Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Chapter 84: Chapter 8: Kill them all, I am a tricky people too!

Watching from the side, another tax official was dumbfounded by the scene.

He had never imagined that someone from the villages below would dare to lay hands on them, the tax officials.

They were not mere officers, they were legitimate "officials," who ate the government's food.

Even the court's Martial Arts training was something they could partake in, considering themselves to be minor officials of the ninth rank.

At the very least, their cultivation was at the Bone Refining Realm.

What they represented was the face of the government, and their backing came from the Great Zhou Court.

That was the source of their arrogant and domineering behavior outside.

Otherwise, how could they dare to be so ostentatious as mere commoners?

The tax official immediately reacted and roared, "How audacious, find…"

Snort!

Before he could finish his sentence, and his tiger head knife only half drawn, Shen Qing's two fingers had already struck first.

To the tax official's astonishment, they penetrated his throat from under his jaw.

After being empowered by the Blood Dominance Technique, Shen Qing's arm strength was tremendously fearsome. Combined with the technique of the Wind Defying Finger, it achieved an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

The tax official's throat was as soft as tofu; his fingers penetrated it effortlessly.

Without a hint of hesitation.

The scene suddenly fell into a bizarre silence.

"Heh heh heh…"

Both tax officials' windpipes were blocked by Shen Qing's fingers, rendering them speechless.

Blood followed their throats and surged upward.

With a chill in his demeanor, Shen Qing stirred his fingers inside, hooked, and then pulled them out.

From the throats of the two tax officials, he pulled out a segment of a red tubular object.

Blood plasma, like the opening of a faucet, sprayed incessantly.

The two tax officials clutched their necks, staring at Shen Qing and retreating two steps in succession.

Under the watchful eyes of Shen Qing and the villagers of Hongshan Village, they eventually fell to their knees and face-planted onto the ground.

They writhed like worms, continually curling up until they ceased to move.

The blood from the two mingled, forming a small pool of blood.

The thick scent of blood spread continuously from it, filling everyone's nostrils.

Shen Qing's expression was solemn as he nonchalantly threw the two pieces of tubular objects to the ground, turning back to face the crowd.

An elder of the Shen family from the village, fearful and trembling, asked in a quavering voice, "Qingzi, how… how could you do this? They were officials, not mere officers."

The so-called officers were people hired from various Martial Arts Halls by the government office to work.

They were paid by the day.

Many of them were even secretly involved in gangs, a mixed bag of characters, and often did the hard and tiring work.

Even if they died, it wasn't particularly serious.

But these "officials" were different.

Killing them would indeed lead to trouble.

Shen Qing glanced at the elder from the Shen family and said in an even tone, "I'm just a troublemaker; why can't I?"

"Ah!"

"Killing these two officials will only bring more officials; no one will escape, and we will all die!"

Shen Qing's expression turned cold as he said, "So we should let them exploit us, oppress us, kill us, and have our brothers and sisters violated by them? Now there is a tiger demon in the mountain, and if we pay this spring tax again, do you think we will have a way to live?"

"Killing them we die, not killing we also die, wait to die? Better to kill them and take some with us when we die. What's wrong with that?"

The many villagers fell silent.

Because what Shen Qing said was true.

Just now in front of them, an old hunter was slaughtered as a warning to others.

Why could the tax officials kill, but they couldn't?

There was no such rule in the world.

Expressions on everyone's faces began to fluctuate between anger, fear, hatred, and a touch of schadenfreude.

Shen Qing surveyed the crowd, capturing each person's expression as the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

His killing of two officials was not a momentary impulse.

Having just witnessed the tax officer kill an old hunter from the village, he immediately realized it was an excellent opportunity to win over the hearts of the people.

The county government didn't intervene—just sending two tax officials was enough for the villagers of Hongshan Village to be willing to hand over their money.

Why?

Out of fear!

They feared that if they didn't pay, these tax officials and the government office would not let them off, not allowing them a way to live.

What else was there inside?

Anger!

Shen Qing took the lead precisely to draw out the anger in their hearts.

To use it for his purposes.

Shen Qing didn't fear that these people would report him.

Because of the county government's behavior, even if they testified and exempted themselves from involvement, the government would not go easy on them, which would not be beneficial for them.

They might even face harsher punishment.

Moreover, with the village's tradition of collective enmity, such acts were purely harmful without any benefit.

Evil officials lay ahead, and a tiger demon loomed in the mountains.

The ones driven to desperation weren't him.

Just as Shen Qing had anticipated, many people resonated with his words.

Two and a half silver taels was no small amount.

After paying this batch of spring tax, what about the summer, autumn, and winter tax?

The appetites of those in the government office could never be satisfied!

If it hadn't been for killing the Chen family members earlier and dividing their wealth,

they feared they wouldn't have been able to gather enough for this spring tax.

"Qingzi speaks the truth! Kill and die today, or don't kill and die anyway, why wait for death?"

Among the many villagers, a young hunter with vigorous spirit excitedly said, "Now most of the prey in the mountains fills that demon tiger's stomach. My father and I go hunting in the mountains, and a whole day's effort doesn't even earn us fifty wen."

"After paying this spring tax, our family won't have any grain left. These evil officials just want us dead!"

Tian Xiaohu shouted loudly, "Well done killing them! I'm a troublemaker too. If the government wants to arrest someone, let them come. These two officials were killed by me! It has nothing to do with Qingzi!"

"Count me in, it has nothing to do with Qingzi!" another person stood out and shouted indignantly.

"Count me in!"

"I..."

The scene suddenly became fervent.

Seeing that it was about enough, Shen Qing, with his hands behind his back, seriously said, "There's no need to argue anymore. The dead are already dead; it doesn't matter who killed them anymore. What we need to think about is what to do next?"

The others quickly agreed, "Right, right, right, what should we do next?"

Shen Qing paced back and forth, pondered for a moment, and then said, "As it stands, if we don't remove the demon tiger from the mountains, there won't be much harvest here, and living well will be difficult. The best option is to move elsewhere."

Zhang Baqing asked, "Move to where?"

"We're undesired by the world; we must seek a way to live in the city!" Shen Qing revealed his final thought.

"To the city?!"

Everyone looked at each other.

They had never imagined that Shen Qing would actually suggest such a solution.

"But it's not so easy to enter the city. What will we do for a living if we go there?"

The Great Zhou Country strictly controlled the identity of its citizens.

They wanted people from different places to have their specific roles, each serving their purpose.

They were all identified as hunters; if they went to the city and stayed long-term, they would eventually have no place to settle or legitimate occupation, and before long, they would be deregistered and become unemployed and homeless.

For them, this was undoubtedly a risk.

But Shen Qing didn't see it that way.