Chapter 46

After half a month of lurking, a single slash reaped the harvest.

As the blood dripped, Yang Yu gripped the waist knife tightly, feeling a sense of indescribable pleasure rise in his heart.

During the half year since he had come through, he had always felt uneasy, anxious, and even terrified.

As a refugee, a beggar, a constable, and a jailer... in just a year and a half, he had tasted more bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and spiciness than he had in his entire twenty years of his previous life.

This single slash not only severed the heads of the three blood-swapping bandits but also lifted the curtain that had overshadowed his heart for over a year.

Under the torn curtain, a glimmer of light seemed to appear.

"Thud~"

The three headless corpses fell into the mud mixed with blood and snow, one after another.

The three blood-swapping martial artists, who had been sprayed with blood, were only now startled awake. Looking at the young boy who still had a hint of childishness, they felt a chill run through their hearts.

Was it one slash, or two, or three?

They were the closest and saw the clearest, yet it seemed as if they saw nothing.

This kid.

This kid...

The three of them were shaken, as if they had lost their souls for a moment, even forgetting to wipe the blood from their faces.

"Move!"

Wang Wu's cold shout woke up the rest of the village guards.

These people were suddenly awakened and joined the other village guards in chasing the fleeing bandits.

All of them were skilled in blood-swapping. Even if the bandits were not already terrified, they could not resist.

The battle ended quickly.

"These three slashes were well used, marvelously executed!"

Wang Wu stepped through the snow, and these small bandits naturally did not need him to act.

Looking at Yang Yu, who was wiping his waist knife with the snow, he stroked his chin and asked, "What was the name of the master who taught you the knife technique last time?"

He was also quite surprised.

But his surprise was not due to the sharpness and skill of the slash, but rather the precise control of the battle situation by the young boy in front of him.

His eyesight was the best among all.

He saw clearly that after his cold laugh, the two bandits were momentarily distracted, and Yang Yu accurately seized this opportunity.

The long knife drew a half-circle, first to the left, then to the right, severing the whip and cutting the throat of the effeminate man. The next slash passed through the gap between the two knives of the red-scarf female bandit, slicing her neck diagonally.

And when the chain hammer bandit was startled by the heads of the two bandits, the momentum did not diminish but became even more ferocious, severing his head.

It seemed like a single slash, not because of the speed, but because the three slashes were so fluid.

There was no conflict of force.

The three slashes combined into one, which was not just about the skill of the technique, but about the boy's mastery of the knife technique to the point of effortless execution.

In the jargon of the martial world, this knife technique had already reached the pinnacle!

But how old is this kid?

"…Wei He."

Yang Yu threw the severed heads aside and answered.

In his heart, he was speechless, feeling that Wang Wu had not taken it seriously last time.

"Is there such a master in Heishan City?"

Wang Wu remembered the name, praising Yang Yu and patting his shoulder:

"Kid, don't be a jailer anymore. Follow me for three years, and I'll lead you into the Six-Fan Gate!"

"Six-Fan Gate…"

Yang Yu's heart stirred, but he did not immediately agree, saying he needed to discuss it with his grandmother.

Wang Wu nodded, not pressing.

Turning to look at the smoky, chaotic bandit camp, he sighed, "You killed them cleanly, but you've left me a big mess!"

"Mess?"

Yang Yu was taken aback and looked back.

He saw a large crowd of people being forced out of the camp by the blood-swapping martial artists, some crying softly, some sobbing, and some kneeling and wailing.

"Whenever bandits are eliminated, the biggest challenge is actually the aftermath…"

Wang Wu shook his head, sighing:

"These people, whether they came voluntarily or were captured, even the children of the bandits, how to deal with them is a big problem…"

"These people…"

Yang Yu frowned, "How were they handled before?"

He had not thought about this before, but now, reminded by Wang Wu, his heart sank.

These people had no land, no home, and no skills.

If they were taken care of, Heishan County had no unclaimed land, and the county was already in chaos, unable to accommodate these people.

If they were left alone, they would either become refugees and starve to death on the roadside or be captured by other bandits, dying even more miserably.

"Kill, capture, or release, what else can be done?"

Wang Wu pinched his brow, feeling a headache.

This was not something a constable could handle. In the past, when bandits were eliminated in An Ding County, these matters were handled by the county magistrate.

But in Heishan County…

Yang Yu wanted to say something, but the crowd had already gathered around.

Yang Yu had read many novels and heard Li Er tell countless stories.

In their stories, whenever a young hero eliminated bandits, it was always depicted as a thrilling adventure, but no one mentioned how the aftermath was handled.

He saw clearly that Wang Wu, who had not retreated even when surrounded by hundreds of bandits, was now at a loss.

Not just Wang Wu…

He himself could not help but step back.

Hearing the cries and wails of hundreds of women and children, Yang Yu felt a pang of sympathy and more hatred for the bandits and officials who caused this.

From the time Yang Yu came alone to kill the three bandit leaders to when the village guards finished the battle, it took less than an hour.

But the aftermath took more than half a day for over ten people.

Even then, they only inventoried the bandit camp's wealth and provided travel money for the captured women to return home.

There were still over two hundred women, children, and the elderly waiting to be dealt with.

At this point, Yang Yu truly understood the "trouble" Wang Wu mentioned. This was real trouble.

A group of people who only knew martial arts, barely literate, and few of whom knew arithmetic, naturally handled the bandit elimination with ease, but faced with such trivial matters, they were all at a loss, sweating profusely.

"Trouble…"

Tan Hong collapsed into a chair, exhausted, and the others were no better, mentally and physically drained.

'No wonder Wang Wu didn't actively eliminate those bandit camps before…'

Feeling the resentful gazes, Yang Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly. The reality of eliminating bandits was not the same as what the storytellers described…

"There are still over two hundred people…"

Someone groaned, looking at Wang Wu, who was also at a loss: "Sir, what do you say, what should we do?"

"Don't ask me!"

Wang Wu was extremely angry, ready to explode. How could he handle such trivial matters?

The person who asked was silent, and the others could only smile bitterly and shake their heads.

Actually, including Wang Wu, everyone knew the simplest and most profitable solution.

Yang Yu could even imagine that if the leader this time was not Wang Wu but someone like Liu Wenpeng, there would be no such trouble.

Heishan was so vast that even two thousand people could be buried!

"I don't believe it, the Great Ming is so vast, it can't accommodate just two hundred people!"

After a long while, Wang Wu slapped the chair, gritting his teeth and growling:

"Leave two people to take care of these people. If necessary, I'll take them all back to An Ning County after the bandit elimination!"

"Everyone, follow the sir!"

Everyone sighed in relief.

This idea might not be good, but whether it was good or not had nothing to do with them.

Wang Wu understood their thoughts but had no choice. These were not his subordinates, and it was already difficult to get them to act.

How could he expect more?

"Now, let's divide the loot!"

Having made the decision, Wang Wu did not delay, stepping forward and opening the large chests in the hall.

Seeing the treasures in the chests, everyone's breathing quickened.

"Yang Yu, you were the main contributor in this battle, you choose first!"

Wang Wu saw everyone's expressions, nodded in satisfaction, and called Yang Yu forward.

"Thank you, sir."

Yang Yu's eyes lit up. When the chest was opened, he had already sensed the movement of the Cauldron of Gluttony.

There was at least one ingredient in this chest!