Chapter 426: A Sudden Windfall (7/5, Autumn Subscription)

He came before the kneeling Night Thieves.

Fang Yue asked, "Do you have any other accomplices?"

The first Night Thief, trembling all over, tears and snot streaming down, said, "N-no! Lord Qingsi, it's just us."

The Fire Blade flashed and vanished.

The Night Thief who had spoken—his head hit the ground at the same moment, the wound already seared shut by the high heat.

Thud—the headless corpse toppled over, making the other Night Thieves' pupils contract, their whole bodies shudder.

Fang Yue walked expressionlessly to the next Night Thief.

"Do you have any other accomplices?"

"No! No! No!" That Night Thief shook his head like a rattle-drum.

However…

Hum!!

A flash of firelight, the head moved to a new home facing the sun, and the second charred headless corpse fell.

"Ah, ahhh, ahhhhh!!"

Among the Night Thieves kneeling in line, one of them apparently couldn't bear the pressure, turned tail and ran, only to be pierced through by Fang Yue's Fire Feather, becoming the third corpse.

That fleeing fellow didn't even make Fang Yue lift an eyelid.

Next.

"Do you have any other accomplices?"

"I-I don't know, I don't know!"

Squelch!

The head rolled off, the corpse fell.

"Do you have any other accomplices?"

"……"

Firelight flashed, the corpse fell.

"Do you have any other accomplices?"

"Big brother, big brother, please let me go, I beg you, please, please…"

Firelight flared, the voice stopped, the corpse fell.

One after another he asked, and no matter what they answered, Fang Yue beheaded every Night Thief.

The dancing girls, who had originally felt a little afraid, were so thrilled after watching Fang Yue keep killing Night Thieves that their eyes turned red.

"Thank you, Lord Qingsi, for avenging the several thousand people of Deyun Cun!"

"Thank you, Lord Qingsi!"

By the time Lin Ling and the others entered Deyun Cun and arrived at the Guard Station, this was the scene that greeted them.

"Xiao Ye!"

Only the last two Night Thieves remained, and hearing Lin Ling's voice, Fang Yue finally paused.

Lin Ling quickly walked toward Fang Yue, and upon reaching him, raised her hand and drew her long spear, thrusting it once into each of those two Night Thieves' heads.

Those two Night Thieves didn't even have time to react before Lin Ling's long spear pierced straight through their skulls, killing them on the spot.

Fang Yue was momentarily stunned.

"What? Thought I was going to interrogate the Night Thieves?"

"Uh…"

"Xiao Ye, you're a refugee, you don't know much. Remember what I say—when you run into Night Thieves, kill them straightaway, no need to ask any reason, don't listen to any of their nonsense. Night Thieves no longer count as people; they're just another kind of monster wearing human skin."

Apart from Jing Yan, also a refugee, and Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu, who looked somewhat bewildered, the other villagers all seemed to fully agree with Lin Ling's words.

If Fang Yue hadn't witnessed the horrific scenes all along the way into Deyun Village, he probably would have found it hard to understand this sentiment.

"Lord Han, how should we handle these survivors of Deyun Cun?"

Killing the Night Thieves wasn't an issue, but how to deal with the survivors was a dilemma for Fang Yue.

Leaving them be to fend for themselves, they'd most likely die without a doubt.

But keeping them with the group, not knowing their hearts or faces—who knew what they were thinking, and if they held the group back it wouldn't be good.

"Monsters!?"

Seeing Lord Han's appearance, the surviving dancing girls of Deyun Cun were all so frightened they didn't dare move rashly.

Fortunately Lord Han didn't mind, or rather, along the way here he had already grown used to this kind of reaction from others.

"Take them with the group for now, drop them off at the next village, then notify the Qingsi to come handle it."

Lord Han's handling of affairs was thorough, so Fang Yue and the others naturally had no objections, but the dancing girls unexpectedly asked.

"Isn't Lord Qingsi returning to Qingsi County to report? The few of us have discussed it—we want to follow Lord Qingsi back to Qingsi County."

"Lord Qingsi?"

Lin Ling looked around in confusion: "Who?"

"Him!" The dancing girls pointed at Fang Yue, and everyone was instantly dumbfounded.

Fang Yue had no choice but to explain, and only then was the misunderstanding cleared up.

"So you all are also fleeing to Qingsi County…"

The dancing girls immediately felt a sense of closeness toward Fang Yue and the others.

Fellow sufferers cast adrift in the world.

All had suffered disaster, lost their village, become orphans, and wanted to go to Qingsi County to start anew.

"If that's the case, you should be able to understand our feelings even more. Let's go to Qingsi County together, we promise we won't hold you back!"

What they sought was Fang Yue, but they didn't know that regarding such matters, Fang Yue always followed Lord Han and Lin Ling's arrangements.

Lin Ling deliberated: "It's actually on the way, bringing them along is…"

"At the next village, drop them off."

"Uh, if Lord Han says so, then let's do it that way."

And so the matter was settled.

The dancers seemed unable to accept this arrangement — in their eyes, Fang Yue was the strongest in the group.

Lin Ling was the highest-ranking by title, the Chief Captain of Gu Yue Cun.

But that floating head — what does he even count for!

Could it be that everyone has been bewitched by that freakish head?

The dancers were suspicious, yet no one paid attention to their rumors.

The people of Gu Yue Cun were of one heart and one mind — no outsider could sow discord.

Seeing their efforts backfire and that they were becoming unpopular in the group, the dancers all shut their mouths.

Although Deyun Cun had already been raided by the Night Thieves.

But the Night Thieves hadn't had time to carry off the resources before they were killed by Fang Yue.

So Deyun Cun's resources were still in the village.

Fang Yue had originally said he would buy supplies, horse-drawn carts, and the like through trade.

But the dancers all shook their heads.

"Qing… Lord Ye, you saved our lives. Compared to our lives, what do these things count for? Take whatever you like."

Although the dancers were somewhat dissatisfied with the group's refusal to take them along to Qingsi County.

In other respects, they were actually very grateful to this group. After all, without this group passing through, they might all have died.

After scouring the village, the number of horse-drawn carts was pulled back up, even expanded — everyone had their own horse now.

What do you call this? This is called striking it rich in one go!

Still, Fang Yue and the others didn't take just anything — they only gathered some necessary supplies. Horse-drawn carts and horses were a hard necessity; left in the village with no one to tend them, they'd die anyway, so better to take them and put them to use. At most, they'd return some to the dancers at the next village.

Once everything was ready, Lord Han suddenly seemed to remember something and said: "Xiao Ye, go cut off 【Broken Dragon Head】's head, wrap it in cloth, and bring it along."

"Huh? Why?"

"He's a Night Thief wanted by the Qing Bureau. You killed him — you can trade the head for bounty, merit, and internal evaluation. We're newcomers to Qingsi County. The faster you establish yourself, the more secure everyone else will be."

Oh right, I forgot about that. I was so furious with that Dao Laoda that it slipped my mind.

(End of chapter)