He Zhitian’s face was black, his suit was precipitated with white salt crystals, and his chubby face was covered in salt.
I added, “Coming up, before I beat you to death, let you have another sip of water.”
The words moved He Zhitian, and he grabbed the oar I had let down, and several of us pulled him up together.
He Zhi Tian didn’t even have time to get up from the ground before he was surrounded by the swarming crowd and kicked in the middle.
We didn’t stop it, because I wanted to hit him myself.
After this wave of people finished, there was another wave of people, all of whom had a very tacit agreement not to beat He Zhitian to death, intentionally amplifying his pain.
In the end, rather than us carrying He Zhitian to the small conference room, it was these journeymen who snatched He Zhitian back.
There was not a single piece of skin left on He Zhitian’s body, especially on his face, which had been ravaged by women’s nails and men’s fists, and his hair had been pulled out several times.
But he didn’t seem too concerned, squinting into his already battered eyes as he said to me, “Water.”
I reached for a water bottle and he was instantly revived from his moribund state, jumping up from the floor to grab water.
“Give me water, you said you’d give me water.” He Chitian begged.
“You can have the water, but you have to answer a few questions for me. What the hell did you do this for?” I asked, “What do we have against you?”
He Zhitian’s eyes swept over each of our heads with unmistakable malice in his vision.
“How does it feel to be dying? Is it good? Jiang Ming?” He Zhitian suddenly asked with a fierce smile.
The eyes of the crowd looked towards Jiang Ming, who frowned and looked like he didn’t know what was going on with He Zhitian.
He Zhitian struggled hard and got up from the ground.
“You ask me why I killed you all, don’t you deserve to die? How many years have you all lived after Ji Yanran’s death, you murderous devils, you all deserve to go to hell, who will die if you don’t?”
The crowd was in an uproar, they could not believe that He Zhitian would say such words.
I was also overwhelmed with amazement, he was doing it for my mother? He had once said that he had received favours from my mother, but I could not imagine that what he was doing today was to avenge my mother.
He Zhitian added, “Jiang Ming, Gan Quan, Liu Ruyi, and Moon Full Bow, Qian Xiaoqian. All of you deserve to die, all of you are murderers! My cousin Xiaobao is only a few years old, and you beasts, you don’t even spare him, don’t you deserve to die?”
I was very surprised because of his mention of the Yin family. Yue Man Gong had only told me that the Yin family had fallen, but not that the Yin family had been exterminated!
For a moment, the entire small conference room was terribly quiet, with only He Zhitian’s horrible laughter echoing alone.
Even though He Zhitian was tied up, it was as if it was not him who was tied up at this moment, but these Jianghu people present.
I drew in a breath of cold air: “Isn’t your surname He? Your surname is Yin?”
He Zhitian cursed, “If my surname wasn’t He, would I have lived until now? Forty years ago, anyone with the surname Yin, young or old, you or your fathers, even in the face of unarmed children, refused to let go, didn’t you deserve to die?”
At the mention of what happened forty years ago, all the people present suddenly looked embarra*sed, it seemed that they themselves knew that it was dishonourable, what really happened forty years ago? I looked at Moon Full Bow and his face was also full of confusion, it seemed he didn’t know either.
At this point, Guan Lang said, “Even if we did something a little too much forty years ago, it was forty years ago! Besides, the good men of the jianghu were also doing it for the sake of chivalry and justice. The Yin family makes its living by killing people and wiping out their blood. He Zhitian, don’t use the past to whitewash yourself. If it wasn’t for your family’s sins, there wouldn’t have been the tragedy that followed.
“That’s right, it was your Yin family that went too far first, and only then did several clans unite to take action, otherwise I don’t know how long the Jianghu would have been poisoned by your Yin family!”
I looked at the ages of the people and saw that Guan Lang was only in his fifties, the same age as He Zhitian, and I was afraid that when the tragedy happened forty years ago, he was still a little kid running around with a snotty nose.
He Zhitian’s eyes were red as he asked rhetorically, “Yes, my Yin family’s crime was so vicious that it was punishable by God and man. But what has my 12-year-old cousin done wrong? He has not even killed a chicken! What have you done to him? At that time, he and I were surrounded in the mistletoe hutong in the south of Tongcheng. I remember clearly that it was New Year’s Eve and the hutong was littered with red confetti from the firecrackers that had been set off during the day, and the eight of you, Liu Liangke of the Liu family, Qian Bu Meng of the Qian family, and Guan Chuxiong with two dozen men surrounded the two of us children. I climbed over the wall to pull Xiaobo, but he couldn’t climb up, and it was Guan Chuxiong who cut off one of Xiaobo’s legs with a single slash, splashing blood all over my face. A dagger, as long as a palm, nailed him from the back of his neck all the way across his throat, Liu Ruyi, you know your Liu family’s willow leaf knife, right? Did he kill anyone, hurt anyone? Injustice has a head, debt has a master, with whom does Xiaobao have an injustice, and with whom do I have an injustice?!”
Originally, Yue Man Gong frowned, but at this moment, his face was surprisingly full of shock. I was so chilled by He Zhitian’s words that I was not a beast to a degree that I could not do what he said.
Liu Ruyi blushed at the question and said forcefully, “What does that have to do with us? I didn’t kill your little cousin either, we were there, neither of us did anything to the Yin family, so what’s the point of you talking to us about this.”
He Zhitian laughed loudly, “Is it really none of your business? Liu Ruyi, don’t you guys want the legacy in the thoughtless mountain, don’t you want the position of the alliance of the Jianghu. Ge Lao has already decided on the leader of the Jianghu Lake, and no one of you can change the contents of the testament by grabbing it. Each and every one of you is no good, so why are you still acting.”
He Zhitian asked what I most wanted to ask.
Guan Lang said, “Don’t use your villain’s heart to judge a gentleman’s heart. The Jianghu Alliance has been going on for so long, the position of the alliance leader is vacantly hanging, and we all want to get our hands on the Thoughtless Mountain, but we only want to get it as soon as possible and launch the alliance family.”
“Right, you have a dark heart yourself, don’t frame us like this.”
“That’s right, we are all decent people, at least much more decent than your Yin family. The United Nations still needs a secretary-general, and with an alliance leader, there will be someone to administer justice in many matters in the jianghu.”
“He Zhitian, don’t change the subject, you tricked us into coming to sea and tried to get us killed, we haven’t settled the score with you yet!”
He Zhitian laughed and said, “Back then, Elder Ge left his last words that people in the jianghu must not seek revenge against each other and kill each other, otherwise the rest of the group would rise up and kill them. You’ve been acting for so many years, but you can’t take it anymore, so you’re finally going to renege on your word, right?”
“When we find the thoughtless mountain and launch the alliance according to Elder Ge’s last words, it will be the time of your death.”
He Zhitian said, “That’s easy, no need to toss and turn, Wuxia Mountain has been in my hands for so many years, I have read the last words, why don’t I just tell you who the alliance leader is?”
“Shut up!”
He Zhitian was just about to speak when Liu Ruyi, her face as red as Lord Guan’s, rushed up and pinched He Zhitian’s chin to stop him from speaking.
He Zhi Tian’s jawbone was pinched to the point of clicking, but he laughed as if he was not afraid of the pain.
