I want to die!

Chapter 24 Alliance of Righteousness

The night was endless.

The straw-hatted man, Afu, and his companions leaped over the high walls of the Zhao family mansion and hid in the shadows on one side of the street.

"Master, aren't we leaving yet?" the woman in white asked.

"Don't rush, observe for a while longer," Afu said calmly, his gaze fixed on the Zhao family mansion under the night sky.

The woman in white and the others were also somewhat puzzled.

Now that the matter is settled, and Zhou Xing has been left behind willingly to take the blame, it's time to leave as soon as possible.

The Righteous Alliance has been established for ten years, and this organization, which has been lurking in the shadows, is growing stronger day by day, gradually gaining the power to cover the sky like a black wing.

However, it would be unrealistic to expect these members of the Righteous Alliance to actually step forward and confront the Great Mang army or even the extraterrestrial beings head-on.

Afu remained silent, quietly hiding in the night as time slowly passed.

The Zhao family mansion remained closed under the cover of night, and no shadowy figures escaped by scaling the walls.

"Treating the last two survivors of the Zhao family shouldn't take this long, right?"

"It's Li Yingcai. He didn't leave?" The woman in white frowned, somewhat confused. She subconsciously turned to look at Afu, who was leading the group.

Although the Righteous Alliance gave Zhou Xing two choices, their intention was not to make Zhou Xing suffer the consequences and die.

After all, a murderer who slaughtered an entire family can only become a better symbol and make all the gentry in the county wary if he escapes unscathed and is not arrested by the government.

But to his surprise, Afu was also frowning deeply.

Unlike before in the mansion, he was not able to confidently give them a reason that they could believe.

Why?

Why is he staying in the Zhao family's house? Isn't he afraid of dying?

"Master, should we go in again and ask him for clarification?" the woman in white asked again.

Even Afu hesitated this time. He remained silent for a moment in the darkness, but suddenly turned his head to look in another direction.

At the end of the distant country road, there were scattered lights.

The soldiers have arrived.

There were about forty or fifty people, each carrying a musket and a short sword at their waist. Behind them on horseback was a pot-bellied middle-aged man in official robes.

"It's the newly appointed magistrate of Qingshui County, Zhao Anguo." Afu narrowed his eyes, noticing something amiss.

The county magistrate is the local official in Qingshui County. Although he has great power, he is ultimately a civil servant and unlike Wayne back then, he is not skilled in martial arts.

Normally, Magistrate Zhao would never personally be present for such a grueling task as being dispatched by the soldiers at the first possible moment at night.

But he was quickly jolted, pressed down on the heads of the people around him, and lay low in the distant woods.

next moment.

Among the group of soldiers, a man in a blue robe, who was not armed, looked up and glanced at them from afar.

At the very front of the crowd, a young woman on horseback leading the soldiers also slightly raised her head, her deep, double pupils glancing briefly in that direction before quickly lowering her head again.

Seemingly noticing a man in a green robe standing behind her, peering into the woods, she quickly lowered her gaze and pretended nothing was wrong.

"Just disturbing a local gentry in a small town, and it's enough to alarm the royal guards of the Great Mang?" Afu lowered his head, his eyes flickering slightly:

"Could it be that a real dragon has just crossed the river to this small county town?"

No longer concerned about Zhou Xing in the mansion, he led the group behind him and disappeared into the night.

Everyone has their own choices. Bearing the infamy of wiping out one's entire family is a choice, as is staying in the house and waiting to die.

Although I don't understand, I will bear the consequences of my choices, and it's none of their business to interfere.

..............................

"Your Excellency, this is the house!"

Li Ziqing led the way, bringing them all the way to the gate of the Zhao family's residence.

But a hint of doubt also crossed my mind.

She had only guessed that the hostage Zhou Chen had a close relationship with her biological father, so she came to ask for help.

But the other party was, after all, just a hostage, someone who came to this Great Mang Dynasty as a hostage. How could a mere word make a dignified county magistrate rush over in the dead of night...

The hostage of Southern Zhou, the vague gaze in the darkness... everything about him is suspicious, even his own biological father seems a bit strange.

The house in front of us is also suspicious.

Li Ziqing frowned, her gaze falling on an inconspicuous hoofprint on the ground under the moonlight.

The hoofprints weren't in front of the house gate, but at the street corner, as if someone had ridden a galloping horse to the gate, then suddenly reined in the horse and turned away.

The image of Young Master Zhao galloping away on horseback immediately flashed into Li Ziqing's mind... Instead of returning to the house to get reinforcements, he suddenly fled in panic?

Without orders, the soldiers carrying guns walked to the gate of the mansion and sensed something was amiss. They lined up and surrounded the gate.

The brightly lit yet eerily quiet courtyard, and the chilling, pungent smell of blood seeping from the cracks in the door.

