Chapter 270: Please Treat Everyone to a Full Meal

The child hesitated. "I know Mr. Hong. He told us not to be afraid."

"Hong Chenglüe?"

"He lives in Elm Alley. His is the only house without a 'Fu' character pasted on the door."

This news surprised He Lingchuan. "Are you saying he originally lived in Bailu Town?"

The child nodded.

"What does he do?"

"He teaches at a private school." The child took a second candy and began to eat it. "My dad said we don't have money, so we couldn't go to Mr. Hong."

A general, who had killed so many, was living in seclusion in this small town, merely as a school teacher?

The child reached for another candy from Lingguang, eating it so quickly that he let out two burps.

Lingguang suddenly tilted his head.

Just then, a man turned the corner of the alley. Seeing the child talking to He Lingchuan, he paled, rushed over, and scooped up the boy. "What are you doing!"

"The grain convoy was attacked; we're looking for clues." He Lingchuan held out his hand, a piece of broken silver resting in his palm. "This is for your help."

The silver glinted in the man's eyes, almost glowing. But the greed on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a shake of his head. "I heard the shouts and hid at home. I don't know anything!"

"Oh?" He Lingchuan asked, surprised. "Didn't Hong Chenglüe tell you anything?"

At the mention of the name, the man's mouth twitched. "No!"

He Lingchuan exhaled, then suddenly snatched the child away!

The man cried out, "You..."

Before he could finish, there was a flash of light, and the piece of broken silver was thrust into his mouth, cutting off his words.

The child only just reacted and was about to throw a tantrum, but He Lingchuan tapped him on the temple, and he lost consciousness.

The man had just spit out the silver when He Lingchuan placed the child on the ground, gripped the man's neck, and pressed him against the wall. "So you won't take the easy way?"

He Lingchuan was taller than him, and the chokehold lifted the man's feet off the ground. "Answer honestly, and you'll be safe and get money. Lie, and both you and your son will die. Understand?"

The man, gasping for air and unable to break free, nodded repeatedly.

He Lingchuan released him and asked, "Your son said Hong Chenglüe lives in Bailu Town. When did he move here? What does he usually do? And what happened a few days ago? Speak!"

The man rubbed his throat and coughed several times.

"The couple moved to Bailu Town three years ago; they're good people. I don't know what their original trade was, but Mr. Hong opened a private school in town. You know how poor we are here—we can barely eat, let alone study—so his school barely had any students, and he didn't earn much. Mr. Hong also worked at the rice shop at the end of the street; he could carry seven bags of rice at once, he's very strong! Sometimes he'd also do odd jobs to supplement their income. Recently, the war in the north spread south, and two wealthy families in our town fled, so Mr. Hong lost his students."

"A couple?" He Lingchuan honed in on that. "Where's his wife?"

"His wife's name is A Jin. She's paralyzed. For the first year they were here, she could still walk a few steps by holding onto the wall, but later she became completely bedridden. Mr. Hong always bought her medicine; their house smells of medicine all year round!"

"How did she become paralyzed?"

"I heard it was because of a difficult childbirth. The son died, and she became disabled."

"If he was a teacher, how did he become a bandit?"

"I don't know. Suddenly, several constables died in his house, and by the time the authorities found out, the couple had vanished. The authorities searched and questioned everyone, but no one knew anything."

He Lingchuan handed him another piece of broken silver. The man had quietly hidden the first piece after digging it out of his throat.

One piece or two, it was all profit, and the townsman's lips weren't so tight anymore. "But I just remembered something: before Mr. Hong disappeared, the patrolling officer had just executed Liu Yalin and two others for stealing military provisions. That boy used to be Mr. Hong's student and studied with him for nearly half a year."

"Stealing military provisions?" He Lingchuan's expression shifted. That's right, a grain convoy had indeed passed through Bailu Town a few days ago. "How is that crime usually handled?"

"Execution on the spot, without needing to report to higher authorities." The townsman shivered. "I heard that beheading was enough, but the patrolling officer made the executioner chop off Liu Yalin's limbs first, and then his head."

He Lingchuan's eyes darted. "Where is this patrolling officer?"

"I-I don't know." He didn't care, and hoped he wouldn't appear.

He didn't say the last two sentences aloud, but He Lingchuan understood from his eyes.

"When Hong Chenglüe later led people back to town, killed the soldiers, and robbed the military provisions, did he not speak to you?"

"No..." The townsman instinctively tried to deny it, but seeing He Lingchuan's gaze suddenly sharpen, chilling him, his tone changed. "W-when they killed the soldiers, we couldn't do anything but hide. Later, when it was quiet outside, those Xunzhou people searched us out one by one and gathered us. We were all surprised to see Mr. Hong. But he told us not to panic, that they would leave soon and wouldn't harm us."

"Is that all?" He Lingchuan smiled; this censored version sounded wrong. "If they were just leaving, why bother gathering you to tell you?"

"Th-they still killed people in town, two wealthy families in the east of town, both surnamed Liu. One dealt in grain and oil, and the other ran a pawn shop. Mr. Hong said these two families colluded with officials to exploit the villagers, so he... he executed them to give us some justice."

