Nice, Experience Points Grew Legs and Came to Me / A Visit

He could only pant helplessly, his eyes darting about, no one knowing what he was plotting.

After the time it took to drink a few cups of tea, the sound of donkey hooves and shouted calls came from the mountain path.

Huang Liu rode up to the ruined temple on a somewhat sturdier little donkey, accompanied by two men carrying cudgels.

He nimbly jumped off the donkey, strode over to Qing He Miao, and cupped his fists in greeting:

"Daoist Master Qing Miao, you sent for me? Has something happened?"

His gaze then fell on the scrawny man beneath Qing He Miao's foot, and his brow furrowed slightly.

He did not know what this had to do with him.

When Qing He Miao saw Huang Liu arrive, he recalled his Stand and eased the pressure of his foot a little, though he did not move it away entirely. He gave the bandit a kick and said to Huang Liu:

"Steward Huang, you came at just the right time. I was cultivating quietly in my room when I noticed something amiss on the roof and captured this scoundrel. He claims he was a starving refugee driven to steal food, but he doesn't look like an ordinary wanderer to me. You've lived here a long time and know the people in the area. Sorry for the trouble, but could you take a look and see if you recognize him?"

Huang Liu was puzzled.

He did not know why he had been called over for something like this.

He assumed Qing He Miao was simply used to ordering people around and was a little displeased.

Even so, he stepped forward and carefully examined the man's face and clothing, even reaching out to feel his bones and muscles.

Chapter 44: Nice, Experience Points Grew Legs and Came to Me

All the while, the bandit's eyes darted about, no one knowing what he was plotting.

Qing He Miao snorted coldly and pressed down harder with his foot.

The bandit immediately let out a pained grunt and could no longer speak.

Huang Liu felt around the bandit for a while, paying particular attention to his belt, the inside of his lapels, and the seams of his shoes. His expression grew serious.

Soon, he felt out a small piece of roughly tanned animal hide from a hidden layer in the man's underclothes.

He unfolded it to reveal a few simple patterns drawn on it with some kind of pigment.

Huang Liu held the hide close to his eyes and studied it for a moment, then looked at the man on the ground. A look of understanding appeared on his face.

"Impressive, Daoist Master! He certainly isn't an ordinary starving refugee or petty thief."

He straightened up and nodded to Qing He Miao, speaking with certainty:

"If I'm not mistaken, this man is a scout for the local bandits. And there should be only one bandit group of any consequence around here: a gang of outlaws thirty li to the northwest, going by the name 'Mount Luba'!"

Bandits needed to eat too.

Firewood, rice, oil, and salt—in this freezing winter, whether it was firewood, grain, or salt,

all were hard currency, harder than gold.

If gold ran out, they could always rob more. If these things ran out, people really would die.

So many people had gathered around Qing He Miao, yet they could still cook meals every day, with cooking smoke constantly rising.

It was practically inevitable that someone would set their sights on them.

After hearing Huang Liu out, Qing He Miao's first reaction, however, was delight.

He looked down and nudged the bandit scout, who had stopped moving, with his toe, then smiled and asked amiably:

"Bandits from the northwest? Then I wonder... does your fort usually have any dealings with these heroes? Or should this man be handed over to you to deal with? After all, he's an acquaintance on your turf, so to speak?"

There was some sense to that.

Rats and bandits shared the same den, after all!

It was hardly unusual anywhere for powerful local landowners to collude with mountain bandits in secret, exchange what they needed, or even sit back and divide the spoils.

"Oh, Daoist Master! You mustn't say things like that!"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Huang Liu glanced at the growing crowd of disaster victims around them, all watching the spectacle with ears pricked, and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Those outlaws are hardened bandits entrenched in the northwestern mountains. They're ruthless and have gathered in those mountains for years, terrorizing the area! A couple of years ago, they even tried to raid one of our Huang Family Fort's estates, but we drove them off! Several of our able-bodied men were killed or wounded as well. What relationship could we possibly have with them? If you want to deal with him, you can do as you please."

"All right, I understand."

Qing He Miao nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Huang Liu's account.

For now, he would take whatever the other man said as true. He went on to ask:

"Then how do these bandits conduct themselves? What's their reputation around here?"

"Bad."

Huang Liu thought for a moment, then answered truthfully and with certainty:

"They murder and rob, abduct women, and often wipe out small mountain villages for no reason. You could say there's no evil they won't commit, and their infamy is known far and wide. It looks like they've set their sights on you this time, Daoist Master. You should make preparations early!"

