Chapter 86: This Young Master Wants Your Life!

Old Wu bowed to Old Sun, who was speaking so fervently before him. In Old Wu’s eyes, Old Sun was worthy of that bow and of his respect.

The villagers around them seemed to fear something, and only Old Sun had the courage to tell the truth.

For that reason, Old Wu believed that Old Sun deserved his respect and his bow.

Then Old Wu tightened his grip on the Spring Embroidery saber in his hand and strode quickly toward Fang Xu. But after Old Wu turned and left, the villagers standing beside Old Sun urged him to leave the village at once. Otherwise, once Fang Xu was gone, disaster would befall him.

Hearing this, Old Wu found it even harder to restrain himself.

By the time Old Wu reached Fang Xu’s side, Fang Xu had already grown impatient with Master Zhao. Yet this Master Zhao clung to him like a piece of stubborn plaster.

When Old Wu appeared, Fang Xu also noticed that something was clearly wrong with the expression on his face.

Old Wu then leaned close to Fang Xu’s ear and told him everything he had learned without leaving out a single detail. After hearing Old Wu’s account, Fang Xu’s gaze grew even more furious.

But Master Zhao before them showed no reaction at all. He merely smiled at Fang Xu and even said something to the yamen runners beside him.

The runners nodded in understanding, and it was obvious this sort of thing was far from unusual for them.

“Sir, I wonder whether your visit here was at the command of your father, or whether you came simply for pleasure?” Master Zhao said with a grin, rubbing his plump hands together.

In Master Zhao’s mind, if this was at the command of some important man, then he would have to offer even more “sincerity.” But if Fang Xu had come on his own, then Master Zhao could reduce the amount of “sincerity” a little.

Clang!

Fang Xu’s answer was contained in that single kick.

He had reached the limit of his patience. If this had been the Fang Xu of before, he would likely not have even bothered wasting words on Master Zhao.

He would have drawn and struck first.

Especially now, seeing the villagers outside the county office and the striking difference between them and the bulky Master Zhao only made Fang Xu’s anger more certain.

“Sir, please, speak carefully!” Master Zhao said with an ingratiating smile, showing not the slightest dissatisfaction. “Dirtying this flesh of mine is nothing, so long as the young master is not harmed even a little.”

“Sir, this is just a small token of my regard. I hope you will accept it.” Master Zhao handed the box carried by a runner to Old Wu beside Fang Xu.

When the runner saw the enormous footprint on Master Zhao’s body, he still froze for a moment.

It was as if he could not believe that this was still the same Master Zhao he knew. He had been kicked, and yet he could still smile so readily?

What the runner did not know was that, if this had happened before, Master Zhao would not have said much, but he would still have felt somewhat displeased.

After all, in Master Zhao’s own view, a smiling face is not to be struck. He was already being so gracious—was it not a little unreasonable to lay hands on him now?

But Fang Xu was an exception.

Even now, Master Zhao still did not know which family Fang Xu came from. Yet seeing Old Wu beside him, and the dress and sabers of the guards around them, was enough to seal Master Zhao’s lips.

If he could not recognize the flying-fish robes and the Spring Embroidery sabers, then perhaps Master Zhao’s mind truly was blocked.

Imperial guards who possessed the authority to strike first and report later were obeying Fang Xu so dutifully.

Even without guessing, it was clear that Fang Xu’s status was beyond anything Master Zhao could fathom.

So at this moment, no matter what Fang Xu did to him, Master Zhao had no intention of resisting. After all, if he offended Fang Xu, he was afraid he would not be able to bear the consequences behind him.

Without enough patience and the ability to read faces, perhaps Master Zhao would never have become the favored disciple of the Prefect of Danyang.

Perhaps he would never have been sent to this village to serve as county magistrate’s office official.

Just from Master Zhao’s misdeeds over the years, one could see how slick and slippery he was.

Old Wu took the box Master Zhao handed over, and the moment his fingers touched it, he could feel its weight.

Then, looking at Master Zhao’s attitude toward him, Old Wu understood that this Master Zhao must have already sensed his identity.

Old Wu then looked to Fang Xu for his meaning. Fang Xu, forcing down the urge to hack Master Zhao to death with a single stroke, nodded to him.

“Damn it!”

When Old Wu opened the box, Fang Xu could not help but curse aloud.

Inside were several luminous pearls, each as large as a child’s palm, and beneath them lay bricks of gold gleaming with a dazzling brilliance.

“Sir truly has foresight,” Old Wu could not help but think. The value of what was in this box alone was already equal to half of what had been looted from the bandit stronghold before.

Yet what stirred Old Wu even more was anger, because how much of this had come from the blood and sweat of the local villagers?

“May I ask whether the young master is satisfied?” Master Zhao asked with a smile, his eyes narrowed into slits that could scarcely be seen.

“Not particularly satisfied,” Fang Xu said with a shake of his head.

Master Zhao’s expression stiffened.

“May I ask what the young master is dissatisfied with? If you feel it is not enough, I can prepare a little more sincerity,” Master Zhao quickly said, recovering his smile.

“Too bad,” Fang Xu said with a slight click of his tongue, rather helplessly. “What this young master wants, I’m afraid Master Zhao is unwilling to give me.”

“Then what a joke the young master is making!” Master Zhao patted his own chest. “As long as it is something the young master fancies, how could I, Zhao, dare refuse?”

Who would have thought that with that slap, the flesh on Master Zhao’s body would begin to tremble violently.

“Really?” Fang Xu raised a brow and looked at him, his eyes carrying a trace of disbelief.

“Of course it is true!” Master Zhao had already prepared himself for a heavy bleed. He even planned that after sending Fang Xu away, he would once again strip these onlookers among the villagers of everything they had.

“What this young master wants,” Fang Xu said through clenched teeth, “is Master Zhao’s life!”

At those words, Master Zhao froze.

“Y-young master... surely you are not joking, are you?” Master Zhao said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, forcing a laugh as he looked at Fang Xu. But Fang Xu’s face showed not the slightest hint of a joke.