It all started with one person becoming a shaman, but the Stand user...

"Thank you for your help."

Qinghe Miao nodded and, without any hesitation, sat down.

The fur cushions offer a slightly soft feel.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes slightly, and focused his mind on the system interface.

The first thing that catches the eye is the experience bar and the level 11.

Then came the battle logs, which I quickly scanned one by one.

"Only twenty or so..."

He silently calculated the number of people he had personally killed.

At the beginning, there was indeed a long-awaited excitement of gaining experience.

But as the number increased, he found that the feeling would actually fade away.

Later on, I actually felt tired, my mind went a little foggy, and I didn't have much energy.

It's not that I hate it.

Rather, it's similar to the boredom that comes from repeating the same actions for too long when playing video games.

"I thought that after holding back for so many years, I would be excited for a long time after finally getting this kind of opportunity!"

Qinghe Miao mocked himself inwardly:

"I never imagined that doing this kind of thing too often would cause discomfort. It's true what they say, a wild boar can't eat fine chaff..."

If it were some crazy guy, he would have been completely out of control by now.

Then he suddenly remembered something and turned his attention to the status bar.

That murderous intent was still clearly present.

Moreover, it did not fade or disappear because of this battle.

Conversely, the color of the icon representing the state appears to be darker than before.

"This situation... the psychological problem doesn't seem so simple."

Qinghe Miao hadn't paid much attention to it before, thinking it was just something he was holding back, but now he's starting to take it seriously and is a little worried.

As his thoughts wandered, he thought back to the battle he had just fought.

Although he possessed the almost overpowered ability of a Stand, he also became aware of another problem.

He still needs a weapon.

The human body is actually harder than people think.

These are still without armor!

It was already quite strenuous to hammer them one by one.

The mental strain of frequently manipulating a Stand to use its power for an extended period of time far exceeded his expectations.

I can't even imagine what kind of imposing presence it would be to have thousands upon thousands of taxi soldiers like these, who know how to defend and evade, and who are dressed in neat armor.

He suddenly understood how Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, lost in the history of "Under One Person".

These are just ancient soldiers.

At this moment, Huang Wulang came over with an uncontainable look of joy after completing the initial inventory.

He first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Qing Hemiao, then excitedly whispered:

"Master, your strategy is brilliant! The harvest is quite bountiful! The food supply was a bit less because the bandits were preparing for winter, but only half of it was used up, and there is still some left!"

While most of the weapons and armor were damaged, there were also quite a few leather armor and a small amount of sheet armor, indicating that these guys were trying to find ways to repair them.

Not to mention the gold, silver, valuables, cloth, and other goods that these bandits had plundered and accumulated...

Thank you so much, Master!

Qinghe Miao simply nodded indifferently. Most of these supplies belonged to Huangjiabao in the agreement, so there was nothing to be happy about.

His gaze swept over the prisoners on the open ground, who were tied up with ropes by the Huang family members.

Aside from the twenty-odd people he had killed earlier, and the few Huang Wulang had taken down when he stormed in.

Of the hundred or so bandits' den, only about forty remained, all of them pale as death and trembling with fear.

It was completely wiped out.

Qinghe Miao reached out and fiddled with a crossbow that had been found during the search, asking:

"Is that all? No martial arts techniques?"

Upon hearing his question, a member of the Huang family hesitated for a moment, then jogged away, returning with several tattered pieces of paper in his hand.

"Lord of the Fortress, Taoist Priest, these are probably all that are related to martial arts."

Qinghe Miao picked up the papers and casually flipped through them.

The system's evaluation interface displays the following information:

[You have viewed a poorly copied and incomplete version of the fifth move of military swordsmanship. Do you wish to study it?]

[You have viewed a poorly copied and incomplete version of the first move of military swordsmanship. Do you wish to study it?]

[You watch...]

Not only is the content largely repetitive, but it is also so incomplete that it cannot form a complete set of moves.

Moreover, judging from the description, it is just a few basic military sword techniques, without any internal energy cultivation methods or other subtleties.

Qinghe Miao was disappointed.

That's true. In reality, what normal person doesn't know their skills by heart and have them memorized?

Just like memorizing ancient poems, once you've memorized them, why would you carry a textbook with you every day?

For someone of Lu Bashan's level, the martial arts they rely on for survival have long been mastered.

Before encountering any opportunities to obtain new martial arts manuals.

He naturally wouldn't have any paper martial arts manuals on him.

