The Village Butcher

I had acquired a second talent!

More precisely, Ten Thousand Questions had identified a second talent.

Did it come from that teenage Monster Strain?

Withered Abyss?

It sounded downright sinister.

Knowing this was no place for research, Xie An gathered Zhao Hu and his wife's clothes and handed them to Li Dao. "Zhao Hu followed me for many years. Master and servant, we shared a bond. Now that he has met such a tragic end, his body even gnawed away, let us at least set up an empty grave for him and his wife."

Li Dao solemnly accepted the clothes with both hands. "Young Master has the heart of a bodhisattva."

Xie An walked out of the main hall and saw Uncle Shui standing beneath the eaves, blankly staring in the direction the teenage Monster Strain had climbed over the wall and departed.

Xie An moved closer. "That Monster Strain kept staring at me just now. It even asked whether I had paid my Grave Tax... Could it have come for me?"

Uncle Shui's expression was grave. "Young Master is most likely its next target."

Xie An had long been mentally prepared for this. Suppressing the terror in his heart, he asked, "Then why did it run away in the end? Could it have been afraid of Uncle Shui?"

Uncle Shui shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

Xie An said, "Then why?"

Uncle Shui let out a long sigh. "Perhaps it had something even more pressing to do."

Xie An's heart immediately tightened.

Something even more pressing?

Why did that sound even more horrifying?

The torrential rain was still falling.

It was as though the heavens had been stabbed through with a gigantic hole, plunging Qingwu County's outer city into an inky, oppressive darkness.

The county yamen of Qingwu County's outer city stood right in the middle of Zhengping Street.

Not far to the left was the outer gate of Returning Dragon Abbey. To the right stood a cluster of old houses weathered by age, most of them residences for yamen runners.

Two yamen runners carrying sabers emerged from the county yamen through the rain, holding oil-paper umbrellas as they headed down the street to the right.

After taking only two steps, the taller runner carelessly stepped into a puddle, soaking his shoes and socks. Once he pulled his foot out, he began to complain. "What rotten luck. The moment it's our turn on duty, it starts pouring. Plenty of well-connected households in the city still owe their autumn taxes, and in this downpour, we have to go door to door demanding payment. What a miserable life."

The shorter runner grumbled as well. "That Clerk sure knows how to loaf around. Ever since he went to Wuqiao Town to collect autumn taxes last time, he's been taking leave and recuperating at home. He dumped all these messy, miserable jobs on the two of us."

The taller runner grew angrier the more he spoke. "Who told us Zhu Youcai was the head of our Tax Office? That bastard entered the Tax Office with us, then bought himself a Tax Office Clerk position by greasing palms. After that, he started barking orders at us. When he first arrived, Zhu the Skinner called me Brother Bin this and Brother Bin that. The moment he became Clerk, he started calling me Xiao Bin. A petty man who rose high, damn it..."

The shorter runner made a silencing gesture. "Brother Bin, keep your voice down. Zhu the Skinner lives just ahead. If he hears us cursing him behind his back, he'll surely send us off to do hard labor."

The taller runner said, "So what if Zhu the Skinner finds out? He's only some insignificant Clerk. Does he really think he's the Constable?"

The shorter runner lowered his voice. "Brother Bin, don't be so hot-headed. Yesterday, I heard Liu Zhong, Li Constable's confidant, talking in private. He said that when Zhu the Skinner went to Wuqiao Town to collect taxes before, he took money from the town's wealthy families and slaughtered several villages. He's a ruthless character. We can't afford to offend him."

At those words, the tall runner froze. Most of his swagger vanished from his face. "Zhu... Clerk Zhu really slaughtered villages?"

The shorter runner looked around, and only after confirming there was no one nearby did he say, "Yes. I heard it from Liu Zhong's own mouth after he got drunk. Li Family Village, under the Xie Residence, was wiped clean by Zhu the Skinner."

