Chapter 1 Aboard the Mule Cart

A mule cart was pulled out of the inn. Mules in the front, but instead of a carriage, there was a flatbed covered with a canvas.

This was what the inn usually used to go out and buy groceries.

Blind Man Bei, with a small leather whip in his left hand and reins in the other, sat steadily in the "driver's seat."

The small mule cart, somehow, was "driven" by Blind Man Bei with the air of a Cadillac.

A'Ming wasn't at all surprised or thought it inappropriate that Blind Man was driving. Having changed into a new set of clothes, he just sat calmly at Blind Man Bei's side.

The mule cart wasn't big. Unless you lay down in the back, two grown men sitting in the front would definitely be pressed together.

The little mule cart ambled forward, the bells on the little mule's neck occasionally emitting a slow, crisp sound.

The rain was still falling, but not heavily. Although not as moist and gentle as in the Jiangnan region, it was just right to cover up the dust and sand in the frontier land's air, which was a rare tenderness here.

The mules walked unsteadily, so the flatbed's speed was naturally slow.

Blind Man Bei listlessly flicked the whip at the mules in front. The mules, to save face for the blind man, gave a perfunctory cry, but their hooves didn't speed up at all.

The man and the mules reached a tacit understanding in the rain.

"Not only did you change into new clothes, but you also washed your hair?"

Blind Man Bei joked.

"Too bad there's no hair dryer or mousse."

"Mousse, that's a term from a long time ago." Blind Man Bei yawned and continued, "Fourth Mother is really generous. This set of clothes you're wearing can't be cheap, right?"

"You have one too."

"New clothes?"

"The instrument that suits you is under the canvas in the back of the cart."

Hearing this, Blind Man Bei couldn't help but lean forward, his fingers dancing nimbly:

"Ah, Fourth Mother is really making things difficult for herself. Getting a piano in this era isn't easy."

"It's an erhu."

"............" Blind Man Bei.

"Let's talk business," A'Ming reminded.

"In Tiger Head City, there are four gangs that are worth mentioning." Blind Man Bei began to introduce the gang situation in Tiger Head City.

Tiger Head City didn't have many permanent residents, only about twenty thousand. Among them, there were many old, weak, women, and children. Therefore, with the conscription of laborers a few days ago, the usually lively Tiger Head City suddenly became desolate.

The conscription of young and strong men as laborers was one reason, but the main reason was the sudden local conflicts, which caused the merchant caravans that used to come here to stop at the previous station. Everyone was watching.

Once the inflow of merchant caravans was lost, Tiger Head City, a small town that was basically an export-oriented economy, would naturally find it difficult to be lively.

Also, because of the frequent entry and exit of merchant caravans, while promoting local economic development, it also bred an unavoidable mix of good and bad.

Ordinary border towns couldn't have so many restaurants, brothels, and casinos, nor could they have so many gangs. In the final analysis, the cake had grown too big, and there were more people.

The strangest thing was that because of the Yan Kingdom's numerous aristocratic families, the monarch's control over the localities was very weak, resulting in many loopholes in the household registration. Although there were many people in the city, less than half of them truly possessed Yan Kingdom citizenship. As for those who mixed with the gangs, they naturally weren't registered in Tiger Head City.

The officials of Tiger Head City turned a blind eye to this. If they were to seriously investigate the household registration, those aristocratic families would be the first to object.

"The Hyena Gang in the east of the city, the Three Gods Society in the west of the city, the Righteousness Gathering Gang in the center of the city, and the Cart Gang in the suburbs of the city are the four gangs in Tiger Head City that are worth mentioning.

The Hyena Gang specializes in the human trafficking business. Private wars and killings frequently occur in the barbarian tribes of the desert. Some prisoners of war are transported here and trafficked to the interior of the Yan Kingdom by the Hyena Gang. The nobles of the barbarian tribes are very interested in the women of Jiangnan in the Yan Kingdom, including the Qian and Jin Kingdoms, and they are also trafficked out through the Hyena Gang.

The Three Gods Society is a completely cultist organization. It worships the local gods of the Yan Kingdom, the barbarian gods of the barbarian tribes, and some Western gods. It recruits believers, receives offerings, and also raises a group of thugs.

The Righteousness Gathering Gang specializes in collecting protection fees on the surface. Not only does it run its own brothels, casinos, and restaurants, but everyone in Tiger Head City, including our inn, needs to pay it a sum of money every month.

The Cart Gang is somewhat similar to the inland Cao Gang (transport guilds). It mainly deals with cart and horse transportation. All cart and horse laborers who want to work in Tiger Head City need to give the Cart Gang a cut of their wages. Otherwise, they won't be allowed to make a living in this area."

"We're in the east of the city now, so are we going to attack the Hyena Gang first?"

"When doing things, it's human nature to pick the easiest target first. But for us, or rather, for you, after being cooped up for half a year, you have to choose an object to vent on without much worry about the consequences.

In this world, there aren't many things that are less guilt-ridden than killing human traffickers."

"Guilt? You wouldn't have considered this before, no, neither would we."

"But now that our lord is here, we have to learn to take care of our lord's emotions. Our lord hasn't completely turned to the dark side yet, and I only know that our lord is growing rapidly. I don't dare to guarantee that our lord will really turn completely to the dark side, but for now, we have to change our style of doing things in a way that our lord likes."

