Chapter 424

"I never heard Lin Ling or the others mention the Night Thief. How could they show up here?"

Fang Yue asked, puzzled.

"It's normal they didn't mention it. The Night Thief's usual range is just around Qingsi County, because our villages are relatively isolated. If someone truly vicious shows up, we kill them on the spot—no need to report upward. But in a big place like Qingsi County, it's far more complicated: endless procedures, factions pulling strings, even those sentenced to immediate beheading can slip out of Qingsi County and become Night Thieves out there. All they get is a wanted list—can't enter villages, no place to settle down."

After a pause, Lord Han said: "But for the Night Thief to invade Deyun Cun and even seize the village—that's something I never expected. Very unusual… never mind, it's not our business to investigate. Wu Wu stays here to protect the survivors; Xiao Ye, chase after the one who just ran off, find out who they are, and eliminate them if necessary."

"Remember, the Night Thief are wanted criminals, utterly ruthless. If we're alive today, we've revealed their whereabouts—they're already marked for us. One day, they might come knocking at our door!"

"So you must be crueler than them, faster than them!"

Fang Yue rarely heard Lord Han speak so brutally.

The Night Thief must truly be hated.

He told Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu to tie up the unconscious guards outside the tent with rope and wake the others.

Once Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu responded one by one, Fang Yue left the tent and rushed into Dedao Cun.

As soon as Fang Yue entered Dedao Cun, he understood why the fat and thin Night Thieves had refused to let him and the others in.

The road near the village entrance was fine—clearly cleaned up, no obvious damage, just like any ordinary village.

But deeper inside, the ground was covered in vast pools of dried blood, scattered limbs, and chaotic streets.

The entire village looked like it had just suffered a village-erasing massacre!

The farther he walked, the hotter Fang Yue's rage burned.

The whole village was now unnervingly silent. Fang Yue didn't know how many were still alive, but from the smashed shops and the fact that every item had been looted, it was likely all but dead.

The Night Thief steal resources—they don't traffic people. Useless people have only one fate.

As he walked, Fang Yue gradually noticed more figures around him.

He ignored them, face grim, continuing toward the Guard Station.

The most important place in any village is the Guard Station—its resources may not be the most, but they're definitely the best.

The best weapons, the best armor, the best supplies…

The Night Thief must be there too!

Finally, as Fang Yue neared the Guard Station, he heard voices.

It was music of revelry and song.

As he drew closer, the sound grew louder.

On the walls, on the trees, hung villagers who had been hanged.

Row after row of villagers, row after row of people, silently speaking volumes.

When Fang Yue reached the Guard Station's entrance, he finally saw the Night Thieves—and the dancers.

It was a massive stage.

Somehow transported here, placed right at the Guard Station's gate, beside it stood a huge Human Soul Brazier, providing light.

At the center of the stage sat a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows, bulging muscles, and a Nine-ring Blade on his back, eating peanuts and drinking wine.

Before him, a group of ragged women danced.

They wore shackles, their bodies covered in whip marks, trembling as they danced to the drums and music, while guards stood nearby holding whips, watching like sentinels—any misstep earned a lash.

"Oh? Guests have arrived?"

The man on stage lifted his eyelids slightly and spoke casually.

Beside him was the thin Night Thief who had been guarding the village entrance and fled at the commotion.

Meanwhile, the shadow that had been following Fang Yue all along, hiding in the dark, slowly stepped out.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… Counting them, there were fifteen!

And from their speed earlier, at least three had entered the Martial Dao!

To enter the Martial Dao meant mastering an Internal Energy Heart Method, formally stepping into the Third-rate Realm—someone qualified to become Captain in Gu Yue Cun!

But from Fang Yue's observation, all three were inferior to Lin Ling.

Meaning they were barely at the Third-rate Realm, with extremely weak foundations.

"Save… save us!"

"Lord, save us!"

The women on stage knelt and cried out—only to be met with whips.

"Who gave you permission to stop? Keep dancing for Dao Laoda! He hasn't called for it to end—none of you dare stop!" The overseer's voice made the girls tremble; they hesitantly rose and resumed dancing.

Fang Yue watched it all calmly, then lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Dao Laoda.

"Let them go."

"That depends on whether you have the ability."

Dao Laoda lazily raised his wine cup, sipped, and gave a subtle glance to his men.

"Kill!!"

Almost the instant Dao Laoda gave the order, the dozen or so men surrounding Fang Yue charged at him.

The three who had entered the Martial Dao surged ahead, leading the charge!

But to Fang Yue, all of it was painfully slow.

When the first Martial Dao Night Thief reached Fang Yue, dagger aimed at his chest, Fang Yue did only one thing.

Reached out, clenched his fist, and slammed down!

Boom!!

The Martial Dao Night Thief didn't even understand what happened—he felt a sudden explosion of pain, his body uncontrollably plummeting, his chin smashing into the ground, jaw dislocated, teeth flying out, blood spurting from his mouth, consciousness fading fast.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The music stopped, the dancing ceased, the Blade Man rose!

He gripped the Nine-ring Blade in his hand tightly, his pupils contracting, staring down at Fang Yue below with shock and uncertainty.

Even he had only seen a blurry afterimage from that strike just now!

Dao Laoda's face gradually grew savage, revealing the frenzied look of one fighting with his back to the river.

"I was wondering how this godforsaken backwater could have such a righteous person? Turns out it's a damn lapdog of the Green Division!"

The Night Thieves' faces all changed dramatically, panic surfacing openly.

"Someone from the Green Division?! He's actually from the Green Division?"

"How could they have tracked us here so fast! That makes no sense! And didn't Skinny say he was in the same group as the team outside? Did they get the wrong person?"

"No! He's definitely from the Green Division. Only people from the Green Division know our movements, only people from the Green Division have that kind of strength!"

"D-Dao Laoda, what do we do? Retreat or not?"

Recommending a book: "An Infinite Journey Starting from Hogwarts."

Infinite flow, brain-hole oriented, those who like it can go check it out.

Those who like Harry Potter can go check it out.

(End of this chapter)