Chapter Eighty-Two: A Modest Contribution, Part Two

His roar rolled through the depths of the mountains before slowly fading into the distance.

Afterward, Fang Xu paid no further heed to Old Wu and the others and began walking downhill. Old Wu said a few words to the guards beside him, then hurried after him with Gu Bei. After all, Old Wu knew that his duty was to protect Fang Xu’s safety.

Yet before they had taken more than a few steps, they saw Fang Xu crouching on the ground. Old Wu and Gu Bei exchanged puzzled looks.

“Old Wu, Old Gu, Young Master is feeling trapped and miserable inside right now,” Fang Xu said, lifting his head. Of course, he knew that Old Wu and Gu Bei were following behind him.

“We understand why the Young Master feels unwell, but we still hope the Young Master can learn to take it more lightly,” Gu Bei said, unable to help trying to comfort him. He did not want Fang Xu to be so pained.

“Of course the Young Master understands, but he simply cannot do it. Am I really so useless?” Fang Xu murmured in self-mockery. Hearing this, Gu Bei no longer knew what to say.

Even in Gu Bei’s own heart, he too felt somewhat unsettled.

Especially the faces that kept rising in his mind—the young women who had chosen to end their own lives earlier. Like a thorn, they had lodged themselves deep in Gu Bei’s heart.

Old Wu’s feelings were actually much the same as Gu Bei’s.

Perhaps even stronger. At the very least, Old Wu himself was beginning to feel somewhat lost.

He had never imagined that while he stood guard over Great Qin’s borders, so many things would be happening within Great Qin itself.

“I may be one who keeps my head down and ignores what does not concern me, but Young Master, I truly have not the ability to do that,” Fang Xu murmured, then gave a self-mocking smile.

To Fang Xu, when he first heard of this from Gu Bei, he had mostly been thinking only of the wealth the bandits had plundered.

But in truth, when Fang Xu saw the reality with his own eyes, he found himself unable to remain calm.

At first, he had not planned to kill all the bandits. After all, there were truly an astonishing number of them.

But so what? Fang Xu thought that if he did nothing simply because there were so many of them, how could he ever face those young women?

“Take half of the money and valuables we seized today and return it to the local people. The other half will be used to compensate the families whose daughters and sons were taken,” Fang Xu said with a sigh. Old Wu and Gu Bei were both stunned.

“Young Master, if we do that, then we will have gained nothing today,” Gu Bei said anxiously, trying to dissuade him. Fang Xu only glanced at him.

“Old Gu, I hope you understand this: if there are things we do not do, we may regret it later.”

“As for money and valuables, is the government not already paying enough?” Fang Xu said with a smile. Only then did Gu Bei react, while Old Wu understood Fang Xu’s choice. In fact, from Old Wu’s point of view, he approved of it.

“If that is the Young Master’s order, then I shall go and make the arrangements at once,” Gu Bei said, lowering his head. He had also realized his rudeness just now.

“Young Master, what does the Young Master intend to do with the bandits’ heads?” Old Wu asked curiously, staring at Fang Xu. Even now, he still did not understand why Fang Xu had ordered the heads collected.

“They have their use. They will also let these villagers know that there are no more bandits on the mountain, so that they can live with a little more peace of mind,” Fang Xu said with a faint smile, though a trace of bitterness lingered in it.

After Gu Bei, Old Wu, and Fang Xu returned to the camp, Fang Xu had his men change the clothes and baggage for himself, Old Wu, and Gu Bei.

After all, they could not let Monk Qiu see them covered in blood, could they? That would frighten him to death.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, the villagers at the foot of the mountain all rose early in the morning.

Why? Because from the entrance of the village, Fang Xu had ordered his guards to beat drums and gong bells as they pushed three wooden carts forward. On the first cart were, of course, the piled heads of the bandits.

The visual impact was overwhelming. On the second cart was the wealth Fang Xu had seized from the bandits’ lair.

As for the third cart, it bore the bodies of the young women in fine clothing, laid out peacefully. This, too, could be considered Fang Xu’s way of showing them respect.

Their actions were indeed worthy of his reverence, regardless of gender or status.

When the villagers heard the drums and gongs, they got up one after another to watch the commotion. But upon seeing the first cart, those with weaker stomachs had already vomited out last night’s dinner.

The rest naturally recognized who those faces belonged to, and one by one they stared fearfully at the guards pushing the carts.

They wondered who these guards were. It looked as if they had truly wiped out the entire bandit stronghold.

Then Fang Xu had Old Wu and Gu Bei explain everything he had decided the night before. Seeing the villagers’ faces gradually brighten with natural smiles, Fang Xu’s lips curved slightly upward. This made him feel that what he had done was indeed right.

And when some of the villagers saw the bodies of their own daughters, they could no longer hold back their tears.

Old Wu and Gu Bei comforted them for a good while, then gathered together the villagers whose sons and daughters had been lost from their homes and distributed the money to them.

Though the money could not replace the pain of losing their children, it was enough to let them live the rest of their lives without worry.

That was all Fang Xu could do.

Still, one small incident arose in the middle of it all: somehow, someone had actually informed the authorities. When the yamen officers saw so much money, their greed immediately showed itself.

This thoroughly enraged Fang Xu. At his command, Old Wu and the others drew the embroidered spring sabers at their waists. The villagers had never imagined that the seemingly kind Old Wu and the others could be so fierce.

This also caused those who had intended to impersonate others to think twice.

After all, at times, one’s life mattered more than anything else, did it not?

Fang Xu naturally did not have Old Wu execute those officers on the spot, but had them bound instead. As for Monk Qiu, he had no idea what was happening at all.

Because Fang Xu was worried that seeing those bandits’ heads would make Monk Qiu sick, he had arranged for someone to escort him ahead to the county yamen where the authorities were stationed.