"Could it be that they secretly killed the person His Highness wanted? We can smell blood outside the door. I'm afraid it was some local gentry who took the law into their own hands and executed him by slow slicing." Magistrate Zhao, who was behind them, was a little frightened and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to break down the courtyard gate.

Two broad-shouldered soldiers stepped forward from the left and right, and with a sudden shove of their shoulders, the heavy mansion gate collapsed with a crash.

The stench of blood suddenly intensified, rushing into the nostrils of the soldiers standing in front of the gate, causing their expressions to change.

The officers and soldiers, carrying muskets, cautiously stepped into the courtyard.

The sight illuminated by the firelight made everyone gasp in horror.

There were more than a dozen corpses lying haphazardly in the courtyard, and the guards dressed in servants' uniforms and short-sleeved clothes were all lying in pools of blood.

Blood spread across the bluestone slab, turning somewhat black. The air was filled with a strong stench of blood, mixed with the foul smell of incontinence, making one feel nauseous.

"This, this is..." Magistrate Zhao's face turned ashen, and he subconsciously took half a step back, bumping into the soldiers behind him.

Further inside, the doors to the hall were wide open.

The firelight shone through, illuminating the scene inside.

On the grand chair, Zhao Shanren was bound hand and foot, slumped there, his head drooping, a deep cut on his neck still oozing blood. His brocade robe was soaked with blood, dripping onto the ground and forming a small puddle.

"There's someone by the screen! A living person!" a trembling voice cried out in the night.

The officers and soldiers looked in the direction of the location.

He was pale-faced, beardless, and in his forties, his features still retained some of the handsome features of his youth. The firelight illuminated his pale face, making it appear even brighter.

She was wearing a blood-stained red wedding dress and casually leaning against the screen.

He just sat there, head held high, watching the soldiers pouring in, his expression calm.

The firelight danced on his face, reflecting specks of blood.

Li Ziqing stood at the door, her gaze falling on him, her pupils suddenly contracting.

He is still alive.

Despite appearing to be covered in blood, there were no visible wounds; it was all someone else's blood.

The ground was littered with corpses, the courtyard was filled with blood; everyone was dead except for him, who sat there quietly.

"The murderer is Li Yingcai!" Magistrate Zhao subconsciously read out the blood-written words on the screen, shielding the soldiers in front of him, his voice trembling, "You...you killed Zhao Shanren's entire family?"

Zhou Xing glanced at him, then lowered his head to look at the knife in his hand.

"If you say so, then so be it," he said calmly.

"..." Magistrate Zhao was momentarily speechless at his attitude, but then reacted and shouted shrilly, "Guards! Seize this criminal!"

The officers and soldiers looked at each other, their dark gun barrels pointed at him, but they all kept a distance and slowly moved closer.

Even with a musket in hand, they instinctively dared not be the first to step forward.

Zhou Xing raised his head, his gaze passing over the soldiers and landing on Li Ziqing at the door.

The father and daughter looked at each other across the yard full of corpses.

Li Ziqing opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that she couldn't say anything.

Zhou Xing suddenly revealed a faint smile.

"Qing'er, do you think your father is manly enough now?" he asked.

He suddenly remembered Li Yingcai's dying wish that he could not fulfill.

Li Ziqing's mind went blank for a moment. She opened her eyes and looked at Zhou Xing, hesitating to speak.

Is this the kind of issue your own father cares about at a time like this?

"What a madman."

"Take it down!"

Magistrate Zhao gave the order again, and the soldiers finally rushed forward and captured Zhou Xing on the spot.

Just as they were about to put on shackles and chains and take him back to the county prison, the man in the blue robe in the post station coughed lightly.

Magistrate Zhao immediately understood: "Capture this man first, don't rush to send him to the county prison... The case of the massacre of the entire family is of great importance, and I will interrogate him personally."

After the officers and soldiers escorted Zhou Xing away, they sealed off the Zhao family residence where the incident occurred.

In the deserted mansion, apart from the corpses and bloodstains scattered on the ground, only a guard in a green robe paced back and forth in the courtyard.

He would occasionally lean closer to examine the corpse closely, the firelight reflecting off his face, making it appear somewhat strange.

The Inner Guards were imperial secret agents and guards directly under the Great Mang royal family, serving as the eyes and ears of the royal family.

The varying depths of the wounds on the corpses indicate that there was more than one killer, and their martial arts skills differed greatly.

"That palace eunuch named Li Yingcai, he's not alone..."

"There are accomplices among them."

Thinking of the faint, elusive gaze coming from the direction of the woods in the shadows, he made a guess.

............................

The interior of the post station.

Prince Murong Ying of the Great Mang sat idly by the window, a teacup in his hand. The night outside was dark, with only the occasional figure of a patrolling guard passing by.

