Chapter 34: Red-Clad Village Massacre

As the words fell, a concealed soft sword was drawn from the waist, hidden beneath the belt. With a swift motion, the sword rose and fell. In an instant, before the blood from King's father's neck could flow, his body had already fallen.

Only now did the crowd realize that Yu Hao had killed someone. The timid ones had already started screaming and running outside.

"Anyone who runs dies!" Yu Hao shouted at them.

Perhaps the scene just now was too terrifying, but with Yu Hao's roar, everyone truly froze in place, afraid to move.

The village chief was the first to speak, shouting, "Patricide! Patricide! Quickly, report to the authorities!"

After all, the village chief had led the people in the village for many years, and he had some authority. Hearing his words, the crowd thought it made sense and started running outside again.

"All deserve to die!"

Yu Hao lightly uttered these words, and then, with a light tap of his toes, everyone saw a red figure flipping through the air. However, wherever that red color paused, someone would collapse.

Those men who went up the mountain for hunting, despite having some strength and martial arts skills, were no match for Yu Hao now.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Yu Hao had slaughtered everyone in the village, leaving only Queen Mother trembling under the table.

Approaching Queen Mother step by step, Yu Hao held the sword. The blood from the sword dripped onto the ground, and Yu Hao's bridal gown at this moment was even more vibrant, making it hard to distinguish between bloodstains and the original color of the wedding attire.

"Mother," Yu Hao spoke.

Hearing his voice, Queen Mother's legs trembled uncontrollably, shouting, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Seeing her frantic plea, Yu Hao felt an immense satisfaction. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he sneered, "Mother, rest assured. As for my brother..."

At these words, Queen Mother instantly crawled out from under the table, clutching Yu Hao's legs, and begged, "Don't touch him, I beg you, Ah Xin, Mother begs you!"

"Heh," Yu Hao couldn't help but chuckle, then continued, "He is your proud son. I won't touch him."

Hearing Yu Hao's promise, Queen Mother finally showed a smile on her face, but due to the fear deep in her heart, the smile was more unpleasant than crying.

Just as Queen Mother was enjoying the relief, Yu Hao casually said, "I will keep him for you to collect the corpses!" With these words, he easily put an end to Queen Mother's life, just like crushing an ant.

Turning around and looking at the courtyard filled with corpses and the lifeless atmosphere, Yu Hao walked towards the already cold body of King Father. He cut a piece of his clothing, wiped the bloodstains from his soft sword, and then casually threw that piece of cloth onto King Father's face. Leaving the yard, he headed towards his home.

Back home, Yu Hao changed into his usual attire, untied the horse, and remembered the words Ding Lier said when they parted. He mounted the horse without any sentiment and headed towards the direction of the capital.

Meanwhile, Ding Lier and the others had settled in an inconspicuous inn near the city gate.

Originally, they planned to look for suitable bounties nearby. However, after observing for a long time, they still couldn't find any that satisfied them. So, they decided to put the matter aside for now.

"Are we going out today?" Lu Xiaojiu asked.

Ding Lier thought for a moment. Having returned to the capital for only a day, she needed to find an opportunity to inform her grandfather. She replied, "The capital is bustling. Let's take a day off today. Everyone can stroll around. Maybe we'll come across other bounties."

In fact, everyone was waiting for Ding Lier to suggest this. After all, each person had their own things to do, and it wasn't appropriate to stay together all the time. The current proposal suited everyone's intentions, and they all nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, they greeted each other and left the inn in different directions, leaving Ding Lier and Ah Long in the room.

"Ah Long, aren't you going out for a stroll?" Ding Lier asked.

"I'll accompany you," Ah Long replied.

Ding Lier was speechless. But considering that Ah Long had been living in the Heartless Pavilion since childhood and might find it difficult to adapt to the bustling capital, she agreed, saying, "Alright, let's go out together."

With that, the two closed the door and walked towards the street. At this moment, Ding Lier was dressed as a young man. Fortunately, she hadn't fully developed yet, so it was hard to notice any flaws.

Ah Long followed Ding Lier closely. They unintentionally strolled into a clothing store on the main street.

The shop assistant greeted them with a smile, asking, "What would the two young masters like to see?"

Ding Lier wandered around the shop and asked, "Do you have women's clothing here?"

Hearing this, the shop assistant showed a strange expression. After a brief moment, he immediately smiled and said, "Yes, on the second floor. Please follow me, young masters."

As the words fell, Dong Lier and Ah Long were led forward by the shop assistant. Dong Lier was about to take a step to follow when Ah Long grabbed her, saying, "Lier, I won't go up. I'll wait for you downstairs."

Dong Lier chuckled and replied, "Alright, I'll go up and take a look. If I find something suitable, I'll buy a set. You wait for a while."

