Nine heads lay neatly arranged on the ground.
A constable crouched on the ground, holding several wanted posters and comparing them one by one with the heads.
A short while later.
The constable put away the posters, turned, and reported, "My lord, they're indeed the wanted bandits who've been roaming the area."
The man seated in the main chair was in his forties. His eyes drooped, a short gray mustache rested on his lip, and he looked somewhat weary.
After hearing his subordinate's report, he glanced at the heads and waved dismissively, expressionless. "These heads stink to high heaven. Hurry up and get this taken care of!"
"Yes, sir," the constable replied.
The two of them looked toward Gu Qingshan.
The middle-aged man said with a faint, knowing smile, "What a surprise. I never expected a remote village like that to produce an expert."
Gu Qingshan cupped his hands. "County Magistrate, these bandits had drunk too much. Every one of them was dead drunk and had let down their guard. I waited until late at night before taking the opportunity to attack. I was fortunate enough to succeed in one fell swoop."
The County Magistrate's expression relaxed. He said slowly, "Those men weren't very strong, but they were always hiding in remote mountains and wilderness. We're short-handed and never had the time to hunt them down. This finally takes one problem off our hands."
He yawned and said wearily, "Congratulations, Village Guardian Gu. The reward for those bandits' heads is no small sum. You're about to come into a fortune!"
Gu Qingshan paused.
A fortune?
The money never stayed in his hands anyway. He might as well...
Thinking of all the calamities he'd witnessed along the way, Gu Qingshan clasped his hands and said, "My lord, the villages within a