Great Dao Lord through Deducing Myriad Arts

## Step 1: Contextual Analysis

Literary genre: This appears to be a Chinese web novel in the crime/martial arts/historical fiction genre. It has elements of revenge plotting and features a setting that seems to be historical China.

Language style: The language is conversational and descriptive, with a mix of dialogue and narration. There’s attention to detail especially when describing food and settings.

Tone: The tone is somewhat dark but pragmatic, with the protagonist having a ruthless streak justified by the harsh world they live in.

Plot keywords: Murder, arson, carriage business, money, revenge, concealment, planning

Characters:

- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, seems to have killed people and burned down a carriage business

- Yang Hu (杨虎): Male, seems to be the victim, ran the Five Blessings Hall carriage business

- Wu Mengchan (武梦婵): Female, Liangchen’s sister

- Yuan Er (袁二): Male, seems to be a friend of Liangchen

- Shopkeeper (掌柜): Generic role

## Step 2: Integrated Translation and Polishing

Now I’ll translate the text paragraph by paragraph, making sure to follow all the guidelines:

The text describes Wu Liangchen returning home after committing arson and murder at Yang Hu’s carriage business (Five Blessings Hall). He has stolen valuables, which he counts and hides. Later, Yuan Er comes to tell him about the fire and deaths, not knowing Wu Liangchen is responsible. They go to a mutton soup restaurant to celebrate, where locals are discussing the incident.

The text has a lot of internal monologue from Wu Liangchen and detailed descriptions of the restaurant scene and people’s reactions to the news.

Let’s start the translation:

Wu Liangchen didn’t go straight home, but first found a secluded spot to change his clothes, then deeply buried his discarded garments along with various other small items underground.

After making sure he’d eliminated all traces, Wu Liangchen finally returned home.

At this moment, his sister was still sound asleep in the inner room.

Wu Liangchen closed the door gently, then took out all the valuables he had plundered from Yang Hu. After a quick inventory, he was shocked despite having been mentally prepared.

The amount was truly astonishing. Besides some silver coins, there were actually several drafts from major commercial firms.

These were hard currency, even more credible than the silver notes issued by the Great Yan government.

In addition, those gold, silver, and jewels were also extremely valuable.

Wu Liangchen roughly estimated that all these miscellaneous valuables added together were worth at least two thousand silver coins.

This was quite a fortune.

Enough to buy a decent courtyard house in the prosperous area of Dinghai City, and then hire several servants, allowing one to live a life with servants at their beck and call.

It’s worth noting that Wu Liangchen earned thirty silver coins per month pulling a rickshaw for Yang Lian’Er, which was considered a top-tier income in all of Dinghai City.

Only account managers of major commercial firms earned this much.

And even with this income, he would need to work non-stop for five or six years without eating or drinking to earn this much money.

Yet this Yang Hu had accumulated such wealth merely from managing a carriage business, showing just how profitable it was.

After all, these valuables were just liquid assets; the real bulk of the wealth was in those rickshaws themselves.

Wu Liangchen wrapped these drafts and precious metals in oilcloth, then buried them beneath a floor tile under his bed.

These things were too eye-catching and couldn’t be used now.

The silver coins would be fine to use, but it was still best to wait for things to settle down first.

By the time he had taken care of everything, it was already past two in the morning. Hearing the night watchman’s call outside, even the young and vigorous Wu Liangchen felt a bit of fatigue.

After all, he hadn’t had a moment’s rest all night—setting fires, killing people, plus rushing back and forth—any one of these activities would drain one’s energy.

So Wu Liangchen skipped washing up and fell straight into bed.

But after sleeping for just a short while, before dawn had even broken, he was awakened by urgent knocking at the door.

"Xiaowu, open up quickly! It’s your brother Yuan Er!"

"Brother Yuan Er? Why is he coming so early today?" Wu Mengchan wondered.

Wu Liangchen naturally knew what was happening, but he put on a very surprised face.

"Who knows?"

With that, he went to open the door.

Sure enough.

