Horse Bandits Enter the Village, Seizing Women by Force

For the more than ten days Lu Yuan had gone to Black Triangle Mountain to slay demons,

Green Mountain Village had also undergone a few changes.

After the county yamen's approval document came through,

the land at the eastern end had become the site of a small market.

This was a rare stroke of good fortune for Green Mountain Village.

Merchants from all the surrounding villages would come here for market day. Just from stall rentals and management fees, the village could earn a considerable sum every month.

Of course, Liu Tieshan had remembered Lu Yuan's instructions.

He kept ninety percent of the money aside.

This was tribute money for the county magistrate.

Still, even just the remaining ten percent was enough to help the village weather the famine.

The village elders all said that Green Mountain Village's fortunes had turned.

The smile had not left Madam Liu's face these past few days.

Even Lu An had become much more diligent in practicing his writing.

That little girl Xu Shengnan ran to the village entrance every day, hoping the market would open sooner.

Though her grandfather Liu Tieshan had lost an arm, he had been full of energy these days, bustling about everywhere.

But that very afternoon,

a dense clatter of hoofbeats rang out on the road beyond the village.

"The horse bandits are here! The horse bandits are here!"

"It isn't time to collect the head tax. Why have the horse bandits come?"

"Besides, they've never come with such a huge show of force just to collect the head tax!"

As if they had seen the god of death, the villagers were all gripped by panic.

Amid the swirling dust, more than a dozen tall horses filed into the village.

Every rider wore a vicious expression and carried a weapon at his waist.

They wore motley short fighting clothes that exposed knotted muscles, and each had a black character for wind embroidered across his chest.

"What are you panicking for? Call everyone in the village out here."

Zhou Hu, the leader, reined in his horse and dismounted, letting out a stern roar.

He had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear, his face covered in slabs of flesh.

A scar like a centipede ran from the corner of his left eye to his chin.

It gave him an especially ferocious appearance.

Holding a ring-pommel saber, he drove it heavily into the ground.

Village Chief Lu Fu'an hurried over at a trot. "Third Master Zhou, why have you come in person?"

"I was just preparing to send someone over with this month's head tax!"

Black Wind Stronghold occupied Black Wind Mountain, and the head taxes from the surrounding villages were all paid to Black Wind Stronghold.

A full hundred taels of silver every month.

Though it was raised by several hundred households, it still made every family's life unbearably difficult.

Yet even if they had to scrape food from between their teeth, they did not dare withhold the horse bandits' head tax.

Otherwise, these baleful fiends truly would kill people.

"Head tax? So you do know why I've come."

Lu Fu'an's respectful attitude pleased Zhou Hu greatly.

But then Zhou Hu leaned close to Lu Fu'an and spoke with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "But from today onward, the rules have changed."

"Twice a month, two hundred taels of silver in total."

Zhou Hu held up two fingers.

"Tw... two hundred taels!"

Upon hearing Zhou Hu's words,

Lu Fu'an's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Two hundred taels? Are you still letting people live?"

"Damn them to hell! Do us common folk still have a way to survive?"

"These horse bandits are bloodsucking leeches."

"Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"

Zhou Hu's words filled the villagers of Green Mountain Village with despair.

In these times, demons ate people, and people ate people even more ruthlessly.

"Third Master, that is no small sum! Green Mountain Village isn't some large village. Raising one hundred taels each month already means selling pots and breaking iron, leaving us with only enough food to eat."

"Two hundred taels of silver—even if we sold the entire village, we couldn't scrape it together!"

Lu Fu'an hurriedly explained and begged for mercy.

"You old bastard, are you trying to fool your Third Master?"

"Your little market has made quite a bit of money lately. Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? Or do you think Third Master's blade isn't sharp enough?"

Zhou Hu pulled the ring-pommel saber from the ground and laid it against Lu Fu'an's neck.

Lu Fu'an's gaunt, aged face instantly turned pale.

Seeing this, Liu Tieshan hurried out.

He held great prestige in the village.

Usually, he handled village affairs alongside the village chief and the other elders.

Liu Tieshan hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Third Master, the small market has only been open for a short while. We need time to gather the money; we truly cannot produce so much for now."

Liu Tieshan's tone was humble.

The horse bandits were simply too brutal. Common people at the bottom of society had no way to deal with such hardened scoundrels who wore their heads at their belts.

"Need time? What, if Green Mountain Village takes a hundred years to gather the money, am I supposed to wait a hundred years?"

Zhou Hu lifted his eyelids, a savage smile appearing on his scarred face.

"Even debts accrue interest. Green Mountain Village can't bully people either, can it?"

"Since you can't come up with the money, use people to settle the debt."

Zhou Hu's voice rang out loud and clear.

At those words, the horse bandits behind him burst into raucous laughter.

"Ha ha, exactly! Green Mountain Village can't bully people!"

"Since you can't gather the money, every household will provide one young woman to go up the mountain with our brothers."

"If you have daughters, hand over your daughters. If you have wives, hand over your wives."

The horse bandits looked around, their laughter unrestrained.

The moment those words were spoken, the entire village entrance fell deathly silent, before wails erupted everywhere.

"Third Master, spare us!"

"My daughter is only twelve!"

"Isn't this taking our lives...?"

The villagers dropped to their knees in droves. The elderly wept, women screamed, children cried, and the scene was utterly miserable.

"If there are no women in the household... then kill a man to make up the number."

Zhou Hu added.

"This is going too far!"

Liu Tiezhu's aged face flushed crimson.

He quietly moved closer to Zhou Hu and said in a low voice.

"The market money is meant to be handed over to the county magistrate."

"This money does not belong to our village."

Liu Tieshan invoked the county magistrate.

He had not wanted to do this before. Offending the horse bandits would mean miserable days for the villagers.

But now, he had no choice.

Sure enough.

At the mention of the county magistrate,

Zhou Hu's expression changed slightly, then returned to normal.

"It makes no difference whether we hand this money to the county magistrate."

"You dare threaten me?"

Bang!

Zhou Hu kicked Liu Tieshan flying.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Zhou Hu gripped the ring-pommel saber and strode toward him step by step.

"Looks like I won't do unless I draw some blood today."

Liu Tieshan still wanted to rise and argue.

But Liu Ying grabbed him, then pleaded tearfully with Zhou Hu, "Third Master, please show mercy. We will definitely find a way to gather the money, definitely..."

"Didn't I already say it? Gathering the money is fine too—four hundred taels, three days. If you can't gather it, we'll do as I said."

He could not be bothered to waste more words. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Go. Search the village first and pick the people out, so there won't be any wrangling later."

The horse bandits charged into the village like wolves and tigers.

In an instant, chickens scattered, dogs leaped about, and cries shook the sky.

Whenever they saw a young woman, they dragged and tugged at her.

At the slightest resistance,

they answered with a slap.

The men of several households saw red and tried to fight for their lives.

The horse bandits knocked them to the ground with a few punches and kicks, leaving their heads split and blood streaming.

"Mother!"

A clear cry rang out as a figure rushed from the crowd. It was Lu Qing.

Seeing her grandfather lying on the ground and her mother kneeling there, she hurried over and helped her mother and grandfather up.