Chapter 72: Incitement

Chen Wuji had long known there was no spare land to be allotted to him in the village.

Not to mention forty mu, even four mu is impossible.

The only thing that might be possible is a hilltop.

A hilltop might be seen as useless chicken rib by the villagers, but he wants it.

With so much timber on the mountain, how could it be useless?

Just selling the timber could fetch a good amount of silver, let alone making paper.

Seeing Chen Bushi's anguished look, Chen Wuji smiled and said: "Besides their performance, the officials surely also want some tangible benefits; those things could never completely follow the law and land in my pocket, so I haven't lost out."

Chen Wuji even thought that those several rebel chiefs receiving such benefits could be considered good.

If they just gave him a few taels of silver and sent him away, he probably couldn't do anything about it.

Chen Bushi sighed, "The words may be crude but the reasoning is sound; after all, we can only blame ourselves for being petty commoners who don't dare to oppose officials, and indeed we have no way to fight officials."

Because of Chen Bushi's remark, the atmosphere by the fire suddenly grew a bit oppressive.

What Chen Wuji lost was the granted land, while others thought of the ever-increasing taxes.

Those things are driving them toward a dead end.

Current taxes have become so varied they can't even count them; sometimes they collect early, then later change the name and collect again.

At this moment, the Yuan clan people not far off suddenly stirred into a commotion.

Chen Wuji glanced over and picked up the knife placed to the side.

"Don't move yet," Chen Bushi said in a low voice.

The Yuan clan gathered around Yuan Jintang and came over, a mighty throng of seventy or eighty people.

In West Mountain, the Yuan family are the most numerous, with over sixty households.

Having impulsively hacked Yuan Chen to death in a moment of anger, Chen Wuji had still been worried they would band together.

As a result, they did nothing—some just watched the sky, others just watched the clouds.

But at this moment they suddenly seemed to come to their senses, clustering behind Yuan Jintang.

It looks like Yuan Jintang had promised them something decent.

"Lao Jiu, go check Wuji's home," Chen Bushi suddenly said.

Chen Luozi gave the advancing Yuan clan a cold glance, then rose and left the fire.

"Thanks!" Chen Wuji said.

"Don't give me that formal nonsense; I'm not going home, so don't rush to thank me," Chen Luozi said, narrowing his eyes.

Chen Wuji was speechless: "Calling you a dog thing is already praise."

"Heh heh, heh heh..." Chen Luozi gave a sniggering laugh twice and left.

"Someone, tie up that idiot Chen!"

Yuan Jintang walked over with a grim face and let out a furious roar.

Several Yuan strongmen, wielding sticks, knives and spears, charged over with a fierce aura.

Chen Wuji rose calmly: "If you want to die, come on; I can kill even the Village Chief's son, you few lowlives can test how fast my blade is."

Those few suddenly halted, their faces instantly turning ugly.

They still remembered how Chen Wuji looked when he hacked Yuan Chen.

One strike, just one strike!

With a blank expression, that one strike almost broke Yuan Chen's neck.

"He killed my son; a murderer must pay with his life. Tomorrow we'll deliver him to the Xianya, and you'll also have merit for capturing bandits. With so many of us, what are you few afraid of? Charge!" Yuan Jintang said, his face as still as water, shouting angrily.

He once looked down on the Chen family, but now he suddenly felt both disdain and disgust toward his own clan.

The Chen folks usually have thin family ties and even some discord, but when trouble comes they protect their kin regardless of right or wrong, huddling together; even half-grown youths can pick up weapons, their eyes showing no trace of fear.

But look at them now—clearly they are numerous and strong.

He had even promised each of them a hundred cash coins, yet they were all cowed by a single sentence from that idiot Chen.

After Yuan Jintang urged them with a shout, those few Yuan strongmen then moved their feet again.

Chen Bushi and the others also rose at this moment, taking firm positions behind Chen Wuji.

The steps of those Yuan strongmen paused again.

"Uncle, why don't we go up together? We few probably can't win," a Yuan strongman shouted, turning his head.

Yuan Jintang nearly vomited blood from anger at that shout.

You damn thing, you idiot!

Momentum, momentum, bring it out!

You lot, you're supposed to be catching people, not acting like thieves—why be sneaky?

Chen Wuji curled his lip in a sneer and said loudly: "No need to trouble the Village Chief, I know which way the Xianya's gate opens; tomorrow I'll go turn myself in. But then I won't know which of us two will end up suffering."

"Who knows what crime it would be to indulge my son and clansmen in looting the Xianya's grants—could it be punishable by death? The award I just took back from the Xianya hasn't even entered my home before the Village Chief and his son blocked it with people; the magistrate should be pleased with the Village Chief's speed."

Yuan Jintang's face shifted slightly: "What do you mean? Where did you get the Xianya's award?"

"You're blind—didn't you see the knife I was holding earlier is a Court-standard simple knife?" Chen Wuji shouted.

Yuan Jintang's heart jolted—how could this fool have a Xianya-awarded knife?

What has he done?!

The Xianya's standard simple knife could never be casually awarded to commoners.

For a moment, Yuan Jintang's mind seemed to sprout a hundred thousand whys, no matter how he thought he couldn't figure it out.

"Nonsense, when did my son snatch the Xianya's award given to you? Clearly you're deliberately retaliating, intentionally killing!" Yuan Jintang shouted.

He set aside the problem he couldn't understand, decided to act on killing his son, and couldn't let this idiot Chen lead him by the nose.

Relying on his connections and influence at the Xianya, even if Chen Wuji truly did something meritorious, it would be of no avail.

"Village Chief, feigning ignorance won't give you an advantage; everyone in the village saw what happened today, I have plenty of witnesses!" Chen Wuji said indifferently, "First looting the Court's bestowed goods, then immediately besieging us, Village Chief Yuan, do you also intend to seize the opportunity to rebel?"

"Nonsense!" Yuan Jintang shouted angrily, "I am the one who captured you, this heinous criminal!"

"But I see you as intending to rebel; you and that gang of Bandit Refugees outside couldn't possibly be in league, could you?" Chen Wuji poured basin after basin of dirty water onto Yuan Jintang's head, making full use of his imagination.

Yuan Jintang was about to be driven mad by anger.

That fool suddenly wasn't foolish anymore, and his tongue was razor-sharp.

"I advise everyone to keep an eye out; be careful that the Yuan family lot might suddenly go mad, kill your parents, seize your wife, and take your grain." Chen Wuji looked at the other villagers around him and shouted loudly.

"I killed someone, but I didn't flee; I not only didn't flee, I'm still here standing with everyone to defend the village. But look at what the Village Chief and the Yuan family people are doing—seizing the opportunity to stir up trouble, a mighty force aiming to attack our Chen family. They didn't cause trouble earlier, they didn't cause trouble later, but they pick this exact moment to cause trouble; don't you find it a coincidence? Perhaps there are already Bandit Refugees waiting outside!"

"Everyone, if our Chen family falls, can you handle the Yuan family's mighty force of over a hundred people?"