Cheng Wuneng looked grave, his voice carrying an indescribable tension.
"This lowly one knows his sins are grave and dares not beg Your Highness's forgiveness, but these brothers behind me are innocent. I implore Your Highness... spare their worthless lives."
"Even if you assign them the filthiest, most exhausting work, let them toil like oxen and horses for the rest of their lives to repay their wrongs."
"Big Brother!"
The second and third chiefs abruptly raised their heads and cried out together.
Without their big brother, how could they cling to life alone?
The three sworn brothers had agreed that though they sought not to be born in the same year, month, and day, they wished to die in the same year, month, and day.
"Shut up!" Cheng Wuneng turned and snarled at them.
Looking at the brothers who had stayed by his side for years, Cheng Wuneng could hardly bear it.
Only while alive could there be hope.
Mo Xuanchen's gaze was indifferent, his expression so still it bordered on apathy, without a trace of warmth.
He asked something entirely unrelated.
"The epidemic is running rampant below the mountain. Why have you remained unharmed?"
Indeed.
Ever since ascending the mountain, Mo Xuanchen had noticed that the people in the bandit stronghold seemed untouched by the epidemic.
It was like a secluded paradise no outsider had ever entered, tranquil and safe.
Surprise flickered across Cheng Wuneng's face, and he took a moment to arrange his words.
He answered truthfully, "After the epidemic broke out, none of the brothers dared go down the mountain. Besides the grain left in the storehouse, we ate wild fruit from the mountain and occasionally hunted. Our drinking water also comes from a separate pond beside the stronghold, untouched by anyone else."
Perhaps because they had stayed on the mountain without contact with others, not a single one of the hundred-odd people in the stronghold had caught the epidemic.
Every one of them was strong and healthy, full of life.
This was precisely when manpower was needed.
It would be rather a waste to kill over two hundred strapping men.
Mo Xuanchen began forming a plan.
As an outstanding general and commander, he understood better than anyone how to "make full use of everything," gaining the greatest benefit at the smallest cost.
"I will spare you for now."
Cheng Wuneng's heart sank a little, and not the slightest joy showed on his face.
When the man raised his eyes, his gaze was mild and his voice soft, as faint as a wisp of wind, betraying no emotion.
"Everyone in the stronghold is to assemble and descend the mountain at once. The sick below are displaced, and there are not enough hands. You will report there for orders and assist the physicians in treating the patients."
His eyes darkened, as though blades lay hidden within them. "I am giving you a chance to atone through meritorious service. If you devote yourselves to this task and perform acceptably, I will allow you a way to live, in recognition of what little conscience you still possess."
Then his tone shifted, and he said coldly, "Otherwise, do not blame me for being merciless. Useless people do not deserve to live."
Over the years, how many innocent commoners had these bandits robbed, leaving families shattered and lives lost?
Killing them would be no loss.
After Zhao Panggua was locked in jail, the county magistrate's residence was almost empty.
Only a few maids and servants remained to attend them.
Shen Yuxi had someone carry several buckets of hot water into her room.
Warm mist curled through the air, steam spilling over the rim of the bath barrel and veiling everything around it in a haze.
Shen Yuxi reclined in the warm water, her ink-black hair lying wet and soft against her neck and shoulders, her skin glowing a faint porcelain white in the steam.
When she lowered her eyes, her long lashes cast faint shadows.
"Phew-"
"I really miss having Liuying here to scrub my back and massage my shoulders."
No one answered her.
The system, the only one by her side, had also been forcibly shut in the little black room by her.
Once, when Shen Yuxi had not yet been familiar with the system, she had forgotten all about it.
She had not blocked the system while bathing, and when it suddenly spoke, it nearly scared her out of her wits.
From then on, the first thing Shen Yuxi did before every bath or trip to the privy was block the system.
By the time Mo Xuanchen returned to the residence, darkness had fully fallen.
The first words out of his mouth were, "Where is Lord Little Shen?"
"Lord Little Shen worked all day and retired to her room early to rest," his subordinate answered truthfully.
He then recounted everything that had happened during the day to Mo Xuanchen.
Mo Xuanchen frowned slightly. "Those who stir up trouble for no reason, whoever they are, are to be thrown aside and left to fend for themselves."
"Any who resist may be executed on the spot."
Though he knew combating the epidemic would be fraught with difficulties, he had not expected that mere days after his arrival, some would already be unable to restrain themselves from trying to stir up trouble.
"Yes."
Mo Xuanchen was accustomed to sleeping late.
It was a quarter past nine, still far earlier than his usual bedtime.
Without realizing it, Mo Xuanchen had already stopped outside Shen Yuxi's door.
Dressed in black casual robes, the man stood silently outside.
The candles in the room had long since been extinguished. Only the clear moonlight outside spilled through the window lattice, casting a faint glow on the floor.
He simply stood there quietly, listening to the even, lingering breaths within, each one settling into the softest part of his heart.
She must have been sleeping deeply; even when she turned over, the sound was so faint it was almost inaudible.
Mo Xuanchen lowered his phoenix eyes and gave a soft chuckle, so quiet that only he could hear it.
With his temperament, when there was someone he wanted to see, how would he have the patience to care about their feelings?
So he, too, could be this cautious.
The system, which had witnessed everything, shook its head with a "tsk, tsk."
It muttered quietly, [This world's male lead was clearly written as an emotionally detached villain who killed without blinking. Now he's actually developed feelings for my host. What a surprise.]
[Mo Xuanchen, you aren't going to turn into a love-brained fool, are you?]
[No, no, no, that's definitely impossible. A character's established personality can't change that easily. If the male lead's characterization collapsed, wouldn't the little world collapse along with it?]
The system rejected its own idea, murmuring, [Headquarters wouldn't allow a bug like that to appear.]
[Mo Xuanchen, although my host is loved by everyone and makes flowers bloom at the sight of her, you have a canon partner. You're not allowed to come and bother my host.]