Chapter 245

Xiao Qidi turned off the light, expressionlessly saying, "Illumination devices are called flashlights."

"Can I... touch it?" the girl asked eagerly.

Ning Jinli gave her the flashlight and also taught her how to use it.

This thing, which was utterly ordinary to Ning Jinli and even Xiao Qidi, made the girl exclaim in amazement, while the cripple beside her stared, eyes wide.

Although it had no other use besides illumination, its shape and material were unprecedented; most remarkably, it could emit light countless times brighter than a torch without fire or fuel, and could be turned off on its own.

To call it an unparalleled treasure is not an exaggeration.

The girl played with the flashlight for a moment, then returned it to Ning Jinli, politely saying, "Thank you both for letting me gain insight; on behalf of Black Water Stronghold, I apologize to you both."

Ning Jinli always felt that this girl did not seem like someone who would become a water bandit, let alone a leader.

This was not judging by appearance, but a strong intuition.

Thus, Ning Jinli asked gently, "You're so young—how did you become a bandit?"

"Sigh..." the girl let out a long breath, helplessness in her eyes, "If life could go on, who would want to be a bandit?"

Xiao Qidi frowned slightly, "According to what you say, you were forced into it?"

The girl nodded and recounted the situation in detail.

"My brother and I were born into ordinary families; we used to live near Black Water Bay, making a living by fishing like other villagers. Ten years ago, floods in this area grew worse, and the local officials claimed that building waterworks required raising taxes."

"Taxes were heavy, but the people thought, if it could control the floods, they'd grit their teeth and pay; yet after paying, they saw no action from the officials."

"Whenever people went to inquire and urge, the officials said the projects were complicated and needed more time to prepare."

"However, this was merely their excuse; even every one or two years they'd replace the local official, and officials came and went like a revolving door, each adding a tax. The people finally realized they were just using the pretext of building waterworks to extort money from the populace."

The girl's tone was calm, but when she said this, her eye sockets began to redden slightly.

The crippled strategist beside her also turned grave.

The girl took a deep breath, lifted her gaze toward the haze‑shrouded horizon, and continued:

"Near Black Water Bay there are over a hundred villages big and small, with a population of several thousand, yet everyone makes a living from farming and fishing, not wealthy—how could they endure officials coming in waves, year after year, to harvest them?"

"The people grew poorer, each newly appointed official had a bigger appetite, taxes became ever heavier, and when they could no longer collect, they resorted to abusing private punishment, eventually turning to outright robbery."

"The people suffered beyond endurance, one after another being ruined, families destroyed and lives lost..."

The girl's voice grew a little choked, she withdrew her gaze and pointed at the cripple.

"His leg was broken by officials a few years ago for failing to pay taxes; he's lucky—at least he kept his life. My parents and countless other Black Water Bay residents either starved to death, committed suicide as families, or... suffered injuries and died without treatment—everywhere there were wails, the marsh littered with white bones; that was the scene I saw most often as a child."

Hearing this, Ning Jinli's face changed.

Xiao Qidi's eyes twitched, his voice angry, "Local officials commit such atrocities against the people—does the Ze Kingdom court turn a blind eye?"

The girl looked seriously at Xiao Qidi, "You're not from Ze Kingdom, are you?"

Xiao Qidi startled, not expecting to be seen through so easily.

The girl said lightly, "I've heard that only Xuan Guo seems to care about the lives of people in remote areas; for the Ze Kingdom's ruler, this is a thankless effort, so even if they know, they just wink and ignore it."

The cripple suddenly gave a bitter smile and said, "If our ruler had even a third of the Xuan Guo king's concern for the people, we wouldn't have fallen to this state..."

"Cough..." Xiao Qidi gave a light cough, "I didn't expect my reputation to have reached this place."

Upon hearing the three words "Xiao Qidi," the girl's eyes showed longing, "I've traveled many places these past months and heard many rumors about him—said he is tall, mighty, handsome beyond compare, and loves the people as his own. I truly wish to see him in person."

Xiao Qidi's mouth corner involuntarily rose.

Ning Jinli poked his waist quietly, then asked, "So you turned to banditry simply because you could no longer survive?"

The girl said, "Black Water Bay has been ravaged to the point of nine out of ten homes empty; my parents died horribly, my brother, to protect me, killed several officials who wanted to seize me for sale, utterly offending the authorities; thus... he went all out, rallying the remaining villagers to rise up."

