Ultimate Path to Heaven

Chapter 18, is that really necessary?

While Lin Yan and Xiao Muyu were talking, Xiao Jin glanced at the system distractedly... Hmm?

After the battle with the Iron Slaughter Guard, his agility increased by 5 points, and all his stats reached double digits.

Agility Value: 13 - Any value 100 - Get Agility Analysis

[Defense Value: 11 - Any value 100 - View Defense Analysis]

Strength Value: 40 - Any value 100 - View Strength Analysis

[Unknown? — All values ​​100 — Unlock the unknown]

The previous system: how to obtain the three numerical points, and the deduction of the relevant numerical points, this is the first time such an interface has appeared.

"analyze?"

Xiao Jin had no idea what this so-called analysis was, but one thing he clearly remembered was that once any numerical point reached 100, the forced mission mode could be automatically canceled.

The current analysis is still unknown, which is not so important to Xiao Jin. What is important is to reach 100 points in a certain value as soon as possible, so as to remove the dog's forced activation.

Strength value 40...

It seems that this numerical value is the easiest to obtain and the most substantial.

Just as Xiao Jin was thinking about how to obtain power points next.

Du Chun, who had remained silent until now, knelt down on one knee before him once more, clasping his hands in a gesture of respect: "I, Du Chun, am but a commoner, yet I am willing to follow you... even unto death!"

"..."

Faced with Du Chun's reaction, Xiao Jin was at a loss for what to do.

[System notification: Strength +1...]

"Wow!"

Du Chun's kneeling actually brought him 1 point of strength. The system thought... was it submission?

Xiao Jin couldn't really say whether it belonged to submission or not, since the system hadn't responded to it at all, leaving it entirely up to Xiao Jin to do as he pleased.

If you do it correctly, you will gain corresponding strength points; otherwise, you will lose corresponding points.

For example, a village head who eliminates evil for the people gains a considerable amount of power points, but whose methods are not thorough enough and cruel only deducts 1 power point. I don't know how the system judges this.

After thinking about Muramasa and then about Du Chun, Xiao Jin's mind became somewhat hazy.

Xiao Jin understood that by forcing Du Chun to kill Liu Yu, he indirectly avenged Du Chun.

Xiao Jin wasn't sure if Du Chun's kneeling with the Blood Guard had added any strength points, since several points had been added at the time.

At this moment, as he knelt down... Xiao Jin was pondering the source of his power, and thus forgot that Du Chun was still kneeling in front of him on one knee.

Fortunately, Xiao Muyu stepped forward and gently helped Du Chun up, saying, "You have to stay and take care of the villagers." As she helped Du Chun up, Xiao Muyu looked at Ye Bufan beside her and said, "If anything unusual happens, someone will inform you immediately."

Following Xiao Muyu's gaze, Ye Bufan nodded to Du Chun.

At this moment, Du Chun looked at Xiao Jin, and Xiao Jin, thinking about the strength value, nodded awkwardly to Du Chun, just like Ye Bufan.

Lin Yan, who witnessed this scene, had a strange glint in his eyes before turning to look at Qin Shuang, his gaze conveying a signal...

At Lin Yan's instruction, Qin Shuang went to the corpse of the Iron Slaughter Guard leader and inserted a hawk feather deep into the eye socket of the beast-face helmet.

Afterwards, Qin Shuang waved to the village head's house, where several people had appeared at some point, and it seemed they were about to set fire to the village head's house.

Seeing all this, Xiao Muyu subconsciously gave Ye Bufan a look, and the latter understood and whispered something in Xiao Muyu's ear.

Back when the secret guards learned that the Iron Slaughter Guards had returned to Qingxi Village, there were still two Iron Slaughter Guards in the surrounding villages, each with 20 riders.

At the same time, traces of eagle bandits were also found in these villages.

Regardless of why the Iron Slaughter Guard, now a corpse, returned to Qingxi Village, the two Iron Slaughter Guards in the vicinity should have been informed of the news immediately—within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Calculating the time... Xiao Muyu looked at Lin Yan with a solemn expression.

With a paper fan in his right hand, he slowly and gently waved it, his gaze fixed on something... neither focused nor unfocused, as if he had blended into the silence of the threshing ground at that moment.

Lin Yan gave Xiao Muyu the impression that he was not worried at all about the arrival of the Iron Slaughter Guards, and that everything was under his control with composure and calmness.

Should we follow such a person into the unknown mountains?

Xiao Muyu seemed somewhat shaken, but given the current situation... recalling Lin Zhongyi's past, Xiao Muyu seemed to calm down again.

......

"That should be it..."

Having figured something out, Xiao Jin looked firmly at Du Chun, who was somewhat disappointed, and said, "Brother Du, please come with me."

Before he could even take a step after speaking, Xiao Jin suddenly remembered something and abruptly turned to look at Wang Suiyue: "Uncle Wang, do you have any silver on you?"

"..."

Unaware of what Xiao Jin was up to, Wang Suiyue instinctively reached for his waist, but failed to pull out any silver immediately.

"Uncle Wang?"

Xiao Jin's gaze was unpleasant, forcing Wang Suiyue to awkwardly take out his meager silver coins.

"Is that all?"

Just as Xiao Jin was looking at Wang Suiyue with suspicion that he was unwilling to take out the silver, Ye Bufan stepped forward and immediately took out a silver note from his pocket.

"I only have one hundred taels of silver notes with me, young master...?"

Before Ye Bufan could finish speaking, Xiao Jin grabbed the silver note, turned around, and led Du Chun toward the seven or eight villagers at the edge of the threshing ground.

