"well!"
Lu Tao looked at Jiang Rongrong lying in a pool of blood, his face full of regret. "Why couldn't you have said it in private? Why did you have to provoke the River Crab Emperor? How could someone as lowly as a Skin Refining Realm cultivator like you offend such a being?"
"You were courting death, and you almost dragged me down with you. The River Crab Emperor is a powerful figure who roams the myriad realms. Who dares to provoke him? Who can defeat him? You just had to provoke him, so I had no choice but to painfully kill you with my blade."
Lu Tao shook his head and commented, "What a pity! Her figure is truly superb, and her face is as beautiful as a flower. She's not even twenty years old yet, and she's still a virgin..."
"Oh my god, what a sin!"
Just then, a man came chasing after them from not far away; it was the town mayor.
The over-eighty-year-old man was radiant with joy, as if he had instantly become ten years younger. His face was flushed with excitement. Earlier, when he was chasing down the Axe Gang members, he had single-handedly killed three late-stage Skin Refining cultivators.
Worried about Lu Tao's safety, he hurriedly chased after him.
Seeing Lu Tao muttering and "repenting" over Jiang Rongrong's corpse, someone quickly said from afar, "Lu Tao, don't blame yourself. Don't be fooled by Jiang Rongrong's pretty appearance; she's not a kind person. Someone once had their eyes gouged out just because they glanced at her a couple of times. She also once rode her horse through the streets and killed a child, causing him to lose both legs. And because a woman had a better figure than her, she cut off her breasts and fed them to the dogs... She's utterly vicious."
Seemingly recalling those unpleasant events, the mayor's rosy complexion gradually faded, and he sighed deeply, saying, "In short, she was extremely wicked. You killed her to rid the people of a scourge. There is no need to blame yourself or feel guilty."
Lu Tao snapped out of his daze, coughed to cover his embarrassment, and laughed, "Don't worry, Mayor, I know all this."
"What a good child, so reluctant to kill a bad guy."
The town mayor greatly admired Lu Tao's character and abilities.
The town mayor looked around but didn't see Jiang Xiong's body. He asked anxiously, "Lu Tao, where is Jiang Xiong? Did he escape?"
The town mayor's face turned pale at the thought of the consequences of Jiang Xiong's escape.
Lu Tao said, "No, Jiang Xiong is already dead."
"That's good, that's good."
Upon hearing this, the town mayor was finally relieved and felt completely at ease.
For decades, he had a truly frustrating time as the town mayor. As the head of a town, he was completely helpless against the Axe Gang, and in the end, it was only with the help of a seventeen-year-old boy that they were finally eradicated.
Fortunately, Lu Tao was there; otherwise, the hard times in Dafeng Town would have continued for who knows how much longer.
Lu Tao asked, "By the way, Mayor, where are the rest of the Axe Gang?"
"Don't worry, they've all been killed; not a single one was left."
The mayor said, "Even those who didn't gather at the Axe Gang's hideout will be hunted down by others; they definitely won't escape."
Lu Tao breathed a sigh of relief, but then, as if remembering something, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "Oh no, I'm going to loot the spoils of war, I don't want anyone to steal them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Tao hurriedly leaped towards the Axe Gang's compound.
"Don't worry, no one dares to touch it, they've all been reserved for you."
The mayor smiled, waved to Lu Tao and called out, but Lu Tao quickly disappeared from his sight.
The town mayor casually picked up Jiang Rongrong's body and head, and walked back with light steps.
...
Back at the Axe Gang, Lu Tao found that everything in the courtyard was still there, and no one else had come in to search.
Immediately, Lu Tao's face lit up with excitement, and he began searching the courtyard.
This is the Axe Gang, after all.
Over the years, the Axe Gang has amassed countless riches, and now, it all belongs to them.
However, to Lu Tao's dismay, after searching, he found very little money.
All the gold, silver, and even copper coins combined amounted to only about a thousand taels of silver.
As for some jade pendants and jewelry, he estimated they weren't worth much.
"That can't be right, how could the mighty Axe Gang be so poor?"
Lu Tao was dumbfounded, feeling that it was unreasonable.
He did the math: one tael of silver had the purchasing power equivalent to 1,000 taels of silver when he lived in China. 1,000 taels of silver was only 1 million.
This is Dafeng Town, home to the Axe Gang, which has been around for decades. How come they only have so little money?
Unable to find a reason, Lu Tao could only helplessly accept the reality that his overnight fortune had vanished.
Fortunately, he found some other things he needed, such as cultivation techniques for the Blood Refining Realm and two small bottles of blood.
Several other techniques and several medicinal solutions.
Lu Tao also found a tiny grass root in a potted plant, which he guessed was the root of that spiritual herb.
Lu Tao collected all these items, along with the axe, iron block, and chopsticks he had thrown out earlier, into his system space.
Then, he threw all the corpses of Yang Feng and the other eleven men into the yard, and then, wielding a long knife, he slashed wildly in all directions around the yard.
