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

Before he even opened the door, Shen Chen heard the woman crying.

Inside the room, a middle-aged woman had a gash on her neck, and all the blood had drained away. Through the gash, Shen Chen could clearly see her bright red trachea and esophagus.

The man on the bed heard the noise behind him, turned around, and saw Shen Chen. He forced an awkward smile and said, "Boss Shen, you're here."

Shen Chen stared coldly at Liu Gouzi: "Didn't I tell you to guard outside? What are you doing here?"

At that moment, Lu Yuan glanced at the woman's corpse, his eyelids twitched, and then he saw the blank-faced girl on the bed. His mottled old face instantly turned red, and his whole body trembled.

Liu Gouzi nodded: "I'll leave right away..."

Just as he was about to leave, Lu Yuan suddenly pounced on him like an old wolf: "Beast! You beast!"

Liu Gouzi was startled and hurriedly drew his long knife from his waist. With a wild slash, he chopped off Lu Yuan's head.

Years of comfortable living had left Lu Yuan with little fighting ability. He only managed to make a few cuts on Liu Gouzi's face before his fingers fell to the ground.

Liu Gouzi finally came to his senses. He felt the stinging pain on his face and couldn't help but curse, "That old bastard is quite strong."

He noticed Shen Chen's piercing gaze and quickly put on a fawning smile: "Boss Shen, I made a mistake this time, please punish me as you see fit."

Shen Chen's eyes flickered for a moment, and he said in a calm voice, "I'll punish you later. Go and help Xiaolong and the others pick up the goods first."

"Okay." Liu Gouzi scurried away, all excited.

Shen Chen looked at the two blood-soaked corpses on the ground, then at the lifeless girl on the bed, and suddenly clenched his fist.

"I'm going to kill that Liu dog."

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately drew a divination stick.

[Good fortune: After everyone has arrived, you reveal what Liu Gouzi did on the spot. Everyone is confused. You say that Liu Gouzi only made a mistake that all men make, and that you would definitely not be able to resist if it were you. Taking advantage of Liu Gouzi's relaxed vigilance, you sneak up on him and kill him. Auspicious.]

[Winning the lottery: After returning to the village, you confront Liu Gouzi, but thanks to Zhuang Man's protection, you only end up fining him, resulting in a draw.]

[Bad Fortune: You decide to immediately engage Liu Gouzi in battle, but lacking practical experience, you find yourself at a disadvantage, losing all prestige. Ominous.]

A moment later, in the Lu family's backyard.

The six people who had all arrived looked at the pile of valuables on the ground, their eyes gleaming with greed.

"This is a huge profit; it's enough to cover a year's worth of village work." Zhang Xiaolong rubbed his hands together, his expression excited.

"This Shen is quite formidable," Wang Wu and Zhao Qian thought to themselves.

At this moment, Shen Chen walked over, and several voices filled with admiration rang out: "Boss Shen."

"Shen Tou."

Shen Chen looked around and said, "Let's divide the spoils on the spot to avoid any further trouble."

"Okay." Everyone agreed.

Shen Chen took out half a sack of coins: "This is Zhang Xiaolong's."

"This half bag is Wang Wu's, and this half bag is for Zhuang Man."

When it was Liu Gouzi's turn, Shen Chen tightened the bag and said to Liu Gouzi with a half-smile, "Gouzi, you just forced yourself on this family's daughter and killed the landlord and his wife. Don't you think you should be fined?"

Liu Gouzi gritted his teeth and said in a muffled voice, "It's all up to Boss Shen."

Shen Chen turned his gaze to the others: "What do you all think?"

Zhang Xiaolong glanced at Liu Gouzi, his face full of disgust: "He deserves to be punished, he should be punished in full!"

Zhang Xiaohu remained silent.

Zhao Qian and Wang Wu said, "Let's just fine them half."

Zhuang Man said, "He should indeed be punished, but a 30% punishment would be fine. Killing someone isn't a big deal, as long as the matter is resolved."

After everyone gave their opinions, Shen Chen said, "Since that's the case, Gouzi, then I'll do as Brother Zhuang said and fine you 30%."

Liu Gouzi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and he obsequiously replied, "Whatever you say, Boss Shen."

Shen Chen took a handful of coins from Liu Gouzi's share, but then tossed them back: "But then again, this family's daughter is indeed beautiful, so it's no wonder Gouzi took action."

"So, considering it's your first offense, I won't hold it against you. Come and collect your reward," Shen Chen said calmly.

Liu Gouzi shuddered and immediately walked up to Shen Chen: "Yes, thank you, Boss Shen."

"Let me make this clear from the start: next time you meet a pretty woman and don't let me play with her first, you know what the consequences will be," Shen Chen said jokingly, patting Liu Gouzi on the shoulder.

Liu Gouzi nodded vigorously: "Of course, I remember, I remember..."

Suddenly, he heard gurgling sounds of blood bubbling in his throat. When he looked down, he found a dagger piercing his chest. Every breath brought him excruciating pain.

Shen Chen gripped the dagger tighter, pushing the blade even deeper into Liu Gouzi's body.

"I've changed my mind. You should just die." Shen Chen's smile had vanished, replaced by an icy coldness.

Liu Gouzi's eyes were bloodshot. He tried to pry Shen Chen's hands off, but his cold hands were too weak to do anything.

"Hey, Shen, what are you doing?" Zhuang Man saw Shen Chen stab Liu Gouzi and asked in shock and anger.

Shen Chen twisted the knife handle again, and after confirming that Liu Gouzi was beyond saving, he pulled the knife out, and blood gushed out of his hand like a fountain.

"This bastard broke my rules, disobeyed orders, and killed indiscriminately." Shen Chen kicked Liu Gouzi's corpse, his expression one of disgust. "I executed him on the spot. What's wrong with that?"

"Glug glug." A large amount of blood flowed out from under Liu Gouzi's corpse. Liu Gouzi's limbs trembled twice, and then he fell silent.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the scene, each with their own thoughts.

Zhuang Man was the first to react, and said coldly, "Hey Shen, no matter what, Liu Gouzi is still a brother in the village. You're being incredibly disloyal!"

Everyone knows that Liu Gouzi was his henchman. Shen Chen just found a reason to kill him, and in front of so many people, isn't that a slap in the face?

"If you have any complaints, you can go back to the village and complain to the head of the punishment department," Shen Chen said casually.

Zhuang Man gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Fine, you just wait."

A few seconds later, he suddenly realized something.

The village's head of punishments... seems to be Qin Pi!

Will Qin Pi punish Shen Chen?

Putting aside the fact that Shen Chen is his sworn brother, if he found out that Liu Gouzi had raped a respectable woman, he might even whip Liu Gouzi's corpse. After all, Qin Pi dared to break ties with Luo Xiong, who was also the head of the family, over a similar matter last time...

Shen Chen wiped the blood on his hands onto a nearby tree and said calmly, "If anyone wants to carry Liu Gouzi's body back, they can carry it themselves. I'm too lazy to bring him back to the mountain stronghold."

With that, he picked up half a bag of coins, turned around, and left.