Chapter 254: Two Ingots of Gold Become Four

“So fun! So fun!”

“Why is your neck so long? Heh heh heh!”

Yao Wu’s voice was hearty and full of energy. As soon as he spoke, the weeping sound that had been echoing in Zhou Zhongtian’s mind instantly dissipated.

With the crying gone, Zhou Zhongtian’s strength returned all at once. He turned sharply, grabbed Yao Wu’s arm, and urged him anxiously, “Brother, run!”

However, despite his considerable strength, he couldn’t budge Yao Wu at all.

Yao Wu grinned at him and replied, “Brother, we’re brothers. You go first. I have to catch him, catch him…”

“You go help the villagers, make them laugh…”

“Yao Wu keeps hearing them cry. They’re not happy…”

“Brother, help me make them happy. I’ll hold onto this bad guy and won’t let go so he can’t bother you…”

As he spoke, Yao Wu forcefully shook off Zhou Zhongtian’s hand. Laughing loudly, he ran toward the opera-clad chang ghost.

To Zhou Zhongtian’s surprise, the ghost actually remained standing still as Yao Wu stretched out his broad arms and wrapped him up in a tight embrace!

“Hmm… ah!” Yao Wu exerted all his strength, his neck and face turning red, as he lifted the opera-clad chang ghost off the ground.

Turning his head, he gave Zhou Zhongtian a silly grin and said, “Brother, go help the others. I’ll carry this bad thing out of the village!”

Zhou Zhongtian could hardly believe what he was seeing. This chang ghost, whose mere cries had nearly claimed his life, was now being carried away without resistance.

He couldn’t understand it at the moment, but he could see that Yao Wu was struggling to lift the chang ghost. Who knew how long he could hold it?

Without wasting time, Zhou Zhongtian dashed off in search of the villagers, who were now leaderless…

…

Under the dim moonlight and howling northern wind, the villagers of East Corner Village had once again gathered in two long lines, anxiously waiting for the cart peddler to appear and distribute gold, silver, and jewels.

Before long, the cart peddler emerged from the end of the long street, pushing his somewhat rickety wooden cart. As he moved, the wheels clattered noisily, sounding as if they might fall apart at any moment.

Without unnecessary delay, the cart peddler greeted the villagers and began distributing their wealth, just as they had agreed upon the day before.

Those who had drawn a single copper coin yesterday received another copper coin today. Those who had drawn gold ingots received gold ingots again.

The first three rows of people all received small pieces of broken silver, just as they had yesterday. They beamed with joy, thanked the cart peddler, and hurried away.

Why were they leaving so quickly?

Because standing behind them was none other than Old Heng, who had caused trouble yesterday and gotten punished for it.

After the sudden “nap” he took yesterday, even a tough rogue like Old Heng knew that this chubby peddler was not someone he could afford to offend.

So, when it was his turn, he first gave the cart peddler a respectful bow and said, “I was rude before. My apologies.”

Then, he pulled out a bulging black coin pouch from his chest and handed it over.

The cart peddler took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and smirked. “Oh! Brother, how is it that a single copper coin is so full and heavy?”

Old Heng’s expression changed. Lowering his voice, he muttered, “Please, brother, just swap it for the same amount of money. I’ll be on my way immediately.”

“What’s the rush? I have to open it up and see how much is inside, don’t I?”

As he spoke, the cart peddler untied the drawstring and reached in. A moment later, he pulled out two fist-sized gold ingots!

The people standing behind Old Heng shivered as they witnessed this. Unconsciously, they glanced toward the back of the line, but no matter how long they looked, they couldn’t find the two figures they were searching for.

“Two gold ingots, plus a copper coin!”

“Brother, not only are you clever, but you also have quite the ruthless hand!”

“Haha!”

Grinning, the cart peddler held up the two gold ingots high for everyone to see. “Look, everyone! Yesterday, this brother took a single copper coin, and today, he’s about to walk away with four ingots of gold and two copper coins!”

“A man with brains and guts—he deserves to strike it rich!”

The gold ingots in the cart peddler’s hands gleamed under the moonlight. Everyone knew exactly where those two largest gold ingots had come from.

Scanning the crowd, they realized that the mother and child were nowhere to be seen.

What did that mean?

If they were lucky, they might have escaped with their lives. If not… they had probably already reincarnated by now.

“Old Heng is ruthless. I bet that mother and child are dead by his hands.”

“Dead or alive, they’ve fallen victim to a cruel fate… ‘Wealth should not be flaunted, wealth should not be flaunted’—the old saying couldn’t be more true.”

“Forget gold ingots—even my measly two taels of silver had people eyeing it. If I hadn’t stood guard at my door with a hoe in hand, I doubt I’d still have my silver.”

“Money stirs greed. I’m telling you, I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep tonight. There’s even more at stake now!”

The crowd murmured in hushed voices while Old Heng, now in possession of four gold ingots, clutched his chest tightly and hurried away under the watchful eyes of the villagers.

“Sister Wei, what should we do?”

At a dark alley corner, Guo Teng watched Old Heng stride off, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.

Feng Wei replied coldly, “First, we check if that mother and child are still alive. If they are, we save them. If they’re dead… we kill.”

“Kill? We’re External Agents—we don’t exactly have the authority to act as constables.” Guo Teng said helplessly.

Feng Wei sneered, “That Old Heng… he’s not even human anymore.”

“Good point! And in this pitch darkness, if he really did kill them, then even if we kill him, no one will know it was us.” Guo Teng nodded. He then reached into his belt and pulled out two black face coverings, handing one to Feng Wei. “Sister, cover your face. If no one recognizes us, it’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

“Well, well, Guo Teng. You look like an honest man, but you actually carry a mask with you at all times?” Feng Wei chuckled as she wrapped the cloth around her face.

“Hey, when you’re out and about, if you don’t carry a disguise, you never feel at ease!” Guo Teng grinned. He then signaled Feng Wei, and together, they trailed behind the villagers who had just received their silver.

Masked and exuding an air of menace, they startled a few villagers who had just collected their money. The villagers thought they were about to be robbed, but instead, the two only asked for the address of the woman surnamed Le who had received the two gold ingots yesterday—then immediately took off.