Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 43 Becoming the Third Leader

Zhou Zhao spoke casually, but inwardly he became increasingly wary.

Last night, she handed Sun Youshan a meat pie in the dilapidated temple, and Sun Youshan threw it to Cheng Dong without hesitation.

At the time, she thought Sun Youshan was worried about the poison and deliberately showed Cheng Dong's martial arts skills to suppress the shock brought by Liu Huang's divine power.

Unexpectedly, Sun Youshan's move actually killed three birds with one stone.

He must have trained Cheng Dong for this day for a long time, right? As soon as he throws out food, Cheng Dong will pounce on it without hesitation and stuff it into his mouth! This person has been patiently waiting for this moment of hunting!

If you can't kill such a person in one blow, but leave him with a breath, he will definitely come back to kill you in the future!

Cheng Ming stared at his younger brother Cheng Dong's corpse with bloodshot eyes. His hand holding the dagger trembled slightly, and his face was so pale it seemed to drip water.

He took a step forward with his right foot, but thinking of Cheng Yuyuan trembling behind him, he pulled his leg back, the veins on the back of his hand holding the dagger standing out.

"So, Sun Youshan, you've been planning this for a long time. You instructed Xie Laosi to steal the young master's body, and then you deliberately bribed Li Zhan to whisper in my ear, so that I would go out every night to kill people and force Xie Laosi to hand over the young master's body."

"This first trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain was given to me, making me leave Tiandou Village and giving you the opportunity to set fire to it."

"This second 'luring the tiger away from the mountain' strategy is aimed at Zhu Wen. You deliberately had Zhu Wu leak information to Zhu Wen, saying that a great treasure had been discovered in Yuyang, including a scroll of the Zhou family's ancestral secret manual for solving cases in the capital."

“You know that once the master learns of this news, he will surely send his trusted men. So you transferred Zhu Wen and half of my brothers away.”

“Not only that,” Cheng Ming’s voice grew more and more urgent and trembled. “Not only that, you’ve been thinking about poisoning Cheng Dong for a long time, haven’t you? It’s a good thing that when Cheng Dong came back, he spoke well of you in front of the master, saying that you were very good and often fed him meat.”

"you……"

Sun Youshan coldly observed everything before him. Although his name contained the character "Shan" (善), he was not a kind person.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be the second-in-command of Tiandou Village in Tianying City.

He has killed many people; the addition of the fool Cheng Dong is just another one.

"No matter how much you stall for time, Zhu Wen and the others won't be able to get back in time. Cheng Ming, you're all alone now, and you're afraid to act rashly. Even if you're highly skilled in martial arts, what good is it? Two fists can't fight four hands. Besides, I've lost the treacherous Zhu Wu, and I have the even more powerful Zhou Zhao and his sister under my command!"

As Sun Youshan spoke, he looked towards the treetop and shouted, "Zhou Zhao, how long are you going to stay here?"

“After you kill Cheng Ming, and I become the leader of Tiandou Village, you will be the third leader.”

Zhou Zhao was somewhat surprised. Sun Youshan was even more perceptive than she had expected. Her mind raced, and without hesitation, she pulled Liu Huang down from the tree.

"Thank you, Brother Sun, for giving me this opportunity. It just so happens that this guy surnamed Cheng shot an arrow at me today. I will not be able to eat or sleep if I don't avenge this."

When Cheng Ming saw Zhou Zhao and Liu Huang come out, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he knew in his heart that something was wrong.

He couldn't beat Zhou Zhao and Liu Huang before, and now he also has to protect Cheng Yuyuan... Under these circumstances, they have no chance of winning at all.

Seeing his dejected appearance, Sun Youshan burst into laughter.

"Hahaha..." He laughed, feeling exceptionally triumphant. As he laughed, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his chest.

Sun Youshan's smile froze on his face. He lowered his head, looking incredulously at his chest, where a bluish-green dagger was embedded. The dagger's owner had exceptionally beautiful hands, long and slender fingers, suitable for holding a pen, wielding a sword, and also for killing.

"Why……"

Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow, of course, because his aunt didn't want to be the third-in-command, but the first-in-command.

Zhou Zhao suddenly drew his Green Fish Dagger and silently recited in his heart: Sun Youshan, his crime deserves to be punished.

