Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 533 Thunder Hand, stop looking~ I've already taken care of all your subordinates~
'puff! '

The sword pierced through his body, and blood splattered when it was pulled out.

With a flick of his wrist, the bloodstains on the sword spilled onto the ground.

Wearing a mask, Lin Dao glanced around more than ten steps away. With nowhere to retreat, he frantically looked around for his subordinates' leader.

"Thunder Hand~"

"Stop looking!"

Lin Dao tilted his head slightly and stepped forward.

"While you were feasting, I already took care of all your men outside."

"I wield the Thunderclap Palm!" Zhang Youcai swallowed hard, his hands, clad in iron gloves, trembling slightly.

The person in front of me is truly too cruel!

He hosted a banquet at his home.

The number of servants, guards, thugs, and friends from the martial arts world totaled several dozen.

These are not the old, weak, sick, or disabled; they are almost all brave men who can wield weapons and fight!
But the result~
In the time it takes to drink a cup of hot tea, I'm now the only one left who can still stand.

The women crying and screaming inside the house don't count.

Zhang Youcai swore that he had never seen, or even heard of, such a master in the world in his entire life!
There were no fancy moves, just straight-up slashes, jabs, and throat slits.

This person moved extremely quickly, his sword flashing like lightning.

No one could withstand his second sword strike!

This is practically a true knight-errant from a collection of miscellaneous novels!
"This brother."

With the courtyard wall right behind him, Zhang Youcai had nowhere left to retreat.

He mustered his courage and said, "We have no grudge against each other, why has it come to this?"

Zhang Youcai simply couldn't understand when he had provoked such a terrifying being.

Lin Dao kept walking, but he did manage to respond with a rare comment.

"May wealth abound in Sweetwater Lane in the south of the city!"

"I broke it."

"You have harmed countless people, you all deserve to die!"

Lin Dao had inquired about the background of the Gathering Righteous Alliance.

This is a loose alliance of numerous small gangs.

It could be said that they did all sorts of sordid things in the city's dark side.

Don't assume that just because they bully innocent people, they are a lucrative, albeit shady, organization.

Those who do these things are all low-class thugs and petty hooligans.

Groups like the Juyi Alliance engage in extortion, which involves collecting protection money.

Running gambling dens can lead to people losing everything, their families being ruined, and even death.

Forced into prostitution, every shack and shed is haunted by countless wronged souls.

Kidnapping and kidnapping have buried countless people in the ground.

They control various labor guilds and exploit them relentlessly.

This is what truly dynamic, albeit gray, organizations do.

As for why Zhang Youcai, the Thunder Hand, was able to become the chief leader, it wasn't because his iron palms were particularly powerful.

Rather, it was because he had gained the favor of a powerful figure and had a strong backer.

After all, the government isn't blind.

If they didn't have a powerful backer, they would have been wiped out long ago.

"what!"

Seeing the forest approaching, Zhang Youcai roared and charged forward with his palms outstretched.

Since we can't reach an agreement, we'll have to fight tooth and nail.

With a 'whoosh!' sound.

A flash of sword light appeared, and Zhang Youcai's two iron palms fell off at the wrists.

Amidst screams, Zhang Youcai rolled around on the ground, writhing in agony.

"Thunder Runner."

Lin Dao stared down at him condescendingly, "Who is the powerful backer of your Righteous Alliance?"

"Tell me, and I'll give you a quick answer."

"My nickname is Thunderclap Palm!" Zhang Youcai roared, his eyes wide with rage, despite the excruciating pain. "My backer is your mother! I'll follow you—"

'puff! '

The sharp sword pierced Zhang Youcai's mouth and emerged from the back of his head.

With a flick of his wrist, Lin Dao completely shredded Zhang Youcai's foul mouth.

Sheathing his longsword, Lin Dao strode towards the backyard.

Along the way, he encountered quite a few maids and concubines, which Lin Dao glanced at at a glance.

It's not that he has any chivalrous spirit and doesn't lay a hand on women.

Without Zhang Youcai's protection, these people will soon be devoured by the swarming wolves.

There's no need for him to take action.

They enjoyed the fine clothes and delicacies provided by Zhang Youcai, and consumed the hard-earned money of the people.

When bad luck comes, it's all their own fault.

They arrived at the chief's study.

Although Zhang Youcai was semi-illiterate, he did have a study.

Lin Dao came here to search for letters.

His powerful backer would not give him personal instructions, nor would he even send someone close to him to relay orders.

The only means of communication was letters.

Lin Dao searched carefully but found no useful letters.

He was not discouraged because he was very familiar with this matter.

Sure enough, after searching again, they found the mechanism.

As the clicking of mechanisms continued, a hidden door appeared on one side of the wall.

A flame rose from the dimly lit secret door.

Lin Dao's figure suddenly disappeared.

The next moment, with a deafening roar, a lead bullet whistled past.

When Lin Dao reappeared, he was holding an assault shield made of bulletproof glass and Kevlar fiber.

He had already switched to using a pistol.

Leaning against the wall next to the hidden door, Lin Dao took out a smoke bomb, pulled the pin, and threw it inside.

Amidst hissing sounds, thick plumes of smoke billowed out, accompanied by violent coughing.

Before long, several disheveled figures staggered out.

A woman in her thirties dressed in finery.

There was also a boy who was about to turn 18.

The boy was holding a pistol.

It goes without saying that this is Zhang Youcai's legal wife and son.

As for the daughter, she probably won't have a chance to escape into the dark room and save her life.

"Great hero, spare my life!"

