Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Vacant Magistrate's Office
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When they arrived at their destination, Yuk Jin-yang felt bewilderment first and foremost.
The gates of the county office were firmly shut. Not a single sentry who should have been guarding the front was in sight.
He extended his senses to probe for signs of life, but detected no presence whatsoever. A lone crow perched on the ridgepole, cawing mournfully, was all there was.
"Did the officials and guards all flee or something?"
"Who knows. No signs of life, at any rate. Let's smash the gate and go in."
Yuk Jin-yang nodded and unleashed a palm strike. The heavy gate, bolts and all, crumbled helplessly. Yuk Ryul clicked his tongue at the sight revealed beyond.
"It's completely empty."
The two slowly toured the government compound. Dust had settled thickly on the doorframes. A clear sign that the residents had been gone for quite some time.
They kept various possibilities in mind as they surveyed the surroundings. No bloodstains or corpses indicated any intrusion.
The warehouse doors stood wide open. Not only the grain stores, but weapons and documents were all gone, pointing to a planned evacuation.
Or perhaps a master martial artist had swept through, capturing the magistrate and guards without a trace.
Yuk Jin-yang asked,
"Did the magistrate abandon the people and flee?"
"The Great Ming Code isn't that lax. A local official neglecting his duties for his own safety? His entire clan could be executed. Even under bandit threats, many would choose to fight and die rather than yield."
Yuk Jin-yang readily accepted his uncle's explanation.
Of course, there were base cowards who would abandon even family in dire straits to save their own skin. But the surroundings were too pristine for any disaster to have occurred.
"Then you think it was the work of experts?"
"An unparalleled master sweeping the yamen without leaving a trace, in a rural backwater like this? Far too unlikely."
"Someone might have seen or heard where the magistrate went."
The two exited the compound. A series of unexpected commotions had drawn curious onlookers gathering in small clusters nearby. Yuk Jin-yang grabbed one commoner and asked,
"Have you seen the local magistrate leave?"
"Pardon? Has the lord gone missing?"
The man blinked in wide-eyed surprise, counter-questioning. No sign of deception. The same went for others. The commoners, sensing something amiss, began murmuring among themselves.
"Come to think of it, we haven't seen him around lately."
"No wonder those heretics have been swaggering about!"
"I thought they'd slaughtered all the guards."
Everyone seemed clueless. Even summoning more villagers yielded the same response.
It was enough to make ghosts weep. Zhaohyun was a county with its own post station. With so many residents, no one knew the magistrate's whereabouts?
'Did the magistrate deliberately flee under cover of night?'
Yuk Jin-yang suddenly recalled a similar scene at another county office.
"Remember the post station here?"
"Empty as well. No signs of fighting. Just like this place."
"Maybe the magistrate's in league with them."
"The Huangbo Clan?"
"And even the White Lotus Cult. Aren't they both serving the imperial decree?"
Yuk Ryul pondered briefly before speaking again.
"Makes sense. I got too fixated on the White Lotus and overlooked the key premise. If the emperor wanted to avoid infamy, dragging in the Huangbo Clan..."
"...the officials could slip away at the right moment for a cleaner picture. Especially to deceive the common folk."
Yuk Ryul nodded.
"No point lingering here for more intel. Let's go."
"Understood."
Yuk Jin-yang turned back to the commoners before leaving. There was something he needed to do first.
"Everyone. We come from the Alliance."
"The Alliance...?"
"Is that true?!"
They gazed with a mix of suspicion and hope. Yuk Jin-yang deliberately parted his robes. The token at his waist gleamed, sparking joy on their faces.
"We've heard the Huangbo Clan colludes with heretics to exploit you. That's why we've come as reinforcements. To block the heretics' advance."
"Th-then, great heroes, will you stay here? We don't know when those fiends might return."
"Yes, please protect us."
It was the attitude of crisis-bred desperation, demanding more after rescue, but it didn't grate. They were fighting for survival too. In this harsh world, it was natural for the weak to grovel before the strong.
Yuk Ryul quickly interjected.
"We'll sweep even the remnants in the area, so rest easy. Return to your livelihoods."
The murmuring crowd soon nodded in acceptance and dispersed one by one.
Watching them go, Yuk Ryul clapped Yuk Jin-yang on the shoulder.
"Well done. You've properly established our cause. Didn't know you had such quick wits."
"Once the rumors spread, even the court won't easily shield the Huangbo Clan."
