Daily Intel System: Vengeance Must Be Repaid! Please Vote

Nine Divine Continents.

Great Cang Kingdom.

Qingniu Town was one of Yan Yun County's Twelve Great Markets, situated on the banks of the Black River.

It was the time of the winter solstice.

The frigid wind was sharp as a blade, cutting painfully across the face.

Three li east of Qingniu Town's market.

Li Laocai wore a Yuanwai Hat and a brocade robe, his great belly thrust forward as he led two servants through the fields, inspecting the ridges between them.

"Li Laocai, that old beast, has finally come!"

Qin Wang wore a black cap that concealed most of his face and a gray cotton jacket, his hands tucked into his sleeves. Hidden amid head-high reeds behind an earthen embankment, he looked like a little old man as he stared coldly at Li Laocai a hundred zhang away.

A moment later.

Qin Wang withdrew his gaze. Before him appeared a three-foot panel with pale blue borders, frosted and translucent, like an opened book. Small white characters were written on both pages.

The left page.

Today's Intel

1: Yesterday, you saw Qingniu Town's landlord Li Laocai from afar and obtained related intel. Having learned that you were not dead, Li Laocai was discussing with his steward how to set a trap and sell you to the 'Gentle Haven of the Great Official' as a catamite, making another profit in the process.

2: Yesterday, you met Granny Yan of the brokerages and obtained related intel. Your elder sister, Qin Xuemei, voluntarily sold herself to the Chen Family as a Laundry Slave, trading herself for 600 coins to cover your winter living expenses. The intermediary, Granny Yan, earned 3 taels of silver.

3: Yesterday, you met Li Yun of the Goldfish Gang and obtained related intel. Li Yun argued with fishermen early this morning and was stabbed to death with a fish spear.

4: Yesterday, you met Li Yunhai and obtained related intel. Li Yunhai and his wife were in the middle of a cold war because Li Yunhai had given you a small bag of Unpolished Rice and a fish yesterday.

5: Yesterday, you watched the sky and obtained related intel. A localized torrential rainstorm would occur in Yan Yun County in the near future.

6: Yesterday, you passed a tavern in Qingniu Town and overheard people discussing the Great Cang Kingdom, obtaining related intel. The Empress Dowager, who had ruled from behind a curtain in the Central Imperial City a Hundred Thousand and Eighty Thousand Li away, had passed away, and Great Cang Emperor Yun had finally taken full power.

7: Yesterday, you saw Zhao Kun, a Qingniu Town peddler, and obtained related intel. Zhao Kun would die of illness 137 days from now.

8: Yesterday, you met the fisherman Li Ergou and obtained related intel. Li Ergou would break his left leg while fishing tomorrow.

9: Yesterday, you met Chen Pu, steward to Qingniu Town's landlord Li Laocai, and obtained related intel. Chen Pu's most beloved precious son was actually the flesh and blood of Li Laocai and a concubine.

10: Yesterday, you paid attention to Qingniu Town's landlord Li Laocai and obtained related intel. This morning, Li Laocai would inspect his fields in Qingniu Town, step on the iron nails you buried, and drop a Money Pouch.

Note: Today's Intel refreshes daily at midnight.

The right page.

Qin Wang

Lifespan: 17/67

Skill: Culinary Arts (Beginner)

Progress: (788/800)

Effect: Steaming, boiling, cooking, frying; pan-frying, roasting, braising, mixing. Diligence could make up for clumsiness; in two or three months, you could become proficient.

"Li Laocai, that old beast, is far too sinister!"

"Let's see whether you die this time!"

Qin Wang gritted his teeth.

He had originally been a university graduate on Earth. After working for five years, he had ultimately become a food delivery rider.

Burdened by a thirty-year mortgage, he had collapsed while rushing orders. When he woke again, he had become Qin Wang, a youth of the same name in Qingniu Town.

The previous owner's mother had been taken away by the River God, while his father had died of illness half a year ago, leaving behind a mountain of debt. Their only three mu of farmland and three tiled rooms had been seized by the landlord Li Laocai to pay the debt. The remaining brother and sister had put up thatch over a ruined house east of Qingniu Town, with no means of livelihood.