Upon seeing Lin Dao, the woman, in a panic, repeatedly kowtowed.

He coughed and begged for mercy.

The boy's face flashed with anger upon seeing this. But he could only fire one shot with his pistol, and hadn't had time to reload it.

Lin Dao narrowed his eyes.

Throughout the myriad realms, it has participated in countless bloody battles.

He truly came from the brutal battlefield, fighting his way up.

While not exactly cold-blooded, he would show absolutely no mercy to an enemy wielding a weapon, regardless of their age.

This isn't the modern world where kids can be protected.
He put away his pistol and removed the scabbard from his sword.

Lin Dao, carrying an assault shield, stepped forward and approached the two men.

He didn't even look at the woman who was kowtowing and begging for mercy.
I already knew this when I was gathering information beforehand.

This woman was Zhang Youcai's first wife.

The family was originally very poor.

But after Zhang Youcai became rich, he not only wore gold and silver but also ate and drank the finest food.

Even in their impoverished home, they built a large courtyard and lived a life with many servants.

Where did this money come from?
It's all because the Gathering Righteous Alliance has been exploiting and plundering the people!

When you enjoy wealth and luxury, you take it for granted.

Now that the house has collapsed, it should be buried along with it!
The woman who had been kowtowing suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed Lin Dao in the abdomen.

Lin Dao, who was prepared, casually moved the assault shield in his hand and blocked the attack.

The shield swung, knocking the woman over.

"mother!"

The boy in the brocade robe roared and pounced, but was kicked over by Lin Dao.

The woman beside her collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood; she looked utterly miserable.

The boy, filled with rage, glared fiercely at Lin Dao.

In a cultivation novel, this would probably be the plot before the protagonist rises to power.

"Turn your head around."

With a calm expression, Lin Dao instructed, "Children shouldn't look."

The enraged boy remained unmoved and threw the musket over.

'Boom! '

'puff! '

The musket struck the shield, and the scabbard hit the boy on the forehead.

"Yu'er~"

"My Yu'er~"

The woman screamed in grief, and a surge of strength welled up within her as she suddenly rose and lunged at Lin Dao.

Sharp fingernails pointed directly at Lin Dao's eyes.

'Boom! '

The screams stopped abruptly.

"Why do they all like to call this jade or that jade?"

After packing his things, Lin Dao, wearing a gas mask and carrying a flashlight, entered the dark room and finally found a stack of important letters.

After coming out, they lit Molotov cocktails and threw them around the courtyards.

Behind them were raging flames. As they exited the gate and entered the forest path, they saw a street full of short-sleeved men.

These were all thugs from the Righteous Alliance, who rushed to the rescue upon hearing the news.

Lin Dao grinned from behind the mask.

Holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, he charged forward like a tiger among sheep.

Rongguo Mansion, outside the side courtyard.

"Brother Zihou~"

Jia Lian, who was guarding this spot, blocked the way back through the forest.

He stepped forward with a sigh.

"Brother Zihou, save me!"

"Uh... what's that smell?"

Lin Dao had gone to another time and space to take a bath, but the smell of blood on his body had not dissipated.

He waved his hand and said, "I went to help someone slaughter a pig."

"Brother Jia, what's troubling you so much?"

Jia Lian sighed and gestured for Lin Dao to come inside and talk.

Before entering the house, Lin Dao glanced at the time; it was almost time for his walkie-talkie call with Lin Meimei.

After everyone was seated, Xiao Hong served tea and then left.

Lin Dao simply spoke up.

"Brother Jia, please speak frankly."

I'm in a hurry, so let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point.

My dear wife~

"Ugh."

A dejected Jia Lian recounted how Wang Xifeng had lent money at exorbitant interest rates.

"Although there are Prince Bei Jing, Duke Zhenguo, Duke Liguo and others acting as guarantors."

"That scoundrel Laiwang also died suddenly in prison."

"Things have calmed down."

"But the problem is, all the silver that was lent out in the public treasury can't be recovered!"

The written agreement all specified Laiwang'er's name.

With his death, those written agreements naturally became worthless.

In the past, the power of the government could be used to force people to repay their debts.

But now the censors are all keeping an eye on the Jia family, who dares to help them?

"This money was all embezzled by that vile woman; it was the monthly allowance that the public gave to the entire household!"

"And that shameless woman was so audacious that she actually released the public funds!"

"I'm so angry!"

Lin Dao knew about this, because he was the one who lent the nearly 30,000 yuan to the big order.

The reason so many items could be borrowed was that Lin Dao arranged for people to impersonate wealthy merchants and showcase a large quantity of overseas goods, including glass mirrors, Western clocks, perfumes, fine wines, ivory carvings, gemstone ornaments, sandalwood, jade, and tortoiseshell.

He used these goods as collateral to borrow money for only one month to keep his business afloat.

In one month, he borrowed 30,000 taels and repaid 45,000 taels!
If she can't pay it back, everything will belong to Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng had a shopkeeper appraise the goods, and the value of the shipment was nearly 100,000 taels of silver!
Even if you're in a hurry to sell, getting half price wouldn't be a problem.

Blinded by greed, Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and embezzled public funds.

As a result, Lin Dao simply gave her a cold shoulder.

Jia Lian's meaning was simple: he wanted to borrow money.

But Lin Dao asked him a question in return.

"Brother Jia."

"The silver in your esteemed household."

"You think your wife could move it by herself?"

Jia Lian blinked, his expression changed drastically, and he slammed his hand on the table and stood up!

(End of this chapter)