Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

"Really? Really?"

One of the slightly overweight men hesitated for a moment, but still asked cautiously.

"Of course it's true. What good would it do me to lie to you? Killing or not killing you lowly fry makes no difference to me. So, how about we trade your lives for some information? What do you say?"

Lu Chen asked with a smile.

"Sure, sure! Whatever you want to ask, we'll answer to the best of our ability!"

The two nodded vigorously, as if pounding garlic.

Who would choose to die if they could live?

Where does Zhao Defu usually live? Does he have any family?

The slightly overweight one hurriedly said, "I know, he lives in Yongfu Alley on Dajiang Street in the west of the city. The house with a pair of small lions at the entrance is his! I only know that he usually lives alone. I've never seen his family or heard them talk about him."

"I know that! I once saw him coming out of a place, and there was someone carrying a child seeing him off. I bumped into him twice more after that. Those must be his children and women!"

The other person was very unhappy that the fat man spoke so quickly, and chimed in, afraid that if he spoke too late, the knife to his neck would be drawn.

"Very good! Then tell me, where is that place?"

"Go to the end of Yuanhua Alley, turn left, and that's the house; there's a jujube tree in the courtyard."

Lu Chen noted down the two addresses and continued to ask, "Besides this, does your Black Gang have any other addresses?"

"That's all, only this place. We usually go about our own business; this place is generally only used for receiving and processing goods… No, no, no, don't kill me!"

Lu Chen's eyes were icy cold.

The harvesting and training of goods clearly refers to the children who were trafficked or stolen.

"Who found these goods for you? And how did you handle them?"

Lu Chen's tone was icy.

"We all found them ourselves. As for how to deal with them, if they have good aptitude, they'll be taken away, but I don't know exactly where. Those with average aptitude will be kept, those who are obedient and good-looking will be sold, and those who are disobedient will have their arms and legs broken and be made to beg."

Lu Chen's breathing became somewhat rapid.

These beasts!

He gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger: "Do you even know what kind of relationship Zhao Defu has with Wang Xiong?"

"Huh? Who's Wang Xiong? Is he Wang Xiong, the county's registrar?"

The two looked completely bewildered.

Lu Chen frowned.

Do not you know?

"Why is your Black Stick Gang joining forces with other gangs to deal with the Green Bamboo Gang this time?"

"Well, I heard that the Flying Eagle Gang sent people to talk to a few of their leaders, but it seems Wang Hu didn't agree, and then..."

After a moment's thought, Lu Chen roughly understood.

It's probably about the iron ore.

There's definitely too much to handle here; I can't control it myself.

What would a caravan from the border army need iron ore for?

Are they going to rebel?

However, whatever they do is none of my business.

"Besides Shahu County, do you have any other branches in your Black Gang?"

"A branch? I think I've only heard of some kind of gang in the next county called the 'Beggar Gang.' Their boss knows our boss; I've met them once before."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen frowned.

Is this gang only called by this name in Shahu County? In other places, they use a different name?

Lu Chen asked some other questions, but then he heard a loud wail coming from not far away.

He stood up and looked toward the source of the sound.

It was the person with messy hair who was being whipped.

At this moment, she was holding a child whose face was numb and whose limbs were broken, and she was crying so hard it was heartbreaking.

Lu Chen's eyes flashed with a chilling coldness, and the knife in his hand unknowingly sank into the fat man's neck, rendering the man unable to move an inch. He could only plead softly, "Sir, sir! Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me? I've told you everything I know, sir!"

Lu Chen sheathed his knife and said calmly, "I keep my word. I won't kill you this time. You can leave now. Next time we meet, don't expect me to be impolite!"

The two looked at each other, their faces filled with surprise and disbelief.

They actually let us go?

They hurriedly ran outside.

Two throwing knives appeared in Lu Chen's hand.

"You're asking for death! How dare you show your face in front of me? Die!"

He roared, and the throwing knives flew out one after the other, piercing the backs of the two men.

"Holy shit..."

Lu Chen strode forward and finished them off with two slashes.

"You're courting death! I've already let you off the hook once, yet you still show no remorse! Humph!"

Lu Chen snorted coldly.

[Under the host's influence, the fates of Meng Tie and the other person have changed.]

