Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies
Chapter 90 - 14: Consolidate People's Hearts, Stabilize Your Foothold

After killing those reckless hooligans, the alley returned to its tranquility.

The old hunters from Hongshan Village carried on with their eating and sleeping as usual.

After all, it wasn't their first time killing someone, and everyone seemed to feel a bit at ease.

Inside the house.

After taking care of everything, Shen Qing called Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu over.

"Brother Qingzi, why did you call us over this late? Are we going to kill someone else?" Tian Xiaohu asked cheerfully as soon as he entered.

He had been lucky in the earlier fight, finding three to four hundred wen on a few bodies.

Although this money couldn't compare to what Shen Qing got each time, he was still quite happy since he earned it himself.

Shen Qing took out a knife, wiped it, and said, "We need to go to Tang Biao's place. He practices martial arts, so he must have some savings. I didn't find much on him; it's probably all at his house. We should go check."

"Alright, Brother Qingzi, whatever you say," they responded.

"No time to waste. Let's go now then."

Shen Qing strapped the cleaned knife to his waist and left with the two tigers.

Once out of the alley, Shen Qing approached a sturdy-looking shack, knocked on the door, and said, "Neighbor, we're new here, and we want to ask you something."

"I don't know, I don't know, we know nothing," came a scared, trembling voice from inside.

Shen Qing frowned, clearly annoyed, and glanced at Tian Xiaohu.

Tian Xiaohu understood and kicked open the door.

"Ah!"

A scream echoed from inside the house, where a family of four huddled in a corner.

The man leading the family held a long wooden stick, looking at Shen Qing and his companions in fear.

The sounds of the killings in the alley earlier had truly terrified them.

Shen Qing stood at the door without entering. He spoke gently, "We're from Hongshan Village. Tang Biao has some grudges with us; I want to know where he lives. Just tell me where."

The man inside had no choice and said, trembling, "His place is in... Liu Li Lane... there's a big rock behind the door... turn right from here, and at the end turn left and you'll see.... the biggest house there."

"Alright."

Shen Qing cupped his hands and left with Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu.

After walking a couple of steps, he turned back, causing the relieved man inside to tense again.

Under their watchful eyes, Shen Qing took out ten large coins, stacked them, and left them on their doorstep. "Thanks."

Only then did he smile at them and truly leave.

"They've really gone, right?"

"I'll go check."

The man inside gripped the long stick tightly as he cautiously stepped to the door, peeking outside to find no one there.

"Really gone?"

He looked down at the ten large coins on the doorstep, which shimmered in the bright moonlight.

...

"This is it?"

Following the directions from the neighbor, Shen Qing stopped in front of a shack.

This house stood out among the surrounding ones, despite its simplicity, and seemed to have the makings of a proper home.

The light was still on inside.

Shen Qing quickly approached, knocked on the door, and urgently shouted, "Something happened to Brother Biao."

Clattering sounds came from inside before the door was opened.

"What happened to him?" A concerned-looking woman opened the door.

Seeing the unfamiliar faces of Shen Qing and his companions, she instantly sensed something was amiss and tried to shut the door again.

Shen Qing held the door open with one hand.

"What's the rush?"

Shen Qing pushed his way in, nudging the woman aside.

The house was well-lit, with just this ordinary woman inside.

Tian Xiaohu and Shen Xiaohu followed him in.

Shen Qing sat on a chair and asked, "Tang Biao is dead. Give me something from the house."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the woman said through gritted teeth.

Shen Qing took out a golden leaf, showed it to the woman, and said, "You recognize this, right? He must have hidden some more in the house. I'm giving you a chance, don't make me angry. If we really start searching, you won't have any say in it."

Seeing the golden leaf, the woman fell silent, her face changing as she seemed to resign herself to fate. She lifted a floorboard and pulled out a box.

"It's all in here."

Shen Qing grabbed the box, feeling a pull.

He glared at the woman, who reluctantly let go.

Shen Qing opened the box to find it filled with numerous silver beans, silver fish, and some large coins, but no more golden leaves.

He weighed it in his hand, estimating there were fifty or sixty taels.

"Alright then."

Shen Qing closed the box, stood up quickly.

The woman, frightened, stepped back two paces, her hands shaking as she hastily said, "Don't kill me, I'll do anything. I can sleep with you."

Shen Qing looked her up and down.

She wasn't ugly but wasn't particularly attractive either.

She probably ate decently which gave her a bit of fullness.

Shen Qing ignored her offer, glanced around the room, and asked, "Tang Biao didn't have a son, did he?"

"No."

"What about a daughter or son-in-law?"

"None of those either. He came from elsewhere, and his family sank with a ship."

"That saves us some trouble. You're pretty sensible, so I won't make it hard for you. We're leaving."

Shen Qing said no more, calling Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu to leave.

As they were leaving, Shen Xiaohu couldn't help but sneak a glance at the woman's chest.

