When the moon hung halfway across the sky, Wang Lang made his move.
Su Yao turned into a white shadow and scouted ahead, lightly vaulting over the Qi residence's high walls.
Though guards patrolled the courtyard, most of them were merely going through the motions.
In this village littered with starving corpses, who could possibly break into such a high-walled estate?
But they were wrong.
Wang Lang appeared behind a guard like a ghost, lightly pressing the back of the man's neck with his fingers. The man crumpled limply to the ground.
His movements were clean and decisive, yet he spared their lives, merely putting them into a deep sleep.
Using the same method all the way, he took down five or six guards before reaching the window of the main hall.
The room within was brightly lit.
A prosperous-looking middle-aged man was presumably Master Qi.
At that moment, he was holding a scantily clad woman as he drank. On the table before him sat roast chicken, stewed meat, and bowls of white rice.
Beside them, a singing girl played the pipa and sang a little tune.
Two burly men who looked like guard captains sat below, likewise eating, drinking, and laughing.
"Master, three more people died in the village," one guard said with a grin. "At this rate, there'll be no need to wait for the autumn harvest. All the land will be vacant."
Master Qi gave a sinister chuckle. "Vacant is good. Then it'll all be my land."
"The city lord said these troublesome peasants would be better off dead, so they wouldn't cause trouble."
"It's just that the grain supplies are being used up a little too fast," another guard said. "The brothers surrounding the village need food and drink every day..."
"What are you afraid of?" Master Qi waved a hand. "The City Lord allocated provisions. We skimmed off half, and that's enough to eat."
"Once everyone in the village is dead, we'll report that an epidemic wiped it out. Who would come investigate?"
Listening outside the window, Wang Lang had originally thought that if Master Qi was merely greedy, perhaps he could be spared.
But now... he should die. Truly.
The window exploded with a crash, splinters flying everywhere.
Wang Lang wore that half of a savage Nuo Mask. Beneath the flickering candlelight, he looked like an evil ghost come to claim lives.
Master Qi was so frightened that he sobered halfway up. "Who are you?!"
Before he could finish speaking, Wang Lang was already before him, driving a fist straight into his chest.
He had not used his full strength in that punch, but it was enough to shatter Master Qi's heart meridians.
Master Qi's bloated body flew backward, slammed into the wall, and slowly slid down.
His eyes were wide open, but he had already stopped breathing.
Only then did the two guard captains react, drawing their blades and hacking at him.
But to Wang Lang, their movements were as slow as snails.
He sidestepped the first slash, seized the man's wrist with his backhand, and twisted. The blade was already in Wang Lang's hand.
The blade flashed once more, and the man clutched his throat as he fell.
Seeing this, the second guard captain turned to flee, only to be struck in the back by a white shadow.
Su Yao had not dealt a killing blow, but her claws raked across him, instantly tearing open the flesh on his back. He screamed and collapsed face-first.
Wang Lang stepped forward and kicked him in the temple. The sound stopped abruptly.
The two singing girls had long since fainted from fright.
"Search the estate. Find the grain storehouse." Wang Lang's voice passed through the mask, low as muffled thunder.
Su Yao answered and swept away as a white shadow.
Before long, she returned with a report. "There's a locked cellar behind the eastern wing. It's full of grain! There's also a Silver Vault in the western wing!"
Wang Lang nodded and walked out of the main hall with his blade in hand.
Guards who had rushed over at the sound had already gathered in the courtyard. There were around a dozen of them, armed with clubs, blades, and spears, yet they only looked at one another and did not dare step forward.
After all, the two men lying on the ground had already made it clear that this visitor meant business.
Wang Lang swept his gaze over them and said, "I only kill the leaders. Lay down your weapons, and you may live."
Someone tremblingly threw down his club.
But several fierce men exchanged glances, shouted, and charged forward.
Wang Lang sighed, and the blade flashed again.
This time, he showed no mercy.
