Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 32 The Madman in the Dilapidated Temple (Beginning of the Tianying Chapter)
Tianying City is located at the intersection of Hengshan Mountain in Dai County and Guangyang.

A sudden downpour came at dusk, with dark clouds covering the sky and turning day into night in an instant.

Sun Youshan blew away the ash with his fire poker, then looked up at the young man surrounded by his men.

They were from Xuanwu Tiandou Village in Tianying City. Tiandou was skilled in martial arts and often went out of the city to hunt for food. This time, they were quite lucky and managed to rob a caravan of silk. This stuff could be used as money, but it was too precious to be touched by even a drop of rain.

Before the downpour, Sun Youshan found this dilapidated temple to rest in.

"I'll say it one more time, get the hell out of here! You guys want this place!"

The young man had a large golden-ringed sword stuck in his back. Although Sun Youshan was not a swordsman, he could tell that even if it wasn't a divine weapon, it was still a sharp weapon.

There was no rain in the temple, and he wore a straw hat, revealing only his thin, tightly pursed lips and half of his face, which was as pale as a corpse. He carried no baggage, but a square wooden box, which looked like a doctor's medicine chest, was slung diagonally over his shoulder.

"You brat! Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what we grandpas said? If you don't get out of here, don't blame us for being impolite."

The boy didn't speak, but Sun Youshan could clearly sense that his aura had changed. The boy's impatient feeling, like being bothered by flies, made him feel like he was about to go crazy at any moment.

Beyond here lies only Tianying City.

Few of those who ventured alone to Tianying City were easy to deal with.

Sun Youshan thought to himself, but did not stop his men from yelling at the boy. So what if the boy was not kind? How many kind people did Tiandou Village have?
As he was thinking, he suddenly perked up his ears and looked towards the door.

The dilapidated temple, which was previously covered in cobwebs and weeds, seemed to be transformed and became bright and cheerful the moment the newcomers entered.

"Brothers, you're in for a treat today! A delicate young lady has appeared out here in the middle of nowhere! Could she be a fox spirit here to seduce us?"

"Brother Sun, you go first! The rest of us won't fight you for the first spot!"

Sun Youshan ignored the brothers' indiscriminate remarks and looked the young girl who had just entered up and down. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a face so tender that you could pinch water out of it. This was definitely the kind of good skin that only a wealthy family could produce.

She was dressed in a dark riding outfit, as if she were about to blend into the night. A dagger was tucked diagonally into her waistband.

The dagger looked ordinary, but the blade had a bluish sheen, and upon closer inspection, one could see two small, elegant characters engraved on it: "Blue Fish."

Besides that, the most eye-catching thing was the hair ribbon stuck to her front, wet from the rain. One ribbon was inscribed with "Heavenly Justice is Manifest," while the other was "No Taboos." The black and white color scheme resembled a funeral couplet for the deceased, making one feel that it violated taboos.

One strange man came in the rain, and then another one came.

As Sun Youshan was thinking, he saw the little girl walk towards him. She put down her umbrella without any politeness and sat down by the fire. Her impoliteness made it seem as if she were the hostess.

"What are you still standing there for, brother? Come and sit down."

Her voice was somewhat cold, and coupled with her upturned phoenix eyes, she had a much more imposing presence than the average young girl.

Even so, the burly man who had made the crude remarks earlier now had a smug look on his face. He rolled his eyes and said to the crowd, "Haha, the world has really changed. These days, young girls are even more impatient than grandpas! They're all calling me 'brother'!"

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed knowingly, except for Sun Youshan.

To his surprise, the previously impatient young man calmed down instantly, like a cat being stroked.

The young girl wasn't calling out to his subordinate Zhu Wu, but rather to the boy in the straw hat from before; they were in cahoots. Sun Youshan didn't remind Zhu Wu; he wanted to see if the girl had real skills or was just bluffing.

Seeing that no one objected, Zhu Wu chuckled and pounced on the little girl. The little girl, however, seemed not to see him and took out three meat pies, which she then heated up by the fire.

That's utter contempt.

Zhu Wu instantly flew into a rage. His eyes flickered, and he raised the large hammer in his hand. But when he had only raised the hammer halfway, he felt a tightness around his waist. Then, he felt dizzy and was horrified to find that he had been grabbed by the boy in the straw hat and was being held high in the air.

The temple was completely silent.

Even Sun Youshan couldn't help but be surprised. Zhu Wu was tall and strong, and the hammer in his hand weighed nearly a hundred pounds. The boy lifted him up so effortlessly, which showed that he had superhuman strength.

With Zhu Wu captured, the people of Tiandou Village reacted and drew their weapons, and a great battle was about to break out.

"Ah Huang, if you don't come over soon, I'll eat all the meat pies by myself. Put him down, you need to be well-fed to have the strength to fight. Am I right, Brother Sun?"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he handed a meat pie to Sun Youshan, who was sitting by the fire.

She smiled, but in her heart she was already twisting Liu Huang's ears.

As she had expected, when Zhang Ran delivered the Green Fish Dagger, he also brought an appointment letter from the Court of Justice. Zhou Zhao officially took office and became Lord Zhou.

She took what she wanted without hesitation, and left Chang'an City the next morning, riding alone towards Tianying City in the northeast.

Little did she expect that Liu Huang would be waiting for her in this godforsaken place.

As she spoke, she glanced at Liu Huang, who tossed her aside and stumbled toward Zhou Zhao, obediently squatting down beside her.

Sun Youshan glanced at Liu Huang before taking the meat pie from Zhou Zhao, but did not eat it.

He raised his hand, signaling everyone to put down their weapons, and then used his eyes to stop Zhu Wu, who was filled with shame and indignation.

"My name is Sun Youshan. Are you heading to Tianying City? To commit a crime or to seek revenge?"

The rain outside the window was pouring down, and a flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating Zhou Zhao's face.

The little girl smiled and took a bite of the meat pie. "Zhou Zhao, this is my brother, Ahuang. My brother and I killed a few people and are heading to Tianying City to escape trouble. Brothers, don't be nervous. We can talk about it once we're in the city."

"If my brother and I are lucky enough to join Tiandou Village, we might become brothers, and then we'll have plenty of opportunities to spar."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he glanced at Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu was instantly filled with rage and wanted to deliver another blow to Zhou Zhao, but Sun Youshan stopped him, "Zhu Wu!"

Zhou Zhao watched with great interest, giving Sun Youshan a regretful look.

"I wonder who Miss Zhou killed?"

Zhou Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "I've heard that heroes in Tianying City are not asked where they come from or where they're going. So they're still questioned? But it's not like it's something that can't be said."

"It's nothing more than patricide and husband murder! I'm quite well-known in Wuling."