Chapter 405: Beating the Government Soldiers

Chapter 405: Beating the Government Soldiers

The villagers of Ru Yu Village weren’t stubborn for no reason; they believed that a patch of water nourishes a patch of land, particularly those unencumbered villagers who had no intention of leaving. They were prepared to live or die alongside their village.

It was a personal choice after all; who could stop you if you wanted to die?

But the soldiers entering the village were really intent on stopping people.

They forcibly dragged them away.

Niu Sheng resisted and was knocked down, sparking other villagers to rush over and plead:

“Niu Sheng’s decision to leave is his own! Why are you hitting people?”

“Less nonsense! You all have to leave today; stop dawdling and wasting our time!”

The Deputy Captain of the troop spoke with palpable impatience, reprimanding the villagers.

“You notifying us is appreciated, but we’re not leaving. Even if a tsunami comes and washes us away, that’s our business! Why the need for violence?”

Zhang Si, Niu Sheng’s neighbor, rushed out to speak up for him.

However, the soldiers had no understanding of reason. They were initially here to conscript laborers, and even if not for that, bringing villages back to Lu City would serve some other purpose. In short, these villagers had to be taken back to replenish their workforce, whether they wanted to go or not.

The Deputy Captain retorted:

“This is our way of handling things; time is tight, and he is obstructing us.”

“You’re just being unreasonable!”

“Take that old man too.”

“You surely won’t take us to a good place; I’m not going. Niu Sheng! Let him go!”

As Zhang Si saw them continue to beat Niu Sheng into submission, he let out a hoarse shout, charging in to save him.

“Beat him too!”

The Deputy Captain ordered, and other soldiers prepared to take action against Zhang Si.

“Who the hell are you hitting?”

In an instant, a man like the wind charged in, landing a punch squarely on the Deputy Captain’s face.

Boom!

The Deputy Captain was sent flying straight into a doghouse.

“Big brother, big brother got hit!”

“Everyone gets a share.”

The wind man launched a rapid assault, swiftly taking down the government soldiers with just a few punches.

They were nothing but a bunch of pathetic losers; Lin Nuo was treating them like playthings.

Su Kexin and the others hurried to help the fallen Niu Sheng, treating his injuries.

The soldiers, originally scattered throughout the village forcing villagers to leave, quickly gathered at the commotion.

A little over ten more came, led by their Captain.

Luo Xiaoxue was astonished, wondering how things had escalated to this point where soldiers were hitting people.

Lin Nuo surveyed them with disdain and remarked:

“Looks like you’re not headed to Li City; this is just typical of your soldiers’ character.”

“This… Young Master Lin, please do not be angry. I will provide an explanation for the villagers.”

Luo Xiaoxue was now anxious; she initially came with good intentions, but things had blown up, and it would be difficult to manage.

As the Captain arrived, she turned to him:

“Why are you enforcing violence against villagers? If they’re not leaving, we can persuade them peacefully; why resort to such drastic measures?”

“We’re just following the rules.”

“But the princess didn’t authorize you to act this way.”

“The princess? We’re acting on orders from Dong Wei; this matter is under Dong Wei’s jurisdiction and has royal support.”

The Captain stated, deliberately producing a decree with the royal seal affixed.

Luo Xiaoxue was shocked; she had no prior knowledge of this. All she understood was that the royal court and local officials had made arrangements, and upon her arrival, soldiers would assist her in persuading the villagers. She had even brought her own insignia to avoid suspicion from the villagers regarding her authority.

What she didn’t know was that other cities also had similar relocations, and they would blame her for it when the discontent arose.

Feeling deceived, Luo Xiaoxue questioned:

“Then where will they be relocated to?”

“To Li City, as per arrangements from above; documents have been issued, and you should be aware.”

The Captain replied nonchalantly.

“But there are also documents that instruct you to treat villagers with kindness, yet you resorted to violence. I’m starting to doubt you; just look at this decree, I’ve never seen it. Who knows, you might be hiding other documents from me.”

“Be more confident and remove the ‘maybe’ from your statement.”

Lin Nuo interjected directly,

“Wherever you say Li City is; they’re just being sent to Lu City as laborers. Why else would you be in such a hurry? Is there a quota for how many people you need to bring back?”

“Kid, you’re defaming the imperial decree! Don’t cry before you see the coffin, huh? I have a decree right here; do you dare question it?”

The Captain replied with anger, pulling out another imperial edict, the very one Luo Xiaoxue had seen earlier about taking villagers to Li City.

It bore a seal and looked genuine.

Lin Nuo glanced at it, then asked Luo Xiaoxue:

“Did you move the people from other places before coming here?”

Luo Xiaoxue nodded:

“Yes, I went to Feng City first; they’re already in the process of being relocated. Some may have even arrived in Li City.”

“Well then.”

Lin Nuo nodded, addressing the Captain of the soldiers:

“I’m flying to Li City now to see if anyone has arrived there and whether there are any resettlement policies and plans in place.”

“You’re questioning the imperial decree!”

“Stop changing the topic. Let me ask, are you willing to gamble a bit? If it’s truly as the decree states, I would remove my own head. If not, I’ll twist yours off.”

“You’re trying to seize the opportunity to escape! Questioning the imperial decree is a great crime! Not to mention beating government soldiers, you’re lawless and should be dealt with! Someone, take him down and enforce the consequences!”

The Captain slipped, no longer wanting to waste breath on Lin Nuo. After being slapped around by Lin Nuo’s minions, he figured skilled fighters had shown up and thought they could capture Lin Nuo.

“Young Master Lin, be careful.”

“Careful? Do they even measure up?”

Lin Nuo had no need for caution, swinging his fists however he wanted, and soon the soldiers were dropping like flies.

Seeing the situation deteriorate, the Captain realized this kid hadn’t even used any Spirit Techniques, yet his skills were this impressive—taking down his entire squad like it was nothing.

Damn it! Meeting someone troublesome like this, how could he turn in a satisfactory number of villagers without them?

Before he could strategize, Lin Nuo lunged at him.

With a left hook, boom—his face swelled up massively, and he was sent sprawling on the ground.

Normally, beating up government soldiers wouldn’t be something a regular person dared to do, but for Lin Nuo, it was just another day.

The villagers were on edge; brawls were rare in the village, and suddenly witnessing an all-out fight against soldiers was concerning.

The Captain, beaten black and blue, was forced to retreat while shouting threats like “You just wait!”

Lin Nuo didn’t finish them off; after all, he didn’t like killing in Ru Yu Village. If he were to kill anyone, it would have to be outside.

But Xia Hanmo stopped him, worried about what would happen if he ran into anything worse.

“Well then, Senior Martial Brother, what should we do now?” Su Kexin asked anxiously.

“What to do? Just chill out.”

Lin Nuo replied nonchalantly,

“Let the villagers choose: follow the soldiers, stay, or go with me for a wild ride.”

Lin Nuo thought for a moment and added:

“Oh right, I still haven’t finished my meal.”