Volume Three: Turmoil at the Xuanwu Gate, Chapter 95: Rooting Out Evil Completely

Ming Yu felt a wave of relief wash over him after seeing Duan Hu dispatched and learning the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Following Duan Hu's instructions, he reached into a hidden compartment beneath the bed and retrieved a small box. It was about a foot square and surprisingly light. Opening it, he found a collection of gold hairpins, jade bracelets, property deeds, and a stack of gold leaves.

As for the hairpins and bracelets, damn it, they were clearly meant for women. The craftsmanship was mediocre—hardly a suitable gift for anyone. They were light-years behind what Changsun wore, and even the two maids serving him had better ornaments. Should he just crush them and use them as raw gold?

As for the property deeds, he had no idea what they were worth, but he assumed that in any dynasty, fixed assets were the most valuable things. He tucked them away safely.

The gold leaves, however, were a different story. He weighed them in his hand; there was over a pound in total.

After stuffing the valuables into his tunic, Ming Yu hoisted the heavy coin chest—filled to the brim with Kaiyuan Tongbao coins—onto his shoulder.

Stepping out of the room, he saw the mother and daughter huddled together, trembling. The earth-shattering screams Duan Hu had let out before dying had clearly terrified them.

Ming Yu offered a few words of comfort. Remembering the other woman he had seen earlier, he gestured for the mother and daughter to follow him as he went to find her.

No sooner had he stepped out of the main hall than he encountered a dozen ruffians wielding blades and spears, looking ferocious as they prepared to burst into the building. The mother and daughter shrieked, their faces draining of color.

Ming Yu frowned. More of them? Ah, of course—Duan Hu’s death cries must have alerted them. Well, that was fine; he could finish them all off at once and save himself the trouble of hunting them down one by one.

Ming Yu ordered the mother and daughter behind him, "Go back into the room and hide. Do not come out until I tell you to!"

"Y-you, please be careful," the older woman urged, pulling the little girl back into the room. She shut the door tightly and watched through a crack, her heart racing with anxiety.

Ming Yu set the wooden box down from his shoulder with a heavy "thud." The two hundred or so strings of cash, packed solid with coins, were truly heavy. If not for his innate superhuman strength, an ordinary person would never have been able to carry it.

The dozen ruffians saw Ming Yu emerging from Duan Hu's room covered in blood and assumed their gang leader had met a grim end. They clamored in confusion, "Hey kid, who are you? Why are you in our leader's room?"

"Where did this brat come from? What happened to our leader?"

Li Ming Yu sneered. "Your leader? He’s likely on the road to the afterlife by now. But don't be in such a hurry—I’ve made sure he saved you all a spot!"

"What?! Such a sharp-tongued, arrogant brat!" The ruffians were shocked and enraged by his words.

Exchanging glances, they shouted to boost their courage and charged forward, brandishing their weapons.

"Kill him! Avenge the leader!"

"He’s only one man! We have so many—don't be afraid, all together now!"

"This kid must have ambushed the leader! The leader was good to us—avenge him!"

"Whoever kills him gets to be the next leader!"

Watching the rabble charge toward him, Ming Yu gave a cold laugh. *Courting death!* He crossed his fists and assumed a combat stance, ready to engage.

...

"Whoosh!" A spear thrust toward his face.

Ming Yu dodged the tip, grabbed the shaft, and yanked it toward himself, delivering a punch to the attacker's face with his other hand.

"Crack!" The man let out a howl, blood spraying from his nose and mouth as he flew backward and landed flat on his back, dead or alive, it was hard to say.

Before Ming Yu could even secure the spear, a long blade swung at him from the left.

He ducked, letting the blade pass over his head, and used the spear like a staff, swinging it in a wide arc to strike the attacker’s head.

"Splat!" A scream was cut short as the man’s skull shattered, brains and blood spraying everywhere.

Ming Yu then brought his hands together, the spear shaft vibrating with a hum as he unleashed a flurry of strikes, the tip darting toward the throats of two approaching ruffians.

One held a blade, the other a staff. The one with the staff was caught off guard and pierced through the throat, dropping dead on the spot. The one with the blade was quick-witted and raised his weapon to parry, hoping to knock the spear aside, but he drastically underestimated Ming Yu’s strength.

"Clang!" The blade struck the spearhead, but it didn't deflect; the tip merely wavered before continuing its path.

The man gasped, breaking into a cold sweat. In a moment of desperation, he tossed his blade aside and rolled backward like a donkey.

Just as he regained his footing, still trembling, Li Ming Yu flicked his wrist. The spear flew from his hand like a venomous dragon, whistling through the air, and pierced straight through the man’s chest with a sickening "splat!"

*Hmph, trying to run? Did you think you’d get away?* Ming Yu muttered to himself. He turned, grabbed a discarded staff from the ground, and returned to the fray.

