Qiao Yue stared fixedly at the head hanging at the stronghold gates. Her eyes welled with tears, turning a painful red, and she clenched her fists so hard her nails nearly dug into her flesh and drew blood, yet she felt no pain at all.
The head swayed gently in the wind, the old scar mostly covered by dried scabs, leaving only a faint trace visible.
Her brother's voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
“Yue'er, I'll cook something delicious for you tonight.” Those were the last words her brother had said to her before leaving the city to recruit students.
She instinctively took a step forward, but Shen Yu, standing behind her, grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Mr. Shen, don't stop me,” she whispered. “I want to bring my brother home!”
Shen Yu did not let go.
His jaw clenched, and he pressed his lips together.
“You can't take him back right now,” he whispered, his throat tightening. “This stronghold is massive, with at least a thousand bandits inside. Going out there now is suicide.”
Qiao Yue's eyes were bloodshot. “I'm not afraid to die!”
“Trust me. We can't act yet. When the time comes, I will definitely bring him back.” Shen Yu's gaze drifted over her shoulder, landing on the second head from the left.
He recognized that face.
Most of the students who came to study at Yecheng Academy were children from poor families. Considering the long and difficult commute, Madam Ye had paid out of her own pocket to build a dormitory in the academy for the students and teachers to rest.
He had also stayed at the academy for a period of time.
One day, he was reviewing official documents in his room. He had worked late into the night before realizing how tired he was. When he finally stood up, he noticed a tall, thin student squatting in the corner outside his window, holding a book and reading intently by the light spilling from his room.
At the time, he did not disturb the student, nor did he blow out the lamp in his room. Instead, he even added more lamp oil.
Later on, more and more students gathered under his window to read by his light. He eventually overheard someone calling that tall, thin student Qiao Xun. He and Pei Wanning had already decided that if Qiao Xun proved capable of managing Yanping City, they would transfer him back to Chaoyang City to take over Fang Shuo's position.
But Qiao Xun had met a tragic end in Yanping City.
“Mr. Shen, not a single one of these Black Wind Stronghold bandits must escape!” Qiao Yue ground her teeth.
Shen Yu gave her a reassuring look.
The Divine Lady had bestowed so many things upon them. If they couldn't even wipe out a mere Black Wind Stronghold, how could they have the face to say they wanted to help her unite the world?
Deep in the dense forest behind them, Yun Shu, clad in her dark-gold robes, quietly observed Black Wind Stronghold. The gilded crown she wore draped delicate, dark-gold bead tassels that partially obscured her eyes, making it difficult to read her expression.
“Host, you've already put on the Heavenly Balance Set. Why don't you call down heavenly tribulation lightning to strike those scumbags dead?”
The little fox paced anxiously in Yun Shu's arms. If she hadn't been holding it down, it would have rushed forward to tear Wei Laosan and the others to pieces to avenge Qiao Xun.
Although it didn't care much for these paper people, it had watched the students of Yecheng Academy grow up. How could it not be furious seeing one of their heads severed and hung at the stronghold gates?
Yun Shu stared at the dozen or so heads at the gates.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a faint golden light flashed deep within her pupils.
“No, I want to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.”
“If I strike Wei Laosan and his men dead now, some of them might hear the commotion and escape. Let's wait a little longer.” When she spoke, her voice was as cold as winter snow. “Besides, killing them with lightning would be too quick a death.”
She paused. “Speaking of which, I haven't used the set skill of the Heavenly Balance Set yet—Crime and Punishment. I don't know how effective it is, so this is the perfect opportunity to test it on them.”
Since the System was merely a high-dimensional AI, and the Great God it spoke of was just a more advanced AI, this world most likely had no real Netherworld.
But that didn't matter.
With the set skill of the Heavenly Balance Set and a little effort, she should be able to create a hell of her own.
Back at the stronghold, seeing that everyone was terrified by the hanging heads, Wei Laosan grinned. He pointed at the heads and threatened them.
“Take a good look. Once you enter Black Wind Stronghold, if you don't behave and do as you're told, this is how you'll end up.”
The people of Yanping were already scared out of their wits. Any thoughts of resistance vanished instantly.
“Third Brother, we'll do whatever you say.”
“If you tell us to go east, we won't dare go west!”
“I'll work hard in the fields with you!”
“Me too...”
Wei Laosan looked at them with satisfaction. But when his gaze swept over Shen Yu and the timid girl keeping her head down behind him, his brow furrowed slightly.
Seeing this, a nearby lackey asked cautiously, “Third Chief, should we get rid of those two?”
Wei Laosan thought about it and said, “Forget it. The Chief wanted thirty people. If he sees we're short by two, he'll probably find fault with me again. Let them keep their worthless lives.”
Hearing this, the bandit lackey tightened the hemp ropes around everyone's hands and feet, forcing the ropes to dig deep into their flesh.
It was an agonizing pain.
But no one dared to make a sound.
Wei Laosan held the end of the rope in his hand, marching forward with long strides. The line of people behind him stumbled along, dragged like cattle to the slaughter.
As they passed under the stronghold gates, Qiao Yue's steps faltered. Her neck stiffened, and she ultimately couldn't help but look up at the heads once more.
Wei Laosan turned around and spat.
“What are you lagging behind for? Move!”
With a harsh tug of the rope, the crowd stumbled across the threshold.
After walking for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea,
their view suddenly opened up.
The crowd was greeted by an endless expanse of vibrantly colored flowers.
They stretched out in vast fields as far as the eye could see,
cascading from the mountain peak all the way down to the mountainside.
A gust of wind blew, causing tens of thousands of petals to bow and rise in unison, undulating like a crimson sea.
It was a dazzling, almost blinding beauty.
The moment he saw the sea of flowers, Shen Yu understood what kind of business these bandits of Black Wind Stronghold were running.
This flower was called the Soul-Enthralling Flower.
It was not native to the Central Plains. The State Preceptor, Luo Daoqing, had sent people to bring it back from the Western Regions under the pretext of refining celestial pills.
Later, Five Minerals Powder appeared in the capital. Luo Daoqing claimed that Five Minerals Powder was refined from this rare flower of the Western Regions, the Soul-Enthralling Flower, and that consuming it would boost one's vitality and prolong life.
Countless people rushed to obtain it.
Once they consumed the Five Minerals Powder, they could never break the addiction. They would go bankrupt, spending fortunes just to buy more.
Even to this day, Five Minerals Powder remained highly popular in the capital.
Wei Laosan barked, “From now on, you will all tend to these flowers diligently. Don't even think about playing any tricks!”
Hearing that they were only going to plant flowers and that there was no real danger, many of the tricked Yanping citizens secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But as they followed Wei Laosan deeper into the fields and saw the hollow-eyed people working among the flowers, their hearts sank.
All of those workers had hunched backs and wore clothes reduced to tattered rags, exposing their skeletal ribs underneath.
Most of them were missing ears, the wounds covered by thick, dark-red scabs, looking as though they had been sliced off with a knife.
Some had mutilated fingers of varying lengths, while others had empty, dangling pant legs. Dragging themselves along the muddy ground, they could only rely on their hands to prop themselves up, weeding the flower fields inch by inch.
The flowers bloomed with a fierce, burning red, yet the people tending them were as withered as dry wood.
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