Speaking of bandits, powerful local clans like the Huang Family Fort would also often set up checkpoints to collect "tolls" in chaotic times, as well as squeeze the refugees who came seeking their protection.

They even annexed land, and their methods of driving their tenant farmers could sometimes be quite brutal.

From certain angles, there was no difference between them and bandits.

But the problem was, as promising an occupation as banditry was,

even its original ecological niche had been taken over by semi-armed local powers like the Huang Family Fort.

One could imagine just how vicious and how utterly without scruples those who still managed to survive under the name of bandits had to be.

That was also one reason Huang Liu had been unwilling to be associated with bandits in front of so many disaster victims just now.

Their reputation simply stank too badly.

Local landowners and powerful families like theirs still cared about saving some face in the area.

"That's good, then!"

After listening, Qing He Miao gave only that simple reply.

While everyone was still trying to understand what he meant, he once again stomped down lightly!

His Stand, Red Hot Chili Pepper, invisible to everyone else, followed the movement of his leg and slammed its strength-A fist, wreathed in faint electric light, into the bandit scout's chest!

Ora!

Since this was his first time killing someone, and to guard against being insufficiently practiced, he also used his Stand, Metallica.

It instantly formed iron spikes inside the man's body, piercing his vital points from within.

The sound it made was drowned out by the cracking of bones.

The whole process was extremely decisive.

The bandit scout's body stiffened violently, his eyes flew wide, and bloody froth welled from his mouth. Without managing so much as a proper scream, he breathed his last.

[Congratulations on killing a level 6 bandit. Experience points gained; experience points increased slightly.]

The system notification rang out promptly in Qing He Miao's mind.

Trouble?

Haven't the experience points come knocking at my door on their own?

Not until Qing He Miao casually lifted his foot did everyone realize with a start that the man on the ground was completely motionless. A section of his chest had visibly caved in, and blood streamed from the corners of his mouth. He was clearly no longer breathing.

Huang Liu was startled. He instinctively crouched down and reached out to check the bandit's pulse at his neck and his breathing.

He felt no pulse at all.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment as well. The disaster victims who had been whispering among themselves fell quiet, awe and fear returning to their eyes.

It was as though only now had they recalled the young Daoist master's might.

A moment later, Qing He Miao's even, indifferent voice sounded again:

"Steward Huang, sorry for the trouble, but when you return, please report to the person in charge of your fort. Tell him... I, Qing Miao, would like to meet him."

As he said this, Qing He Miao's heart inevitably went thump, thump, beating a little faster.

"Now?"

Huang Liu raised his head and looked at Qing He Miao, somewhat uncertain.

He was finding the Daoist before him increasingly difficult to read.

"Since it's a visit, any time that's convenient will do."

Qing He Miao was courteous.

"If it's convenient for you, Steward Huang, I can also accompany you when you return to report in a little while."

"Ah? Well... this..."

Huang Liu's mouth fell open, and he was momentarily at a loss for words. He hurriedly tried to smooth things over:

"That would be somewhat improper. I should first go back and report to our Wulang, and then both sides can agree on a time. What do you think?"

Although he had previously invited the other man to visit their fort, both to sound him out and to build friendly relations,

there had never been a suitable time.

And now, the Daoist master had just killed someone and wanted to meet their fort's young master. What was that supposed to mean?

Clearly, their fort's young master still needed to make the decision himself.

"As you wish."

Qing He Miao nodded indifferently, appearing quite reasonable.

"Then sorry for the trouble, Steward Huang."

After returning the courtesy, Huang Liu did not dare ask any more questions. He hurriedly cupped his fists in farewell and rushed down the mountain, returning to the Huang Family Fort.

Once Huang Liu had left, Qing He Miao's expression remained unchanged as he instructed two disaster victims nearby who looked reasonably dependable to carry the corpse away and find somewhere to dispose of it.

That simply meant digging a hole and burying it, or pushing it into a deep ravine.

He also rewarded the people who did the work with some rice and vegetables, and the disturbance soon died down.

Compared with most people in these chaotic times, whose corpses lay by the roadside, this was already a very good end.

As for the rest, the creatures of nature and nature itself would take care of it.

Chapter 45: A Visit

Before returning to his own world, Qing He Miao did not hurry to leave.

Instead, he picked a few disaster victims at random and asked about the reputation of the bandits in the area, as well as some rumors concerning the Huang Family Fort and the bandits.