Slicing the Face!

"Have the arrangements for the villagers' funerals been made?"

"They have. Everyone who needed to be buried has been buried. They're buried on the back mountain, so we can hold a unified memorial service later. The village elders want to put on a big opera, but we haven't found anyone who can sing opera yet," Huang You'an replied. He was in charge of handling these matters.

Tang Fei glanced at the old man and said, "If you really can't find anyone, I'll find someone for you."

"Thank you, Big Brother," Huang You'an said.

He had been worrying about this, and he hadn't expected his Big Brother to solve it for him so quickly.

The old man's eyelids twitched. You scoundrel, I sing folk songs, not opera! How can that be used for such an occasion?

Tang Fei looked at Little Fatty again and asked, "Have the bodies of the Flame Army been buried?"

"They have," Little Fatty replied, smiling excitedly. "They burned so fiercely, crackling away! I used pine branches to burn them, and I poured a lot of pine oil on them. They smelled so good, like pine nuts."

"."

Tang Fei didn't want to discuss such a heavy topic with Little Fatty. He looked at the old man and asked, "Have the grain and valuables brought back been distributed?"

"You brat, are you still not trusting me to handle things?" the old man said indignantly.

He pointed at the Phoenix and said, "She's watching nearby. No one gets an extra bit, and no one gets a bit less. Everything has been divided according to the number of people in each household."

"Didn't you say there would be a generous reward for anyone who reported the location of the Predators' nest? Two young men did identify it, and they really did bring back grain and valuables. It's just that they refused the reward, saying they had already received enough and were willing to share it equally with everyone."

Tang Fei understood their thoughts. Firstly, they had indeed received enough and wouldn't lack food or clothing for a considerable time. This was even more than what they could earn from several years of labor. Another important reason was that they were worried about being targeted for revenge by the Predators and the Flame Shrine if they accepted the reward.

Although Tang Fei had killed many, bandits could never be completely eradicated.

By sharing the wealth together, wouldn't they also share the responsibility?

Tang Fei was quite satisfied with this outcome.

This was a typical case of "striking the wealthy and distributing land."

The Flame Shrine and the Predators didn't engage in production, hunting, or farming.

Yet, they had the largest stockpiles of grain in their bases, and their gold and silver treasures were countless.

The common people who farmed and hunted had to eat sparingly or had nothing to eat, while these people could eat as they pleased.

After all, they needed to maintain their physical strength and replenish their energy to have the strength to go out and rob.

A vicious cycle.

Although this incident was triggered by Tang Fei, by wiping out the Flame Shrine members and the Predators in the Hate Mountain Human Gathering Area, Tang Fei had brought immense benefits to all the humans in the Hate Mountain region.

His own village had received grain and wealth, and other villages would at least not be robbed or extorted by the Flame Shrine and the Predators for a while.

Tang Fei's gaze fell on Wang Tianlong, whose head was wrapped in bandages, and asked, "What are your plans?"

Thump!

Wang Tianlong knelt down, his face filled with fear. "Big Brother, I'll do whatever you want me to do... Please don't kill me. I have old parents and young children..."

"Alright, alright, get up and speak," Tang Fei said. "Those lines you used are lines I've used before."

Wang Tianlong cautiously got up from the ground. "Big Brother used them? Then I was rude. I'll change my lines."

"Do you know why you're still alive?" Tang Fei asked.

Wang Tianlong first shook his head, then quickly nodded. "Because Big Brother is kind-hearted and doesn't hold grudges, you spared my dog's life."

"Kind-hearted?" Tang Fei narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Your brothers don't think so."

"."

Wang Tianlong dared not speak.

He knew what had happened after he fainted. All his brothers were dead, the Flame Army was annihilated, and the Flame Shrine's Hate Mountain District was uprooted.

He was no longer the sycophantic refugee who handed him skewers, nor the youth who tearfully saw him off from a distance and invited him to visit when he had time.

He was Death, a devil.

Could such a person be described as kind-hearted?

"Because of your Flame Talisman, and also because of the few words you said for us in front of Chen Hu," Tang Fei explained, looking at Wang Tianlong. "You're not inherently bad, and I'm a simple person. I repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. That's why I didn't kill you."

"Thank you," Wang Tianlong replied with a dry voice.

"What are your plans now?"

"Plans?" Wang Tianlong thought for a moment, not knowing what he could do.

So, he looked at Tang Fei sincerely and said, "I'll do whatever Big Brother tells me to do."

He wasn't smart, so he habitually handed the problem over to the smart person.

"You've been in the Flame Shrine for many years, so you should be quite familiar with the organization, right?" Tang Fei asked.

Wang Tianlong immediately knelt down again, panicking. "Big Brother, I wasn't there for that long... And I didn't do anything bad. I admit, I took some food and drinks from others, and I also pocketed some valuable items."

"But I didn't kill innocent people, nor did I burn and plunder like them. I... I robbed, but I didn't burn and kill."

