Chapter 16: Ma Wang Village (End)

Wang Wu's decision made the villagers gathered around the woman flash with admiration, and then they all looked at Ma Chuo with hopeful expressions.

Ma Chuo, hearing Wang Wu's suggestion, also nodded, a rare hint of approval appearing on his face: "Then we'll do it just as Young Hero Wang said."

Wang Wu didn't bother to think over how to handle it, after all it wasn't his strong suit. So he simply dealt with the woman according to the way his hometown would.

Pregnant women are generally not sentenced to death; in his hometown, even for capital crimes they usually aren't executed.

But Wang Wu wasn't a strong supporter of that ruling; as a non‑legal professional, with his simple personal values, he thought the woman should give birth first and then be executed, and the child handed over to others to raise.

That would solve everything: punish the offender, allow the child in her womb to be born safely, and sever ties with the original family.

As for whether this method was reasonable, Wang Wu didn't care at all; he simply thought it was quite reasonable.

But here, when he could easily decide a person's fate, Wang Wu no longer possessed the cruelty he had as an internet user back on Earth.

So he chose a more moderate approach: let the offender stay in the village, give birth, then be driven out.

That's basically not sentencing to death, right? The punishment is severe enough, yet it leaves a way out.

Although that way out is far less likely to be better than an immediate execution in the village, at least there's some hope, which is better than none.

In Ma Wang Village, exile is a harsher punishment than death; indeed, not only in Ma Wang Village, but in most human settlements on this land, exile outweighs capital punishment.

"So is this matter settled then?"

After deciding the woman's fate, Wang Wu looked at Ma Chuo and asked.

"That counts as settled," Ma Chuo nodded. "Now we only need to deal with that horse‑boy's son, and we can handle the rest." He bowed to Wang Wu and then added:

"Thank you, Young Hero Wang, for your assistance. Our village has little, but if there's any way we can help you, just let us know."

"Then could you get me a set of clothes?" Wang Wu asked. "These two outfits I took off dead bodies; they're still a decent fit."

Wang Wu lowered his head to glance at his clothes. "But since they're taken from corpses, they feel awkward; could you get me a proper set?"

"It doesn't have to be brand‑new; clean clothes someone else has worn will do, and we can swap these boots for another pair."

"That's easy! Easy!" Before Ma Chuo could speak, Chief Ma stepped forward, greeting Wang Wu warmly, scanning him from head to toe, his eyes full of admiration.

"My son's build is similar to the Young Hero's; although he's no longer in the village, our home still has many of his old clothes. If Young Hero Wang doesn't mind, I'll sort them out and have someone deliver them to the inn where you're staying."

"Then I'll trouble you, Chief," Wang Wu nodded.

With that settled, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed. Wang Wu found a random inn at the village entrance to stay in, without paying.

Because Wang Wu had done the village a great favor, he received top‑tier hospitality: no charge for lodging and even meals were free.

Wang Wu's name quickly spread through the village, not only because he solved a problem for them but also because of his appearance.

In this lifetime, in this other world, Wang Wu finally enjoyed the kind of treatment once only read about in books—the likes of Pan An and Wei Jie.

Yet faced with such treatment, Wang Wu felt no real stir; even he himself could hardly believe he could keep his composure under these circumstances.

But these were just minor side stories; Wang Wu didn't intend to stay long, planning to set out tomorrow morning and continue toward He Dong Xian.

His room was the inn's most upscale, with a private bathroom containing a large wooden tub and brass‑colored metal pipes; opening the wooden valve released hot water into the tub.

It was a very 'modern' bathroom, equipped with everything from hot water pipes and drains to towels, soap, and the like.

And this was only a small village inn; before entering, Wang Wu could already see a massive cylinder behind it from afar.

Many pipes extended from the cylinder to various parts of the inn. Not just this one—several inns at the village entrance have similar huge structures behind them.

As for the village's water source, according to the inn's waiter, the underground water here is abundant; they draw their water from a subterranean river beneath the village.

At night, after bathing, Wang Wu dried himself, put on his modest clothes, and went to the bed. The bundle containing silver coins lay beside his pillow.

He lay down at the bedside, feeling the soft mattress beneath him, stroking the blankets, and couldn't help but feel as if in another world.

Because in the past few months he'd been living in a cave, sleeping on a bed of dry grass and branches.

As for bathing? His cave did have a place to bathe, since it was connected to an underground river.

As the inn's waiter said, the region's underground water is extremely abundant. At the deepest part of Wang Wu's cave, there's a downward tunnel, carved by the previous owner.

At the tunnel's end lies a subterranean cavern with an underground river, where he usually draws water.

Sometimes he could catch fish to eat, because the underground river harbors fish whose eyes are highly degenerated. They're large, mouths full of sharp teeth and claws—obviously carnivorous.

His cave's environment was pretty decent, but no matter what, it couldn't compare to the inns here.

Looking at the soft mattress, the thick quilt, and the variety of seasonings and dishes the inn offers—at least as many as in his previous life, even more diverse.

Honestly, the humans here eat better than those back home; the ingredients are naturally superior.

It was late at night; outside the window no sound came. He had opened the window before and seen the whole village shrouded in darkness, only a faint firelight leaking from each household's windows.

On the road, lit torches could be seen, two bundles every so often, illuminating the village's main thoroughfare.

The night atmosphere in the whole village was quiet and eerie, but honestly, there were no strange whispers at the ears, nor the faint rustling outside the cave entrance that sounded like teeth grinding or a sneaky laugh.

Compared to the cave‑dweller life in Wang Gu Lin, this is a clear downgrade.

Of course, not having any monsters on or under him was still a bit unsettling.

【Cave Monster: Brother Assassin, I killed some people today.】

He closed his eyes, but Wang Wu didn't fall asleep; instead, he brought out his phone.

Yes, he doesn't need to directly take the mobile phone out, and can directly use the phone in his mind. It seems this thing is bound to his soul.

Indeed, he didn't need to physically take out the phone; he could use it directly in his mind. It seemed the device was bound to his soul.

【World's Number One Assassin: How many did you kill?】

【Cave Monster: Three or four, I guess.】

【World's Number One Assassin: Not bad, what about yesterday?】

【Cave Monster: … uh, I didn't mean to say that. I mean, I killed someone today—my first kill—but while killing, I did feel uneasy, but…】

【Cave Monster: But I don't know why, aside from that discomfort, my mind also had another feeling then—a sudden impulse, a surge… I can't even describe it.】

【World's Number One Assassin: Is it an urge to slaughter everyone around, to kill, kill, kill, until blood rivers flow and heads roll?】

【Cave Monster: A bit exaggerated, but close enough. That impulse lasted only briefly; I quickly suppressed it.】

【World's Number One Assassin: Then… you must be possessed… but that shouldn't be, right? You're only a Ninth‑rank Initiate. Even if the Jitian Golden Vajra Sect's techniques… (emote) (emote) Or maybe (emote) you're just naturally a bit deranged?】

Mountain-Top Cave Monster: That… what should we do?

World's Number One Assassin: Just right, aren't you of the metal element? Metal generates water, you can supplement with a bit of a mysterious yin‑type technique. I'm the Deputy Sect Leader of the Cloud Crane Sect, and our sect has many such self‑cultivation techniques; you can learn one.

World's Number One Assassin: I'll send it to you tomorrow; I have something to attend to today, so let's stop here. If you want to further refine any technique later, you can contact me; I'll give you a discounted price.

Mountain-Top Cave Monster: Thank you! Thank you, Assassin bro! Assassin bro is invincible in the world!!

(End of chapter)