Chapter Thirty-Seven: Return to Hometown

  Yue Fei pushed the incense burner aside, opened the temple door and mounted his horse. He was about to persuade Niu Gao, Wang Gui and Hong Xian father and son when he saw Tang Huai and Zhang Xian rushing out of the back hall.

  Zhang Xian held a hook spear gun and rushed out of the temple gate, shouting loudly: "You dare to plot against us? I think you're tired of living!" After that, he wielded the hook spear gun, flying up and down, and the thugs who met him died instantly.

  Tang Huai was not to be outdone, wielding his silver spear and charging left and right, growing more valiant with each battle, wherever the silver spear went, it was either death or injury.

  The four brothers cheered up and showed off their prowess.

  Hong Xian fought fiercely against Niu Gao, exchanging dozens of blows, but gradually became unable to withstand. Hong Wu saw that his father was no match for the enemy, so he threw down Wang Gui and charged at Niu Gao with his halberd.

  Hong Wen alone fought against Wang Gui, how could he be his opponent? After three or five rounds, he was chopped down from the horse by Wang Gui.

  Hongwu was shocked to see his brother being knocked off the horse and was about to rush forward to rescue him when Niu Gao struck him with a single blow, shattering his skull and causing his brains to splatter out.

  Hong Xian saw his two sons being killed, and in a rage he shouted: "You have killed my two sons, heaven will not tolerate this, come and take my life!" Having said that, he charged forward on horseback, wielding the three-pronged spear to attack Niu Gao.

  Yue Fei saw that the grievances were getting deeper and deeper, so he rode his horse forward, blocked Hong Xian, and shouted: "Hong Xian, do not be rude, Yue Fei is here."

  Hong Xian was originally no match for Niu Gao, but unexpectedly another Yue Fei appeared, and his heart was in a panic. Just as he was about to turn back, Zhang Xian arrived and pulled Hong Xian off his horse with a hook spear. Tang Huai rushed over and killed Hong Xian with one shot.

  The crowd saw Hong Xian and his son die suddenly, and they were so frightened that they knelt down to beg for mercy.

  Wang Gui and Niu Gao wanted to rush up and kill them, but Yue Fei stopped them: "Brothers, it's better to forgive than to resent. They were also under the instigation of Hong Xianfu and his son. Now that Hong Xianfu and his son are dead, it's already retribution. Let's spare those who should be spared and let them go!"

  Wang Gui and Niu Gao had no choice but to stop.

  Yue Fei then said to the crowd: "Get up! From now on, I hope you will wash your hearts and change your ways, and not be bandits."

  They all went away with many thanks and apologies.

  Everyone dismounted and came to the temple, seeing that all the families were scared pale. Niu Gao shouted loudly: "Great! It's really great! These thieves dare to plot against our brothers, they are simply looking for death. Don't be afraid everyone, the bandits who died have died, those who escaped have escaped, and everyone is safe."

  Everyone who heard it was overjoyed.

  Yue Fei anxiously said: "You brothers have killed so many bandits, although you don't want to be held accountable for their deaths, but you can't escape the consequences. With dawn approaching, what will happen if someone discovers the bodies?"

  "Big brother, why worry? We'll leave here as soon as possible. How would the government know it was us who killed him?" Wang Gui said.

  "No! So many people have died, how can the government not investigate?" Yue Fei said.

  "Big brother, what's so difficult about this? We'll just throw these corpses into the temple and then set it on fire. Who will know?" Niu Gao said.

  "This idea is not bad. Brothers, while it's still dark, let's quickly push the carts out and move the bodies in, then find some firewood and burn them." Yue Fei ordered.

  The brothers listened and immediately took action. The house servants and porters also joined in, and the flames rose high as everyone worked together. Before long, everything was ready.

  "Tang Huai, Zhang Xian, you two take your families, horses and mules and go first. We three will settle things here and then catch up." Yue Fei said.

