Chapter 82: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (15)
Huo Xian made a total of twelve bombs. According to his initial idea, he wanted to bury “heaven-shaking thunder” directly on Black Wind Mountain. However, time was limited, and he only managed to make twelve.
Flattening Black Wind Mountain with twelve bombs was obviously impossible, but it was enough to carve out a path and give a signal to Marquis Huo outside the forest.
The note he gave Marquis Huo specified what the attack signal was. Now that the Black Wind Mountain bandits were either poisoned or blown away, if Marquis Huo and the elite soldiers were careful when ascending the mountain, they should be able to capture all the bandits.
Huo Xian even had the leisure to consider that the prison carts might not hold so many people for his dad; perhaps they could build carts from local materials.
The four of them ran until their lungs burned and their stamina was nearly exhausted before stopping. However, there were still bandits gritting their teeth in pursuit. Killing intent filled Huo Xian’s eyes. “Since they chased us out, let’s send them on their way.”
Huo Xian, who had been a law-abiding citizen in two complete worlds, thought he would resist killing and be unable to do it no matter what. However, the truth was that when his own life was in danger, he would raise the butcher’s knife against enemies to protect himself.
The times create everything; he valued life above principles.
After finishing off the last person, Ning Chen sat down in the snow, gasping for breath. “Damn it, are these guys bandits or desperadoes? Does none of them want their lives?”
“Bandits face beheading if caught, no different from desperadoes,” Huo Xian said, tossing him a water skin. He then asked Huo Yuan, “Yuanyuan, are you hurt?”
“No.” Huo Yuan shook his head, grabbing Huo Xian’s right hand with both of his own, looking solemn. “But you are hurt.”
It was impossible to be completely unscathed when fighting out of an encirclement. The back of Huo Xian’s right hand had been slashed. The wound was a bit long but not deep. “It’s fine. let’s rest a bit and leave here before talking.”
Huo Yuan puffed out his cheeks, saying nothing.
Ning Chen, having chugged a skin of water and caught his breath, asked the question troubling him: “Huo Xian, what exactly is that ‘baby’? It has such power! If there were more, would the entire Black Wind Mountain be razed to the ground?”
“That was a bomb,” Huo Xian didn’t keep him guessing.
“Bomb (Zha-dan)?” Ning Chen frowned; he hadn’t heard this term.
Huo Xian reminded him, “Perhaps you know of firecrackers and fireworks.”
Ning Chen naturally knew of firecrackers and fireworks. He recalled the sparks during the explosion earlier; they were indeed somewhat similar to fireworks, as was the smell. Could it be… they were actually the same thing?
“The components are similar, just the ratio is slightly different,” Huo Xian said. “How is the rest? Qingzhu, can you walk?”
Qingzhu was the unluckier one of the four; he had injured his leg.
“I can walk, Young Master,” Qingzhu answered.
Huo Xian’s gaze swept over his blood-stained leg. He intended to ask again, but Huo Yuan already said: [Huo Xian, don’t worry. His injury isn’t serious; the blood belongs to others.]
Hearing this, Huo Xian felt relieved. The four continued toward the outside of the mountain.
With Huo Yuan there, avoiding the troops entering the mountain wasn’t difficult.
“What are you doing, Yuanyuan?” Huo Xian was wary of traps in the mountains. Even without traps, there were many loose stones on the snow-covered slopes, and one could fall if not careful. So he didn’t pay attention to Huo Yuan for a moment. Suddenly, the back of his hand stung. He thought he was pricked by a thorn, but looking down, he saw Huo Yuan pouring water on his wound.
Huo Yuan blinked and answered seriously, “Cleaning your wound before bandaging. You lead the way; don’t mind me.”
Huo Xian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Walking behind them, Ning Chen clicked his tongue and teased, “Little Brother Huo Yuan, I’m injured too, more seriously than Huo Xian. Why don’t you clean and bandage me?”
“Light injury, won’t die,” Huo Yuan glanced at his wound and replied ruthlessly.
Ning Chen: “……”
Damn, this was the first time he, Ning, received such treatment!
Wait, that’s not right either. Huo Xian’s reputation in the capital was much better than his. If Huo Xian opened his mouth, let alone those social climbers, even his pink confidantes would immediately kick him aside and run off with Huo Xian.
Thinking about it this way, having someone take Huo Xian off the market seemed pretty good.
