Chapter 43: Unexpected Harvest

"Let me take a look first before saying anything!"

He sorted through the items in the iron chest. There were many letters inside, a portion of which were correspondence between the head of the Zhangnan Bandits and his superior, sufficient to prove the head's identity as an Executive of the Thousand Blood Sect.

Although he did not know who this superior was, it did not hinder Shen Yu from using them to make an issue; he picked them up and set them aside to be used later.

As for the other letters, they were evidence of the collusion between this head and various officials, large and small; the content within was even more shocking.

This head's methods were unusually wild, and the scope of business was even broader; not only did they rob houses and plunder, but they also helped eliminate political rivals and collect intelligence, forming an entire industrial chain. Tsk tsk, no wonder they could drag so many people into the water.

With such a major matter, Shen Yu feared he could not resolve it with his current Martial Arts and official rank, so it was better to let them fall into the hands of those who could. Shen Yu had already decided where to send them; when the time came, not a single person mentioned in these letters would be able to escape.

After putting these letters away first, Shen Yu turned and walked outside. With the head solved, only the thousands of bandits outside remained for the Zhangnan Bandits, and those people were not good things either.

Over these years, the Zhangnan Bandits had robbed houses and plundered, harming countless people; there was no telling how many innocent families had been destroyed at their hands.

Furthermore, every single one of them had to submit a "pledge of allegiance" upon joining. The so-called pledge of allegiance meant letting their hands be stained with blood and having their names listed on the government's wanted posters to show they had no way back. Therefore, these people outside all deserved to die.

To deal with an expert like the head, he might be careful and cautious. But to deal with this rabble outside, and a rabble whose leaders had already been killed, one person and one sword were enough.

By the time Shen Yu went out, there seemed to be a slight disturbance outside. However, the disturbance had not yet spread; clearly, these people did not yet know that all their leaders had been wiped out.

"The wind has risen! Truly, Heaven is helping me!" Feeling the night wind that had suddenly picked up outside, Shen Yu smiled lightly, his figure disappearing from the spot in the blink of an eye. Standing upwind, he pried open the stopper on the bottle of Sadness Breeze and shook it gently.

The colorless and odorless gas drifted into the entire mountain stronghold along with the breeze, yet at this moment, everyone in the stronghold was completely unaware. They were still being impacted by the news they had just received and had not reacted at all for a moment.

"What exactly happened? What is wrong with everyone?"

"What, you still don't know? The Fifth Leader has been killed! The Fifth Leader had a habit: the medicine slaves had to deliver to him at a fixed hour every day. The person who went to deliver to the medicine slaves today found that the Fifth Leader did not respond, and that was when they discovered the Fifth Leader had been killed!"

"What? The Fifth Leader has been killed!" At this time, the people of the Zhangnan Bandits had all gotten out of bed; the sudden news left everyone at a loss. A leader killed inside his room—this was no small matter.

They were the Zhangnan Bandits, who had stood tall for nearly twenty years; who dared to come here to stir up trouble? Did they not want to live?

But even though the disturbance had already started, no one dared to go and report it to the other leaders. These leaders all had bad tempers and were the type to kill at the slightest provocation; if one died, it would be for nothing. So they could only wait until they got up before reporting it.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Suddenly, someone discovered an anomaly; the person opposite them had actually started to shed tears, and they were flowing in a torrent that wouldn't stop.

The Fifth Leader is dead, is it worth it? Even bootlicking isn't done like this. Isn't it better for everyone to just lay low together? Why do you insist on pretending to be a filial son or grandson, crying your eyes out for whom to see? Pretending is bullshit; who doesn't know who?

"I'm crying?" At first, this person didn't feel like they were crying, but after being shouted at like that, they realized their face was already covered in tears. They didn't seem to have any feelings for the Fifth Leader; why would they be crying because he died?

"No, you're crying too!" At this moment, this person suddenly discovered that the person opposite them was also covered in tears; someone who didn't know better would think they were grieving deeply.

"What? I'm crying too!" Touching their own face, the tear tracks on it made their heart tremble. Especially when looking around, the people nearby all seemed to be weeping like rain, which instantly made their heart panic.

What kind of situation is this? Even if the Fifth Leader really was popular, it wouldn't reach the point where so many people would shed tears for him. Besides, the people around here were all ruthless characters; how could they be so sorrowful over someone else's death? Furthermore, the Fifth Leader wasn't even that great of a person.

"Clang!" And just at this moment, the sound of a long sword being unsheathed faintly came from afar, followed by a burst of panicked shouting.

"Someone is attacking the stronghold! Everyone, hurry and grab your weapons!"

"What?" The sudden shouting made everyone's heart tighten. What is the situation today? Could it be that someone really dares to provoke their Zhangnan Bandits?

"No, why do I have no strength?"

"I seem to be the same; this, this couldn't be poison, could it?"

"Poison? That can't be! Who is so lacking in martial arts morality!"

"Big Brother, when we rob houses and plunder, we don't use poison any less!"

The voices coming from all around gathered together, accompanied by the constantly spreading panic. Everyone discovered that they seemed to have become weak in the limbs; the weapons they had once swung with ease now felt abnormally heavy, and even picking them up was a struggle.

"Quick, quick, go find the leaders!" At this time, they didn't care about anything else; now that someone was attacking the stronghold, the leaders naturally wouldn't blame them for this, so people immediately ran toward where the leaders were.

But immediately after, even more panicked voices came from everywhere: "The Fourth Leader, the Fourth Leader is dead!"

"The Eighth Leader is dead too!"

"The Seventh Leader as well, it's over, it's really over now..."

Gradually, news kept coming in from all over; the leaders were either killed or could not be found, which completely ignited the panic of the entire Zhangnan Bandits, and everyone became terrified and uneasy.

At this time, there was no one with enough prestige to command everyone, let alone integrate them to face the enemy together.

The most critical thing was that they found their limbs were sore and weak, and gradually it felt as if their whole bodies could not move. Now, let alone facing the enemy, they couldn't even run. We are just here to make a living; we never thought about really risking our lives!

"Kill!" A violent shout followed, and everyone only saw Shen Yu in black, holding a flashing long sword, wantonly harvesting everyone. Bright red blood instantly stained the ground red.

They, the dignified Zhangnan Bandits, were at this moment like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They could only watch helplessly as the people beside them were killed one by one, and it was very likely that their turn would be next. Panic and unease filled every corner.

They couldn't fight back, and they couldn't run away; everyone was almost on the verge of a breakdown. Some were kowtowing and begging for mercy, while others were crying loudly; the many facets of life were being played out in this mountain stronghold.

However, none of this could delay Shen Yu's footsteps in the slightest. He wanted to completely wipe this place out and let these people whose hands were stained with blood receive the punishment they deserved.

Time passed bit by bit, and blood kept dripping from Shen Yu's black clothes. He no longer remembered how many times he had swung his sword; he only felt that even he had become somewhat numb. And behind him, there was already a river of blood.

I really should have brought people; relying on myself alone, it was indeed quite tiring. However, the massive Zhangnan Bandits had become history starting from today. Even if there were fish that slipped through the net, they were just small fry and would not amount to anything.

"System, sign in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained storage space, containing one hundred cubic meters!"

"Storage space? To think there would be such an unexpected harvest!"