thefictionvixens Page 224
Page 224
The lower body was mangled, the left leg was missing, and half of the right ankle was torn off, hanging like a bell, connected only by a layer of skin, swaying in the wind...
The blood had drained completely, as if it had been forcibly sucked dry by the outside world.
If it weren't for the fact that his attire matched the one Uncle Nine had seen last night, he probably wouldn't have recognized him as his junior brother, Tu Long!
"How could this be?"
Uncle Jiu felt his mind go blank, and his ears were ringing.
That ominous premonition came true.
"Who killed him?"
To die in such a cruel and horrific way.
But he already had the answer...
Western devils.
It must be it!
Overwhelmed by grief, Uncle Nine's eyes reddened, and he gritted his teeth as he turned away, trying to calm himself down.
Even though he hadn't seen Tu Long for over ten years, and their Taoist philosophies differed, and their actions were vastly different, Tu Long was still, after all, his junior brother...
They are junior brothers from the same sect, and they spend every day together.
"Master, please accept my condolences." Qiu Shengwencai dared not be careless at this moment and spoke up to comfort him.
Although they had never met this senior martial uncle before, their tragic death in this way was something they could not bear to see.
"Hmm...~" Uncle Nine took a few deep breaths, finally calming himself down, and said, "Let's work together to catch him, and then give him a proper burial."
……
Su Feng arrived at the address that Jiang Dalong had previously given him.
Seeing this large mansion in front of me, I couldn't help but sigh.
No wonder he's a warlord; he always has a private residence no matter where he goes.
It must have been seized from some rich man... after all, the plaque above the door reads "Prince's Mansion".
Upon entering the inner courtyard, he saw a group of soldiers coming and going, their expressions serious, seemingly oblivious to his arrival, and focused on their own tasks.
Su Feng raised an eyebrow curiously and walked towards the inner hall of the mansion.
"Master Su!"
Upon entering the inner hall, one sees Jiang Dalong sitting there with a resentful and gloomy expression. At his feet are dozens of packets of opium wrapped in oil paper.
Upon seeing Su Feng enter, Jiang Dalong quickly stood up to greet him.
"Young Master Su, you've come at the right time! Come and take a look! These are the items carried by the thieves you handed over today!"
As Jiang Dalong spoke, he bent down, picked up a packet, tore open a corner, revealing the tobacco inside...
"Damn it, this is poison! These bastards dare to openly transport this stuff within my jurisdiction! You heartless beast!"
Seeing Jiang Dalong's furious expression, Su Feng simply smiled and did not reply.
He understood why Jiang Dalong was so angry.
Jiuquan Town was one of the areas under Jiang Dalong's jurisdiction, ostensibly to protect the area's security, but in reality, it was his cash cow!
He accumulated wealth by collecting profits from hundreds of shops of all sizes.
For such a treasure trove, the labor force of the residents is naturally the most important element.
The emergence of opium, which corrupts the mind, makes people lazy and addicted, will destroy this precious land and cut off his source of income.
Therefore, it is only natural to be angry.
"So, what does the Commander-in-Chief intend to do?" Su Feng found a stool, sat down, and asked softly.
Jiang Dalong frowned, his anger blazing. "Needless to say, we'll settle this score with that town mayor and his son! Damn it! How dare they try to play these petty tricks right under my nose? They're really not taking me seriously!"
Just then, two figures appeared outside the courtyard.
"Don't talk about people during the day, and don't talk about ghosts at night." Jiang Dalong had just started talking about the town mayor and his son when, unexpectedly, they showed up the next second!
The mayor and David, each carrying a large basket, carefully stepped into the hall.
"General, we've come to pay you a visit!"
Upon seeing Jiang Dalong, the town mayor hurriedly stepped forward.
But when he glanced at the opium piled on the ground, his expression froze for a moment, but he managed to suppress the change and forced a smile.
"What are you doing here?!" Jiang Dalong withdrew his gaze, speaking in a gloomy tone, his eyes fixed on the two people by the door.
After learning from other residents this morning that the commander had seized a batch of goods, David knew that his plan had been exposed. So he quickly came with the mayor to try to curry favor and bribe him in order to downplay and cover up the matter.
"Oh dear, Commander-in-Chief, you're such a busy man, we're really sorry for our intrusion..." The town mayor bowed and scraped, his face all smiles. "We just have a few things we need to ask of you, Commander-in-Chief..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Dalong yelled back, "I have nothing to discuss with you!"
Rather, he was preparing to raid the home of the town mayor and his son!
I never expected them to be so bold as to deliver themselves to my doorstep.
The town mayor was startled, his face turning pale instantly. He quickly stepped forward and approached Jiang Dalong, gently lifting the blue cloth covering the basket in his hand.
"General, please calm down, General, please calm down... Why don't we show you our sincerity first?"
