Suddenly, Laoma heard a sharp sound as something sliced through the air.
Immediately after came a cry of pain.
Laoma looked up in shock and saw that the soldier thug was clutching his blood-soaked hand, howling in agony.
Meanwhile, Military Police Captain Hu was gripping his whip, pointing at the wailing soldier with a face darker than Laoma had ever seen. “Idiot! Have you lost your mind?!”
But when he turned to look at the dignified Young Master standing nearby, his expression instantly cleared like the sun after rain, and he forced out a smile.
A strange thing happened.
Laoma stared fixedly at Lord Hu’s face.
It was as if a savage demon had suddenly donned human skin. That brutish, beastly face awkwardly twisted into a clumsy imitation of human decorum.
The Young Master, as pale and elegant as a white crane, looked on coldly, his pampered face showing no surprise or fear—only a calm certainty, as if everything was unfolding just as it should.
With a voice so honeyed and obsequious it gave Laoma goosebumps, Lord Hu fawned, “Young Master, I’m sorry to have startled you. My subordinate here is an uncouth fool, but I’ve already taught him a lesson on your behalf.”
The Young Master blurted out in surprise, “How did you know my surname…”
He quickly fell silent, a flash of obvious regret crossing his face, then forced the topic aside. “Young Master? I’m nearly eighteen already.”
Hu Dequan looked puzzled for a few seconds, but after hearing that evasive reply, he suddenly understood.
Young Master… Xiao Family Young Master!
A sharp light flashed in his eyes.
That’s right, his surname is Xiao—he must be from that Xiao Family in Hangzhou!
Not long ago, Hu Dequan had learned an important piece of news—a Guest of Honor had arrived in the county.
The Guest of Honor had entered the city quietly, traveling light. County Magistrate Fang had even vacated his own residence for the guest and went to great lengths to keep the visit secret.
Normally, Hu Dequan shouldn’t have known about any of this.
But as luck would have it, Hu Dequan’s wife’s younger cousin had married County Magistrate Fang’s driver, so he’d managed to pick up some inside information others didn’t know.
For example, the Guest of Honor staying at the County Magistrate’s Residence was well-connected and so distinguished that even the County Governor was bending over backwards to curry favor.
His wife’s cousin had even clicked her tongue in amazement, “I heard from my husband that the Lord Magistrate (County Magistrate Fang) is practically treating that young lord as an ancestor, but the guest doesn’t care at all and has shut the Lord Magistrate out of his own home more than once.”
So who exactly was this Guest of Honor?
Even the County Magistrate’s driver didn’t know.
However, his wife’s cousin had provided one crucial clue.
“All the Guest of Honor’s servants speak with a Jiangnan accent.”
That practically gave away the Guest of Honor’s identity and origins.
Jiangnan had always been a prosperous land, where great families had been established for generations, their foundations unimaginably deep.
With the new regime in place, money was needed everywhere— even the President had to curry favor with the Jiangnan clans. No wonder County Magistrate Fang was so attentive.
Hu Dequan had been racking his brains for a way to get himself in front of the Guest of Honor, to catch his eye over County Magistrate Fang, and now the Guest of Honor had come knocking himself!
A Jiangnan accent, the surname Xiao, no regard for County Magistrate Fang, speaking of the President as if it were nothing, and even in simple clothes, he couldn’t hide his air of nobility— this must be the direct heir of the Xiao Family in Hangzhou!
Hu Dequan’s excitement lasted only a few breaths before he remembered the Xiao Family Young Master’s earlier intimidating question, and his enthusiasm was doused with a bucket of ice water.
He knew that for someone with such connections, snuffing out people like them was as easy as squashing an ant.
He still didn’t know exactly how County Magistrate Fang had offended the Guest of Honor, so he needed to be extra careful with his words.
“Yes, yes, yes, I was blind. You look so mature and steady— you must be the Elder Brother at home.” Hu Dequan tentatively addressed him, “Young Master?”
“That’s my Elder Brother,” the Xiao Family Young Master replied. “I’m second in the family.”
Hu Dequan immediately bowed and called out obsequiously, “Second Young Master.”
“This brute acted out of line and offended you—his crime is unforgivable!”
With a stern face, just like the upright judges in storybooks, he drew his sidearm from his belt, loaded it with a crisp motion, and declared, “I’ll shoot him right now to vent your anger!”
The wounded Gendarmerie soldier was scared senseless.
At this point, even his dull mind realized he’d provoked someone he shouldn’t have.
Meeting his superior’s cold, deathly stare, he suddenly shivered, and everything became clear.
“Second Young Master, please have mercy! Please spare my life! It was greed that clouded my mind! You’re generous, please forgive me just this once!”
He dropped to his knees with a thud, knocking his head on the ground so hard it started to bleed, his forehead swelling up like a gourd.
The Xiao Family Second Young Master recoiled in alarm, “Alright, alright, get up now!”
He turned to the fierce-looking Hu Dequan and said angrily, “Don’t shoot. I never said I wanted him killed.”
