In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

Do not!

It couldn't be Shen An. How could he possibly have the ability to ambush them? And where would he get the guts to do such a thing?

But this person really looks exactly like Shen An. Is there anyone in the world who looks so alike?

Ma Tianming went through a lot of internal struggle, but in the end he still concluded that the person in front of him was just a Western barbarian who looked like Shen An.

Shen An had already spotted his hiding place out of the corner of his eye.

He imitated a bird call, and Shen Xiaoqi on the opposite hillside immediately understood and flanked him from the other side.

Shen An, carrying a crossbow, walked step by step toward the boulder.

"Officer Ma, stop hiding and come out. It's time to settle our score."

Upon hearing these words, Ma Tianming felt a sudden jolt.

The sound is the same?

"Hey, what are you thinking about? If my brother hadn't said he was going to kill you himself, I'd crack your head open right now!"

Ma Tianming turned around abruptly, and saw a person squatting high up behind him—it was Shen Xiaoqi.

At this moment, he was looking down at him from a high position, with his crossbow pointed at the back of his head.

In that instant, all of Ma Tianming's remaining hope was shattered.

Shen An is Shen An, not a Western barbarian.

It was these two brothers who did it.

If he discovers it's someone else, he will immediately beg for mercy.

But the person in front of him was Shen An, who had always been his lackey and servant, the Shen An he had prepared to be his scapegoat.

A person he once trampled underfoot is now turning around and trying to kill him?

Ma Tianming was furious, and his voice grew louder: "Shen An, Shen Xiaoqi, you two good-for-nothings have you eaten a leopard's gall!"

"You dare touch me! Put down your weapons and kneel down right now, or this matter will reach the magistrate's ears, and he won't let you off!"

"Ma Tianming, I really overestimated your intelligence." Shen An shook his head.

"Hehe, I know what you're thinking: if you kill me, the government won't be able to trace it back to you."

"Don't dream about it, you're underestimating the government's investigative capabilities!" Ma Tianming sneered.

"Ma Tianming, how can you be so stupid!" Shen Xiaoqi rolled her eyes. "My brother means you still haven't realized that this whole thing is a trap! Killing you won't get us anywhere!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're so stupid!"

Think about where you are, and what you've bet on? As soon as the Western Barbarians get the news, they'll definitely come to rob you.

"So we killed you, pinned the blame on the Western Barbarians, and it's all clean; they can't trace it back to us." Shen Xiaoqi spat. "Now you understand?"

Ma Tianming's expression changed drastically, and he finally realized it.

It was all a trap, and he walked right into it without even realizing it!

His brows furrowed immediately: "That doesn't make sense. The magistrate wouldn't set a trap for me. That's impossible!"

"It wasn't that the magistrate wanted to kill you, it's that we used him!" Shen Xiaoqi added.

"You two mere corpse carriers, what right do you have to manipulate the county magistrate?!"

Ma Tianming was somewhat intelligent; at this point, Liu Wenyuan's image popped into his mind!

"It couldn't be Liu Wenyuan either! He's just a poor bastard with little power. Who in the county government would risk their life for him? Impossible!"

"What if I give him enough money?" Shen An's lips curled into a smile.

"What are you going to offer?" Ma Tianming's voice rose again. "To make this happen, we need to bribe the people around the magistrate. It won't be any easier than a thousand taels of silver!"

"What's a thousand taels of silver?" Shen An casually pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and waved them around.

Seeing the thousands of taels of silver notes casually pulled out, Ma Tianming's pupils shrank: "Where did you get so much money? You couldn't even find this much by stripping a dead person of their clothes!"

"You're really stupid."

Haven't you been asking me why I collect hair from the dead? I'll tell you now!

"This money was all earned from the hair of dead people." Shen An's voice also grew louder.

"What?!"

At that moment, a strong sense of fear welled up in Ma Tianming's heart.

He suddenly realized that the person in front of him, whom he used to boss around, was terrifying.

He made a fortune from dead people's hair, yet he still acted like a subservient grandson.

Knowing full well that he was investigating the purpose of dead people's hair, he remained silent and even bribed Liu Wenyuan, setting up such a huge trap for him.

Damn it, if this guy is so capable, why does he have to be a corpse carrier?

He cursed inwardly, but his words softened: "Shen An, you're amazing, you're too amazing, I'm impressed."

But we don't have any deep-seated hatred between us, do we? If you let me go today, when I go back and become a county magistrate, I'll make you a head constable, okay?

"No, what's a constable? I'll make you a county lieutenant, and I'll be your assistant, okay?"

