Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 328 The Death of Fu Song

Of course, Totaro knew that two mere samurai could not stop these hundreds of tiger-like wolves, so after giving the order, he ran into the courtyard recklessly.

He fled in a disheveled state, but his mind was clear: given the remaining prestige of the Zheng family and the reputation of the Tagawa family in Hirado, it was impossible for Hirado to have a hostile force of this scale to deal with the Tagawa family. Mobilizing several hundred warriors at once was something only the Hirado lord, the Matsuura clan, could do within a hundred miles. However, he had always valued Zheng Zhilong and held his father-in-law in high regard. Even if Zheng Zhilong was dead, and his attitude had cooled, it was impossible for him to send such a large force to kill. The only explanation was that the enemy attacking the Central Left Palace had extended their reach to Hirado, wanting to exterminate the only remaining bloodline of the Zheng family!

The more Toru thought about it, the more terrified he became. His lord had entrusted him with the care of his young master; he couldn't let the young master die like this. He ran frantically, knocking down several maids along the way, not daring to stop for a moment.

Zheng Zhilong's widow, Tagawa Matsu, was a dignified and virtuous woman. Although she lived alone in Hirado with her young son, Tagawa Shichizaemon, and rarely saw her husband, she never complained—a typical Japanese woman's character. At this moment, she was in her room, reprimanding her two sons.

"Now that Fusong is back, he must study hard and be proficient in both literature and martial arts so that he can carry on his father's unfinished work in the future..."

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, and Totaro appeared in the doorway with a panicked expression.

Tagawa Matsu frowned and said, "Is this how you behave in front of the mistress and the young master?"

Tong Taro knelt down and prostrated himself: "I am truly sorry for offending you, Madam. However, the matter is urgent, and we cannot be bound by etiquette. The murderers who killed our lord have come here in pursuit; there are hundreds of them. Please, Madam, take the young master and leave immediately!"

Fu Song jumped to his feet, both shocked and furious: "They actually managed to find this place, like ghosts that never leave!"

At this moment, screams from the maids and angry shouts from the guards came from the front yard, along with the clanging of blades clashing.

Tagawa Matsu was surprisingly calm. She said to Totaro, "You take Fukumatsu and go first. Shichizaemon and I will stay here."

The three were shocked and looked at her in unison. Fukumatsu and Totaro couldn't believe their ears. Seven-year-old Tagawa Shichizaemon pitifully said to Tagawa Matsu, "Mother, I don't want to stay here..."

Looking at his younger brother, Fukumatsu felt a pang of pity and pleaded with his mother, "Let Shichizaemon come with me?"

Tian Chuan Song shouted, "Foolish! The enemy's target is you. You are the most suitable heir. The revival of the Zheng family depends entirely on you. Your mother and younger brother can help you draw their attention. Hurry up and leave, or you won't be able to leave!"

The shouts of battle grew closer and closer. Without thinking, Totaro said, "Excuse me," hoisted Fukumatsu onto his shoulder, bowed deeply to Tagawa Matsu, and said, "Take care, mistress." Then he jumped out of the back window and disappeared into the darkness.

Qin Tian and his men stormed into the Tianchuan family's residence with the ease of cutting through vegetables. Although some samurai put up a resistance, the disparity in numbers was too great, and they were quickly slaughtered. The soldiers searched each room but found no boy of about ten years old.

Qin Tian frowned. The Tianchuan family's house occupied a considerable area, and searching each room one by one was too inefficient, inevitably giving the target an opportunity to take advantage. He ordered the soldiers to continue searching, leaving no blind spots, while he himself climbed onto the roof of the central house, looking down and surveying the surroundings from his vantage point.

Not long after, he saw someone jump out of a window in a room in the west wing and, under the cover of night, escape towards the back door.

If someone jumps out the window instead of through the main entrance, there's probably something wrong. Qin Tian sensed something amiss. Without even having time to gather his soldiers, he strode from the east corner of the roof to the west corner, leaped down, and chased after the figure ahead all by himself.

The fleeing figure noticed that someone was following them, so they turned east and west, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and using obstacles such as houses, flowers, trees, and artificial hills to escape.

Qin Tian was unfamiliar with the terrain and his view was frequently obstructed by trees and houses. After several such attempts, he almost lost his way. When his path was blocked by several cherry blossom trees again, he became enraged, roared, swung his iron rod, smashed a tree trunk as thick as an arm in half, and stepped over the bushes. This iron rod was no longer the old cast iron staff he used to have; it was custom-made for him by the arsenal, using a quenching process similar to that of bayonets and special forces daggers. It was as thick as a child's arm, made of incredibly hard high-carbon steel with a carbonized exterior and a remarkably tough low-carbon steel core, strong enough to withstand even the most shovelful blows.

After smashing down several trees, Qin Tian gradually got excited. When the figure in front of him cleverly circled around to the back of a room and disappeared from his sight, he shouted and rushed over with his stick, smashing the door to pieces. Then, he took three steps at a time, smashed open the window, and jumped out of the window.

Originally hiding at the back of the room, intending to wait for his pursuers to circle around from the side so he could escape back to the front door, Totaro was stunned. Although Japanese doors are typically sliding doors without sturdy bolts and the door panels aren't very thick, they were practically made of paper in the face of this man's superhuman strength.

Startled, he was immediately overtaken by Qin Tian. Qin Tian roared, raised the iron rod with both hands, and brought it down like Mount Tai crashing down. Toru Taro quickly put Fukumatsu down and drew his katana to block.

With a sharp clang, the katana shattered in two, the iron rod continuing its trajectory towards Totaro's head. Totaro used his last ounce of strength to dodge the blow, but with a muffled thud, the rod struck his right shoulder solidly. In that instant, Totaro felt as if his bones were cracking and shattering. A piercing pain, deep in his bones, shot from his shoulder through his limbs and torso, before he lost all feeling below his neck. He collapsed to his knees, not falling, but unable to rise again.

Qin Tian stretched out his large, fan-like hand, grabbed Fu Song who was trying to escape, and lifted him up like a chick.

Tōtarō uttered his last words: "...Let him go!"

The enemy, of course, wouldn't listen to him; they simply sized up Fukumatsu to confirm his identity. Totaro tried to speak again, but found himself unable to utter a word; his consciousness faded, and darkness began to fall before his eyes…

Special forces soldiers flooded into the room where Tagawa Matsu was. The elegantly dressed Japanese woman was clearly an important figure in the mansion. More importantly, there was a little boy next to her who was close in age and appearance to the target.

Tagawa Matsu looked at the enemies dressed in Ming Dynasty attire with a cold smile and said in fluent Chinese, "You've come too late. Fukumatsu won't fall into your hands!"

With a thud, a boy was thrown in front of her. It was Fusong. He was curled up in a ball, looking very pained.

Qin Tian strode in and snorted coldly, "You mean him?"

Tagawa Matsu was shocked and rushed over to hug his son: "Fukumatsu, what's wrong? Why didn't you escape?"

"Zheng Zhilong was someone important, after all. Out of respect for him, we'll leave you with a proper burial." Qin Tian waved to his team members. "Get out of here, surround this house, and set it on fire!"

The raging fire illuminated half the sky, and heart-wrenching cries echoed from the burning room. Qin Tian and the others remained expressionless, simply standing coldly around the perimeter.

The last remaining bloodline of the Zheng family was thus extinguished in the fire.