Killing! Releasing Grain!

As the moon climbed into the sky, Wang Lang made his move.

Su Yao, a white shadow, scouted ahead, leaping nimbly over the Qi family's high walls.

Although there were guards patrolling the courtyard, they were mostly going through the motions.

In this village of starving refugees, who would dare break into a wealthy compound?

But they were wrong.

Wang Lang appeared behind a guard like a phantom, pressing his finger lightly against the back of the man's neck. The guard slumped to the ground.

His movements were swift and clean, not fatal, merely knocking the man unconscious.

He continued in the same manner, taking down five or six guards before reaching the window of the main house.

The room was brightly lit.

A portly middle-aged man, presumably Master Qi.

He was currently drinking with a scantily clad woman, a roasted chicken, stewed meat, and white rice laid out on the table before him.

Beside them, a singing girl played the pipa, singing a folk tune.

Two men, who looked like guard captains, sat below, eating, drinking, and laughing.

"Master, three more died in the village today," one guard said with a laugh. "If this keeps up, the fields will all be empty before autumn harvest."

Master Qi chuckled, "Empty fields are good. They'll all be mine then."

"The City Lord said these peasants dying off is a good thing, saves us trouble."

"It's just that the food is running out," another guard said. "The brothers surrounding the village need to eat and drink every day..."

"What are you afraid of?" Master Qi waved his hand. "The City Lord allocated provisions. We skim off half, and that's enough for us."

"When everyone in the village is dead, we'll report it as a plague that wiped out the village. Who's going to investigate?"

Wang Lang listened outside the window. He had initially thought that if this Master Qi was merely greedy, he might spare his life.

But now... it was better to kill him, really.

The window suddenly exploded, splinters of wood flying.

Wang Lang, wearing that half-ghastly Nuo Mask, looked like a death-dealing demon in the flickering candlelight.

Master Qi, half-sobered by fright, shouted, "Who!"

Before he could finish, Wang Lang was in front of him, his fist aimed directly at his chest.

This punch wasn't at full strength, but it was enough to shatter the heart.

Master Qi's stout body flew backward, hitting the wall and slowly sliding down.

His eyes were wide open, his breath gone.

The two guard captains reacted now, drawing their swords to attack.

But their movements were like snails in Wang Lang's eyes.

He sidestepped the first strike, then twisted the man's wrist with a counter-attack, the sword falling into Wang Lang's hand.

With another flash of the blade, the man clutched his throat and fell.

The second guard captain saw this and turned to flee, but a white shadow pounced on his back.

Although Su Yao didn't aim for a killing blow, her claws raked across his back, tearing open flesh and skin. He fell with a scream.

Wang Lang stepped forward and delivered a kick to his temple, silencing him instantly.

The two singing girls had already fainted from fright.

"Search the compound, find the granary," Wang Lang's voice, muffled by the mask, rumbled like low thunder.

Su Yao responded with a chirp and darted out as a white shadow.

Soon, she reported back, "There's a cellar behind the east wing rooms, it's locked, and it's full of grain! There's also a silver vault in the west wing rooms!"

Wang Lang nodded and walked out of the main house, holding his saber.

About a dozen guards, armed with clubs, swords, and spears, had arrived in the courtyard, drawn by the commotion. They stood there, looking at each other, afraid to advance.

After all, the two figures lying on the ground clearly indicated that the intruder was not to be trifled with.

Wang Lang surveyed them and said, "I only kill the leaders. Lay down your weapons, and you may live."

Someone trembled and threw down their club.

But a few brave ones exchanged glances and charged forward with shouts.

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Wang Lang sighed, and the saber light flashed again.

This time, he held nothing back.

Half a cup of tea later, seven corpses lay in the courtyard.

The remaining guards had long since fled, leaving only a few maids and servant women huddled in a corner, trembling.

Wang Lang walked up to them, found the silver chest in Master Qi's room, grabbed a few handfuls of silver fragments and copper coins, and distributed them to the servants.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the guards in the corner, who had just woken up in terror after being knocked unconscious by him:

"Master Qi is dead. If you want to live, pack your belongings immediately and leave the village, whether it's for Black Stone City or somewhere else."

"If you stay here, the villagers won't let you go."

He did this, as he had said before, only punishing the main culprits.

These servants and maids were, in the end, just pitiful people struggling to survive.

The servants, upon hearing this, dared not disobey. They quickly kowtowed, haphazardly packed some belongings, and scattered like birds and beasts.

The guards helped each other up, bowed three times to Wang Lang's retreating back, and stumbled out of the courtyard gate.

Wang Lang did not look back.

He had always been clear in his actions: those who deserved to die would not be spared.

Those who could be forgiven would not be killed indiscriminately.

After everyone had left, Wang Lang finally headed for the cellar.

He opened the lock. Inside, it was indeed piled high with sacks. A rough count revealed over a hundred piculs of grain.

There were also vats of preserved meat and pickles.

In the Silver Vault next to it, there were over a thousand taels of silver, as well as some gold and silver jewelry.

"We're rich!" Su Yao jumped onto a grain sack, her eyes shining.

Wang Lang, however, did not look at the money. He only estimated the grain: "This is enough for everyone in the village to eat for two to three months... If we're frugal, it might last until the autumn harvest."

"Distribute it all?"

Wang Lang grunted in affirmation and began carrying the grain.

He carried the grain sacks back and forth, traversing the silent village.

Whenever he reached a house where people could still be heard, he would put down half a sack of grain, add a few strings of copper coins or a small piece of silver fragment, then knock on the door and leave.

One door opened a crack. The person inside saw the grain sacks and money at the doorstep and stared for a long time.

Immediately, suppressed sobs and kowtowing sounds came from within.

Wang Lang heard more doors opening behind him, exclamations, suppressed crying, and whispered words of gratitude, but his footsteps did not falter.

Su Yao leaped lightly from the roof, landing beside him. She looked back at the village, which was gradually becoming agitated:

"Several households saw your back. They're gathering and pointing..."

"Aren't you going to talk to them? Maybe someone wants to set up a memorial tablet for you."

"There's no need. I'm not doing this for their gratitude."

Wang Lang carried the last sack of grain towards the most dilapidated thatched hut at the end of the village. It belonged to an orphan he had asked about earlier.

"Then why?"

Wang Lang put down the grain sack, gently knocked on the door, and quickly disappeared into the night.

Hearing the child's surprised gasp from inside, he whispered, "Because I wanted to."

That was all.

After all the grain had been distributed, Wang Lang washed the blood from his hands by the stream outside the village and prepared to leave.

Su Yao squatted on a nearby stone and asked, "Leaving already? The village is going to be in an uproar soon. Aren't you going to manage it?"

Wang Lang said without looking back, "We only kill, we don't bury."

Su Yao asked, "Then next... are we going to Black Stone City?"

"Mm." Wang Lang nodded. "The young and strong men in the village were conscripted to build the city, but they never returned. That's not normal."

Wang Lang's voice deepened: "If they were just embezzling grain taxes, why would they silence everyone? Too many dead people, and the higher-ups would investigate sooner or later."

"Rushing to silence the entire village... it's more like covering up something more important."

Su Yao suddenly realized, "You mean those people who were conscripted weren't actually going to build the city?"

"Perhaps they were building something else. We'll know when we go and see."

Wang Lang looked in the direction of Black Stone City, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.