sovbooks Chapter 2 Slaughter of the Village
Chapter 2 Slaughter of the Village
Time flies, and fourteen years have passed since the massacre of the Lin family.
Over the course of fourteen years, Emperor Ying became increasingly incompetent and tyrannical, his moods unpredictable, leading to the rise of treacherous officials, widespread suffering, and immense loss of life.
Outside Chu Xiang City, the central city of the Great Liang Kingdom, there is a village surrounded by soldiers.
The villagers were gathered in the center of the village, where the general leading the group declared: "Hand over the traitor, or we will massacre the entire village!"
"We don't know anything about traitors!" someone in the crowd shouted bravely.
The general remained unmoved, saying, "I will only wait for half an incense stick's time."
"Whether you have it or not, if you can't hand it over, you die!"
Time passed slowly in the stalemate. As the moment drew near, the general raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately drew their bows and pulled their arrows, while those in the front row gripped their sword hilts, their killing intent palpable.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the old village chief, leaning on his cane, begged in a trembling voice, "Just hand over that person."
"As long as the traitor is handed over, our army will not commit any offenses against us!"
A farmer in the crowd couldn't help but speak up, "Village chief, the Great Hero Chuanyun killed that corrupt official for our sake!"
call out!
An arrow pierced the air and shot straight toward his chest, but at the last second, a large hand caught the arrow.
The burly man collapsed to the ground in terror. The man with sharp eyes snapped the arrow in two and strode out of the crowd like a parting of the sea. "As long as I come out, you'll let these villagers go, won't you?"
"Lin Youde, the Cloud Piercer"
The officer squinted, discerning the man's identity. He didn't answer, but instead made a new demand: "Sever your own meridians."
Lin Youde gritted his teeth, his face showing struggle.
Although he had some skill and thought he could escape, what about his fellow villagers?
But even if he really severed his own meridians, would he let the common people behind him off the hook?
"Master Lin, no!"
"Say it! You will keep your promise!"
Lin Youde's teeth were clenched so tightly that they were grinding together, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
The general lowered his raised hand slightly, "Relax..."
"I'll do it!"
Seeing that this was going to be merciless, Lin Youde gathered his inner energy into his hands and slammed the Cloud Piercing Palm, which had earned him great fame around Chu Xiang City and was something he was very proud of, into his chest.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Lin Youde managed to speak with difficulty, "I hope you... will keep your promise."
The general remained expressionless. "Adjutant."
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Did they hand over anyone?"
The adjutant paused for a moment, then bowed his head and replied, "Reporting to Commandant Wang, no, this traitor came out on his own."
Amidst the despair of the so-called "traitors" and the horrified gazes of the villagers, Captain Wang slowly spoke.
"In that case, let's take action and show them the consequences of daring to defy the imperial court."
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap in a clear sky.
"The men will have their hands and feet cut off and sent to the alchemy room to refine medicine, while the women will have their Achilles tendons severed and sold to brothels." Even the usually stern Commander Wang couldn't help but smile. "As for the children, they're quite valuable."
Fully armored soldiers stormed into the village; they were all skilled in martial arts, and they were like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep.
The villagers were powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as their wives were stripped naked, their Achilles tendons severed, and thrown into the center of the village.
Some villagers raised their hoes in resistance, but were cleaved in two by the soldiers' broadswords.
Someone knocked over the stove, and the fire spread throughout the village.
The desperate farmers' piercing screams mingled with the crimson flames, creating a scene straight out of hell. And these soldiers, their bodies glowing red from the firelight, were the most ferocious demons in hell.
Amidst the dismembered and wretched crowd, living like ants, a little girl with severed Achilles tendons knelt on the ground, taking in everything engulfed in flames.
Her father was a hunter in the village, now severed along with his hunting bow, his internal organs spilling out of the incision. Her mother, a renowned beauty in the surrounding area, was always smiling and kind, but now covered in blood, she clung to her father's severed arm and wept bitterly.
Why? Just yesterday I was eating candied hawthorns and sleeping peacefully in my mother's arms, why did everything just disappear like that?
Is it because we did something bad?
Was it because the village took in the man known as the Cloud Piercing Hero?
If we are being punished for doing bad things, what about them? What about those soldiers who are grinning?
Will they be punished? Will they suffer retribution?
Or are they not doing anything wrong?
The girl vaguely knew that it couldn't be true; these people would definitely not be punished; these people would definitely not suffer retribution.
The army destroyed the village with overwhelming force, but who can destroy the army?
This is so strange.
The once innocent and carefree girl now harbors only the flames of anger and resentment within her—the rage of the plundered.
"I don't ask for redemption, I only hope this chain of hatred won't end, and that these people will also be punished."
"Whether you are a deity or a demon, please heed my sorrowful wish!"
"God! Please let them suffer the same fate as us!"
The ground was littered with broken walls and ruins, while the sky remained clear. The girl let out a heart-wrenching cry.
"Take a good look; this is the consequence of your rebellion against the imperial court."
Lieutenant Wang was clad in heavy black iron armor, with even his hands covered in a layer of fine steel gloves. The cold iron gloves moved nimbly, grabbing Lin Youde's short hair and pulling his head up, forcing him to watch the tragic scene in Gemu Village.
Iron fingers tore through Lin Youde's scalp, his eyes bloodshot and his jaw clenched so hard it looked like it was about to crack: "Beast!"
He saw fertile fields turn into a sea of fire, he saw peaceful villages become slaughterhouses, kind villagers were hunted down, and the girl who had skipped and jumped to hand him a candied hawthorn bristled from her ankle and could no longer stand.
The girl's smile vanished; she could no longer believe in any hope of being rescued and could only desperately cast a curse.
"How foolish! There are no immortals or Buddhas, no ghosts or demons in this world. Only power is everything, and the imperial court is the most powerful form of violence in the world."
Lieutenant Wang scoffed at the girl's tragic wish, threw Lin Youde to the ground, and stomped on his face, saying, "You were once a renowned hero, yet you crippled yourself and ended up like this."
"I never expected to find such a beautiful girl in such a small village. Lord Cai loves picking unopened flower buds. If I present them to him, I'm sure I'll please him even more."
Lin Youde clung tightly to Commander Wang's leg, trying to stop him from getting close to the girl, but was instead kicked in the chest. The blood he vomited even contained fragments of his internal organs.
Lieutenant Wang intentionally spared his life, intending to inflict pain and despair upon him.
As I approached, the girl was still staring blankly at the sky, her expression of despair abruptly frozen, even showing a hint of... hope?
Captain Wang frowned, a sudden unease rising in his heart. He looked up.
The sky was cloudless and the sun was shining brightly, except for one black dot.
Is it a bird?
But it did not fly forward.
If it was a meteorite, it did not have any fire.
So what is it?
The black dot plummeted at an extremely high speed, far exceeding the speed an object should have when falling.
"It's actually a person!"