YM778.TV Chapter 211 - 206: Calamity Beginsi
“Housekeeper Yan Qi, please come inside and have a seat!”
Qin Niu unlocked the door and invited Yan Qi into the house.
Xiao Qing was meanwhile boiling water, preparing a pickled vegetable feast to entertain the guest.
“Master Qin, I came over to warn you to be extra careful these days. Master Mo Sang suddenly died violently today, bleeding from all seven orifices. Master Shi is nowhere to be found. Our Yan Family has already reported to the authorities. “However, we received information from the officials that recently a string of Insect Masters have been killed.
“You must be on your guard.
“If possible, it would be safer for you to reside within the city. Old Master Yan also said that if you don’t own a property in the city, our Yan Family can provide you with a temporary residence.”
The Yan Family knows how to behave.
Upon receiving the news, they were the first to offer a warning, and were even willing to provide Qin Niu with a place to stay in the city.
“Thank you for your master’s kind intention, but I can handle it for the moment. I will be extra vigilant.”
Qin Niu was well aware that living in the city might seem safe, but the waters there were much deeper.
Old Master Huang, who is an Executor of the Nine Insect Gang, had been lurking within Black Tiger City without his true identity being discovered. This alone indicated a major problem with the Black Tiger Gang.
Living in the countryside, Qin Niu was familiar with the terrain and could use the labyrinth of the Ancient Banyan Tree to fend off enemies if overpowered. After sending Yan Qi away, he sank into deep thought.
The sudden death of Master Mo Sang had come too unexpectedly.
Just two days ago, as the locusts were receding, he thought that the insect plague was coming to an end.
Now it seemed that things were far more complicated than imagined.
The next morning, a fast horse galloped into the village.
This was a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe, riding a dark brown horse.
Not really a superior steed, but it was a lot better than an average horse.
Traveling three hundred li in a day was nothing remarkable.
“Excuse me, where does Insect Master Qin Niu live?”
The middle-aged man asked a villager passing by.
“Hmm hmm hmm…”
The villager gestured with his hands and then pointed to his mouth.
Qin Niu watched this scene from a distance, almost bursting into laughter.
The villager being questioned was none other than his neighbor, Wu Si.
Wu Si, who usually seemed afraid of his wife and quite timid, was surprisingly quick-witted. In this critical moment, he feigned being a mute.
Since he didn’t know the stranger’s intent, he dared not openly reveal Qin Niu’s address.
“Damn, why did I run into a mute!”
The middle-aged man cursed and rode on, noticing that the villagers would dodge at the sight of him.
“Who is the head of your village?”
The middle-aged man dismounted swiftly, grabbing another villager and demanding directly.
This villager was Wu San, who didn’t see very well, and was just about to check on his crops when the middle-aged man seized him.
It was too late to run.
Those brothers were really unlucky today.
Just their luck to encounter such a thing early in the morning.
“Hmyahmya…”
Wu San was not as sharp as his younger brother; seeing him evade questioning by pretending to be mute, he followed suit.
“Damn it, why are both of them mute? Show me the way, lead me to Qin Niu or your village head.”
The middle-aged man glared, frightening Wu San into struggling to escape.
But it was in vain; Wu San was already old, and the middle-aged man clearly possessed considerable skills, making it impossible for Wu San to get away. “Do you believe I’ll hit you?”
The middle-aged man raised his fist, pretending to threaten Wu San.
Wu San’s eyes rolled back, his head tilted, and he fainted on the spot.
The two brothers were well-known troublemakers in the village, often bickering. If Wu San could be so easily scared into fainting, he wouldn’t have lasted to his current age.
He was simply feigning unconsciousness.
Both the village head and Qin Niu had already acquired considerable prestige in the village, and everyone respected them, naturally refusing to reveal information about either one to strangers.
Qin Niu hurried over.
“Don’t harm the innocent! What do you want with our village head?”
