I want to die!

Chapter 9 National Supplement Arrives!

"Isn't that the megaphone that the owner of the 'Liangyou Restaurant' on South Gate Street is holding?"

The player paused, startled.

"You didn't suddenly go crazy, you planned this all along?!"

Zhou Xing was too lazy to explain.

However, considering the principle that "villains die from talking too much," he prepared to say a few more words and add more death flags so that the righteous soldiers could appear and kill him, the grain thief, in time.

"Congratulations, you've discovered my scheme." Zhou Xing grinned at Luo Zitou and the others.

"I went to the manager of Liangyou Restaurant and borrowed this little toy from him."

"Originally, I didn't have such a big influence, but luckily Da Kuang promoted me to be Hanako-bu's assistant. I raised Hanako-bu's banner and threatened him to bring people to his door every day to smear manure on the walls, so that he couldn't open a business."

"Hehehehehe, want to guess what I plan to do with this thing?"

Amidst the bewildered gazes of Luo Zitou and the others, Zhou Xing cleared his throat, raised the megaphone, and shouted:

"Huge clearance sale! Huge clearance sale!"

"The imperial court is distributing disaster relief grain! A bag of rice that originally cost 998 coins is now only one coin, thanks to the additional national subsidy from the Great Mang!"

"Limited quantity, first come, first served, one bag per person!"

After shouting it three times, the sound, amplified by the megaphone, carried far into the night.

Luo Zitou and the others stood there, their eyes blank and unfocused.

Before, they had anger, fear, confusion, and resentment... but now they had no emotions left. Their minds were a complete mess, and they couldn't keep up with Zhou Xing's train of thought at all. They had no idea why he had come here.

"What are you standing there for? Open the granary door!" Zhou Xing put down the megaphone and slowly walked towards Luo Zitou and the others.

He took a step forward, and Luo Zitou and the others took a step back, until their backs were pressed tightly against the door.

Zhou Xing walked towards them step by step, a half-smile on his face:

"If we don't open the door, how will the bandits and those outside help us steal the government's grain?"

He only has one day left to live; today is his death day!

..................

The sound from the megaphone echoed far and wide in the vast darkness of the night.

The refugees huddled by the roadside were startled awake, and they sat up, looking blankly in the direction of the granary.

"Anyone who believes that is a fool!" a thin, old man sneered. He was now a homeless vagrant, but that didn't mean he was ignorant.

"Why is the imperial court distributing disaster relief grain, or the national subsidies, and why does it have to be distributed at midnight?"

"It's clearly someone robbing the granary and deliberately muddying the waters!"

The old man sneered, but when he turned around, he saw several refugees standing up and walking towards the granary.

"No, you guys really believe that?"

"What if it's true?" On the other side, a sallow-faced, emaciated young man licked his chapped lips, his voice filled with struggle. "I'm starving... Whether it's a scam or not, I have to... I have to go check. What if it is?"

"Yeah, we're practically starving to death on the roadside, and we're still thinking about this. Since the water's been muddied, let's sneak a bag or two and take it without anyone noticing."

These words were like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, creating ripples. More and more people rose from their tattered mats and followed the direction of the granary.

As more and more people rose and disappeared into the darkness, the old man pounded the ground in anger: "Stupid! A bunch of idiots! Do you think the government is a pushover? They're courting disaster!"

Despite his cursing, he looked down at his trembling hands and then gazed at the dark, gloomy granary.

Finally, he stood up shakily, pulled out half a tattered sack from under his body, and followed along while muttering curses under his breath.

"I'll just take one peck of rice, just one peck..." he muttered to himself, but his pace quickened involuntarily as he chased after the shadowy figures ahead.

...............

Faced with the choice between being killed by Zhou Xing immediately and the unknown after opening the door, Luo Zitou and the others still knew how to choose.

The heavy granary door was finally slowly pulled open, the dull sound carrying far into the darkness.

Luo Zitou's face was contorted with pain, his heart pounding in his chest. He had a feeling that countless eyes had been alerted by the noise of the firecrackers under the cover of night, and perhaps even some of them were government spies...

No, it's not maybe... it's definitely true!

What berserker wouldn't bring firecrackers and horns when infiltrating? Do they really think the government is made of crayfish?

The granary doors were completely opened.

The night wind rushed in, making Luo Zitou's robes flutter loudly.

There were no human voices, only the sound of the wind; the night was deathly silent.

The player tentatively poked his head out.

The next instant, a sharp whistling sound rang out, and a whip cracked across his face, causing him to stagger backward and fall to the ground.

"Big basket, it's me, Big basket!" Luo Zitou called out hurriedly, covering his face.

His face burned with pain, and several long, narrow wounds, almost exposing the bone, had been inflicted by the copper coin hanging from the tip of the whip.

"We're going to beat up a bunch of useless, good-for-nothing bastards!"

Zhang Dakuang stood in front of the granary gate, his voice sinister.

There were several pools of blood in front of the granary, and several beggars lay in the blood. The remaining two or three were also injured and looked miserable.

