Chapter Twenty-Nine: Slaughtering All Around

An old man approached Gu Xi.
He was as thin as a skeleton,
his body marked with signs of having been beaten.
Murmurs rose from the crowd below.
“Old Man Ding?? How dare he.”
“Yeah, what can an old man do? Stop embarrassing yourself.”
“Overestimating himself. Just wait and see.”
...
Old Man Ding stepped forward, holding the tomato Gu Xi had just sent.
“There’s something I shouldn’t say, but I think you’re wasting food,” he said, and the entire crowd gasped in shock.
Gu Xi found it rather amusing.
“Go ahead, say it,” she said, unperturbed.
Unlike those men who ruled with an iron fist,
she listened to anything useful. She was curious what the system-provided food’s problem could be.
“First, its shape is unusually regular—not naturally grown. This suggests the use of chemicals, likely ripening hormones. Second, its root is very, very short, indicating it didn’t grow in soil but is probably synthetic,” Old Man Ding explained, and the crowd erupted.
“What? Xi Ye actually dared to trick us with synthetic goods?”
“Exactly, it’s blatant bullying.”
“If you don’t want it, give it to me.”
“Hey, who said I don’t want it? Take it back!”
The crowd instantly descended into chaos again.
Gu Xi found their noise unbearable.
She fired two shots into the ceiling.
“Silence!” she commanded, restoring order.
Then she looked at Old Man Ding.
Truly a talent.
To have knowledge of cultivation in such a place was no small feat.
She admired him greatly.
“Alright, you’re in,” Gu Xi said, signaling Wang Ming to bring Old Man Ding to the back.
???
“What? Just a few words of advice and he’s in? That old man’s luck is unbelievable.”
...
No sooner had Gu Xi called for quiet than Fang Daqiang muttered in dissent.
She noticed the leader of the rebellion was none other than Fang Daqiang.
That was like walking right into the firing line.
“You, come here.” Gu Xi beckoned to Fang Daqiang.
He thought he had been chosen as well.

Just as he was about to stand behind Wang Ming,
Gu Xi grabbed his collar.
“Hey, you,” Gu Xi said, exasperated.
“First, tell me your name, what you can do, and how you’re useful!” she emphasized again.
Now everyone could see clearly.
Some began calculating their own skills, wondering what they could offer.
Fang Daqiang, questioned like this, became oddly cheerful.
“Well, I can eat, I’m strong, I can hunt, I can carry things. I have good stamina,” he rambled about his abilities.
“Hunting, huh? How do you hunt?” Gu Xi pressed.
“I usually hunt alone—pigs, dogs, cows, sheep, stuff like that. Oh! A few nights ago, I hunted with my brother!” Fang Daqiang said excitedly.
His fierce mother, seeing her son spilling everything, had no choice but to let it be, hoping Gu Xi would find her son useful. She just wanted him to have food for the rest of his life.
She half-listened to her son’s “self-introduction.”
“Your brother hunts? What do you hunt?” Gu Xi’s fists clenched.
“You don’t know. Here, if you catch an outsider, and drain their blood for seven days, there’s a reward!” Fang Daqiang continued.
“If it’s a boy, they’re turned into meat offerings. If it’s a girl, she can settle here and bear children.” He saw nothing wrong in this.
“Have you received any rewards for your hunts?”
“Not yet! Because I hunted the wrong person! The city lord wasn’t here, can you help me? Make this person my wife!”
Fang Daqiang looked like a fool.
How could someone be so arrogant?
Gu Xi remained calm.
She replied coldly, “I’ll reward you if you first drink all the city lord’s holy water. Deal?”
Hearing this condition, Fang Daqiang trembled with excitement.
He rushed to the bathtub where the city lord had died,
buried his face in the foul-smelling blood water,
gulping it down.
What kind of twisted place was this, allowing such perverse rituals?
Gu Xi absolutely could not tolerate it!
After drinking the blood water, Fang Daqiang returned to Gu Xi.
“After drinking the holy water, I feel full of energy. Please let me join your team! I want to keep hunting!” he declared loudly.
Gu Xi sneered, wiping the Winchester’s barrel with her other hand.
She disengaged the safety,
and fired three shots directly into Fang Daqiang’s fat head.
His brains splattered.
He collapsed to the ground.
The crowd screamed in panic.

Gu Xi aimed at the fierce mother in the crowd,
unleashing a burst of fire.
The fierce mother fell amidst the crowd.
Silence fell.
Everyone was terrified the next indiscriminate attack might hit them.
“Fang Daqiang here is accused of kidnapping my friend! Anyone who dares touch the bald girl from his family like me will suffer the same fate!” Gu Xi warned angrily.
Even Wang Ming stood stunned beside her.
So Gu Xi’s anger was because of Fang Daqiang’s hunting deeds.
“Also, I will continue selecting people tomorrow. If I see any more disturbances tonight—like boiling soup or cooking meat—you’ll come see me with your heads.”
Gu Xi emphasized.
Wang Ming was practically in awe.
He loved a woman like this—
strong, capable, and resolute.
After Gu Xi’s words, everyone scattered like bees.
Back home, they bolted their doors tight,
and hurriedly extinguished their fires.
Gu Xi instructed Wang Ming to tie up the guards from before,
then one by one escort them to the underground prison cells.
“Will you really abandon your comrades?” Gu Xi probed,
fearing Wang Ming might betray her in the night.
She feared treachery above all else.
“I am loyal only to the strong, and you, my noble and beautiful Xi Ye, are the strongest king in my heart,” Wang Ming said honestly, no flattery.
Gu Xi laughed.
“Enough chatter. Get ready; we’re heading to the Fang family.”
After preparing, Gu Xi and Wang Ming left the city lord’s place.
She recalled having killed Fang Daqiang and the fierce mother.
By Fang Daqiang’s description,
there must be another man in the Fang family—his brother.
If anything happens to Wang Yiyi,
she will not spare that beast,
nor the foolish townsfolk who turn a blind eye and allow such things to happen!