Chapter 42 What a Virtuous Household

"Why make things difficult for a young woman? If you need anything, just give your orders to this old man."

It was an aged voice, spoken in an ordinary tone, yet carrying an inherent, unquestionable majesty.

Without seeing the person, one could tell purely from the voice that he was someone of high status.

Xiao Zhi looked toward the source of the sound and saw an old man standing in the middle of the crowd.

The old man wore a round-topped hat, with a top-grade imperial green jade the color of a beer bottle embedded in the front of the brim.

It was simply that the visibility was too poor at night, and the old man had been squatting there with his head lowered. If Xiao Zhi had noticed this imperial green jade earlier, the previous two men probably wouldn't have needed to die.

Beside the old man, several other people stood up, pulling at him as they rose one after another.

The officers and men of the Imperial City Inspectorate simultaneously raised the hand-grenades in their hands.

A massacre was on the verge of breaking out.

The old man brushed off those who were trying to hold him back, walked lightly toward Xiao Zhi, and said in an unquestionable tone, "Squat down, all of you!"

Hesitating for a single moment, the members of the Xie family squatted down again one after another. This group of people obeyed orders even more strictly than the personnel of the Imperial City Inspectorate.

Xiao Zhi narrowed his eyes and coldly stared at the old man.

"It seems the plan needs to be changed slightly."

He lowered his voice so that only Mu Weihu could hear him.

Initially, Xiao Zhi's plan had been to extract the locations of the hidden vaults containing gold, silver, and provisions, and then directly slaughter the main members of the aristocratic families. Even if it amounted to exterminating a clan, what of it?

Generation after generation, these great families drank the blood of the common people. In this year of great disaster, they colluded with officials purely for their own profit, plunging the populace into misery and leaving corpses scattered across the wilderness.

Yet, upon seeing these several hundred people, Xiao Zhi found himself unable to strike.

Several hundred individuals piled together could form a massive execution mound.

Xiao Zhi was neither a king of hell nor a bloodthirsty bandit; he simply wanted more common people to survive.

Ten paces away from Xiao Zhi, the old man stopped because a blade was pressed against his neck.

"Let him come over. He poses no threat to me."

Xiao Zhi glanced at Mu Weihu.

Only then did Mu Weihu nod. After all, he was right by Xiao Zhi's side, and the other party was merely a decrepit old man; nothing untoward could happen.

The old man stopped when he was just two or three paces away from Xiao Zhi, sizing up Xiao Zhi's mask.

"May I be so bold as to ask for your esteemed name?"

"This old man is Xie Renfeng."

"A fine name."

"You flatter me, my lord."

Xiao Zhi's brow furrowed, and beside him, Mu Weihu gave a sharp *clang* as he drew his blade half out of its scabbard.

Xiao Zhi smiled and shook his head at Mu Weihu, signaling him to put the sword away.

This old fox had truly lived long enough to become a spirit.

In fact, it wasn't difficult to guess that Xiao Zhi was an official rather than a bandit. With a little calm reflection, the answer naturally presented itself.

Indeed, they had revealed a few too many flaws.

Hand-grenades, standard-issue military blades, uniform attire—were these things that mountain bandits and outlaws could possibly possess?

"Shall we talk?" Xiao Zhi walked toward a less populated side.

Xie Renfeng naturally followed closely behind.

"Is my lord here for silver or grain?" Xie Renfeng took the initiative to ask.

With him as the meat on the chopping block and the other party holding the knife, Xie Renfeng was exceptionally lucid.

"What I want might be a bit much. Does the old patriarch have the heart to part with it?" Xiao Zhi faced the Xie family's estate, admiring the tightly packed rows of buildings.

"My lord jests. You should rather ask whether I have the heart to part with the lives of over a thousand members of the Xie family, high and low."

Over a thousand souls?

This old man had counted every single person in the Xie family.

He had accurately judged that Xiao Zhi was a ruthless character. If everyone in the old Xie residence were slaughtered, Xiao Zhi wouldn't let off any of the others doing business or serving as officials elsewhere; following the family tree, he would surely cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.

"Do you know who I am?" Xiao Zhi asked suddenly.

Internally, Xiao Zhi was still torn—whether to kill or spare this old man who knew his identity.

If he killed him decisively, he would have to keep killing all the way through, using the obtained wealth and grain for disaster relief.

If he spared him, he would have to change his strategy, and approach other aristocratic and prominent families with extreme caution regarding killing.

