“Sanzhu!”
The moment Qin Hui saw his son covered in blood from head to toe, rage exploded within him.
In Qin Family Village, Qin Hui was nothing less than a local tyrant.
Not to mention someone beating his son, even meeting his gaze too boldly usually ended badly.
Yet now, someone had beaten his second son into this state.
It was outright rebellion.
“Untie Sanzhu! Now!”
Qin Hui immediately ordered two of his sons to free Qin Sanzhu.
But when he saw Qin Ming step out of the house, he froze.
“You came back?”
“Thanks to Village Head Qin’s kindness. The bandits thought I was a good man, so they let me go.”
“You were the one who beat my son?”
Cold fury flashed through Qin Hui’s eyes.
“That’s right. He barged into my home in broad daylight and tried to molest my wife. I merely taught him a lesson.”
Facing Qin Hui, Qin Ming showed not the slightest fear. Their eyes locked.
“Bullshit! You’re the one causing trouble! Get him! Beat him to death!”
With Qin Hui’s command, several men behind him rushed forward.
Qin Hui had three sons, all large and powerful men.
Especially the eldest and second sons, whose strength was well known.
That was precisely why the Qin family had been able to dominate the village for years.
“Whoosh!”
Qin Ming threw a massive punch straight at Qin Hui.
Ever since Qin Hui had betrayed him and handed him over to the bandits yesterday, Qin Ming had held a grudge.
If it had been an open confrontation, he might have let it go.
But he had no tolerance for backstabbers.
Now that they stood face-to-face again, Qin Ming had no intention of letting him off.
Bang!
With a sickening crack, Qin Hui’s nose collapsed instantly.
As he fell backward, a stream of blood arced through the air.
“You old bastard!”
Qin Ming stepped forward and delivered a vicious kick.
Qin Hui flew several meters like a sack of grain.
“Father!”
Seeing their father struck down, Qin Hui’s two sons roared in fury.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In only a few breaths, five attackers fell like wheat before a scythe.
They sprawled across the ground in every direction.
Groans and cries of pain filled the courtyard.
The entire place fell silent.
All the villagers watching, including the Qin family members supporting Qin Sanzhu, stood frozen.
They stared at Qin Ming as though he were a mountain standing amid a field of wreckage.
No one dared take another step forward.
“Urgh… cough…”
Qin Hui struggled out of a pile of firewood.
Covering his ruined nose, he trembled from pain and humiliation.
“Qin Ming! You have no respect for your elders! You’ve assaulted the Village Head, seriously injured villagers, caused disturbances, and defied government authority!”
“Don’t think a few martial skills make you invincible!”
“Let me tell you this!”
“Today’s matter will be reported to the authorities!”
“The law is ironclad!”
“No matter how capable you are, you won’t escape!”
“You’ll be exiled thousands of miles away and die in some pestilent wasteland!”
Since nobody present could defeat Qin Ming, Qin Hui switched tactics and began talking about law and reason.
“Your son tried to molest my wife in broad daylight. If this reaches the authorities, he won’t escape punishment either.”
“Hmph!”
Qin Hui covered his nose as a crafty look flashed through his eyes.
He raised his head and swept a venomous gaze across the gathered villagers.
“Who saw it?”
“Who can testify?”
The villagers immediately lowered their heads.
Everyone knew exactly what kind of person Qin Sanzhu was.
Some had even witnessed him kicking open Qin Ming’s door earlier.
But in Qin Family Village, Qin Hui was the sky itself.
Offending him could mean losing your land.
In severe cases, it could destroy your entire family.
Who would dare speak up?
The courtyard became deathly silent.
“I saw it with my own eyes. Isn’t that enough?”
“Hah!”
A twisted smile appeared on Qin Hui’s face.
As if he had seized Qin Ming’s weakness.
“No witnesses means you’re slandering my son!”
“You deliberately attacked him and injured innocent villagers!”
“Qin Ming, you have two choices.”