On the third day after the four temporarily settled in Liangzhou City, all the constables of the Liangzhou Prefecture yamen were dispatched. Within half a day, a procession two miles long marched grandly into the city, attracting crowds of commoners to watch.
This procession was naturally the thousand elite soldiers led by Marquis Huo, along with the bandits tied together like strings of rice dumplings. It was the first time the people of Liangzhou City had seen such a large-scale capture of criminals. Not only them, but it was also the first time the Liangzhou Prefecture yamen had dispatched all personnel to catch criminals. The final destination for these heinous villains would be only one—the guillotine.
On the second floor of the Near Water Tower, the largest restaurant in Liangzhou City, Huo Xian’s group of four leaned against the railing and looked out, spotting the long procession from afar.
“It seems Uncle is going to be credited with a ‘great merit’.” Ning Chen lifted a cup of wine and sipped slowly.
Huo Xian’s voice was indifferent. “It’s better to give this ‘great merit’ to the Heavens. My Huo family cannot afford it.”
Ning Chen’s hair stood on end hearing this. He hurriedly looked around, afraid of being overheard. Spreading his fan to cover half his face, he whispered a reminder, “Even if it’s as you say, you should be more respectful. Beware, walls have ears.”
Huo Xian revealed a sneer and changed the topic: “We leave for Wengzhou tomorrow. What about you? Returning to the capital or…”
“Of course I’m going with you guys. Don’t even think about shaking me off!” Ning Chen refused to be left behind. He was extremely interested in the “baby” Huo Xian had brought out, and after seeing the bomb’s power, he thought of using it on the battlefield.
“There’s still half a month until the New Year. It takes at least ten days to get to Wengzhou. Don’t you want to spend the New Year at home with your family?” Huo Xian asked, then struck straight at the soul with a sentence: “Aren’t you afraid of your dad’s fire poker?”
Ning Chen: “……”
His father was a Martial Marquis, wielding a staff with tiger-like wind. Even without a sharp spearhead, it was incredibly formidable in his hands. When he and his brothers were mischievous as children, they often got beaten by their father’s staff. Once, the beating was so severe he lay in bed for a whole month, nearly dying. His father finally showed mercy once—by switching the weapon to a fire poker from the kitchen.
It could only be said he was his biological father.
“…Forget it. It’s not the first time I’ve been beaten. As long as I don’t die, it’s fine.” Ning Chen gave up on treatment.
Huo Xian was speechless. Seeing he was prepared to die, he simply said, “After arriving in Wengzhou, I’ll have my mom write a letter to send back to the capital, stating that you are spending the New Year with me in Wengzhou. That should reassure Uncle and Auntie.”
Ning Chen was instantly moved. “Good brother! Come, a toast to you!”
Huo Xian didn’t drink. “Before going to Wengzhou, I have to see my dad first.”
“I’ll go with you,” Huo Yuan, who had been silently eating and drinking, finally interjected.
“Drink less, careful not to get drunk.” Huo Xian reached out and took the wine cup from his hand, wiping a vegetable stain from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “I will take you.”
Beside them, Ning Chen had a look like his teeth were sour. “Why are you two clinging together everywhere you go? Good thing Huo Yuan isn’t a girl, otherwise wouldn’t he be drowned in spit (gossip)?”
“If I were a girl, Huo Xian wouldn’t like me.” Huo Yuan puffed out his chest proudly.
Ning Chen: “……”
“What exactly is wrong with girls? Not fragrant enough? Not soft enou—mmph…” Before Ning Chen could finish, Huo Xian stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth. The bun had just been served and was still very hot.
Next was a flurry of chaotic activity. Qingzhu fanned him and brought water; it was quite a scene.
Night fell.
Huo Xian took—no, Huo Yuan took him over the wall into the government office, avoiding the guards on duty, and sneaked into Marquis Huo’s room.
Seeing the visitors, Marquis Huo was first startled, then quickly pulled the two into the room, asking with a solemn face, “Why are you here?”
Huo Xian gave him a reassuring smile. “Dad, don’t worry. We didn’t alert anyone.”
Marquis Huo’s brows were still furrowed. He lowered his voice and asked, “Was the Black Wind Mountain matter your doing?”
“Yes.” Huo Xian didn’t deny it. “Dad, did anything else happen after you entered the mountain?”
