Volume One: The Menial of Changshui County, Chapter 129: Long Since Dead

From the very beginning, County Magistrate Assistant Wang slapped a heavy label on Lu Jiuzhang!

"Has Assistant Wang ever seen me make a move?" Lu Jiuzhang asked, his face dark.

"What does it matter if I saw it or not? Are you trying to distance yourself? Is that man not your acquaintance? Was he not acting under your direction? Lu Jiuzhang, this is not up to you to decide. Men, take him into custody!" Assistant Wang commanded.

Last time, the presence of the Demon Slayer Division’s servants had prevented him from forcefully suppressing Lu Jiuzhang. Having learned his lesson, Assistant Wang intended to lock Lu Jiuzhang up first and then subject him to extrajudicial torture.

"Heh heh..."

The hook-nosed old man struck instantly, his fingers transforming into claws as he lunged for Lu Jiuzhang’s vital points.

"Pathetic!" Lu Jiuzhang threw a punch.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

In the blink of an eye, the hook-nosed old man was forced back dozens of steps by Lu Jiuzhang.

"My Lord, this boy is not to be underestimated," the hook-nosed old man said, his heart filled with dread.

It was truly inconceivable that such a young man could repel him so effortlessly.

"Useless trash! Your sect relies on me and draws vast resources every year, and this is how you repay me?" Assistant Wang was furious.

In truth, he was quite shocked himself! How much time had passed, and yet Lu Jiuzhang’s cultivation had surged so dramatically? This hook-nosed old man was the grand elder of a small sect in Anxi Prefecture. To ensure the smooth development of his sect, he had defected to Assistant Wang’s faction and become his bodyguard. To think he had been repelled by Lu Jiuzhang in just a single blow.

"Die!" The hook-nosed old man charged forward again.

"Slash!" Lu Jiuzhang unsheathed the Frost Sky Blade. A blade aura several feet long swept down toward the hook-nosed old man.

In a single stroke, his arm was severed. A bloody limb fell to the ground. The hook-nosed old man let out a shrill scream and retreated several feet.

He was a monster! How could someone so young possess such vigorous spiritual energy and such fierce blade techniques? It was as if he had been immersed in the martial arts for decades!

"Useless!" Assistant Wang cursed again, stepping in front of Lu Jiuzhang. "I am the Assistant Magistrate of Changshui County, an official of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Lu Jiuzhang, do you dare to strike me?"

"I dare not," Lu Jiuzhang replied, shaking his head.

He was different from Bian Yuan. Bian Yuan had powerful backing when he hunted down Zhong Zhengming. Lu Jiuzhang, however, had no influential figures behind him. Furthermore, the faction behind Assistant Wang had not fallen. Killing an imperial official was a capital crime! Unless Lu Jiuzhang’s strength surpassed the authority of the imperial court, he would face endless pursuit.

"You know your place, boy. Come with me to the county office, or I shall summon experts from Anxi Prefecture," Assistant Wang threatened. "At that point, it will no longer be up to you!"

"Assistant Wang, you jest!" Lu Jiuzhang sneered. "I indeed dare not strike you, but striking a local tyrant is of no consequence!"

Right in front of Assistant Wang, Lu Jiuzhang walked over to the Zhang family bully. "Disrespecting a Demon Slayer is not a capital crime, so I’ll just take half your life."

"How dare you, you brat!" Assistant Wang exploded with rage.

Ignoring him, Lu Jiuzhang stepped down onto the legs of the Zhang family bully. A crisp sound echoed through the street as the bones beneath shattered into shards.

"Ahhh..." A scream tore through the street. The bully was in agony. Lu Jiuzhang then crushed his other leg, and the bully passed out from the pain.

"You... you..." Assistant Wang was so enraged he couldn't speak.

"Assistant Wang, I won't see you out!" Lu Jiuzhang said with a smile.

With a flick of his sleeve, Assistant Wang departed on the spot. The county office servants hurriedly carried the bully away, fleeing the scene.

"Lord Lu is mighty!"
"That Zhang family bully was a scourge of Changshui County; Lord Lu has truly rid us of a plague!"
"The bully deserved it. If only Changshui County had more men like Lord Lu..."

The onlookers sighed with emotion. A single tyrant could bring disaster to an entire region. Across the Great Zhou Dynasty, who knew how many such tyrants existed? They ran rampant, bullying the weak and oppressing the people. How many commoners lived in misery, their lives worse than death?

Lu Jiuzhang’s gaze was cold. The new Emperor had ascended the throne and sought reform—could he not see these things? *He who dwells in the high temple worries for his people; he who lives in the distant wilds worries for his ruler.* Was this new Emperor truly competent?

Having finished with the matter, Lu Jiuzhang had no heart to return to the Bliss Pavilion. He headed toward his residence with Bai Xiaosu and the big black dog. It was getting late, and returning now would be acceptable.

"Did you offend some big shot? Why so quiet?" Seeing Lu Jiuzhang’s gloomy expression, Bai Xiaosu asked.

"Not at all, just lost in thought," Lu Jiuzhang shook his head.

With the bully gone, Changshui County could enjoy temporary stability. But how long would it last? Once Lu Jiuzhang left, or perhaps even before, a new tyrant would likely appear. These things could not be prevented. How to manage it? How to govern? Lu Jiuzhang sighed deeply.

"Master Jiu, you should find a way to explain things to Chan'er. It's best to find an excuse so the girl isn't too saddened," the big black dog said, showing concern for her.

"Let's stall for now. Her mother will be back in a couple of days," Lu Jiuzhang couldn't think of a good excuse either. Fortunately, he hadn't been the one to personally arrest Chan'er’s mother; otherwise, given the current situation, Assistant Wang would surely have caused even more trouble.

"Poor girl, having a mother like that is a misfortune," the dog sighed.

"Sigh!" Seeing the two of them sighing, Bai Xiaosu joined in.

"Sister Bai, do you have troubles on your mind?" the dog asked.

"My master said the world outside was wonderful, but I’ve found that, apart from being bigger, it is not as good as the relic world," Bai Xiaosu lamented.

"The relic world is just a small society. As the daughter of a sect master, you simply didn't see the dark side of things. The higher a person’s status, the more good people they find around them," Lu Jiuzhang explained. "It is not the place, but the human heart! In this world, the hardest thing to fathom is the human heart."

The two of them and the dog sighed in unison, all feeling somewhat dispirited.

...

At the Zhang estate, Assistant Wang had the bully brought back and summoned the best doctors in Changshui County to treat him. A sharp-tongued, bitter woman stood by, eyes rimmed with red, and shouted at Assistant Wang, "Brother, who beat my son like this? You must avenge him!"

"Do you think I need you to tell me? I will definitely settle this score," Assistant Wang said, his face dark. "It is too late today. Tomorrow, I will draft a letter. On one hand, I will have Anxi Prefecture send several experts; on the other, I will pressure the Anxi Prefecture Demon Slayer Division to strip Lu Jiuzhang of his position! It was a mistake to settle my grudge with that scoundrel Lu Jiuzhang in front of Zhong Zhengming. Who would have thought the Zhong family would fall so quickly? Had I known, I would have moved sooner, and that wretch would likely be dead by now!"