MLMD -Chapter 249 Master Kui’s Signature Skill

At this moment, the fende bashi-ku who had been beaten into a pig-headed mess looked utterly miserable. His originally large head was now swollen to the point of being almost unrecognizable, and his right eye had been smashed by Lengzi until it bulged grotesquely outward. The arrogance he had shown earlier was gone without a trace, replaced by a faint look of fear.

Around the large house lay dozens of Qing soldiers’ corpses strewn in all directions. Waves of bloodstench drifted through the night air, nauseating to anyone who smelled it.

A chill wind swept past, and only then did Bai Kai realize that his entire body was soaked through with sweat. As the cold air hit him, he immediately felt weak and sore all over, while sharp pains pulsed from his injured arm. Turning to look at the brothers around him, he saw they were in much the same condition. After tying up the fende bashi-ku with ropes, they could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing that the fighting was over, the Su brothers emerged from their hiding place not far away. Among the entire group, they had had it the easiest, so the task of cleaning up the battlefield naturally fell to them.

The two brothers moved back and forth across the area. Whenever they found a Tatar who was badly wounded but not yet dead, they finished him off with a knife, then used an axe to hack off his head. They also discovered two Qing soldiers who were only lightly wounded. Without waiting for Bai Kai’s orders, they pulled out ropes and tightly bound the two men.

Another half ke of an hour passed. After resting for a while, Bai Kai finally felt strength returning to his body. He stood up and walked over to the fire pit to check on the two women who had been violated by the Tatars earlier.

But as soon as Bai Kai approached, he knew he was too late. Both women had already stopped breathing. Their eyes were wide open; even in death they could not close them, as if accusing the heavens of injustice.

Looking at the two young women lying dead, Bai Kai felt a sour ache in his heart. He sighed and said, “In times like these, no one can escape their fate. Sisters, human life in a chaotic age is cheaper than a dog’s. In your next life, be reborn into a peaceful and prosperous era.”

He then turned and called out loudly, “Lengzi, come over and help me bury these two sisters. They’ve already suffered enough in death—we can’t let them be left exposed in the wild for the dogs to desecrate.”

Lengzi answered in his usual gruff voice and came over. Together with Bai Kai, they dug a shallow pit with their long sabers and hastily buried the two women.

While they were busy, the Su brothers gathered up the weapons scattered on the ground and stripped the armor from the Qing soldiers’ bodies, piling it together. As for the headless corpses, they kicked the severed heads aside.

After another half hour of work, the battlefield was finally cleared. Everyone then gathered around the fire to tend to their wounds. Bai Kai’s arm hurt badly, so he pulled a leather flask from his waist and took a swig of strong liquor. A fiery heat slid down his throat into his stomach, and under the numbing effect of the alcohol, the pain in his arm eased somewhat.

At this point, Master Kui, who was responsible for tallying things up, spoke. “Bai Tou, I’ve just done the count. This time our gains are no small matter. We killed twenty-two Tatars, including three zhuanda, captured one fende bashi-ku and two ordinary Tatars. That means each of us can get at least two hundred taels of silver on average. We’ve struck it rich this time!”

Lengzi curled his lips. “What good is silver? You can’t eat it or drink it. I’d rather exchange military merit for ten or so mu of land—that’s something you can pass down to your descendants for generations.”

Among all peoples of the world, none cherished land more deeply than the Chinese. That was why many soldiers were willing to exchange military merit for land. Fortunately, over the past two years, Yue Yang had ordered large tracts of wasteland in the northern Shanxi circuit to be reclaimed, so there was still plenty of land available for distribution. With land as an incentive, soldiers were happy to redeem their merits this way. After all, in the eyes of people of this era, owning land meant having roots.

At this moment, Su Second asked from the side, “Master Kui, how much silver did we seize?”

Master Kui glanced at the Su brothers with a knowing smile and said slowly, “Not much silver—just a bit over three hundred taels. But there’s more than fifty taels of gold, along with some utensils made of silver. After handing in what needs to be turned over, each of us can still get a bit over seventy taels.”

