Chapter 27 – Past Life: The Tragedy of Wu Erlang’s Family

She coaxed them, saying, “They’ll come later. Let’s go first.”

“Mother, I also think… this isn’t right.” At this moment, the eldest son also hesitantly spoke up. His mother’s words might deceive his younger brother, but not him.

“Hey! What’s with you all? Don’t you get it? We only have four hundred taels of silver, understand? They want one hundred taels per person—how can so many people leave?! Are you suggesting we stay behind and bring others instead?”

Madam Li was furious. She had brought them out and now wasn’t even being appreciated. Seeing that Wu Erlang remained silent, she turned her head with a cold snort—coward!

After that, the eldest son obediently shut his mouth.

“Mother, I can stay… and you can swap me for…” Little Stone struggled to make a choice. “Swap for Grandpa.” He had gone to the room and saw that Grandma probably couldn’t walk anymore.

His words nearly made Madam Li explode in rage. She raised her hand and began hitting the child.

The alley rang out with a duet of wails. The elder boy was so frightened by the sight of his mother beating his younger brother that he also burst into tears.

After the weeping, no one said another word about staying behind or whether something was right or wrong.

The four of them left the city gates, waiting to escape.

That afternoon, everyone was unusually quiet.

Even though there had been plenty of unhappiness between them, they had still lived together for many years. More importantly, those they were leaving behind were Wu Erlang’s biological parents.

Wu Erlang squatted on the ground, propping his head on his hands, lost in thought.

He remembered how his mother used to carry him into the fields, how his father patted his shoulder on his wedding day, how his sister-in-law gave him candy when she first entered their home, and how his nieces and nephews used to affectionately call him “Second Uncle.”

And yet, even by midnight, he never uttered a single word about going back.

It’s fine, he told himself—Lady Song would distribute food to them. Even if…

Even if not, he would carry on the bloodline of the Wu family! Wu Erfann swore silently to himself.

But unexpectedly, it wasn’t the main branch of the family that perished first—it was his own.

Wu Erlang lay in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open, staring into the pitch-black sky.

He Yanxin witnessed the entire process of their deaths—from life to death.

When he saw Wu Erlang sneak over the wall in the middle of the night, he was furious beyond words. What was he trying to do?

When he saw him head straight for the kitchen, he relaxed a little, even felt relieved he had installed a lock there.

He followed him next door to see what trouble they were stirring up.

Unlike the slow-witted Wu Erlang, He Yanxin immediately understood the situation—Madam Li was planning to escape!

After hesitating briefly, he followed them. Could Madam Li really have found a way to leave Qizhou?

Later, he even followed the man she met. That man twisted and turned through several streets before entering an ordinary residential house.

Inside were two adult men—one was the beggar at the city gate, the other the man who had earlier slipped into the alley.

The man who entered the house was clearly excited. He said they’d caught a fat sheep, and after this job, they’d have enough money.

Turns out the man wasn’t a rich local at all—but a mountain bandit.

When the Prince of Qi launched the campaign to eradicate bandits, they had happened to be out drinking at a brothel. When they saw the stronghold being attacked, they fled without even looking back.

After hiding for a few days, they couldn’t bear sleeping rough anymore. They targeted a household outside the county and, in the dead of night, murdered the family and stole over a hundred taels of silver.

They drifted around the outskirts of the county, heard about the government’s proclamations, and asked others to read them aloud—learning that Qizhou’s borders were sealed and the Prince of Qi was recruiting soldiers with food incentives.

But they were bandits—natural enemies of soldiers. So they didn’t dare enlist.

One of them did know a few soldiers guarding the border—just low-ranking ones rotated from duty.

These soldiers had once been caught at the bandit stronghold. They were loyal enough to say that soldiering was not something a sane man should do.

Wake up before dawn, train all day, go off to war—several of their brothers had already died.

That terrified the four bandits even more. They even considered fleeing Qizhou entirely, to roam freely. Especially after hearing that the Prince of Qi planned to recruit more troops.

Given how strong they were (or so they thought), they’d definitely be conscripted. So they asked the soldier friend if there was a way out.

He said there was—but it wasn’t cheap.

