A Man Doesn't Get Rich Without Ill-Gotten Gains

"Don't..."

The two Thanh Ha Bang lackeys had just uttered the words when the sharp dagger plunged into each of their chests in turn. A few breaths later, both men were lifeless.

Having done all this, Truong Ha slumped to the ground, his chest heaving violently, his heart pounding faster. Looking at his hands, now stained with fresh blood, he was momentarily dazed.

An echo reverberated in his mind.

"I killed Thanh Ha Bang people, I killed Thanh Ha Bang people..."

To small traders and common folk in the countryside, a gang like the Thanh Ha Bang was more feared than the official yamen.

"What, killed two people and lost your soul?"

From beside the dead beautiful woman, Tran Mac found the "Green Turtle." His intuition told him this turtle might very well be the "Zi Yang Turtle."

"No... No." Truong Ha quickly stood up.

"Then don't just stand there dazed. Search each one of them, take all the money they have on them. This is not a place to linger. Search them quickly and let's leave."

Tran Mac emptied the fish from the wooden bucket, placed the "Zi Yang Turtle" inside, and then started looking for the money chest.

Since this group was about to return to the city, they would definitely have brought the money chest with them.

As for killing them, Tran Mac felt not a shred of guilt.

The Thanh Ha Bang was not some righteous gang that robbed the rich to help the poor; they were all involved in businesses that oppressed the common people. To say they were all villains was not an overstatement.

Hearing Tran Mac, Truong Ha quickly began searching each corpse.

Especially when searching the beautiful woman's body, he appeared exceptionally focused and careful.

Behind the overturned cargo carriage, Tran Mac found the toppled money chest.

The money chest was made of wood, about a foot high, thirty centimeters long at the base, and about twenty centimeters wide.

Many copper coins had spilled out. Fortunately, the chest wasn't broken. Tran Mac picked up all the spilled coins and put them back inside. He lifted it; it was incredibly heavy.

Truong Ha's side also yielded a good harvest. He took off a set of clothes from a corpse and wrapped all the looted money inside them.

"Are you done searching?" Tran Mac, carrying the money chest in one hand and the Tang Dao in the other, walked over.

Truong Ha nodded, then smiled, took out a jade bracelet from his bosom, tossed it to Tran Mac, and said, "This was on that woman. I think it looks quite good. Brother Mac, you can give it to Sister-in-law Han."

Tran Mac's face darkened.

Giving something from a dead person to a living person – wasn't that unlucky? However, this was Truong Ha's good intention, so Tran Mac said nothing, casually putting it away. "Since it's done, we need to leave quickly."

"Brother Mac, these horses?" Truong Ha had recovered from his earlier shock, his eyes greedily looking at the two horses.

"The horses have the Thanh Ha Bang's brand on their rumps. We can't take them," Tran Mac said.

"Brother Mac, we can slaughter them for meat!" Truong Ha said excitedly.

"If you slaughter them, can you carry it away?"

It wasn't that Tran Mac hadn't considered these two horses, but these horses were a source of trouble.

With such a major incident, the Thanh Ha Bang would be furious and order a thorough investigation.

If he dared to take the live horses, the Thanh Ha Bang could trace them with ease.

And if they slaughtered the horses and carried the meat back?

Firstly, Tran Mac was carrying the money chest and the Zi Yang Turtle. Although he was strong, he only had two arms and definitely couldn't transport it all in one go. Moreover, the target would be too large. If villagers saw it and word got out, it would be troublesome.

Secondly, making several trips was too risky. If they encountered someone on the way, they would have to silence them.

Thirdly, if the Thanh Ha Bang searched the village later and found the horse meat, it would be impossible to explain. After all, so much horse meat couldn't possibly be eaten in one or two days.

Of course, they could also kill the horses, dig a pit, hide the meat, and retrieve it after things blew over.

But how long would they have to wait for that? And there would still be risks.

Therefore, one couldn't be too greedy; moderation was best.

However, they could select a few fish to take.

Tran Mac cut the ropes connecting the horses' backs to the carriage frame, letting both horses run free. This could confuse the Thanh Ha Bang's investigation.

Then he had Truong Ha select a few plump fish to take, and they left the place.

After leaving, the two did not return directly to Phuc Trach Village but deliberately took a detour. Finally, after simply covering their footprints, the two returned to Phuc Trach Village.

Tran Mac looked at the goose-feather snow falling from the sky; within an hour, all traces would be buried.

Upon entering Phuc Trach Village, the two did not go back to the village first but went to Wang Xi's house at the east end of the village.

After Wang Xi's death, his house had been empty.

Coming out, the two closed the door and windows.

Huff! Huff!

Truong Ha panted heavily.

He felt that what had just happened was too thrilling.

After Tran Mac had calmed down, he began to examine the "earned" spoils.

He poured the money from the money chest onto Wang Xi's bed. Copper coins clattered out, piling up on the bed like a small mountain.

Truong Ha swallowed hard: "Brother Mac, I... we've struck it rich!"

How much money must this be?

Truong Ha also checked his own harvest.

Most of it was copper coins, with some broken silver pieces, totaling no more than three taels.

However, this was also a great fortune.

A smile also appeared on Tran Mac's face.

In this... life, it was the first time he had seen so much money.

So much money, if counted coin by coin, would be an enormous task.

He could only estimate by weight. This money chest wasn't full; its weight was a bit lighter than the Black Bear he had hunted, roughly around four hundred catties.

And one copper coin was about three grams.

That meant over sixty thousand coins.

Converted, it was over sixty taels.

Over sixty taels didn't sound like much, but to an ordinary person, it was an astronomical figure.

A man doesn't get rich without ill-gotten gains; a horse doesn't get fat without grazing secretly at night.

With this sum of money, Tran Mac wouldn't have to worry about cultivation problems in the short term.

Tran Mac's gaze swept towards Truong Ha, and he said, "This matter, Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know. I don't need to say it, you should understand, right?"

Startled by Tran Mac's gaze, Truong Ha shivered and said, "Brother Mac, rest assured, I won't tell anyone, not even my family."

How could Truong Ha dare to speak? After all, he had also participated in this matter.

If the news leaked, the Thanh Ha Bang wouldn't let him off, and Tran Mac wouldn't let him off either.

Unless he no longer wanted to live.

"It's good that you understand. Don't take this money back and show it off in front of your family. Just take two fish back, that's fine," Tran Mac said.

Truong Ha nodded: "I'll listen to Brother Mac."

He took the spoils he had gathered and gave them all to Tran Mac, saying, "Brother Mac, you just take it. I was just tagging along; I don't need money."

Tran Mac glanced at it: "Alright then. If you urgently need money, come find me."

Tran Mac had no intention of bringing this money home; he would still find a place outside the village to bury it.

Of course, he certainly wouldn't tell Truong Ha about this.

He alone needed to know the burial location.

He had Truong Ha leave first.

Half an hour later, he sauntered leisurely back home, carrying the wooden bucket. The top of the bucket was filled with fish...