Chapter 21: Matters of Spirits and the Spirit Arts

When Yuan Gonglu and Brother Qian arrived, they wore plain clothes, and the attendants with them were dressed as ordinary folk in blue robes and simple caps, not in official uniforms. Thus, the crowd mistook them for visitors come to see the rare marvels—these days, many travelers from nearby villages had been coming, so their presence did not arouse suspicion.

They rushed toward Ye Chang and Ye Dan. Ye Dan, frightened, stumbled and fell to the ground; he recognized these people—they were from Little Liu Village!

Leading them was Liu Zhang, Liu’s elder brother, an officer of the Zhechong Prefecture—though at this time, the prefectural military system was collapsing, and Liu Zhang, as an officer, had become a local strongman. The soldiers of Zhechong Prefecture had turned into his servants and enforcers. Among the crowd sat the figure Ye Dan had feared most for decades: Liu’s father, Wu Zepei, and Liu Fengyin, headman of Little Liu Village.

With Liu Zhang at the vanguard and Liu Fengyin as the central commander, the one issuing the challenge was naturally Liu herself. Yet being a woman, she ran slowly and was soon breathless, panting for a while before pushing through the crowd and stepping forward. “You old wretch, and you little bastard, at last I’ve caught you!”

“Greetings, Aunt,” Ye Chang stepped forward, awkward and helpless, to salute.

“Hahaha, you little bastard, today I’ll see your life ended!” Seeing him salute, Liu felt a surge of delight; to her mind, Ye Chang, seeing the unfavorable situation, was beginning to yield and admit defeat. Yet at this point, yielding would solve nothing.

Originally, she sought only the estate at San Zhi, but now her precious gold and silver deed had vanished—the prime suspect was Ye Chang, and her hatred for him was deep. She intended to seize this opportunity and rid herself of him entirely.

Brother Qian, standing nearby, was displeased and snorted, “Seventh Lord, your subjects are bold and fierce indeed!”

Yuan Gonglu felt equally embarrassed. He, a county constable, stood here, yet his subjects acted as if he were invisible. He stepped forward and cleared his throat, “Everyone—”

“Beat them! Beat that little bastard to death! Anyone who dares to stop us, beat them all!” Liu shouted, “Beat them to death, I don’t care—my father is the headman!”

“Thank goodness your father’s not Li Gang,” Ye Chang muttered inwardly, then spread his arms to shield Yuan Gonglu.

Seeing the unruly crowd surge forward, Yuan Gonglu was initially flustered, but