The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

After hearing the words of the middle-aged man in fine clothes, Jiang Ning did not reply to him, but instead led Xu Heqing into the courtyard.

He had just vaguely heard cries for help coming from one direction of the house.

"Good man! Let's talk this out. Please don't resort to violence. If you kill my father, it will be a real disaster. We can discuss whatever you want."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes followed nervously behind Jiang Ning, constantly trying to persuade him.

However, the other party did not reply to him, but instead walked towards the woodshed, which puzzled the middle-aged man.

Jiang Ning escorted Xu Heqing to the entrance of the woodshed in the Xu residence. The door to the woodshed was locked with three locks on it.

Cries for help and screams were coming from inside.

Jiang Ning nodded, pointing towards the woodshed.

"Open."

"Okay, okay, we'll open it. Don't be impulsive."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes nodded hurriedly and then roared at the group of servants who had followed him.

"Are you blind?! Open the woodshed right now!"

One of the servants rushed out, took out a key from his pocket, and hurriedly unlocked the four locks on the woodshed door.

Hearing a commotion outside, the sound of banging on the door of the woodshed came from inside.

As soon as the door opened, a figure rushed out.

This is a young woman.

The young woman was filthy, her clothes were scratched all over, and her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying.

The young woman's first reaction after running out was to try to escape, something she had done many times before, even though she knew she couldn't get away.

But when she tried to escape again, the scene outside shocked her, and she instinctively stopped running.

After seeing her come out, Jiang Ning did not speak, but continued to look into the woodshed.

There are still people inside.

During this time, the people inside seemed to realize that the woman who had run away earlier had not been caught, and the others in the woodshed also ran out one after another.

The first one to come out was a woman, followed by a little girl, then several more girls, and then some toddlers, both boys and girls, a total of more than a dozen.

These children, women, and girls were all filthy, just like the young woman from before, and their eyes revealed fear.

However, they were also stunned by the scene outside after they ran out.

A young boy held a sharp sword to the demon's throat, watching them run out of the woodshed, surrounded by the group of villains.

Upon seeing this, the children and women instinctively stopped in their tracks.

"Young master, please save us."

The young woman who ran out first was the first to react. She immediately ran over and knelt down in front of Jiang Ning, her eyes filled with tears.

"Everyone, leave."

Jiang Ning gestured to them toward the gate of the compound, signaling them to leave.

However, the young woman shook her head and cried, "Young master, it's not just us. There are also some sisters and children in the cellar who have been captured by them. Please, please save them too, I beg you."

The young woman kept kowtowing to Jiang Ning.

"lead the way."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything more and simply asked her to lead the way.

The young woman was overjoyed and quickly nodded and ran towards the backyard, while Jiang Ning followed behind, escorting Xu Heqing.

The women and children who had run out were too afraid to run out on their own when they saw this scene, and they all followed behind.

The middle-aged man in fine clothes frowned deeply upon seeing this scene, but there was nothing he could do. He could only follow them into the backyard, while inwardly cursing those incompetent officials who hadn't arrived yet after so long.

Upon arriving at the backyard, the young woman led Jiang Ning directly to an open space, pointing to one of the plots and saying, "Young master, they are inside."

"No, you can't open it!"

Xu Heqing, who had been kept silent by Jiang Ning's sword, finally couldn't hold back any longer and quickly spoke up to stop him.

However, Jiang Ning ignored him, pointed his sword forward to silence him, and then looked at the group of servants.

"Open it."

The servants hesitated, not daring to step forward, while the richly dressed middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said, "Open it!"

Upon hearing his words, two servants immediately came to the open space, found the right spot, and lifted up a piece of ground, revealing an iron door locked with chains underneath.

After the two servants unlocked the iron gate and lifted it, they said to those inside, "Come out, all of you."

Not long after, a child of about eight or nine years old timidly climbed out from inside.

It was a boy, with delicate features.

Then three or four more figures crawled out: two women and a little girl.

These people had blank stares and were filled with fear of their surroundings.

"Son."

The young woman knelt down before Jiang Ning again and cried, “We are all people from Xi’an Prefecture and the nearby towns. The Xu family captured us and brought us into their mansion for their amusement. If we did not comply, they would beat and scold us, lock us in the woodshed and not let us leave, and they would not give us food. I was captured three days ago. Before I came in, several of my sisters had already been played to death by them.”

