48: Whoever stops me will be chopped off
The two left the courtyard, used their footwork, and quickly arrived at a grave forest outside Da Liu Village.
Tian Shangfei led a group of Red Tiger Gang members, surrounding a crowd of villagers.
On the other side, a new grave had been dug up, and Zheng DeYu sat on the ground, staring blankly, holding the female corpse.
Qin Jiang walked closer, and Zheng DeYu immediately hugged Qin Jiang's leg, crying profusely, "My Lord! My Lord! Why do they treat us like this! Is it just because we are outsiders?!"
Qin Jiang frowned, "Let go."
Black-red Evil Qi naturally burst forth, and Zheng DeYu, startled, immediately let go, his throat bobbing, not daring to do anything else.
Qin Jiang ignored him and walked directly to the group of villagers, "Who did it?"
His voice was calm, but the continuously flowing black-red Evil Qi around his body showed that he was not as calm as he appeared, more like a volcano about to erupt.
The group of villagers remained silent for a moment, then a bare-chested young man stepped out, well-built, with sun-darkened skin, dragging a hoe in his hand.
"My Lord, this woman brought disaster to the village, and her corpse even reanimated, so she had to be dug up and burned!"
Behind him followed four or five people, all young men from the Liu family in the village, who usually worked in the city and had been called back yesterday afternoon.
"Yes, My Lord! She must be burned!"
"Exactly! Why should our Liu family members all be burned, but she gets to rest in peace?!"
"She must be burned!"
Qin Jiang looked at the few people in front of him, his face showing impatience, "You truly have a death wish."
Clang!
He drew Blackwater, gripping it in his hand; the cold blade gleamed, and the Evil Qi around him spread, causing the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees.
A terrifying surge of Tiger Evil Fist Intent pressed down unbridled, making everyone present feel dizzy and disoriented.
The bare-chested young man at the front bore the brunt of the Fist Intent's intimidation, shivered, almost fell, and quickly gripped the hoe in his hand to steady himself.
He already felt some regret, wishing he hadn't been greedy for the twenty taels of silver from the Village Chief's family.
Originally, he hadn't planned to return; whether people in the village died or not was none of his business.
But yesterday, the Liu family held a clan meeting, and since the Village Chief's eldest son wasn't there, whoever could dig up this woman's grave would get twenty taels of silver from the Village Chief's house.
He couldn't resist; he hadn't saved twenty taels of silver in two years in the city!
He looked at Qin Jiang; black-red Evil Qi vaguely formed a giant tiger behind him, as if it would devour someone in the next moment.
He swallowed, looking at Qin Jiang tremblingly, with a hint of plea, "My Lord, it's just digging up an outsider's grave, it's not a death sentence, is it?"
Hmm?
Qin Jiang was taken aback by his words, then irritably tapped his forehead with the hilt of Blackwater, and the tiger-shaped Evil Qi behind him receded.
He looked up at the young men and the villagers behind them.
He waved his hand, "Forget it, just chop off their hands. It's not worth killing them all."
"Yes, Boss!" Meng An responded loudly, immediately drawing the broadsword from his waist and stepping forward.
The several young men opposite changed color; it was just digging a grave! They were going to lose their hands?!
"My Lord, calm your anger! My Lord, calm your anger! These few are still young and ignorant! Ignorant, I say!"
"Yes, My Lord! How can you just say 'chop off hands'! Isn't that a bit too overbearing?!"
"Right, right, right! We don't agree!"
Some villagers behind the young men stepped forward; most of them were relatives of these young men, dragged along to bolster their numbers.
Meng An frowned; he was mainly responsible for the city and didn't interact with these villagers as often as Tian Shangfei.
"Get out of the way!" he roared, but the villagers stood together, showing no intention of backing down.
"Whoever blocks will have their hands chopped off too," Qin Jiang said.
As he spoke, Meng An no longer hesitated, directly delivering a powerful chop, severing half of a middle-aged man's palm in front of him.
"Ah--!"
"Dad!"
A young man rushed over, hugged the middle-aged man, tore off a piece of cloth, and tightly bound his wrist.
"All of you, get the hell out of my way! If you don't, this is the consequence!" Meng An roared.
The villagers who had crowded forward quickly retreated, but the families of those young men still didn't move back.
"You! What right do you have?! My dad didn't do anything! What right do you have?! I'll report you! I'll go to the city to report you! I'll let the lords punish you!"
The young man shouted while bandaging the wound, his eyes filled with grief, indignation, and fear.
Qin Jiang tilted his head slightly, a smile unconsciously curving his lips, "You can try. If I chop off your hand, you'll still live. If you report me, I'll ensure your whole family rests in peace."
The young man froze in place; not just him, but even the villagers behind him were stunned, looking at Qin Jiang with fear.
The lords who came before, no matter what they did, at least had a legitimate reason. This one actually dared to be so overbearing? Threatening to kill people at the drop of a hat?!
Meng An was also slightly surprised; although Gang Disciples like them didn't value human lives much, they still had some fear of the Great Xia's laws.
On the other side, Tian Shangfei had no reaction; in his eyes, these troublesome villagers were like weeds, cut one crop and another would grow.
He wasn't actually surprised by Qin Jiang's behavior; he had seen it coming.
Although Boss was usually gentle and humble, anyone who dared to block his path had to die!
This was also why he was so devoted to following Boss.
With strength, potential, and courage, if he didn't quickly latch onto such a powerful figure, wouldn't he be a fool?
"Lao Meng, get to it. After you're done, don't forget to bandage them up and find a doctor to prescribe some tonics. The money is on me."
After speaking, Qin Jiang glanced at Zheng DeYu, then turned to Tian Shangfei, "Help him bury it again."
"Understood, Boss! I'll go get a new coffin right away!"
Qin Jiang nodded and turned to leave.
In the afternoon, Tian Shangfei, covered in mud, arrived at the courtyard. After waiting for a moment, Qin Jiang finished his boxing, stood, and adjusted his breathing slightly.
"Is everything handled?" he asked.
"Everything is done. Lao Tian also stopped their bleeding and even went to the city to hire a doctor," Tian Shangfei said.
Qin Jiang nodded slightly, "Alright, let's leave it at that."
Tian Shangfei didn't speak. After a while, he asked, "Boss, are we returning to the city today?"
"Returning to the city?"
Qin Jiang shook his head, "Let's go back tomorrow. There's still a good show to watch tonight."
Tian Shangfei was puzzled, "A good show? What good show? Boss, did you ask Lao Tian to hire a theater troupe? You're being too kind to that guy Zheng DeYu, aren't you?"
Qin Jiang looked at him with some surprise, "What are you talking about? Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Tonight, tell the brothers to stay vigilant. In the house, no matter what sounds you hear, no one is allowed to go out. Including you and Lao Tian."
Tian Shangfei tilted his head. Although he didn't understand what he meant, he still agreed, "Understood. I just so happen to have brought Pai Gow. Boss, would you like to play a round tonight?"
Qin Jiang thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright."
"Boss! Boss!"
Meng An's voice rang out from outside the courtyard, and the next moment, he walked straight in, followed by an Old Doctor.
Qin Jiang looked up, his pupils constricting, and quickly walked to meet him.
Meng An looked at Qin Jiang approaching with some surprise. What was Boss doing? Was he specifically coming to greet him?
Unconsciously, he slightly spread his arms.
Qin Jiang walked closer, directly bypassed him, and walked towards the Old Doctor behind him, saying with surprise, "Old Doctor, why have you come?"