031 Urban landscape

In the courtyard, two men and a woman had their hands bound behind their backs. All three knelt at Shen Tang's feet, trembling like sieves. "Who was just boasting about being the Lord?" Shen Tang lifted the chin of one of them with a stick. Smiling, she asked, "Was it you?" The person named shook his head vigorously like a tambourine, simultaneously trying to dodge Shen Tang's stick while fearing her sudden eruption. They had no idea how things had escalated to this point, and being beaten had left them dumbfounded.

Shen Tang then used the stick to lift the chin of another person. "Was it you?" The person singled out was none other than Lai Tou, who had deceived Shen Tang to come here. "I-I-I didn't mean it—" His voice quivered, leaking out words, and he was on the verge of tears. It wasn't surprising that he was so terrified. Shen Tang's flying kick against the wall had knocked out four or five of his teeth in one go, and the remaining ones were barely holding on, with blood streaming down half of his face.

The subsequent turn of events seemed like a dream to them. Three grown adults were subdued by a mere young girl. They had no resistance! And thus, the scene before them unfolded.

"Or was it you?" Shen Tang's eyes narrowed with a hint of a smile as she used the stick to point at the third person, the only woman among them. "Was it you?" The woman immediately betrayed Lai Tou, her voice sharp as she shouted, "I didn't say anything, I really didn't! It was Lai Tou who said it!"

Shen Tang's gaze fell on Lai Tou, her eyelids slightly lowered. "Even at death's door, you're still lying. That adds to your guilt." The moment Lai Tou heard the word "death," he was immediately frightened, tears and snot streaming down as he knelt on the ground, begging for mercy. Just as he finished kowtowing three times, Shen Tang pressed the stick against him and said indifferently, "Considering your repentance, I might give you a chance to redeem yourselves. Tell me—aside from me, where have all the innocent women you deceived with this method gone?"

She looked around the courtyard, finding no other kidnapped victims. If she had known this earlier, why would she have gone to such great lengths?

"They... they... they've all been sold..." Lai Tou's tongue trembled uncontrollably, his speech stuttering. "Sold? Where have they been sold to? How many people have been sold in total? Tell me everything!" Shen Tang sat on a small stool, her left foot slightly raised, her right foot bent, allowing her hand, holding the stick, to rest on her knee. Her series of questions left Lai Tou and the others at a loss. How were they supposed to answer? Not answering meant death, but answering would lead to a quicker death.

The two men were completely clueless, afraid that one wrong answer would lead to Shen Tang striking them. The woman, however, had a guess in her heart—she felt that Shen Tang was someone who had read too many worldly stories, longing for the life of a wandering swordsman, but she hadn't yet grown enough to face it. Dealing with such a naive person wasn't too difficult.

"You misunderstood, miss. We've only made a few mistakes, nothing serious." The woman's eyes brimmed with tears as she pleaded, "We've only done this a few times. It's just that we were blinded by greed. We'll never deceive again!"

Shen Tang chuckled at the mention of "saving people."

The woman, seeing Shen Tang's willingness to listen, felt a glimmer of hope and cunningly argued, "These years of war have been tough for everyone. With so many mouths to feed at home, how can we manage? If we don't buy or sell, those children will either starve to death or be sold off to other families. Being sold, at least they have a place to go and food to eat."

Shen Tang was amused by this blatant distortion of right and wrong. Pressing the stick against their throats, she coldly issued her final ultimatum, "Stop the sophistry and confess! Otherwise, this stick will pierce through you. You've experienced my strength, and I assure you, this stick can pierce through all three of you in one go."

With just a slight exertion, she left a bruise on the woman's throat, causing her to cry out in pain. "I confess! I confess!" "Have mercy, valiant one!" Shen Tang was finally somewhat satisfied.

Meanwhile, the butcher occasionally glanced towards the sun outside, growing increasingly anxious as he nervously rubbed his hands, sighing, "Old man, are your words really effective?"

To his surprise, the customer lifted the packed lotus leaves and gestured towards the end of the street, saying, "In this game, I've won."

The butcher peered in that direction, squinting for a long time. Due to his work, he began slaughtering early in the morning, which had taken a toll on his eyes, making distant objects appear blurry. Despite squinting so hard his eyes almost cramped, he still couldn't see clearly. He only noticed the commotion in that direction. It wasn't until Shen Tang approached that he could make out what was happening.

He saw that handsome young lady... no, young man, riding on a beautiful mule, chewing on something, leisurely swaying back.

She was holding a rope, with the three men and women tied to it—

All three were beaten black and blue, limping as they walked. However, for those who frequently did business in this area, they could recognize these three troublemakers even if they turned to ash.

As Shen Tang returned to sit by the tavern, continuing to wait for the others, she flicked the three flat green plum pits with her fingers. The three people knelt down with a thud, their knees hitting the ground directly.

The dull thud made everyone's scalp tingle, and their knees felt phantom pain.

Shen Tang pointed at the three of them, full of killing intent. "Stay down, all of you."

The customer: "..."

There seemed to be a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He thought Shen Tang would kill these troublemakers who had ill intentions.

What was all this about?

"Why didn't you just kill them?" The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed after enjoying the spectacle, and the customer approached Shen Tang. Shen Tang was bored, munching on the green plums, and complained about why Qi Shan hadn't come yet. She turned her head to look at the person who spoke.

Pointing at herself, she asked, "...Did you just call me 'young man'?"

The customer: "What's wrong with that?"

His gaze paused for a second at the waist where the token was hanging before shifting away.

Shen Tang: "...No, nothing's wrong. You have a sharp eye!"

Everything was fine, except that he, like Qi Shan, was blind!

As for his previous question—

"Why didn't I kill those three people? Of course, because murder is against the law. As a law-abiding citizen and a weak artist, how could I do something so bloody? Even if they deserve to die, they should be handed over to the Xiaocheng Prefecture for proper handling..."

The real reason—

The courtyard was too remote and desolate. If these three were killed there, their bodies would rot and attract maggots, which would greatly affect Xiaocheng's urban development.

Furthermore, it wouldn't look good for a mere artist to kill someone.

So, she decided to cultivate herself and abide by the law.

The customer could barely understand Shen Tang's rant and said, "If you hand them over to the Prefecture, they'll be free in no time."

Shen Tang paused her action of biting into the green plum, hesitating. "Then... should I take them outside the city and finish them off later?"