The fourth time Ximen's official was hanged

  During the Northern Song Dynasty, tattoos were very popular among the common people, with many people drawing all sorts of intricate patterns on their bodies. Wu Erlang knew that the tattoo on his back was unusual, but he never paid much attention to it and didn't think it would bring him deadly trouble.

  At that moment, the woman rummaged through boxes and trunks, bundling up the gold and silver treasures of the Ximen family into a package on her shoulder, heading out the door. Wu Song saw this and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement - could it be that even these divine beings were also fond of wealth? Unbeknownst to him, Qin was merely a minor figure from a secret sect, having learned only a little bit of swordplay as a child before being sent out into the world, still far from achieving a state of detachment.

  Qin's maid brought out the flying sword, just as she jumped onto it, intending to ride it away, when suddenly a fierce and pungent gust of wind came from behind, causing her heart to skip a beat.

  Her skills were insufficient, and when flying with the sword, she couldn't fight, not even as good as a robust man who had just begun to learn martial arts. Qin's nanny quickly jumped off the flying sword and turned her head to look, only to be shocked to the extreme!

  A burly man suddenly rushed forward, holding two crescent-shaped knives in his hands, with a fierce and sinister air.

  If it were just this sturdy man, he couldn't make her fearful. What's most crucial is that behind the big man, a demonic beast's primordial spirit faintly emerged, which was a ferocious tiger with a white forehead and raised eyebrows, baring its teeth and brandishing its claws as if to devour someone, emitting an enormous aura unique to savage beasts of the vast wilderness!

  "What a cunning and ferocious tiger, hiding in this place!"

  Wu Song didn't know about the change in the tiger image behind him, and taking advantage of the woman's distraction, he pounced forward swiftly like lightning. With his left hand, he stabbed a knife into her chest, and with his right hand, the knife flashed, beheading the woman. Only when the corpse fell to the ground did he let out a breath.

  His true energy was exhausted, and the fierce tiger's primordial spirit behind him suddenly disappeared. He felt extremely tired, sitting on the ground panting heavily.

  To be honest, he didn't have the confidence to kill the woman, but if he didn't kill her now, he would also find it hard to escape death. As soon as the woman returned to Qinghe County and made some inquiries, she would be able to uncover his true identity. With her skill in using a sword to kill people, it wouldn't be easy for him to get rid of her either.

  However, Wu Song found it strange that he could kill a swordsman so easily. He didn't have time to think about it carefully, and staying in the courtyard with all the corpses wasn't safe either, so he hastily picked up the woman's treasured sword. This sword was quite heavy, weighing over 100 catties, and he had no idea what material it was made of; holding it in his hand, he felt a connection to his entire body's blood and energy, as if it were an extension of his own arm.

  Wu Song praised the sword and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He rummaged through the woman's bundle, grabbed a few large silver ingots worth around 200-300 taels, and carelessly stuffed them into his sleeve. He didn't touch the gold leaves and jewels in the bundle as they were too valuable and might attract unnecessary trouble. A few hundred taels of silver was nothing to the Ximen family, just a tiny fraction that wouldn't be missed.

  Wu Song rushed back to Qinghe County overnight, returned home, hid the loot, slept for a while, and didn't wake up until the sun was high in the sky. Just after washing his face, Wu Dalang had already returned from selling pancakes on the street, sighing: "Nowadays, the world is not safe, a murderer has appeared in Yanggu County next door, killing more than 30 people in one night. It's better to be a dog in peaceful times than a human in chaotic times, this world is so chaotic, what will happen in the future?"

  Wu Song laughed and said: "When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it. Is there anyone who still dares to provoke my brothers?"

  "How dare you say that! At the age of 16 or 17, without a decent business, all day long only knowing how to cause trouble! In my opinion, with your martial arts skills, why not go to the county government office to find a job, save some silver, and next year I'll help you marry a wife, tie down your heart!"

  Wu Song burst out laughing and said: "I want to marry Pan Jinlian!"

  Wu Dalang exclaimed, "Which family's daughter is Pan Jinlian? What does she look like? Second brother really has skills, and actually secretly hooked up with one. If you ask me, you should make a move, get her pregnant, turn the uncooked rice into cooked rice... our family can even save on the betrothal gift..."

