Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 86 Treasures Around Us

The disappearance of all the male members of Wei Dun'er's family is a very serious matter for the government, and they will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly.

Yun Ce's document has been delivered to the governor's office of Chuyun City for eleven days. Logically, someone should come to investigate the matter today. However, Yun Ce waited all day but no one came.

Anyone who has ever worked in the government knows why Wei Dun'er's family disappeared. Even if it wasn't the newly appointed head steward who killed them, he must have been involved.

Therefore, going down to the Royal Hunting Grounds to investigate this matter is definitely a lucrative task. After all, the people who came down to investigate didn't intend to find out anything. If the head steward is smart, they will just report Wei Dun'er's disappearance as an accident, and let it go as the work of wild animals.

If the Grand Steward isn't smart... well, until now, there hasn't been such an unintelligent official in Izumo City.

In the evening, Yun Ce learned from the hunters in the hunting camp that a serious armed conflict had occurred less than forty miles from the royal hunting grounds.

Yun Ce hurriedly rode his chestnut horse to the scene of the brawl, only to find that there were still many dead people there.

The dead men were dressed in government uniforms. They were likely a squad leader and twelve constables, a standard infantry squad leader, making a total of thirteen men including the squad leader.

Now, all thirteen people are dead, and they have been arranged neatly, with words written on their faces in red ink that read, "Give me back my money."

It was clearly a homicide. Yun Ce ordered the people of the hunting camp to load the bodies onto sheep carts and drag them back to the royal hunting grounds. Because the weather was very cold, the bodies were frozen solid when they arrived at the hunting grounds. Yun Ce found a sheltered roof and stacked the bodies up to settle them.

He wrote another document, intending to send it to the governor's office in Chuyun Prefecture once things calmed down outside.

Nowadays, things are really chaotic outside, especially with attacks targeting officials and the government being carried out one after another, to the point that government officials no longer dare to go out in their uniforms.

This riot was clearly unrelated to the rebellion launched by Hong Guniang and her group; it was clearly driven by a strong sense of revenge, and the target of the retaliation was straightforward and clear.

The tribute of 100 million taels of silver has disappeared.

However, the royal tribute could not be reduced, so this 100 million tribute had to be distributed equally among every person in Chuyun Prefecture.

The documents Yun Ce found on the head of the guards indicated that he, as the newly appointed head of the Royal Hunting Grounds, was required to pay a tribute of eighty taels of gold. The documents clearly stated that the next routine inspection of officials would begin eight years later.

The matter has been made very clear: the disappearance of the male members of Wei Dun'er's family will be put to rest after Yun Ce pays the tribute of eighty taels of gold. It is also said that he can do whatever he wants in the royal hunting grounds for the next eight years.

After reading the official document, Feng An chuckled and said to Yun Ce, "The Royal Hunting Grounds only have palaces. You can't just dismantle the palaces to buy them. So, the only places that can be exploited are the Hunting Grounds Camp and Wei Family Village. However, these two villages have a population of less than three hundred, and they make a living by hunting and gathering."

Unless all three hundred people are sold as slaves and the surrounding people are allowed to enter the Gaoliang Mountain hunting grounds to hunt and gather, while the authorities collect taxes on their entry, the things they hunt and gather will not fetch eighty taels of gold, not even in eight years.

The fact that we received such a document means that other places have also received the same document. The reason why that bailiff died on the road may have been the work of some villagers in the surrounding area.

Anyway, once the person dies, he'll just say he didn't receive the call.

Yun Ce also felt that the local people had done a good job. If the government still didn't come to ask about the bodies before they thawed, he planned to drag them away to feed the dogs.

Dog skins are actually the foundation for attracting wild beasts to Takara Mountain. These creatures reproduce easily, and within a year or two, they can grow into large herds. Although their presence is a disaster for small wild animals in Takara Mountain, large wild beasts are also attracted by the thriving dog skin population.

As a royal hunting ground, the more ferocious beasts there are, the higher the value of hunting will be, which will greatly help Yun Ce continue to serve as the head steward of the royal hunting ground.

Eji and the others were already exhausted from their travels, and they seemed to have had enough of their precarious lives. Although the royal hunting grounds were remote, life here was very peaceful and comfortable. Even Eji, who disliked the wilderness the most, had recently gained some weight.

When the government began to exploit every city and even beyond, excavating every inch of the villages, the entire Chuyun Prefecture became a powder keg with a lit fuse.

Yun Ce thought that the rebels, such as Hong Guniang and Zhang Min, would not let go of this good opportunity to control Yunzhou.

So, staying in the remote Royal Hunting Grounds is actually quite nice.

The only thing that made Yun Ce uneasy was the dog. Ever since that guy swallowed the glowing bead that day, it had fallen into a deep sleep, or rather, into endless internal calculations. The dog hadn't crashed; it would occasionally release one or two silver threads that inserted into the dragon bead, as if it were charging.