"After several years, we finally formed the Black Water Stronghold that lives by banditry, but we all came from poor families, knowing well the hardship of ordinary folk, so we only rob the rich and engage in black-market trade, never harming civilians. Sometimes after a big haul we even distribute some grain and goods to relieve the poor."

Having said that, the girl still worried Ning Jinli might not believe her, so she raised her hand to swear to heaven, "If any word I speak is half false, may my parents' spirits find no rest, and I die without a grave!"

"I believe you, I believe you—no need for that." Ning Jinli hurriedly grabbed her hand.

At this moment the fish and turtles were roasted, sizzling with fragrant smoke.

The girl took one and handed it to the cripple, telling him to replace the old man in guarding the mother and child, and to let the old man come over to eat and rest a bit.

When the old man came beside the girl, she introduced, "This is Fu Bo; he has served the Xing family since the grandfather of General Xing."

"You two benefactors, please accept my bow." The gaunt old man knelt upright before Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, performing three kowtows.

Ning Jinli said, "Fu Bo, get up quickly!"

Fu Bo tears streaming, "If not for meeting you two, the lady and her unborn child could not have survived... I would serve as an ox or horse, yet have nothing to repay!"

Xiao Qidi said, "As far as I know, Ze Kingdom has a General Xing, generation after generation of famous generals; your General Xing must not be..."

Fu Bo wiped his tears and said, "Our general is named Xing Yan; his father, Marquis Xing, is named Xing Shu..."

Hearing those two names, Xiao Qidi froze.

Indeed, it was the very Ze Kingdom military commander he knew.

Beside her, Ning Jinli's head buzzed, her pupils trembled, and she hastily turned her head toward the nearby branch tent.

No wonder, when earlier listening to the old man and girl mention bits of information about a pregnant woman, something had flashed in her mind.

At that moment the situation was urgent, she had no time to think it over.

Now she understood!

If it's all true, then the newborn just delivered couldn't be... that person?!

Xiao Qidi asked the old man, "General Xing Yan is today's Ze Kingdom commander-in-chief; his father is the marquis, father and son both high-ranking, pillars of Ze Kingdom—why would the general's wife be hunted? Who dares so boldly to pursue her?"

The old man, who had just stopped crying, burst into tears again, wailing, "General Xing... including the marquis and his wife, the rest of the Xing family—over a hundred souls—are all gone... all gone! Only I, this wretched old man, escaped with the pregnant Lady Xing, ten months along!"

"What?!" Xiao Qidi exclaimed in shock.

Ning Jinli's head buzzed again, "How could this be?! This... this isn't right, is it?"

The old man was grief‑stricken, sobbing uncontrollably.

Despite Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi being shocked and full of questions, they could only first soothe his emotions.

The girl also urged him to think more openly, lest he hurt his body.

Only after the old man's emotions settled did Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi learn the situation from his mouth.

It turned out that Marquis Xing and General Xing, father and son, had a conflict with the nobles of Ze Kingdom; both were punished by the Ze Kingdom's ruler, demoted to the frontier, and their entire families were likewise exiled.

Those nobles, to eliminate any future threat, dispatched assassins to pursue them.

Thus, during the exile, General Xing and over a hundred of his relatives gradually perished.

If Fu Bo and the general's wife had not encountered the second chief of Black Water Village, they would have found it hard to escape death.

Finally, the second chief and his guards, taking Fu Bo and the general's wife, fled through Black Water Village, narrowly avoiding death.

That guard of the second chief died because of this.

When Fu Bo said this, the girl silently shed tears.

The whole air was filled with sorrow and oppression.

Ning Jinli kept recalling the records in historical documents; although, due to the great age, not everything can correspond, the timeline shows that at this time General Xing Yan of Ze Kingdom was being heavily employed, later becoming the greatest obstacle to Xuan Guo's annexation of Ze Kingdom.

Moreover, such a major event as General Xing's demotion and near extermination of his entire family should not be omitted from the histories.

Xiao Qidi's eyebrows now knit into a knot.

He, too, had examined the historical materials Ning Jinli gave him, and, like her, increasingly found them full of contradictions and questions.

