In this chaotic world of vying for power, I can become stronger by marrying a wife.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Scarface's 200-pound frame flew backward like a rag doll, slamming heavily into the two thugs behind him, the three of them rolling in a heap. Scarface's chest caved in, and he spat out blood mixed with fragments of internal organs; he was clearly not going to survive.

"Murder! This kid killed someone!"

"This is a tough one! Let's all go! Kill him!"

The remaining four thugs finally came to their senses, filled with shock and rage. They were used to bullying honest people, and had never seen such a vicious and unruly commoner before. One by one, they drew their knives and rushed towards Su Ming with red eyes.

"Husband, be careful!" Li Yueru exclaimed in alarm, her face pale, but she forced herself to get out of bed to help.

"Don't move, close your eyes."

Without turning his head, Su Ming flicked the ground with his toe, sending the pebbles that Zhao Hu had dropped into the yard flying. He scooped them up with his left hand and simultaneously pulled back the unassuming slingshot with his right.

Sharpshooter skill activated!

In his eyes, these thugs charging at him with bared teeth and claws moved as slowly as if they were in slow motion. Every flaw, every fatal weakness, was clearly marked on his retina.

No need to aim, it's instinct.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the bowstring vibrating in unison was like the urgent knocking of death.

Four pebbles, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, drew four straight, deadly rays in the narrow room.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The four blood flowers bloomed almost simultaneously.

The soldier at the forefront had a bloody hole between his eyebrows, his hand holding the knife froze in mid-air, and his body slid forward with the momentum, landing at Su Ming's feet.

The two who followed closely behind, one with a shattered Adam's apple, clutching his neck and making gurgling sounds, blood gushing from between his fingers; the other with a pierced temple, his eyes bulging out, fell straight backward.

The last person was a skinny monkey. Seeing that things were not going well, he tried to turn around and run away, but he was hit hard on the back of the head. A stone entered the back of his head and flew out of his eye socket, splattering red and white matter all over the ground.

In the blink of an eye.

Of the seven or eight menacing soldiers, all but two who were thrown to the ground and still convulsing were killed.

The room fell silent instantly, with only the strong smell of blood filling the air.

Su Ming slowly put down the slingshot and walked expressionlessly to the two thugs who had been pinned down by the scarred man and were dazed and confused.

The two pushed aside the scarred man's corpse and were about to get up when they saw a pair of cloth shoes covered in mud and snow stop in front of them. Looking up, they saw Su Ming looking down at them, toying with two bloodstained pebbles in his hand.

"No...don't kill me! I'm a soldier! I'm Lord Peng's man! If you kill us, our entire family will be executed!" One of them was so frightened that he wet his pants, screaming in a show of bravado but inwardly weak.

Su Ming's lips curled into a mocking smile.

Exterminate nine generations of their family?

In this chaotic world, if I don't kill you, you'll kill me. Now that we've already started, do you expect me to keep you alive to go back and report, bringing even more people to kill my entire family?

When cutting weeds, be sure to remove them at the root.

"In my next life, I hope to be reborn as a good person."

Su Ming flicked his fingers lightly.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two muffled thuds, and the world became completely quiet.

After doing all this, Su Ming finally let out a long breath, his tense muscles slowly relaxing. This was the first time he had killed someone in both his lives.

But he didn't feel disgusted or afraid; instead, he felt a thrilling, exhilarating sensation.

In this cannibalistic world, only killing can stop the fighting.

"My lord..."

Li Yueru's trembling voice came from behind.

Su Ming's heart tightened, and he quickly turned around. He was afraid of frightening her, afraid that she would think he was a ruthless monster.

However, he was stunned when he saw Li Yueru's expression.

Although Li Yueru's face was pale and her body was still trembling slightly, there was no fear or disgust in her eyes, only deep worry and...heartache.

She staggered off the bed, ignoring the bloodstains on the floor, and threw herself into Su Ming's arms, hugging his waist tightly as if she wanted to merge herself into his bones and blood.

"Husband...are you alright? Are you hurt?" She touched Su Ming's body up and down, her voice trembling with tears.

Su Ming felt a warmth in his heart, reached out and gently patted her back, saying softly, "I'm fine. Don't be afraid, it's all over."

"I'm not afraid." Li Yueru raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, but her gaze was unusually firm. "As long as I'm with my husband, I'm not afraid of death or life. It's just... if we kill the soldiers, what will happen to us..."

"It's alright, I have a way."

Su Ming comforted her for a few moments, then turned his gaze to the corpses scattered on the ground.

Killing is easy, but cleaning up the mess is difficult.

If these bodies were discovered in his house, that would be a real problem.

He crouched down and began to search the corpses.

Now that they've killed them, the spoils of war can't be left behind.

He actually found quite a few good things while touching them.

A few dozen taels of loose silver, a few pieces of inferior jade pendants, and a crumpled account book.

Su Ming flipped through the account book and glanced at it a few times, his eyes immediately becoming playful.

This document records the details of how this group extorted money in this area under the guise of "winter defense tax." Each payment is accompanied by a breakdown of the profit-sharing percentage.

Among them, the name "Liu Tao" was prominently listed, and he received the largest share.

"So they were in cahoots."

Su Ming closed the ledger, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

That Liu Tao not only wanted to steal his spiritual plant and kill him in the military camp, but now he's also sending people to extort money from him and even trying to take advantage of his wife.

Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being ruthless.

"Yueru, go boil some water." Su Ming stood up, his tone returning to calm. "Wash the bloodstains in the house clean. I'll deal with the mess."

"Okay." Li Yueru didn't ask any more questions and obediently turned to go to the kitchen.

As Su Ming watched her retreating figure, he secretly vowed in his heart: no matter what, he would protect her.

With a thought, he opened his personal space.

Ten acres of black soil, besides planting spiritual plants, would also be excellent for burying a few corpses and using as fertilizer, right?

Su Ming carried the two corpses in one hand and threw them into the open space in the corner of the room like dead dogs.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, apart from a faint smell of blood and some still damp water stains, there was no trace of a struggle left in the room.

The wind and snow continued to howl, and soon they would cover all the footprints outside.

On this frozen winter night, the death of a few wicked soldiers is like the death of a few stray dogs; no one will care.

Unless, someone is specifically looking for them.

Su Ming sat on the edge of the bed, counting the forty-five taels of silver he had looted from the corpses. Adding the fifty taels he had earned from selling medicine, he now had nearly a hundred taels in his hands.

This money was enough for him to grease palms in the military camp and even buy some cultivation resources.

[Ding! Detected that the host is protecting his wife and displaying masculinity. Li Yueru's favorability +20, current favorability: 45.]

[Congratulations, host! Your favorability rating has exceeded 40, granting you two chances to spin the prize wheel! Would you like to spin now?]

The system's voice sounded at just the right moment, like heavenly music.

Su Ming's lips curled up slightly; this was the real gain.

"lottery!"

The giant virtual turntable started spinning again.

This time, the pointer swept across "weapons," "elixirs," and "miscellaneous items," finally stopping slowly on a golden square.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you've had a stroke of good luck and drawn a special skill book: Concealing Breath Technique!]

[Concealment Technique: Perfectly hides one's cultivation aura, undetectable to those not two major realms higher than the host. It can also simulate an aura lower than one's true cultivation level.]

Su Ming's eyes lit up.

Amazing skill!

This is a classic example of the amazing skill of pretending to be weak while actually being strong!

With this, he could continue to pretend to be an ordinary person or a novice in front of Liu Tao, and then give him a big surprise at the crucial moment.

[The second lottery draw is about to begin.]

The turntable continued to spin and eventually stopped on a grid marked with a scroll.