In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 366 The frightened bird

Wang Taishan's pupils contracted, and he reacted quickly, tilting his head to dodge the spear tip attack.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Qing's shot was just a feint. Wang Taishan had barely dodged when Zheng Qing's next shot came down again!

"Pfft!"

Zheng Qing's shot was both fierce and accurate, piercing directly into Wang Taishan's heart. Then, with a twist of the spear tip, he shattered Wang Taishan's heart.

Wang Taishan looked down at the spear tip embedded in his chest, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes as scenes from his childhood to adulthood flashed through his mind.

Wang Taishan did not come from a good background; he was the son of a serf in the Wang family.

Serfs, to put it bluntly, were slaves of the royal family. They had no farmland of their own, no property, and everything they had, even their lives, belonged to the royal family.

Of course, because everything belonged to the royal family, the royal family treated the serfs relatively well, at least they wouldn't let them starve to death.

But that’s about it.

When he was young, Wang Taishan kept thinking about a question: Why could the Wang family live in luxury, while he, his parents and neighbors could only eat the rice husks that were fed to pigs and live in extremely poor conditions, shivering in the house every winter?

This question lingered with young Wang Taishan until he turned 15.

At the age of 15, he was noticed by the Wang family because of his strong physique and was taken in as a retainer.

After becoming a retainer of the Wang family, Wang Taishan's life underwent a dramatic change. He no longer had to eat rice husks that were no different from pig feed, but instead ate rice with a much better taste, and it was dry rice.

Every three days, Wang Taishan could still eat meat. To this day, Wang Taishan still remembers the taste of his first meat meal. It was a piece of oily pork, boiled in water with salt. It had a strong fishy smell and a bland taste, but for Wang Taishan at that time, it was the most delicious food in the world.

Wang Taishan chewed that small piece of pork for a full quarter of an hour, until he had no taste left, before reluctantly swallowing it.

That meal of meat made Wang Taishan suddenly realize that the reason he could only live a lowly life like a pig or a dog was simply because he was not a member of the Wang family, or rather... he had never been treated as one of them by the Wang family!

At the age of 15, Wang Taishan became determined to become a member of the Wang family.

In order to make himself more like a member of the Wang family, Wang Taishan disregarded his father's objections, abandoned his original surname "Gou", resolutely changed his surname to Wang, and asked the head of the Wang family to name him, thus obtaining the name Taishan.

After being given the name Wang Taishan, Wang Taishan's life underwent drastic changes. Among the Wang family's retainers, he displayed remarkable martial arts talent, successfully attracting the attention of the Wang family, who then taught him martial arts techniques and provided him with resources.

After that, Wang Taishan stood out among his followers and became a martial artist with a respectable status even within the Wang family.

Then, he was sent out of the Wang family by the head of the family to form the notorious Taishan bandits outside the city, to do some shady things for the Wang family.

Over the years, Wang Taishan has committed countless evil deeds, but he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it.

In Wang Taishan's view, as long as he could gain the Wang family's respect and get closer to them, he would do anything, even if his hands were stained with blood!

In addition, Wang Taishan had always harbored a ambition to marry a woman from the Wang family, so that he and his descendants could become true members of the Wang family!

Unfortunately... Wang Wenshu never agreed to this, and Wang Taishan couldn't wait until then!

Blood continued to flow from his chest, and his strength gradually dissipated from his body. Wang Taishan's vision blurred until...

Utter darkness descends!

Zheng Qing pulled the spear tip out, looked at Wang Taishan who had completely stopped breathing, and sighed inwardly.

He knew about Wang Taishan's story and that Wang Taishan was also a man with a tragic fate, but he felt no sympathy whatsoever.

Wang Taishan, born into a serf family, should have had compassion for the common people. However, his mind was already twisted. He only wanted to serve the Wang family and gain their favor. He harmed the people and robbed caravans. Such a person deserves to die!

"Search the entire village."

At Zheng Qing's command, everyone sprang into action, searching the village for supplies left behind by the Taishan bandits.

Chen Dao dismounted and walked towards a house on his right.

He had been feeling that someone was secretly watching him, and sure enough, when the door opened, two half-naked women were huddled together in the corner of the room, trembling as they watched Chen Dao walk in, like startled birds.

"Ugh!"

Chen Dao sighed softly. The moment he saw the two women, he realized their identities. They must be women from Lijiapo who had been forcibly taken by the Taishan bandits.

Chen Dao did not step forward, but stood at the door and asked in a gentle tone, "Are you from Lijiapo?"

The two women huddled in a corner, arms crossed, staring at Chen Dao with terrified eyes, without uttering a word.

Chen Dao noticed the bruises on their bodies and the injuries on their faces, indicating that they had been abused by the bandits of Taishan.

"Don't worry, I'm not a thief."

Chen Dao tried to soothe the two women with a gentle tone so as not to startle them.

As if sensing Chen Dao's sincerity, a woman with bruises on her face mustered her courage and asked, "If you're not a thief, then who are you?"

Chen Dao thought for a moment and chose a story that would be easier to convince them: "We are government officials, and we have come to wipe out the Taishan bandits."

"really?"

A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the two women. This was how the people of Xia were: they were dissatisfied with the government, but when something happened, they would instinctively trust the government. It was a very contradictory psychological state.

"real."

Chen Dao nodded.

The two women from Lijiapo, once confirmed, suddenly began to sob. Having lived in a den of thieves, they had countless times fantasized about the arrival of the authorities, but…

Before this, their fantasies were meaningless, because the government seemed to have forgotten about this place, and it was impossible for anyone to come and rescue them.

They could only submit to the thieves' tyranny and become tools for them to vent their desires...

Upon hearing Chen Dao claim that he was an official, the two women felt a complex mix of emotions. They were overjoyed to be able to escape the den of thieves, yet they couldn't help but feel resentful that the government hadn't arrived sooner.

If the authorities had arrived sooner, their fathers, their husbands, and their fellow villagers would not have died tragically under the bandits' knives.

They no longer have to suffer the humiliation and abuse of thieves...