Chapter 26: A Weak Point

The wooden stick, swinging down with a howling wind, suddenly stopped. A look of shock appeared on Wang Liuzhi’s face.
According to the shopkeeper’s guess, this kid should have revealed his identity right away. Why did he only mention being a nobleman? How could things go on like this?
To Fu Zizhou, that expression clearly showed he was terrified by Fu Zizhou’s identity.
A commoner was just a commoner, but a nobleman was enough to shock him.
Coughing lightly, seeing Wang Liuzhi come back to his senses, Fu Zizhou said indifferently, “Hurry up and untie the rope.”
Wang Liuzhi couldn’t help but turn to look at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong could easily tell that Wang Liuzhi was struggling with Fu Zizhou’s “low profile.” He laughed and said, “Is being a nobleman that amazing? Kill him, and who will know it was us?”
“That’s right! Look at my stupid head.”
Wang Liuzhi was overjoyed. He swung the stick and smacked Fu Zizhou on the shoulder, causing him to kneel on one knee in pain.
Fu Zizhou cried out in pain and then glared at Wang Liuzhi, shouting angrily, “Damn it! You even dare hit a nobleman. Do you want to rebel?”
Bang!
Wang Liuzhi swung the stick again, knocking Fu Zizhou to the ground.
“Who cares if you’re a nobleman or not? I’ll kill you and throw you in a mass grave. Who will ever find out? Guys, beat him!”
Seeing Wang Liuzhi already getting his revenge, Sanjiaoyan and Liu Hao, who were already itching for action, couldn’t resist anymore. They swung their sticks and rushed at Fu Zizhou, beating him mercilessly as he rolled on the ground and cursed.
“Bastards! If I don’t kill you, I’m not Fu Zizhou…”
The intense pain filled Fu Zizhou with hatred toward them. He never expected these people to be so bold.
Kill them to silence them?
Crying out in agony, wanting to torture them to death, Fu Zizhou suddenly realized and dared not utter those vicious words anymore.
“Stop!”
Gathering all his strength, Fu Zizhou growled.
Wang Liuzhi was pleased. Finally, the kid had figured it out. He usually seemed intelligent and sensible. But after being beaten for so long, he finally understood that no amount of harsh words would help.
It was better than this thug, who could snap to attention at the shopkeeper’s hint.
“Stop all of you and listen to what he has to say,” Wang Liuzhi ordered, waving his hand to stop Sanjiaoyan and Liu Hao, who still wanted more.
With hatred boiling in his heart, Fu Zizhou spat out the blood clots blocking his throat and shouted, “I’m a nobleman appointed by the emperor—the greatest talent in the capital!”
“Shopkeeper, he says he’s the greatest talent in the capital…” Wang Liuzhi turned to look at Lin Dong, his eyes full of helplessness.

“Kill me, and the emperor, in his anger, will surely send people to investigate. Don’t think the imperial guards are useless fools from the local government—they’ll find you easily.” Fu Zizhou trembled as he used his legs and shoulders to get up from the ground. A hint of arrogance appeared on his fierce face: “Killing a renowned scholar, especially one appointed by the emperor—such a crime is enough to condemn your entire family.”
Lin Dong felt frustrated, thinking, Why not just reveal his identity all at once? Why have to be beaten for each piece of information?
With no other choice, he continued to guide him. After some thought, Lin Dong spoke in a tone meant to persuade Wang Liuzhi, “Even if the imperial guards investigate, it will take some time before they track us down. At worst, after killing him, we can run away tomorrow. He’s just an emperor-appointed scholar, not a prince. The emperor won’t have time to worry about him all the time. We can hide for a while, and then everything will be calm again.”
“That makes sense, brothers! Let’s attack!”
Wang Liuzhi was annoyed. Why wait until everything was clear before fighting? It would be so much more fun to fight right away. Was it because the sixth master was getting old and might not be strong enough, so they were being kind by letting him fight a few times before resting?
The rain of wooden sticks fell down again with fierce force. Fu Zizhou suffered intense pain, his earlier arrogance completely gone. He couldn’t help but roll on the ground, crying out in agony.
“Stop, stop! I’m the son of Fu Tongshan, the magistrate of Qiufeng Mansion.”
“Stop, stop…” Wang Liuzhi was overjoyed and quickly waved his hand to stop the two men with triangular eyes.
After groaning a few times, Fu Zizhou no longer had the strength even to despise Wang Liuzhi. Gathering his strength, he revealed everything he could: “My father was once the head of the six ministers. I believe you know that. If you kill me, my father will definitely not give up. With his influence, all the prefectures will launch a thorough investigation. You might be able to hide for a year, but not two or three years. Eventually, you’ll be caught.”
“Boss, Fu Tongshan is a grand tutor. I heard he’s also the leader of the Scholars’ Party. If we really kill his son, that would be terrible!”
“But if we let him go, won’t he still cause us trouble later? Unless…”
Lin Dong’s tone calmed Fu Zizhou’s anxious heart. Seeing a glimmer of hope, he didn’t dare hesitate and quickly asked through the pain, “Unless what?”
“Unless…” Lin Dong pretended to ponder. “Unless you can write a document. I heard scholars care a lot about face. If you have anything embarrassing in our hands, we might let you go.”
What about the people from the other two parties?

