My lord, spare his life!

"It's because you assigned too much homework, not because I didn't do it."

Zhang Yang refused Fan You's forced repayment of his debt of gratitude and instead threw a pot at him.

Fan You couldn't help but wonder if he had assigned too much homework, but he knew Zhang Yang's main job was fighting, not studying, so he hadn't assigned much: "There's not much homework. Even a young child's homework is more than this. As long as my lord can spare two or three quarters of an hour each day, it can be easily completed. Little by little, great things will come. Could it be that my lord has been putting off his homework until the last few days?"

That would indeed be very difficult to accomplish.

Zhang Yang tried to cover up his guilt: "We didn't drag it out until the last few days."

Fan You ignored what Zhang Yang was saying and only looked at what she had done on her homework. The handwriting at the top was relatively restrained, but it became increasingly messy towards the end, until finally it was just a bunch of random scribbles with a brush. It was likely that no one but herself could recognize what she had written.

Fan You held the homework, looking at Zhang Yang with a half-smile.

She asked softly, "My lord, what is the explanation for this?"

Zhang Yang remained expressionless: "I'm practicing cursive script."

"Could you please repeat what was written on it, my lord?"

Zhang Yang: "..."

Oh no, she doesn't even recognize herself anymore.

Zhang Yang rarely showed emotion, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor even when feeling guilty. But Fan You's lack of teaching experience didn't mean he lacked experience as a student. How could he not know how someone felt when caught red-handed for not doing their homework?

There is one way to leash a monkey.

He refused to believe that he couldn't control his lord.

Fan You: "Doesn't my lord even do the daily tasks?"

Zhang Yang felt his underlying code being touched; his eyelids trembled slightly, and his eyes followed Fan You's direction: "A mission?"

Fan You said, "The lord is absent from daily tasks."

Zhang Yang felt a cold sweat break out on his brow.

Fan You rummaged through his trunk and pulled out a lesson plan he had prepared long ago. He turned to the current teaching progress and said slowly, "My lord's daily tasks are to practice writing 300 characters and memorize one article every day."

Zhang Yang's brain can translate automatically.

[Daily Task] Diligent Study and Continuous Learning

Complete the calligraphy practice (0/300)

Completed memorization (0/1)

Mmm, this tastes just right, authentic!

When Wang Qi returned to his shift after his anger subsided, he saw Zhang Yang diligently doing his homework and practicing calligraphy, completely unlike his previous restless state. Seeing this, he became even angrier, plucked a small tuft of hair from Zhang Damiao's head as she passed by, and curled it into a ball.

Before it could hit Zhang Yang's forehead, she raised her hand to block it.

"What are you doing?"

"You always make excuses and can't concentrate on that so-called study group, but you sit down the moment Uncle Fan arrives. Does he have some kind of magic talent, or am I just getting in your way?"

Zhang Yang said, "Shuyan assigned me a study task."

"You'd do it if it's a task?" Wang Qi tilted his head, remembering that Zhang Yang had also mentioned fishing as a task a while ago. A bold guess suddenly popped into his mind, "Then I'll give you a task too, Mountain Spirit. It's not difficult. Would you do it?"

"What mission?"

"You... value me more than Guan Siyin and the others."

What Wang Qi really wanted to say was to kick Guan Si out.

He'd been annoyed with Guan Si, that damned loader, for a long time.

"What kind of task is this? The standards for completing this task are impossible to measure clearly, so the interpretation right is rightfully yours." Zhang Yang said that she just likes to have clear responses for each step when doing tasks, not that she is really stupid.

"Then fire him. What the Hundred Ghost Guards can do, the Dongxian men can do for you too. I don't like him."

"The premise for firing him is that I hired him in the first place." Guan Si was completely unable to select him; even if he could, he wouldn't fire him. "What has Eggman done to you lately? Why are you targeting him like this?"

Wang Qi sneered: "I can target whomever I want."

Zhang Yang: "..."

"Since this won't work and that won't work either, then I'll try another one. You—" Looking at Zhang Yang's serious gaze, Wang Qi's words lingered on his tongue for a long time, but he swallowed them back after carefully chewing them over, muttering something like "It's not a fair fight to win."

Zhang Yang: "Why did you stop talking?"

Wang Qi suddenly became furious, snatched Zhang Yang's still-drying homework and turned it upside down on the table, not noticing that Zhang Yang had used a water glass to weigh down the paper. Watching Zhang Yang's expression change from blank to flushed red, he knew something was wrong and quickly slipped away.

Completed calligraphy practice (155/300) [Failed]

Zhang Yang, with a cold face, crushed the calligraphy brush.

Failure is common in warfare, and the same applies to completing missions.

After practicing calligraphy and memorizing the text, he took out the whip.

Zhang Yang assigned himself a task.

[Temporary Task] Diligent Practice and Martial Arts Training

Complete the whipping of Wang Gongsun (0/100)

He was given a shot, but he didn't die.