The middle-aged man sized up Qin Niu, noting that although he was just a youngster, his demeanor was extraordinary and his gaze indifferent, clearly not an ordinary rural youth.
He didn’t dare to act violently again.
After putting Wu San onto the ground, he then turned to Qin Niu.
“I am looking for the Insect Master of your village, Qin Niu. I asked two villagers, but neither would tell me where Qin Niu lives. Just now, I wasn’t really going to hit him; I was just trying to scare him. I am a guard from the Insect Master Association, specially here to deliver a letter to Master Qin Niu.” The middle-aged man turned out to be someone sent by the Insect Master Association.
No wonder he was so aggressive.
“May I see your waist badge?”
“Certainly.”
The middle-aged man took off his waist badge to show Qin Niu.
“Was it to deliver a written letter or a verbal message?”
“A written letter.”
The middle-aged man took out a letter sealed with red wax.
“Just hand it to me!” Qin Niu reached out and said.
“This letter must be personally handed over to Master Qin Niu and cannot be passed on by anyone else.”
The middle-aged man refused.
Qin Niu showed a bronze Fish Talisman.
“Can you give it to me now?”
“Ah… You are… No problem. My apologies for the offense. I shall take my leave.”
Only after seeing the name on the Fish Talisman did the middle-aged man realize that the person he was looking for was right in front of him.
After handing the letter over to Qin Niu and saluting, he mounted his horse, ready to leave.
“Next time you enter Shuangfeng Village, do not be rude to the villagers again, or don’t blame me for not being considerate.”
“I was just in a hurry to deliver the letter, it was unavoidable. I’ll take care next time.”
The middle-aged man then left after cupping his hands together in a gesture of farewell.
Qin Niu looked toward Wu San, who had ‘regained consciousness’ on his own.
“Wu San, this is a reward for you. You and your brother both did well.” Qin Niu helped Wu San up and rewarded him with ten copper coins.
This was equivalent to the daily wage of an ordinary person.
“I can’t accept this, I can’t.”
Wu San repeatedly waved his hands.
“Take it and buy yourself a drink. Give these ten wen money to Wu Si and say it’s a reward from me, no skimming allowed.”
“Thankyou, Master Qin!”
Wu San happily took the money and walked in the direction where Wu Si was.
He didn’t talk to Wu Si’s wife and was quite afraid of her.
After all, he had been yelled unconscious several times by her.
Not pretending to be unconscious like earlier, but actually being yelled unconscious.
He could only hand the reward money directly to Wu Si.
By doing this, Qin Niu was deliberately creating an opportunity for the brothers to reconcile.
Some brothers, though they are siblings, act like enemies.
They find each other disagreeable and quarrel upon meeting.
It’s truly incomprehensible.
Regardless, both brothers’ performance today satisfied Qin Niu.
After returning to his room, he opened the letter.
It was a warning letter sent by Chairman Li to the Association’s Insect Masters. It must have been copied by the Association’s staff in the name of Chairman Li. The letter mentioned that the Black Tiger Gang’s territory had recently experienced an unprecedented locust disaster and, according to the Insect Master Association’s investigation, it was confirmed that someone was covertly manipulating the situation, not a natural disaster.
In recent days, several Insect Masters had been assassinated, including three middle-rank Insect Masters and more than a dozen lower-rank Insect Masters. Others had gone missing.
Chairman Li reminded Insect Masters to be careful and if they encountered danger or suspicious individuals, to immediately find a way to ask for help or report to the Insect Master Association.
Besides that, there was also a recruitment proposal, open to all Insect Masters. To join the military directly, to help the Black Tiger Gang resist the external enemy.
The conditions offered were very generous; upon joining the military, one could immediately be promoted to an officer, with a monthly salary of at least five taels of Silver Money. Accumulated military achievements could be exchanged at the government office for cultivation techniques, martial arts, equipment, and other cultivation materials.