Before dawn broke, the Wan Family’s wealth had not yet been squandered. Emperor Guan galloped ahead, with mountains of gold and silver swirling behind him, lumps of gold and silver ingots danced in the rainbow light trailing the horse, lighter than birds in flight.
Emperor Guan sped on horseback through the city gates unchallenged, charging straight for the Wan estate.
Upon arriving at the Wan estate, he slashed through a few clueless Wan Family cultivators and made his way directly to the Chunshan Pavilion.
Chen Shi stood in front of Chunshan Pavilion, holding the miniature courtyard in wait, only to see an Azure Dragon enter the miniature courtyard, and a red horse plunge into the underworld, vanishing from sight.
Li Tianqing landed in front of Chen Shi, with gold and silver treasures falling down like rain behind him, quickly piling up like a mountain.
Li Tianqing slumped down, dazed and confused.
When he woke up, he found himself lying in bed, covered with a quilt that was exceptionally soft and fragrant.
Sitting up and throwing back the covers, his head still ached, probably an aftereffect of Emperor Guan’s enforced will from the night before.
Li Tianqing lifted the white gauze canopy, habitually tied it up, put on his shoes, and walked out of the room.
Outside, the sunlight was blinding.
He shielded his eyes with his hand, taking a moment to adjust.
He was still in the Chunshan Pavilion of the Wan estate, facing a veritable Golden Mountain and Silver Mountain, laced with numerous silver notes, dwarfing the nearby artificial hill by many times.
Looking around, devastation met his eyes everywhere, with collapsed houses, wrecked buildings, broken trees, and a distant wall partially toppled by a fallen giant tree.
Gradually, he remembered the events of the past night – he had been overwhelmed with emotion, stepped out of Chunshan Pavilion, and in a desperate attempt to save Chen Shi.
Then he had encountered Chen Shi, holding the miniature courtyard, then he himself had fallen asleep, dreamwalking and causing great slaughter.
The dream was so vivid, yet so surreal.
At this moment, he heard Chen Shi’s voice, as if he were talking to someone.
He walked forward, and Chen Shi’s voice became clearer, "...return to Xinxiang? Not so soon, there are things here that need attending to for a few days... Tianqing, you’re awake?"
At this moment, Chen Shi was sitting under a large tree, with a stove supporting a Black Pot, an apron around his waist as he wielded the spoon, sitting in front of the stove, kindling the fire.
Next to him were several treasure chests filled with what appeared to be papers, which Chen Shi was pulling out and stuffing into the stove.
Sizzling from the pot, the searing fat fried the food, and Li Tianqing, smelling the aroma, felt his stomach growl with hunger.
The Wan estate was nearly deserted now, with all the servants having fled.
The estate’s kitchen had also been destroyed in last night’s battle, so they had to set up a makeshift stove here for cooking.
"What are these?" Li Tianqing looked inside the treasure chest and asked.
"These are the land deeds of the Wan Family."
Chen Shi patted the chest and smiled, "I killed off all of the Wan Family, sparing only the servants. Without any heirs, the Wan Family cannot rise again to inherit the land of the estate."
Li Tianqing suggested, "Why not distribute the land deeds? This way, each village and hamlet’s inhabitants could get a piece of land."
"You planning to rebel?"
Chen Shi gave him a look and smiled, "If you distribute these land deeds to the tenant farmers, you’ll have to rebel, you’ll have to become a governor yourself, and you’ll be opposing the court. Are you the one who can handle the Mahayana Realm, or am I?"
Li Tianqing thought about it and replied, "Indeed, it’s best to burn them. Once burnt, all the land becomes ownerless, and with the Wan Family having no heirs, the lands will be left masterless, and the villages and hamlets will cultivate and plant as they will. However, in this process, some might bully others, seizing power and property by force."
"That’s their own business."
Chen Shi continued to use the land deeds of Qingzhou as kindling, laughing, "Now the opportunity is given to all the people of Qingzhou, but they have to seize it themselves. They have been oppressed by Master Wan for one lifetime, two lifetimes, and their ancestors never dared to resist. Now that Master Wan is gone, they have to be braver, and take the initiative to kill the next Master Wan."
Li Tianqing squatted beside him, grabbing a handful of land deeds, a thick stack of perhaps a hundred sheets, and mused, "How much silver would this handful of land deeds be worth?"
Chen Shi estimated roughly, "It’s about tens of thousands of silver pieces."
Li Tianqing was amazed and laughed, "I’ve never seen so much money! Nor have I ever touched so much." freewēbnoveℓ.com
Saying this, he stuffed the land deeds into the stove.
The land deeds caught fire.
"Tens of thousands of silver pieces, it feels exhilarating to burn!" Li Tianqing said with a laugh.
The two finished burning one chest and then took out another chest full of land deeds to feed the fire.
"We’ll need a cast iron pot to stew a big goose, lined around with cornbread. I wonder if these land deeds will be enough to burn."
"Where did the goose come from?"
"There are swans raised in the fish pond at the Wan estate. While you were sleeping, I conveniently killed one."
The land deeds burned up, and the big goose was not yet tender when they ran out. Chen Shi chopped some more firewood to finish the dish.
Outside the Wan estate, it was heavily guarded, with Governor Liu Dingchen personally leading the experts of Qingzhou, stationed outside. Liu Dingchen, a rare governor not from the thirteen surnames and promoted by the Wan Family, though fully prepared, did not attack the estate.
After all, Master Wan and the cadre of experts were dead, and charging in would be like throwing one’s life away.
But appearances had to be maintained.
He was a smart man, knowing what to do and what not to do.
Come midnight, Chen Shi took up the role of the red horse bandit, rode the red hare horse from hell, brandished the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, burst into the government office, and with a single stroke, killed Governor Liu Dingchen and set the government office ablaze.
—Although Governor Liu was a smart man, he wasn’t smart enough. The harsh laws of Qingzhou stemmed from his hand; Master Wan certainly deserved death, but how could he escape the same fate?