“Good… good! We’re rich!”
The Su brothers, usually so gloomy, were now rubbing their hands together nonstop, their faces split into broad grins.

Yue Yang’s army had long since established detailed rules for rewards and punishments. From captured loot, ordinary soldiers could keep thirty percent, while the Night Scouts—the most elite and hardest-worked unit in the army—could keep fifty percent. Any loot under one hundred taels did not need to be handed in, and that silver could be split evenly among Bai Kai and the other seven men. However, horses, weapons, and supplies had to be turned over to the army, which would then distribute rewards based on merit.

Seeing how excited the Su brothers were, Master Kui couldn’t help smiling. He then turned to Bai Kai and asked, “Bai Tou, what are you planning to exchange your military merit for?”

Without hesitation, Bai Kai replied, “I’m going to save it all up. It won’t be long before I’m promoted to shizhang. When that day comes, I’ll make Old Qiu from Squad C kneel whenever he sees me!”

“Hahaha…”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Armies throughout history had always been strictly hierarchical, especially Yue Yang’s army. No matter how rich your family was, once you met an officer of higher rank, you had to respectfully kneel and salute. As a result, many people cared little for gold and silver, but greatly coveted official authority. Bai Kai was exactly that kind of man.

After resting a bit more, Bai Kai stood up and said, “Alright, this place isn’t safe for lingering. Let’s move!”

Everyone got to their feet, packed up their belongings, and prepared to leave. Just then, Master Kui reported, “Bai Tou, there’s a Tatar here who’s on his last legs. What should we do with him?”

Bai Kai waved his hand impatiently. “Why ask about such a small matter? No need to keep someone who’s about to die. Take his head and bring it with us.”

Lengzi grinned and said, “Master Kui, I hear your family’s been jailers for three generations. No need to talk about interrogation—that’s your bread and butter. But I also heard you can chop off a man’s head with an ordinary saber without even nicking the blade. Is that true? Why not take this chance to let the brothers see it?”

Mentioned his old trade, Master Kui immediately puffed up with pride. “Lengzi, I might not beat you in single combat, but when it comes to beheading, even three of you tied together wouldn’t compare to me!”

Lengzi, belittled, didn’t get angry. He kept grinning. “Anyone can brag. If you want us to believe you, Master Kui, you’ll have to show us!”

“Fine! Today I’ll let you little brats see what I, Master Kui, can really do!”

Master Kui’s spirits soared. He strode over, dragged the severely wounded Tatar over, and forced him to kneel in front of everyone. Then he drew his curved saber and lightly measured it against the man’s neck.

The dragged-over Qing soldier screamed in terror. Unable to speak Chinese, he shouted desperately in Manchu, his voice filled with pleading and fear.

But Master Kui’s face remained calm. He took a deep breath, paused for a moment, then gave a low shout. His saber flashed—cold light streaked through the air, followed by a spray of blood. The Qing soldier’s head rolled onto the ground.

After chopping off the man’s head, Master Kui flicked his wrist and wiped the saber clean on the corpse. He then held it up for everyone to see. The blade was still sharp as ever, without the slightest nick.

Lengzi and the others looked on with admiration, all raising their thumbs and praising in unison, “Master Kui, mighty!”

Even the usually aloof Su brothers exclaimed, “Master Kui, impressive skills!”

Master Kui clasped his hands smugly. “You flatter me, brothers. It’s nothing more than making a living. At best, we can only kill a few men. Lord Yue—that’s someone truly formidable. He’s a real match for ten thousand enemies!”

“Tch—”

As soon as he said that, everyone scoffed. With skills like yours, you still want to compare yourself to Lord Yue?

Laughing and joking, they loaded the spoils and the two captives onto the horses. On one horse’s back hung more than twenty blood-soaked heads. Bai Kai let out a sharp whistle, and the group galloped back along the road they had come from…