Meanwhile, a silver wire was stuck in the military cell phone. The phone screen was not only flickering, but it was also extremely hot, as if it might explode at any moment.

The biggest outside helper seemed to be busy with something extraordinary, so Yun Ce also had to calm down. At this moment, when he encountered a super expert, there was no silver thread to help him.

Once a person loses their backing, anyone with a bit of ambition will try to improve themselves. Yun Ce is one such person. These days, he has been practicing martial arts for even longer, training for four hours every morning without fail, rain or shine.

Peng Zeng's body is really strong. Just two days ago, he could only eat in a strange posture, but two days later, he was able to sit quietly on the bed and eat, one spoonful at a time, which looked quite refined.

Four days later, he stopped needing the old woman to serve him and began to wander around the house with his back hunched over. Six days later, he left the house and started walking around the yard, and his back became straighter and straighter.

He watched Yun Ce practice martial arts, and his expression was incredibly complex—regret, resentment, and above all, dejection. Eji added an egg to his rice bowl and proudly asked, "Isn't my husband's martial arts skill good?"

Peng Zeng looked sadly at the fist-sized boiled egg in his rice bowl without answering, and instead lowered his head to eat. However, he never touched the egg.

That night, many people heard Peng Zeng's suppressed sobs.

"How could I possibly lose to him... How could I possibly lose to him? Why would I lose to him?"

His three questions lasted all night.

The next day, when they saw Yun Ce practicing martial arts, his expression was so distorted that Feng An and the others were worried that he would rush into the yard and fight Yun Ce to the death.

"My husband will beat him to death." Eji still had confidence in Yun Ce as always.

"I have a feeling that Peng Zeng is regretting it."

"I feel more than just regret; it seems like he's filled with hatred."

Yun Ce also noticed the change in Peng Zeng's expression. He simply smiled slightly, feeling that the perfect opportunity to truly subdue Peng Zeng had arrived.

He knew that his clumsy, instinct-based martial arts were full of flaws in Peng Zeng's eyes, and that the guy was probably still fantasizing about defeating him.

That's the downside of people who know martial arts: they tend to respect those who are more skilled than themselves, as well as those who hold high positions of power. Those who are less skilled than them but still have to obey them are their enemies.

Three more days passed, and Peng Zeng was able to walk steadily. He even secretly practiced boxing in his room. When he practiced, his bones would crack and pop. Each crack made him feel a little better. After nine cracks, he sat quietly on the bed, lost in thought.

The next day, after leaving the house, he no longer squatted at the door to eat. Instead, he sat imposingly on the wooden stump where Yun Ce usually sat, looking at Yun Ce with a provocative gaze.

Yun Ce sighed and said, "Why are you doing this?"

Peng Zeng said indifferently, "A martial artist prioritizes martial prowess. If you defeat me, I will become your retainer."

Yun Ce stopped E Ji, who was about to yell, and said with a smile, "You think my martial arts are bad?"

Peng Zang sneered and said, "Aside from some free labor, I don't see anything special about it."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "I am just a wild man, so it's normal for my martial arts to be a bit crude. I'll ask you one more time, do you really want to challenge me?"

Peng said, "I want to kill you, or be killed by you."

Yun Ce nodded and said, "Okay, let's eat first, and I'll give you what you want after we finish eating."

Feng An said to Peng Zeng with concern, "You can't beat him."

Peng Zeng shook his head and said, "The previous times were just because I wasn't on guard."

Liang Kun looked at Peng Zeng and said, "You've finally come back to life, why do you want to die again?"

Peng Zeng picked up a pancake, took a bite, and said to Yun Ce, "This time, I'll only kill you."

Yun Ce also took a bite of the pancake and said, "Eat more."

Eji glared at Peng Zeng and said fiercely, "You've been so good to me for nothing."

Peng Zeng simply buried his head in his food and ate without uttering a sound.

After Yun Ce finished the last sip of soup, Peng Zeng leaped to the center of the courtyard and waved to Yun Ce, saying, "Show me your savage skills. You can use weapons, but I'll only use my fists."

After saying that, they clenched their fists and clashed them together, producing a faint metallic clang.

Yun Ce took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, slowly walked to Peng Zeng's side without saying a word, and threw a straight punch with his right fist. He thought Peng Zeng would raise his fist to meet the punch, but he dodged to the side and at the same time, his left fist, accompanied by the sound of wind, smashed towards Yun Ce's ear.

He assumed that Yun Ce would also avoid this vital strike, so he paid no attention to Yun Ce's right fist that was aimed at his abdomen.

Just as Peng Zeng's left fist was about to smash into Yun Ce's ear, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his abdomen, and his body was thrown backward by a powerful force. He didn't understand why he was the one who was punched first, even though his fist had struck first.

(End of this chapter)