Ita Era

Chapter 120 Soldiers, Zombies, and Bandits

Ding Shi also saw soldiers, but not spear-wielding soldiers, but rather soldiers carrying bows and swords. They passed by the ancestral hall, their eyes fixed on Ding Shi, and walked to the eaves of a building. There was an A-frame ladder by the eaves, and they climbed up the ladder to the roof.

Ding listened intently, but heard no sound of tiles breaking. Had this copy once again turned Newton upside down?
A soldier, armed and in leather armor, weighs at least 80 kilograms. Such a heavy object, when stepped on a tiled roof, would not only make no sound, but could actually break through the roof. If you're suggesting soldiers possess superhuman agility, then there's no need for A-frame ladders.

Just then, the four guards parted to the left and right, and the door to the inner ancestral hall opened, revealing a zombie dressed in Qing Dynasty official attire. Ding Shi immediately recognized it as a black zombie—pretty tough, but not extremely tough. It feared sunlight, dared not move during the day, and would actively attack humans.

Unlike the zombie San Niang that Ding Shi met in Taoyuan Village, this black zombie had many yellow talismans pasted on its body. With a light leap, it covered more than ten meters and arrived directly in front of Ding Shi.

Ding Shi had already grasped the Golden Thunder Talisman in his hand. The black zombie, arrogant and disregarding everyone, turned around, faced the gate of the outer ancestral hall, and leaped more than ten meters, already leaving the outer ancestral hall.

Then, two white zombies appeared at the entrance of the inner ancestral hall. The white zombies were weaker than the black zombies, and their most notable trait was their fear of humans. They didn't jump as far as the black zombies, and hopped away from the outer ancestral hall.

Ding Shi had already guessed the general idea: the soldiers and zombies weren't working together; the zombies' appearance was likely to eliminate the soldiers. But what was the purpose of the soldiers' appearance? To eliminate the players? Why?
"Who?" Ding Shi turned his head and saw a man in black climbing into the outer ancestral hall through the window. He was masked and holding a stick. He raised his hand and threw a dart at Ding Shi, who was ten meters away.

Ding Shi had been playing darts for years; judging from his hand gesture, I knew he was about to throw. So I rolled to the side, and the dart stuck into the table. The four guards drew their long sticks from their backs; two stood guard at the gate, while the other two stepped forward and engaged the shadowy figure in a fierce exchange of blows. The two sides were evenly matched, and after a few exchanges, both retreated a few steps.

Just as everyone was about to regroup and fight again, a dart pierced the neck of the man in black. The man touched the dart, looking at Ding Shi in disbelief. Ding Shi clapped his hands, saying that only what you learn yourself truly belongs to you.

The guards glanced at Ding Shi for two seconds, then retreated together to the inner ancestral hall gate.

Ding Shi stepped forward and touched the corpse. He pulled down the mask of the man in black and took a look, quite surprised to find that the man was actually a dockworker from the Bamboo Courtyard. How could he be so skilled? Ding Shi found a letter on the man in black.

It turns out the dockworker drew the identity of a notorious bandit. His accomplice murdered the real Wang Ershi, and he took Wang Ershi's place at the Wang residence. He immediately made contact with his accomplice who was already infiltrating the Wang residence. Tonight, as a player, he acted more proactively, wanting to test the defenses of the inner ancestral hall and the strength of the guards, but unexpectedly, he was shot dead by Ding Shi's dart.

Although the letter didn't explicitly state it, Ding Shi vaguely guessed that the dockworkers were so skilled in combat because they had joined the bandit gang and received system buffs. As bandits, they were bound to be better fighters than ordinary people.

Furthermore, judging from the information in the letters, the notorious thieves' target was the batch of property that Old Master Wang wanted to distribute, which they believed was kept in the inner ancestral hall. In the words of the letters, if they succeeded in this heist, their descendants would be guaranteed a life of luxury for three generations.

Let's take stock of the new species. First: Soldiers.

The second possibility is that the zombies came from the inner ancestral hall. Considering that Old Master Wang's father was a Taoist priest, it makes sense that he kept zombies to guard the house.

The third type: notorious bandits, who have no restrictions.

One of Ding Shi's biggest concerns was whether notorious bandits and their guards possessed Mauser C96 pistols. The 20-round Mauser C96 was a common weapon among bandits and militia leaders at the time. The Mauser C96 originated in Germany. After World War I, German military production was restricted, preventing the manufacture of automatic rifles and submachine guns. Therefore, the Germans developed automatic pistols.

If we had the Mauser C96, the three new species would all be forces that Ding Shi wouldn't dare to mess with.

However, the Ita instance also offers a way out: eat obediently, see a doctor if you eat the wrong thing, and do manual labor if you don't eat. Stay in your room at night and wear your identification tag when you go out. As long as you follow the rules, the danger level doesn't seem to be very high.