A'Ming didn't speak.

"Are you angry?" Blind Man Bei asked with a smile.

A'Ming shook his head.

Blind Man Bei smiled and comforted:

"Today is a good day to kill people. It's the first release in half a year, and it's raining. Cheer up."

Blind Man Bei pulled the reins, and the mules stopped.

In front was an alley with two courtyards inside, which was where the Hyena Gang was located.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot to say. Because of the war, the trade routes have been greatly affected. There should still be many human hostages stranded in those two courtyards."

"I know the limits."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm being long-winded."

A'Ming jumped off the mule cart, didn't rush forward, but turned back and asked:

"Say it again."

Blind Man Bei nodded. "I know the order of the following targets and how to deal with the other three gangs. For this first target, just have fun."

"Okay."

A'Ming started walking towards the courtyard.

Behind him,

came a melodious and desolate sound.

A'Ming stopped again,

and said:

"This tune is a bit familiar."

Blind Man Bei, who was taking out the erhu from under the canvas on the mule cart and playing it, replied:

"Erquan Yingyue (Moon Reflected in the Second Spring)."

A'Ming shrugged and said, "Isn't it a bit ominous?"

"It's not for you, it's for them."

A'Ming thought for a moment, "That's right."

The rain accompanied the sound of the erhu, making it particularly poignant. A'Ming's leather boots stepped into the puddles, splashing water from time to time.

When he reached the entrance of the courtyard,

A'Ming suddenly felt that Blind Man Bei's words that today was a good day to kill people made some sense.

But unfortunately, he didn't kill people with a sword.

However,

why not give it a try?

At the entrance of the courtyard, there were two guards standing there, both huddled in the corner. Even though A'Ming had already walked to the entrance, they were too lazy to move.

They even joked in a teasing tone:

"These clothes look pretty flashy."

"I guess he's with a variety troupe that came with the Western Region merchants. I went to see it last year, and the magicians there wear things like that."

A'Ming smiled when he heard this.

He wasn't in a hurry to attack because he thought he needed to build up his emotions.

Just like before a main course, you need to arrange the plate nicely. He was about to start his meal.

"Don't, don't sell me, don't sell me, don't!!!"

At this time,

a girl's shrill cry came from behind A'Ming.

A'Ming turned his head and looked back, seeing a middle-aged man in tattered clothes forcibly dragging a girl who was probably only twelve or thirteen years old.

The girl's clothes were also ragged. She was sitting firmly on the ground, but the man's strength was not something a young girl could resist. The middle-aged man dragged her forward, and the girl kept rolling in the muddy puddles.

When the two gatekeepers saw this scene, they knew that business had come, so they slowly stood up.

"Don't sell me, don't sell me!"

"I'm your father. If I don't sell you, we'll all starve to death! You worthless thing, do you want us father and daughter to starve to death?"

"You bastard, you son of a b*tch, I don't have a father like you. Mother was sold by you to gamble, and now you want to sell me!"

"Slap!"

The man slapped the girl.

The girl fell to the ground, blood溢出溢出了 from the corner of her mouth, and her pupils were filled with more despair.

"Bah! Shameless good-for-nothing!"

The man went around A'Ming, walked to the steps, and bowed to the two gatekeepers standing above, showing a flattering expression, and said ingratiatingly:

"Please inform the manager."

One of the gatekeepers smiled, turned around, pushed the door open, and went in to call for someone.

The other stood with his hands on his hips, looked the girl lying on the ground up and down, shook his head, and said:

"This little girl is worth five taels of silver at most."

"Hey, how could that be!" the man exclaimed. "I sold her mother here for four taels of silver. No matter what, she's still a virgin. She should be more expensive than a woman who's had children."

"Heh, this little girl would only fetch a good price if she were from the Yan Kingdom, or even better, the Qian Kingdom. If she knew a little about qin (a zither-like instrument), chess, calligraphy, and painting, then the price would be unstoppable.

Our girls from the Northland don't sell for much. Look at yours, she doesn't look like she's been pampered at all. Her skin is so rough. Tsk, do you think those desert men would like her?

When they buy her back, they'll see that her skin is no different from the girls in their tribe. Do you think people are stupid?

Besides, your wife, even if she's a bit old and has had children, she can pick things up, carry things, and can still be used like half a man. Can your daughter do heavy work?

The most important thing is, I don't know what's going on, but there's suddenly a war going on, and the trade routes have been cut off. Our courtyard is already full of hostages who are eating for free. Eating, drinking, and sh*tting all cost money."

"This... no, no, it has to be at least eight taels of silver. Five taels to pay off the debt, and the remaining three taels to make a comeback."

"Tch, then you can go talk to the accountant yourself later."

The girl lay on the ground, motionless, her eyes empty.

At this time,

she saw a man in strange black clothes walk up to her, squat down, and his face was so white.

A'Ming looked down at her, and she was looking at A'Ming too.

After a while,

A'Ming opened his mouth and asked:

"Do you want me to help you... kill your father?"

The girl's body suddenly trembled,

and then,

a look of hatred began to appear in her eyes,

and she bit out a word:

"Want..."

A'Ming nodded,

"Okay."