Li Ming Yu was like a tiger among sheep, unstoppable. The staff danced in his hands, whistling as it swung; the ruffians couldn't get within an inch of him.

"Whoosh!" A horizontal sweep sent several ruffians flying.

"Smack!" A downward strike shattered another skull.

Within moments, half of the dozen ruffians were dead.

The rest stared at each other, their faces pale with terror. This boy was fast, ruthless, and every move was a killing blow.

"Run!" one shouted, throwing down his weapon and bolting.

Seeing his ferocity, the others lost their nerve. They dropped their weapons and fled in every direction, scrambling for their lives.

"Running? Where do you think you're going?" Li Ming Yu threw the staff, aiming for the runner’s legs.

The ruffian, terrified, had only taken two steps when the staff struck his legs, sending him face-planting into the dirt with a heavy thud.

*Leave no evil unpunished!* Ming Yu had no intention of letting any of these men go. These were the die-hard thugs of the Fierce Tiger Gang, Duan Hu's loyal hounds—men with long records of atrocities who had countless innocent souls on their hands. If they were allowed to escape, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, leaving endless trouble behind.

Ming Yu snatched up a blade and a hand axe from the ground. He flung the axe toward the one in the lead; it spun through the air, the back of the axe slamming into the man’s spine. He let out a final cry, vomited blood, and collapsed, twitching before going still.

The remaining five or six ruffians realized they could neither win nor run. Driven to desperation, they let out a collective roar and lunged at Ming Yu, determined to fight to the death.

...

Ming Yu didn't even consider them a threat. He shook his blade and charged into the crowd. He unleashed the Li family sword technique his master had taught him, the blade flashing and weaving through the air. He moved with lethal precision, leaving limbs flying and blood spraying everywhere.

"Squelch!" The blade pierced through the last resisting ruffian. With a final, resentful cry, the battle ended. All seventeen ruffians had been wiped out.

The ground and walls were splattered with blood. The mangled bodies of the ruffians lay in heaps, a truly miserable sight.

Ming Yu kicked a corpse aside and panted heavily. After all, he was only flesh and blood. No matter how good his martial arts or how strong his body, he was exhausted. After the consecutive, fierce battles, he was both starving and worn to his limit.

As the adrenaline faded, his mind relaxed, and he felt a wave of dizziness, stars dancing before his eyes. He nearly collapsed but shook his head to steady himself. He forced himself to walk to the door and told the two women inside, "The thugs are all dead. You can come out now!"

With a creak, the door opened. The older woman kept her hands firmly over her daughter’s eyes as they stepped out, trembling.

"Don't be afraid, I've killed them all!" Ming Yu flashed a grin, revealing his white teeth. He tried to make his smile appear friendly and kind to avoid frightening them further.

Little did he know, his smile only made the woman shudder harder.

Ming Yu didn't realize that his face and body were covered in blood. Coupled with the brutal methods she had witnessed through the door crack, she was terrified. She was just an ordinary citizen; how could she not be afraid?

Ming Yu felt a dull ache in every joint and muscle. He knew he was suffering from extreme exertion and exhaustion.

He was in no mood to worry about the woman's feelings. They were strangers, and he had already done his duty by saving them from humiliation and destruction. *And you treat me like this?* he thought. *Well, I’m not a saint, and I have a huge mess to clean up.*

Feeling impatient, he didn't bother speaking and prepared to rest. The door to the next room creaked open.

The woman he had saved first, still wearing men’s clothes, looked terrified by what she had seen. She walked out and fell to her knees before Ming Yu with a heavy thud.

She, too, had witnessed everything through the door crack. Seeing Ming Yu single-handedly wipe out the gang, and not knowing what to do with her life, she had finally gathered the courage to come out and beg for his help.

Ming Yu frowned. "I told you, there's no need to thank me! When dawn comes, just go home."

The woman, clearly resourceful, sobbed, "Benefactor, please listen. I... I have no home to go back to! My husband is obsessed with gambling, always thinking of ways to win back his losses. He beats and scolds me every day. If I go back, I fear I'll be sold off to pay his debts within two days!"

"What do you want, then?" Ming Yu pondered. Her life was indeed miserable. To have such a husband in this era—where men were superior and women were subordinate—meant her future was likely bleak.

"I beg the Benefactor to take me in!" She kowtowed and remained kneeling.

Ming Yu gritted his teeth. *Damn it, she's latching onto me. This won't do. I saved you, but I have no obligation to support you!*

Just as he was about to refuse, he heard a chaotic sound of footsteps coming from the front courtyard. Judging by the sound, there were many of them!

Ming Yu was startled. *More of them? Oh, for heaven's sake! Is the Fierce Tiger Gang a nest of rats? I kill one brood, and another pops up! I’m already exhausted and in no condition to fight. What should I do?*