Chapter 45: Then You Might As Well Just Die (Please follow and read! Much appreciated!)

Qin Jiang's voice rang out in the Village Chief's ear like a death warrant, making his body tremble uncontrollably.

He swallowed with difficulty, "T-this old man r-really doesn't know, my lord, w-what you are t-talking about."

"Then you might as well just die."

Qin Jiang stood up, holding Black Water in his right hand and dragging the Village Chief by his hair with his left toward the mine entrance.

The Village Chief struggled incessantly, his fingernails scraping against Qin Jiang's arm, but it was as if he were scraping against a block of iron; it had no effect at all, not even leaving a single scratch.

"Y-you can't kill me! I am the Village Chief of Daliu Village! I am a Village Chief personally recognized by the imperial court! You can't kill me! Everyone, save me!"

With a look of terror, he begged the villagers who had come with him for help, nearly bursting into tears.

But at this moment, these villagers were all standing there blankly, not daring to make the slightest move.

Qin Jiang threw the Village Chief to the mine entrance; the Village Chief rolled a few times and lay on the ground, wailing.

Walking over and crouching down, Qin Jiang placed Black Water against the Village Chief's neck and gestured with it.

"At this point, let alone a Village Chief, even if your entire village were wiped out, it wouldn't be a big deal. Go in peace."

"Wait! I! I know!"

A man suddenly stepped out from the crowd of villagers; it was the tall man who had been talking to the Village Chief just moments ago.

Qin Jiang stood up and took a step, arriving directly in front of the tall man. His robust frame was half a head taller than the man, shrouding him in shadow.

"You probably don't want to know the consequences of lying to me."

The tall man's throat bobbed, "I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare."

His face was filled with panic, and he suddenly regretted stepping forward. If he had known, he wouldn't have taken those few taels of silver!

"Speak, tell me what you know," Qin Jiang said.

"No! Liu Quan! You—"

The Village Chief's shouting came to an abrupt halt as he was struck by a burst of baleful energy casually flicked out by Qin Jiang. His body was sent flying, landing on the ground, life or death unknown.

The tall man's face was tense, and he found it hard to breathe under the pressure of the baleful energy surrounding Qin Jiang. He braced himself and said, "It was the village head—oh no, the Village Chief's youngest son."

"H-he is called Liu Ping'an, and he is the captain of the village mining team. That night, when Zheng Deyu was getting married, he took a fancy to the bride. The bride wouldn't agree, so he... he..."

"So what? Stop talking nonsense!" Tian Shangfei walked over quickly and slapped Liu Quan across the face.

Liu Quan covered his face, his eyes frantic, "I'll talk! I'll talk! The bride wouldn't agree, so Liu Ping'an had the mining team steal the bride away, and then they took turns... and she died. Liu Ping'an was afraid of trouble, so he arranged for a miner to take the blame if anything went wrong, and he ran off to the city to lay low."

Qin Jiang narrowed his eyes and glanced at the mine entrance, "So you mean she wasn't forced to her death, but after she died, you spread rumors and created the illusion of suicide?"

Hearing this, Liu Quan waved his hands in terror, "No, no, no, no! I didn't! It wasn't me! I only found out later! I was the one who led people to block that mine entrance! At first, I didn't know anything at all, my lord! Really! I didn't do it, my lord! I really didn't!"

He knelt directly on the ground, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Being with Qin Jiang was too terrifying! It felt like his head could be chopped off at any moment!

"Damn it! So it was you, you dog, who blocked it!" Tian Shangfei kicked Liu Quan in the face, leaving a black footprint.

"That's enough, Lao Tian, don't beat him to death," Qin Jiang said.

Tian Shangfei glared at Liu Quan with hatred, "Yes, Boss!"

"Lao Meng, take a trip to the city, find Liu Ping'an, and bring him back before tomorrow night," Qin Jiang said, looking at Meng An.

"Understood! Don't you worry, Boss! No need to wait until tomorrow night; I, Lao Meng, will definitely have him captured before tonight!" Meng An said, patting his chest.

After he left with a few gang members, Tian Shangfei looked at Qin Jiang, "Boss, how should we deal with the rest of these troublemakers? Do you want me to teach them a lesson?"

"No need. Leave ten brothers to watch them, and the rest come with me to the village to see that Zheng Deyu," Qin Jiang said. "Got it! Brothers! Keep a close watch!" Tian Shangfei shouted to the gang members.

Having said that, he picked out a few men, and together with them, he walked toward the village with Qin Jiang.

Returning to the village, the corpses in the open space were still laid out where they were. A few villagers were using straw mats to cover them to prevent them from being exposed to the sun too severely.

After all, some of them were their own kin, the pillars of their households.

"My lord! How is your investigation going? You must avenge my son!"

An old woman walked over, wiping away tears, followed by a woman holding a baby.

Behind them, a group of villagers followed, mostly the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled—basically the families of the dead miners.

Qin Jiang's eyes flickered, and after a moment of silence, he said nothing.

"Go, go, go! Don't get in the way here! The lord is busy with the investigation!" Tian Shangfei walked up and dispersed the crowd.

"Let's go see Zheng Deyu," Qin Jiang said.

"Right, the courtyard is over there."

Tian Shangfei pointed into the distance, and the group headed that way.

"Lao Tian, give some silver to the families of those miners. Give more to those with children."

Halfway there, Qin Jiang suddenly spoke up.

Tian Shangfei was stunned, "Boss, those guys were all..."

Qin Jiang raised his hand slightly and shook his head, "Not all of them deserved to die. That's it, it's settled."

"Alright then, I'll prepare it later," Tian Shangfei said with some resignation.

Before long, the group arrived at the courtyard where Zheng Deyu was recuperating. Several gang members were guarding the entrance, and Qin Jiang and Tian Shangfei walked into the courtyard.

Looking around, "The environment is not bad. Let's stay here tonight."

"Hehe, that's for sure. Old man Liu wouldn't dare play any tricks on me," Tian Shangfei laughed.

Entering the room, the furniture on display was clean enough, just a bit old.

Zheng Deyu was sitting on the bed in the inner room. Two bowls were placed in front of the bed; one bowl was thin porridge, and the other was also thin porridge.

"You fellow, why aren't you eating what was given to you?!" Tian Shangfei walked over and picked up a bowl of thin porridge, drinking it down.

"It's all cold! You don't know how to cherish food!"

Qin Jiang waved his hand, signaling for Tian Shangfei to go out. Tian Shangfei looked at the other bowl containing porridge, finished it in one gulp, and took both bowls out.

"Boss, if you need anything, just call me. I'll be waiting outside the door."

After he left, Qin Jiang stood before the bed, "The matter has been investigated well enough; rest assured, I will get justice for you and your wife."

Zheng Deyu shrank his head and looked at Qin Jiang, his eyes full of disbelief, "You are all people who help your own kind; you won't pay any attention to an outsider like me!"

Qin Jiang frowned slightly, "I am not from Daliu Village."

"You don't need to lie to me! And you can't fool me! None of you people are any good!" Zheng Deyu's head twitched involuntarily, yet his gaze did not leave Qin Jiang for even half a second.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

A surge of nameless anger rose up; Qin Jiang pressed his forehead and said with some impatience.

Zheng Deyu did not speak again; Qin Jiang frowned and looked up slightly, only to see that Zheng Deyu had already fainted, a Weird smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)