Hearing the word “weak point,” Fu Zizhou shuddered first, then dismissed the thought that popped into his mind immediately. His arrival in Xilan City had been kept completely secret; it was impossible for the members of the other two factions to discover it, let alone arrange such a coincidence in such a short time.

But even if it were a coincidence, if this weak point fell into the hands of those from the other factions and they used it to suppress him, not only would his reputation be ruined, but his father might also suffer as a consequence of his son’s failure.

“Unwilling?” Lin Dong laughed. “I heard that in the eyes of scholars, reputation is above everything, even life. It seems you’re unwilling to leave me a weak point.”

Fu Zizhou was shocked. Reputation above everything—this could almost be considered the motto of scholars. But when faced with such a difficult choice…

Seeing Wang Liuzhi and the others raising their sticks again, Fu Zizhou made up his mind instantly: “I’m willing.”

“Good.” Lin Dong took out the prepared ink and brush from the mobile counter, handed them to the Man-Eyed Man, and said sternly, “Write that you visited a brothel at Zuihonglou today, refused to pay, insulted the madam, were caught by the guards, stripped naked and paraded through the streets, and voluntarily had a picture of a chick pecking at grains tattooed on your buttocks along with this confession letter. Also… I heard many people are skilled in various styles of calligraphy. I’ll find a way to verify your handwriting. If there’s any discrepancy, don’t blame me for being harsh.”

Fu Zizhou’s body trembled, then he slumped down like a deflated balloon.

After untying the ropes around Fu Zizhou, the Man-Eyed Man ground the ink, while Liu Hao held down his trembling body and arms. In just a moment, Fu Zizhou put down the brush and glared hatefully at Lin Dong. “I’m done.”

“Very good. Remember, I’ll give this weak point to someone I trust. As long as you try anything tricky, I guarantee it will end up in the hands of your enemies right away.”

Lin Dong nodded. Liu Hao immediately grabbed Fu Zizhou’s thumb, dipped it in ink, and pressed it firmly onto the paper.

Once everything was done, Wang Liuzhi raised his wooden stick and swung it hard at Fu Zizhou’s head. With a crisp sound, Fu Zizhou’s already pitiful head burst into a spray of blood.

Pulling off the blue spirit ring from Fu Zizhou’s index finger, Wang Liuzhi handed it to Lin Dong with a smile, then nodded at Liu Shun beside him. “Boss, this kid doesn’t care about reputation at all. Keeping him around is a disaster!”

Taking the spirit ring, Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. “Don’t worry. Fu Zizhou will kill him sooner or later. This just adds another piece of evidence that can be used to investigate him.”

“Makes sense,” Wang Liuzhi chuckled. “Next, shall the shop owner take a look?”
With just a repentance letter for not paying for prostitution and a tattoo of a chick pecking at grains on the back as evidence, Lin Dong had no confidence that Fu Zizhou wouldn’t turn on him—there were surely other plans in store. Though these plans were somewhat inappropriate for children.
Although Lin Dong wasn’t a child, he had no interest in watching two naked men either. He immediately took out two wooden plaques and a tael of gold, handing them to Wang Liuzhi. “Hang the wooden plaques around your waist to cover your vital areas; otherwise, passing girls will be disturbed. Hide the gold in Fu Zizhou’s hair so it won’t be taken. And make sure to cover the tattoo with dust—otherwise, we’re not seeking witnesses but giving gifts to those who want to harm Fu Tongshan.”
“Mm!” Wang Liuzhi nodded and handed a silver needle to Liu Hao. “You do it.”
“No problem. I’ll make sure the tattoo looks vivid,” Liu Hao said with a bright smile.
The man with slanted eyes leaned in smugly and said, “Elder Sixth, how about letting me handle breaking his legs?”
“Okay. You’ll get the biggest credit for this task.”
Wang Liuzhi waved his hand generously, looking quite bold.
By the time Lin Dong returned to the inn with the spirit ring—a trophy worth a tael of gold—he found Wang Liuzhi and his men had already stripped Fu Zizhou and Liu Shun, who was barely alive, and dragged them to the center of Zhenglong Street.
In an instant, the two were surrounded by hundreds of passersby.
As if proud of being the center of attention, the two wooden plaques began to sway slowly. The words on them quickly spread from Zhenglong Street throughout the entire Xilan City…
The top talent in the capital—refused to pay for prostitution and forced to parade naked in the streets!