The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 22

There are still people inside.

During this time, the people inside seemed to realize that the woman who had run away earlier had not been caught, and the others in the woodshed also ran out one after another.

The first one to come out was a woman, followed by a little girl, then several more girls, and then some toddlers, both boys and girls, a total of more than a dozen.

These children, women, and girls were all filthy, just like the young woman from before, and their eyes revealed fear.

However, they were also stunned by the scene outside after they ran out.

A young boy held a sharp sword to the demon's throat, watching them run out of the woodshed, surrounded by the group of villains.

Upon seeing this, the children and women instinctively stopped in their tracks.

"Young master, please save us."

The young woman who ran out first was the first to react. She immediately ran over and knelt down in front of Jiang Ning, her eyes filled with tears.

"Everyone go."

Jiang Ning gestured to them toward the gate of the compound, signaling them to leave.

However, the young woman shook her head and cried, "Young master, it's not just us. There are also some sisters and children in the cellar who have been captured by them. Please, please save them too, I beg you."

The young woman kept kowtowing to Jiang Ning.

"lead the way."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything more and simply asked her to lead the way.

The young woman was overjoyed and quickly nodded and ran towards the backyard, while Jiang Ning followed behind, escorting Xu Heqing.

The women and children who had run out were too afraid to run out on their own when they saw this scene, and they all followed behind.

The middle-aged man in fine clothes frowned deeply upon seeing this scene, but there was nothing he could do. He could only follow them into the backyard, while inwardly cursing those incompetent officials who hadn't arrived yet after so long.

Upon arriving at the backyard, the young woman led Jiang Ning directly to an open space, pointing to one of the plots and saying, "Young master, they are inside."

"No, you can't open it!"

Xu Heqing, who had been kept silent by Jiang Ning's sword, finally couldn't hold back any longer and quickly spoke up to stop him.

However, Jiang Ning ignored him, pointed his sword forward to silence him, and then looked at the group of servants.

"Open it."

The servants hesitated, not daring to step forward, while the richly dressed middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said, "Open it!"

Upon hearing his words, two servants immediately came to the open space, found the right spot, and lifted up a piece of ground, revealing an iron door locked with chains underneath.

After the two servants unlocked the iron gate and lifted it, they said to those inside, "Come out, all of you."

Not long after, a child of about eight or nine years old timidly climbed out from inside.

It was a boy, with delicate features.

Then three or four more figures crawled out: two women and a little girl.

These people had blank stares and were filled with fear of their surroundings.

"Son."

The young woman knelt down before Jiang Ning again and cried, “We are all people from Xi’an Prefecture and the nearby towns. The Xu family captured us and brought us into their mansion for their amusement. If we did not comply, they would beat and scold us, lock us in the woodshed and not let us leave, and they would not give us food. I was captured three days ago. Before I came in, several of my sisters had already been played to death by them.”

At this point, the young woman suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Xu Heqing, saying, "This devil not only likes to play with women, but also likes to capture children and bring them into his mansion for his pleasure. He doesn't even spare boys. Those who are disciplined and obedient are locked in the cellar, while those of us who are disobedient are locked in the woodshed."

Then, pointing at the richly dressed middle-aged man, she said with hatred, "This man loves to torture people. Several of my sisters have been tortured to death by him!"

The middle-aged man's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

The young woman pointed at the servants again, gritting her teeth and saying hatefully, "He, he, and them, these people are all accomplices. Some of them even said that as long as we obeyed them, they would make our lives easier. If we didn't obey, they would beat and scold us, and even force us. One of my sisters resisted to the death and was strangled to death by him!"

She pointed to one of the servants, who shrank back in fear.

The young woman's voice was plaintive and filled with hatred.

"Please, young master, save us!"

At this moment, the other women who had been captured also realized what was happening and immediately knelt down before Jiang Ning, begging for help. The children also knelt down one after another, begging Jiang Ning to save them.

Jiang Ning remained silent, his eyes growing even colder.

"Good man, let's talk this out. Put down your sword first, and we can discuss it."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes seemed afraid that Jiang Ning would act impulsively, and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

Jiang Ning didn't look at him, but said to the women and children, "Let's go, let's leave this place."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

Upon hearing this, the young woman was both overjoyed and wept. She repeatedly kowtowed to Jiang Ning in gratitude, then got up and hurriedly pulled the other women and children who had been captured to try to leave. However, the exit was blocked by the group of servants.

"Let them go!"

Seeing how ignorant these servants were, the middle-aged man in fine clothes roared angrily.

The servants then made way for them.

Seeing that there was hope of escaping, their faces lit up with joy. They ran out without daring to look back.

Several women wanted to turn around and ask Jiang Ning's name, but were stopped by the young woman from before.

She feared that these people would retaliate if they found out Jiang Ning's name.

"Good sir! I've let them go. How about it, can you release my father now?"

"Please don't be impulsive. Let's talk this out. Don't waste your time and ruin your life for these lowly people."

"Whatever you want is fine with me. Money? I'll give you three thousand taels of silver. Power? My family are officials and nobles. It's not difficult for us to get you a job in the government. We can discuss anything."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes smiled ingratiatingly at Jiang Ning.

"Humph."

Jiang Ning sneered, and under his tense gaze, thrust his sword forward.

Xu Heqing's throat was pierced, and he collapsed to the ground, letting out a weak scream.