Seeing that they could no longer survive, his elder sister Qin Xuemei had willingly sold herself to the Chen Family, a great clan in Yan Yun County, as a Laundry Slave. She had exchanged herself for 600 coins, solely so her younger brother Qin Wang could make it through the winter.

A month and a half after Qin Xuemei went to the Chen Family as a Laundry Slave, Qin Wang unexpectedly awakened the Daily Intel System, which could refresh intel every day.

As long as he had come into contact with someone the day before, he might obtain secret intel about that person.

More than ten days after activating the system.

Qin Wang learned through the Daily Intel.

That the Qin Family's three mu of land and three tiled rooms had been forced into Li Laocai's hands to repay debts; the deaths of the previous owner and his father, as well as the brother and sister's hardship, had all been caused by Li Laocai!

Moreover.

Li Laocai had pressed forward step by step, even intending to sell Qin Wang to the county town as a catamite for silver. His heart was vicious to the extreme.

If Qin Xuemei had not sold herself as a Laundry Slave in exchange for 600 coins, he would have starved to death before the system activated!

Yesterday, Qin Wang refreshed his intel and learned that Li Laocai would inspect his fields in Qingniu Town, passing along the main path between the field ridges. In the middle of last night, he had buried ten Rusted Iron Nails that had soaked in the Manure Pit for a whole day along that path.

"In this world where people eat people, only great strength can let one live better!"

"If only I could get my hands on a Martial Arts manual and make a start!"

Qin Wang knew he possessed a panel that let him grind skill proficiency. At present, only his Culinary Arts had reached Beginner level. What he needed most was Martial Arts.

However.

Scholarship took poverty, martial training took wealth. Without money, one could not learn it at all.

Yan Yun County did have three major martial halls.

Entering a martial hall required 10 taels of silver as an entrance fee. Moreover, Great Cang's Baojia System was strict and forbade the movement of people. There were also restrictions on going to the county town; one needed the Village Chief to write a sealed certificate as a Travel Permit, or one would be arrested!

After activating the system, Qin Wang had used its intel to earn 3 taels of silver. That was nowhere near enough to study martial arts at a martial hall. He had to use the intel system to obtain more silver and grow stronger before he could kill Li Laocai.

"The tenth piece of intel says Li Laocai will step on the iron nails by the field ridge behind Qingniu Town and drop a Money Pouch. It would be wonderful if I could pick it up!"

Qin Wang watched Li Laocai and pondered silently.

Over this period of time.

Qin Wang had observed that the intel refreshed by the system each day had all come true with perfect accuracy.

"Chen Pu, has the land taken from Qin Sanhuai's family to settle their debt been rented out?"

On the field ridge, Li Laocai clasped his hands behind his back. As far as his eyes could see, all had become his land, and he felt brimming with satisfaction.

"Master, you truly are a nobleman with a short memory. Qin Sanhuai's land was rented out the very day it was taken to settle the debt."

Chen Pu bent at the waist, his expression fawning.

"Oh? Look at this memory of mine."

"Next year's harvest will surely be good. Perhaps we can consider raising the land rent by half a share."

Li Laocai nodded with satisfaction. Every year at the end of the year, tenant farmers and poor peasants rented all the land in his hands in advance. Demand far outstripped supply. Even if he raised it by half a share, he need not fear that no one would rent it.

"Master speaks wisely! Without you leasing out land, those mud-legged peasants would all starve to death!"

"The rent on that fish stall was raised by twenty percent last year. Yet you are only raising the land rent by half a share. Compared with that, Master's benevolence and generosity are plain for all to see!"

Chen Pu showered him with flattery, and Li Laocai greatly enjoyed it. His gaze swept over his fields as he strode smugly onto a field ridge more than a zhang high.

"Ah—! My foot!"

Suddenly, Li Laocai screamed. He jerked his foot back as though he had stepped on burning coals and fell onto the ground, only to scream again. "AHH!!! My ass! Which damned bastard threw nails here?"

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