Mountain Household

Xiao Huang Village lay beneath the setting sun, wisps of cooking smoke rising—a picture of idyllic rural beauty.

Xu Yang carried a wicker basket on his back and, guided by his memories, returned to the village.

"This..."

"Qingshan?"

"Isn't that Old Li's Family's boy?"

"He's been missing for so many days and he didn't die?"

"What a lucky life..."

"This is going to be lively!"

The moment he entered the village, he was met with countless surprised looks and strange stares.

A tall, honest-looking youth hurried over. "Qingshan, where have you been?"

Xu Yang glanced at him and casually made up an excuse. "I got lost in the mountains. It took a lot of effort to find my way out. What happened?"

"You're still asking? Do you know Qing He and Hong Yu have nearly worried themselves sick? And also..."

Remembering something, the youth's expression changed again. He grabbed Xu Yang's hand. "Go home and take a look! A whole bunch of people are arranging a funeral feast at your house. I heard they're even planning to divide up your few mu of land..."

"Hmm!"

Xu Yang's gaze sharpened. He immediately shook off the youth and ran toward home.

As the saying went, poor mountains and foul waters bred wicked people. The common folk living among fields and mountains were not nearly as simple and kind as romantic poets imagined. More often, the hardships and poverty of life had forced out their venomous ugliness, cruel schemes, and calculating hearts.

Such as exploiting the deceased's estate!

Exploiting the deceased's estate referred to when the man supporting a household died, and all sorts of relatives and friends came to arrange the funeral. They would divide or sell off the land, house, fields, and property he left behind, then lay out a running feast and eat for ten days or half a month, until every last bit of the family's savings was gone.

As for the wife and children of that household, women in ancient times had never truly been considered people. Without reliable in-laws or a son old enough to support the family, they could only be at others' mercy. Forget preserving the family's savings—even they themselves might not be safe. Being sold off and remarried was commonplace.

Only a few lucky widows could establish themselves in the village through sheer fierceness and the protection of their clan. But the prerequisite was having descendants. If they had no sons and received no protection from the clan, then no matter how fierce they were, they could not withstand the local thugs and their predatory methods.

The parents of Xu Yang's current body had died early. He had not had time to marry or have children, and there were only his two young siblings at home. How could they withstand the sinister hearts and wolfish predators around them?

Therefore...

Xu Yang hurried home. From afar, he saw a dilapidated courtyard filled with the sound of gongs and drums, bustling with activity.

Xu Yang's expression did not change. He strode to his front door and saw several banquet tables already set up in the courtyard. A large crowd was drinking and feasting to their hearts' content.

Most were men, but there were also quite a few women, bringing their children and sitting in the courtyard, swiftly shoveling food into their bowls and fighting over dishes.

Among the crowd were two half-grown children, one boy and one girl. They huddled helplessly at the entrance to the inner room, staring at the people eating and drinking in the courtyard.

Xu Yang saw them, and they saw Xu Yang. Tears immediately welled up in their red, swollen eyes.

"Brother!"

"You're back!"

Overjoyed and stunned, the two ran to the door. The smaller girl threw herself directly into Xu Yang's arms and burst into tears. "Brother, th-they took all the rice at home, the vegetables from the fields, and all the meat. When I tried to stop them, they even hit me..."

The little girl clung to Xu Yang and tearfully recounted what had happened. The slightly taller boy stood beside them with red eyes, gritting his teeth and barely holding back his tears.

The scene instantly froze the atmosphere in the courtyard. The people around the banquet tables looked at Xu Yang and the Three Siblings, their expressions shifting from shock to strange discomfort, then from discomfort to embarrassment. For a moment, they had nowhere to hide their faces.

"Well..."

"Qingshan, you're back?"

"Where did you go for so many days?"

"Everyone thought something had happened to you."

Several people wanted to offer excuses, but when they met Xu Yang's icy gaze, the words stuck in their throats. They did not know whether to sit or stand, and their embarrassment became unbearable.

Just then...

"Oh!"

"Isn't this Qingshan?"

Just then, a loud laugh rang out. Everyone turned and saw that at the largest table in the center, a burly man with a bare upper body and thick hair held a bowl of wine as he laughed. "You've been gone for so many days. Everyone thought you were dead, so they came to your house to help arrange your funeral."

"Brother!"

Before Xu Yang could react, the little boy beside him tugged on his sleeve and lowered his voice. "He... he took our Land Deed!"

Xu Yang glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the burly man.

This man was Li Lao Jiu. By seniority, he was the siblings' clan uncle. He was a notorious idler in Xiao Huang Village, lazy and gluttonous all day long, always cheating and cutting corners, never doing honest work.

Facing Xu Yang's icy stare, Li Lao Jiu did not care in the slightest. He threw a meat-covered bone onto the ground. A Black Dog immediately rose at his feet, seized the bone, and began gnawing it fiercely.

