Nighttime Purge

Late at night, Cui Hao slowly lifted the covers, tiptoed out of bed, quickly put on his clothes and shoes, grabbed the bow and arrows stuck to the wall, and quietly left home.

Under the moonlight, following the shadows along the wall, he moved quickly, light as a swallow.

"Big Brother," Zhou Mengyue was in a rebuilt house, drinking and warming themselves by a stove with a group of people. One of the ruffians asked, "The name 'Village Protection Squad' is too lame. Let's call it the 'Soaring Dragon and Leaping Tiger Gang' to match you four brothers. How imposing would that be?"

"There are too many refugees, and the important figures in the city don't want trouble brewing below them," Zhou Mengyue said calmly. "Calling it the 'Village Protection Squad' aligns with the officials' wishes and the people's sentiments."

"You've already entered 'Mortal Martial,' why be so secretive?"

Zhou Mengyue's expression turned stern. The reason he always let the three ruffians handle things was that Qingyuan City was full of hidden masters. "Don't court death!"

The ruffian no longer dwelled on the gang's name and changed the subject. "Big Brother, these villagers are more stubborn than the last. They seem to have agreed not to give us any money."

"Did you use any methods?"

"We did," one ruffian interjected. "During the day, we pretended to be refugees and smashed their doors and windows."

"Wait another hour. When they're sound asleep, burn down the houses of two troublemakers," Zhou Mengyue decided. "We need to establish our authority and scare them."

The ruffians nodded heavily.

In the freezing cold, Cui Hao arrived outside the Zhou family's courtyard wall for the second time. The original grave tree had been turned into a stump. After a brief observation, he hid at the foot of the courtyard wall of a house opposite the Zhou family, concealed in the shadows, quietly waiting for an opportunity.

Zhou Mengyue might not be in the house, but he often returned after his brother's death. Cui Hao planned to stake out for two hours every night, and he would eventually catch him.

Before long, seven people sneaked out of the Zhou family's yard, each carrying a bundle of firewood. Were they planning to set a fire?

Abandoning his stakeout, Cui Hao circled around two houses and followed the seven people to Old Man Lin's house.

He saw them placing the firewood around the front and back of Old Man Lin's house.

He couldn't ignore it. Cui Hao picked up a stone and, from over ten paces away, threw it into the courtyard. He threw two stones, one of which hit a window.

"Who!" Old Man Lin's voice boomed in the dark night.

Old Man Lin was a military household and had been on the battlefield in his early years. His stern shout startled the seven men, who fled in a panic before they could even light the fire.

Following the seven men back to the Zhou family, Cui Hao heard Zhou Mengyue's furious curses outside the Zhou family's courtyard wall, calling them "stupid as pigs" and other vulgarities.

Following Zhou Mengyue, who pulled open the courtyard gate, Cui Hao prepared to set the fire himself.

"Big Brother," the ruffians chased after him. "Give us another chance. We promise it'll be fine this time."

"Useless! Let's go together!"

Feeling like this group was just a makeshift team, Cui Hao drew his bow to its full extent, the mulberry wood bending into a full moon. He held his breath and aimed at the road – waiting.

One breath, two breaths. Zhou Mengyue, wearing a training outfit, appeared in his line of sight. Without needing to aim deliberately, he felt he could hit his intended spot and released the bowstring.

Zhou Mengyue suddenly turned his head. An arrow pierced his neck!

From about seven or eight paces away, the Wolf Fang Arrow arrived in an instant. Zhou Mengyue had no time to dodge, his eyes wide, clutching his neck, a gurgling sound coming from his throat.

Without pausing, Cui Hao shot the second arrow, then the third... each arrow at full draw, one after another, each hitting its mark.

The fourth arrow. The momentarily stunned ruffians reacted, screamed, and ran.

Cui Hao stepped out of the shadows, his breathing calm, and leisurely shot down the last four men.

He wasn't in a hurry to dispose of the bodies. He stood in place, scanned the area, and confirmed that no one had gotten up and no one had come to watch before calmly handling the scene.

It was midnight, and the weather was freezing. He wasn't worried about being seen.

More people, like Su Yun, wouldn't even open their doors if someone kicked or smashed them. They would just barricade the door tightly and pray the intruders would leave quickly.

As before, the bodies were dragged back into the house, searched, and the arrow wounds on their bodies were destroyed.

For this, Cui Hao had to decapitate Zhou Mengyue, avenging the theft of the Hog Badger and the punch.

A total of eight bodies lay there, the scene bloody and sticky, a harsh sight.

But Cui Hao wasn't afraid. He believed in "eating what you hunt" and that suffering alone wouldn't make one successful; only by "eating people" could one achieve it.

Calmly, he took bundles of firewood from the courtyard and lit them with a fire starter. Once the fire caught, he hid in the dark to observe.

The fire ignited, and he retreated.

On the way back, he glanced at his status panel. Archery had been updated.

[Archery: Minor Accomplishment (101/600)]
[Effects: Soreness -10, Arm Strength +10, Accuracy +10, Critical Hit +1]

It was originally 1, and it had just increased by 100. Judging by the number of people, the seven ruffians provided 70 points, and Zhou Mengyue alone provided 30 points?

The abundant experience points, along with the twelve taels of silver obtained from searching the bodies, made Cui Hao sigh that hunting people was more profitable than hunting beasts.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Heavy knocking sounds. "Brother Hao! It's Lin Da! Open the door quickly! Something big has happened!"

"Brother Hao," Su Yun, her chest half-exposed, woke the man. "Lin Da is here. You go open the door."

Cui Hao didn't want to get up. He rolled over, turning his back to Su Yun.

Su Yun bit down on the man's thick arm, her tongue teasing.

Cui Hao sluggishly got to his feet.

He exited the main room, crossed the frozen courtyard, opened the gate, and glanced at the sun just peeking over the eastern horizon. Cui Hao asked, "Something wrong?"

"Brother Hao, Zhou Menghu's house burned down again. Many people died."

Cui Hao feigned appropriate surprise. "Many people?"

"Yes, on the road outside the courtyard. There were bloodstains on the ground, like something was dragged away by wolves. My dad said at least eight people died."

"Little Linzi," Aunt Li, hunched over, opened the door a crack and cautiously peeked her head out from the yard. She whispered, "Did Zhou Mengyue die?"

"He probably did. Eight bloodstains match the number of people."

Aunt Li had been so happy when Zhou Menghu died. Later, Zhou Mengyue slapped her twice, and she was targeted by the Village Protection Squad, causing her to not smile for an entire month, nor gossip about others.

Hearing that Zhou Mengyue had likely died, Aunt Li's face broke into a smile again. She opened the courtyard gate, stood up straight, and angrily shouted, "Good riddance! I'm going to take a look! Everyone come see, Zhou Mengyue is dead! Zhou Mengyue is dead!"

After Aunt Li left, Lin Da turned back to Cui Hao. "Last night, someone piled a lot of firewood in front of and behind our house. Someone wanted to burn us to death. Luckily, someone threw stones in, and my dad shouted, scaring them away."

After seeing Lin Da off, Cui Hao turned back into the house and, for the second time, burrowed into the covers, holding his wife.

"Brother Hao, did Lin Da need something?"

"He said Zhou Menghu's house burned down again, killing eight people. Zhou Mengyue might be dead too."

"Ah!" Su Yun sat bolt upright, her eyes shining. "Really?"

"It should be true."

"Willow Tree Village is blessed by the gods. Our parents are also watching over us from heaven," Su Yun clasped her hands together. "It's time for us to have a good life."