The moment the dagger was pulled out, blood splattered, spraying directly onto Cheng Ming's face, who was standing opposite him.

A hush fell over the scene. Even Cheng Yuyuan, who had been crouching on the ground, struggled to her feet, her face deathly pale. Han Dashan and the others following behind Sun Youshan exchanged bewildered glances, unsure whether to surrender or continue the fight… Was Sun Youshan really dead?

The seemingly invincible situation suddenly reversed?

What exactly does this little girl want to do?
Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow, clasped her hands in a fist salute to Cheng Yuyuan, and said earnestly, "Chief Cheng, the traitor has been killed. I urge you to take charge of the overall situation and revitalize Tiandou Village."

Sparks flew as a beam from the roof beam of the house behind them, followed by a deafening crash as a beam crashed down. The scorching wind it generated fluttered Zhou Zhao's casually tied yellow and white linen, as if pressing the first note of the death knell for Tianying City.

The huge sparks startled Cheng Yuyuan, who had just recovered. She swayed a few times and looked like she was about to fall down.

Coming to his senses, Cheng Ming took a step back to support her.

Cheng Yuyuan looked at the girl in front of her with a strange expression. "Sun Youshan is dead. You have made great contributions. From today onwards, you will be the third leader of Tiandou Village."

Chief Cheng of Tiandou Village was not particularly beautiful; she had a high nose bridge, thin lips, and was so thin that she was practically skin and bones. There were three deep red marks on her forehead from frequent rubbing.

Zhou Zhao was overjoyed. She pointed to Han Dashan and the others who were somewhat stunned, and said to Cheng Yuyuan, "Chief Cheng, I don't know anyone in this village. These people are barely familiar to me. They were forced to follow Sun Youshan's orders. I wonder if the chief could spare their lives so that they can atone for their crimes in the future when they fight against Tianxu."

Cheng Yuyuan was much better now. When she heard that Zhou Zhao wanted to let Sun Youshan's men go, she first frowned and wanted to object.

He came to his senses when he heard the words "Tianxu".

Sun Youshan is the third leader. If all his men are killed, Tian Dou will suffer a major blow. Moreover, if pushed too far, these men might resort to desperate measures.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yuyuan looked at Zhou Zhao with a strange expression.

She nodded. "In that case, you are in charge of dealing with Sun Youshan's men."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao turned around and smiled at Han Dashan behind him.

Han Dashan felt a jolt in his heart, and his knees buckled as he knelt down.

He wanted to scream, "Sister Zhao! You were a living devil before, but now you're like my own mother!"

"Thank you, Chief Cheng. Brother Cheng Dong's tragic death is a crime that cannot go unavenged. Sun Youshan's actions clearly did not happen overnight. Why not kill all his trusted men who went out to rob the cloth with him? Firstly, to appease Brother Cheng Dong; secondly, to show those with ulterior motives what happens when they betray their brotherhood..."

To bestow favors, one must also establish authority.

With Han Dashan's assistance, Zhou Zhao quickly quelled the internal strife in Tiandou Village, and the fire was also extinguished.

Xu Qifang stood in the crowd with her arms crossed, nudging Zhang Yang, who looked like a quail beside her, "My sister is amazing! She's only been here one day and she's already the third-in-command! Brother Zhang, how many years have you been here?"

Zhang Yang remained silent.

Several people whose horoscopes didn't align with his lived in his mother's courtyard, and he was considering moving.

Zhou Zhao didn't notice any of this. She stood in front of the broken walls and looked towards the open gate of Tiandou Village. Judging by the time, Xie Laosi should be arriving soon.

Han Dashan, standing to the side, didn't understand what she was looking at, and lowered his voice, saying, "Sister Zhao, there's something I'm not sure if I should say. Once Zhu Wen returns and Brother Cheng has recovered from his injuries, I'm worried the situation might change..."

If Cheng Yuyuan and Cheng Ming were easy to get along with, then why would Sun Youshan have gone to such great lengths to plan all this?

Zhou Zhao yawned and did not answer Han Dashan's question.

But he said to Liu Huang, who was huddled in the corner, "Don't worry, you'll get what you want soon."

She had no intention of waiting until the situation changed.

Of course, we should strike while the iron is hot...