Half the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, seven corpses lay in the courtyard.
The remaining guards had long since scattered and fled. Only a few maidservants and older female servants remained, huddled in a corner and shivering.
Wang Lang walked over to them, found a silver chest in Master Qi's room, grabbed several handfuls of broken silver and copper coins, and distributed them among the servants.
After a pause, his gaze swept over the few guards in the corner whom he had knocked out earlier and who had just awakened, looking around in terror.
"Master Qi is dead. If you want to live, gather your valuables and leave the village immediately. Go to Black Stone City or elsewhere."
"If you remain here, the villagers will not spare you."
As he had said before, he only punished the chief offenders.
These servants and maids were, in the end, merely pitiful people struggling to survive.
How could the servants dare disobey after hearing this? They hurriedly kowtowed, grabbed whatever belongings they could, and scattered like birds and beasts.
The guards helped one another to their feet, kowtowed three times toward Wang Lang's back, and staggered out through the courtyard gates.
Wang Lang did not look back.
He had always been clear-cut in his actions: those who deserved death were not spared.
Those who could be forgiven were not slaughtered indiscriminately.
Only after everyone had left did Wang Lang walk toward the cellar.
After opening the lock, he found it truly piled high with sacks. A rough count revealed more than a hundred shi of grain.
There were also entire jars of cured meat and pickled vegetables.
The Silver Vault next door held over a thousand taels in cash, along with some gold and silver jewelry.
"We've struck it rich!" Su Yao leaped onto a grain sack, her eyes shining.
But Wang Lang did not look at the money. He only estimated the grain. "This is enough for the whole village to eat for two or three months... If they conserve it, it might last until the autumn harvest."
"Give it all out?"
Wang Lang gave a sound of assent and began carrying the grain.
Trip after trip, he carried grain sacks through the deathly silent village.
Whenever he reached a home where there were still signs of life, he set down half a sack of grain, then placed several strings of copper coins or a small piece of broken silver beside it. He knocked on the door and turned to leave.
One household opened its door a crack. Seeing the grain sack and money outside, they stood stunned for a long while.
Then came the muffled sounds of crying and kowtowing.
Wang Lang heard more doors opening behind him, cries of surprise, suppressed sobs, and murmured words of gratitude, but his footsteps never paused.
Su Yao lightly leaped down from a rooftop and landed at his side. Looking back at the village, where unrest was gradually rising, she said, "Several households saw your back. They're gathering together and pointing this way..."
"Aren't you going to speak with them? Maybe someone wants to set up a longevity tablet for you."
"No need. I didn't do this for their gratitude."
Carrying the last sack of grain, Wang Lang headed toward the most dilapidated thatched hut at the village's edge—the orphan's home he had asked about earlier.
"Then why?"
Wang Lang set down the sack, gently knocked on the door, and swiftly disappeared into the night.
Only after hearing a child's startled gasp inside did he say softly, "Because I wanted to."
That was all.
After distributing all the grain, Wang Lang washed the blood from his hands by a small stream outside the village and prepared to leave.
Su Yao crouched on a nearby stone and asked, "We're leaving just like that? The village is probably about to turn upside down. Aren't you going to handle it?"
Without turning his head, Wang Lang said, "We only kill. We don't bury."
Su Yao said, "Then next... Black Stone City?"
"Mm." Wang Lang nodded. "The village's young and strong men were conscripted to build the city, yet none returned. That isn't normal."
Wang Lang's voice grew heavier. "If it were merely embezzling grain taxes, why silence them? With so many dead, those above would investigate sooner or later."
"They were in such a hurry to seal every mouth in the village... It seems more like they're hiding something far more important."
Su Yao suddenly understood. "You mean those people who were conscripted weren't building the city at all?"
"Perhaps they were building something else. We'll know once we take a look."
Wang Lang looked toward Black Stone City, a cold glint flickering in his eyes.
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