At this point, the young woman suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Xu Heqing, saying, "This devil not only likes to play with women, but also likes to capture children and bring them into his mansion for his pleasure. He doesn't even spare boys. Those who are disciplined and obedient are locked in the cellar, while those of us who are disobedient are locked in the woodshed."

Then, pointing at the richly dressed middle-aged man, she said with hatred, "This man loves to torture people. Several of my sisters have been tortured to death by him!"

The middle-aged man's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

The young woman pointed at the servants again, gritting her teeth and saying hatefully, "He, he, and them, these people are all accomplices. Some of them even said that as long as we obeyed them, they would make our lives easier. If we didn't obey, they would beat and scold us, and even force us. One of my sisters resisted to the death and was strangled to death by him!"

She pointed to one of the servants, who shrank back in fear.

The young woman's voice was plaintive and filled with hatred.

"Please, young master, save us!"

At this moment, the other women who had been captured also realized what was happening and immediately knelt down before Jiang Ning, begging for help. The children also knelt down one after another, begging Jiang Ning to save them.

Jiang Ning remained silent, his eyes growing even colder.

"Good man, let's talk this out. Put down your sword first, and we can discuss it."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes seemed afraid that Jiang Ning would act impulsively, and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

Jiang Ning didn't look at him, but said to the women and children, "Let's go, let's leave this place."

"Thank you, young master, thank you, young master."

Upon hearing this, the young woman was both overjoyed and wept. She repeatedly kowtowed to Jiang Ning in gratitude, then got up and hurriedly pulled the other women and children who had been captured to try to leave. However, the exit was blocked by the group of servants.

"Let them go!"

Seeing how ignorant these servants were, the middle-aged man in fine clothes roared angrily.

The servants then made way for them.

Seeing that there was hope of escaping, their faces lit up with joy. They ran out without daring to look back.

Several women wanted to turn around and ask Jiang Ning's name, but were stopped by the young woman from before.

She feared that these people would retaliate if they found out Jiang Ning's name.

"Good sir! I've let them go. How about it, can you release my father now?"

"Please don't be impulsive. Let's talk this out. Don't waste your time and ruin your life for these lowly people."

"Whatever you want is fine with me. Money? I'll give you three thousand taels of silver. Power? My family are officials and nobles. It's not difficult for us to get you a job in the government. We can discuss anything."

The middle-aged man in fine clothes smiled ingratiatingly at Jiang Ning.

"Humph."

Jiang Ning sneered, and under his tense gaze, thrust his sword forward.

Xu Heqing's throat was pierced, and he collapsed to the ground, letting out a weak scream.

"you!!!"

The middle-aged man in fine clothes stared angrily at Jiang Ning with wide eyes.

"You actually dared to kill my father! You actually killed my father for those lowly scum who are worse than pigs and dogs!"

What difference would it make if I killed him?

Jiang Ning said with a sneer.

"you……"

The middle-aged man pointed at Jiang Ning, his finger trembling, but the next moment Jiang Ning raised his sword and charged at him, kicking him to the ground and pointing his sword at him.

The middle-aged man screamed and looked at Jiang Ning with fear in his eyes.

"No, don't kill me."

Jiang Ning looked at him with a cold gaze and said with a sneer.

You called them pigs and dogs?

"Who is the pig? Who is the dog? They are all human beings. You treat them as slaves, killing and insulting them at will. Then I can treat you as a slave and kill you at will."

"Who do you think you are? Do you really think you can ride roughshod over them?"

“You consider yourselves superior, treating ordinary people as tools for your amusement, like pigs and dogs. Power is your tool, and you control everything. You treat them as lambs to the slaughter, killing and manipulating them at will. Now I treat you as lambs to the slaughter, and I can kill and manipulate you at will. What’s wrong with that?”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in fine clothes said incredulously, "How can those pigs and dogs be the same as us? We are nobles, we have noble blood flowing in our veins, this is our natural right. Aren't they just toys for us to play with?"

Jiang Ning stepped on his chest, causing him a sharp pain that rendered him speechless.

"Who do you think you are? You can treat them like toys and play with them, but you can't stand others treating you like toys and playing with you?"

“Strip away the skin of power you wear, and what are you? Who are you more noble than anyone else?”

"If you regard them as pigs and dogs, then I will regard you as a pig and a dog."