In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

poof.

That unfortunate thug would never have imagined that Qin Shaolang, this honest but useless "good-for-nothing doctor," would actually dare to kill him.

He saw Qin Shaolang raise the woodcutter's knife immediately, but he was not afraid at all.

He even put his hands on his hips, looking disdainfully mocking.

"My brother's here today, you dare try to cut me!"

Faced with such an unsuspecting and foul-mouthed opponent, Qin Shaolang naturally thought, "Try and I'll kill you!"

With one slash, the thug's face was filled with astonishment, covered in blood, and his body convulsed as he collapsed to the ground.

Blood was spreading across the ground, following the thug's corpse.

Zhao the Crippled Dog was startled and, disregarding his dignity, quickly stood up, dragging his lame leg.

"Grab your weapons!"

The thugs never expected to encounter such a situation today.

In the past, when they came here to bully Qin Shaolang, no matter how wronged he was, Qin Shaolang would just silently endure it.

This time they were caught off guard and didn't bring any fighting equipment!

In their panic, they could only grab a few sticks from the nearest tree and huddled together.

Zhao Quegou and his thugs breathed a sigh of relief after they were all ready.

He immediately rebuked.

"Qin Shaolang, what's wrong with you? We're just here to collect debts!"

"You, you actually dared to kill someone!"

……

While Zhao Quegou and the others banded together, Qin Shaolang was not entirely inactive. He carried a bloodstained woodcutter's knife, circled around, and only stopped when he stood in front of Su Jin and Su Tang.

The other side has a large number of people and they are deliberately grouped together, which makes them very difficult to deal with.

Even in his prime, he might not have been able to defeat them all, let alone in his current frail state.

Qin Shaolang suddenly raised the wood-chopping knife in his hand.

This single action was enough to put Zhao Quegou and the others on high alert, causing them to grip their sticks tightly.

Their reaction naturally did not escape Qin Shaolang's notice, and he immediately laughed.

"I'm not a ruthless killer, why are you all so nervous?"

As he spoke, Qin Shaolang bent his arm, clamped the blade between his elbows, and slowly pulled the woodcutter's knife out.

Most of the blood on the knife was wiped away, but his sleeves were covered in bloodstains.

This action was originally intended to wipe away the blood from the swords while they were still wet after killing the enemy. This prevented prolonged soaking from corroding the weapons and thus served as a way to maintain them.

However, under the circumstances at that time, Qin Shaolang's move was only to intimidate his opponents.

What he needs is temporary peace talks.

Let them lower their guard, and that's when you'll be able to take their lives one by one!

Seeing the tense expressions on Zhao Quegou's and the others' faces, Qin Shaolang slammed his wood-chopping knife onto the table.

He casually pulled over a stool and sat down, calmly stroking his chin. He glanced at the corpse on the ground, which had stopped twitching, and suddenly smiled.

"You all heard it just now, he told me to chop it."

Zhao the Cripple felt a strange sense of relief, and suddenly, a smile that looked more like a grimace appeared on his old face.

"Qin Shaolang, don't misunderstand. We were just joking. That idiot wanted to die, and none of us could stop him. It's not your fault."

Hearing this, Qin Shaolang nodded slightly, then said, "Since there's nothing else, please go back. No need to see me off."

Zhao the Crippled Dog quickly nudged the thugs beside him, and several of them huddled together, slowly moving towards the door. Throughout the process, their eyes were fixed on Qin Shaolang.

They were afraid that this madman would suddenly come out with a wood-chopping knife and attack again.

They're just thugs, they just want to take advantage of others.

I never thought I'd risk my life; it's not worth it!

Besides, there was already a corpse on the ground, which was the best deterrent to them.

As soon as Zhao Quegou moved to the doorway, before he could utter a few more harsh words, the thugs around him immediately scattered!

Only Zhao the Crippled Dog was left all alone.

Seeing this, Qin Shaolang smiled and said to Zhao Quegou.

"You're staying behind alone; is there something you'd like to discuss with me privately?"

Qin Shaolang emphasized the word "alone".

Winning hearts and minds is also part of the plan.

Zhao the Cripple hurriedly glanced back and saw his men fleeing the courtyard without looking back, not even glancing at him.

"Damn it, these bunch of useless trash!"

Zhao the Cripple gritted his teeth, holding back a bellyful of harsh words he hadn't yet uttered, and hurriedly stepped out of the house.

After the thugs left, Qin Shaolang picked up his wood-chopping knife and went out of the house. He carefully inspected the house and only returned inside after confirming that the thugs were gone.

Only then did he have the mind to deal with the two sisters' affairs.

Su Jin's face was deathly pale. She buried her younger sister Su Tang's face in her chest. Judging from her rapid breathing, she was very nervous.

Qin Shaolang casually tossed aside the wood-chopping knife and squatted down to start cleaning the corpse.

"They won't let this go!"

Su Jin suddenly spoke up to remind him, which made Qin Shaolang look at him with great curiosity.

"Tell me your thoughts."

Su Jin's voice was still trembling slightly.

"Eliminate evil completely."

These four words made Qin Shaolang's brows furrow tightly.

This is the Great Wei Dynasty, not the modern era before I traveled here. To ensure their social status, scholars have gone to great lengths to make knowledge a standard requirement for intellectuals, leaving commoners with no way to learn it.

Besides, she was a lady from a respectable family, and her studies should have included weaving and embroidery. The phrase "eliminating evil completely" should have had nothing to do with her.

Unless one is the daughter of a military family, one might overhear snippets of conversation among elders.

Su Jin's identity is definitely not as simple as she claims.

Seeing that Qin Shaolang remained silent, Su Jin tightened her grip on Su Tang.

"If you let them go out of pity, they will find a chance to deal with you. My father always said, 'It's easy to defend against a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!' Besides, you just killed someone, the officials will definitely come to investigate!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shaolang couldn't help but give Su Jin a thumbs up in his heart.

not bad.

They're not those naive girls who only vent their emotions; future communication should be much easier.

As Qin Shaolang packed the bodies into sacks according to the original plan, he then gave instructions to Su Jin.

"What you just said is exactly what I was thinking, but you've got one thing wrong. In this era, killing isn't a big deal. Right now, powerful ministers are in charge of the Great Wei Kingdom, and the government is corrupt. Those in power are busy embezzling money from all sides to fill their private coffers. Just like how I bought you for only a bag of rice. Even if the officials come, a bag of rice will be enough to send them away."

After saying that, Qin Shaolang picked up the sack containing the corpse and walked straight out of the room: "Use the hoe under that pile of weeds, dig away the bloody soil, and find a place to bury it."

He certainly knew the principle of eliminating the root of the problem, but he deliberately wasted time cleaning up the corpses because he believed that Zhao the Crippled Dog would not let him off easily and would definitely send someone back to check the situation.

All the actions taken so far have been merely a facade to lull them into a false sense of security.