broke into the Lord's Manor and killed the young master sounds very fierce, where did he come from? Is he a vengeful bandit?" Old Huang continued to inquire.
"Speaking of that person, almost everyone in Yan City should have heard of him." said Ah Cheng, the chatty servant:
"He is Qiao Mu's older brother, who had a grudge with the young master before. I think his name is Qiao Lin? He is a newcomer to Yan City."
Qiao Lin？
Old Huang instinctively glanced at the monk behind him, and the joy that had just surged in his heart suddenly froze.
No wonder he's so powerful... So, it turns out he's Qiao Mu's older brother, Qiao Lin.
"So, you mean Qiao Lin was fighting alone in the Lord's manor earlier, and was eventually surrounded and killed?"
Suddenly, Old Huang felt a bit overwhelmed.
It's a cause for celebration when a great revenge is avenged.
But to trade the life of a friend's own brother... even though he and Qiao Lin only met yesterday, it still didn't sit well in his heart.
"Speaking of this Qiao Lin, he's really a peculiar person." The other soldiers and servants whispered and gossiped.
Earlier, he had locked the kitchen door, buying some time for Qiao Mu. But when Qiao Mu was eventually discovered, he stopped pretending.
"It's rare to see such selfless sacrifice, but I can still understand it to some extent. After all, such characters exist in the stories told by the tea house storytellers."
"The strangest thing is, his final struggle before he died."
"Qiao Lin's final blow was supposed to aim at Lord Guo with his spear. I was watching from afar, but it seems like he changed his mind or lost focus, and he ended up hitting... that square-faced ghost."
"Square-faced ghost? Are you talking about the big guy who always follows the City Lord's son?" Old Huang asked after a moment of surprise.
"Yes, that's him."
"That guy looks fierce and strong, although he hasn't cultivated internal strength, he's quite powerful. He's always with the City Lord's son, accompanying him on every outing."
"I heard that Qiao Lin is already an 8th rank martial artist. If he were in the Yan City Army, he would be like a respected military officer. It's not strange that his final blow, as an 8th rank martial artist, was aimed at that inexperienced square-faced ghost."
"What about those servants? They're not worth mourning. They're always following Childe Guo, brandishing their whips. This madman who barged into the Lord's Manor actually did a good thing," the other soldiers chatted.
"Could they have some personal grudges?"
Personal grudges?
How can someone of the 8th rank martial artist have personal grudges that they hold onto even until their death?
Old Huang listened and felt confused. Suddenly, he had an unbelievable thought in his mind.
If he said this thought out loud, the monks around him would surely laugh at him, thinking that Old Huang was being too full of himself. He should look in the mirror and see what kind of person he really is.
"Where is the body of the square-faced ghost?" Old Huang suddenly asked.
"There, it's placed in the corner of the wall," the servant pointed casually.
Under the courtyard wall, there were about twenty bodies lined up. These were the servants and guards who died in the recent battle. There were even more people who were injured by Qiao Mu.
The bodies were temporarily placed side by side in the empty corner of the wall, their faces covered with white cloth, making it difficult to see their faces.
Old Huang hesitated for a moment, then ran over and reached the corner of the wall. He lifted the white cloth from the face of each body and took a quick glance.
"One."
"This one is not..."
"Two."
"Three..."
"Four?"
Every time he counted a number, his voice trembled slightly, and as he got to the later ones, even his fingers shook a bit.
Old Huang wasn't very brave.
Although he was somewhat of a veteran, the only skill he had learned was one he couldn't show off - the Iron Crotch Skill. He always fought sneakily in battles, never directly facing his opponents.
Due to his limited courage, after eagerly drinking the bowl of Hero Courage Soup yesterday, he worried all night and couldn't fall asleep.
Because he was timid, he remembered the faces of the servants who carried the coffin into the house yesterday very clearly. He planned to avoid them in the future to prevent them from bringing up that matter again.
And now...
"Seven."
He put down the white cloth in his hand and stood still, feeling a bit confused.
The worries that troubled him all day suddenly disappeared, everything was fine now.
While feeling relieved, he also had an indescribable emotion in his heart.
"Old Huang, you're getting old, why are you suddenly acting crazy?" The monk next to him quickly walked over.
This Old Huang opened the white cloth covering the face of the body in the corner of the wall... this behavior was indeed inappropriate, if it was seen by the officials of the town, he would probably get punished.
However, Old Huang still remained stunned.
"Monk, let me ask you, is that powerful gray-clothed old man who always follows Childe Guo also gone?" Old Huang suddenly asked.
".....I heard he died?"
"Where is Childe Guo?"
"He's dead. We were just talking about it earlier. Did you forget so quickly?"
Old Huang stayed silent for a long time before slowly saying,
"Yesterday, when Childe Guo's coffin was carried into the house, the seven house servants who were with him are all lying here now. Do you think he did a meticulous job?"
"Is that so? You must have been worried for a long time, but now everything is fine." The monk didn't think too much about it at that moment.
"Indeed, I heard from the boss before that people who smile often have good luck."
Old Huang smiled and revealed his unattractive big yellow teeth.
"Monk, don't you think I would look better as a beauty?"
"....Dare you speak those words to yourself in front of a mirror?"
Old Huang smiled silently.
His luck was really good.
What was great was that he coincidentally met two brothers, Qiao Mu and Qiao Lin...
Suddenly, he remembered the promise that Qiao Mu made when they first met.
They said that Qiao Mu will keep his word, but he had no money in his hands. In order to repay Old Huang for teaching him the Iron Crotch Skill, he promised to take care of him completely...
Qiao Mu is a man of his word, and Qiao Lin may seem rough, but he is actually observant...
Old Huang stood up and started working again with the monk beside him, continuing to help with the post-war chores in the lord's mansion.
Qiao Lin was a bad person who murdered people in the lord's mansion. He is already dead.
So as a living person, he had to keep a clear line between himself and the dead, and not show any strange emotions on the surface.
This thing should be just like that bowl of Hero Courage Soup he drank, just rotting in his stomach.
He was just doing odd jobs while carrying the body, but an indescribable emotion unknowingly filled his heart.
How did it come to this point? His Iron Crotch Skill isn't that valuable....
Translator: Volume 6 has been published on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3TYrAjp).
