Chapter 76: See One, Kill One

Jiang Jinshi smiled without a word, grabbed Huasheng and began a shopping trip into town.

Standing in front of the cloth shop, Huasheng had assumed Jiang Jinshi was the one who needed to buy, but was surprised by what Jiang Jinshi said.

"Huasheng uncle, go pick two good bolts of cloth, then let Aunt make two new outfits for yourself and the child."

Huasheng waved his hands repeatedly, saying he only had a few copper coins on him—how could he afford cloth?

"Hey! No problem, consider it a gift for my two younger brothers; don't refuse!"

After Jiang Jinshi finished speaking, he plunged into the cloth shop, and Huasheng, behind him, could only grit his teeth and follow.

Taking advantage of the chance, Jiang Jinshi also planned a big purchase; Jiang Cai's uncle needed to send some gifts, and his own household certainly required some as well.

The shopkeeper's eyes were sharp and recognized Jiang Jinshi at a glance, but he didn't know how to address him; calling him by name seemed disrespectful, trying to be friendly risked displeasing Jiang Jinshi, so he finally spoke in a proper, conventional manner.

"Young Master Jiang, our little shop shines brightly today because of your arrival!"

Jiang Jinshi looked at him with some puzzlement, "Do you know me?"

"Know you! I saw you at the County Magistrate's birthday banquet!" the shopkeeper smiled sincerely, trying to seize the chance to cozy up.

"Oh! How should I address you?" Jiang Jinshiyi replied while looking at the cloth.

"Young Master Jiang may call me Shopkeeper Chen!" Seeing Jiang Jinshi's actions, Chen quickly introduced, "These are all ordinary fabrics; this month we received a new batch of fine material, Young Master Jiang, follow me inside for a look."

Jiang Jinshi nodded silently and followed Chen into the back room.

Behind them, Xiao Hu also stepped forward, while Huasheng was full of confusion.

These days, are bandits really so respected?

The thought was instantly overturned; no one else gets such treatment—surely it's because our handsome, dashing leader is uniquely distinguished.

Chen indeed wasn't lying; the newly arrived fabrics in the shop were noticeably better than those displayed outside, even the colors were brighter.

In the end, Jiang Jinshi bought ten bolts of cloth in different colors, and Chen kept urging him not to pay.

Jiang Jinshi hadn't expected that one day, even when entering town, he could get things for free; seeing Chen persist in refusing payment, he could only relent and silently noted the gesture.

Although his own dealings were already costless, Chen's manner might prove useful someday.

Chen, seeing there was plenty of cloth, had planned to have someone deliver it to the residence, but Jiang Jinshi declined.

Jiang Jinshi had Xiao Hu buy a cart at the market, then fitted it onto the horse.

Just buying cloth wasn't enough; Jiang Jinshi also went to the butcher to buy half a pig, added necessary seasonings, and loaded everything onto the cart before finishing.

Outside the city, many wandering peasants stared at the cart's contents drooling, and some bold ones glinted with murderous intent.

At Jiang Jinshi's signal, Xiao Hu drew the Tiger Head Knife placed on the horse's back, slung it over his shoulder, which calmed the restless crowd.

Yet some reckless daredevils wanted to test whether Xiao Hu was a paper tiger, silently trailing him onto a side path before leaping out and shouting.

"Anyone who doesn't want to die, leave the goods behind!"

Huasheng's expression turned odd, "Do you even know who stands before you?"

Know that during his days in the mountain stronghold, he often saw those Small Squad Leaders sparring, and they all claimed they couldn't beat Jiang Jinshi.

What's the difference between robbing him and suicide?

If it were an ordinary robbery, Jiang Jinshi might have left a token and chatted with the "colleagues" about the market, but these few are different.

There were seven robbers; one of them carried a black cloth sack, and Jiang Jinshi could see a finger protruding from its edge.

Jiang Jinshi's face darkened: "Do you eat human flesh?"

The person with the black sack widened his eyes, blood vessels crisscrossing across his eyeballs.

"Exactly! If you don't want us to kill and eat you, obey and leave the goods."

"Xiao Hu, leave none!" Jiang Jinshi said in a deep voice.

Receiving the order, Xiao Hu lifted the Ghost Head Knife and charged forward, the circular guard ringing "ding‑ding" in the air, mingled with whistling wind.

"Shhh!"

The blade flashed, a bandit was cut at the waist, his terrified expression frozen in mid‑air.

Xiao Hu truly was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain; none of the seven could resist, not even worthy of a second strike from him!

The few who had been shouting were, within breaths, separated head and body.

Jiang Jinshi stepped forward, kicked the black sack aside, and two pale, boiled arms rolled out, the bite marks at the break still clearly visible.

Huasheng followed Jiang Jinshi tremblingly, daring not to watch the gruesome scene.

Xiao Hu sheathed his knife, continued following Jiang Jinshi, when suddenly Jiang Jinshi's voice came from ahead.

"Xiao Hu, from now on, these man‑eating beasts—kill one as you see one!"

The cold in the voice made Huasheng shiver; it was his first time seeing Jiang Jinshi angry.

"Alright, big brother!" Xiao Hu only knew to do whatever his big brother commanded.

Leading the way, Jiang Jinshi hadn't expected the situation to spiral further; now cannibalism had begun—what would happen after a while?

He exhaled deeply, Jiang Jinshi steadied his mind and set off again.

Returning to the familiar village entrance, Huasheng suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed; though he had only been in the mountain stronghold for a few days, his mindset had completely changed.

Jiang Jinshi tugged the horse's reins and swaggered toward Huasheng's home.

At first few people noticed them, but Jiang Jinshi greeted everyone he met along the way.

"Aunt, long time no see!"

"Uncle, have you eaten?"

"Li Po Po, you seem full of spirit today!"

In such a situation, no one could ignore them.

Huasheng didn't know why Jiang Jinshi acted so, but there must be his reasoning.

The cart's contents were enough to make the villagers stare, and Li Po Po was the first to ask impatiently.

"Xiao Shi, you've really struck it rich, so many beautiful cloths!"

Granny Li, this isn't all mine either; quite a bit of it belongs to Uncle Huasheng!

Huasheng?

Now everyone's attention finally turned to Huasheng; although he was still wearing the same clothes, when he walked he held his head high and chest out, and his entire spirit was completely different from before.

Everyone knows the Jiang Jinshiyi family is wealthy—just Li Xinyue picking wild ginseng has earned them quite a bit of money—but why is Huasheng like that?

Everyone, doubtful, followed Jiang Jinshiyi to Huasheng's house.

Just like that, Jiang Jinshi parked the carriage with great fanfare in front of Huasheng's house, then carried in the bundles of cloth.

Upon hearing the commotion, the aunt hurried out to greet him; seeing his wife again after being away for several days, Huasheng was naturally overjoyed, and the two children kept noisily circling around him.

Jiang Jinshi quietly said a few words to Huasheng, then left a large chunk of meat, took his things and went off—he still had to go to Uncle Jiang Cai's house!