Chapter 18: Civilization (Part 1)

Ruan Youming was still shouting, “Leave Haiyang City…”
To his surprise, Liu Yu let out a fierce cry, and hundreds of people rushed forward at once, armed with guns and swords, creating a loud uproar. They paid no attention to Ruan Youming at all and stepped over the white line he had painstakingly drawn.
“Do not cross this white line!”
Before Ruan Youming could finish speaking, Liu Yu rushed forward in an instant and punched him straight in the face without saying a word. “I’m not Liu Yu unless I beat you into a panda!”
Behind Ruan Youming, there were cries of shock. The Vietnamese soldiers, who had just felt a glimmer of hope, quickly threw down their shotguns, and many ran toward the church. Those opium dealers regretted their decision deeply—they chose to run to the church instead of anywhere else, only to be trapped inside by the bandits.
Only the clergy members tried to stay calm. They crossed themselves while urging the believers, “It’s time to sacrifice ourselves for the Lord! Dying from illness doesn’t allow immediate ascent to heaven. But sacrificing one’s life for the Lord grants this blessing right away. I hope God will soon bestow upon you the great grace of martyrdom!”
At the edge of the white line, Liu Yu punched Ruan Youming hard in the left cheek. But since Ruan was still a 13-year-old boy, his strength was limited, and he didn’t knock the priest out. Ruan immediately retaliated with a punch, but before it could land, his hand seemed to be torn open.
Zhang Biao from the Grass Flying Gang appeared at the corner of his eye. These people had originally been hired by him to deal with non-believers, but they had been abused by him too much. Now, Zhang Biao took his revenge, delivering a heavy punch to Ruan’s right cheek. “God says, if I hit your left cheek, you should give me your right cheek too!”
Seeing this, the clergy members at the back, along with about a hundred fanatical Catholics, shouted, “It’s time to sacrifice ourselves for the Lord! Go!”
These over a hundred Catholics were either fanatics who had forgotten their ancestors or scoundrels who used the church to oppress the people. Driven by the clergy, they also rushed forward.
In the center, Liu Yu smashed Ruan Youming’s back with the butt of his gun again. The priest screamed like a pig being slaughtered while struggling, “France and the Lord will protect us! You’re violating…”
But with every word he said, he was beaten harder, especially by Zhang Biao, who was the most brutal. “You made us work for nothing! You’ve been bullying us from the Grass Flying Gang all along!”
Cai Yunnan, who was part of the Tiandihui, naturally had to deal with Ruan Youming as well. He was a civilized man, unlike barbarians like Liu Yu. He observed the situation, then suddenly grabbed Ruan Youming’s left hand and smashed it hard with the butt of his gun.
He could hear the sound of bones breaking—what a pleasant sound! “I’ll kill you, you bastard!”
“God!” Father Ruan involuntarily cried out, “Punish them!”
By this time, the fanatical believers had rushed forward. Apart from the uniform crosses on their chests, they had little in common. There were old and young, men and women—no different from ordinary Vietnamese people. But their souls had forgotten even their own ancestors.

A French priest in his sixties shouted to the crowd, “Sacrifice yourselves to the Lord! He will bless you, take away their weapons, and protect you!” The first to step forward was the very young Liu Suiyun. Upon seeing this situation, he immediately issued the order that Liu Yu had once given: “Kill anyone who resists!” “Repeat the order! Kill anyone who resists!” Along with his shouts, Sima Tai and others also repeated the same order: “Repeat the order! Kill anyone who resists!” They were getting closer! The French missionary gathered hundreds of believers and charged forward. They seemed to disregard the bayonets in the hands of Liu Yu’s men, shouting fervently, “The Lord gives them to us!” “Kill anyone who resists!” “Bang! Bang! Bang!” Several rifles fired, with flames shooting into the sky. After all, they were all people with yellow skin. Looking at them, no one had the heart to shoot them to death. The soldiers fired into the air, trying to give them a final chance: “Go back! Go back quickly!” The charging believers paused for a moment, but the French priest shouted again, “The Lord is protecting us! He is blessing us! Go ahead! It’s time to sacrifice ourselves to the Lord!” The soldiers continued to fire sporadically into the air, and the believers and non-believers gathered in the church once again felt hope. Since Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam, it had faced many setbacks, but since the Franco-Vietnamese treaty, French fleets and marines patrolled every corner of the country, and the authority of the cross and the tricolor flag was unchallenged. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the tricolor flag hanging high in the church. The tricolor flag. The cross. The Bible. At that moment, the Trinity. The believers rushed forward—they were even more ferocious than imagined. Two of those at the forefront grabbed a lone soldier and charged at them without hesitation. “Take away their weapons! The Lord will bless you!” EvenNguyen Van Minh, who called out to God, became arrogant amid the chaos: “Lord!” Liu Yu spat into his fist, gathered his strength, and punchedNguyen Van Minh right in the nose. Then he turned to the soldiers and shouted, “Fire! Don’t be afraid of the dead!” A dead person doesn’t matter. A dead foreign missionary doesn’t matter either. Liu Yu’s hands were already covered in blood as he ordered loudly, “What does it matter if a few die? I’ll take all the responsibility!” “Bang! Bang! Bang!” A volley of shots hit the believers. This time, some still fired into the air, while most aimed their guns slightly downward. Pulling the trigger, they fired. “Pop! Pop! Pop!” About a dozen believers were knocked to the ground, blood gushing out. Then the crowd cried out in shock, “God!” Most of those hit were shot in their legs, not fatal wounds, but the believers finally realized that there was an authority even higher than God: “Lord!” The frenzied crowd retreated as suddenly as they had arrived. They didn’t even take their wounded with them and ran away. Even those most desperate foreign missionaries joined in the retreat.

Countless people rushed desperately toward the church doors, crying out to God, while many nobles seeking refuge shouted, “I don’t believe in God! Let us out, let us out!”
Ruan Youming had now been turned into a giant panda. Fortunately, Liu Yu hadn’t struck him in a fatal spot. Taking advantage of this moment, he stepped back two steps and said weakly, “You’ve offended the Lord, you’ve offended France! The tricolor flag… the tricolor flag will not spare you!”
The tricolor flag hanging in front of the church still fluttered high, proclaiming its authority to the world.
Liu Yu merely sneered. He glanced at the flag, raised his gun, pulled the hammer, loaded the bullet, pulled the trigger, and ejected the shell—so cool it was beyond words.
Seven shots in a row.
All hits, leaving seven small black dots on the tricolor flag.
Ruan Youming’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
Liu Yu’s lips curled in mockery.
“Give me that damned flag…”
“Pull it down!”