Meanwhile, at the Qin family estate in the village.
As the village head of Qin Village, Qin Hui owned several hundred mu of farmland, and nearly half the villagers worked as tenant farmers on his land.
Although the era was burdened by endless taxes and levies that left common farmers struggling to survive, the Qin family was still far wealthier than ordinary households.
They weren’t powerful enough to compare with the local gentry, nor could they afford private guards or retainers, but they were still considered a prosperous family.
“Father, Brother Sanzhu was beaten into that state, and you’re just going to let it go?”
“Exactly! If we don’t deal with him, won’t everyone in the village start looking down on us?”
After carrying the battered Qin Sanzhu back into the house, Qin Hui’s eldest and second sons came before their father, unable to understand his decision.
“You two idiots. The three of you together couldn’t beat him. What exactly do you expect me to do?”
Qin Hui glared at them.
“That brat wasn’t this strong before. How did he suddenly become so powerful?”
“Father, even if we can’t beat him ourselves, we can still report him to the authorities!”
“That’s right. We send the county magistrate hundreds of taels every year. Surely he’d help us punish Qin Ming!”
The brothers spoke indignantly.
“You know nothing!”
Qin Hui barked.
“Qin Ming isn’t the same Qin Ming anymore. He’s become one of Yu Family Stronghold’s bandits.”
“What?!”
The brothers were stunned.
“Father, are you sure? Didn’t he kill one of their riders before? How did he become a bandit himself?”
“I don’t know the details, but he showed me a Yu Family Stronghold token just now.”
“He has one of their tokens?”
“And he told me that if anything happens to him in the village, Yu Family Stronghold will slaughter everyone here, leaving no one alive.”
The room fell silent.
The cruelty of Yu Family Stronghold was famous throughout the region.
If Qin Ming had truly joined them, offending him was practically a death sentence.
And after witnessing his frightening strength firsthand, they knew none of them stood a chance against him.
That meant even though the Qin family had suffered a humiliating defeat today, they had no way to retaliate.
“You two stay away from Qin Ming from now on,” Qin Hui ordered.
“Don’t even go near his house. Understood?”
“But Father… are we really supposed to do nothing about him forever?”
The brothers were unwilling to accept it.
“For now, there is nothing we can do.”
A cold look flashed across Qin Hui’s face.
“But as long as we’re patient, sooner or later I’ll find an opportunity to get rid of that brat.”
…
Qin Ming spent the entire morning wandering through the foothills.
With only a bow and two arrows, he managed to bring down one rabbit, three pheasants, and a fox.
The harvest was roughly the same as his first hunting trip.
Thinking about the game he had lost during his fight with the bandits, Qin Ming couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret.
Especially that fox.
It alone could have sold for two taels of silver.
Fortunately, he’d caught another one today, which eased the pain somewhat.
Instead of heading home immediately, he took the game and set out for the county seat.
For a hunter, game wasn’t just food. It was income, something that could be exchanged for money to support the family and purchase equipment.
Qin Village wasn’t far from the county town, only a little over ten li away.
Without a horse, Qin Ming jogged most of the way to save time.
Yet as he approached the county, he witnessed a disturbing sight.
Along the roadside lay the occasional corpse, dressed in ragged clothing.
The swollen bodies emitted a nauseating stench.
The closer he got to the city, the more corpses he saw.
The reason was simple.
War raged in the north, and years of disaster had left countless people starving.
Reports of cannibalism were no longer uncommon.
Heishan County sat in the relatively peaceful central region of Great Zhou, attracting refugees from all directions.
But refugees were forbidden from entering the city and could only gather outside its walls.
By afternoon, Qin Ming finally entered Heishan County using the identification token issued to local residents.
Though Great Zhou had been plagued by warfare for years, this small county in Yun Province still retained a measure of peace.
The main street bustled with activity.
Shops lined both sides of the road.
Vendors shouted their wares.
People moved through the crowded streets in an endless stream.
After entering the city, Qin Ming sold his three pheasants to a restaurant for 150 copper coins.
Had he set up a stall himself, he could have earned at least 200.
But he didn’t have time.
He needed to return home before dark.
Next, he visited a fur shop.
After some bargaining, he sold the fox, whose pelt remained undamaged, for one tael and eight mace of silver.
Once he had money in hand, he headed toward the county office.
Before that, however, he needed to pawn Yang Yulian’s gold bracelet for cash.
Truthfully, Qin Ming felt somewhat indebted to her.
In these troubled times, it was almost unimaginable for someone to lend a stranger so much money.
Even though her goal had been to recruit him into the bandit stronghold, and he had no intention of joining, the favor itself was real.
One day, he intended to repay it.
As he made his way toward the pawnshop, he noticed a large crowd gathered beneath Jade Emperor Pavilion, staring at a series of public notices.
“My heavens! The reward increased again! Four thousand taels now!”
“I heard Yu Family Stronghold kidnapped Steward Wang’s son, extorted three thousand taels, and broke both his legs. Steward Wang got furious and joined forces with several wealthy families to fund the bounty.”
“That Wang family’s second son? The one who steals decent girls? He deserved it.”
“Keep your voice down! Do you want the Wang family to hear you?”
“If I could catch that bandit woman, I’d be rich…”
The crowd buzzed with conversation.
The moment Qin Ming heard the words “Yu Family Stronghold,” his expression changed.
Driven by curiosity, he pushed through the crowd.
One glance left him dumbfounded.
The wall was covered in wanted posters for various bandits.
At the center was a bounty notice for none other than Yang Yulian.
“Pfft!”
The instant he saw the portrait, Qin Ming nearly laughed out loud.
The woman in the drawing had eyebrows like knives, a bulbous nose, and triangular eyes that radiated viciousness.
Even more absurd, her cheeks were bloated with fat, and her mouth looked wide enough to swallow half a fist.
She bore absolutely no resemblance to the stunningly beautiful Yang Yulian he knew.
The same was true for the other bandit leaders.
None of the portraits looked remotely like the people he had seen in the stronghold.
It seemed as if the artist had simply drawn random faces.
Trying to capture criminals based on such portraits was utterly ridiculous.
Still, the discovery eased Qin Ming’s concerns somewhat.
“The county is offering three hundred taels for a black bear now? Did another bear attack someone?”
“Who knows?”
“Even with three hundred taels, nobody’s willing to take the job. The notice has been up for five days already.”
“It’s no joke. Black bears only appear deep in the mountains. Even soldiers can’t get in there. The place is full of venomous snakes and poisonous miasma. One bite and you’re dead.”
As Qin Ming prepared to leave, he overheard another group discussing something nearby.
His attention was instantly captured.