  Tang Huai and Zhang Xian listened, took their families and left the broken temple. Yue Fei, Niu Gao and Wang Gui lit a big fire around the temple. Suddenly, flames shot up to the sky, shining like daylight.

  Yue Fei saw the fierce fire, estimated that the corpses had been burned enough, and led Niu Gao and Wang Gui to chase after their families.

  Caught up with family members, the sky was already bright, and everyone rushed to Xiangzhou. After a day's journey, in the evening, they finally arrived at Xiangzhou.

  Yue Fei and his four brothers first came to the mansion of Xu Ren, the head of Tangyin County, to pay their respects. Yue Fei told Xu about the matter of all the officials moving to Tangyin together. After listening, Xu sighed and said: "It's rare for all of you officials to have such a sincere heart towards me, it's admirable and respectable. However, I didn't know that all of you would be moving to Tangyin, this place is a bit small, but don't worry, we can just build more houses in the future."

  "It doesn't matter, as long as everyone is lively and happy, we brothers can handle the house ourselves, and just hire some craftsmen." Yue Fei said.

  "Sir, my brother and I still need to go pay our respects to Liu Duanyun and thank him for his kindness. I don't know if you can accompany us on this trip?" Yue Fei asked.

  "No problem. I also need to go visit him and report some situations, since you're going, let's go together." Mr. Xu readily agreed.

  Yue Fei and his four brothers followed Xu Gong to the entrance of the camp, where Xu Gong sent in a visiting card. After a while, the herald brought everyone to meet Liu Duanyuan.

  Xu Ren reported to Liu Du Yuan about the matter of building a house for Yue Fei's hometown, and also mentioned the matter of relocating all the officials to Tangyin.

  Liu Douyuan listened and said with delight: "This is a good thing, the five brothers can now advance and retreat together, share weal and woe, and their families will no longer have to worry about two households. As for the house, you go ahead and take care of it, if the county can't afford the silver needed, I'll pay for it myself."

  Yue Fei and others listened to Liu Duoyuan's words, they were extremely grateful to Liu Duoyuan. They hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to thank him.

  "Lord Liu, if my brother and I can make a name for ourselves in the future, we will definitely repay your kindness." Yue Fei said sincerely.

  "As long as you can make a name for yourselves in the capital when you go there to take the exams, that will be the best reward." said Liu Duoyuan.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  It was getting late, and Yue Fei's brothers were worried about their families waiting for them, so they bid farewell and left.

  At night, everyone slept in the county government office of Tangyin County. The next morning, under the leadership of Xu Xian, the group rushed to Yonghe Township, Xiaotie Village.

  Arriving at the riverbank, Yue Fei stood for a long time, recalling the events of his childhood, remembering how his father drowned in the river, and how his younger brother was washed away by the water from this very river, unable to hold back tears.

  "Yue Dage, what's wrong with you? You've returned to your hometown, you should be happy, why are you suddenly so sad?" Wang Gui asked in confusion.

  "My younger brother, you don't know that this small river has left me with too many sad memories. My brother-in-law, Yue Teng, was washed away by the water from here, and my father drowned in the river from here as well. You say, 'sorrowful scenes evoke emotions, seeing things makes one think of people', how can I remain unmoved?" Yue Fei said.

  Upon arrival at the village entrance, the elderly and children were waiting with their families. The five brothers each brought their families to meet the elderly villagers. Mr. Xu then introduced them one by one to the villagers.

  The villagers were overjoyed when they heard the news and warmly welcomed these guests from Neihuang County who came to settle down.

  Since the plague, the population of Xiaotang Village has been reduced by half. Although there have been no major disasters in recent years, the population growth has been very slow. Now, with so many people moving in, the once desolate Xiaotang Village is suddenly bustling with activity.

  Yue Fei arrived at his own doorstep, the old dilapidated house was gone, and what caught his eye was a brand new four-in-one courtyard, with dozens of single rooms, enough to accommodate nearly a hundred people.