Confused, Ye Bufan and Wang Suiyue exchanged glances before turning to Xiao Muyu. At that moment, Xiao Muyu was staring absently at Lin Yan, lost in thought.

The Blood Guard protects Xiao Muyu and her son, and they have always been active around Qingxi Village, at most entering Huizhou City. The silver they need is basically obtained from the Dark Guards, and the fresh blood of the Blood Guards cannot be separated from the support of the Dark Guards.

Back when Xiao Dingtian was still the city lord, his secret guards were already spread throughout the Sixteen Provinces of Yanyang. In order to obtain "information", they engaged in all kinds of buying and selling, and there were all sorts of characters involved.

While the Dark Guards are far inferior to the elite Blood Guards in terms of martial prowess, they are still quite wealthy.

Since Xiao Muyu brought Xiao Jin to settle in Qingxi Village, she no longer secretly guarded the silver and any news. She lived a poor life in Qingxi Village as if she were "uncontested by the world", only hoping that Xiao Jin could live peacefully.

Xiao Muyu had considered disbanding the Dark Guard and Blood Guard to completely let go of her hatred.

Of course.

Commanders Wang Suiyue and Ye Bufan never forgot Xiao Dingtian's kindness and righteousness, and they were always waiting... waiting for Xiao Muyu, and also waiting for Xiao Jin...

Although the Blood Guards are not as numerous as they used to be, the influx of new blood has brought their numbers back to eighty. The Dark Guards are even more widespread than before, but people's hearts are not what they used to be, and there are often those who betray the Dark Guards for personal gain.

Xiao Jin, of course, knew nothing of these things, and couldn't care less about them at the moment. He approached the villagers at the edge of the threshing ground and then looked at Du Chun, saying, "Take these silver notes for now!"

"this......"

Seeing Du Chun hesitate, Xiao Jin simply shoved the silver note into his hand: "Have you already forgotten what Mother just said?"

After saying this, Xiao Jin ignored Du Chun's reaction and turned to the villagers: "I, Xiao Jin, have been in Qingxi Village with my mother for many years. Thanks to everyone's care, my mother and I have survived until now."

take care of?

To eke out a living?

"..."

"..."

Ignoring the villagers' expressions and reactions, Xiao Jin continued, "Today's events happened suddenly..." He paused to organize his thoughts, "Although the commotion was quite significant, the Iron Slaughter Guard won't blame you... Once Brother Du retrieves the silver, it will be distributed to every household as soon as possible..."

Logically, Xiao Jin had no need to do this, but after considering Du Chun, he wanted to try and see if his guess could be verified.

Xiao Jin's speech was somewhat illogical, and he himself felt a headache coming on. He didn't know if the villagers could understand him, or if he could 'provoke' them.

In short, Xiao Jin wanted to use his actions and words to influence the villagers as much as possible, so as to most effectively verify his conjecture.

"I, Xiao Jin, guarantee that if anything unusual happens... someone will inform Brother Du immediately..." Seeing that the silent villagers seemed moved, Xiao Jin boasted, "After we take down that dog emperor, I, Xiao Jin, guarantee..."

It seems a bit of an exaggeration...

After unconsciously wiping his forehead, Xiao Jin continued, "At least let everyone have enough to eat and wear, and live in peace and comfort!"

"Forehead......"

After wiping his forehead again, Xiao Jin finally shut up.

"That should be enough, right?"

The old man, long forgotten like air, appeared at the edge of the threshing ground at some unknown time. As soon as Xiao Jin completely shut his mouth, he suddenly knelt down in front of Xiao Jin. Although he did not utter a word, he prostrated himself completely, causing Xiao Jin to tremble involuntarily.

"Holy crap! Has this old man lost his mind?"

The old man had been sitting on the ground, crying and laughing in a daze, giving the impression that he was going crazy.

Just as Xiao Jin was wondering about this...

[System notification: Strength +1...]

Immediately afterward, before Xiao Jin could react, the villagers carrying hoes knelt down one after another, following the old man.

[System notification: Strength +1... +1...]

Although he had long suspected it and even tried to verify it... Xiao Jin thought the villagers kneeling was a bit exaggerated—it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Not to mention the old man, the seven or eight villagers carrying hoes were already greatly affected by Xiao Jin and others, having come from their homes to this threshing ground.

Besides Liu Ji, who wreaked havoc on the village head... he also beheaded the bandits who suddenly came to steal grain in their joyful excitement... and even stopped and killed the Iron-War Guard who was terrified of him...

Regardless of whether Xiao Jin's money and words had any effect, for the villagers of Qingxi Village, this alone was more than just simple gratitude—even though most of them were still very afraid of death.

Of course, Xiao Jin couldn't think of these things at the moment, so he believed that his money and words played a decisive role.

Regardless, Xiao Jin's conjecture was effectively verified, and it even brought him a pleasant surprise: his strength continued to slowly increase...

'My goodness... if only things could stay like this forever...'

But just as his strength value increased by nearly ten points, Xiao Jin, who was overjoyed, was stunned.

"Brother...why aren't you moving?"

At this moment, a fire broke out in the village's main house. Urged by Wang Suiyue, Xiao Jin had no choice but to stop worrying about it and followed Xiao Muyu south of the village with Wang Suiyue.

As for Du Chun and the villagers, they watched Xiao Jin disappear into the distance before returning to their homes. Only the old man, who refused to listen to advice, remained, staring at the south of the village, trembling as he pondered something.