Yuan Er stood at the doorway looking anxious, but seeing Wu Liangchen in one piece, he breathed a sigh of relief, then said both nervously and excitedly:

"Xiaowu, did you hear? Something big happened! Last night, the Five Blessings Hall carriage business suddenly caught fire, and when the Water Dragon Bureau people arrived, they found everyone inside dead."

"What? Yang Hu is dead too?" Wu Liangchen exclaimed in surprise.

"Dead. They say his body was burned to a crisp."

At this point, Yuan Er’s face was full of barely contained excitement.

"I don’t know which hero did this deed, but they’ve certainly avenged us brothers well. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed right over."

"Good! This Yang Hu did too many evil deeds and met his deserved end. Let’s go, Brother! Let’s have a few drinks together," Wu Liangchen said, equally excited.

Yuan Er didn’t suspect anything and would never connect the heroic avenger who eliminated twenty or thirty people at the Five Blessings Hall with the young man standing before him.

The two men, riding their excitement, went to a mutton soup restaurant on the street. They first ordered a plate of sliced mutton, then a pound of hot liquor, and began drinking.

This mutton soup restaurant was right next to the docks and mainly served laborers from there, so the portions were generous and, importantly, the food was quite delicious.

The mutton was cooked just right, with perfect seasoning, cut into uniformly thin slices, then drizzled with garlic sauce and sesame oil before serving—making it an excellent dish to accompany alcohol.

By now the restaurant had become lively, with laborers finishing their night shifts and flocking in, desperately needing meat to fill their empty stomachs.

Unlike Wu Liangchen and his companion, who were leisurely enjoying sliced mutton, these workers couldn’t afford such luxury. They typically asked the Shopkeeper for some mutton bones.

These bones had been picked almost clean of meat, with just some tendons and ligaments remaining. After being boiled in hot soup and sprinkled with green onions and cilantro, they were considered a dish.

But with this bit of meat in soup, these laborers could drink a pound or so of liquor, drinking until they were drenched in sweat with their collars wide open.

Then they would order a bowl of steaming hot mutton soup to eat with freshly baked flatbread, seemingly dispelling all the fatigue from a night’s work.

So despite its small size, the mutton soup restaurant did a thriving business.

But today was different.

Today, almost everyone was discussing one thing—the overnight massacre at the Five Blessings Hall carriage business.

This was the biggest case in Dinghai City in recent years.

In a single night, twenty to thirty people were killed and the carriage business burned to the ground. Such methods left these men speechless.

But no one spoke ill of the deed. Some younger ones were even excitedly gesticulating, exclaiming that the killings were satisfying.

After all, these carriage businesses, just like the transport gangs at the docks, were notorious for their brutal oppression of the lower classes, so the hatred they inspired was imaginable.

"If you ask me, this hero must be a passing dragon who saw that the Five Blessings Hall was going too far—raising fees by thirty percent during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Isn’t that clearly forcing people to their deaths? So this hero stepped in to eliminate this menace for the people," said a young man animatedly.

"Whether it’s a passing dragon or something else, this affair has certainly grown too big. I expect things will be unsettled for a while," sighed an older, more composed man.

"The patrol office only harasses us common folk. Even with ten times the courage, they wouldn’t dare arrest this hero," someone said resentfully.

"Shh, say less! If the patrol office hears such talk, a whipping would be the least of your worries. They might just arrest you, and that’s no joking matter," someone nearby quickly advised.

Hearing this, the restaurant instantly fell silent.

Some of the more timid quickly settled their bills and left.

Wu Liangchen listened quietly to these men’s conversations, feeling little emotion.

Although he had killed over twenty people in one night, Wu Liangchen felt no unease.

After all, in this damned world, to live well, a compassionate heart alone wasn’t enough—one needed methods as fierce as an angry guardian deity.

And this Five Blessings Hall carriage business was just the beginning.

"Brother, what are you thinking about? Come on, finish this cup and let’s eat," Yuan Er’s words pulled Wu Liangchen back to reality.

"Good!"

After half a pound of liquor, Wu Liangchen felt fine, but Yuan Er was visibly drunk.

After finishing the mutton soup, Wu Liangchen took him home. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

When they reached the door, Yuan Er suddenly stopped and asked very seriously:

"Brother, now that our affiliated carriage business is gone, what do you plan to do next?"