The guard in the green robe pushed open the door and entered, bowing respectfully.

"Your Highness."

"Speak," Murong Ying said without looking up, her gaze fixed on the tea.

The guard stepped closer and lowered his voice: "In the Zhao family mansion, all those who died were members of the Zhao family. Servants, guards, and the Zhao family patriarch himself, a total of seventeen people."

Murong Ying raised an eyebrow: "Li Yingcai killed him all by himself?"

"That's the problem." The guard paused. "The wounds on the corpses varied in depth, and the methods used to kill them were also quite different."

Some wounds were fatally slashed in the throat with a clean, precise cut, indicating at least ten years of training; others, however, appeared raw and clumsy, as if inflicted haphazardly by someone who had just picked up a knife.

Murong Ying raised her eyes: "More than one person?"

"At least three or four, and they were quite skilled in martial arts." The guard nodded. "I sensed someone watching me in the woods outside the Zhao family residence. But by the time I looked over, they had vanished."

"They ran away?"

"They escaped. But someone who could escape right under my nose is no ordinary person..." The guard in the green robe pondered for a moment, "I dare to guess that it might be an old friend, someone from the Righteous Alliance."

Murong Ying remained silent for a moment, then put down her teacup.

"People from the Righteous Alliance?"

"I had long suspected this person was suspicious, perhaps a spy... I never expected him to be involved with the Righteous Alliance," Murong Ying pondered.

After all, the frame-up of the "rape and murder of the eunuch" might have been orchestrated by some faction within the Great Mang court.

After all, although he had been regent for sixty years, he had never ascended the throne, and the court was ultimately not his personal fiefdom.

But if the mysterious Jianghu organization, the Righteous Alliance, is also involved, then things become even more complicated.

The imperial guard continued, "I have heard that the Righteous Alliance has been active in Jiangnan for the past ten years, specifically targeting local gentry and officials who have a lot of grievances among the people. Your Highness has also heard about Zhao Shanren's reputation in Qingshui County."

"A chivalrous knight-errant," Murong Ying suddenly spoke, his tone casual.

The guard was taken aback: "What did Your Highness say?"

"I said, those are chivalrous knights-errant." Murong Ying turned to look at him. "They specialize in killing corrupt officials, targeting the rich and heartless, leaving their names behind after the kill, and then disappearing without a trace. Sound familiar?"

The guard nodded: "That's how it's said in storybooks and by storytellers."

"But a story is just a story. If it were that simple, I wouldn't have this headache." Murong Ying stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to the guards.

"Those lone swordsmen, no matter how good they are at fighting, are still just one person. They can kill ten officials and a hundred gentry, but in a few years, their subordinates will scramble to climb up and take their places, so they can't turn the world upside down."

He paused, his voice turning serious:

"But the Righteous Alliance is quite different."

"What they're seeking isn't fame, or rather, it's more than just fame..."

He stopped talking and didn't continue.

The guard tentatively said:

"According to the inside information we have gathered, one of the major goals of the Righteous Alliance is to find a medical master... or rather, an organization of a group of medical masters."

"...There's no need to spread such absurd news in the future." Murong Ying said without looking up.

The guard waited a while, then tentatively asked, "Your Highness, that Li Yingcai...should I interrogate him properly?"

"Interrogate?" Murong Ying withdrew her gaze, a faint smile playing on her lips. "What are you going to use to interrogate him? If he's a member of the Righteous Alliance, you won't be able to find out anything; if he isn't, you can interrogate him to death and it will all be for nothing."

The guard was taken aback: "Then Your Highness means..."

Murong Ying stood up, walked to the window, and turned her back to the guards.

"Interesting," he suddenly said.

The guard didn't understand: "What does Your Highness mean?"

"This person." Murong Ying turned around, a hint of amusement in her eyes:

"The Zhao family came to force him to marry, but he, a eunuch, went out dressed in his daughter's wedding dress. He killed them, wiped out the entire family, and then sat among the corpses, waiting for the soldiers to come and arrest him."

"I won't run, I won't beg for mercy, I won't explain. I'll just sit there, wearing my wedding dress."

Murong Ying suddenly laughed.

"If you interrogate someone like that, he'll only tell you the story he wants to tell."

The guards remained silent.

Murong Ying sat back down by the window, picked up her teacup, and said slowly, "Keep him here for now, don't torture him. Let him live a good life."

"So...we're not going to proceed with the trial?"

"There will be an investigation," Murong Ying said, raising his eyes with a deep gaze, "but it won't be you who conducts the investigation."

The guard was taken aback: "Your Highness means..."

Murong Ying didn't explain further, but simply lowered her head to drink her tea, muttering to herself:

"Let me see for myself what kind of thing you really are."

The night outside the window was deep and dark, and the lights of the inn flickered slightly in the wind.