Only then did Li Lao Jiu sneer. "Qingshan, we may be relatives, but even brothers must settle their accounts clearly. Everyone has helped out at your house so much, and I paid for all the expenses inside and out. Now that you're back, shouldn't we settle this properly and make things clear?"

"This..."

Everyone was stunned. They were shocked by Li Lao Jiu's shameless tyranny, yet somehow felt their embarrassment ease.

Just as Li Lao Jiu said, how could Xu Yang and his siblings' Family Fortune possibly have afforded these running feasts? It was Li Lao Jiu who had stepped in and advanced the money, allowing everyone to eat at these tables.

But what kind of person was Li Lao Jiu? How could he possibly be so kindhearted? He had paid for the feast solely to seize Xu Yang's few mu of poor land. It was equivalent to spending some money to silence everyone else.

Now that Xu Yang had returned alive, taking his land was clearly no longer possible. But Li Lao Jiu had spent the money and laid out the feast, so naturally he was unwilling to let it go to waste. That was why he wanted to settle accounts with Xu Yang.

He was openly being a scoundrel!

But that was exactly what this scoundrel of an idler was.

With someone taking the lead, the crowd felt less embarrassed and watched Xu Yang, eager to see how he would handle it.

Would he admit his bad luck and pay Li Lao Jiu off?

Or would he make a bigger issue of it and take the dispute to the ancestral hall for the Clan Chief to judge?

Facing everyone's gazes, Xu Yang said nothing. He simply pulled a short firewood axe from his basket and strode toward Li Lao Jiu.

"Brother!"

"This..."

Seeing Xu Yang draw an axe outright, everyone's expressions changed. They hurriedly rose and backed away.

Li Lao Jiu's face twitched as well, but he quickly forced it down and sneered. "Oh? You've grown bold after just a few days. You dare lay hands on an elder? Do you think Li Lao Jiu was raised to be frightened? After all these years, what kind of scene haven't I seen? If you have the guts, chop right here..."

Before he could finish, Xu Yang approached with a cold face. Li Lao Jiu's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

"Woof!!!"

The Black Dog by his feet saw a stranger approaching and bared its fangs at Xu Yang, ready to pounce.

But Xu Yang did not stop. Instead, he suddenly accelerated and charged straight at Li Lao Jiu.

"Roar!"

The Black Dog immediately lunged, snapping at Xu Yang.

But Xu Yang was faster. He gripped the short axe in both hands and swung it straight down...

"Pfft!!!"

A dull impact sounded, blood spraying everywhere. Xu Yang's axe struck the Black Dog squarely in the face. It toppled to the ground, howling miserably as it twisted and convulsed.

Xu Yang paid it no heed. He rushed forward and hacked and smashed at the Black Dog on the ground. In no time at all, the vicious dog fell silent.

Only then did Li Lao Jiu come back to his senses. He looked at the bloody, mangled corpse on the ground, then at Xu Yang, who stood holding the short axe and reeking of blood. A chill shot from his tailbone to the back of his head, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably. "You..."

"Bang!!!"

Before he could finish, a heavy blow interrupted him. Xu Yang closed in and viciously kicked him in the crotch.

"!!!!"

Caught off guard by the kick, Li Lao Jiu's vital area suffered a devastating blow. His legs clamped together in agony, tears and snot streaming down his face as he hurt too badly to make a sound.

Even so, Xu Yang did not stop. He kicked again, sending him crashing to the ground, then raised the short axe in both hands, reversed it, and brought the back of the axe down hard on his shoulder cartilage.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out, followed by a scream. The scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Qingshan, what are you doing?!"

"Murder! Murder!"

"Quick, go find the Clan Chief!"

"Hold him back! Hold him back!"

Everyone panicked, shrieking without end.

Xu Yang still ignored them. He reversed the axe and pressed its broad, rough edge against Li Lao Jiu's neck. "Where's the Land Deed?!"

Li Lao Jiu's groin had been badly injured and his shoulder bone shattered. The pain had nearly driven him mad, but the axe against his throat and Xu Yang's cold words jolted him awake. He cried out repeatedly, "It's in my clothes! It's in my clothes! Don't kill me, don't kill me..."

Only then did Xu Yang rise and turn to his siblings. "Bring me his clothes."

"Oh!"

The two, who had been frightened senseless, were Only then Awakened. His younger brother, Li Qing He, hurried over, brought Li Lao Jiu's clothes, and handed them to Xu Yang.

Xu Yang took the clothes, Took out his family's Land Deed and half a string of copper coins from the pocket, and pocketed them without ceremony. Then he turned to the crowd. "You came to eat at the feast, fine. But shouldn't you also pay your Dues Money?"

"This..."