Zhang Yang killed Sun Ban, but that didn't mean he could fully inherit his estate. Dou County was Sun Ban's territory, where the Sun family had operated for many years and held immense prestige. When the people heard of Sun Ban's death, many spontaneously hung white banners and went to his grave to pay their respects.

Zhang Yang led his troops into the city.

Amidst the densely packed yellow names, many red names were hidden in the shadows of the crowd, staring intently at Zhang Yang with hateful eyes. Some even took the opportunity to secretly spit. Zhang Yang lowered his eyelids and looked at the map dialogue in the system log.

Bystander A whispered on the map: "[Is this the thief who killed Lord Sun? Damn it, may that thief die a horrible death.]"

A customer at the teahouse whispered to himself while looking at the map: "I heard that the thief is a ruthless killer who eats three or four children every day to maintain her youthful appearance. Look how young she looks, how many must she have eaten?"

The lame peddler whispered on the map: "My relative told me that this thief slaughtered everyone in the neighboring Guanhuan County. The blood was flowing so much that the river was blocked by the corpses thrown in."

A passerby whispered to himself while looking at the map: "Did they really slaughter them all?"

The lame peddler whispered to himself, looking at the map: "How could it be fake? Not a single person was left alive; they're all dead. Did you see that thief's men? They look respectable during the day, but at night they turn into monsters, slaughtering house to house."

A passerby whispered to himself while looking at the map: [...]

A vendor entering the town whispered on the map: "Let me tell you something. Isn't the Sun family's ancestral graveyard next to my village? Yesterday, someone heard a commotion over there, and a lot of people surrounded it and dug up Grandpa Sun's grave completely. It was a terrible mess."

The audience gasped in shock.

The original yellow names have also quietly turned red.

They were, after all, just ordinary people, and they knew they couldn't fight city hall. Even if they harbored hatred, they dared not show it too openly. As soon as the others left, their murmurs grew louder.

Some people genuinely felt indignant for Sun Ban, while others simply enjoyed the attention. Normally, few people would bother with them, but now, by fabricating a few outlandish rumors that everyone loves to hear, everyone would gather around to inquire about the details.

He racked his brains, making up whatever came to mind.

The more bizarre and intriguing it is, the more people will want to hear it.

The information and intelligence mostly came from "my next-door neighbor", "my distant relative" and "I heard". Zhang Yang's image also changed several times in a short period of time, evolving from cannibalism to being a lecher who cannibalizes people and occasionally digs up graves and confiscates property.

Besides Zhang Yang, those who entered the city with her also suffered.

The content either revolved around gore or went straight to the vulgar, occasionally interspersed with a few words of remembrance and regret for Sun Ban. Even if a few people spread true information, they would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of others.

"Sun Zhaoruo enjoys a fairly high reputation among the people."

"Don't be angry, godmother. What do these unruly people know?" Lu Yuan thought that Zhang Yang was hurt by these rumors and couldn't help but comfort her. "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Sun Zhaoruo's seventh day memorial is coming soon. They miss her now, but in a few days, when other new things reach their ears, they will naturally stop mentioning this matter."

Zhang Yang shook his head: "I'm not angry."

She wasn't lying; she really wasn't angry.

Seeing the densely packed red-named monsters with their short health bars above their heads, Zhang Yang's temper melted away like butter. Even if she still thought they were NPCs, let alone now that she knew they were people, Zhang Yang wouldn't kill NPCs to silence them just because a group of low-level, short-health-bar red-named monsters were attacking her face.

A true master should possess the demeanor of a master.

Players don't kill every player who has a red name on their account.

Zhang Yang looked at the crickets flooding the system logs, lowered his eyes and thought for a moment: "I still have some copper coins left in my backpack, and there are quite a few chickens left in the logistics department. Have someone pick a few hundred to slaughter."

The copper coins were spoils of war, while the chickens were raised by the army's logistics department to supplement the soldiers' diet with meat. Since the army's provisions were all with Zhang Yang, this greatly reduced the pressure on logistics, even creating a surplus of manpower. Raising these free-range chickens required little investment; when the fighting wasn't urgent, they were allowed to roam freely, foraging for themselves wherever they happened to be.

Lu Yuan: "Want an extra meal tonight?"

Zhang Yang: "Whoever hasn't cursed can claim it, first come, first served."

Wang Ba called Zhang Yang a confidant!

The free-range chickens raised by the army are large; a single chicken leg is quite heavy. Chopping them in half yields nearly a thousand prizes. Distributing them in the busiest part of the market, I bet no one can resist.

Zhang Yang: "This debt should be placed on the Sun family's shoulders."

Lu Yuan suppressed a smile: "Yes."

At midday, several groups of soldiers appeared at the market intersection carrying large wooden buckets filled with freshly slaughtered chickens and heavy copper coins in wooden frames, while others beat gongs and drums.