Although Xiao Zhi put on a manic facade of acting without regard for consequences, he could not possibly make an enemy of everyone; by then, even the emperor would be unable to withstand the pressure.

"What does it matter if I know or not? No one knows that my lord ever came to the Xie family, nor have we ever met. How the members of the Xie family conduct themselves—what does that have to do with my lord?"

No matter the outcome, Xiao Zhi would never admit that these deeds were done by him. Nor would Xie Renfeng seek revenge against Xiao Zhi afterward.

Hand-grenades?

Could there possibly not be anyone else in this world capable of manufacturing hand-grenades?

Could the secret of making hand-grenades not be known to another person?

After all, he was currently guarding the frontier city.

Whoever dared to make false accusations and wrong an innocent man—he would ransack their entire clan.

Hearing Xie Renfeng's words, Xiao Zhi smiled faintly. No wonder the Xie family had endured for a thousand years without falling; there was always a reason for such things.

"The Xie family shall retain three thousand mu of fertile land for themselves, and surrender the rest to the imperial court. Are you willing?"

Having finished speaking, Xiao Zhi looked at Xie Renfeng.

Facing the night wind, Xie Renfeng's expression remained as calm as still water, his silvery-white beard swaying gently.

"This has nothing to do with my lord. The Xie family naturally ought to contribute its humble strength to the rejuvenation of the Great Chu."

Listen to those words—how exquisite.

It has nothing to do with you, so naturally it is not something you were forced into.

Such cooperation made Xiao Zhi, thick-skinned though he was, somewhat ashamed to bring up overly excessive conditions.

Xiao Zhi continued, "Within a hundred li of the Xie family, not a single person shall starve to death, nor shall a single person be left without a roof over their head. The Xie family may undertake water conservancy projects, build temples and residences, and establish towns and villages; those with strength shall contribute their strength, and those with wisdom shall give their utmost wisdom. Are you willing?"

Xie Renfeng replied, "Having been passed down to this day, the Xie family fancies itself a scholarly household of accumulated benevolence. We naturally ought to examine ourselves with the benevolence of the sages; how could we bear to watch corpses litter the wilderness and bones bleach the plains for thousands of li?"

Good grief! Was this old fellow writing an academic thesis here?

Such a shameless household of accumulated benevolence.

Xiao Zhi felt an urge to curse.

He considered himself a madman, yet here he was, wielding weapons and breaking into a household of accumulated benevolence to commit outrages.

"Have members of the Xie family ever been to Xiaomiding?"

Near the Xie family were two mountains, Xiaomishan and Damishan. The terrain at Xiaomiding was treacherous, and a band of outlaws had entrenched themselves there, robbing people in the vicinity for quite some years.

To say this band of outlaws had no connection to the Xie family—no one would believe it, yet who had the evidence?

Xie Renfeng said, "We have been there."

"Oh?" This actually surprised Xiao Zhi; who would ever admit to colluding with bandits?

"Members of the Xie family were once abducted by this gang of outlaws. When appealing to the officials proved fruitless, the Xie family had no choice but to use silver to ransom them."

Who the hell would believe your ghost story?

Mu Weihu, who had been standing to the side all along, spoke up, "That being the case, do you have a map of Xiaomiding?"

Xie Renfeng replied, "Shortly, I shall have someone draw one."

There was nothing left to discuss; Xiao Zhi's demands had been accepted point by point, one and all.

The Xie family was keeping only three thousand mu of land, while the remaining tens of thousands of mu of fertile land would soon be surrendered to the imperial court.

Rack his brain as he might, Xiao Zhi pondered what other demands he could raise. Since he had already come all this way, he had to squeeze the Xie family dry.

"What else was it that I wanted?"

Xiao Zhi asked Mu Weihu, though he was also saying it for Xie Renfeng to hear.

Since you are so wealthy and generous, why don't you take the initiative to offer something else?

Mu Weihu gave a dry laugh and scratched his head. Before coming, his thought had been to slaughter everyone; who could have anticipated this turn of events? If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Zhi saw the crowd was too large and lost the heart to kill, probably all their heads would have been chopped off by now.

Xie Renfeng said, "Fifty li to the east from here, there is Mount Ya. On the southern foothills of this mountain, there are a few humble cottages that have gone unmaintained for many years. If my lord happens to pass by that place, perhaps you could look after them on behalf of the Xie family."