June 21st was the day for the national martial arts county examinations in all counties of Pingxi Prefecture.
On this day, Yan Liqiang was awakened early by his powerful biological clock. After practicing the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing as usual, he washed himself carefully and changed into a clean and refreshing training suit. After having a hearty breakfast, he said goodbye to Yan Dechang and others, and went out, leading his rhinoceros horse and accompanied by a Lu family guard, to Qinghe County Martial Arts Museum to take part in the county martial arts examination.
Yan Dechang, Lu Wenbin, Zhou Tiezhu, Zhou Hongda and his wife, as well as Wu Ma and another guard from the Lu family, all walked out of the yard and escorted Yan Liqiang to the road outside.
"Dad, Manager Lu, Auntie Wu, the brothers and Aunt Zhou, please stay. The county is not far from here, there is no need for such a grand ceremony!" Yan Liqiang smiled and asked everyone to stop seeing him off.
"Then I would like to wish Mr. Yan success today and make him famous in Qinghe County!" Lu Wenbin bowed to Yan Liqiang with a smile on his face.
"Ah, then thank you Manager Lu for your kind words!"
Yan Dechang looked at Yan Liqiang with a complex look of expectation and worry, "This is your first time to participate in the county martial arts examination. Just do your best this year and don't force yourself. If your opponent is too strong, don't fight hard. If you really can't do it, don't force yourself. You can go again next year!"
"Don't worry, Dad. I know. If it really doesn't work, I won't let myself get hurt!"
Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, Yan Dechang finally felt relieved and waved to Yan Liqiang, "Go, go..."
Yan Liqiang nodded, bowed to everyone, then swiftly climbed onto the rhino horse, lightly shook the reins, and headed out of the town.
Guo Shanfeng had been dead for six days, but Yan Liqiang could not tell this secret to anyone. Moreover, because of what happened in the Hong family, the Lu family was worried that Guo Shanfeng would cause trouble for the Yan family. So the steward Lu and the guards sent to the Yan family not only did not withdraw, but on the day after the incident in the Hong family, the Lu family sent two more guards. The two newly sent guards had a steady aura, bright eyes, and carried bows and quivers on their bodies. They were obviously good at using arrows.
Yan Liqiang naturally couldn't say anything about this. He couldn't possibly tell the Lu family not to worry about it, as Guo Shanfeng had already died and been buried by him.
In the past few days, batches of criminal arrest warrants and police officers have come to Liuhe Town, all of them are here to investigate the affairs of the Hong family and to hunt down Guo Shanfeng.
What Guo Shanfeng did at the Hong family that night was witnessed by dozens of Hong family guards and servants. Together with Yan Liqiang's "confession" that night, the evidence of the bloody murder in the Hong family was irrefutable, so naturally the blame was put on Guo Shanfeng.
Something happened to the Hong family, and the entire Liuhe Town has been in a panic these days. At night, every household closes their doors, and even the number of people going out at night has decreased significantly.
When Yan Liqiang was riding his rhino horse past the central square of Liuhe Town, he saw Hong Tao again.
In just a few days, Yan Liqiang could hardly recognize Hong Tao.
Hong Tao's hair was disheveled, and he was wearing the same clothes he wore that night, but they were already dirty and torn. He was barefoot, with a dazed look in his eyes, staring blankly at the square in the center of the town, crying, laughing, and talking to himself from time to time. It seemed that he had gone crazy.
"I am already the most powerful warrior in Pingxi County of the Han Empire, and I will soon be promoted to a martial arts master. I will be promoted to a higher position and have great achievements. The entire Liuhe Town belongs to our Hong family, and the entire Qinghe County also belongs to our Hong family. No one can take it away. Why don't you two dismount and kneel down when you see me..."
Seeing Yan Liqiang and the Lu family's guard coming over on rhinoceros horses, Hong Tao sat on the ground in the square, raised his head, pointed at Yan Liqiang and spoke loudly.
Yan Liqiang shook his head and sighed in his heart.
He discovered that something was wrong with Hong Tao that night, so he didn't kill him. He thought that if Hong Tao could survive, he would completely crush his hope of becoming a warrior in today's arena. But Yan Liqiang didn't expect that after witnessing the killing that night, Hong Tao's spirit was greatly stimulated and he actually went crazy.
Perhaps, not everyone has such strong nerves that they can watch their loved ones die in front of them and forget it completely in the blink of an eye without leaving any psychological problems.
