Chapter 53: Getting Rich Overnight (Two-in-One, Please Follow)

Night falls.

East City, the Zhou family mansion.

"The eldest young master is back, the eldest young master is back!"

"Eldest young master, the master and mistress just went to the dining hall, you've returned just in time!"

Following the servants' shouts, a man in his thirties wearing brocade robes walked through the front courtyard with a troubled expression and arrived at the rear dining hall.

In the brightly lit dining hall, plates of steaming hot dishes had just been placed on the table, and an short, stout, middle-aged man in brocade robes at the head of the table beckoned:

"Yuxuan, you've returned just in time, sit down and eat quickly."

The person speaking was none other than the master of this Zhou family, Zhou Jinming.

The eldest son, Zhou Yuxuan, gave a grunt of acknowledgment, washed his hands in a basin brought by a servant, and after wiping them dry, took his seat at the table.

Besides him, the people at the table included Zhou Jinming's legal wife, Madam Hu, and his second son, Zhou Yuxuo, who had just reached adulthood.

Soon the rice was served, and everyone picked up their chopsticks; Zhou Jinming looked at his eldest son and asked:

"How is it? It's been several days, has the yamen found any clues?"

As an East City clerk, who counted as an official of sorts, Zhou Yuxuan sighed:

"Of course not. Currently, the investigation is mainly the responsibility of the Martial Suppression Division. The yamen runners are so lazy and undisciplined that they are of no real use. But in my view, even for the Martial Suppression Division, it would be very difficult to catch that Qingyike."

"Preposterous! If even the Martial Suppression Division is useless, then the protection taxes we wealthy families pay every year are a waste!"

Zhou Jinming snorted coldly and said:

"That bastard Qingyike has turned the entire Fengyang Prefecture upside down and given everyone no peace; he truly deserves to die! When that villain is caught, I must go to Caishikou myself and watch him be sliced to pieces and executed by slow slicing!"

Beside him, his legal wife, Madam Hu, gave him a dissatisfied glare: "What slicing to pieces and slow slicing? Don't say such things while eating at home!"

The second son, Zhou Yuxuo, stopped his chopsticks, his eyes darting around, and he asked full of doubt:

"Big brother, is that Qingyike really as mysterious as the rumors say? They claim he is protected by the power of Heaven's punishment, allowing him to appear and disappear like a ghost, leaving no trace. Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Believe it or not, you have to. The yamen catchers are mostly useless sacks of wine and rice, but the people in the Martial Suppression Division have at least some ability. It is no lie that even they are at their wits' end with this Qingyike."

Zhou Yuxuan shook his head, then revealed a look of hesitation as he looked at Zhou Jinming:

"Father, Mother, I think that during this period we should treat our tenant farmers better. It would be best if we could lower their rent and let them live a bit more comfortably."

"What, lower the rent for that bunch of mud-legged peasants?"

At the dining table, Zhou Jinming's face immediately darkened:

"Impossible! The fields I rent to them are all top-quality land, and the grain seeds are all selected and provided by me. These tenants only need to put in some effort to get twenty percent of the harvest, which is already good enough. Where else do they want it lowered to!?"

Knowing his father had always been harsh and stingy toward the tenants, the eldest son, Zhou Yuxuan, earnestly advised:

"Father, look at what time it is now. That Qingyike has successively killed the son of General Feng'en, Judge Tian, and a Martial Recommended Scholar. His methods are so bizarre and cruel; now, many commoners in the entire East City are wishing for this person to go and slaughter every landlord and powerful family."

Our Zhou family is also a landlord of some standing in this East City. Over these years, because of certain matters, many tenants have harbored resentment toward us. If we don't find a way to ease tensions, and that Qingyike finds out and comes knocking, it will be too late for regrets."

Being able to amass such a large family fortune, Zhou Jinming was naturally no fool. Upon hearing this, his expression changed slightly, and he hesitated:

"My son, it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? There are plenty of dirty landlords and powerful families in this Fengyang Prefecture, that Qingyike..."

Zhou Yuxuan said helplessly:

"Father, our Zhou family's reputation in this East City is no better than that of Scholar Qin. Plus, with the disgraceful things Yuxuo did in previous years, if those tenants or our rivals get ideas and go around crying and complaining like that Sister Alin, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuxuo shrank his neck, and Madam Hu's face changed color immediately, trembling with fear:

"Master, Yuxuan is right. Our family's reputation in this East City isn't great, and Yuxuo's affair must not let the Green Clothes Office know. I think we should listen to Yuxuan and quickly lower the rent to shut those tenants' mouths!"

Zhou Jinming, upon careful thought, was also shocked and afraid, and he glared at Zhou Yuxuo in annoyance:

"It's all because of the disgraceful things you've done!"

Both Zhou Yuxuan and Zhou Yuxuo were born to his legal wife, Madam Hu, but the eldest son, Zhou Yuxuan, was considered successful, having achieved accomplishments in both literature and martial arts;

while the second son, five years his junior, Zhou Yuxuo, had gone completely astray. From a young age, he had been idle, unlearned, and proficient in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.

