Firmament Sword

With that, Wei Dao Lin said to a trusted subordinate beside him, ”Bring the items over to Young Master Xu for him to look over.”

The two subordinates acknowledged the order quietly. Each took a large box from their back and placed it before Xu Luo.

Wei Dao Lin said, ”Inside this one are the deeds to the Wei Family’s various properties and silver banknotes from the Money Shops... In the other box is a confession detailing the Wei Family’s deeds over the years. It has my personal signature and is sealed with my thumbprint...”

Just then, Xu Luo suddenly said, ”Oh, right. There’s one more thing. Most of your Wei Family’s evil deeds were committed by the men of the family, but there’s one matter—the little beggar girl who was turned into a wax statue. Who was responsible for that?”

At Xu Luo’s words, a young girl in the crowd of women and children instantly went pale. Trembling uncontrollably, her eyes filled with terror, she shrieked, ”Don’t kill me... Don’t kill me!”

Li Hong walked up to Xu Luo and ordered, ”Pull that girl out. Don’t kill her. Go and build a memorial shrine, and have the little beggar girl enshrined there. This girl will be its keeper.”

Upon hearing Li Hong’s words, the young Wei lady’s body went limp. She collapsed to the ground, having fainted from sheer terror.

Wei Dao Lin heaved a long sigh and murmured, ”Such wicked deeds...”

...

In the City Lord’s Mansion, the Old City Lord was drunk, and so was Li Hong. Xu Luo, half-drunk and half-sober, leaned back, humming a random, unknown tune.

”Boss, do you think what we did... was it just?” Li Hong asked with a grin, his eyes hazy with drink as he looked at Xu Luo.

”Of course it was! We are... absolutely just! The Wei Family committed countless injustices; it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed! Besides, we took the Wei Family’s wealth, but we didn’t pocket it for ourselves. A portion of it... was used to compensate those the Wei Family persecuted. Another portion is to improve public facilities in Hongcheng. The largest share... we submitted to the national treasury... We didn’t... line our own pockets. So we... are of course just!” the Old City Lord grumbled drunkenly.

Xu Luo, however, just smiled. ”Justice and evil have never been as clear as black and white. Those who wield power often don’t care about so-called justice or evil. If you take this question too seriously, you’ll live a very tiring life.”

Li Hong nodded and said with a wry smile, ”Perhaps. You’re right.”

The Old City Lord was already snoring loudly. Li Hong sighed softly. ”I suppose only justice without self-interest can be considered true justice.”

Xu Luo smiled. ”As long as we’re alive, who can be without selfish motives? For instance, if you were to do something wrong—as long as it wasn’t something utterly wicked—I would naturally cover for you. Even if it was utterly wicked, I still wouldn’t be the one to turn on you. So...”

”...which means it would be very hard for you to be a truly just person, Boss, hahahaha.” Li Hong finished Xu Luo’s sentence with a laugh, then shook his head and sighed. ”None of us are saints. The Old City Lord isn’t. For all these years, he knew about the Wei Family’s many evil deeds—he was even one of their victims—but when faced with their power, he lacked the courage for a fight to the bitter end. He could only wait for an opportunity. I’m not a saint either. I’m from Hongcheng, so I’ve long known about the Wei Family’s tyranny and their countless wicked acts. But even after I became the Deputy City Lord, I never considered actually destroying them. That’s... self-preservation, I suppose.”

Saying this, Li Hong glanced at Xu Luo. ”But you, Boss... come to think of it, you’re the most courageous one. If it weren’t for you, who knows how many more years the Wei Family would have plagued Hongcheng.”

Xu Luo shook his head. ”Before I saw all the evil things the Wei Family had done, I only wanted to do something for my sister-in-law. After seeing their deeds, the first thing I thought about was the relationship between the Xu Family and the Wei Family. If our two families were allies, I wouldn’t have gone on such a killing spree... I would have only dealt with the individuals who had gone too far.”

”Be that as it may, Boss, you’ve still done a tremendous good deed for the people of Hongcheng!” Li Hong drained his cup in one gulp and pointed outside. ”Hear that? It’s only been half a day, and the firecracker shops in Hongcheng must be making a fortune...”

A Guard who happened to be bringing in more wine overheard this and chuckled. ”Deputy City Lord, sir, you’re misjudging them. Those firecracker shop owners, usually cursed as profiteers, are taking a huge loss this time. They’re giving away all their firecrackers for free! They’re not taking a single coin!”

Listening to the incessant CRACKLE and POP from outside—a scene more festive than New Year’s—Xu Luo thought, speechless, ’Just how much did the people of Hongcheng have to hate the Wei Family!’

The night passed peacefully. The next morning, Xu Luo prepared to bid farewell to Li Hong.

He had only been passing through Hongcheng by chance, yet he had stirred up such a huge mess. Xu Luo was now preparing to return and face the Emperor’s thunderous wrath. To the people of Hongcheng, however, he had done a tremendous good deed.

Somehow, word got out. The story spread that the Wei Family had fallen and been destroyed all because the second son of the Grand General of National Guardian was passing through, heard of their evil deeds, and righteously took action to wipe them out!

This caused the entire populace of Hongcheng to erupt in excitement. Early in the morning, they were already crowding the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion, demanding to see this legendary young hero, this paragon of justice!

At a time like this, if Xu Luo were to appear, his image in the hearts of Hongcheng’s people would surely become like that of a god. The problem was, Xu Luo was preparing to return to face punishment. If he went back backed by the public opinion of Hongcheng’s million residents, how could the Emperor possibly punish him?

Therefore, with the help of Li Hong and the Old City Lord, Xu Luo slipped away quietly through a secret passage in the City Lord’s Mansion.