Ah Long nodded, thinking she might be tired of wearing the uniform from the Heartless Pavilion. This time, they had prepared mostly plain-colored clothes for the descent from the mountain. Dong Lier, being a girl, naturally wanted to buy some vibrant clothes. Therefore, he didn't pay much attention.

After Dong Lier turned around, she smiled triumphantly. She knew Ah Long's personality well, and after aimlessly strolling with him on the streets for quite a while, he had let down his guard.

Upstairs, a shop assistant asked, "For whom does the young master want to choose? What style are you looking for?"

Dong Lier didn't answer but instead asked, "Do you have clothes made of Northern materials here?"

The shop assistant was taken aback, looked around, and replied, "Certainly, but few people choose this type of fabric. They are all stored in the inner room. I'll take you there."

Dong Lier nodded, then followed the shop assistant through the second-floor bridge and into the inner room.

Once inside, the shop assistant first served Dong Lier a cup of tea and then said, "Please wait, young master. I'll go and bring Manager Hao."

With that, he silently left the room. Dong Lier picked up the teacup, took a sip, thinking it had been a long time since she had tasted such fragrant tea. She then stood up, surveyed the entire room, finding it well-organized and flawless.

This clothing shop, Haoge Clothiers, was a contact point established by her grandfather in the capital. There were quite a few similar places, and the person in charge was one of her grandfather's trusted aides.

However, what was unexpected was that the Heartless Pavilion would be so strictly managed. As a result, for a whole year, Dong Lier couldn't find any opportunity to pass on messages.

Dong Lier was lost in thought when she heard the sound of the door being pushed open. She looked up and saw a middle-aged man entering. He was slightly overweight, but his steps were unusually steady. Dong Lier immediately understood.

After entering, Manager Hao closed the door behind him and turned to bow, saying, "Hao Hongxu greets Miss Dong."

Dong Lier nodded and replied, "Manager Hao, no need to be so polite."

Manager Hao, upon hearing this, stood straight and immediately expressed concern, "Miss, it's been a year since you last appeared. There was no news, and even the people dispatched by General Dong couldn't find any information. We were worried, thinking that..."

Dong Lier, however, laughed out loud, teasing, "That old man still cares about my life and death? He thought wrong. I'm doing well."

"Miss, you must not say that. General Dong is genuinely worried about you. In the past year, he inquired countless times, asking if there was any news about Miss from various places," Manager Hao explained.

Dong Lier felt somewhat moved inside, but she maintained a nonchalant demeanor, saying, "This time I came, it's to inform him of the information I've gathered and, by the way, tell him that thanks to his teachings back then, I'm living quite well now."

"Well, I'll go get paper and a pen for you," Manager Hao said, turning to leave.

Dong Lier sat on the stool, reflecting on Manager Hao's words. She thought, 'Does Grandfather really care about me? I thought that old man only cared about that old matter. But considering the grievances I suffered in the Heartless Pavilion, this time, I should really tell him how hard it's been for me this past year. Otherwise, how will he know?'

Manager Hao acted quickly, and before Dong Lier could finish her thoughts, he returned with a few sheets of paper, a wolf hairbrush pen, and a porcelain bottle.

Dong Lier spread the paper on the tea table and began to write swiftly and fluently, filling several pages with her grievances and accusations.

Later, when Manager Hao saw that the paper seemed insufficient, he went out and brought in another stack. Inside, Dong Lier continued to write her complaints and accusations.

Finally, Manager Hao, seeing that the envelope was not enough, went out again to get more paper. In the meantime, he brought a package containing two sets of clothes – one in light blue for a young man and the other in goose yellow for a young girl.

Dong Lier took the package and said, "It's inconvenient for me to travel now. If my grandfather replies, using the usual method, I will come personally."

Manager Hao nodded and respectfully said, "I'll personally deliver the letter, Miss."

After that, he took the sealed envelope from Dong Lier, placed it inside his clothes, and took out another package from the side. The package contained the two sets of clothes. One set was for a young man, and the other was for a young girl.

Dong Lier picked up the package and said, "I'll go now. If Grandfather replies, I'll come as soon as possible."

Manager Hao bowed, saying, "Safe travels, Miss."

At this moment, Ah Long, who had been waiting anxiously downstairs, wanted to go up and check the situation. However, he had promised earlier not to go up, so he was hesitant. Just as he was struggling with his decision, he saw the shop assistant leading Dong Lier down.

Ah Long took a glance at the package on Dong Lier's back, grabbed it, and slung it over his own shoulder, saying, "Lier, you've got the goods?"

"Getting impatient, huh? Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious," Dong Lier replied.

