novel bin Chapter 7 Iron Slaughter Guard
Chapter 7 Iron Slaughter Guard
Since the northern region was shrouded in fog, only the southern mountainous area of the entire Shenzhou Kingdom received little sunlight, severely limiting food cultivation. If it weren't for cultivating fields on the mountainside, even basic military rations would be difficult to sustain.
Just as Xiao Jin was looking around at the fog with some confusion, the Iron Slaughter Guards appeared in the eastern valley!
Looking closely... one can't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer scale of it!
The heavy armor, made of black iron, had each plate gleaming with a cold, eerie luster, as if it had been forged in the darkness of night.
The hideous beast-face helmet covered his entire face, revealing only his eyes—like two daggers tempered with ice. Wherever his gaze fell, even the wind seemed to freeze.
A dark red cloak billowed behind him, like a dying ember or dried blood. A strangely shaped longsword hung at his waist, like a chilling glint in the blood-soaked night!
Seeing the iron-willed guards in his eyes, and then looking at the villagers in the surrounding corners, Xiao Jin shook his head with a hint of helplessness... No wonder the original owner's desire for blood feud wasn't so strong.
But... but now that this body has been taken over by myself... how should I choose?
The fragments of the original owner's memories gave Xiao Jin feedback: cowardice, decadence, wanting but not doing, repeatedly entangled in it but never able to get a clear answer... yet there was still a sliver of hope.
In his past life, Xiao Jin was ruthless in achieving his goals, never thinking about the so-called good and evil, cause and effect, or retribution. As long as he could get what he wanted, what did it matter if he defied the heavens?
From a young age, I've believed deep down that anything is possible if you dare to dream it and put your heart into it. As for right or wrong, success or failure, let fate decide!
In my past life, on my deathbed, I questioned the heavens about right and wrong, success and failure... If everything could be done again... how would I choose?
Should we pay with our lives to reflect on the mistakes we've made?
Now reborn into this strange world, Heaven has taken pity on me and brought me my mother, Xiao Muyu, but has also cruelly taken away my other relatives, leaving behind a father whose fate is unknown, as if by magic.
Xiao Jin smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly.
threshing ground.
"My lord went into the city last night and has not returned. I have specially ordered my humble wife to wait here for him." Liu Yu bowed respectfully, trembling with fear and unease, and dared not raise her head.
Wang Suiyue, who appeared to be an attendant behind him, also bowed to the Iron Slaughter Guard, but his eyes were fixed on Liu Yu the whole time, which made Liu Yu feel a chill down her spine.
With the Iron Slaughter Guard in front and Wang Suiyue and Liu Yu behind... it was suffocating!
The leader of the Iron Slaughter Guard glanced at Liu Yu and the other person, then rode around looking for something.
This leader was much more burly than the other Iron Slaughter Guards, and the double axes at his waist, instead of long swords, gave him a heavy and imposing presence.
"Count the quantity and load the truck quickly!" The voice was hoarse, but carried a chilling contempt for everything.
While the grooms were counting the items and loading the carts, Liu Yu, as always, timidly handed the chief a silver ingot.
For the villagers of Qingxi Village, silver was just a word, since they had no surplus grain crops or livestock to sell in the city.
Therefore, the villagers were already deeply grateful to the village chief for this alone, since that demonic Iron Guard had slaughtered the entire village.
Ok?
Xiao Jin, who had been silently gazing at the threshing ground, suddenly looked up...
Is it an eagle?
At an altitude of about 100 meters, Xiao Jin had a clear view. An eagle came from the south, circled once above the location of the Iron Slaughter Guard, and then silently flew away from Qingxi Village, which was quite strange.
At the same time, the leader of the Iron Slaughter Guard also looked up at the sky for a moment, but unlike Xiao Jin, the leader's vision was hazy, and even if he saw the eagle, he could only see a dark shadow at most.
In the stillness of death, all the grain was carried by horse-drawn carts.
After tossing Liu Yu a bag of coarse salt, the chieftain said again in a hoarse voice, "From today onwards, the grain tax will be increased by 10%!"
"My wife will obey your orders on behalf of the official."
Liu Yu still looked panicked, but she was not moved by the increased grain tax of 10%, as if this 10% grain tax was nothing to her.
But this additional 10% grain tax will likely cost the lives of countless villagers.
Wang Suiyue never raised his head from beginning to end, seemingly obedient and compliant, but his attitude towards the increase in grain tax fluctuated greatly. Fortunately, the leader of the Iron Slaughter Guard did not take him seriously.
As the sound of hooves faded into the distance, Liu Yu, who had slowly straightened her back, took a deep breath and then turned to look at Wang Suiyue with a still anxious expression.
"Will you spare my life if I do everything I say?"
Wang Suiyue did not respond, but simply nodded slightly, and then looked with Liu Yu at the villagers who were arriving from all directions.
Salt was extremely important to the villagers, who were barely escaping starvation, as they still had to work from dawn till dusk to pay their grain taxes.
Even if life is hard, at least they haven't starved to death. But if they can't pay the grain tax, then all that awaits them is the sword and axe of the Iron Slaughter Guard.
Whenever the Iron Guards left to collect the grain, the villagers would immediately go to the threshing ground to collect their salt. However, their steps toward the threshing ground seemed heavier than ever before.
The grain they worked from dawn till dusk only brought back less than a pound of coarse salt for each household... The taste of that hardship was indescribable!
Back then, the Duke (Xiao Muyu's father) quelled the war and brought peace to the people, but his entire clan of 136 people was killed by those who spread rumors and misled the public, leaving the people indignant.
But as time passed, the persistent fog gradually led the people to believe the so-called rumors, and their hatred for the Duke and the Northern Region grew even stronger...
In Qingxi Village today, although they have long forgotten the Duke of yesteryear, the injustice of fate is deeply etched in the hearts of each and every one of them.
Joining the army, taking the civil service exam, making a living through business, or even learning martial arts to strengthen oneself and defy fate... In this small Qingxi Village, everything is so ridiculous and laughable!
If they had a choice, they would surely have cried out from the depths of their hearts. Unfortunately, under the intimidation of the Iron Slaughter Guard, they had no choice!
Under Wang Suiyue's complex gaze, the man who had swallowed chaff earlier was the first to approach the threshing ground.
Unlike before, the man did not leave immediately after receiving his own coarse salt. He looked around and finally his gaze fell on Liu Yu.
Liu Yu seemed unwilling to see the man. She looked away the moment their eyes met, her anxiety growing stronger with each passing moment.
At Wang Suiyue's prompting, Liu Yuqiang calmed himself and called out to the villagers who had already approached, "Everyone, don't leave after you've received your salt!"
Although the villagers were puzzled, they did not ask any questions. They solemnly received the salt and waited silently by the side.
Only after more than half of the people had received salt did a few people begin to discuss and mention the village head.
"The village head isn't here at this time; could it be related to grain taxes?"
The village head of Tie Tuwei never missed collecting grain; in his words, there was nothing more important in Qingxi Village than this.
"All these years have passed, when has there ever been any good news?"
"No matter what, the village head will definitely do what's best for our Qingxi Village."
"..."
As the villagers grew increasingly agitated and their discussions intensified, a young man walked from the direction of the village's main house. In the hazy mist, the young man carried a knife in one hand and a... head in the other.