"Enough, enough. I'm not a magistrate, and I'm not interested in your criminal history," Tang Fei said impatiently. This guy is a bit weak and timid. I don't know if he can complete the task I assign him. "I want to ask about the internal situation of the Flame Shrine. With what happened at the Hate Mountain branch, do you think they will retaliate?"

"Retaliate?" Wang Tianlong thought for a moment. "They probably will?"

"What's the solution then?" Tang Fei asked.

Wang Tianlong's eyes widened as he looked at Tang Fei, wondering if he had misheard something.

Big brother, are you serious?

I'm just a small captain in the Flame Shrine. You want me to solve such a huge problem?

What's the difference between that and asking a kindergarten child to solve a trigonometric function?

"Big brother, I haven't figured that out yet."

"When can you figure it out?"

"I really can't figure it out. I don't really understand the internal structure of the Flame Shrine, so I can't say what kind of reaction they'll have."

"What if you stay?" Tang Fei looked at Wang Tianlong and said, "Stay in the Flame Shrine."

"What?" Wang Tianlong looked at Tang Fei in astonishment. He was supposed to stay?

"The Flame Shrine suffered heavy losses this time. almost all the core members in the entire Hate Mountain area are dead. At this time, your existence is especially valuable." Tang Fei looked at Wang Tianlong and said, "They need to find an old man, and someone familiar with the Hate Mountain area. You are the only candidate."

"But... but..."

"Are you worried they'll suspect you?" Tang Fei said with a smile. "That is indeed a problem. Your companions are all dead, why are you still alive? If this problem isn't solved, your appearance will be quite dangerous. Not only will it be difficult to rise up, but you might not even keep your life."

"How can we solve this problem?" Wang Tianlong asked.

Tang Fei looked at Wang Tianlong with interest and asked, "Do you want to take a gamble?"

"Yes." Wang Tianlong nodded and said, "Things have come to this. Unless I never appear again. As long as I appear in the human settlement, I will be discovered by the people of the Flame Shrine. I can't live in the shadows forever. Since that's the case, I might as well take fate into my own hands."

Tang Fei nodded and looked at Wang Tianlong. "A mere head injury might not be enough. Little Fatty was still too gentle."

Little Fatty came over, holding his hammer, and asked, "Brother, do you need me to give him another hit?"

Big brother is criticizing me, saying I didn't do a good job. I have to find a way to make up for it.

"No, no," Tang Fei waved his hand. "I'm afraid you'll send him off with one hit."

Wang Tianlong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was also afraid that Little Fatty would send him off with one hit.

Tang Fei took out a dagger from his pocket and threw it over. "It would be best if you cut yourself with this. Make it conspicuous, so people can see it at a glance."

Wang Tianlong took the dagger, hesitated for a moment, and then slashed himself from bottom to top on his face.

Blood gushed out, and the flesh was torn open.

Tang Fei was startled and cursed, "I told you to make it conspicuous, but you don't need to be that conspicuous..."

"If you're going to do it, do it thoroughly."

Wang Tianlong wanted to laugh, but when he moved his wound, he grimaced in pain, his eyes almost tearing up.

"It's very thorough. I'll design a clever way to present you to them," Tang Fei said.

Then, with a look of disgust, he waved his hand. "Alright, alright, go get it bandaged. It's too disgusting."

"..."

Wang Tianlong went to get bandaged. Tang Fei looked at the Old Man and said, "The village needs someone to sing at the memorial ceremony for their loved ones. Since we can't find a singer, can you help by going on stage to sing a few songs? After dinner every day, don't you like to lie in the yard and hum a few tunes?"

"I'm singing folk songs, not poetry. Can they be used in a place like that?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Tang Fei said. "I heard that before the Great Cataclysm, people even used to dance at funerals. I'm not asking you to dance, just to sing a few songs. Who cares what you sing? It's just to liven things up."

"I won't sing," the Old Man refused outright.

——

"The essence of fire descends, all beings look up to it."

"Offerings are arranged, wine is poured for the sacrifices."

——

"Lift up the drooping chrysanthemum, light frost makes it bloom again. In drunkenness, I am startled by old age, in laughter, I realize sorrow has come."

——

"Green are the clothes, green are the clothes with yellow linings. My heart is troubled, when will it end?

Green are the clothes, green are the clothes with yellow skirts. My heart is troubled, when will it cease?"

——

The Old Man sat on the high platform, roaring at the top of his lungs.

A mouthful of wine, a line of poetry.

The wine was the fruit wine brewed by the Teacher, and the poems were lamentations he had painstakingly recalled.

There were poems for mourning gods, for mourning brothers, and for mourning his deceased wife...

He sang whatever came to mind, as if holding a personal open-air poetry recital.

However, no one paid attention to what the Old Man was singing, nor did anyone mock him.

In the Old Man's mournful and hoarse chanting, the audience below thought of their deceased family and friends, their eyes filled with tears, overcome with grief.

Death meant never seeing each other again.