"Huh? But..." Ah Long hesitated, feeling the thickness of the package on his back. However, seeing Dong Lier's enthusiastic expression, he could only say, "Alright, where are we going to eat?"

Dong Lier searched her mind for a moment and said, "Let's go to the Drunken Fragrance Tower. They have the best Poria cake there."

Ah Long asked, "How do you know?"

Dong Lier chuckled and replied, "Just asked the waiter. It's their recommendation. Are you coming?"

"Let's go," Ah Long immediately answered.

With that, Dong Lier took Ah Long's hand and, relying on her memory of the route, headed towards the Drunken Fragrance Tower.

Now, the two of them, both having grown taller, appeared to onlookers as two young men hand in hand, bouncing and jumping. It was quite surprising, and people couldn't help but gossip behind them.

But as the parties involved, Dong Lier and Ah Long didn't feel anything inappropriate. They paid no attention to the wagging tongues, and Ah Long even reciprocated by squeezing Dong Lier's hand a bit tighter.

When the two arrived in front of the Drunken Fragrance Tower, they were both amazed. It was too luxurious.

The Drunken Fragrance Tower had a total of six floors, occupying quite a large space in a city where every inch was valuable. Looking at the golden base and white jade frame of the sign hanging above the door, the three characters "Drunken Fragrance Tower" were written in a bold and elegant style. It was obviously a masterpiece.

Lowering their heads, trying to sneak a peek through the main entrance, they only saw stairs made of white jade, lamp posts carved from transparent crystals, and the building constructed with materials that Dong Lier couldn't identify but looked exquisite from a distance.

This was quite different from Dong Lier's childhood memories of the Drunken Fragrance Tower. Back then, her father would often come here after court sessions, buying her mother's favorite Poria cake and other desserts. Dong Lier loved those times.

After her grandfather concealed his identity and went to the border, Dong Lier had secretly come back a few times, but it was always the same as before. Only this time, returning, the Drunken Fragrance Tower was completely different.

"Still want to go in? How about I take you somewhere else to eat?" Dong Lier touched her purse and turned to ask Ah Long.

Ah Long was also somewhat stunned, but seeing Dong Lier's eager expression and her inability to stop drooling, without saying a word, he directly pulled Dong Lier towards the Drunken Fragrance Tower.

"Hey~ Hey~ Ah Long, maybe we shouldn't go in," Dong Lier said, trailing off.

Dong Lier rejected verbally but couldn't stop her body from following Ah Long inside.

As they entered, a waiter approached, slightly assessing the two and smiling, "Gentlemen, would you prefer the main hall or a private room? The menu is the same, and there will be a song and dance performance in the main hall later."

Dong Lier, initially thinking of suggesting a private room instinctively, suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the main hall. She then said, "The main hall is fine, we came together, one table is enough."

With that, she pointed to the person sipping tea in the hall, signaling the waiter that they would join him. The waiter understood and led them towards Congwen Hu's table. Just as the waiter was about to explain, Dong Lier preemptively patted Congwen Hu's shoulder, saying, "Congwen Hu."

"How come you guys are here?" Congwen Hu asked, his eyes showing some suspicion.

"We came to have some snacks. Let me tell you..." Dong Lier began speaking absentmindedly, suddenly remembering something. She pulled Ah Long to sit across from Congwen Hu and then turned to the waiter, saying, "Bring a serving of Poria cake and Imperial Tutor cake. Also, two special dishes."

The waiter, seeing that the group indeed knew each other, smartly acknowledged and withdrew.

"Do you want some pastries too?" Dong Lier asked.

But she quickly noticed that there was only a teapot on Congwen Hu's table, seemingly not here for desserts.

Congwen Hu explained, "I came in because it looked bustling, not sure what to order. Your arrival is perfect."

Upon hearing this, Dong Lier immediately put on a host-like demeanor, saying, "Well, you've come to the right place. Let me tell you, there are so many delicious things in this Drunken Fragrance Tower. The two pastries I just ordered are excellent, and there's also..."

Ah Long and Congwen Hu watched Dong Lier speak eloquently without interrupting. When she seemed satisfied, she stopped talking, took a sip from her tea cup, and enjoyed the moment.

At that moment, the waiter arrived with two pastries and said, "Sir, this is your Poria cake, and this is the Imperial Tutor cake. The appetizers will be served shortly."

The three nodded, looking at the exquisite pastries on the plate—small, vibrant, sweet, and perfectly bite-sized, accompanied by wooden forks.

Dong Lier was the first to fork a piece for Ah Long, then for Congwen Hu. Finally, she picked up a piece for herself, praising the pastry chef's unparalleled skills.

As they were happily eating, Congwen Hu's expression suddenly became serious, and he looked towards the direction of the staircase.