Chapter 379: The Dust Settles
Old Mi smiled. However, his face was horribly wrinkled, like the dried skin of an orange, and this smile only made him look extremely terrifying. “Butler Hong’s memory is quite excellent. You even remember an insignificant nobody like me.”
Zu An looked at Chu Tiesheng—lying dead on the floor—and swallowed. He had witnessed Chu Tiesheng’s cultivation before, and knew that he himself was no match for him.
Yet a sixth-ranked expert like him had been killed by a single thrust of a finger.
If he ever got Old Mi’s bad side, would he die from just a single glance?
Hong Zhong’s entire body grew tense as he stared at the elder in front of him. “It seems that even the Brightmoon Duke has overlooked you. To think that such a terrifying expert was hidden in the estate…”
Midway through his sentence, he moved.
He was clearly trying to distract Old Mi by talking to him, then launch a surprise attack when the old man least expected it.
After all, an older man like Hong Zhong would surely be more cunning than others.
“Be careful!” Zu An gave a panicked shout, but Old Mi stood his ground without moving.
That shriveled body suddenly grew in stature.
That’s so freaking badass!
When can I be like that?
Hong Zhong hesitated when he saw that Old Mi wasn’t moving. However, after some consideration, he decided to forge ahead. This old man was going to pay miserably for his overconfidence, no matter how much higher his cultivation was.
As someone who has reached the seventh rank, he used to be considered a genius himself. He didn’t lack in cultivation or aptitude. He made a snap decision to risk it all here and try to seriously injure his opponent.
“Heart-smashing Fist!”
With a roar, a layer of light covered his fist. Instead of the projection that he’d sent against Qin Wanru, his fist increased in size this time. All of his cultivation, all of his strength, was concentrated in this one punch. He didn’t hold back at all.
Zu An instinctively took a few steps back. The aura surging within that fist was too much for him to handle, even though he was standing off to the side. His legs seemed to be made of jelly, and even breathing was difficult. He didn’t know how Old Mi could withstand something like this.
Hong Zhong’s fist surged forward with overwhelming momentum, threatening to crash down on Old Mi’s hunched-over figure. It looked as though he was going to be smashed to pieces in a moment.
However, the howling wind that had been whipped up by this attack died down suddenly.
Old Mi casually raised his left hand and grabbed hold of Hong Zhong’s fist.
Hong Zhong’s fist, which had grown to the size of a large boulder, instantly returned to its normal size. He tried to pull his fist back, but his arm didn’t move at all.
His face was almost entirely red, and his meticulously-combed hair had also become a little messy; he was in quite a sorry state.
“Your cultivation is already quite excellent, compared to the rest of Brightmoon City. A pity it’s not even worth mentioning when compared to the rest of the world.” Old Mi’s hand snapped upwards as soon as he finished speaking.
A crisp crack rang out, and Hong Zhong’s wrist snapped. His fist was twisted at an odd angle.
Zu An gasped. That looks like it hurts a lot…
Hong Zhong screamed miserably. Old Mi frowned. He reached out a finger and tapped his forehead. Hong Zhong’s screaming came to an abrupt halt. The light in his eyes faded, and then he fell powerlessly to the ground.
Old Mi wiped his hands and gave Zu An a nonchalant look. “It’s done. The rest is up to you.”
Zu An felt as if he was dreaming. After all, both he and Qin Wanru had been so helpless previously. They hadn’t been able to figure out a way to deal with this situation, no matter how they racked their brains.
And yet, Old Mi had just paid these two conspirators a casual visit and poked them to death with his fingers.
Something that had seemed so difficult to them had thus been dealt with so easily.
He was always aware that this was a world of cultivation, where strength reigned supreme, but he had still come from a civilized world. The true nature of this world hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
Only now, to his immense shock, did he truly understand that this really was a world where strength signified everything.
Old Mi quickly assumed his usual totter, and disappeared into the darkness of night.
Zu An finally snapped out of his daze. The estate’s guards had been alerted to the commotion, and were on their way.