Especially last year, when Zhou Yuxuo went outside the city to inspect the fields with the steward, he accidentally bumped into a tenant's daughter. Because of her beautiful appearance, he developed lecherous desires and wanted to take her as a concubine.

However, that family, though poor, was unwilling to send their daughter into a pit of fire, and they refused Zhou Yuxuo on the spot, unwilling to agree to any conditions.

Having lost face and failed to achieve his goal, Zhou Yuxuo became angry. Just a few days later, while drunk, he brought two servants and broke into the tenant's home. Not only did he beat the farmer and his wife until they were bleeding and unconscious, he even raped their daughter on the spot.

After finishing, Zhou Yuxuo sobered up, and because he was afraid of the matter being exposed, he became vicious and directly burned the tenant's house to the ground, then fled back home.

Afterward, the family of three became charred corpses, causing quite a stir.

And somehow the news leaked; all the surrounding tenants knew it was Zhou Yuxuo's doing, and even tenants who had been stripped of their land went to report it to the officials.

If Zhou Jinming hadn't bled heavily to cover it up, his youngest son would likely have spent the rest of his life in prison.

Facing the reprimand, Zhou Yuxuo hung his head in dejection, not daring to argue. Zhou Jinming then looked at his eldest son: "Yuxuan, how much do you say we should lower the rent? How about lowering it to seventy percent?"

Zhou Yuxuan shook his head:

"Father, let's lower it to sixty percent. This is a special period; consider it accumulating virtue for our family."

"Lowering from eighty percent to sixty percent—that's twenty percent of the rent, which could amount to thousands of Silver Yuan over a year."

Zhou Jinming took a breath, clearly feeling the financial pain:

"To be so generous to those mud-legged peasants, what a sin!"

Although Madam Hu also felt the pain of the money, she was more concerned about Zhou Yuxuo's safety:

"Master, why worry about this little bit of money? We can just make it up later! Xiong'er's safety is what's most important. In my opinion, it would be better to send him to his aunt's house in Yangcheng as soon as possible to avoid the limelight."

"I know, I know."

Zhou Jinming waved his hand in irritation and scolded Zhou Yuxuo:

"Tomorrow you pack your things and get out to your aunt's house!"

Yangcheng was an ordinary county town, far less prosperous than Fengyang Prefecture. Zhou Yuxuo was like a frost-bitten eggplant: "I understand, Father."

The meal was eaten without any appetite, and soon the family finished and dispersed, each with their own worries.

As the night deepened.

Zhou Jinming, who had already washed up and gone to rest, found himself unable to sleep on the bed, drawing endless complaints from his wife, the Hu woman, beside him.

"I'm going out to get some air!"

Zhou Jinming simply got out of bed, threw on a robe, then picked up a lantern and keys, and went alone to the cellar in the corner of the courtyard, opening it and walking inside.

Under the glow of the lantern, the cellar, paved with bluestone, was quite spacious, with most of the items placed against the walls being things like liquor and medicinal herbs.

However, Zhou Jinming walked straight to the very back of the cellar and reached out to lift a bluestone floor tile in the far right corner.

Beneath the floor was a square black iron chest, secured with a total of three locks.

Zhou Jinming opened the locks one by one, then lifted the lid of the chest.

The dim cellar brightened; inside the chest were rows of neatly arranged Silver Yuan, and even glistening Gold Yuan!

Although there were not many Gold Yuan in the chest, the Silver Yuan alone numbered at least several thousand—a massive fortune even in the prosperous Fengyang Prefecture—yet now they all lay in this dark, sunless cellar.

Under the reflection of the light from the Silver Yuan and Gold Yuan, Zhou Jinming stroked and counted his wealth with a dazed expression, as if he were caressing his own lover.

He was known throughout the East City as "Zhou the Skinner," always taking in and never paying out; most of the wealth he earned was either used to buy farmland or to acquire storefronts.

As for the more than ten thousand Silver Yuan in this chest, it was all of Zhou Jinming's savings outside of his fields, houses, and shops; whenever he was in a bad mood, he would come here to count it once to make himself feel relaxed and happy.

However.

Just as he was counting the Gold Yuan and Silver Yuan in the chest back and forth like a miser.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling coldness sprouted at his neck, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

Zhou Jinming's body stiffened, and as he lowered his head, he was horrified to discover that a sharp Short Blade was pressed against his throat, though he had no idea when it had appeared!

"Zhou Jinming."

At the same time, a faint, ghostly chuckle came from behind him:

"Did you think that by hiding in this cellar, I wouldn't be able to find you?"

At this moment.

Zhou Jinming felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; his blood froze completely, and he didn't even dare to turn his head, only saying with his teeth chattering violently:

"Qing, Qing, Qingyike?"

"Not bad, your reaction is quite fast."