"Our lord rejoices with the people and, to celebrate the acquisition of Dou County, has specially ordered us to deliver meat and money. The quantity is limited, first come, first served. Those who have slandered our lord need not come, lest it damage your integrity." The soldier's voice was loud and shrill, carrying very far.

The people in the market looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before long, some idle people actually went to collect it.

"Do you want copper coins or half a chicken?" The soldier, weathered by wind and sun, didn't have the delicate features of the average woman in the city; instead, he possessed a rugged and imposing air. The hoodlum instinctively tensed, his muscles stiffening, and he stammered for a long time.

The soldier said, "Speak slowly."

"Yes, yes..." The thug hesitated between the copper coins and the chicken. The latter looked very fresh, and he could smell the freshly slaughtered chicken. The copper coins seemed plentiful, but he didn't know how many he could get. After hesitating, the thug gritted his teeth and chose the meat.

The soldier grabbed half a chicken, wrapped it in a lotus leaf, and warned, "Each person only gets one portion. Once you've taken it, you can't take any more. I have a good memory; I've already memorized your face. Taking it again will only get you a beating. My Lord is kind-hearted. Have you ever followed the example of those unruly people who slander and curse my Lord?"

The outstretched hand froze in mid-air: "N-nothing."

When he received half a chicken, Hunzi still felt a sense of unreality.

They walked and stopped intermittently, occasionally glancing back to see if the bandits would catch up and kill them, but they didn't. After distributing a document, the other person would lower their head to take notes, sometimes chatting idly with their comrades beside them, sometimes laughing and joking, and one could vaguely hear that there would be meat and wine that night.

Alcohol is prohibited in the military, so opportunities to drink openly are few and far between.

The others in the market looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before long, another beggar came forward.

The beggar, lacking the means to cook, couldn't prepare the chicken as a meal, so he opted for copper coins. The soldier gave him several dozen from a wooden frame. Chicken was cheap; ten copper coins could buy about half a chicken.

The beggar took the money and then bought food to fill his stomach.

Similarly, no soldiers or bandits sought to get their copper coins back from the beggar.

Don't be fooled by the fact that chicken is cheap and a meat that ordinary families can occasionally enjoy; it's not something you can eat whenever you want, and it's only a few times a year. Now, you can get half a chicken without spending a penny, just by saying a few words? Is there really such a good thing?

The market was bustling with activity for a time.

Many people who received the message are on their way.

Have you ever slandered or cursed my Lord?

No, never.

"Lying? I heard you cursing. Get out of here! I'll be grateful if I don't beat you to death today, it's because of the strict discipline in the army. How dare you come here begging for food?" The person in line was pushed out of the queue.

Then she said to the next person, "You've already been punished? Do you think I'm blind? Go away, go away, and if you do it again, you'll know what's what!"

Mr. Sun paid for the entire event today.

However, the Sun family absconded.

"They ran away fast enough; the place is completely empty now?"

Lu Yuan said, "As soon as Sun Ban died, the rest of the Sun family fled overnight, without even having time to pack up many of their belongings."

"How much wealth do you have left? Is it enough to cover expenses?"

Lu Yuan laughed and said, "That's enough."

Hearing that the income and expenditure were balanced, Zhang Yang was relieved.

"Can the person who escaped be caught?"

"It takes a bit of effort, but we can catch it."

The mountain prefectures are surrounded by the Dongfan and Youyuan mountain ranges, with only two passes for entry and exit, both of which are controlled by the adoptive mother. Where can these people escape to? They can only hide in the mountains, hoping some old friend will be willing to risk taking them in.

"Then arrest them. Arrest them and ask them why they ran away." Zhang Yang quickly finished his daily study routine and then watched Xiao Sui and the others collect information on the measurement of land in Dou County. Practice makes perfect, and everyone was familiar with the process. Anyone dared to conceal anything? Let them tell the lord's soldiers!

When in doubt about foreign affairs, consult a gun; when in doubt about domestic affairs, examine a sword!

Zhang Yang was most concerned about the Sun family's horse farm.

The horse farm couldn't be sold off immediately, but all the horses had been sold at low prices and were now nowhere to be found. The stables had been burned to the ground, and all the servants had fled. Zhang Yang ended up with nothing but an empty horse farm.

Lu Yuan comforted her, "Don't be angry, godmother. We'll send a caravan to other horse farms to buy some good quality foals to raise."

Zhang Yang: "This matter cannot end so simply. This horse farm is mine. I can overlook the burning of the stables and the escape of the grooms, but I cannot tolerate someone stealing my horses! Ask every family in Dou County who can afford to keep horses who is hiding mine! If they don't hand over the stolen money and make up the losses, I will make their entire family suffer!"

NPCs steal money from players' pockets?

Can this be tolerated?

No!

? ?|??w?`)

There are evenings.