Zhang Dakang's left arm was severed at the shoulder by some kind of sharp weapon, but although it was a fresh wound, the bleeding had already stopped.

The triangular-eyed bandit known as "Mountain Wind" has disappeared.

Several shallow tire tracks lay scattered on the ground, stretching towards the distant wall and disappearing into the depths of the night.

From the moment the firecrackers went off and the loudspeakers blared from the granary courtyard, Zhang Dakuang was speechless with grievances.

Chuanshanfeng sneaked into the city to steal grain, not to rob it. He didn't have the ability to actually storm the county town and fight the government troops head-on.

Whether Zhang Dakuang deliberately plotted against him or did not intend to harm him, Chuanshanfeng did not know and did not care.

He had unwittingly put Chuanshanfeng in danger of being investigated by the government, so naturally he wanted an explanation.

As Zhang Dakang thought this, his face grew even more gloomy. His gaze swept past Luo Zitou and the others and landed on Zhou Xing, who was standing alone in front of the granary. He glanced at the megaphone at Zhou Xing's feet.

At this moment, Zhou Xing was holding a musket, the dark muzzle pointed directly at Zhang Dakuang.

This was taken from the veteran's arms when Zhou Xing first entered the duty room.

"Good lad, it turns out he's not just good at ruining things, he actually has a plan."

"Even if I'm executed by the soldiers tonight, I'll kill you, you born evil seed, first!"

Zhang Dakuang snorted coldly, his body almost leaning forward as he sprinted towards the ground.

There is a difference between a martial arts beggar in the beggar's guild and a proper martial artist.

For a martial arts beggar, taking a beating and running away to save his life are his livelihood.

Even though Zhang Dakuang stopped begging on the streets after becoming a big basket, his cooking skills didn't decline too much.

Under the moonlight, he resembled a long, serpentine snake winding forward along the ground.

Judging from the way Zhou Xing held the musket, Zhang Dakuang knew he was a complete novice; he probably couldn't even aim at Zhou Xing while he was moving at full speed.

A gunshot rang out.

Sure enough... Zhang Dakang staggered, struck in the thigh by a bullet. Blood had just stained his pants when the wound twitched slightly, and the bleeding quickly stopped.

But Zhou Xing was clearly aiming at his head...

"I'm really sorry, I missed." Zhou Xing looked apologetic as he reloaded and aimed at him again.

"I can only shoot you one more time, just bear with it."

He raised his musket and fired again, but Zhang Dakuang's figure twisted backward like a shadow, flew over the courtyard wall, and disappeared.

There were hurried footsteps approaching from behind the door.

Turning his head, he saw seven or eight emaciated refugees cautiously peering into the granary.

"That old thing runs really fast..." Zhou Xing muttered, a chill running through him.

If his exhibitionist talent gives him an unusually strong burst of power, then Zhang Dakang, the owner of the beggar's shop, also possesses extraordinary physical qualities.

"Young...Young hero, is it really possible to buy disaster relief food for just one coin?" someone asked boldly, not forgetting to flatter him with the title of "young hero."

It turns out they were startled away by the visitor...

Zhou Xing turned to the side and pointed the gun at the dark warehouse door behind him: "There's some old rice inside, a lot of it is moldy, but it's still edible."

"One bag per person, if anyone takes more, I'll shoot them."

The refugees were stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment, and dared not move for a moment.

"What? Afraid of a trap?" Zhou Xing sneered and shouted, "We Hua Zifang robbed government grain, a capital offense. Do you think we'd care about fooling a few more of you?"

"You agree, right, Luo Zitou? We're accomplices." Zhou Xing grinned, pointing his gun at Luo Zitou and his gang who were trying to slip away through the dog hole in the back wall, and said coldly:

"Stay and help distribute the food, or die."

Among the refugees, some brave men rushed in first, and soon the rest followed suit.

"Stop pushing! One by one! Whoever pushes me, I'll shoot!" Zhou Xing shouted, the muzzle of his gun swaying intentionally or unintentionally.

The commotion subsided slightly. He quickly assigned tasks: "Hey, you, go hold up the sacks. You two, go get the rice sacks from up there..."

Under his simple guidance, the refugees managed to maintain some semblance of order. They used everything they could find—tattered sacks, discarded clothes, and so on—to frantically fill the old rice bins with rice.

Zhou Xing retreated to the doorway, keeping a watchful eye on the outside while also observing the activity inside the warehouse.

A woman was stuffing rice into her arms, and suddenly her turbid tears fell down, landing on the rice grains. She didn't wipe them away, but just hugged them tightly.

The footsteps outside grew louder, and the faint sounds of people and the flickering light of fire drew closer.

"It's the soldiers! The soldiers are here!" Luo Zitou was the first to speak, his voice trembling.

The granary fell silent instantly. All the refugees' faces drained of color, and they looked at Zhou Xing in terror.

Zhou Xing, however, remained unusually calm and even smiled.

