You looked at Third Sister's haggard face, her emaciated body, and the lifelessness in her eyes.
You felt a surge of nameless fury rise from deep within.
Everyone present only felt a gust of wind pass by.
With your current cultivation level, these ordinary mortals couldn't even perceive your movements clearly.
"Crack, crack..."
The sounds of breaking bones echoed one after another.
All the landlord's thugs who had just laid hands on Chen Yun and your niece had their legs and arms broken!
"Ahhhhh! My hand! My leg!!"
You deliberately left them with one leg and one arm each.
Death would be too merciful for these scoundrels who tyrannized the countryside. You wanted them to experience, for the rest of their lives, the bitter taste of being at the bottom rung of society.
As these men lay injured, not a single villager around pitied them. The fact that no one cheered loudly was already a sign of great restraint.
The County Magistrate understood the situation perfectly but played along, reprimanding his officers.
"What's wrong with you all? Be more careful when arresting people! How did you manage to break their arms and legs? How are they supposed to serve in the military now?"
When those above set an example, those below follow. With a leader so adept at reading the room, his subordinates were the same.
"Our apologies, Magistrate! It was our mistake! Since these men can't serve in the military anymore, how about we banish them to the Beggars' Sect?"
The County Magistrate waved his hand dismissively.
"That's a fine suggestion. Do it."
You took Third Sister's rough hand and glanced at your niece beside her.
"How did things come to this? Where has Brother-in-law gone?"
Chen Yun pulled you along to the place she and her daughter now called home.
A thatched hut at the very edge of Huowang Village.
It leaked wind and water. At first glance, one might even mistake it for a cowshed.
"After your brother-in-law was taken away, Jia'er and I only had each other.
Five years ago, Landlord Zhang from the county town took a fancy to Jia'er and wanted to marry her.
He was already over sixty, and he was known to beat and curse his wives and concubines. How could I let Jia'er jump into that fire pit?
I refused, so he arranged for people to harass the two of us constantly, every other day.
I tried to do some handicraft work to earn a little for the household, but he had people smash my stall and even demanded we compensate him..."
Speaking of these sorrowful matters, mother and daughter couldn't help but shed tears again.
In short, under Landlord Zhang's relentless persecution, Chen Yun and Shen Jia's lives grew increasingly difficult.
Until they could no longer sustain themselves and were forced to sell the Shen Qingshan family courtyard at a pittance.
Mother and daughter, thinking to distance themselves from the county town, came to settle in Huowang Village.
Who would have thought that disgusting Landlord Zhang still wouldn't let them go?
When the mother and daughter wanted to farm, he forcibly bought up all the land in Huowang Village, turning the entire village into his tenant farmers.
Most of the grain harvested each year had to be handed over to this old landlord. What remained for the villagers themselves was never enough to eat.
But if they failed to deliver the rent grain, the old landlord would seize everything from their homes to offset the rent, and they'd even get a beating.
That's why Chen Yun and her daughter were now reduced to living in nothing but this thatched hut.
The County Magistrate was also listening nearby.
He was listening so intently that sweat beaded on his forehead.
You turned to look at him.
"Magistrate Chen, we share the same surname. Look at the lives your people are living, how bitterly they suffer. Does it have nothing to do with you?"
Magistrate Chen wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
"Great Hero, you don't understand. This Landlord Zhang has connections in the capital! He has a sister who is a concubine of Prince De. That's why he dares to act so lawlessly here."
"A concubine? Ha! One might mistake her for the Princess Consort!"
"Yes... a concubine indeed holds little status within the Prince's mansion, but it's still the Prince's mansion, right? Not to mention ordinary folk, even I, the County Magistrate, usually have to show him some respect."
You used "The Only True Prophet in the Whole Game" to verify this Magistrate Chen's identity.
He was a good person.
But even good people know how to protect themselves.
Still, knowing he was a good person was enough.
This way, when Landlord Zhang's entire household is mysteriously wiped out tomorrow by some unknown Demonic Path Martial Artist passing through, this magistrate who is so adept at reading the room probably won't investigate too deeply.
"Magistrate Chen, you may go attend to your duties."
The magistrate left.
Now, you wanted to focus on understanding what exactly happened to Shen Qingshan.
Chen Yun recalled the events of ten years ago.
Just as the magistrate had said, two powerful martial artists arrived at the Shen family, flying through the air, astonishing all the townsfolk.
And their target was actually Shen Qingshan, the Small Banner Officer of the county's Demon Slaying Division.
"Your brother-in-law didn't know them, but those two elders said they were elders of the Shen family, coming to take your brother-in-law home."
"Take Brother-in-law home? So Brother-in-law just abandoned his wife and daughter and left with them?"
"Fourth Brother, don't speak of your brother-in-law that way. When two strangers suddenly told him he was actually from an ancient clan with a heritage spanning tens of thousands of years, Qingshan didn't believe it at first either.
And even if it were true, he didn't want to leave us.
But those two elders were adamant;
they insisted on taking him.
They said it was a tremendous opportunity. If he could seize it, even with his weak martial arts aptitude, he might one day surpass the Spirit Condensation realm and become something like a Martial King..."
Listening to this, you felt your own heart stir.
Such a heaven-sent opportunity, why didn't it fall on my head?
Why am I not some long-lost pearl of a great family?
You were very curious. On what basis did this so-called Ancient Shen Family determine that Shen Qingshan was one of their own?
Chen Yun indicated it was through their cultivation technique.
Anyone capable of cultivating the "Righteous Sun Formula" was a member of the Shen family.
If you were an outsider, you couldn't cultivate the Shen family's hereditary technique.
You were stunned.
Because you could cultivate it too!
What kind of bug was this?
"Huh? Then does that mean I could..."
Having successfully intercepted Old Liu before, Chen Yi suddenly felt that intercepting Shen Qingshan in the next simulation might also be a good idea.
It wouldn't affect the real Shen Qingshan anyway.
Once he figured out what this opportunity actually was, he wouldn't need to intercept it in future simulations. Perhaps he could even point Shen Qingshan in the right direction, helping him decide whether to go or not.
In any case, Shen Qingshan had no choice.
The Ancient Shen Family was determined to take him.
Shen Qingshan wanted to bring his wife and daughter along but was told his current status and position within the Shen family were too low;
he wasn't qualified to bring family members from the Outer Domains.
If he truly wanted to bring his wife and daughter into the Inner Domains, it would only be possible after he improved his standing within the Shen family.
"Outer Domains? Inner Domains?"
"They said the Shen family doesn't live on this land of the Five Domains. They live in the sky, among the starry domains!"
"They live on the stars?"
The Shen family is that incredible?
You inwardly cursed for being late.
Next time, you must get there a step ahead!
Like the tide arriving at the Qiantang River, only today did I realize I am Shen Qingshan!
Chen Yun didn't know any more details.
That day, the two Shen family elders didn't speak much with Shen Qingshan.
You gave Chen Yun a large sum of money, telling her to take Shen Jia to the county town and buy a new courtyard, to stop living in the village's dilapidated hut.
Chen Yun was shocked.
"Fourth Brother! So much money? Third Sister can't accept this, you worked hard to earn it..."
"It wasn't hard work. It's all ill-gotten wealth. I'm just returning it to the hands of the common people."
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