Chapter 75

What secret the Chen family bears, Chen Wuji still does not know.

Chen Bushi's mouth is tighter than a valley's seam; Chen Wuji probed indirectly many times, but he straightforwardly covered it up.

Now Chen Wuji has given up as well.

No more asking.

Asking wouldn't change that he is a member of the Chen clan.

As for the deeds of Chen Bushi and Chen Luozi, if anything really happens, he certainly won't escape; he'll surely be implicated as well.

So better first earn the silver that should be earned, and try to obtain the status that should be sought.

If he could gain some status or connections in Nan Jun, then this secret might become irrelevant to him; even if something happened, he would have room to maneuver.

Thinking about so much now only adds worries.

"Some people, once they stop being idiots, their brains become terrifyingly good." Chen Bushi praised.

Chen Wuji's face darkened a bit: "Don't praise me; praise me again and I'll cut you."

Chen Bushi laughed, stood up, and had Chen Qun and others send all the severed heads they had chopped to the brothers and uncles of the innocent trampled victims, though it wasn't entirely for free.

Chen Wuji saw them gesturing and pointing his way; some of the heads must have been sold.

That's fine—sending some, selling some makes the Chen family look less suspicious.

Otherwise it would easily raise suspicion.

The villagers probably wouldn't care, but who knows if the officials at the xianya couldn't help but think more about it.

After a moment, Chen Bushi came over: "Everything's settled; we just briefly discussed it— the Yuan family will send one person, plus Liu Tiechui recommended by several other surnames, and you; you'll later take these bandit leaders to the xianya."

"I won't go; just those two going is enough." Chen Wuji said.

He still kept in mind the traps in the mountains.

Anyway, the bandit leaders are already here; he already has at least eight taels of silver secured, so going or not makes no difference.

"You've been to the xianya, so you know this matter better." Chen Bushi advised.

"You just said you're already out front, you've already made a name once; doing it again is no problem; this time you should be able to get known to the magistrate."

"Don't underestimate a familiar face; if you, kid, get lucky and manage to become a clerk, wouldn't that be better than being a hunter?"

"What you just said makes sense; we indeed should have a figure in the open, so we aren't constantly bullied, and we can weed the local grass as we please. If you weren't already past school age, we would surely get you a degree."

Chen Wuji looked at Chen Bushi with a blank expression as he spouted nonsense.

A scholar with a proper degree urging a hunter to go mix in the xianya duties, and still study? Did this guy have his brains cut out by bandit refugees in last night's fight?

"What's with that look?" Chen Bushi asked.

"Do you want to hear what you're saying? You've been talking half a day about yourself; hurry up and go." Chen Wuji waved his hand.

Chen Bushi stared, then muttered a curse, grabbed the bandit leader Chen Wuji had chopped, and turned and left.

The morning sun rose completely, its golden light brilliant.

Chen Wuji drew a breath of not-so-fresh air and went straight home.

The dead were also carried home by their clans; the Yuan family had the most, including Yuan Jintang, three dead; the Liu family had one; and there was one from the Zhou clan.

Although the deaths are tragic, compared to the Zhao clan, this outcome is already very good.

In fact, it is precisely because of the Zhao clan's tragedy that the villagers of Xishan Village have unusually united.

Bang bang bang.

Chen Wuji knocked on the tightly closed gate: "Wife, Youwei, I'm back."

Last night's failure to consummate the marriage also left Chen Wuji quite regretful.

But today should be a good day.

Footsteps sounded in the courtyard, followed by a clatter, and Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei opened the gate together.

"Wuji, are you alright?"

"Great, husband is unharmed; let's hurry to consummate the marriage."

Chen Wuji and Huo Sanniang abruptly turned their heads to look at Shen Youwei.

That was a bit frightening to say.

Shen Youwei, feeling shy under their gaze, said: "My words… aren't they right? Last night elder sister you kept saying we need to consummate, consummate, even… Anyway, it's still early; husband didn't sleep all night, he surely needs to sleep; we'll keep him company for another sleep, that should be okay, right?"

Huo Sanniang's face flushed; she secretly pinched the soft flesh on Shen Youwei's waist: "Hurry and boil water to wash Wuji."

"Wash then sleep? Oh, good." Shen Youwei rushed into the kitchen like a whirlwind.

Huo Sanniang rubbed her forehead with a headache, barely concealing her shyness as she told Chen Wuji: "Wuji, doing that in the daytime isn't appropriate; tonight… tonight when you come back…"

"Actually I think Youwei is right." Chen Wuji said with a wicked smile.

He also likes daytime.

Seeing clearly.

Even if oil lamps are now replaced by candles at night, the light remains dim.

"What's wrong with that? What if someone comes? Night, night." Huo Sanniang said urgently, then quickly changed the topic: "Last night I heard a huge commotion; did bandit refugees really come?"

Chen Wuji felt somewhat regretful, nodded and replied: "Fortunately the village had made preparations early."

Huo Sanniang's brows furrowed slightly: "I just heard crying; did someone die?"

"Yeah, several died; death is too common in such matters." Chen Wuji said, "Compared to the Zhao clan, we're already very fortunate; the Zhao clan probably didn't leave a single survivor."

"... Thank heaven and earth." Huo Sanniang put her palms together and murmured softly.

"Later, let's go send something to the families of the dead; it's at least a token of feeling."

"Okay." Chen Wuji nodded.

After taking a mugwort water bath, Chen Wuji went onto the kang.

Having not slept all night, with his mind constantly tense, he was already exhausted to the point of inability, his head feeling heavy.

After lying down on the kang, he instead couldn't sleep.

Before his eyes were ferocious faces, howling sounds, splattered bloodstains and corpses.

He forcibly closed his eyes for a while, but those images would not go away, helplessly he opened his eyes again.

It seems he's still not tired enough.

In the courtyard with the warm sun overhead, Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei seemed to be making shoes; faintly one could hear the sound of hemp rope threading through the shoe soles, probably worried about disturbing him, so neither of them spoke.

Chen Wuji turned over and tried again.

After a moment, he helplessly gave up.

Unable to sleep, closing his eyes brings forth knife light and blood shadow.

"Not only is he not tired enough, it seems his mindset isn't strong enough either—this little matter actually drove away even his sleepiness." Chen Wuji muttered self-mockingly, and simply decided not to sleep.

Since time-traveling to this era, he has been constantly giving himself mental preparation.

Now that things have come to a head, there is still something lacking.

In many people's eyes, time-travel means waking to control the world's power, drunk lying on beauties' knees—it is power, beauties and conquest.

But when Chen Wuji opened his eyes and discovered he was in this era, the first reaction that welled up in his heart was famine, chaos, weapons and the crushing oppression of power.

And now, he is experiencing these things step by step.