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

Qin Shaolang analyzed it carefully in his mind.

Given Zhao Quegou's illiterate knowledge, he could not possibly have come up with such a well-thought-out plan.

If he can really come up with a solution, the bandit gang will definitely have to bring him back to be their strategist.

They shouldn't be stuck here doing the drudgery of collecting rent and robbing.

The only explanation is...

Similar incidents have already occurred in other places.

Because of his identity as a member of the mountain stronghold, Zhao Quegou was able to get some information, mostly from rumors he heard while reporting from within the stronghold.

Although the Great Wei Dynasty is still alive today, its demise is only a matter of time.

Just like some people who, even though they are already dead, must wait until the seventh day after their death to be buried.

That's how the Great Wei Dynasty was.

Just then, another sound came from inside the house.

"Brother Zhao, shall we set off for the mountain stronghold now?"

It was Scarface who volunteered.

It was clearly meant to express his loyalty.

Zhao the Cripple shook his head and glanced at the five unreliable thugs.

"If you go tomorrow, it will be the middle of the night. Even if you get to the stronghold, you won't find anyone and will have to freeze outside all night. I'm not like some ungrateful wretches; I can't bear to see my brothers suffer."

Scarface showered him with gratitude and flattery once again.

While the praises echoed throughout the dilapidated temple, Qin Shaolang had already taken the opportunity to sneak towards the backyard of the temple.

He remembered someone saying earlier that there were tools in the backyard.

Even an ordinary weapon is better than the machete in my hand.

When he committed the crime, the sharpness of the machete was extremely questionable; it could only be described as a combination of chopping and smashing. He relied on his knowledge of human skulls and took a shortcut to kill with a single blow.

If he could use a sharper weapon, given his current physical condition, he could easily take on two or three people at once.

Weapons are the key to humans' complete victory over wild beasts, and the quality of weapons is also a basis for judging the combat effectiveness of soldiers.

Of course, once you have enough weapons, the most important thing is armor that focuses on defense.

In most dynasties, possessing weapons privately was not a big deal, but possessing armor privately was a capital offense.

"Found it."

Qin Shaolang found the weapon in a separate wooden shed in the corner of the backyard.

For a group of thugs, the idea of ​​wrapping their weapons in coarse burlap and building a wooden shed was already the limit of their patience.

Qin Shaolang quickly organized the weapons.

Two short swords, a waist knife he carried, a horn bow, and ten arrows.

"Not bad, it should be enough for self-defense."

Judging from this weapon configuration, it should be standard equipment for archers.

After all, reality is not a game, and there is no need to consider balance. The cavalry's natural enemy is not spear infantry, and archers are not weak and frail girls who can only shoot arrows from the shadows; in fact, they are quite the opposite.

Those who can draw a bow are mostly burly, rugged men with thick beards.

Generally, archers would fire their arrows before the actual battle began. When the two armies clashed, they would also have to draw their swords and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

These weapons also confirm Zhao Quegou's statement that the leader of the mountain stronghold was a soldier.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to provide such a complete set of weapons that closely matches the standard.

Besides the weapons, Qin Shaolang also discovered their "secret stash" of money while sorting through the weapons.

The quantity was small, only two taels of silver.

If we are frugal, it can barely last a family of three for two years.

After all, copper coins were the most commonly used currency in everyday transactions, while silver was simply a much larger denomination of "copper coins".

After packing up his spoils, Qin Shaolang took a deep breath.

There were seven people in the dilapidated temple at that moment: five thugs who would definitely run away if a fight broke out, and Zhao the Cripple and his loyal henchman, Scarface.

Now that we have weapons, killing them isn't difficult. The real challenge is how to eliminate them silently, without catching a single one!

If even one person escapes and sends the news to the mountain stronghold, and the bandits there want to save face by secretly sending someone to investigate, he will be the prime suspect and his situation will become extremely dangerous.

Qin Shaolang drew his sword and squinted.

"Today, let us take this opportunity to rid the people of a scourge."

Late at night.

Qin Shaolang, the hunter, was extremely patient. He waited until the seven people fell asleep one after another before making his move.

Once the snoring had filled the air, he felt the time was right and sneaked into the dilapidated temple.

To Qin Shaolang's surprise, Scarface wasn't asleep; he was leaning against a pillar, lazily yawning.

"Looks like I'm in luck."

When you yawn, you relax and your vision narrows rapidly. Combined with the dim light, this prevented Scarface from noticing Qin Shaolang's intrusion immediately.

He didn't realize something was wrong until the hurried footsteps were right in front of him.

Qin Shaolang, like a hungry wolf, pounced straight for the vital points!

The short knife in his hand sliced ​​across Scarface's neck, cutting off his chance to scream. Then he pulled out the knife again, aimed at the central nervous system in his neck, and plunged it in!

Scarface's body suddenly lost control, and he collapsed to the ground.

Scarface wasn't quite dead yet, but he was completely immobile and couldn't make a sound. He could only wait in despair for death to come.

As a military doctor, Qin Shaolang knew how to save lives because he had a deep understanding of the human body. But similarly, because he was familiar with the body's structure, he naturally knew how to quickly and easily kill the enemy.

After gently placing Scarface, the scout, on the ground, the rest became much simpler.

They were just six sleeping lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

The night was quiet, but on this night, seven wicked people burdened with sins went to hell.

While looting the last of his spoils, Qin Shaolang found a letter on a thug. The letter was written with heartfelt sincerity.

Ailing parents, a sister bullied by a village bully, a brother burdened with gambling debts...

Watching the whole story, it's clear that the family has suffered a series of misfortunes, which evokes sympathy.

Qin Shaolang glanced at the corpse and then threw the letter in his hand into the fire.

If such a tragic experience truly exists, then one should deeply understand the pain of being bullied, and should never aid and abet evildoers.

The purpose of leaving this letter is self-evident: it was simply a means of survival in a desperate situation.

Qin Shaolang's lips suddenly curled into a slight smile. He then tore open the clothes on the corpse's chest and made two horizontal cuts with a blank expression.

"Your letter is indeed heartfelt. But it overlooks my attitude. Sympathizing with your plight and forgiving your sins are God's duties, and my role is merely to send you to meet God."

After thinking for a moment, Qin Shaolang suddenly smiled.

"But then again, this is Chinese territory. Even if you believe in God, he wouldn't dare snatch someone from the clutches of the King of Hell."

The place was far from the river, and with seven corpses in the area, Qin Shaolang spent most of the night cleaning up all the traces.

In an era when only manual labor could be used for retrieval, bodies that had sunk into the river were almost impossible to recover, especially since he had used very professional methods.

After taking one last look at the dilapidated temple, Qin Shaolang, feeling slightly tired, hurried back to his residence under the last vestiges of night.

As soon as she pushed open the door, Su Jin woke up with a start and quickly reached for the hoe beside her.

After recognizing Qin Shaolang, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her guard. Overwhelmed by fatigue, she let out a long yawn.

"I'll get you some rice."

Thank you.

Suddenly, Su Jin stopped and asked Qin Shaolang.

"Is everything resolved?"

"Okay, go get the rice. You should know how to answer if anyone asks."