“Kneel right now and apologize to everyone you’ve injured. Since we’re fellow villagers, I may show mercy and punish you according to village rules.”
“Or…”
His voice turned vicious.
“You can wait for government chains and shackles.”
“Three thousand li of exile.”
“A lifetime ruined.”
“Choose.”
“You wanted evidence, didn’t you?”
Qin Ming pointed toward the house.
“The evidence is inside.”
“Inside?”
“Come in and you’ll see.”
Qin Ming turned and walked into the house alone.
After a brief hesitation, Qin Hui limped after him.
…
“Where’s this evidence?”
After looking around the room, Qin Hui frowned.
“Old bastard, we still have a debt to settle.”
“You tied me up and handed me to the bandits.”
“That was certainly loyal of you.”
“Don’t spout nonsense!”
Qin Hui immediately denied it.
“The bandits took you themselves. What does that have to do with me?”
He showed no guilt whatsoever.
The reason was simple.
Only he and his sons had gone up the mountain.
The other villagers knew nothing about what had happened.
As long as his family kept their mouths shut, no one could expose the truth.
“Hmph.”
“You can deny it all you want.”
“But aren’t you curious why I managed to come back alive?”
Qin Hui froze.
Now that Qin Ming mentioned it, the situation really was strange.
The men of Yu Family Stronghold were ruthless killers.
Qin Ming had injured several of them.
There was no reason he should have returned unharmed.
“Open your eyes and look at this!”
Qin Ming pulled out a waist token and waved it before him.
“This… this is…”
Qin Hui’s eyes widened.
“Did you join Yu Family Stronghold?”
The token bore a large engraved character, Yu
Everyone in Yun Prefecture knew that members of Yu Family Stronghold carried distinctive brands and special tokens.
The authorities relied on those marks to distinguish bandits from ordinary citizens.
Ordinary recruits carried wooden tokens.
Minor leaders carried iron ones.
And the token in Qin Ming’s hand was unmistakably made of iron.
“The Stronghold Chief asked me to bring you a message.”
“As long as I’m here, Yu Family Stronghold will never raid this village again.”
Qin Hui’s expression changed.
“But if I’m arrested…”
“Or if I disappear…”
“Not a single person in Qin Family Village will survive.”
“Especially your family.”
“Men, women, old, young.”
“None will be spared.”
Qin Ming’s voice was cold.
In truth, the token had simply been given to him by Yang Yulian so he could leave the stronghold.
But now it served perfectly as a tool to intimidate Qin Hui.
After all, Qin Hui had nearly wet himself with fear when facing Yang Yulian before.
His terror of Yu Family Stronghold was obvious.
“Qin Ming!”
Suddenly, Qin Hui’s legs gave out.
He dropped to his knees.
“Please spare me!”
“You are the generous one!”
“From now on, you’re the one who calls the shots in this village!”
“I won’t dare offend you again!”
The reputation of Yu Family Stronghold’s brutality was legendary.
People often said government officials were corrupt.
But at least officials followed procedures.
With enough money, almost any crime could be negotiated away.
Bandits were different.
Offend them, and they wiped out your entire family without discussion.
“Relax, Village Head Qin.”
Qin Ming smiled.
“I’m a reasonable man.”
He grabbed Qin Hui’s hair and gave it a slight tug.
Qin Hui immediately grimaced in pain.
“I only want to live peacefully with my wife.”
“From now on, we’ll stay out of each other’s business.”
Then Qin Ming’s gaze shifted toward the doorway, where Qin Hui’s sons stood trembling.
His voice turned ice cold.
“However…”
“You’d better teach your precious sons some discipline.”
“Tell them to keep what’s between their legs under control.”
“If any of them dares step into my yard again…”
“If any of them dares cast so much as a crooked glance toward my wife…”
The smile vanished from Qin Ming’s face.
His eyes became as sharp as blades.
He spoke each word slowly and clearly.
“I swear…”
“I will personally make sure…”
“He never fathers a child again.”