Old Gu Six handed Chang'an his rolled-up coat and said, "Daughter, go back inside. I'll handle things out here."
"I can help," Chang'an replied, clutching the coat but not leaving. She thought it was too much work for Old Gu Six to deal with over a dozen people alone.
"No, go back inside. Silver Wolf and Little White will help. Big White will escort your friends back to the mountains," he said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. When it came to Chang'an's safety, he was always uncompromising.
Chang'an found Old Gu Six quite intimidating when he put on a stern face. Holding the coat, she took a few steps back, glancing over her shoulder repeatedly before finally returning to the house.
Once Chang'an was inside, Old Gu Six went to the main gate, locked it from the outside, and secured it with a latch to prevent her from sneaking out out of curiosity.
"Silver Wolf, Little White, Big Gray, help me drag these people down to the beach," he ordered.
"Arf!"
"Arf!"
Big White, after sending off the summoned friends, joined in dragging the bodies.
It took several trips for the man and four wolves to haul all the black-clad figures down to the beach. They stripped the bodies of anything valuable, including weapons, and even found several bottles of poison.
Those struck by lightning were dragged behind a hidden rock and thrown into the sea, leaving only two who had been bitten and crippled by the wolves.
Old Gu Six drew his sword and swung it, slicing off one of the men's left ears.
The man cried out in pain, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Old Gu Six with hatred.
"Who sent you here?" Old Gu Six demanded.
The black-clad man clenched his teeth and remained silent. Old Gu Six swung his sword again, this time cutting off the man's hand.
With each swing of the sword, Old Gu Six repeated his question. If the man refused to answer, he continued to cut. The man remained stubborn, even as he was reduced to a bloody mess, gasping for breath, still unwilling to speak.
Old Gu Six eventually sliced him to pieces, the blood staining the sandy beach.
He then turned his sword to the other man, first cutting off his foot. When the man still refused to talk, Old Gu Six began slicing him as well.
That night, the small beach echoed with agonized screams until midnight.
This man wasn't as tough as the other. Halfway through the ordeal, he begged for death.
"Please... let... me... die. I... I'll talk," he gasped, his voice weak but clear in the quiet night.
Old Gu Six paused and waited patiently for him to continue.
"Wan... Wan Ke... saved... the Fifth Prince," he stammered, pausing before continuing more coherently. "He hid the Fifth Prince away."
"We... we traced him here, but he disappeared. We wanted to capture someone to interrogate about Wan Ke's whereabouts."
Old Gu Six: ???
What nonsense? Wan Ke hid the Fifth Prince?
Impossible. If he had hidden someone, why would he run? He could have just handed the prince over.
But what did this have to do with them? He had erased all traces. How did they track them here but fail to find out that Wan Ke had left?
Did they think Wan Ke had come to seek refuge with him, assuming they were close enough to use someone as leverage to force Wan Ke to reveal the Fifth Prince's location?
Old Gu Six coldly ordered Silver Wolf, "Drag this man to the same spot and throw him into the sea."
Silver Wolf glanced at the mutilated man with disgust, reluctant to touch him. But Old Gu Six's current demeanor frightened the wolf. It approached the man, gagged a few times, and then dragged him away.
After Silver Wolf left, Old Gu Six began cleaning up the beach, lamenting that the seafood here would likely be inedible now.
Once the scene was cleared, he took a cold shower under a small waterfall before returning home.
Chang'an waited until the next day to ask, "Dad, who were those people yesterday?"
"Just some unimportant troublemakers. If you ever encounter people like that, fight them to the death," he replied vaguely, not elaborating further.
After breakfast, Old Gu Six unrolled the coat he had bundled up the previous day and pulled out a plump, white ginseng root.
"Daughter, keep this safe."
Chang'an took the ginseng and examined it. She couldn't tell how old it was, but she could see it was of excellent quality.
She thought to herself, perhaps Old Gu Six was the true protagonist of this world.
After Chang'an stored the ginseng, Old Gu Six grabbed a hoe and headed out. He first replanted the crops that had been trampled by the wolves the day before, then continued to finish the unfinished fence.
In the afternoon, he started digging traps and setting up hidden mechanisms around their home.
Their hard-earned secluded life had been disrupted by Wan Ke, and they couldn't just abandon the home they had built. They had to find a way to defend it.
Over the next few days, their surroundings were filled with traps and hidden weapons.
However, more and more people began to arrive, and Old Gu Six dealt with several groups. The increasing number of intruders became unbearable.
Old Gu Six decided to venture out to handle the situation. Chang'an, worried about him, insisted on coming along.
Initially, Old Gu Six didn't want Chang'an to accompany him. He was going to deal with dangerous individuals who were disrupting their lives.
But then he reconsidered. If he left her alone and more people came, she would be in greater danger. Bringing her along might actually be safer.
"Let Silver Wolf and Big White guard the house," Chang'an said, storing all their belongings in her spatial storage, leaving only the storage space itself behind.
Chang'an and Old Gu Six followed the coastline, passing a small fishing village that had been reduced to ruins.
They hitched a donkey cart and traveled day and night, bypassing towns until they reached the nearest city, which was heavily guarded.
From the black-clad men's confessions, they learned that the city's current governor was a recently risen commoner who had become quite ambitious.
After observing for two days, they figured out the guards' rotation schedule. Using this knowledge, they made their way to the governor's mansion, even after taking a couple of wrong turns.
The governor's mansion, a remodeled former magistrate's residence, was now gaudily decorated and tastelessly extravagant.
This made it easier to locate the governor—they just had to find the most opulent courtyard.
Sure enough, Chang'an and Old Gu Six found the current governor in the eastern courtyard. When they arrived, he was engaged in activities that even a Tomato VIP member couldn't watch.
Old Gu Six immediately covered Chang'an's eyes and ears, his face darkening with anger.
Chang'an wanted to say it wasn't necessary—she could only hear the sounds and was actually curious to see the scene. But she kept that thought to herself.
They retreated to a hidden spot and waited for half an hour. When they returned, the governor was snoring loudly.
Chang'an knocked out the woman, and Old Gu Six swiftly ended the governor's life with a single sword strike.
Chang'an stored anything valuable in the room into her spatial storage. They then moved to the study and did the same.
Old Gu Six examined the governor's handwriting, picked up a brush, and imitated his style to write a small note:
"The Fifth Prince is in Lingnan."
He tucked the note into a book, deliberately leaving a corner sticking out.
The father and daughter then began spreading knockout smoke throughout the mansion. Once everyone was unconscious, Chang'an started looting the place.
She even stored some bricks, tiles, doors, and windows in her spatial storage. By the time they were done, the entire rear courtyard had been dismantled, leaving only the front courtyard intact.
They left the front courtyard untouched because they wanted someone to find the note in the study.
As dawn approached, the two hurriedly left the city. Just as they exited, they noticed a suspicious figure circling their donkey cart.