Based on the current situation, players can gather information at the royal residence, allowing them to join a faction and compete for more wealth. Another unique feature of this instance is that once you acquire the wealth, even if you commit suicide, the wealth remains yours.

A short while later, the steward arrived at the outer ancestral hall with two guards. After checking on the dockworkers, the steward waved, and one of the guards carried the dockworkers' bodies into the inner ancestral hall. The steward then came over to greet Ding Shi: "Thank you for your great help, Young Master Nineteen. The man who just died was a bandit from Da Niu Mountain."

Ding Shi asked, "Da Niu Mountain?"

The steward replied, "The Da Niu Mountain range is the mountain behind Wangjia Village. Originally, it was inhabited by poor people who couldn't afford to eat and would intercept passing merchants to beg for a meal. In recent years, a scholar came to the mountain stronghold and became the strategist of the Da Niu Mountain bandits. They began to arm themselves and attack villages around the Da Niu Mountain range. They only kill landlords and squeeze out a little grain from their fingers to distribute to the poor in the villages, so their reputation has grown. Now they have more than a hundred men and more than two hundred guns."

Ding Shi asked, "There aren't many villages in the mountains, are there?"

The steward said, "They only attack the same village every year or two. After two years, the village can support one or two people who are relatively wealthy and have enough food. Whoever is the richest and has the most food will die."

Ding Shi admired this idea; it was brilliant. By offending a dead man, he gained the support of a group of poor people, making full use of the resentment towards the rich.

The steward said, "Because the villagers favored the bandits, the provincial capital organized militias to suppress them several times, but they failed to wipe them out. A few months ago, they set their sights on our Wang family. It's not the theft itself that's scary, but the fact that they're eyeing us. The master had no choice but to spend money to ensure our safety, which is why he decided to let the Wang family's descendants come back to divide the property."

Ding Shi asked, "Why not give the money to the bandits?" What he really wanted to ask was, since the money was going to be distributed to the Wang family's descendants, why not just give it to the bandits to buy them peace?

The steward replied, "How much is enough? If you give half today, the bandits will come after you for the remaining half tomorrow. If you give ten percent today, they will suspect that you are hiding the other ten percent. The bandits will not be satisfied until they confiscate the property and kill all the Wang family members. Once the property is divided, the master can dismiss the servants and settle in the provincial capital with his wife and young master, and then there will be no more of this."

Ding Shi had another question: "Isn't it forbidden to go out after 11 o'clock? Butler, what do you mean?"

The butler explained, "We kept you in your rooms because we were afraid you'd run into these bandits. This Wang Twenty is clearly not a real descendant of the Wang family; he's an informant for the bandits."

Ding Shi asked, "The bandits have guns, can we hold them off?"

The butler said, "This place is close to the provincial capital and there's a highway nearby, so they won't dare to launch a large-scale attack on the Wang family. As for the guns, they're all long guns, so they can't bring them in."

Ding Shi still wanted to ask questions—questions about Tang Dynasty soldiers, questions about zombies, countless questions. The steward, however, didn't want to answer anymore, bowed, and went to the inner ancestral hall.

Ten minutes later, the steward left the inner ancestral hall, and the two guards who were waiting for him left the outer ancestral hall.

The soundproofing at the Wang residence was quite good; Ding Shi didn't hear any other noises. While waiting idly until 1 a.m., Ding Shi headed towards the inner ancestral hall. The guards glanced at the badge on Ding Shi's waist and stepped aside.

Upon entering, there was a passageway. After walking about ten meters, a crossroads appeared, with a guard standing on each side blocking the way. Ding Shi continued forward, walking another ten meters or so, and entered the inner hall. The inner hall was about 50 square meters in size. The most conspicuous feature was the densely packed ancestral tablets, arranged in layers, occupying an area of ​​about 20 square meters. Ding Shi glanced at them a few more times and felt very uncomfortable, as if someone was watching him from that direction.

Old Master Wang, dressed in a Taoist robe, sat on a prayer mat facing the memorial tablet, his eyes closed in meditation. After a long while, he said, "Sit."

There are chairs and tea tables on the left and right sides. The chairs are against the wall, and the tea tables are placed to one side. Two chairs and one tea table make up a set. The main seat is set in the middle, with its back to the ancestral tablet.

Old Master Wang was seventy years old, with a lot of hair and very little gray. He had a loud voice and began to speak as soon as he sat down: "Our Wang family has survived countless internal and external troubles to this day, and we have always managed to get through them safely. But times have changed. In this world, having guns is the only way to win. I, Wang Yi, cannot protect even a small piece of the Wang family's land."

Old Master Wang continued, "I already know about the ancestral hall incident. I believe you've also seen that bandits have infiltrated my Wang residence. Today was just a test; who knows what might happen tomorrow? I need you to do something for me. If you accomplish this, you can receive 1% of the Wang family's assets."

That's 10%.

Ding Shi asked, "Please speak." He liked people who got straight to the point and didn't beat around the bush.

