Chapter 74 Dialogue with the Guards, Cause of Parents' Death
"Is this Happy Village?"
Lu Qing stood on a large tree, looking at the village in front of him with an indescribable expression in his eyes.
Little Li stood on his shoulder, his black figure almost blending into the shadows under the cover of the tree.
After leaving the market, Lu Qing quickly found a village in a mountain hollow, guided by Ma Gu's directions.
However, he didn't make a move immediately but planned to sneak in after nightfall.
Silently, Lu Qing crept up to a large tree not far from the gate of the village, climbed up, and hid.
After being promoted to Small Success in the Qi Blood Realm, his control over his body had greatly improved.
By deliberately suppressing his breath, no one could detect him.
As for Little Li, there was even less need to mention.
The Black Night Spirit Fox was a natural hunter whose ability to lurk far surpassed that of humans.
If it truly hid itself, even if one were very close, it would be difficult to detect its presence.
If Lu Qing didn't know Little Li's location, even he would have been deceived.
Perhaps because they had never thought anyone would come to cause trouble, the guards of Happy Village were not very strict.
At the gate, only two people were standing there, slack and lax.
Lu Qing used his superpower to investigate and found that these two were also peripheral members of the Black Wolf Gang, confirming he was in the right place.
He calmed himself and quietly lurked in the tree, waiting for the night to fall.
"Damn, how boring, why is it us guarding the gate again today?"
Just as Lu Qing thought about closing his eyes to conserve his strength for a while.
Suddenly, he heard one of the gatekeeping guards spit disdainfully and grumble.
"Say less, who else but you and me, the newest here, should guard the gate?"
The other guard replied lazily.
"Then why does that slick Ergozi, who entered the village with us, get to live the high life inside?"
The first guard was still unconvinced.
"His sister is now the top girl in our village, can we even compare?" the second guard continued.
"That damn top girl, she's nothing but a prostitute, acting like she's some famous courtesan from the brothel in the city," the first guard said contemptuously, "And I heard Ergozi's sister was sold to our village by her own parents, who built two new houses with the money they got."
"I can't believe Ergozi not only doesn't try to redeem his sister but continues to leech off her here, truly despicable! No, it should be said his whole family is despicable!"
The second guard didn't speak again.
Though he wasn't a good person, he felt that what Ergozi's family did was truly inhuman.
Lu Qing listened quietly from the tree, without making a sound.
It wasn't clear whether it was disdain to talk about Ergozi anymore or a lack of interest, but those two guards suddenly fell silent, not speaking for a long while.
Just when Lu Qing thought they would stay quiet.
Suddenly, the first guard spoke again, "Still, that young Wang Fu is lucky, always following Master and Seventh Master. No matter what profitable matter arises, he gets a share. I heard he went out early this morning with both Master and Seventh Master, probably another good deal."
Lu Qing's heart stirred, knowing the Master and Seventh Master mentioned by the guard must be Han Wu and Zhao Xiong.
"I know about that. It seems to be related to that recent issue in Jiuli Village, and both Master and Seventh Master went to handle it," the second guard said.
"Jiuli Village, isn't that where that idiot Lu Ming lives?" the first guard asked curiously, "What happened there?"
"Previously, the Master had gone to seize Lu Ming's property, but unexpectedly the villagers of Jiuli Village retained some silver taels and didn't hand them all over, and just then, the Master discovered this."
"How could those cunning villagers of Jiuli Village dare to deceive the Master?" The first guard exclaimed in surprise, eyes wide, "Now, the Master will surely deal with them harshly. He hates being lied to the most!"
"So, this morning, the Master and Seventh Master took Wang Fu and the others out with them," said the second guard, a touch of confusion in his voice. "By all accounts, they should have returned by now. Why is there still no sign of them?"
"Perhaps the Master is not yet finished having his fun; you know how when he's not happy, he loves to torment people. Right now, he might still be in Jiuli Village punishing those cunning villagers!" The first guard said indifferently.
The second guard thought about it and agreed. Among the leaders, the Master's mind was always the hardest to read and he was the most capricious.
Since he was late coming back, there must be a reason, not something their lowly selves could guess.
"Rather than that, I'm actually envious of Wang Fu and the others. Since they went with the Master to Jiuli Village to assert authority, they probably managed to skim quite a lot."
"Unlike us, standing out here in the wind and sun, gaining nothing," the first guard said enviously.
The second guard fell silent. Discover exclusive tales on empire
He felt envious too.
But what could be done when they lacked skills and weren't strong enough to catch the Master's eye?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Lu Qing listened to this conversation and garnered quite a bit of information.
However, hearing the envy in their tones made him feel somewhat strange.
He wondered what expressions they would wear if they knew what had become of Han Wu and the others.
The more the two men talked, the more bitter they felt, falling silent once again.
However, the silence didn't last long this time before the first guard grew restless again.
"You just mentioned that the Master went to Jiuli Village because of Lu Ming, right?"
"I heard Wang Fu mention it briefly; it should be."
"That Lu Ming really was stupid. He actually believed that the Master wanted to befriend him and do business, not knowing that what we from Happy Village really coveted was his farmland and his beautiful wife," the first guard said mockingly.
"I heard that the Master initially wanted to lure him into gambling. Who knew that Lu Ming was so stubborn, always saying his family had rules and he absolutely couldn't gamble, so the Master had to pretend to do business, wasting a lot of effort," the second guard said.
"What a pity. After so much effort, they only got a bit of farmland and barely managed to deceive Lu Ming's wife out, only for her to throw herself into the river," the first guard lamented. "I heard Lu Ming's wife was quite pretty. If she really came to our village, she would have attracted many more patrons. Sadly, she drowned herself. Wang Fu and the others are truly useless. They couldn't even keep hold of a woman!"
"So the Master is so angry this time. After all the effort, he acquired only a little bit of farmland, and those cunning villagers from Jiuli Village even dared to withhold some. It's no wonder he's furious," the second guard said.
"With the Master's personality, those cunning villagers from Jiuli Village are in for a terrible fate this time. I bet he's letting off steam and enjoying himself there right now!" the first guard said, taking pleasure in their misfortune.
Lu Qing listened quietly from a tree.
In his heart, he finally understood how Little Yan's parents had been driven to death.
And he also realized that the members of the Black Wolf Gang who died this morning hadn't told the truth.
Even these two gatekeepers knew the cause of Little Yan's parents' deaths. It could be assumed that everyone in Happy Village knew about it.
The despairing cries and pleas of those scoundrels were nothing more than an attempt to dissociate themselves, hoping Lu Qing would spare their lives at that moment.
In the ensuing time, Lu Qing continued to listen as the two guards chatted sporadically.
From their conversation, he gradually realized how filthy this Happy Village was.
Listening to these dialogues, the murderous intent inside Lu Qing slowly began to rise.
His gaze toward the two guards below gradually turned icy.
Though these two were only responsible for guarding the gate, Lu Qing knew from their conversation that they were no good either.
Their lack of participation in wrongdoing wasn't due to unwillingness but lack of opportunity.
At this moment, Lu Qing profoundly hoped that night would fall soon.