The few tattered pieces of paper that were found belonged to Lu Bashan and his gang in the village.

In order to summon or reward newly recruited young men.

It's something drawn from memory, meant to entice people to work themselves to death.

"Master, Lu Bashan is a former soldier of the Jin army. As far as I know, any legitimate team would teach him these skills after a few months of training."

Huang Wulang, watching curiously from the side, also confirmed this point:

"If you are interested in swordsmanship, Master, why don't I get a complete set from the army and give it to you?"

Chapter 54 The Great King Divides Gold and Silver

"No need, I'll just take a look."

After listening, Qinghe Miao remained silent for a moment, then casually tossed the tattered paper in his hand onto the ground next to the chair.

It's definitely not a good thing.

I haven't had time to practice and master the skills I've learned yet!

He took his leave.

The night wind swept through the mountain village, carrying the lingering smell of blood and ashes.

The Huang family members acted very efficiently. The corpses were dragged aside and gathered together, the prisoners were strictly guarded, and key locations such as the granary and armory were all guarded.

The situation is now basically under control.

Let's take a look at the prisoners illuminated by the firelight, and the young Taoist priest sitting on an animal skin chair, resting with his eyes closed.

After they finished, Qinghe Miao raised his hand and picked up the crossbow he had been playing with earlier.

The crossbow's structure is not complicated, and for someone from the modern era, he figured it out after fiddling with it for a while.

"I need your help."

He raised his crossbow, which was already cocked, and aimed it at the remaining forty-odd prisoners on the open ground:

"You shall identify among yourselves those who, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, have committed crimes punishable by immediate execution. Remember the rules: if one person identifies another, at least two others must confirm that the identification is accurate. The one making the identification may live. If two people identify each other, it shall be considered collusion and deception, and both shall die. Falsely accusing an innocent person or making a false accusation shall result in death."

The sound was not loud, but it traveled clearly to everyone's ears in the relatively quiet night.

It was as if he were recounting an ordinary little thing, but the content sent a chill down the spines of all the prisoners, a coldness rising from their feet to the top of their heads.

Then, Qing Hemiao slightly turned his head to look at the Huang family members who were armed and on guard around him:

"And you too. If you also recognize any of these people who have committed numerous evils in this area, you may step forward and testify against them."

Upon hearing this, Huang Wulang quickly understood what Qinghe Miao wanted to do.

He opened his mouth, about to advise, "Taoist Master, now that everything has settled, there are plenty of able-bodied men here, why bother?"

But considering that it was agreed beforehand that these things should indeed be handled by the Taoist priest.

In the end, I just forced myself to swallow it back.

The place was deathly silent, with only the crackling of the burning torches and the howling of the night wind.

The prisoners glanced at each other furtively, their eyes darting around, none daring to be the first to speak.

No one answered for a long time.

Qinghe Miao seemed to be getting impatient. He raised his crossbow, but instead of aiming at anyone, he pointed it at the empty ground in front of the prisoners and pulled the trigger.

"Boom—Whoosh!"

The crossbow string vibrated, the arrow left the string and plunged deep into the frozen earth, its tail feathers still trembling.

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Qinghe Miao calmly reloaded the crossbow.

While operating the device, he said casually:

“Winter nights are truly unbearable. You must all be quite cold standing here in the wind. I don’t have much patience, so please don’t test me.”

This has completely shattered some people's psychological defenses.

"I...I identify them!"

A young bandit, huddled at the edge of the crowd, suddenly raised his hand:

"Him! Zhao Si! Last time we went down the mountain to rob, he was the one who led the way in raping someone's wife and killing an old man who refused to pay taxes!"

As he spoke, his finger trembled as he pointed to another man beside him.

Zhao Si, who was accused, immediately became furious and started cursing:

"Wang Gou! You spineless coward! What are you yelling about! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

"Me too! I can testify too!"

Another short prisoner quickly shouted:

“I was there too, and I definitely did it! He even stole a pair of silver bracelets from there!”

"I saw it too!"

A third person chimed in.

Qinghe Miao said no more, picked up his crossbow, and aimed.

Zhao Si struggled desperately, but was held down firmly by the Huang family soldiers behind him.

"Do not--!"

"Boom!"

The crossbow bolt pierced Zhao Laosi's chest with pinpoint accuracy. He groaned, his eyes widened, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.

You have defeated a level 5 bandit and gained a small amount of experience.