After saying that, he kicked the box open, scattering two hundred small gold ingots haphazardly on the ground, a rather pleasing sight. Immediately, the inspectors' minds started racing. Even Deputy Inspector Zhang, who hadn't gotten along well with Wang Hua, had his eyes light up.
You see, these inspectors only earned one or two taels of silver a month. Compared to the hardest-working farmers, that was certainly much better. But that was about it. Then, suddenly, each of them received five taels of silver—almost half a year's salary! How could they not be excited?
“Alright, sir, you are indeed very sincere. In that case, we will make the trip for you, sir, without any problem.” With that, Zhang Hui directly picked up fifty small silver ingots without any hesitation. They were really small, only one tael each, and couldn’t possibly be much bigger.
"However, I also have a few suggestions. I wonder if Your Excellency would be willing to adopt them?" Zhang Hui clasped his hands and bowed.
"Oh, tell me about it?"
"Those thieves were clearly premeditated, planned, and ruthless. They might have already fled by now. However, the second young master died just yesterday, so even if they escape, they can't get very far."
"Therefore, I suggest that you go to the county government office and ask the yamen runners for a few hunting dogs. Also, it would be even better if you could find a military warplane."
...
"Brother Peng, Brother Peng, Wang Hua is here, Wang Hua is here!" Su Qing'er exclaimed excitedly as she watched Wang Hua lead thirty fully armed patrolmen and charge directly towards the former Lin family.
At a glance, all thirty inspectors were wearing armor, albeit the lowest grade of leather armor. However, in battle, the difference between wearing armor and not wearing armor is like night and day.
It's important to understand that even now, in this world, private ownership of armor and crossbows is still prohibited. Once exposed, certain death is certain. Of course, the court doesn't care what happens in private. But publicly, this has always been one of the court's bottom lines. The dragon's reverse scale—touch it, and you die.
"Where are they? Where did they go?" Lin Yang asked with a smile, showing no sign of worry.
If it were the same weak scholar from before, he would have simply run away. But now, Lin Yang's strength has already reached the peak of the first rank, and he has mastered the three systems of literature, martial arts, and body refinement.
It's fair to say that if Lin Yang wanted to, he could wipe out all thirty men in the mountains, armed with powerful bows and crossbows, and fully armored, through guerrilla warfare. Of course, he wouldn't be able to fight them head-on on the plains.
At this moment, Su Qing'er and Lin Yang were both wearing straw hats and covered in a layer of green "clothes," which were actually just some green grass, essentially a primitive version of camouflage. Even the falcons in the sky couldn't spot them.
Seeing that the patrol team had arrived near the Lin family's residence, Lin Yang nodded and said directly, "Alright, hide in the cave behind the house. I'll be right back."
"Young Master, my martial arts skills are quite impressive. I've already reached the Great Perfection of the Acquired Realm, and those patrolmen are no match for me." As he spoke, he picked up the iron sword on his back, wanting to fight alongside Lin Yang.
Seeing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile.
He had only just begun learning the "Longevity Manual" last night, and today he had already mastered it, transforming all his accumulated knowledge from the past ten years into real strength. If it weren't for his memories from his previous life, Lin Yang might have genuinely nurtured Su Qing'er as a martial arts master with extraordinary talent.
However, Lin Yang, who possessed the original owner's memories, naturally understood that Su Qing'er's aptitude was far greater in the path of immortality. In her previous life, even after losing her primordial yin, she still managed to cultivate to the sixth rank of Celestial Immortal within just a few decades. Such powerful talent—wouldn't it be a great pity if she didn't pursue immortality?
However, Lin Yang was simply too poor at the moment. He didn't have enough resources or a quiet environment, so he could only let Su Qing'er cultivate martial arts for now, and if necessary, she could cultivate two or three elements simultaneously in the future.
"Alright, then you can hide here, take this crossbow, and shoot anyone you don't like." Lin Yang said with a smile, and then handed the crossbow to Su Qing'er.
This divine crossbow was naturally obtained by Lin Yang in the Land of Reincarnation. It cost him a full three hundred red luck points. This divine crossbow is three feet three inches long, with a string length of two feet five inches, and a range of over three hundred and forty paces.
It can be said that within a hundred paces, even iron armor can be pierced by your arrows. Within fifty paces, even a master of the Innate Realm can be killed in front of you. You don't need many, just thirty or so people, wielding such sharp weapons, and even a third-tier Grandmaster would be in mortal danger at close range.
