We're Leaving.

"Fire! Fire! Come quick to put it out!"

With a loud shout, it didn't take long for the entire Xiahe Village to burst into commotion. Villagers shouted one after another, grabbing wooden buckets and hauling water to fight the blaze.

Zhong Lin watched the scene before him with cold eyes. The firelight flickered in his gaze, and in the end, he turned and walked away expressionlessly.

"How… how did it catch fire? It's not even mealtime yet. Zhang Kun's wife wouldn't be lighting a fire at this hour, would she?"

Villager Zhang Sheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face full of confusion.

"Did any of you see Zhang Kun or his wife come out?"

Another villager glanced around but couldn't spot Zhang Kun anywhere.

"Forget that for now—put out the fire! Don't let it spread over here!"

"Right, right, put out the fire first!"

The flames were soon subdued, but it was autumn, and everything was dry. The fire had started suddenly, and the houses, made mostly of thatch and wooden frames, were nearly burnt to ashes despite the villagers' efforts.

A few brave souls ventured inside to search, only to come running out moments later, screaming and vomiting.

"It's Zhang Kun… and his wife!"

"And… and two more. Judging by their builds, it's Thin Monkey and Scarface!"

"They're… they're all dead. All dead!"

Four people dead in one courtyard—anyone would be horrified, especially seeing four charred corpses. The smell of burnt flesh mixed with an eerie meaty aroma was enough to turn stomachs.

"How could they all be dead? Wouldn't they run out if there was a fire? And there weren't even any cries for help! Yougen, your house is closest to Zhang Kun's—did you hear anything?"

Yougen, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, seemed to recall something when asked. His face paled, and he instinctively glanced in the direction Zhong Lin had left before shaking his head vigorously.

"N-No… nothing. I didn't hear anything, didn't see anything. I… I've got some work in the fields. I'll go now."

With that, he hurried off as if a snake were chasing him.

"Look at him, scared out of his wits. What's he running from? Is there a tiger?"

"Maybe there really is a tiger. I saw Dalinzi come by here this morning."

The voices fell silent.

No one was foolish. A sudden fire with no one escaping, four people dead inside—there had to be something fishy going on. Even a ghost wouldn't believe otherwise.

Among the crowd, those who had attended the "feast" yesterday turned pale. Those who hadn't were visibly shocked.

How could Zhong Lin, who'd always been the epitome of honest simplicity in their eyes, have turned into this?

This was murder!

"You all handle Zhang Kun and the others' bodies. They were villagers, after all—debts die with the person. I'll go check on Dalinzi's place."

One villager sighed, set down his bucket, and started walking toward Zhong Lin's house.

…

"Dalinzi, it's your Uncle Yutou. Open the door."

"Coming!"

Zhong Shi scampered over on his short legs, pulled the latch, and opened the courtyard gate.

"Uncle Yutou!"

"Little Shi, huh? Where's your brother?"

Uncle Yutou ruffled Little Shi's head with a warm smile.

Little Shi turned and shouted toward the kitchen, "Second Brother, Uncle Yutou's here for you!"

Uncle Yutou scanned the surroundings, his gaze landing on the quiver in the corner. His expression tightened, and he let out a heavy sigh.

Zhong Lin emerged from the kitchen at that moment, holding a piece of smoked roe deer meat still dripping with grease.

"Uncle Yutou, what brings you here?"

In his predecessor's memories, Uncle Yutou had been very close to their father. After their father and eldest brother died in the mountains, he'd often helped the two brothers out. He was arguably the kindest person to them in all of Xiahe Village.

Uncle Yutou didn't beat around the bush. Pointing at the quiver, he asked directly, "Zhang Kun's house caught fire. Four people died. Was it you?"

Zhong Lin paused before answering, "If they didn't die, me and my brother would've been the ones in trouble."

Uncle Yutou knew the nature of Zhang Kun and his "Three Pests." He understood Zhong Lin wasn't lying. A thousand words boiled down to a single sigh.

"Uncle Yutou, I know what you're getting at. If no one provokes me, I won't provoke them. Zhang Kun was out to harm me—that's why I acted. I won't touch anyone else. If you still don't believe me, you can report it to the authorities."

Uncle Yutou pretended not to hear the part about "reporting to the authorities"—it simply wasn't an option.

Xiahe Village was remote. The Imperial Court officials only showed up once a year to collect taxes. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother with this backwater place. Even if they did come, it'd be a formality. No one would risk offending Zhong Lin over a few scumbags' deaths. They wouldn't dare and it wasn't worth it.

Besides, Xiahe Village wasn't a tight-knit clan community. Its residents were refugees who'd settled here a hundred years ago, meaning there were no powerful clans or elders to enforce order.

If the people didn't report it, the officials wouldn't investigate.

Report to the authorities?

Pointless.

"Also, me and Little Shi are planning to leave Xiahe Village," Zhong Lin added.

"What? You're leaving? To where?" Uncle Yutou exclaimed, startled.

"Xiahe Village is too small. I want to see the world. This is a good chance to go. If I don't leave, a lot of folks won't sleep easy," Zhong Lin said with a smile.

Uncle Yutou ignored the joking tone at the end, his face full of urgency. "Shi's so little—how's he supposed to travel long distances with you? And you think it's easy out there? It's not like home. Here, I can still help you two. Out there…"

"Uncle Yutou," Zhong Lin interrupted firmly, "I've made up my mind. I want to see what's out there. I don't want to spend my whole life cooped up in this little mountain village. When I make it big, I'll come back to visit you."

Uncle Yutou opened his mouth to argue but ultimately let out a helpless sigh.

He knew Zhong Lin wasn't the same Zhong Lin as before. The old Zhong Lin wouldn't have killed or set fires—let alone taken out four people.

"Take care of Little Shi. If things don't work out there, come back. As long as I've got food, you two won't go hungry."

"Mm, thank you, Uncle Yutou."

Their conversation ended there. Uncle Yutou patted Little Shi's head, sighed again, and turned to leave.

Little Shi looked up at Zhong Lin and asked, "Second Brother, are we really leaving?"

"You don't want to?"

"No, wherever Second Brother goes, I'll go. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. Go take the offal and roe deer meat to Uncle Yutou's place. If he won't take it, tell him we're leaving tomorrow and it'd be a shame to waste it."

"Mm!"

Little Shi toddled off with a wooden basin of offal and meat, weighing about six or seven pounds. It was a bit heavy for him, but the distance wasn't far, so Zhong Lin let him handle it.

Leaving Xiahe Village for the county town had been Zhong Lin's plan all along. He'd originally intended to stay a bit longer, eat more meat, and build up his strength. But after the killing and arson, he didn't feel like lingering anymore. Better to move on sooner.

The smoked meat was ready—it'd hold up in this weather for a while. They could hunt on the road too. With his max-level archery, starvation wasn't a concern.

Before long, Little Shi returned, a small bundle in his hands.

"Second Brother, Uncle Yutou forced this on me. I didn't want to take it."

Little Shi's face was full of dismay, like he'd done something wrong.

Zhong Lin took the bundle and opened it. Inside was some dried meat, the kind you could eat directly—clearly provisions for their journey.

"If he gave it to you, keep it!"