A Clash of Gods - Chapter 80
Chapter 80 Crawl out
Seeing that Yang Ning fought ruthlessly, Gu Qinghan furrowed her beautiful brows.
The Cold Blade was a top-grade weapon which was extremely sharp and wouldn’t be stained with blood. As it was pulled out from the shoulder, it was still clean and smooth. Steward Luo’s voice was hoarse. “Young Master, Grand…pa… Really… It’s really Marquis’ order. We… we just work for him…”
Yang Ning was surprised. Under the situation, he believed that Steward Luo was a coward and wouldn’t insist. If somebody else incited this steward, he wouldn’t insist that it was Marquis’ idea.
“No matter who ordered you, after you go back, tell the person who sent you here that his good life will come to an end.” Yang Ning put away the Cold Blade and got up slowly, looking at those burly men with his sharp eyes. Although he was shorter than them, he looked cold and showed that nobody could offend him. “Are you going to continue to fight?”
In fact the burly men found that they were unlucky today and met a tough man. They had seen Yang Ning’s fighting skill and knew that this young man looked like a scholar but was ruthless when battling. Seeing that even Steward Luo’s ankle was stabbed, they didn’t dare to move forward. Moreover, they just made a living and didn’t want to lose their lives.
“Let’s go…” Steward Luo noticed that the burly men were still in a daze and endured the pain on his ankle, roaring, “Carry me away, now.”
After all, he had seen a lot and knew that the world was big with many miraculous people. They met a capable man today and it was better to leave first.
“No hurry.” Yang Ning shook his head. “You hurt some people but you want to leave now?”
Steward Luo certainly understood what Yang Ning meant and shouted, “All of you take out your money.”
All the burly men took out their wallets, and Steward Luo also put his wallet with theirs, saying to Yang Ning, “Young Master, it’s all the money that we have brought. Please check… If it’s not enough, I will tell somebody to send more later.”
Yang Ning stated impassively, “Steward Luo, I know that you are revengeful. Now I tell you, if you want to take revenge on the Luwang Village or hurt any plant here, I will take your life. Are you clear?”
Steward Luo replied in a hurry, “No, I don’t dare…” He yelled at his men, “Go, now!”
Some of the burly men wanted to carry the one who was in a coma after Yang Ning beat him with the carrying pole, and some stepped forward, trying to carry Steward Luo. Yang Ning sneered. “Are you going to leave in this way?”
Steward Luo thought, “You have beaten us and taken the money. What else do you want?” His ankle hurt badly and bled. He knew that the hamstring must have been damaged under the blade, and it was uncertain if he could walk in the future. If he irritated this young man, he was afraid that he would even lose his other foot, so he asked in a sobbing tone, “Young Master, what… what else do you want us to do?”
“I remember that somebody said he would make me crawl on the ground like a dog. I am not so lucky, but I want to see how a dog crawl.” Yang Ning looked cold and pointed to one burly man. “You carry the one in a coma on your back. All of the others crawl out of this village.”
Steward Luo and the others looked angry. So Yang Ning’s face fell, and he sneered. “What? Are you recalcitrant?”
Steward Luo was resentful but could do nothing, so he howled, “All of you get down and crawl out of the village.” He didn’t want to stay here for longer and turned around to get down. Enduring the pain on his ankle, he led his people to crawl on the ground like dogs, and nobody dared to take their fast horses away.
All the villagers were happy to see that the conceited Steward Luo was in such an awkward position, and the ignorant children clapped while laughing. Even the young men cheered, but only those old villagers felt worried more than happy as they watched.
The Marquis of Honor was a hereditary marquis of the country, too high to be reached in the common people’s eyes, and the Qi family was powerful with a deep foundation in Jiangling. Now they offended the Qi family. Although they felt joyful, disaster might fall soon.
Yang Ning had warned Steward Luo in front of all people not to take revenge, but the old experienced villagers didn’t think so. They thought that Yang Ning was just a hero passing the village and helped the weak. After the young man left, Steward Luo wouldn’t give up because of his words but would come again.
Gu Qinghan was astonished as Yang Ning concealed his excellent fighting skills and was ready to help the weak, and she was also delighted that he was safe and sound. She walked to him quickly and looked him up and down. After confirming that he was fine, she sighed with emotion. “Ning, you scared me.”
Yang Ning laughed and ignored the guys who were crawling out. He picked up the wallets on the ground and walked to Han Yi, putting them in his hand. “Use this money to treat the injured villagers and recover their health.” He pointed to the fast horses. “Keep those horses in the village first.”
