Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

The room was completely silent.

Zhuang Man's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared at Shen Chen, momentarily lost in thought.

This scholar was...not what he had imagined! His last words revealed his ambition, making the hairs on his head stand on end.

Wang Wu swallowed hard, then suddenly said, "I've changed my mind. Let's go it alone. We won't hand over a single cent of the five hundred shi of grain!"

Zhang Xiaohu nodded: "I also think going solo is better."

Zhuang Man snapped out of his daze and cheered, "Well said! We'll do this ourselves! Anyone who dares to leak information, I'll be the first to chop off their head!"

"Let's do it today then. Qingxi Village isn't far from our Dogtooth Mountain. If we set off now, we can arrive by tonight," Shen Chen said. "Anyone who doesn't want to participate can withdraw now. They can still get a share of the benefits when we return, but it will be much less."

The group looked at each other, and none of them said they wanted to quit.

"Then let's pack up and set off," Shen Chen said crisply.

A group of bandits then left the Dogtooth Mountain stronghold and headed towards Qingxi Village.

Qingxi Village is an ordinary little village, just like its name suggests, with only a few dozen households.

Among the many thatched huts, a mud-brick house suddenly stood out, which was the home of the landowner. Shen Chen recognized it immediately after just one glance.

"Let me make the arrangements. Xiaolong, you come with me to lure out and kill the guard dogs at the Lu family's gate. Lao Zhao, go watch the windows on the side. Zhuang Man, guard the back door." Shen Chen calmly assigned the tasks. "Xiaohu, go outside to keep watch. Liu Gouzi, wait for the signal to provide backup. Got it all?"

Shen Chen's arrangements were very well organized, and the group quickly memorized their tasks and responsibilities.

Zhuang Man snorted coldly, his expression displeased: "Why am I the one guarding the back door?"

"Because you have the best martial arts skills, even if that guy surnamed Lu doesn't know any movement techniques and tries to run away, you can definitely catch him. Or if something goes wrong and a master comes along, only you can cover the retreat," Shen Chen said.

Zhuang Man's dissatisfaction instantly dissipated considerably. He thought to himself, "So this job of guarding the back door is that important. It really can't be done without me."

"Okay," he said readily. "No problem, let's do it that way."

Shen Chen said, "Before we get down to business, let me explain the rules: anyone who deserts during a battle, steals personal wealth, or causes trouble will be executed on the spot."

After explaining the rules, the group covered their faces with black cloths and surrounded the Lu family under the cover of night.

Lu Yuan was the largest landlord in Qingxi Village. In his early years, he studied martial arts at a martial arts school for three years. Later, he joined the army and was granted the status of a respectable family after his discharge. The Great Yan Dynasty rewarded him with a thousand acres of fertile land. From then on, he lived a prosperous life. He not only married three concubines, but also had a very good personal relationship with the county magistrate, Zhang Fuguang.

Lu Yuan, with a pipe from the Western Regions dangling from his lips, leaned back in his armchair, contentedly closing his eyes.

He lazily instructed his servants, "I want to eat lotus leaf chicken tonight. Go to the backyard and kill a chicken."

"Yes, sir." The servant nodded respectfully and then walked away.

Lu Yuan leaned back in the armchair for a while, just as he was relaxing, when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the front yard.

He opened his eyes and looked at the servant who had suddenly run back with a puzzled expression.

"Master...it's terrible! A thief has broken in!" the servant cried out in a panic.

"Hmm?" Lu Yuan's pupils contracted, and he immediately realized what was going on. His voice was calm: "Go and call Liu the constable."

He strode towards the side room, intending to admonish his wife and children, but then suddenly stopped: "Wait, why does your voice sound like that...?"

A knife was silently pressed against Lu Yuan's lower back.

"Master Lu, those farmhands have been detained by my brothers, and your wife and children are also in our hands," Shen Chen, dressed as a servant, said calmly to Lu Yuan. "As long as you cooperate obediently, we won't kill anyone. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lu Yuan swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Hero, I have ten thousand coins of precious paper money and a box of Qin jewels hidden under my bed. You can take them all!"

"Turn around and talk to me," Shen Chen said.

Lu Yuan quickly shook his head: "No, no, sir, I know the rules. Take the money back and I'll pretend I never saw you."

Seeing that Lu Yuan was so sensible, Shen Chen said, "Then let me be frank. Zhang Fuguang came to your house once and hid some things. Do you remember?"

Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, the dirty money Zhang Fuguang entrusted to him for safekeeping was probably lost.

His mind raced, and he stammered, "I understand, I understand. Come with me, hero, I'll take you there right away."

He pushed open the door with trembling legs and saw a masked man with his arms crossed at the back door, exuding an imposing aura. Not far away, his pet wolfhound and servants were lying on the ground.

Several strong farmhands in the house were squatting on the ground, covering their heads, while two men pointed knives at them and said, "Behave yourselves."

"This is bad." Lu Yuan's heart sank completely. He composed himself and led Shen Chen to a cellar.

He took a diamond-shaped key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock of the cellar door.

"Click."

The key turned, the door opened, and a layer of sorghum rice was exposed to Shen Chen's eyes.

"There's another layer below," Lu Yuan said quickly, afraid that Shen Chen would get angry.

Shen Chen called over Zhang Xiaolong and Zhao Qian: "You two, come and sort out the stuff."

The two men dug away the sorghum rice on top, and coarse cloth bags were immediately revealed.

Zhang Xiaolong picked up a bag, poked the opening with a knife, and dagger-like objects flowed out.

"What's this?" Zhang Xiaolong asked Lu Yuan with a puzzled look. He said in a harsh voice, "Where's the promised food? Are you kidding us?"

"The grain has already been sold off by the county magistrate; this should be money," Lu Yuan said, trembling.

"Money? Is this how you spend money?" Zhang Xiaolong laughed in exasperation.

Zhao Qian picked up the "daggers" and examined them, his eyes gleaming: "No, no, no... this is indeed money, but not from the Great Yan Dynasty, but from the Great Qin Dynasty!"

He stroked the surface of the coin: "Yes, it's a Qin Dynasty knife coin, one of which is worth a grain of gold."

Shen Chen also figured it out: "The Great Yan dynasty is almost finished, but the Great Qin dynasty is thriving. The Great Qin currency is definitely more valuable than the Great Yan currency. Zhang Fuguang is really not stupid."

The group took out three sacks from the cellar, containing approximately three thousand Qin Dynasty coins.

"Pack up, we're getting ready to leave," Shen Chen said. He then told Lu Yuan, "Call everyone in your family here. I'll lock you all in one room so that no one will report us to the authorities before we get back."

Lu Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Shen Chen meant he would rob them of their money but not their lives.

He obediently followed Shen Chen's instructions, gathered all the servants and farmhands together, and locked them in their rooms in groups.

"I'll just stay with my family," Lu Yuan said.

"Okay." Shen Chen agreed and led Lu Yuan into the side room.