Grind experience points like crazy.
Experience +290.
Experience +276.
...
Seeing the experience points on his longsword rapidly increasing, Lu Tao worked even harder.
In a short time, the Axe Gang's courtyard completely collapsed and became a ruin.
[Blade: 7631/10,000 (Ninth-tier, mid-grade; sharp blade, cuts through iron like mud, easily severing ordinary ironware).]
Seeing the experience of the longsword, Lu Tao didn't continue. His main goal was to burn down the Axe Gang's hideout and dispose of the corpses to prevent a plague.
Gaining experience points was just a side effect.
At this moment, the town mayor also returned with Jiang Rongrong's body. Seemingly knowing what Lu Tao was planning to do, he casually tossed the body and head into the ruins.
"Young Master Lu, here you go."
Beside them, someone understood and handed them a torch.
"Thanks."
Lu Tao took the torch and, under the watchful eyes of countless people, threw it into the ruins, setting fire to bedding, clothing, and other items.
boom……
The fire shot into the sky and spread throughout the entire yard in a short time.
From now on, the Axe Gang will be a thing of the past.
"Speaking of which, if I made this torch, burning down this courtyard and all these corpses would give me so much experience points, probably enough to level up to the eighth rank, low grade."
Lu Tao felt a little regretful that he hadn't made a torch before.
"Waaah... Good riddance, good riddance! They all deserved to die, kill them all, waaah..."
In front of the crowd, the young woman serving Jiang Xiong tightly hugged a seven or eight-year-old child, crying out in a hoarse voice, her expression somewhat deranged. Gazing at the burning mansion, her eyes were filled with endless hatred and humiliation.
"It's good that you're alive, it's good that you're alive, you still have your child..."
The neighbors, who knew of her tragic situation, kept offering words of comfort, fearing she might commit suicide, and giving her hope for life through her child.
"Good! Well done!"
"Good, well done! The Axe Gang is finally gone."
"Father, Mother, Brother Lu has avenged you."
"Son, did you see that? The Axe Gang has finally been wiped out."
...
"Lu Tao, Lu Tao, Lu Tao..."
As the Axe Gang was engulfed in flames, people initially celebrated their demise with great excitement, some even kneeling on the ground to pray for the souls of the dead…
Gradually, people started calling out Lu Tao's name.
Finally, deafening shouts echoed throughout Dafeng Town, and the name Lu Tao resounded through the sky.
"Ahem, thank you everyone, I have something to attend to, so I'll be going now."
Lu Tao felt a little embarrassed by the shouts. After all, he had never experienced such a scene before, with at least hundreds or even thousands of people shouting at him at the same time, so he simply made his escape.
Some children and girls couldn't help but chase after Lu Tao.
However, Lu Tao was too fast, and they couldn't catch up at all, so they had to stop panting.
"Young Master Lu, thank you for eliminating the tyrant in Dafeng Town. From now on, Shuiyue Tower will always be open to you."
As Lu Tao passed by the brothel in Dafeng Town, the madam upstairs excitedly called out to him. Lu Tao couldn't help but whisper, "Do you need money?"
"No, no, how could I dare to accept Young Master Lu's money?"
The madam laughed heartily and shouted in another direction from the Water Moon Pavilion, "Girls, come over here and greet our young master Lu."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tao's eyes lit up.
"Grandpa, look at him, he really is... ugh, a pervert."
The martial arts workshop wasn't far from here, and He Yuanshuang happened to see Lu Tao's infatuated look. She couldn't help but stomp her foot hard, so angry that she almost gritted her teeth.
"Huh? What's with that tone, Yuan Shuang? You wouldn't actually have fallen for that kid, would you?"
He Zongming was a little dumbfounded; they had only met once.
"No, who would like him? Humph."
He Yuanshuang glared angrily at Lu Tao, clenching her teeth.
Upon seeing this, He Zongming immediately understood, and couldn't help but slap his forehead and sigh deeply, "What a disaster!"
"Young Master Lu, come up and have some fun."
Footsteps echoed, and soon a group of women arrived at the window, all giving Lu Tao flirtatious glances.
Lu Tao looked closely, his expression immediately becoming solemn. He said in a deep voice, "Thank you all for your kindness, ladies. My heart is set on martial arts, and I should not linger in the allure of worldly pleasures. Farewell!"
Lu Tao turned around and resolutely left Shuiyue Tower.
"Oh dear, Young Master Lu, you're looking down on me? Well, I'm already twenty-seven, my youthful beauty is gone, and I'm no longer worthy of your attention."
Hearing the teasing behind him, Lu Tao quickly quickened his pace, afraid that he would succumb to the temptation and go upstairs.
Lu Tao quickly arrived at the martial arts shop. He was about to greet He Zongming and He Yuanshuang when…
"snort!"
The two of them snorted angrily, turned their heads away, and didn't want to pay him any attention.
As expected of grandfather and grandson, their movements and expressions are remarkably similar, almost identical...
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