Marquis Huo shook his head. “We hired a local hunter as a guide. Two people stepped into traps and suffered minor injuries; otherwise, nothing happened. All the bandits we could find have been captured. However, the captured people were all poisoned.”
His gaze was sharp. Huo Xian knew he disdained the use of such underhanded methods. Just as he was about to explain, he heard Huo Yuan say, “I brought too little medicinal powder. Otherwise, I could have knocked them all down at once.”
Huo Xian: “……”
Marquis Huo: “……”
“…Those are all human lives,” Marquis Huo said in a deep voice.
Huo Xian’s heart tightened, and he suddenly felt nervous. He and Huo Yuan were lovers, and he planned to marry the little ancestor in the future. If he angered his future father-in-law now and left a bad impression… the son caught in the middle would probably get a headache too.
“Do they deserve to be human?” Huo Yuan asked calmly.
Marquis Huo was momentarily speechless.
“Dad,” Huo Xian took the opportunity to speak, “It’s not that we disregard life, but after learning what that group of people did, our hearts couldn’t be at peace. We shouldn’t judge them, nor should we wantonly deprive others of their lives. But how innocent were the commoners who died tragically at their hands? What right did they have to take the lives of others? I agree with Huo Yuan that they don’t deserve to be human. I also know that poisoning is too insidious, but between poisoning those wicked people and confronting them with honorable means, I chose the more efficient poisoning. Because no one can guarantee that they wouldn’t rob commoners again while you were formulating a battle plan.”
His words plunged Marquis Huo into silence. Marquis Huo didn’t think those people shouldn’t die; his point was the poisoning. A gentleman should act open and aboveboard, and poisoning definitely didn’t fall into the category of ‘open.’ But what Huo Xian said was also true. The bandits of Black Wind Mountain were heinous; several consecutive villages had suffered their brutal hands, not even sparing toddlers. For every day they did evil, the common people faced a bit more danger. In his shoes, he might also have chosen the simple and effective poisoning in the end.
Marquis Huo looked at Huo Xian with a slightly complex gaze. After a long while, he patted Huo Xian’s shoulder and pressed down firmly. He didn’t speak, which counted as silent praise.
The father and son looked at each other silently for a long time. Huo Yuan also looked at a plate of pastries on the table for a long time. Seeing that neither father nor son intended to speak or move, he didn’t have the heart to interrupt and quietly acted as background scenery.
“Dad, have you had dinner?” Huo Xian suddenly broke the silence between father and son.
“I have.” Marquis Huo thought his son was concerned about him. His heart warmed slightly, and his face finally showed his usual smile. But the next moment…
“Then can I take the pastries on the table?” Huo Xian asked sincerely.
Marquis Huo: “???”
After getting an affirmative answer from his father, Huo Xian took out a sheet of oil paper from the purse at his waist. He unhesitatingly packed the pastries into the oil paper. When packing the last piece, he paused slightly and looked at Huo Yuan.
Huo Yuan whispered, “Leave a piece for the Marquis to taste.” Ancient pastry plating was particular; he had noticed early on that this plate of pastries hadn’t been touched.
“Okay.”
Marquis Huo: “…???” Wait, what exactly did his son and Huo Yuan come here for?
Only after Huo Xian explained the next itinerary and instructed Marquis Huo to pay attention to safety before leaving did Marquis Huo belatedly remember that he forgot to ask about the craters on Black Wind Mountain and the fragmented, bloody corpses.
At this time, Marquis Huo didn’t know that the next day, a rumor would spread in Liangzhou City—Black Wind Stronghold’s Chief Nie Wushuang was struck dead by lightning for his many evils, and many heinous villains on Black Wind Mountain also died from Heaven’s punishment.
Derived rumor: One should be kind-hearted. Just like Marquis Huo, General Huo, who is kind to others and loyal to the Emperor. He led only a thousand elite soldiers to suppress the bandits, so the benevolent Heavens personally took care of the Black Wind Stronghold Chief to open the door of convenience for General Huo.
Summary: Heaven watches over those who accumulate virtue and do good deeds; do not do evil.
Recommended Reads
![Does A Broken Mirror Reunion Exist in Esports? [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/esports-225x300.png)
![Accidentally Turned a Tragic Romance Plotline into a Sweet and Pampering One [Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ACCIDENTALLY.png)