Han Yi pondered for a while and then turned around, giving the wallets to somebody behind him. At last, he saluted. “Hero, thanks a lot today. All people in the Luwang Village won’t forget your kindness. But you’d better not stay here for long. I think you should leave as soon as possible. I will keep your favor in mind and repay you for your help if there is a chance someday.”
“Are you worried that Steward Luo will come back to cause you trouble?” Yang Ning naturally understood Han Yi’s intention.
Han Yi didn’t hide it and nodded. “The little Luwang Village can’t compete with the powerful Qi family. Luo is revengeful and won’t give up as he suffered great losses this time. I’m afraid that he would bring more people later, and the Qi family has connections with the government. If they ask the guards in the government to come, you can’t leave then even if you want to.”
Gu Qinghan finally expressed, “Han Yi, Marquis of Honor won’t indulge his servants doing anything evil, and the Qi family won’t play the bully. The one who told Steward Luo to collect taxes under false pretenses would be found soon, and Marquis would give a satisfying explanation to the peasants in the fiefdom.”
Han Yi couldn’t help but glance at Gu Qinghan, to see that this “man” was so handsome, so he was stunned. Earlier, he didn’t pay attention to her, and not until then did he find that Yang Ning had such a good-looking companion next to him. Hearing the handsome “man” defend the Marquis of Honor with certainty, Han Yi was startled.
“Village head, it’s getting dark, and we can’t walk at night.” Yang Ning suddenly laughed. “Can we stay in the village for one night? Hope that we won’t disturb you.”
Han Yi thought that it would be dangerous if Yang Ning and his companion stayed, but he had helped them, and it was really dark now. If he insisted on asking the two young men to leave the village at this hour, he would be heartless. He hesitated, but the other villagers said, “I have vacant rooms in my house. If you don’t mind, you can stay at my home for one night.”
Han Yi stated at last, “Of course you are welcome to stay if you want to.” Then he told the villagers to pull the horses over and lock them. Afterward, he told Yang Ning and Gu Qinghan to stay at his home. After Steward Luo and his men crawled out of the village, they didn’t dare to look back and got up to leave in a fluster.
The villagers lived a simple life and didn’t have good food, but Han Yi was warm-hearted and had a chicken killed. In order to express thanks to Yang Ning, a few villagers sent food to them, including some bacon that they kept for special occasions and eggs, etc.
When Han Yi’s family was busy, Yang Ning found a chance and asked Gu Qinghan secretly, “Aunt, is this Luo working in the old house?”
Gu Qinghan frowned. “When I married into your family, I paid respect to the ancestors in the old house once. After that, I am always in the capital city and have never been back to Jiangling. General didn’t come back since four or five years ago. And the chief steward is in charge of everything here. He comes to the capital once every year to tell our family about the situation here. I have seen him twice, but generally, Steward Qiu asks him about everything.” She pondered for a minute and then continued, “I know that there are only more than ten people in the old house and have never heard about another steward or such a group of burly men.”
“Luo said that somebody went to the capital city and reported to our mansion. Don’t you know it at all?” Yang Ning furrowed his brows. “Somebody from Jiangling came to the marquis’ mansion. How could it be kept from you?”
“I was thinking about this matter, too.” Anger was shown in Gu Qinghan’s pretty eyes. “If it was true, it’s impossible that I didn’t know it at all. Or… somebody kept it from me on purpose.”
“Aunt, do you mean Steward Qiu?” Yang Ning looked cold. “Did Steward Qiu keep you in the dark?”
Gu Qinghan shook her head. “Ning, with no evidence, you can’t make a conclusion randomly. Although Steward Qiu is sophisticated, he works hard and attentively in the mansion for many years. And why would he hide it from me? I have seen the chief steward from the old house only twice and don’t know well about him, but he is capable and honest, not like a deceitful man. He has managed the old house for decades and was chosen by the old marquis when he was alive. The old marquis had sharp eyes and wouldn’t misjudge a person.”
In fact, Yang Ning doubted all the time that the chief steward did something behind the scenes, but hearing Gu Qinghan’s words, he thought his judgment might be wrong.
Gu Qinghan was a smart woman, and the old marquis was an extraordinary person. The chief steward was chosen by the old marquis, and Gu Qinghan spoke highly of him. So the chief steward was not likely to deceive the superiors. If it was true, this matter would be strange.
“Ning, fortunately, I listened to you and didn’t go to the old house directly.” Gu Qinghan sighed and then added gloomily, “Otherwise, how can we know what happened? I always thought that the peasants live a contented life and don’t worry about food and clothes in the marquis’ fiefdom. I just know today that it is not true.” She rolled her beautiful eyes and looked at Yang Ning. “How did you know that there is something wrong in the fiefdom? Why did you insist on dressing up and inquiring in the villages?”