Zu An decided to bring the corpses of Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng along with him. When he was confronted by the blades of the guardsmen, he said in a serious voice, “Chu Tiesheng colluded with Hong Zhong and started a rebellion. They harbored despicable intentions towards Madam and treated her poorly. Thus, they have been executed for their crimes. I’m willing to believe that the rest of you were all deceived and coerced by these two perpetrators. I am now acting under Madam’s orders. Lower your weapons at once, and we’ll pretend that nothing happened.”
“Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!” A petite young woman wept as she ran over to him, straight into his arms.
Chu Huanzhao had originally been confined to her room. However, the commotion in the study had attracted most of the guards, including those who had been guarding her room. After all, their futures depended on the continued safety of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong.
Upon seeing this, Chu Huanzhao wanted to use the opportunity to slip away, but she heard Zu An’s voice just as she was about to leave. After everything that happened tonight, she was absolutely terrified, yet she had continued to pretend that she was strong. However, now that she saw Zu An, she could hold herself back no longer.
The surrounding guards all looked at each other in dismay. Most of them were still loyal to the main branch, but they had only been following orders, since no one from the main branch was around. Now, Zu An had appeared, and the second miss was here as well. The closeness with which she treated Zu An clearly showed them that the recent rumors surrounding him were false. Therefore, they subconsciously trusted Zu An’s words.
The other guards who were trusted aides Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong had been bribed by them for many years. Even though they had willingly rebelled, they immediately lost their confidence when they saw that Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong were dead.
The strength of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong—especially Hong Zhong—was widely known. If Zu An had managed to defeat these two, what could any of them do against him?
Besides, Zu An had already said that he wouldn’t pursue any further action, now that the ringleaders were dead.
Thus, all the guards began to throw down their weapons one after another.
All it took was for one person to start, and the rest followed suit.
In the end, even the loyal aides of Chu Tiesheng and Hong Zhong acknowledged their fate and threw their weapons down in surrender.
Zu An exhaled in relief when he saw this. It would have been tricky if these individuals had resisted to the end.
After all, he wasn’t the one who killed Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng. He didn’t have the strength to defeat all of them.
He ordered these guards to return to their previous posts.
He remembered that during the Three Kingdoms period, Wang Yun had set a honey trap for Dong Zhuo, killed him, and defeated the Western Liang Army. Left in a tight spot, the Western Liang Army rebelled, and caused the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Therefore, he didn’t single out those who had willingly worked for Chu Tiesheng or Hong Zhong.
However, he still had to do what he had to do. The members of Hong Zhong and Chu Tiesheng’s family had to be rounded up for Qin Wanru to deal with later.
He was worried that he wouldn’t have enough manpower to do so. Letting these guards go with their crimes unpunished gave him many willing hands.
After all, they were all in a hurry to erase their crimes and prove their loyalty. In a matter of moments, the members of the second branch had all been captured.
Surprisingly, Chu Hongcai had already been locked up by Chu Tiesheng’s men prior to this. Zu An learned from others that he had always been opposed to Chu Tiesheng’s rebellion, which was why he had been locked up, following a quarrel between father and son.
In the end, however, Chu Tiesheng was still his father. After finding out that Zu An had killed him, he still charged at Zu An, red-eyed and screaming for revenge.
Despite the stacks of 999 Rage points pouring in, Zu An couldn’t find it within him to feel happy.
There was no way Chu Hongcai could live under the same sky as his father’s killer. His reaction was completely expected.
Killing Chu Hongcai to eliminate any future worries was the most sensible choice, but they had shared a decent relationship in the past, and could even have been considered friends. Furthermore, Chu Hongcai’s integrity was admirable, given that he’d publicly opposed Chu Tiesheng’s rebellion. Zu An just couldn’t find it within him to make the call. In the end, he merely ordered some men to watch over him.
There was no one else on Hong Zhong’s side apart from his son, Hong Xingying. However, Hong Xingying seemed to have received news ahead of time. By the time Zu An’s men reached his residence, he was already nowhere to be seen.