"you!!!"

The middle-aged man in fine clothes stared angrily at Jiang Ning with wide eyes.

"You actually dared to kill my father! You actually killed my father for those lowly scum who are worse than pigs and dogs!"

"So what if I kill him?"

Jiang Ning said with a sneer.

"you……"

The middle-aged man pointed at Jiang Ning, his finger trembling, but the next moment Jiang Ning raised his sword and charged at him, kicking him to the ground and pointing his sword at him.

The middle-aged man screamed and looked at Jiang Ning with fear in his eyes.

"No, don't kill me."

Jiang Ning looked at him with a cold gaze and said with a sneer.

You called them pigs and dogs?

"Who is the pig? Who is the dog? They are all human beings. You treat them as slaves, killing and insulting them at will. Then I can treat you as a slave and kill you at will."

"Who do you think you are? Do you really think you can ride roughshod over them?"

“You consider yourselves superior, treating ordinary people as tools for your amusement, like pigs and dogs. Power is your tool, and you control everything. You treat them as lambs to the slaughter, killing and manipulating them at will. Now I treat you as lambs to the slaughter, and I can kill and manipulate you at will. What’s wrong with that?”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in fine clothes said incredulously, "How can those pigs and dogs be the same as us? We are nobles, we have noble blood flowing in our veins, this is our natural right. Aren't they just toys for us to play with?"

Jiang Ning stepped on his chest, causing him a sharp pain that rendered him speechless.

"Who do you think you are? You can treat them like toys and play with them, but you can't stand others treating you like toys and playing with you?"

“Strip away the skin of power you wear, and what are you? Who are you more noble than anyone else?”

"If you regard them as pigs and dogs, then I will regard you as a pig and a dog."

Chapter 37: If this world is too dark, then I will be the only light.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in fine clothes looked at Jiang Ning with fear in his eyes, unable to utter a single word.

The servants around were all horrified as they watched this scene. They wanted to rush forward to rescue the richly dressed middle-aged man, but they were hesitant to act for fear of harming him.

Jiang Ning glanced at the group of servants out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the richly dressed middle-aged man on the ground and sneered.

"Let me cut open your heart and see if it is different from theirs, let me see if your blood is more noble than theirs."

He then suddenly thrust downwards.

"what!"

The middle-aged man in fine clothes let out a miserable scream and breathed his last.

"Master!"

One of the servants suddenly shouted, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Jiang Ning drew his sword, its blade stained with blood, and then looked at the group of servants with a cold and stern gaze.

This group of people aided and abetted the wicked.

Kill them all, kill them all.

Leave no one behind!

Jiang Ning raised his sword and charged towards the group of servants.

Seeing that the two masters of the mansion had been killed and their families were also dead, the group of people were suddenly at a loss and helpless. When they saw Jiang Ning attacking again, they could only put up a hasty resistance, and three of them died immediately. This scene made them even more fearful and powerless, and they hurriedly dropped their weapons and ran outside.

"Run!"

"The men are dead! Run! This man has gone mad!"

The group of servants ran while shouting wildly.

Jiang Ning chased after him, each man wielding a sword. He targeted vital points, each strike claiming a life.

Seeing more dead people, the group lost all will to resist and ran even faster, hoping to outrun those around them so they could shield them from the demon behind them and buy them time to escape.

Some even attacked people around them, causing them to fall to the ground.

However, all of this was in vain. Just as they were about to run out of the gate, only one servant remained. The courtyard was littered with corpses and blood.

At this moment, Jiang Ning was still some distance from the gate. When he saw the servant step out of the gate and prepare to run to either side, Jiang Ning picked up a knife that was lying on the ground and threw it forcefully. The knife drew an arc in the air and accurately pierced the servant's back.

The servant paused, his body inertia carried him forward a few steps, before he collapsed to the ground.

Thus, the entire Xu family was wiped out by Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning glanced back at the mansion behind him and could see some maids and the like huddled in their rooms, trembling with fear.

However, Jiang Ning no longer had any intention of continuing the attack.

The blood on the sword had already congealed. Jiang Ning squatted down and used the clothes from one of the corpses to wipe the sword clean before walking towards the gate.

As Jiang Ning stepped out of the Xu residence, he noticed that a number of people had already gathered outside to watch. However, most of them remained at a distance and dared not come in. Upon seeing Jiang Ning covered in blood, they couldn't help but take a few steps back, looking at him with slightly terrified eyes.

Jiang Ning glanced at these people, then went to Maodou's side and carried him on his back.

"Walk."

He had to leave Xi'an Prefecture quickly; he had lingered too long at the Xu residence, and the officials could arrive at any moment.

Maodou, who had been waiting outside the Xu residence for Jiangning, heard its master's command and took off running towards the city gate, its bells ringing all the way.

Shortly after Jiang Ning left the Xu residence, a large group of government officials came running from the west avenue towards this place.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

As soon as the group of officials arrived, they started shouting at the crowd and pushed their way into the Xu residence.

"Sir, the thief is right here."

A servant led the way with a fawning smile to the head official, but he was stunned by what he saw as he approached the gate of the Xu residence.

A corpse lay at the gate, a knife stuck in its back. Inside the mansion, the scene was even more gruesome, with corpses lying haphazardly on the ground and blood flowing everywhere.