"You grasp the ways of the world better than I thought. At this rate, you'll outpace me in the Alliance."
Yuk Jin-yang just smiled at his uncle's jest.
They passed three villages over the next three days.
The other villages were no different from Zhaohyun. Everywhere, heretics draped in lotus-emblem turbans chanted of the Pure Void Fragrant Realm. The White Lotus Cult was rampant across Shandong.
The duo smashed through successive bands of cultists as they pressed north, distributing their hoarded wealth and grain liberally to the commoners.
Rumors spread, drawing praise in their wake. By the time they reached the next village, the tales had grown in the telling.
Exaggerations flew of a True Immortal come to punish the heretics. Countless begged them to stay, declaring distrust in the officials and Huangbo Clan.
Thus they arrived at Chengwu Village, the largest in the area.
"Seems certain the Huangbo Clan is colluding with the heretics."
"Yes, far more brazen here than Zhaohyun. They're openly mingling."
They had stopped at a shabby inn for a brief rest.
There, Yuk Jin-yang calmly sipped tea with his uncle amid the prickling stares, showing no unease.
Drag.
A man approached their table, scraping a chair. Without asking, he sat. Rude, but no one objected. This wasn't the place for etiquette.
Yuk Ryul nodded toward the teapot.
"Care for a cup?"
"No thanks. Tea's not my thing."
"We ordered wine anyway. Though the boy's taking his time."
"Won't come, I wager. If you're savoring a last meal, my apologies. We're busy too."
The last part was blatant.
Yuk Jin-yang chuckled softly beside him, lifting his teacup. The man stared blankly, then spat,
"Walking into the jaws of death and sipping tea? Young too. Quite the refined taste. All famed clan heirs like that?"
"Wrong. Not walking into death—we came to turn this place into it."
"Ha! Spirit's admirable, but youth blinds you to the world's perils. Well, wine tastes different at death's door. I'll pour one on your grave after."
As the man reached for his narrow sword, Yuk Jin-yang struck first.
Crash!
The teacup, infused with qi, smashed into the man's forehead. His head snapped back, neck breaking. He died seated.
As if on signal, the inn's patrons rose en masse. More poured in from outside. The cramped space filled with blades and burly warriors.
Most wore White Lotus headbands and turbans.
A few men and women stood out, clad in fine silk robes and jade rings. Yuk Jin-yang had noted them upon entry—clearly Huangbo Clan members.
"Infusing qi into objects. And not even peak refinement."
"...Branch chief put a bounty on their heads. No ordinary foes. Stay sharp."
"Opportunity to reach the Pure Void Fragrant Realm. Why fear death?"
The cultists steeled for battle.
The Huangbo warriors set grim resolves too.
"Didn't expect a chance to avenge Hoseo and Soso so soon."
"Daring to kill Huangbo bloodkin and prowl Shandong? I'll crush their arrogance."
"Arrogance? Make them beg for death."
Their venom dripped. Zhaohyun's events had reached them. Yuk Jin-yang met the Huangbo members' eyes with a sneer.
"Hoseo and Soso, was it? Pathetic skills—I didn't catch the names. Thanks for telling me."
"...Rip that mouth off!"
A shrill cry pierced, killing intent exploding from all sides.
One boldly lunged first, hurling darts then thrusting his narrow sword like a spear.
Yuk Jin-yang spun in place to dodge the hidden weapons, then whipped his forearm. The whip-like backhand struck the blade flat. The foe staggered.
No chance to recover. Yuk Jin-yang seized his throat like lightning, crushing it. As the corpse blocked views, a swordsman thrust twin blades.
'No camaraderie, yet chanting Pure Void Fragrant Realm.'
The attack's path was simple, easy to read.
Yuk Jin-yang lightly caught the blade with one hand. His other fist pulverized the wide-eyed foe's face. The man crumpled in place.
"What?!"
"Don't falter—keep charging!"
The enemies pressed on undaunted, fearless as true heretics.
In contrast, Huangbo warriors observed, using cultists as fodder to wear him down. Their intent was obvious.
Yuk Jin-yang had no intention of playing along.
He summoned the Moon Maiden Divine Art's qi.
The circulating energy swelled his muscles. He stepped forward, arm arcing in a circle. Vortices of qi at his fingertips distorted the air like heat haze.
Boom!
The palm strike unleashed monstrous power.