Looking at Hong Tao in front of him, Yan Liqiang felt a little bit of pity in his heart, but when he thought of what the Hong family had done and those sinister plots, the pity in his heart was thrown out of his mind in the blink of an eye.
All of this was brought upon the Hong family. Think about it from another perspective. If he had not lived his life over again and had not practiced the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing, the Yan family would probably be the one to be destroyed in Liuhe Town, and he himself would probably not be better off than Hong Tao is now.
As the saying goes, do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. Sometimes the saliva you spit out may fly back to your own face. The Hong family may never have thought that the things they wanted to impose on others would eventually fall on themselves.
In less than a week, the Hong family, which once had the final say in Liuhe Town, had disappeared.
The fire that night only burned the Hong family's firewood room and the kitchen next to it before it was put out. No one was killed in the fire, but all the people in charge of the Hong family died that night. In particular, after Hong An's body was found in the woods under Baizhang Mountain the next day, the Hong family's manager, guard, and concubine fled with the family's wealth the next night.
Before the seventh day of mourning for the Hong family members had passed and the burial had taken place, several of Hong Tao's cousins had already started fighting for the Hong family's property, and the whole family was in great chaos.
Hong Chengshou's two married daughters and their husband's family also took the opportunity of coming back to attend the funeral and were involved in the fight for the Hong family's property. At this moment, the burned house of the Hong family was left unattended, and everyone was busy moving things out, fighting for the land, and filing lawsuits. The whole house was filled with people yelling and quarreling all day long, and most of the guards and servants had already dispersed.
The Hong family is no longer a concern.
In the notice booth in the town square, there were dozens of brand new wanted posters with Guo Shanfeng's portrait. Compared with the previous ones, the portrait of Guo Shanfeng issued by the Qinghe County Criminal Investigation Office this time no longer looked like a self-portrait painted by Van Gogh with a brush. It was much clearer. At least Guo Shanfeng's triangular eyes and the black mole on his left cheek were more prominent.
Hong Ding is the head of the Liuhe Town, and is considered the most junior official. Hong Rong is also from the Qinghe County Criminal Investigation Office, and is considered a minor official. These two people are related to the public, so their lives are naturally more precious. In addition, many people from the Hong family died this time, and the impact was bad. The entire Qinghe County Criminal Investigation Office has been in chaos these days.
After taking a final look at Hong Tao, Yan Liqiang's faith became firm again. He shook the reins lightly, and the rhino horse trotted out of the town.
Yan Liqiang had just left Liuhe Town for less than a mile on his Rhino Horse when he ran into three men riding Rhino Horses towards Liuhe Town. Two of the three men had fat faces and did not look like kind people. Only one was a little thinner and looked like an accountant. The two men met on the road.
"Excuse me, sir, is this Liuhe Town ahead?" When the two sides were about to pass each other on their rhinoceros horses, the man who looked like an accountant suddenly slowed down a bit, glanced at Yan Liqiang and the Lu family guards, and asked politely with a forced smile on his face.
"Yes, Liuhe Town is ahead!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"I wonder where the Hong family is in Liuhe Town?" A fat-faced man nearby interrupted and asked anxiously.
"I wonder what you guys want from the Hong family?"
The accountant-like man smiled again, "Well, it's like this, Hong An from the Hong family owed us money, and we heard that he died, so we came to the Hong family to collect the debt..."
"The Hong family is a wealthy family in Liuhe Town. Once you get to the town, just ask anyone and you'll know..."
"Thank you!"
The two sides passed each other on the road. After walking a hundred meters, Yan Liqiang looked back. The backs of the three men riding rhinoceros horses rushing towards Liuhe Town made Yan Liqiang feel like he saw a few vultures that smelled the scent of death and flapped their wings and rushed towards their dead prey.
The Hong family now only has a bunch of orphans and widows left. The person who could manage the family is dead. The Hong family has a bad reputation and no one is backing it up. If someone comes up with an IOU or something and there is no evidence, then anyone can fight over it and make a claim, thus gaining the qualifications to intervene and divide up the Hong family's assets.
Yan Liqiang had seen this kind of thing in his previous life, and this routine was not much different from what he had seen in his previous life...
But this is no longer my business...
Riding on the rhino horse, they arrived at Qinghe County in a short while. At the gate of the county, there was a wanted poster of Guoshanfeng. The soldiers guarding the gate were scanning the faces of people entering the city one by one. Those who were wearing hats or coniferous hats were asked to take them off, and those who were sitting in the car were asked to get off.
Outside the National Martial Arts Museum, there were already crowds of people...
(End of this chapter)