Old Master Wang didn't mind Ding Shi's choice of words and said, "Before 11 p.m. the day after tomorrow, help me kill my wife and adopted son." Old Master Wang waved his hand.

The guards standing to one side walked over and placed a leather bag on the tea table next to Ding Shi, with four throwing knives and a dagger stuck in it.

Grandpa Wang said, "They live in the east courtyard, without any guards. There's some firewood piled up in the southwest corner. If you move the firewood aside, you can see a dog hole."

Ding Shi said, "It sounds like it's a piece of cake, so why do you need my help?" He didn't ask why he wanted to kill his wife and children.

Old Master Wang said, "In recent days, I have sent no less than ten skilled men to the East Courtyard, but not one of them has come out alive."

Ding Shi laughed and said, "The old man really thinks highly of me."

Old Master Wang said, "You are not alone. The main houses of the plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, west, south and north are all your allies."

Oh, so that's the real secret of the main wife's family. They gained some power in exchange for working for Old Master Wang. No wonder I only have a 0.1% share; the majority is in the hands of the main wife.

Old Master Wang added, "If you want money and power, you have to do things."

Ding Shi asked, "What's with the soldiers and zombies?"

Old Master Wang said, "During the Taiping Rebellion, over a hundred million people died, causing immense suffering and chaos throughout the land. To protect the Wang family's business, my father was forced to raise corpses for self-preservation, and now only one-tenth of them remain. They are now guarding the inner hall for me. As for the soldiers you saw, they are paper figures. They kill people and steal their souls, then put the souls into paper, fold the paper into soldiers, and then use the soldiers to kill people."

Ding Shi then asked another question: "Who is in charge of the Wang residence now?" If it's Old Master Wang, simply cut off Madam Wang's food supplies. If it's Madam Wang, replace the steward with one of her own and replace all the guards.

Old Master Wang sighed deeply, "It's my fault for not recognizing people properly."

Not long after marrying Mrs. Wang, Mr. Wang felt guilty towards his young and kind wife, so he transferred half of the ownership of the Wang residence to her. After their falling out, Mr. Wang wanted to kill Mrs. Wang, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Wang had made a will in the provincial capital, stipulating that upon her death, the Wang residence under her name would belong to the government.

On the surface, Old Master Wang and Madam Wang reached a peace. The property remained in Old Master Wang's hands, and the guards, steward, servants, and farmhands all worked for him. Madam Wang also owned some fertile land and employed tenant farmers and farmhands, enough to support herself and her adopted son.

To put it simply, they separated the family but not the house, and both sides wanted to kill each other.

Grandpa Wang answered all of Ding Shi's questions, but Ding Shi felt that the old man was not honest, although some of the information he provided was probably true. There weren't many zombies, and Madam Wang could control paper figures.

The steward is the old man's man, and the old man uses yellow talismans to control the two or four corpses, seemingly to protect the Wang family descendants. The paper soldiers attack, seemingly targeting the Wang family descendants. Everything sounds logical, the only problem is that the paper soldiers passed by the ancestral hall, saw Ding Shi at close range, but did not attack him.

Previously, Ding Shi believed the ancestral hall was protected, which was why the paper figures hadn't attacked him. From Old Master Wang's words, Ding Shi learned that Old Master Wang relied on the zombies and guards to protect himself and his property. In other words, the outer ancestral hall wasn't protected, so why didn't the soldiers attack Ding Shi?

Ding Shi asked one last question: "Grandpa, are there evil spirits in the Wang residence?"

When Old Master Wang looked directly at Ding Shi for the first time, Ding Shi was completely bald. After meeting his gaze, Old Master Wang finally answered, "There are no evil spirits."

lie!

There was too much information, some true and some false, and Ding Shi couldn't analyze it all at once. On the surface, it seemed to be paper figures, zombies, and bandits; the information he and the other players had gathered, along with the butler's and the old man's answers, all pointed to this. But why hadn't they mentioned any evil spirits?

Are zombies and paper figures meant to ward off evil spirits?

Ding Shi said, "Then I'll take my leave." No wonder this copy has a deposit; not only do the evil spirits not know the rules of killing, but even the evil spirits themselves are being secretive.

Ding Shi left the ancestral hall smoothly. On his way back to his room, he passed through an archway and met a guard.

The guards stood by the archway to the left. Ding Shi subconsciously took a step back, steadied himself, and looked around. He realized that the archway guarded by the guards led to the East Courtyard.

Assuming the guards are all the old man's men, does that mean the old man imprisoned Madam Wang? Since Madam Wang can make paper figures, why was she trapped by the guards?
Therefore, it is clear that Old Master Wang's words are largely unreliable, yet he did indeed give himself a throwing knife and a dagger.

Heh, old man, I don't know if you want to kill Madam Wang, but I know you definitely want the players to fight amongst themselves.

(End of this chapter)