The tall runner's face turned pale. "And the constables from the Patrol Division did nothing?"

The shorter runner said, "Did nothing? Bullshit. Refugees are running wild outside these days, with countless more fleeing famine from other regions. Starving corpses lie all along the roads. On top of that, those Southern Barbarians have been crossing the border and harassing us fiercely, while the garrison desperately needs military funds to fight the enemy. To raise grain for the army, the yamen specifically introduced a policy requiring tenant farmers to turn in grain. Who gives a damn whether a few villages' tenant farmers live or die?

After slaughtering the villages, Clerk Zhu seized all the stored grain from the tenant farmers' homes and turned it in as military funds. Not only did Xu Registrar refrain from blaming him after learning of it, he even praised Zhu the Skinner for doing well. I'd say Clerk Zhu has boundless prospects ahead of him. He may be promoted soon."

The tall runner was stunned beyond measure. He abruptly stopped and looked toward Clerk Zhu's residence ahead. "Xiao Chen, you're right. I was rash just now. I think Clerk Zhu has always treated us quite well. Now that we've reached Clerk Zhu's doorstep, how could we not go in and pay our respects?"

Xiao Chen smiled. "There's a wine shop next door. Clerk Zhu has always liked plum wine. Let's buy two jars and take them over. That way, Clerk Zhu will know what's in our hearts."

"Good idea."

The two bought two jars of plum wine from the wine shop next door, then went to Zhu Youcai's residence and lightly knocked on the door.

As Xiao Bin knocked, he let out a fawning laugh. "Lord Zhu, this humble one is Xiao Bin. I brought Xiao Chen to visit you."

The old wooden door rattled under the wind and rain, giving off the scent of aged, rotting wood.

A faint smell of blood also drifted from inside.

The shorter runner, Xiao Chen, leaned toward the crack in the door and sniffed. He immediately caught a sharp, foul stench. "Why is there such a bloody smell inside? Something doesn't feel right... How about we come back another day?"

"These days, who doesn't have some bloody smell after buying a few pounds of pork or slaughtering a chicken or duck? What are you panicking for..." The taller runner, Xiao Bin, did not take it seriously.

"But the smell of blood shouldn't be this sharp..." Xiao Chen tugged Xiao Bin closer to the crack in the door and had him smell it.

Xiao Bin immediately caught that incredibly pungent, fetid stench. His face changed at once, and he turned to leave.

Just then—

Crack.

The door opened.

The two turned back and saw Clerk Zhu standing naked inside the doorway. His skin was as pale and tender as a baby's, while the corners of his mouth were smeared with blood and bits of flesh.

Instinctively, they tried to cover their eyes, but in the next moment, they could not cover them at all...

Because behind Clerk Zhu lay a wife and child, both with their bellies gouged open and their organs scattered all over the floor.

They recognized that wife and child. They were Zhu Youcai's own family...

In that instant, Xiao Chen and Xiao Bin felt a chill race down their spines, terror beyond words. Just as they were about to grease the soles of their feet, Clerk Zhu seized one in each hand.

Then Clerk Zhu's mouth slowly opened, splitting all the way to his ears. He let out a sinister, terrifying laugh. "Didn't you come to bring me wine? Since you're already here, why leave? I'm just short two sets of black uniforms..."

Splash!

The two were instantly dragged through the courtyard gate, followed by terrified, miserable screams:

"Aah!!!"

Not long afterward, the courtyard gate opened again.

Xiao Bin and Xiao Chen had vanished, leaving behind only a pool of blood. The wife and child who had been lying on the ground were gone as well, with only bloody clothing left behind.

Zhu Youcai now wore a dark green runner's uniform, with a bronze gong and bronze striker hanging from his waist. In one hand, he held a register; in the other, a wolf-hair brush.

Zhu Youcai took the bronze striker from his waist and heavily struck the bronze gong:

"Clang, clang, clang... Time to collect grain, time to pay taxes..."