Hu Dequan thought smugly, That’s it, I’ve passed the test.
Still a young pup, easily fooled by a little act.
He quickly holstered his gun and barked at the kneeling Gendarmerie, “For the sake of the Second Young Master, you get to keep your life today. Hurry up and thank him.”
“Thank you, Second Young Master, for your generosity!” The Gendarmerie soldier didn’t get up, continuing to kowtow with a dull thud, as if the earth itself was trembling.
After just a few breaths, he knocked himself unconscious.
Hu Dequan waved his hand for his men to drag the fool away. The flattery he’d been preparing for so long was already on his lips, but the Second Young Master cut him off.
“I don’t understand.” The Xiao Family Young Master glanced at the old man lying in a pool of blood not far away, his bright eyes filled with a clear confusion and anger. “Why do you always resort to violence at the slightest disagreement? Why can’t you just sit down and talk things out?”
Talk things out?
Hu Dequan almost wanted to laugh.
He looked at the naive Young Master of the Xiao Family, a trace of secret envy flickering in his heart.
It was obvious—he came from a more orderly, civilized world.
In that world, everyone reasoned things out, everyone was decent, everyone was well-mannered.
He had been born and raised in that bright, splendid world, growing up calm and at ease.
So when he suddenly found himself in this barbaric world ruled by violence, he felt no fear— only bewilderment.
Of course he couldn’t understand what he saw.
Hu Dequan sneered inwardly.
It was just like… just like how humans couldn’t understand why stray dogs would fight to the death over a bone.
They couldn’t understand.
And they didn’t want to.
Naive?
No.
It was arrogance.
But this arrogance and conceit was something Hu Dequan was all too familiar with.
It was the privilege of those in power.
By refusing to understand the lower classes, they demonstrated a kind of unspoken authority.
Hu Dequan forced out a pitiful smile. “Second Young Master, it’s not that I don’t want to talk things out. Honestly, seeing the old man so badly hurt, my heart aches too. But orders from above are as unyielding as iron— if we can’t collect the taxes, our own families can’t survive either…”
Nonsense, Jiang Mingxi thought. But there was no need to argue.
She wasn’t really here to play the role of a righteous Lord Magistrate for the people.
She had already succeeded in impersonating the Xiao Family Second Young Master. It was time to wrap things up and buy the Dragon Bone.
The Dragon Bone was on a stall just a dozen meters away, guarded by a soldier thug.
“Nice shoes…”“My fourth son…”“Little Fourth, I’m sorry…”
Behind her, Old Huangtou was moaning weakly, his breath ragged, as if he might die at any moment, yet refusing to let go.
What a stubborn life.
Jiang Mingxi thought.
For the poor, a stubborn life was no blessing. It only meant endless suffering and hardship.
If only he could just die cleanly.
At least then he wouldn’t trouble her anymore.
Because she’d been silent for so long, Hu Dequan began to sneak wary glances at her face, his fawning smile starting to falter.
He ventured cautiously, “Second Young Master?”
Time to claim the Dragon Bone.
She’d already thought up her excuse—she’d say she suffered from insomnia and needed Dragon Bone to calm her nerves.
She’d give the Military Police Captain a stern warning, and he wouldn’t dare blab about it. That would be the end of the matter.
“Don’t try to fool me with that kind of talk.”
Jiang Mingxi heard her own voice ring out. “Back then, you said that after overthrowing the emperor, the people would have good lives. You promised… you swore! That’s why so many poor families sent their sons and daughters to the battlefield with their lives hanging by a thread!”
“Now the new regime is in place, the emperor is gone, and you say everyone is born free and equal… Then! Why are you squeezing the people even harder? Why are there endless taxes? Why are you so despicable, greedy, and shameless? Why can’t you give the people a way to survive?”
Her voice grew sharper, a vast, long-brewing fury swirling in her chest, crashing through her very being.
The anger was so overwhelming, so enduring, it had built up inside her for two lifetimes, for decades. Only now did she realize what a tremendous force it was—so much that it couldn’t be unleashed all at once, but only let out in a trickle, like a levee releasing floodwaters.
So Jiang Mingxi’s final question was very soft. She asked the Military Police Captain, County Magistrate Fang, and all the Carnivores of Shenzhou—
“Why do you force good people to become ghosts?”
—After the gentle trickle came the thunderous rage.
All color drained from Hu Dequan’s face.
His smile vanished completely, his face as pale as if he’d seen a ghost. In his trembling pupils, Jiang Mingxi truly saw a savage demon.
He fell to his knees in panic, stammering excuses, racking his brains for reasons. He claimed he was just following orders from the Lord Magistrate, that he had no choice… He looked utterly sincere.
But—
Jiang Mingxi didn’t care.
She simply stepped forward, deftly pulled the sidearm from his belt, and, under his terrified gaze, pressed the cold, burning muzzle to his head.
With a “click,” the gun was cocked.
“Now, take off your shoes.”
She said coldly.
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