Xiang Fu stopped the furious villagers. He stepped forward and said, “Lord Envoy, we have long agreed that we only hand over two hundred golden pecker beaks to you each month. This is already our limit. If it doubles again, we simply cannot obtain them.”
“We do not care about that. In three days, we will naturally come to collect the remaining two hundred. If you cannot produce them, then do not blame us. Hmph…” The man in the lead snorted, his expression cold and stern.
“Lord Envoy, we truly cannot produce them, this…” Xiang Fu pleaded, “I beg Lord Envoy to show mercy!”
“If you cannot hand them over, then die!” The few people said coldly. Ignoring Xiang Fu’s pleas, they rode the beasts beneath them, turned and left, leaving behind a ruthless statement, “In three days, we will come to collect the remaining two hundred golden pecker beaks. If you cannot hand them over, death!”
The word death echoed long in the canyon. This made Xiang Fu’s face lose all colour. He stared blankly at the group of people riding away, raising a cloud of dust.
“Village chief, let us rebel. Just kill these sons of bitches!”
“Exactly, village chief. Every month they exploit us. Handing over four hundred beaks a month is driving us to our deaths.”
“Village chief, at worst it is just death. Let us fight them!”
…
One by one, the villagers were furious, roaring continuously. Everyone’s emotions had accumulated to the extreme, about to erupt because of this.
“All of you shut up!” Xiang Fu roared. His gaze swept over the eyes of these youths, “Our clan only has this bloodline remaining. Even if we live in humiliation, it cannot be severed in my hands. Otherwise, what face do I have to meet our ancestors of past generations!”
“But village chief, they…”
Xiang Fu interrupted them. Looking at Xiang Chunan, he asked, “How many beaks do we have left?”
“Less than one hundred. Previously prepared to forge a weapon for the clan.” Xiang Chunan bit his teeth, unwilling to be bullied like this, “No matter how hard we try, it is impossible to hunt down over one hundred beaks in three days.”
Hearing this sentence, Xiang Fu’s face also held a few traces of bitterness. “Everyone work hard these three days. We must gather the beaks!”
“Village chief, we…” A villager was unconvinced and wanted to refute.
“What about us? Just do as I say!” Xiang Fu shouted, “Nothing is more precious than life. I cannot let the Xiang family’s bloodline be severed in my hands. What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and do as I said!”
Scolded by the village chief, these people could only grit their teeth and go to hunt golden peckers with various emotions.
Ye Chu watched the group riding away, withdrawing his gaze from them. He then saw Xiang Fu standing there in misery. His hunched body looked even older. This made Ye Chu carry Xiang Xin and walk to Xiang Fu’s side.
“Village chief, who are these people?” Ye Chu asked curiously. Just now, he had discovered these people were all upper rank Xuan Ming realm experts. Their strength was quite good. For such people to actually come and deal with ordinary people was truly a wonder.
Xiang Fu reached out to take Xiang Xin from Ye Chu. Ye Chu smiled and said, “It is fine. Xiang Xin is not shy with strangers. It is alright for me to hold her.”
Xiang Fu then gave up. He then sighed and said, “Those people just now were envoys from the Seven Emperor Mountain. From a year ago, they began to collect golden pecker beaks on a large scale. As long as it was within their sphere of influence, they forced people to pay tribute every month. Our village was forced to pay two hundred beaks in tribute each month. This past year, most of our time has been spent hunting birds.”
Ye Chu then suddenly understood. No wonder these days Xiang Chunan went to hunt golden peckers every day. Previously, Ye Chu had thought they were training with weapons. Now he knew there was this reason.
“Is the Seven Emperor Mountain very strong? To make you so afraid?” Ye Chu asked curiously.
Xiang Fu smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Their leaders are seven monarchs. For ordinary people, that is almost a god-like existence. These seven people emerged from who knows where. The moment they arrived here, they cleared out the previous forces of Xia Mountain. They occupied Xia Mountain and renamed it the Seven Emperor Mountain.”
Ye Chu nodded. Monarchs were indeed an invincible existence for ordinary people.
“Xia Mountain, it was called Xia Mountain for ten thousand ages. But who could have thought it would fall into such dust, to be renamed some dog fart Seven Emperor Mountain.” Xiang Fu was exceptionally furious when speaking of this, even more furious than when the beaks were just seized. This made Ye Chu somewhat surprised.
“Village chief need not worry. Perhaps Chunan and the others can hunt enough beaks!” Ye Chu comforted.
Xiang Fu sighed. He then said, “Even if we can gather enough this time, what about next time? These Zhou扒皮, they will not rest until they oppress us to death by starvation.”
Ye Chu smiled and did not say anything. At this time, Xiang Fu looked at Ye Chu and sighed. “Young master should still take the young ladies and leave. Lest you be implicated by us!”
“Village chief need not worry about us!” Ye Chu said.
“You do not know their brutality. If these people truly cannot get enough golden pecker beaks, they really will kill because of it.” Xiang Fu said, “The young ladies are all so beautiful and moving. If these ** see them, I am afraid they will harbour evil intentions! Young master should leave as soon as possible. Moreover, this old man also needs to entrust young master with some matters.”
“Village chief, please speak!”
“The Xiang family’s bloodline cannot be severed! If we truly cannot produce the beaks when the time comes, I hope young master can take Chunan and a few of the children away. The Xiang family’s bloodline cannot be severed in my hands. Chunan and the others have never left the village. The outside world is complex. I am not at ease with them. With young master looking after them a bit, I will be at ease.”
“Village chief is speaking too seriously. It has not come to that point yet. Why be so pessimistic. Perhaps in three days, everything will turn from darkness to light.” Ye Chu smiled at Xiang Fu.
“Young master Ye Chu, this old man…”
“Village chief, rest assured. I will stay in the village these few days. If there is truly danger, I will leave. When the time comes, I will take Brother Chunan away with me.” Ye Chu said, gently patting Xiang Xin. This little girl, held in Ye Chu’s arms, had already fallen asleep peacefully.
“Then this old man thanks you!” Xiang Fu’s old tears streamed down. He was about to kneel down.
Ye Chu hurriedly supported Xiang Fu. “Village chief need not be like this. These days we have been much cared for by you. This small matter is not worth you acting like this.”
“For our clan, this is a major matter of bloodline inheritance. Young master is willing to help. This is a great kindness to our clan!”
Ye Chu smiled. He handed the sleeping Xiang Xin in his arms to Xiang Fu. “Village chief really need not be like this. You should first take Xiang Xin back.”
After speaking, Ye Chu also strode quickly towards the village.
Xiang Fu watched Ye Chu’s back and also let out a light sigh. These days of contact with Ye Chu, Ye Chu’s intelligence had left him with an extremely deep impression. If Chunan and the others could follow Ye Chu, they could also avoid a few detours.
“Ancestors, I absolutely will not let the clan’s bloodline be severed in my hands!”