So big, so round.

He quickly stole another glance before reluctantly following Shen Qing and the others out.

On the way, Shen Qing took out four silver taels and gave them to the two, saying, "You both take these, then head back and call the men from each house."

"Okay."

Tian Xiaohu and Shen Xiaohu readily agreed, accepting the silver without fuss.

"How's your practice with the Nine Skills going recently?"

Tian Xiaohu and Shen Xiaohu exchanged glances and sighed, "Not great, haven't figured out the knack yet."

"Don't worry. Your training time has been short, focus on honing your bodies first. Times are unsettled, and for us to establish ourselves outside, it's crucial to get our martial arts going."

"We understand."

Shen Qing didn't say much more.

He actually understood well.

The Nine Skills is a basic cultivation technique, demanding high aptitude and difficult to train.

It's not easy to grasp its essentials.

That being the case, it might be better to have more people in the village practicing it. Perhaps with enough attempts, someone might eventually make something of it.

Today isn't like the past, hoarding knowledge isn't a good strategy.

Back in the alley, his aunt was in his house talking to his elder sister Shen Fang about her grievances.

Seeing Shen Qing and the others return, his aunt didn't stop talking, leaving with her muttering.

Shen Qing realized his aunt was afraid his elder sister would be alone and frightened in the unfamiliar place, so she came over to keep her company.

"Sister, go to Aunt's house for a bit; I have some things to discuss here." Shen Qing put the box on the table, looking at his aunt's departing figure, and told his sister.

"Okay." Shen Fang didn't think much of it, tidying the house before following her aunt.

After waiting in the house for a while, all the men from the different houses were called over.

The shed Shen Qing chose was big enough, just fitting the twenty or so men inside.

His uncle Shen the Second sat beside Shen Qing, looking at his increasingly accomplished nephew with some pride.

He, usually a bit hunched, subconsciously straightened his back.

The men who came in looked at Shen Qing, waiting for him to speak.

Shen Qing didn't notice his uncle Shen the Second's thoughts, and lightly tapped the wooden box on the table. "Back in the village, when we hunted big prey together, everyone got a share. I just went to Tang Biao's place and found some silver taels; I'm not keeping it for myself, so let's share it today."

"However, fair is fair, I'll take half for myself."

Upon hearing about the silver taels to be shared, the men in the room all smiled broadly.

A lot of the people outside were killed by Shen Qing, but he hadn't asked them for anything, so they felt like they got a good deal.

Now there was extra money to share, which was a pleasant surprise.

Even if Qingzi kept it all for himself, they wouldn't have any complaints.

"We're just country bumpkins who've never seen the world, Qingzi. Whatever you say goes."

Once someone broke the silence, others quickly chimed in agreement.

"Alright, thanks for your trust. Let's divvy it up; those injured in this 'hunt' will get a bit more."

Shen Qing decisively made up his mind and started distributing the money.

In his view, the authority of a leader comes half from the fear of his power and half from their pursuit of benefits.

Shen Qing didn't expect that once they were in the county city, people would stick together as they did back home.

Everyone is quite pragmatic.

There are too many temptations outside.

On the way, Shen Qing had also called over the village's only scholar, Zhang Shuyuan, to count and tally.

After about half an hour, each of the hunters returned home with one tael of silver, proudly recounting the event to their families, creating an atmosphere more jubilant than a festival.

The more they all felt that choosing to follow Shen Qing was the right decision.

After seeing off the village hunters, Shen Qing grabbed his uncle, Shen the Second, who was about to leave.

"Uncle, wait a moment."

"What's up, Qingzi?"

Shen Qing took out three more silver coins and put them in his uncle's hand, saying, "The outer city is unlike the village, you need money for food, clothing, and everything else, even firewood has to be bought. Don't be fooled by thinking one tael of silver is a lot, it doesn't really go far. Take this, Uncle; our family needs a little extra care."

Shen Qing spoke logically, with a certain decisiveness.

They were all straightforward people, not wrapped up in formalities.

Uncle Shen the Second glanced at the silver coins without saying much, tucked them into his pocket, and said, "Okay, your two cousins may not have much else, but they have some muscle. Whatever you need to do in the future, just use them! Our family may be poor, but we aren't afraid of dying."

Despite his words, Shen Qing was clever enough to hear the worry in Uncle Shen the Second's heart.

"Uncle, here's what I'm thinking. Xiaohu has gotten quite familiar with things with me these days, so he can continue following me. As for Xiaoshan, he's younger; he can stay in for now. Later, when things are better, we'll find him a wife. What do you think?"

"Agreed!" Uncle Shen the Second smiled slightly, "I'll head back, let's talk more tomorrow if there's anything else."

Shen Qing didn't hold him any longer and saw him off.

Despite a full day of bustling about that would leave others exhausted, Shen Qing still felt vibrant.

He took out a book borrowed from Zhang Shuyuan's home and started reading with great interest.