Xiao Qidi spoke softly, "The Xing family holds a hereditary marquisate, has been favored through the ages; General Xing himself is a Ze Kingdom noble. Logically, even if he offended some other nobles, he shouldn't have fallen to this level. Fu Bo, what on earth is happening?"

Fu Bo, eyes watery, said, "General Xing didn't just offend a few palace nobles; he offended all the nobles of Ze Kingdom…"

Ning Jinli hurriedly asked, "What did he do?"

Fu Bo, while shedding tears, said:

"The lord and the general, father and son, having witnessed His Majesty Xiao Qidi of Xuan Guo purging the nobles and eliminating the corruption of the aristocratic class, which greatly benefited the common people, concluded that in the near future Xuan Guo would surely enjoy prosperity, abundant populace, and a flourishing nation. They therefore urged the ruler of Ze Kingdom to follow suit; even if he could not, like Xiao Qidi, eradicate the nobles with iron‑blooded methods, he must still reform the system and, with force, restrain the nobles."

Hearing this, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli were once again shocked.

The Xing father and son truly cared for the common people; otherwise, being nobles themselves, how could they dare to strike at their own class?

Such foresight and such boldness are indeed precious.

But this action would clearly destabilize the massive interests of Ze Kingdom's entire noble class.

The Xing father and son were fighting alone, lacking favorable timing, terrain, popular support, and various other opportunities; thus, persuading the Ze Kingdom's ruler to emulate Xiao Qidi's reforms was bound to fail.

"Alas…" Xiao Qidi sighed heavily, "What a pity, such a pity. Marquis Xing and General Xing were too hasty; they only knew that I eradicated Xuan Guo's nobles, but were unaware of the countless conditions and opportunities behind it, each indispensable. Had they waited a bit longer…"

Ning Jinli fully understood how regretful Xiao Qidi felt at that moment.

Given time, when he annexes Ze Kingdom, the Xing father and son will surely cooperate with him, becoming a powerful arm for cleaning up the remaining nobles of the other states after he unifies the vassal kingdoms.

Fu Bo, listening to Xiao Qidi's sigh, felt sorrow rise from within, "Marquis Xing and the general knew this move would provoke a backlash from the nobles, yet they still did it. Apart from the Xing clan's supporters, no one else helped; even the Ze Kingdom's ruler, who had long relied on the Xing family, turned his back on them… Yet the father and son refused to compromise. They said that even if the Xing family were to be beheaded and bleed, it might awaken the world and serve as a lesson for future generations."

Ning Jinli teared up, and for an instant recalled the great figure in her own world who wrote, "I swing my sword toward the heavens and laugh; whether I stay or depart, my courage stands like the twin Kunlun peaks."

A few fell into a sorrowful silence.

Fu Bo turned his head, looking toward where the general's wife stood; on his aged face finally appeared a hint of relief, "Fortunately, the lady survived, and the Xing family has not become extinct…"

The girl said, "I wonder if General Xing has already thought of a name for his child?"

"Yes, indeed!" Fu Bo's reddened eyes flashed, "The general said, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl, it shall be named Xing Lie, meaning a raging fire!"

Xing Lie!

When that name was spoken, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi's pupils dilated, and a wave of shock rose again in their hearts.

"What a raging fire, truly worthy of General Xing!" the girl clapped her hands, exclaiming with great vigor, "Fu Bo, you and Madam Xing can rest assured. From now on, my eight hundred brothers of Black Water Village will take good care of you, especially the general's unborn child! Those damn nobles, send as many assassins as they like—we will slay them all!"

"Thank you, Second Chief!" Fu Bo, eyes brimming with tears, knelt and bowed.

"Huh? Speaking of that… you two, who are you? How did you end up in a place like Black Water Bay?" the girl asked, looking at Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi.

The two exchanged a glance, their faces showing contemplation.

Fu Bo said, "You two are benefactors; if you prefer not to disclose, then keep it unsaid. No matter your status, you are benefactors of the Xing family."

"Hold on a moment." Ning Jinli hurriedly rose, pulling Xiao Qidi aside.

She took a deep breath and whispered, "We can confirm that the infant we rescued is the historically renowned, unparalleled tyrant of later ages—Xing Lie."

He nodded, "His lineage matches perfectly, it can't be wrong, but your historical records say this person is at least twenty‑seven years younger than me; I'm only eighteen. How could he have been born early?"