[Fate value gain: 290, Luck value gain: 2]

Total Life Points: 1967

Total Luck Value: 21

Upon hearing the notification sound, he turned to look at the children in the cages who had already been woken up.

The children stared at him blankly.

Lu Chen's face, which was covered by a black cloth, was unusually flushed.

cough.

He picked up all the throwing knives and iron pellets, wiped them clean on a corpse, put them in his bag, and then went to the person who was holding a child and wailing.

"Stop crying, is this your son?" Lu Chen glanced at the child.

The child had injuries on his face and his eyes were filled with fear and trembling, but he no longer had the numbness he had shown before.

"I suggest you take the child with you right now..."

As Lu Chen spoke, he glanced at the other children in the cages, many of whom now wore expectant and pleading expressions.

A thought struck him.

There are so many children, I can't possibly manage them all.

However, Wang Hu said that he could cooperate with Hu Bufan...

Although he didn't know if Wang Hu was setting him up, he chose to take the gamble.

He thought for a moment, then said to the disheveled man, "Would you be willing to do me a favor? This favor might be dangerous."

The man was Zhao Mancang. Hearing Lu Chen's words, and glancing at his son who was quietly sobbing, he hesitated for a moment before nodding emphatically: "Okay! What do you want me to do?"

Lu Chen pointed to the children around him: "There are so many people, I can't manage them all. I need to call the authorities. But I don't want to meet or deal with them right now, so I need you to step in!"

Lu Chen shared his thoughts.

The man nodded silently: "No problem, my benefactor, please rest assured. Even if it costs me my life, take it! However, the only thing I'm worried about is my son, Xiaohe..."

Lu Chen thought for a moment: "I can't take care of all the children, but taking care of one is no problem! Once you find the person, I will hand the child over to you safely... If something really happens to you, I can guarantee that this child will grow up safely!"

"good!"

……

Lu Chen watched as the man named Zhao Mancang went to Hu Bufan's residence and knocked on the door.

After a while, the gatekeeper came out, saw him, and impatiently tried to drive him away.

But Zhao Mancang only whispered a few words, and the gatekeeper hurriedly went to find someone.

Before long, a young man with a square face appeared at the door.

Lu Chen, holding the child, hid in the shadows and could see that Hu Bufan's expression turned very bad after hearing Zhao Mancang say a few words. After questioning Zhao Mancang for a while, seeing his appearance and the whip marks on his body, Hu Bufan didn't even have time to put on his outer clothes properly. He simply gave a few instructions to the gatekeeper, grabbed his weapon, and rushed out.

Lu Chen waited for a while, and then Zhao Mancang appeared in front of him from another place.

"My benefactor, I have already told him everything!"

"Yes, go! Take this money and find a good doctor for the child. It would be best to rent an oxcart and leave as soon as the city gates open; staying here might not be safe. Have a safe journey and live well!"

Lu Chen gave him some of the money he had plundered from the Black Gang, then turned and left.

"Little River, kowtow to your benefactor!"

With tears streaming down his face, Zhao Mancang knelt down with his son and kowtowed more than a dozen times to Lu Chen's retreating figure until Lu Chen disappeared from sight. Only then did he wipe away his tears, pick up his child, and limp away.

……

Lu Chen arrived near the county government office again.

At this moment, Hu Bufan stood at the Black Gang's base with a livid face, looking at the children huddled in the iron cages. His eyes twitched, and he felt both sad and angry. He cursed "beast" in his heart and went to Zhao Defu's corpse, wishing he could bring him back to life and kill him again.

"In all these years I've been in Shahu, I haven't found a chance to kill you. I never expected you to die so easily this time. You got off easy! And Wang Xiong, Meng Ping, Li Ziren... one day, I'll uproot you all!"

Suddenly, his ears twitched: "Who?"

They quickly came up from underground, but there was no one there.

Lu Chen had already run far away.

As he ran, he also checked the spoils of the trip.

[Under the host's influence, the fates of Zhao Xiaohe and 38 others have changed.]

[Fate value gain: 760, Luck value gain: 38]

Total Life Points: 2727

Total Luck Value: 59

"A bumper harvest!"

Now, go and ransack the house!