Chapter 48: Whoever blocks, I

The two left the courtyard and, utilizing their footwork, quickly arrived at a burial grove outside Da Liu Village.

They saw Tian Shangfei leading a group of Red Tiger Gang disciples, surrounding a crowd of villagers.

On the other side, a fresh grave had been dug up, and Zheng Deyu was sitting on the ground, clutching the female corpse.

Qin Jiang walked up to them. Zheng Deyu grabbed Qin Jiang's thigh and burst into tears, "My Lord! My Lord! Why do they treat us like this! Is it just because we are outsiders?!"

Qin Jiang frowned, "Let go."

Black-red Sha Qi surged naturally. Zheng Deyu was so startled he let go instantly, his throat bobbing, not daring to do anything else.

Qin Jiang ignored him and walked straight to the group of villagers, "Who did this?"

His voice was calm, but the black-red Sha Qi flowing around him showed he was not as calm as he appeared; he was more like a volcano about to erupt.

The villagers were silent for a moment before a bare-chested young man stepped out. He was well-built, his skin tanned by the sun, and he was dragging a hoe in his hand.

"My Lord, this woman is a scourge to the village, and she's even turned into a corpse demon. She must be dug up and burned!"

Behind him followed four or five others, all young men of the Liu clan. They usually worked in the city and had only been called back yesterday afternoon.

"That's right, My Lord! She must be burned!"

"Exactly! Why should all our Liu family members be burned, but she gets to rest in peace?!"

"She must be burned!"

Qin Jiang looked at the few people before him, his face showing impatience, "Truly tired of living."

*Clang! * He drew the Black Water blade, the cold edge flashing with a chilling light. The Sha Qi around him spread, and the temperature in the surroundings dropped by several degrees.

A terrifying Tiger Sha Fist Intent pressed down without restraint, making everyone present feel dizzy and lightheaded.

The bare-chested young man at the front bore the brunt of the Fist Intent. He shuddered, nearly collapsing, and had to grip his hoe tightly to stay upright.

He was already regretting it; if he had known, he wouldn't have been greedy for the twenty taels of silver from the Village Chief's family.

Originally, he hadn't planned on coming back; whether people in the village died or not had nothing to do with him.

But yesterday, the Liu clan held a clan meeting. The Village Chief's eldest son wasn't around, and whoever could dig up the woman's grave would get twenty taels of silver from the Village Chief's house.

He hadn't been able to resist; he hadn't even saved twenty taels after two years in the city!

He looked at Qin Jiang, whose black-red Sha Qi vaguely formed a giant tiger behind him, as if it would choose someone to devour at any moment.

He swallowed his saliva, looking at Qin Jiang tremblingly, pleading, "My Lord, it's just digging up an outsider's grave; it's not a capital offense, is it?"

*Huh? * Qin Jiang blinked, then tapped his forehead irritably with the hilt of the Black Water blade, the tiger-shaped Sha Qi behind him fading away.

He looked up at the few young men and the villagers behind them, waving his hand, "Forget it, just chop off their hands. It's not worth killing them all."

"Yes! Boss!" Meng An shouted loudly, drawing the broadsword at his waist and walking forward.

The few young men turned pale. It was just digging up a grave! And they had to lose their hands?!

"My Lord, spare us! My Lord, spare us! They are still young and don't know any better! They don't know any better!"

"That's right, My Lord! How can you just chop off hands whenever you want?! That's too tyrannical!"

"Exactly! We don't agree!"

Meng An frowned. He was mainly responsible for the inner city and didn't deal with these villagers as often as Tian Shangfei.

"Get lost!" he shouted, but the villagers blocked the way, showing no sign of retreating.

"Whoever blocks, I'll chop them all together," Qin Jiang said.

As the words fell, Meng An no longer hesitated, delivering a powerful downward strike that severed half the palm of a middle-aged man in front of him.

"Ah—!" "Dad!"

A young man rushed over to hold the middle-aged man, tearing off a piece of cloth to tightly bind his wrist.

"Get lost, all of you! If you don't, this will be the consequence!" Meng An shouted.

The surrounding villagers retreated, only the families of those few young men refused to back down.

"You! Why?! My dad didn't do anything! Why?! I'm going to report this to the officials! I'm going to the city to report this and have the masters punish you!"

The young man shouted while bandaging the wound, his eyes filled with grief and fear.

Qin Jiang tilted his head slightly, a smile unconsciously curling at the corners of his mouth, "You can try. Losing a hand, you might still live. Reporting to the officials, I guarantee your whole family will be buried."

The young man froze in place. Not just him, but the villagers behind him also froze, looking at Qin Jiang with fear.

The masters who came before, no matter what they did, at least maintained a facade of legitimacy. This one was actually this tyrannical? He would kill at the drop of a hat?!

Meng An was also slightly surprised. Although gang disciples like them didn't value human life much, they still feared the laws of the Great Xia to some extent.

On the other side, Tian Shangfei didn't react much. In his eyes, these stubborn villagers were like grass; cut one batch, and another would grow.

He wasn't surprised by Qin Jiang's performance; he had seen it long ago.

The Boss was usually gentle and humble, but whoever dared to block his path had to die! This was the reason he followed the Boss so loyally.

With strength, potential, and even more courage—if you didn't hurry to hug such a thigh, wouldn't you be an idiot?

"Old Meng, do it. After you're done, don't forget to bandage them, and find a doctor to prescribe some tonics. The silver will come from me."

After saying this, Qin Jiang looked at Zheng Deyu and turned to Tian Shangfei, "Help them bury it again."

"Understood, Boss! I'll go get a new coffin!"

Qin Jiang nodded and turned to leave.

In the afternoon, Tian Shangfei arrived at the courtyard covered in mud. After waiting for a while, Qin Jiang finished his fist practice and stood still, adjusting his breathing.

"Is it all done?" he asked.

"It's all taken care of. Old Tian bandaged them and went to the city to fetch a doctor," Tian Shangfei said.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, "Fine, let it be."

Tian Shangfei didn't speak. After a while, he asked, "Boss, are we going back to the city today?"

"Back to the city?"

Qin Jiang shook his head, "Let's go back tomorrow. There's a good show to watch tonight."

Tian Shangfei was confused, "A good show? What kind of show? Boss, did you hire a theater troupe? Aren't you being too good to that guy Zheng Deyu?"

Qin Jiang looked at him with surprise, "What are you talking about? Forget it, you wouldn't understand. Tell the brothers to stay alert tonight. No matter what sounds you hear in the house, don't come out. Including you and Old Tian."

Tian Shangfei tilted his head. Although he didn't understand, he still agreed, "Understood. I happened to bring some *pai gow* tiles; do you want to play a few rounds with me tonight, Boss?"

Qin Jiang thought for a moment and nodded, "Sure."

"Boss! Boss! Boss! Something's wrong!"

Early the next morning, there was a flurry of knocking, accompanied by Tian Shangfei's anxious shouting.

At the table in the room, Qin Jiang opened his eyes, a black-red Sha Qi with a fine, gritty texture dissipating from his black-and-white eyes.

*Hoo~* He exhaled the turbid air of the night and got up to open the door.

"What is it?"

The Sha Qi that hadn't fully dissipated drifted out, making Tian Shangfei shiver.

"Boss, someone died again," Tian Shangfei said, his eyes filled with panic.

He had been guarding the village entrance all night, and there hadn't been any movement in the village, but a corpse had been discovered early this morning.

"Where? Let's go take a look." Qin Jiang said.