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

Chapter 85: Chapter 9 Enter the City! Enter the City! Demon Tiger Blocks the Way!

Not long ago, Zhao Ba was killed by him.

After that, there was the Huang Tian Sect incident, and the slum areas in West City were basically cleared out.

Now that area in West City is like a dragon without a head, an excellent time for fishing in troubled waters.

Take some people over, and you might be able to make your move very quickly.

These people are all our fellow villagers and undoubtedly more trustworthy.

What was then is not what is now.

In the past, he didn't have this idea, but now that the business with mountain goods is not viable, and with the demon tiger and evil official both assisting, he had no reason not to try.

"Fellow villagers and neighbors, I must be frank with you. Recently, Taiping County has cleared out a batch of remnants from the Huang Tian Sect, and the Outer City shantytowns have emptied out a large block of streets, which is just right for us to settle down."

"You heads of households are all in the hunting business. Why not broaden our horizons a bit? Prey is not only in the mountains; that Outer City can also become our hunting ground."

"Qingzi... do you mean... to have us go and rob?" A straightforward young hunter asked.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "Rob? We are hunting, fair and square. It's just that the prey is different."

Although Shen Qing's words were a bit convoluted, they still understood.

It was robbery!

Robbery sounded good.

It was much better than toiling away in the deep mountains and forests hunting rabbits.

Some of the more wild-minded hunters licked their lips, suddenly feeling an urge to give it a try.

Shen Qing continued, "I'll also share something with everyone. The Hall Master of Linfeng Hall intends to take me as a direct disciple, so we have connections to rely on in the county city. Trusting in your faith in me, I will certainly enable you all to set down roots there."

His gaze flickered, and he stooped to pick up the household register from the ground, saying, "Moreover, in the county city, the household register is only updated and checked every six months. By that time, if anyone feels like backing out and living in misery, it wouldn't be too late to return and have a way out."

"Anyway, whatever it is, is better than now. What do you all say? Are you willing or not?"

Tian Xiaohu, a loner, had long been exposed to Shen Qing's methods.

He firmly believed in his judgment and was the first to agree, saying, "Of course I'm willing. I'll join you."

"I'm also willing," Shen Xiaohu said, immediately standing up.

Shen Xiaoshan quickly followed suit.

Uncle Shen Er on the side knew that the money for the spring tax came from Shen Qing.

He didn't know exactly what happened to his nephew recently.

But being able to come up with so much money in a short time obviously meant some capability.

Since life here was unbearable, and with trust in Shen Qing and an attitude of taking a chance, Shen Er also agreed to go along.

Zhang Baqing thought the same.

One after another, nearly twenty households from Hongshan Village agreed to Shen Qing and were willing to follow him into the city.

These households were mostly young people.

The rest were the elderly, weak, or Chen family members who did not get along too well with Shen Qing.

Everyone has their own aspirations, and Shen Qing did not force anyone.

"Alright, everyone takes back however much tax you paid," Shen Qing said. "My share will go to Uncle Wang's family."

The Uncle Wang Shen Qing mentioned was the old hunter who had been killed by the tax officials.

Two and a half silver taels were given as he said.

Everyone immediately felt that Shen Qing was of high moral standing.

Shen Qing announced, "We should not delay. Those of you who have agreed to go with me, pack up quickly, have an early lunch, and we'll leave."

"Alright."

The many villagers in the village started to get moving.

Shen Qing approached Tian Xiaohu and Shen Er, reminding them, "Uncle, Xiao Hu, don't forget to take back your tax money."

Uncle Shen Er and Tian Xiaohu glanced at each other spontaneously.

Their tax money had all been given by Shen Qing.

Asking them to take it back now, wasn't that like gifting it to them?

Shen Er was deeply moved in his heart, feeling all the more that his nephew was a man who remembered kindness and sought to repay it.

Tian Xiaohu also felt that his choice was becoming more and more correct.

Returning to his home, Shen Qing didn't delay and immediately summoned his elder sister to pack up all the valuable possessions in the house, planning to move to the Outer City.

Shen Fang was quite reluctant, "Are we really moving away?"

"A tree dies when it's moved, but a person thrives. People migrate to where the living is good; these dilapidated earthen houses aren't worth clinging to."

"Alright then."

Shen Fang didn't say much more and immediately started packing.

In the twenty or so days since Shen Qing had brought things back from the city, they had almost run out of supplies.

There wasn't much left to pack.

They packed up quickly.

Just as Shen Qing was busying himself with packing, Zhang Shuyuan, who had heard about the move, came to his doorstep.

"Teacher, what's this about?" Shen Qing asked curiously.

"I wish to use the family's cart to move some books," Zhang Shuyuan said straightforwardly.

Shen Qing hadn't expected that Zhang Shuyuan, without any noise or fuss, was also planning to move. He chuckled, "Teacher, that's a small matter. Feel free to move as you need."

Zhang Shuyuan bowed in gratitude and said, "Thank you very much."

Stepping outside, Zhang Shuyuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "Most people here have already moved. If I don't move, the remaining ones simply won't care about my well-being—I might as well starve to death."

"If I starve to death, then one more person in the line of scholars left by the old master would be lost. That won't do; I must go with them."

…

By noon, many had already finished packing, and with families in tow, they stood at the entrance of the village, ready to enter the city with Shen Qing.

The few households that were unwilling to leave bade them farewell at the entrance of the village.

A hunter from the Chen Family said earnestly, "Qingzi, I'm sorry, but we won't be going with you this time. However, rest assured, we won't breathe a word about you killing the tax officials. If I hear even a whisper about it outside, I won't die a good death."

Shen Qing shook his head, speaking very seriously, "You're all mistaken. We didn't kill those two tax officials—it was the demon tiger in the mountain that killed them!"

"We discovered a demon tiger in our village. The two officials were diligently tracking its movements when they unfortunately encountered the tiger and were killed... It has nothing to do with us, right, everyone?"

The people present were not fools and quickly caught on.

Shen Qing was framing the demon tiger.

Now, the corpses of the two tax officials had been discarded in the deep mountains.

It had to be said, it made perfect sense!

"Exactly, exactly, Qingzi is right. It was the work of the demon tiger in the mountain, I saw it with my own eyes."

"I saw it as well. That demon tiger's body was reddish-yellow, and it could speak human language—it must be a spirit tiger."

"What's more? That demon tiger was leading a few wolves; I believe it's already claiming kingship in the mountains."

"…"

One by one, the people there concocted a story out of nothing, illustrating it with vivid details.

The atmosphere suddenly turned ridiculous and amusing.

"Everyone, we'll go ahead to scout the way. When things settle down, if you regret not coming, it won't be too late to join us then."

"Good, we'll await your good news, and wish you a smooth journey."

"Farewell."

Shen Qing waved his hand, and the horse carts and donkey carts gradually set in motion. Around twenty households, with familial responsibilities in tow, headed towards Taiping County amidst a mix of reluctance and anticipation.

After they had gone far, the expressions of unwillingness and difficulty on the faces of the few remaining households were immediately replaced with snickers.

"The city isn't so easy to live in; they'll know once they've hit dead ends everywhere."

"Besides, the killing of the tax officials was all Shen Qing's doing; what's it got to do with us? Those people are too easily deceived."

"Let's go back. Now that they've all left, we can choose to live in any of the vacant houses. It doesn't matter anymore if we defecate in their cooking stoves, hahaha…"

"Indeed, that's the spirit."

Just then, gusts of wind arose from the mountain.

In a patch of woods, the leaves rustled and roared, as if driven by the wind.