Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 110 Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot (2)

"Song Yan, save me!"

Perhaps because she had suffered too much fear before, her voice sounded extremely shrill, like scratching a metal plate with fingernails. Song Yan subconsciously squinted when she heard it.

Upon closer inspection, he recognized the scholar covered in blood on the ground.

Who else could it be but Linghu Rui?
He was shocked.

Just moments ago, he was accusing himself of being cruel, violent, and bloodthirsty, a butcher, and a despicable son-in-law. But in less than an hour, he actually started asking himself for help.

Are all these people so shameless?

Where is your scholarly pride?
The bandits around were clearly shocked by the name Song Yan, their expressions changing drastically. After all, he was the ruthless man who had burned several thousand Japanese pirates alive. In a short time, the name Song Yan had become a household name in Songzhou Prefecture and many surrounding counties.

Some families have started using the characters "Song Yan" to scare children.

Phrases like "If you keep causing trouble, Song Yan will come" often have a pretty good effect.

When Kong Chan cheerfully told Song Yan about these things, he was filled with helplessness. What was all this about? Was he really that scary?

That's why the bandits became instinctively vigilant. Although there were dozens of them and only a few Song Yan's group, along with many women, none of them dared to relax. Some of the bandits even felt their palms were covered in sticky cold sweat.

In the end, it was the burly man who was in the lead who grew a little bolder. He stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Song Yan: "Brother Song, please."

"Please."

Just then, Linghu Rui, who was lying on the ground writhing, cried out again: "Song Yan, what are you doing? Quick, kill them! They are all bandits from Black Wind Stronghold!"

From Linghu Rui's perspective, although he had indeed had some unpleasantness with Song Yan before, it was just a minor matter.

Song Yan had once protected the entire Ningping. Regardless of the circumstances, he was still a scholar of Ningguo. Facing bandits, Song Yan should know very well who to help. Linghu Rui didn't think there was anything wrong with his request, or rather, people like him always subconsciously start from the angle that is most beneficial to themselves when considering anything.

However, Song Yan completely ignored Linghu Rui's words.

Black Wind Village?
That name sounds so familiar; I feel like I've seen it in many martial arts novels and historical novels.

This is normal, though. After all, most of those who end up as outlaws are not cultured people, and their names are often things like Black Wind Stronghold or Green Dragon Mountain, which just sound intimidating.

Speaking of which, there does seem to be a group of mountain bandits near Songzhou Prefecture.

Despite being called Black Wind Stronghold, they didn't seem to have a fixed gate; they were more like a group of wandering refugees in the deep mountains and forests.

They usually make a living by robbing passing caravans. As long as they are given money or food, they will usually let them pass, no matter how much. I have never heard of them killing anyone.

The Songzhou Prefecture also sent officers to encircle and suppress them several times, but these people lived in the mountains and forests for many years and were extremely familiar with the terrain. The encirclement and suppression efforts all failed. The Songzhou Prefect stopped paying attention to it, since no one was actually killed.

Song Yan's gaze swept over the corpses on the ground. Linghu Rui had a clear knife wound on his side, which looked like a bandit had stabbed him, but Linghu Rui had just managed to dodge it. The blade had grazed his waist and torn a gash, avoiding being disemboweled.

Since they were all refugees, and the women like Luo Yuheng, Gu Banxia, ​​and Li Qingyue were not suitable to come out, all these matters were left to Song Yan to handle. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, who were in charge of driving the carriage, remained seated and showed no intention of getting off, but their fingers silently rested on the hilt of their swords.

At the slightest sign of trouble, their scimitars would be drawn instantly with thunderous force.

Song Yan could tell that there wasn't a single martial artist among this group of bandits; they mostly relied on brute strength. If they really fought, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu could cut off the heads of these dozens of people in just half an hour.

"Isn't your Black Wind Stronghold always known for taking money and leaving without taking lives?" Song Yan's voice remained calm and unhurried.

Linghu Rui, on the ground, was convulsing in pain.

He didn't understand. Wasn't Song Yan a ruthless butcher who killed without blinking an eye? Shouldn't he have immediately drawn his sword? Why was he being so good-natured now? Was there any difference between mountain bandits and Japanese pirates?
Damn it, he has to go to the clinic to see a doctor right away, or he'll die.

The bandit leader secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Song Yan showed no intention of making a move.

He didn't know why, even though he was already over thirty and the other person looked only sixteen or seventeen, he felt an indescribable tremor the moment those eyes swept over him. He had a premonition that if Song Yan really wanted to kill them, dozens of his brothers would lose their lives in just a few breaths.

Especially the dark, murky thing that Song Yan was holding and playing with in his hand. He didn't know what it was, but he instinctively felt it was extremely dangerous.

Suppressing the nauseating fear in his heart, the bandit leader strained his neck and spoke again: "I am the chief of Black Wind Stronghold. Brother Song is right. Black Wind Stronghold has always only sought wealth, not lives, and we do not rob or rape. This is the rule of Black Wind Stronghold."

Despite being a burly man, he spoke in a very soft voice. As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Song Yan's expression, and seeing Song Yan's serious expression with a slight frown, he couldn't help but feel even more uneasy.