"So good to you?" This fellow probably didn't realize that he spoke fluently when telling the truth, but stammered when lying?

"Mr. Hong said it was because we were all from the same area."

Just then, a figure flashed at the alley entrance; it was Maotao and Shan Youjun, who had both returned.

Maotao reported to He Lingchuan, "I went to the steamed bun shop to ask questions, and the dough maker also claimed to know nothing. Later, when no one was looking, I gave him a little 'incentive,' and then he admitted that after Hong Chenglüe killed the soldiers last night, he distributed some grain to them. I was thinking, he himself was dressed in rags, looking like he'd fall over in a gust of wind, so how could he have two big bags of good grain under his cutting board!"

Shan Youjun added, "The Xunzhou people gathered all the townsfolk in the open space at the town entrance last night. I took a look; there were traces of stones piled up for cooking, and unburnt branches and charcoal on the ground."

"Pots?" He Lingchuan turned to the townsman. "Did Hong Chenglüe invite you to eat too?"

"N-no!" The townsman shook his head so vigorously it almost came off. "Their eating had nothing to do with us!"

The Medicine Ape Lingguang, who had been perched on He Lingchuan's shoulder, suddenly interjected, "The child's burps just now had a sour, gamey smell. His belly looks a bit bloated; he probably hadn't eaten any meat for too long and suddenly consumed a large amount of food, especially meat, causing indigestion and swelling."

"A large amount of meat?" He Lingchuan glanced at the unconscious child. A disturbing thought surfaced. Could it be...?

"You just said Hong Chenglüe and the Xunzhou people took the two Liu families to the open space and killed them. Then what?" He Lingchuan stared at him and asked, "Where are their bodies?"

The townsman's face went pale, and he was speechless.

Shan Youjun grabbed his collar. A short knife appeared from nowhere, its tip pointing at the man's eyeball. "What did you eat for supper last night? Speak!"

"We were forced! They said the Liu families had been exploiting the villagers for years, so it was time they became our 'fish and meat'! So... so they forced every one of us to eat!"

"How could I dare?" The man actually burst into tears. "I just ate a small bite, and then I threw it up."

His child, not knowing better, devoured the meat as soon as he smelled it. Those Xunzhou people were malicious; if a child wanted to eat, they'd give it to them.

He Lingchuan looked at him. "Did both these Liu families have a grudge with Hong Chenglüe?"

"Probably, y-yes." The townsman thought for a moment. "The Liu family ran a pawn shop, and their pawn rates were terribly low. Sometimes, even if you gathered enough money to redeem something, you couldn't get it back. And there were many other filthy dealings... They weren't good people."

"It seems Hong Chenglüe also suffered a lot of grievances from their family," He Lingchuan frowned. "Why would someone of his caliber endure such humiliation in this town?"

This felt as strange as if he, of his own high status, had gone to work as a lowly laborer for Liu Baobao, a merchant in Blackwater City, and done so for several years. It was impossible!

"I don't know."

Shan Youjun released him, and He Lingchuan tossed him another piece of broken silver. "Keep quiet about this, at least until we leave town."

The four then headed to Hong Chenglüe's residence.

The sights along the way were dilapidated. Most townsfolk were sallow and emaciated, their eyes indifferent, showing poorly concealed wariness and even aversion towards He Lingchuan and other Xiazhou soldiers.

Even without the Xunzhou people's rampage, this place was already poor enough.

He Lingchuan passed the town entrance and found the traces of stacked stones for cooking that Shan Youjun had mentioned, along with a raised wooden platform.

There was still residual blood in the cracks of the planks, now blackened, but He Lingchuan could still smell its metallic scent.

Such a place, such a platform, was typically used for public executions to serve as a warning.

He Lingchuan suddenly remembered that Hong Chenglüe's student had been beheaded here for stealing military provisions. A few days later, his teacher also targeted military provisions, not by stealing, but by outright robbery.

Why did Hong Chenglüe distribute the grain to the townsfolk?

Besides currying favor, was there also a hint of compassion? After all, he too had lived here and suffered greatly.

So, when he forced the townsfolk to eat meat, specifically the meat of the two wealthy families in town, was it to vent his own anger, or to let the townsfolk vent theirs?

He Lingchuan pondered these questions and soon found Hong Chenglüe's home.

The ground in this alley was uneven, and the wall cracks were covered in mold and moss. It wasn't long, but it housed at least a dozen families.

"It looks like this one."

With a creak, He Lingchuan pushed open the door. Inside was just a small courtyard and two low, single-story houses.

The area was only slightly larger than his wooden house in Panlong City, with the courtyard alone being about eleven or twelve square meters. In the courtyard, several wooden frames lay askew, two empty jars, and there were blackened bloodstains on the ground.

The house wasn't large; the four of them circled around and met up quickly. Maotao sighed,

"Mr. Hong was really poor."

A general of the Beijia Kingdom, living in seclusion here, could only be described as utterly destitute.

The bedroom contained only a bed and a low cabinet.

Shan Youjun commented, "The kitchen is empty, as if it's been cleaned out; there aren't even any pots or pans. But the stove shows signs of being used regularly, which isn't normal."