After saying that, Lin Yang immediately lay down on the ground and crawled forward. Although he was crawling, his speed was not slow at all. By the time Wang Hua and the others led the large wolfhound into the Lin family's courtyard, Lin Yang had already arrived a hundred paces away.
"Everyone, form five-person teams and go into battle formation. Search carefully; if you can find their clothes, that would be even better. Once the wolfhounds remember their scent, the rest will be much easier," Wang Hua shouted.
"Oh, right, just in case, let's just demolish his house. After all, my second brother died from poison. No matter how potent the poison is, it won't be as effective when exposed to the elements."
Watching the crowd busy dismantling the house, Lin Yang's murderous intent intensified. Luckily, he had already moved all the ancestral tablets; otherwise, wouldn't they have been destroyed?
Then, Lin Yang raised the iron-framed bow in his hand. This was a three-stone bow, which he had brought from the Tang Dynasty world. It was only because Lin Yang had already perfected his skin-training technique and could easily exert hundreds of pounds of strength in his arms that he was able to draw this powerful bow. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't have been able to draw it.
Beside him lay dozens of specially made arrows. He recalled the archery skills he had learned in the Tang Dynasty while rubbing his muscles, especially his arms. After all, drawing a bow was truly a very strenuous task.
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Chapter Sixteen: If sacrifice is useful, what's the point of having power?
"To be honest, the inspectors are being too cautious. We are soldiers, and although we are not real officials, what difference is there between us and officials to ordinary people like us? After Lin Yang killed the second young master, he must have run away long ago. Why would he set up any traps in the house?" one of the inspectors complained.
"Well, at least we got the money from the adults. It's just demolishing a house. If there's a trap, we can at least save our lives. If there isn't, we can just consider it exercise." The inspector said as he picked up a hammer and started smashing the wall.
As for the clothes inside the room, they had already been found and placed next to the big wolfhound.
"Hey, I found a jar. Judging by its weight, it's probably money buried by the Lin family's ancestors when they were rich. I guess it was meant to be used as a lifesaver when the Lin family is poor," a patrolman shouted. According to the rules, whoever finds it first gets at least 10% of the wealth inside.
Then, the many inspectors who heard the sound began to dig. Soon, a jar about two feet square appeared before them.
"Wow, it's quite heavy. I'd guess it weighs at least twenty pounds. If it's all silver, it's worth at least two hundred taels." Wang Hua said, removing the dirt from the surface of the jar as he weighed it. After saying that, he simply lifted the jar and smashed it on the ground.
bump
As the jar shattered, ten silver ingots appeared. Each ingot weighed ten taels and was made of high-quality snowflake silver. In the center of these ten ingots was a golden bar.
However, just as Wang Hua and the others were discussing how to divide the money, they didn't notice that their previously orderly formation had suddenly become chaotic. But no one paid it any mind; after all, they had just unearthed a jar of silver—who cared about formation anymore?
"Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. Greed is indeed humanity's first original sin," Lin Yang muttered to himself.
Lin Yang's plan was not clever. To put it bluntly, it involved one hundred taels of silver and ten taels of gold. Moreover, the ten taels of gold were obtained from the Tang Dynasty world.
Is all this gold and silver a lot? For Wang Hua, it's not much. But for the inspectors, it's equivalent to nearly twenty years' salary.
But this sum of wealth, totaling no more than two hundred taels, directly destroyed their greatest asset. The army suppresses skilled fighters through disciplined formations. Otherwise, what can you do if those skilled fighters engage in guerrilla warfare?
After speaking, Lin Yang directly took out his iron-rimmed bow. Drawing the bow, nocking the arrow, aiming, and finally firing—the entire process was as fluid as flowing water, full of a kind of beauty. If the coroner from that county yamen were here, he would surely say, "This is the art of murder."
After firing one arrow, Lin Yang didn't even check the result before firing another. In just two arrows, the two guards watching the gate were dead. However, Lin Yang's good fortune ended there.
"Form ranks! Everyone, form a circle and take up your shields!" Zhang Hui shouted the order. Having been on the battlefield, he knew perfectly well that chaos was not an option at this moment.
However, at that moment, two more arrows appeared, whistling as they instantly killed another inspector. The black leather armor was utterly useless. Pierced directly by the sharp arrows, he didn't even have time to utter a final word before his neck snapped to the side, and he was gone.
"Heartless! This man is truly heartless! A normal person would flee under the cover of night after committing murder. But this man dares to stay in the same place, openly hoarding crossbows and killing patrol officers. Is he trying to rebel?" Wang Hua roared angrily.