Morning light enveloped the earth. The great fire had already dispersed, but the clamor was even louder than during the night.

The injured wailed, survivors who had lost loved ones wept bitterly, and people rushing over from all directions were shocked.

Officials also came. Seeing this scene, they too were extremely shocked. Without needing to investigate, one glance showed that this village was destroyed.

The local official personally rushed over as well—not because he particularly cared about the villagers, but because Que Mountain belonged to the Wei clan’s properties.

When the news arrived, it said Que Mountain was on fire.

The official was startled. That was Young Master Wei’s property. Young Master Wei loved the mountain—abandoning the Wei clan’s luxurious mansion to live in the mountains every day. Could something have happened to Young Master Wei?

The official rushed over urgently through the night.

Fortunately, fortunately, it turned out Young Master Wei hadn’t had an accident.

“This is our fault,” the Wei family steward said with a grave expression. “We weren’t timely enough putting out the fire and couldn’t save more people.”

The official looked at the Wei family servants—every one disheveled in clothing, with quite a few injured. It was clearly from fighting the fire.

The surrounding people shouted one after another: “Fortunately the Wei family put out the fire in time!” “Otherwise who knows how much bigger the fire would have been!”

The official also believed the Wei family had done their utmost fighting the fire. After all, right next to Que Mountain—if it had burned to the mountain, Young Master Wei would surely have been furious.

“How did a fire start out of nowhere?” The official was puzzled, looking at the sky. “This isn’t the dry season when things easily catch fire.”

He looked at the destroyed village, the unrecognizable corpses in the ruined village, and the surviving but horrifically injured—his heart ached.

“This official has said before that this place isn’t suitable for habitation and told the villagers to move away. They refused to listen, otherwise today’s disaster wouldn’t have happened.”

Having said this, the official’s heart began pounding wildly—the human heart in this world was full of demons.

Young Master Wei had always wanted to drive away the villagers at the mountain’s foot. Could it be that Young Master Wei had someone set the fire—

What to do? Ask or not ask?

Ask, and opposing the Wei clan wouldn’t end well for him.

Don’t ask, and with such a massacre of an entire village before everyone’s eyes, as the local magistrate, not asking also wouldn’t end well.

Just as the official hesitated and didn’t dare open his mouth, a hoarse voice came from the crowd.

“Has an official come? Can I file a complaint now?”

Hearing this abrupt voice, people all turned to look and saw a carriage stopped behind the many Wei family servants.

At this moment, the carriage curtain was lifted by someone, and a young master appeared in view.

The young master wore only lower garments, bare upper body—broad shoulders, narrow waist, solid muscles—combined with fair and handsome features, causing the clamorous crowd to instantly quiet down.

The young master’s phoenix eyes lifted, full of murderous aura, glancing at the official.

“You’re the local official?” he asked. Without waiting for the official to answer, he directly said, “My cargo burned up—worth a thousand gold pieces.” He pointed at himself again. “Also, I’m severely injured. You as an official must give an explanation.”

Everyone’s gaze looked toward the young master’s arm. The arm had blisters, red and swollen—it did look quite frightening.

……

……

Three doctors and four maids surrounded this young master, treating those few blisters. Busy and chaotic, the official couldn’t even squeeze through.

“What does the young master mean by this?” He could only ask loudly. “Do you know how this fire started?”

The young master raised his head and sneered: “I don’t care how the fire started. I was passing through here. Now I’ve lost cargo and been injured—this is attempted murder. These villagers—”

He pointed at the wailing injured over there.

“Must compensate me!”

Everyone was stunned. The official prided himself on having seen all kinds of evil people and evil deeds, but this time he’d truly had his eyes opened.

This absurdly beautiful young master—did he have no heart?

However, those who casually spoke evil words and did evil deeds without realizing it must surely be of extraordinary birth. Ordinary people didn’t have this opportunity—they’d be beaten to death the first time they opened their mouths. The official opened and closed his mouth, once again not quite daring to speak.

Over there, Young Master Wei’s servants spoke up.

“Young Master Xie, don’t be angry. The young master says he will properly compensate you.”

Xie? The official’s heart jumped. Not that Xie family, surely?

Young Master Xie, facing Young Master Wei’s servants’ goodwill, was completely indifferent and sneered mockingly: “My Xie family doesn’t need the Wei clan’s compensation. My losses are heavy, but even if we lost this much again, we wouldn’t blink. This matter isn’t about property—it’s about principle! Whoever destroyed my property and injured me must be punished!”

Young Master Wei’s steward looked distressed: “Young master, look at these villagers—so many dead, and the survivors severely injured. Even passersby can’t bear to see it. Your benevolent heart and virtuous nature—”

Before he finished speaking, the young master who claimed to be severely injured jumped out of the carriage. His movements agile, with one kick the steward who was speaking instantly flew out, fell to the ground spitting blood, unable to say another word.

Cries of alarm rang out all around.

No one expected this young, beautiful master would hit people just like that—and this was a Wei clan servant.

The Wei clan in Han Commandery was the preeminent great family. Every commandery governor upon taking office didn’t go first to the government office but first paid respects to the Wei clan.

This brat actually just hit him like that. Though just a servant, he represented the Wei clan’s face.

What kind of fierce person was this?