"Go through the dog hole in the back wall." He pointed in that direction with the muzzle of his gun. "Spread out and run, don't look back."

The refugees, as if waking from a dream, shouldered the hard-won food they had obtained to survive and scrambled towards the dark corner, their figures quickly swallowed by the shadows.

Zhou Xing didn't leave.

He held up his musket and forced Luo Zitou and the others to walk step by step to the front of the courtyard and wait quietly.

Luo Zitou and the others were ashen-faced and trembling like leaves. Zhou Xing stepped forward, picked up the megaphone covered in dust and blood from the ground, and weighed it in his hand.

The torchlight flickered across his face, casting an eerie calm.

He took a deep breath and brought the megaphone to his mouth:

"The grain robbers are here!"

"The beggars of Fuxing Residence in the south of the city are here today to seize grain and save the people!"

The megaphone amplified his voice, carrying it far and wide, echoing repeatedly in the deathly silent night sky, reaching extremely far.

It was not a confession, but a declaration.

"Little Green Head, Master Green, you're so bold, doing this for the country and the people, don't drag us into it..." Luo Zitou's face twitched involuntarily.

"Luo Zitou is right! We Hua Zifang may live as insignificantly as weeds, but we never accept our fate!" Zhou Xing shouted, holding up a megaphone, his voice booming with confidence.

"Go ahead and kill us if you dare!"

A slight commotion arose among the officers and soldiers, who seemed surprised by the bandit leader's arrogance. The commanding officer's face darkened, and he was about to order the arrest...

"The county magistrate has arrived—"

A long shout came from behind.

The torchlight parted to the sides like a tide, making way for a figure to walk unhurriedly.

It was Wayne, the dignified county magistrate of Qingshui County.

Wayne's gaze swept over the group of players and landed on Zhou Xing, his eyes holding a rather meaningful look.

Eyes facing each other.

After encountering the young beggar on Nanguan Commercial Street yesterday, he specifically ordered someone to investigate.

But today I saw him again in the granary.

"Li Xuanqing, let me ask you something." Magistrate Wei's face was ashen.

"Robbing grain is a capital offense, why don't you escape? Why stay here and surrender? What is your intention?"

As Zhou Xing met his gaze, the nonchalant smile on his face gradually faded.

He was shirtless and wearing only tattered trousers, but standing amidst the gleaming swords, spears, and firelight, he exuded a strange sense of calm.

"Escape?" he retorted, his voice clear, "Where to escape to?"

"The grain was stolen by me."

"I opened the door."

"I was the one who shouted those words."

Zhou Xing looked around and deliberately said loudly, "This crime is naturally mine. If I run away, and the magistrate is in a hurry to solve the case and randomly arrests some vagrants on the roadside to take the blame, then I... we Hua Zifang will not be able to live with ourselves."

His words effectively blocked Magistrate Wei's path.

If the main culprit confesses, and those displaced people who distributed the grain are investigated, it becomes what Zhou Xing calls "arresting people to take the blame."

This cannot completely rule out the possibility, but there are many people present at the moment.

If Magistrate Wei were to actually investigate the refugees, he would naturally be unable to silence the gossip.

Wayne listened quietly, his eyes flickering slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

"Besides, why would I run away?" He raised his head and looked at the dignified county magistrate of Qingshui County and the array of heavily armed soldiers behind him.

"The laws of the land are as firm as a mountain; those who violate them will be executed."

"Today, I, Li Xuanqing, along with Hua Zifang and the rest of my brothers, robbed the government granary, violating the law. We have been caught red-handed, and the evidence is irrefutable!"

"Since I have broken the law of the land today, I deserve to be executed! Otherwise, where does that leave the law?"

"If I do not die, where will the dignity of the national law be? Where will the laws and regulations remain? Today, we can let a grain robber go because 'it is understandable to rob grain for the people,' but what if someone follows suit in the future?"

"If granaries can be robbed today, can't the silver vaults be robbed tomorrow? Can't the arms be robbed? Is there no justice left in this world?!"

He spread his arms, placing his hands on the shoulders of the trembling players beside him, looking like close buddies. His piercing gaze then fell upon Wayne, and he said earnestly:

Therefore...

"To uphold the law, to prevent innocent people from being implicated, and to eliminate the possibility of others following suit!"

"We beg the magistrate to kill the traitors!"

His voice carried through the darkness.

This time he didn't have a megaphone, but the sound seemed even louder than before, and the soldiers crowded in the courtyard could hear it clearly.

The long night has returned to its proper quiet, and all is still.

In the darkness, the crackling of the burning torches became clearer, along with the faint, suppressed sobs and running sounds coming from afar.

Those were refugees who had received food, fleeing in an attempt to survive.

Wayne stood there, his deep gaze lingering on Zhou Xing's spirited yet dying posture. His face was expressionless, except for the hand he held to his side, which twitched almost imperceptibly.

He did not immediately order the pursuit of the refugees, nor did he order the execution of Zhou Xing on the spot.

The firelight flickered in his eyes.