The man said, “No problem. You name the price.” The soldier raised five fingers.

So the man told Madam Li it was one hundred taels per person, but the truth was it cost five hundred. And the exit wasn’t even at Juhuang Pass, but at Julu Pass.

In the old days, five hundred taels was nothing for bandits. But they’d been spending recklessly and now only had about twenty taels between them. They were far from the mark.

After a discussion, they decided to keep trying. But where could they rob and kill their way to two thousand taels? Ordinary homes didn’t have that kind of money.

So they set their sights on wealthy households in the county.

But after watching them closely, they realized those homes were heavily guarded. Doors tightly shut, guards even at night—just four of them couldn’t handle it.

Then the leader thought of the people coming to sell grain. They seemed to be carrying a lot of money.

He disguised himself as a wealthy buyer and casually mentioned he had a way out of Qizhou. When people took the bait and brought money, they would rob and kill them.

The grain they bought? No problem. They’d send someone else to resell it to wealthy homes—and observe which families might be good targets.

If someone was selling a lot, they’d follow and kill them. If not, they’d still keep tabs and wait for a better opportunity.

When there were no “fat sheep” around, they’d go outside the city and target homes that had a bit of savings.

Just like that, in under two months, they had gathered one thousand taels. How many lives had they destroyed to get it?

But it still wasn’t enough.

Their contact among the gate soldiers began urging them, saying the border would soon tighten and it would be harder to leave.

So the leader came up with a new plan: if the money isn’t enough—cut down on the number of people!

He first approached the one he was closest with and proposed murdering the weakest among them.

One of the others hesitated—he was friends with the target—but eventually joined. Don’t expect bandits to have humanity.

Unexpectedly, it was Madam Li—originally dismissed as a “small fry”—who helped them fulfill their wish.

After the four killed Wu Erlang’s entire family, they finally had enough silver. They didn’t even bother burying the bodies and rushed to Julu Pass.

He Yanxin watched his hand pass through the bandits’ bodies again and again, feeling increasingly numb.

Were Wu Erlang and his wife hateful? Yes. But they didn’t deserve to be slaughtered like animals, their corpses looted and left naked in the wild.

Especially those two children. Before they even had time to feel afraid after seeing their parents killed, they too were murdered.

Once again, He Yanxin was overwhelmed by his powerlessness.

He looked at his own clean hands—why must he endure such torment?

Perhaps trying to understand what became of them, He Yanxin continued to follow the three remaining men.

They arrived at Julu Pass, suppressing their anxiety as soldiers surrounded them. They called out their contact.

The man came out, followed by a few junior soldiers—also former members of the bandit gang.

Fearing delay, they exchanged only a few pleasantries before the leader said the money was ready, and they could arrange for passage.

But when they produced the silver drafts, what greeted them was not freedom—but swift execution.

The soldiers wanted out, too.

Those old drinking-and-robbing comrades closed the men’s eyes before turning away.

Like the three who just died, these soldiers had also been forcibly conscripted by the Prince of Qi and were terrified. When they heard two hundred taels could buy safe passage without being labeled deserters, they wanted in.

But times had changed. Now, as lowly camp cooks in the army, where would they find that kind of money?

Everything they’d said about military life was true. Being a soldier was nothing like their past lives of drinking and looting. Now they had to fight—and could die at any moment.

If they had a chance to leave, of course they would.

Not long after, the solution came to them. When they learned these four escaped bandits also wanted to leave, inspiration struck.

They knew the four were capable of robbing—getting the money would be easy. So they jacked up the price to five hundred taels per person.

Why kill them in the end?

The border was heavily guarded. Smuggling them out was risky. Why take the chance? It was easier to kill them and keep the rest of the silver for themselves.

Truly, what goes around comes around.

It was like watching a twisted, absurd play. He Yanxin drifted home and huddled close to Lady Song, trying to shrink into her embrace. Though he felt no warmth, he was somehow at peace.

“Qingniang,” he murmured. Clearly a restless soul never meant to tire, yet at that moment, he felt too exhausted to speak.

He thought this had to be the most heartbreaking moment yet.

But two months later, something happened that made even his ghostly eyes bleed tears.

(End of Chapter)