“I am from the Xie clan of Dongyang. My elder brother, Third Young Master Xie—who in the world doesn’t know his benevolent heart and virtuous nature? It’s the Wei clan’s turn to lecture me about benevolence?” The young master sneered coldly, his face full of arrogance. “You’re not worthy!”

The Wei family steward, hearing this curse, spat another mouthful of blood and fainted.

The other Wei family servants were both shocked and angry. The Xie family servants were also somewhat at a loss.

“Young Master Yanlai!” “Young master, you mustn’t!” Several stewards came out—some persuading the young master, others bowing apologetically to the Wei family servants.

The scene became chaotic for a moment.

The official and the people finally understood whose family this terrible young master belonged to—the Xie clan of Dongyang, that was the Crown Princess’s maternal family. In the future, the Empress’s maternal family.

This young master would be a National Uncle in the future.

So arrogant—

“It’s you! You’re the one who burned our village!”

Amidst the chaos and quiet came a child’s shrill voice. Hearing this, the busy Wei and Xie family servants fell silent, and the quiet people stirred.

A child around ten years old came running unsteadily from not far away, followed by a young servant.

“Little brother, don’t speak recklessly,” the servant said urgently, his expression pleading, his steps stumbling as he fell to the ground.

The child had no injuries, but this young servant’s arm was wrapped in bandages, and more than half his hair had been burned away.

Seeing him fall, the child felt some reluctance.

“Brother Cai, though you saved me, my neighbors and parents are all dead. I’m grateful for your life-saving grace, but I cannot not avenge this!” The child cried, finally gritting his teeth and rushing toward the official.

The official was caught off guard and had his leg grabbed. The child used all his strength desperately—he actually couldn’t shake him off and could only listen as the child told everything.

Young Master Xie’s party was escorting cargo and passing through here, staying overnight in their village. The villagers kindly invited them and gave up their houses, but this young master disdained the villagers’ simple dwellings and insisted on sleeping outside.

As a result, they lit a bonfire and drank wine, fell asleep, and the fire ignited the wine barrels, then ignited the piled dry wood and grain stalks. The fire burned fiercely and instantly spread through the entire village.

Late at night with everyone deeply asleep, by the time they discovered it, they couldn’t escape. Oh, that young master—he was the first to discover the fire, but first escaped to a safe place himself, then busied himself rescuing his cargo. Where did he care whether the villagers lived or died?

“We kindly let him stay the night, but he brought destruction to our village and death to our people.” The child cried out this account and, having no more strength, couldn’t hold the official’s leg and collapsed on the ground.

The official also didn’t retreat further. There was no need—before everyone’s eyes, everyone now knew the cause and effect.

The injured wailed even louder. The people no longer feared because of this young master’s surname. The discussion grew louder and louder, expressions angry.

The Xie family servants involuntarily surrounded the young master to prevent angry people from attacking.

The young master, whether hearing the child’s tearful accusation or facing the people’s anger, showed no change in expression. He didn’t even glance at the child, only speaking to the maids beside him, blaming them for being too heavy-handed and hurting his wound when applying medicine: “I once saw a very skilled maid who applied ointment to her young miss every day, and her miss didn’t notice at all.”

The maids weren’t afraid of the young master’s anger and said with giggles: “Young master should buy that maid.” “No, should invite her over.” “Um, if that family’s young miss won’t release her, bring the young miss along too.”

The young master sneered coldly: “That young miss is a villain. I don’t want her.”

The maids all laughed merrily to comfort the young master not to be afraid.

Over there, the child wept about village destruction and deaths. Here, the young master and maids joked like flowers blooming. Even though the official was accustomed to seeing the powerful and privileged running rampant, he couldn’t help but feel angry.

“Young Master Xie!” he shouted. “Is this truly what happened?”

Only then did Young Master Xie glance at him from among the surrounding maids, phoenix eyes lifting: “Nonsense. What basis is there for saying it was me?”

The child crawled up from the ground, eyes blood-red: “I saw it!”

A mountain village child, seeing the leading young master so beautiful and martial, couldn’t help but curiously watch.

He had been holding a grass-woven grasshopper. That young master saw it, a smile appearing in his eyes—smiling so beautifully, even with some sadness.

He could tell that young master really liked this grasshopper. He couldn’t help but extend his hand to offer it, wanting to give this grasshopper to this young master.

But this young master’s expression suddenly changed, scolding him to get lost, get far away, don’t come near.

A very disdainful appearance.

He was frightened and threw down the grasshopper and ran.

But he still couldn’t help but hide in the distance and secretly watch.

The child shouted: “I saw you have people light the bonfire, have people bring wine. You started drinking and even poured wine into the bonfire!”

The bonfire grew brighter and brighter, the wine brought grew more and more, until people were drunk and unknowing, until the bonfire ignited everything around—

“You’re the one who harmed us.” The child’s hands grasped the ground, his fingers bleeding from clawing. “If you hadn’t passed through here, if you hadn’t stayed overnight in our village, if you hadn’t drunk and made merry, if not—”

He wouldn’t have lost his parents, wouldn’t have lost his home. His entire life was gone in one night.

He jumped up from the ground, pulled out a small knife hidden in his clothing, and lunged at that young master.

“I’m going to kill you!”