Behind him, Lu Yuan, who had appeared using the Earth Travel Technique and was wrapped head-to-toe in a Night Suit, coldly pronounced:

"I only had to walk around this East City to hear quite a few deeds about your family: seizing water sources, annexing and forcibly taking others' farmland, raising rents and charging usurious interest, forcing tenant farmers to sell their children and hang themselves during years of famine;

although your eldest son has no great evil deeds, your second son, under the doting of the Hu woman, is arrogant, domineering, and lawless—not only daring to break into homes to rape the daughters of farmers but also setting fires to burn the corpses. Tell me, how many times does your family deserve to die?"

"This, this..."

Lu Yuan's understated words were like the pronouncement of the Grim Reaper; Zhou Jinming was now terrified out of his wits, trembling as he said:

"Don't, don't kill me, don't kill me!"

"This lowly one already knows his crimes; I beg you to be magnanimous and spare this lowly one, let me use the rest of my life to atone for my sins! This lowly one has over ten thousand Silver Yuan here, as well as many shop deeds, worth ten thousand gold; all can be given to you, I only ask that you spare me and give me a chance to atone!"

Being able to become a great landlord in this East City, he naturally was not without the strength to truss a chicken; on the contrary, he possessed decent Martial Arts, otherwise, he would have long since been swallowed whole by other landlords and local tyrants.

However, this so-called "decent" was merely at the second realm of the Muscle Refining stage.

Facing a figure as bizarre and cruel to the extreme as Qingyike, he was already extremely terrified and dared not act rashly.

Moreover, there was one most important point: Qingyike had always killed without a sound, and since he had taken the initiative to appear and speak, there must be room for negotiation!

Naturally unaware of how much Zhou Jinming had thought under the threat of life and death, Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes behind him:

"Is this all your family wealth?"

There's a chance!

Zhou Jinming was overjoyed and spilled the beans like bamboo pouring out peas:

"The gold and silver are indeed only this much. I will not hide it from you, sir; the wealth this lowly one has accumulated has either been lent out or used to buy shops. This is all I have, and it can all be given to you!"

"If you are not satisfied, I can sell my shops and houses and find a way to scrape together more! This lowly one has actually turned over a new leaf and decided to start lowering the rent for the three hundred tenant farmers under me starting tomorrow, only collecting sixty-five percent of the rent! So I beg you, sir, to look at my repentance and spare..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a *chi* sound!

Lu Yuan swung his arm, and Zhou Jinming's throat was instantly severed by the sharp blade, with a spray of blood erupting from his neck!

Terror, pain, disbelief...

Zhou Jinming clutched his throat and collapsed powerlessly to the ground, his dilated pupils filled with despair, seemingly unable to understand why Lu Yuan would strike him down.

Having executed the opponent with one strike, Lu Yuan remained expressionless:

"The reason you planned to lower the rent for your tenants wasn't because of a sudden change of heart, but because you were worried I would come!"

A large amount of fresh blood surged out; Zhou Jinming could not say a word, only making a *he-he* sound in his throat before becoming completely motionless.

Lu Yuan slowly sheathed his blade.

He had actually discovered this cellar when he came to scout the location earlier.

And the reason he had appeared and wasted words with Zhou Jinming this time wasn't because of some perverse hobby, but simply because he wanted to figure out if this person had buried wealth anywhere else.

After all, for him now, things like reputation or Qi Luck were secondary; ruthlessly making money to buy medicinal herbs to improve his cultivation was the primary task.

Thus.

Kicking Zhou Jinming's corpse aside, Lu Yuan lifted the heavy money chest out of the pit, and after a brief count, his eyes were incomparably satisfied:

"Over ten thousand Silver Yuan... even if I were to light up the 【Yellow-White】 technique, it wouldn't have such high efficiency..."

Killing and arson bring golden belts.

With the over ten thousand Silver Yuan in this chest, he could buy thousands of ordinary-quality ginseng roots and eat them like meals every day.

It was also basically equivalent to more than half a year's profit from the Boxiyuan; an ordinary person in Fengyang Prefecture could never earn this much in a lifetime.

Yet now, he had obtained it just by killing a landlord and local tyrant.

With such a harvest, Lu Yuan was completely satisfied; he first left a mark in blood on the ground as was his custom, then shouldered the money chest, which weighed several hundred catties.

Following the hand seals, he and the chest sank into the ground simultaneously and vanished in an instant.

And it was not until long after Lu Yuan had disappeared.

Until daybreak, when the maidservants came to the main residence to deliver hot water for washing, they discovered that Madam Hu had been killed by a slashed throat in the room.

At the same time, they also discovered Zhou Jinming in the cellar, dead with his eyes wide open, along with two lines of blood-written characters left beside his corpse.

The shrill screams soon alarmed the entire Zhou residence; the eldest son Zhou Yuxuan, along with a crowd of house servants and laborers, hurriedly rushed over in a panic, and then their eyes split with rage.

With both parents dead, he had no time to wail in grief or shed tears before he staggered and immediately rushed toward Zhou Yuxiong's room.

As it turned out, upon arriving at the place, he discovered that this good-for-nothing younger brother of his was already lying on the bed with his eyes wide open, his throat slashed, and the pool of blood covering the bed had already congealed.

(End of this chapter)