Inside the basket were ten gold bars!
This is quite a fortune!
For any warlord, this is money to buy guns and ammunition!
Su Feng sat quietly to the side, watching the "good show" being put on by the town mayor and his son, without intending to say a word.
They seemed unaware of their own presence, so they temporarily remained invisible spectators.
"Hmph!" Jiang Dalong snorted coldly, flung the basket from the town mayor's hand, and said sternly, "You still want to bribe this great commander?! That's an even bigger crime!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the mayor's face turned pale. He quickly pulled his son David down to kneel, pleading, "Oh, General! We meant well, we didn't expect to anger you! We take it back, we take it back!"
"Pah!" Jiang Dalong put his hands on his hips and pointed at the scattered opium on the ground. "Look what you've done! You actually dared to transport and sell opium privately? Damn it, you're asking for death!"
The town mayor and his son were so frightened that they quickly tried to defend themselves.
"General, this...this has nothing to do with us!"
The town mayor put on a righteous expression, "The commander knows me well. I've always treated the townspeople like family. How could I possibly have anything to do with opium!"
"Besides, my son and I have always been honest and upright people, and we would never get involved in such matters. Please, General, understand!"
David also tried his best to explain his "innocence," saying, "General, you've been wronged! We've never done anything immoral, and we certainly didn't do the opium!"
"Someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes, trying to frame us... It must be Old Chen from the textile factory. He's always had grievances against us, and I heard from other people that Old Chen is very close to a group of foreigners. This batch of opium must have been brought in by him without permission!"
The town mayor, feigning surprise, exclaimed, "Oh dear, son, now that you mention it, I remember! Old Chen was all mysterious, asking if I was interested in making big money together. But I knew he was up to no good, so I immediately refused! I never imagined Old Chen was that kind of person. I was so blind!"
As he spoke, he didn't forget to express his loyalty to Jiang Dalong, "General, this matter has made progress. Please, General, uphold justice and clear our names!"
Interesting, so interesting.
The father and son's comical back-and-forth performance made Su Feng burst into laughter, slapping his thigh.
The town mayor and his son were startled and turned around to look, only to find that Su Feng had been sitting next to them the whole time.
"Interesting! So interesting!"
Su Feng almost laughed until tears streamed down his face.
"You guys are hilarious. I'm impressed that you could come up with a way to shift the blame in such a short time."
"You, you, you're talking nonsense." David trembled and hurriedly retorted, but his voice lacked any confidence.
The moment he saw Su Feng, it was as if he had seen the Grim Reaper. The words he had prepared in his mind were instantly shattered, leaving only fear.
“Young Master Su…” Jiang Dalong glared at the father and son kneeling on the ground, then quickly walked up to Su Feng and asked in a low voice, “What do you think we should do about this?”
Su Feng spread his hands and laughed, "I can't make the decision; the commander-in-chief has to do it himself."
The town mayor and his son witnessed this scene and were almost dumbfounded.
They actually asked the wrong person! A dignified general like himself actually had to ask others for their opinions!
This further fueled their intense curiosity about Su Feng's identity.
In an instant, the town mayor changed his pleading target, crawling on his knees to Su Feng's feet, repeatedly saying, "Young Master Su! Please, you must believe us!"
"We are all law-abiding citizens and would never do anything illegal or disorderly. We have always served everyone diligently and conscientiously!"
As he spoke, he gave David a wink behind him, who was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed suit and crawled over on his knees.
"Young Master Su, please forgive us for our previous offenses. We beg you to investigate this matter thoroughly and plead with the Commander on our behalf to restore our innocence!"
"Alright." Su Feng waved his hand. He was tired of this monkey show. He looked up at Jiang Dalong and said, "General, what about the men I gave you before? They should still be there, right?"
Jiang Dalong nodded hurriedly and shouted loudly to his men outside, "Bring those thieves who are being held captive here!!"
Upon hearing this, the town mayor and his son turned deathly pale and nearly fainted.
After a while, the soldiers brought the person over.
The leader was Scarface, his face bruised and swollen.
Besides the injuries Su Feng inflicted on his face last night, his body was also covered in whip marks.
The clothes were tattered and torn, the inner skin was ripped open, and the flesh was a bloody mess; it was truly a gruesome sight...
It was clear that they had received a "warm" welcome from Jiang Dalong's men.
After being led into the hall, Scarface and the others went limp and knelt on the ground.
Gone was the arrogance of last night; now they were incredibly docile.
Jiang Dalong coldly glanced at the mayor and his son, then fixed his gaze on Scarface and said, "Speak! Tell me everything you know! Who allowed you to bring this opium into town?!"
Scarface swallowed hard, then turned his head shakily to look at the mayor and his son.
Then he slowly raised his hand and pointed at them.
The town mayor and his son were so frightened that they broke out in a cold sweat.