Hearing that, the stunned crowd finally reacted. They looked at each other, uncertain and alarmed.

In the end, several elders forced themselves to step forward. "Qingshan, about this matter..."

"Bang!"

Before they could finish, Xu Yang chopped the axe into the tabletop. "Are you paying or not?!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

The old men froze In place. Looking at Xu Yang, covered in blood and radiating murderous fury, they all lost their words.

Since ancient times, Imperial power does not reach the countryside. Rural places governed themselves, while clans, landlords, Influential Families, and great houses acted as local emperors.

Thus, control was extremely loose. Villagers fighting with weapons was commonplace. What mattered was ruthlessness—the fiercer and more vicious someone was, the stronger they were.

Was Xu Yang ruthless enough?

Naturally, he was.

Over several decades on Dongting Lake, he had sent dozens of trash like the Zhang Family father and son to their deaths. Killing was already an ordinary matter to him.

Therefore, he was not only ruthless, but also fast and precise!

Now, like Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly, freed from worries over his original body's life and death, he was even more of a fearless rogue. Other than the local emperors of high-walled estates, there was no one in this village he dared not provoke or fight.

"The Dues Money, of course... of course we should pay it!"

After stammering for a while, the old men tremblingly took out several copper coins and placed them on the table, then looked at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang shifted his gaze to the others.

Swept by his eyes, everyone's hairs stood on end. They could only tremble as they reached for their purses.

After a while of reluctant fumbling, most of them paid their Dues Money and fled as though running for their lives.

Only a few women truly had no money to give. They could only look at Xu Yang with bitter faces and pleading eyes. "Qingshan, we..."

"Get out!"

Collecting money was not his real purpose; establishing authority was. Xu Yang had no interest in wasting words with these bastards. He drove the whole group out, then lowered his gaze to Li Lao Jiu, who was shivering on the ground.

"Qingshan, no, Brother Qingshan, Grandfather Qingshan, I was wrong. Don't... don't kill me..."

Feeling Xu Yang's gaze, Li Lao Jiu ignored the terrible pain and began begging repeatedly.

Xu Yang held the short axe and looked at him coldly. After staring at him for a long while, he finally said, "Get out!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Li Lao Jiu felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He struggled to his feet and fled outside as though for his life.

Xu Yang watched him go with cold eyes.

He knew that bastard would never let this go.

But there was no choice. Imperial power does not reach the countryside did not mean one could kill people freely. There were still rules and order under the rule of clans and Influential Families. Ordinary fights were no problem, but once lives were lost, the nature of the matter changed.

So, he could only let Li Lao Jiu go.

"Brother!"

After Li Lao Jiu left, the lively courtyard became completely quiet. His younger brother Li Qing He looked at the blood-covered Xu Yang with some fear and some excitement. His younger sister Li Hong Yu did not think so much. She gathered the copper coins from the tables around them and came before Xu Yang with delight written all over her face. "So much money!"

Xu Yang wiped the dog blood from his face and said to the two of them, "Go bring a basin of water."

"Okay, okay!"

A short while later, the cleaned-up Xu Yang sat at a banquet table while Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu moved all the food and wine from the several tables over.

They called it food and wine, but it was terribly plain. Even after combining all the tables, there were barely any meat dishes to be found, and the rice was Unpolished Rice.

Xu Yang did not care. Holding a large sea bowl, he picked up his chopsticks and said to the drooling Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, "Eat!"

"Okay, okay!"

The two little ones had been starving for so long. When had they ever seen such a spread? With Xu Yang's permission, they immediately began wolfing down the food.

Xu Yang did not correct their table manners, because his own were not much better. Holding the large bowl, he began stuffing himself without restraint.

As the only support currently available to his original body, the effects of the Eating Skill went without saying. Especially for this body, which had lacked nutrition for a long time, eating in large quantities could rapidly make up for its deficiencies and strengthen its constitution.

With this, Xu Yang's appetite had increased astonishingly. More than half of the food and wine on the full table went into his stomach, leaving Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu, who were also stuffed until their bellies bulged, staring in shock.

"Brother, you..."

"How did you eat so much?"

The two looked at Xu Yang worriedly. This Brother of theirs seemed somewhat unfamiliar now, even a little frightening.

Xu Yang glanced at them without explaining. He merely asked, "Do you trust me?"

"This..."

The children of poor families grew up early. Both of them possessed maturity beyond their years, and hearing Xu Yang say this, they became worried. "Brother, what's wrong?"

Xu Yang shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Li Lao Jiu took such a huge loss. He won't let this go. I heard he has some connection to the Li Family. If he retaliates, we won't be able to withstand it."

"Then what do we do?"

Hearing this, the two also became flustered.

Xu Yang took out the Land Deed from before and said to them, "If you trust me, your Big Brother, then come with me."