"Ma Tianming, do you really think I don't know you made me a scapegoat?" Shen An's voice turned cold.

Ma Tianming swallowed hard.

Shen An actually knew about this too.

He wanted to deny it, but Shen An didn't give him the chance: "Whether it's true or not, I know in my heart. I've kept your dog's life until now just to vent my anger. Now that you've said your piece, it's time for you to go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen An pulled the trigger.

The crossbow bolt pierced the air and pierced Ma Tianming's chest.

Blood gushed from his mouth and wound together.

Besides pain, there was only regret. Before he breathed his last, he spoke: "Shen An, I will no longer beg you to spare me. I beg you, when we get back, please kill my little brother Zhang Meng, okay?"

The image of Zhang Meng flashed into Shen An's mind. This man was Ma Tianming's confidant in the constable team.

Why kill him?

"He's the one who egged me on, making me use you as a scapegoat! If it weren't for him, I would never have ended up in this situation!"

Ma Tianming was filled with boundless hatred.

"Hmph, he won't admit his mistake even until he dies. But don't worry, since he was the one who instigated this, I'll send him to meet you sooner or later!"

Shen An stepped forward, drew his short knife, and slit his throat with a single blow.

The moment Ma Tianming's head fell to the ground, he had only one thought in his mind: not to kill Shen An, not to hate Liu Wenyuan, but to curse Zhang Meng, that damned bastard, and to go to hell with him!

After killing Ma Tianming, Shen An and Shen Xiaoqi shouted, "That was so satisfying! That was so satisfying!"

Killing Wang Bantou and then Ma Butou greatly boosted their confidence in annihilating their powerful enemy!

He felt more confident about avenging his parents and killing Li Huaiyi in the future!

But that's not enough!

Ma Qiang, Zhao Feng, and all those lackeys who waggled Ma Qiang's tail at the mass grave—they all need to be dealt with thoroughly before this anger can be truly vented.

The two did not destroy the body or cover up the evidence.

The crossbow bolts used today were modified from the style of the Western Barbarians, and no flaws could be found in the wounds.

They simply put away the crossbow bolts and swaggered away from the scene.

It was already late at night when we returned to Qingtian Village.

Dugu Meng was still sitting in the courtyard waiting. When they entered, she finally let go of the hand that had been gripping the hem of her clothes.

"Did it work?"

"Did Ma Qiang come by after we left?"

"no."

"That's good."

"Brother, when are we going to take action against Ma Qiang?" Shen Xiaoqi rubbed his hands together. "That bastard has taken advantage of the situation, seizing all the power over the mass grave. I'm not going to hold back any longer!"

"Now that Ma Tianming is dead, there's nothing to worry about. Let's make our move tonight."

Shen An did not hesitate: "But if you're going to kill, kill them all. Go and inform Ma Qiang and his men that I want to tell them the secret of the dead man's hair, and have them gather at my house."

"Is Zhao Feng also called that?"

"Of course I'll call."

"Shen An, can you listen to me for a moment?" Dugu Meng suddenly spoke up.

Shen An turned to look at her: "Speak!"

Dugu Meng hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, her tone pleading: "Killing Ma Qiang and his men is one thing, but Zhao Feng, she's still young, and she's Uncle Zhao's granddaughter. Can't we give her a chance to make amends?"

"A chance to make amends?"

Shen An said as if he had heard a joke: "Dugu Meng, can you use your brain before you speak?"

If I hadn't discovered Ma Tianming's malicious intentions beforehand, we might all have been killed by her!

Such a wicked person! You want me to give her a chance? If we die, who the hell will give us a chance?!

His voice grew louder and louder, and the last sentence was almost shouted.

Dugu Meng was taken aback by his shout.

She had known Shen An for so long, and this was the first time she had ever seen him so angry.

She then realized how absurd her words had been.

"Shen An, I'm sorry, just now I..."

Shen An interrupted her, then turned to Shen Xiaoqi and instructed, "Go and call people. Besides Ma Qiang and Zhao Feng, also call Uncle Zhao and Zhao Long."

Shen Xiaoqi couldn't wait to kill Ma Qiang and the others, so he immediately rode out on horseback.

Fifteen minutes later, Ma Qiang arrived with his men, followed by Zhao Feng, both of them wearing victorious smiles.

Ma Qiang plopped down on a chair in the yard, crossed his legs, and said, "Shen An, you've finally come to your senses."

Write down the secrets of the dead man's hair, and I'll take it with me. No one else needs to know.

Zhao Feng stood to the side, arms crossed, no longer pretending.

Her tone was extremely domineering: "Shen An, hurry up and write! Stop dawdling! Our time is very precious!"