He spoke very seriously, down to the smallest detail, to the point that Song Yan felt he was being a bit long-winded. After a long while, Song Yan finally understood what was going on. The Black Wind Stronghold's leader was actually named Ma Han, a name that Song Yan was quite familiar with. If a dynasty were to be formed, then all four guards would be complete.

Like the other bandits in the area, they were villagers living in Majia Village, Songzhou Prefecture.

The village of Majia has very little arable land, but fortunately there are many wild animals in the mountains behind the village, so most of the villagers make a living by hunting.

Just three years ago, Ma Han's younger brother took a batch of game to the county town to sell, but was inexplicably arrested and beheaded at Caishikou in just three days on charges of murder and rape. For a noble family like Song Zhen, even a death sentence required review by the Ministry of Justice; ordinary people did not receive such treatment.

Later, Ma Han learned that a scholar from Xilin Academy had defiled a merchant's daughter. The woman, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide by hitting her head against a wall. The scholar, fearing the consequences, sought help from the county magistrate, who was a student from several previous years at Xilin Academy and thus the scholar's senior.

To the county magistrate, this was just a minor matter, so he arranged for his confidant to grab a scapegoat from the street. Coincidentally, Ma Han's younger brother appeared, dressed in animal skins, looking savage and ferocious, making him the perfect scapegoat.

Three days later, the head was severed, and the case was closed.

Xilin Academy was very united, and so was Majia Village. In a fit of rage, Ma Han, along with dozens of relatives and friends, found the scholar and chopped off his head. Then, under cover of night, he stabbed the county magistrate to death.

Having committed such a grave offense, Majia Village was naturally beyond his reach, so he simply retreated into the deep mountains and became an outlaw.

Although he had killed people, Ma Han still held onto a sliver of conscience. Despite the hardships of life deep in the mountains, he still upheld a rule of not killing civilians or abducting women. It was only today, when the scholar in the carriage announced the name of Xilin Academy, that Ma Han's ferocity was once again ignited, leading him to commit murder.

These words made Song Yan look at Ma Han with new respect. The fact that Ma Han was able to kill the enemy for his brother proved that he was a man of great loyalty and courage. The fact that he could still control his men after becoming an outlaw proved that he was not entirely devoid of goodness. The fact that so many brothers were still willing to follow him even though life was hard showed that he was skilled at managing people.

Could this person be a talented individual?

In fact, talented people have never been hard to find throughout history.

I forget who said it, but if the talents in a city or county can be discovered, they are enough to contend for the world. So, it is not strange to discover a talented person by chance, and I can't help but think of recruiting him.

Although Lei Yi and his four companions had been arranged to recruit the scattered border troops, that alone would definitely not be enough. If they could also recruit Ma Han and his group, that would be quite good.

After speaking in one breath, Ma Han was also a little thirsty, but he did not dare to hesitate for too long. He took a deep breath and bowed to Song Yan: "I know that Brother Song hates evil as if it were his enemy. If Brother Song wants to arrest me, Ma Han will not resist."

"But this murder has nothing to do with my brothers, so please let them go, Brother Song."

The other bandits began to rustle and whisper, some of them looking resentful. Although Song Yan was infamous, he was still just a boy. Did they think all their brothers would be afraid of him? Some of them immediately started shouting that they would live and die with Ma Han.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Ma Han's forehead. He quickly stopped his brothers from shouting and secretly glanced at the strange black stick-like object in Song Yan's hand. He felt a chill run down his spine, a feeling even more intense than encountering a tiger in the deep mountains.

Therefore, he dared not act recklessly in front of Song Yan.

Song Yan smiled and said, "Arrest you? Why would I arrest a law-abiding citizen like you?"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

A law-abiding citizen?

Those bandits never imagined they would one day be called law-abiding citizens. Some even looked at the bloody corpses on the ground, wondering how this scene could be associated with law-abiding citizens.

Linghu Rui was dumbfounded. His body trembled slightly, and he instinctively shouted, "Song Yan, what... what nonsense are you talking about? They are bandits, kill them quickly! I am a scholar, and Ningguo has laws that require us to help scholars in distress. You are the magistrate of Anning County, how can you treat the law like a joke? I beg you, kill them."

Song Yan sighed. Ningguo had ultimately been too lenient with scholars; look what kind of trash they had produced.

While inwardly grumbling, Song Yan's smile grew even wider: "Brother Linghu, I am truly sorry, but I deeply agree with what you said to me before."

"In this short period of time, I reflected on everything I had done. My previous act of burning the Japanese pirates was truly too cruel."

"Therefore, I laid down my butcher's knife and became a Buddha on the spot."

"Even a butcher like me, who kills without hesitation, can be reformed. It seems that the Four Books and Five Classics that Brother Linghu has mastered truly have magical power. Why don't you try using the Four Books and Five Classics, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom to educate these mountain bandits?"

"Brother Linghu, I believe in you, you can definitely do it."

In an instant, Linghu Rui's eyes widened and his mouth opened wide, but he couldn't utter a sound.

enlightenment?

What kind of education is this?!
(End of this chapter)