  Wu Song's face turned red, and he hastily retreated in disarray. Wu Dalang shouted from behind: "I'm speaking seriously, you should take it to heart. Our family is not wealthy, if you can make the second sister-in-law pregnant, not only will we not need to pay a betrothal gift, but her father will even give us silver as a gift! This is a good thing, today we'll marry her over, tomorrow she'll give birth to a chubby baby..."

  Wu Song fled to the main street, still feeling a lingering fear: "Big Brother seemed like an honest man, but he's also a pervert. I was just joking and he took it seriously. Besides, Pan Jinlian is my sister-in-law, how can I make a move... Wait, she hasn't married Wu Da yet, so maybe I can make a move after all... Damn it, damn it! She's just a young girl of 10 or so years old... But being over 10 isn't that young either, her breasts have already developed..."

  Wu Song was lost in thought, and before he knew it, he had arrived on the street. He saw several yamen runners posting a notice, and a crowd of idlers gathered around, chattering loudly. Wu Song also squeezed forward to take a look, and found that it was an official document issued by the prefectural yamen, offering a reward of 300 taels for information about the brutal murder case in Yanggu County.

  Wu Song took a look and was about to leave when he heard someone calling out behind him in a timid voice: "Big Officer, Big Officer... Brother-in-law!" The last call of "Brother-in-law" was particularly loud and startled Wu Song, who quickly turned his head to see Pan Jinlian and Bai Yulian, the two young women, trembling with fear, their bright eyes looking up at him, their four small hands tightly grasping his clothes, refusing to let go.

  "How did you two come out? Let go quickly, what's with all the pulling and tugging... let go!"

  Pan Jinlian bit her lower lip, looked at him timidly and cried: "Qin Mama is dead..." Bai Yulian was still reserved, but hearing this, she couldn't help but feel sad, the two little girls hugged each other and wailed. Wu Song's clumsy words of comfort had no effect, instead the two maidservants threw themselves into his arms and cried heartily, quickly wetting a patch on his clothes.

  "Wu Song hastily said, 'Don't cry for now, my home is nearby, let's go back and talk slowly.' He took the two girls back home, where Wu Dalang saw them and secretly gave Wu Song a thumbs up. In his heart, he praised, 'Just as I expected from Second Brother, this time he's brought back two at once! People who practice martial arts are indeed impressive. However, getting two daughters-in-law pregnant, next year we'll have to add two more mouths to feed - let's see how you, a poor and declining household, will manage to raise them!'"

  Wu Song drove Wu Dalang out and asked the two girls to sit down, saying: "What's going on?"

  Pan Jinlian sobbed as she recounted the events, saying: "Qin Pinniang died in Yanggu County under unclear circumstances. She was an old procuress and not a respectable person. According to the law, her property will be confiscated after her death. My sister and I are also her property, without any household registration. We fear that we'll become official prostitutes and won't be able to escape. We've just moved here and don't know anyone except for my brother-in-law. Please ask him to take care of us, otherwise, my sister and I will die with no place to bury our bodies!"

  After saying this, the two girls cried loudly again and said: "If brother-in-law doesn't take care of us, we will die in front of you!"

  Wu Song was at a loss, he had never thought of this before, and after hesitating for a long time, he couldn't think of a solution, so he said: "What should I do?"

  The two girls suddenly stopped crying, blinking their bright eyes, looking up at Wu Er with a 45-degree angle, making him dizzy. Jin Lian said: "No need for brother-in-law to exert himself, as long as he takes advantage of the government not having come to investigate yet, brother-in-law signs these four contract documents, just say that Qin's mother took you in as a godson, and gave us two sisters to you, and handed over the property to you, we two sisters will be worry-free."

  As she spoke, she took out four contracts. Two were the deeds to the new three-section courtyard house that Qin Ru had just purchased, named Qin Yue Lou. The other two were the sale contracts for the two maidservants. The contracts only lacked signatures. Neither of them had a registered household, and if they didn't quickly transfer their property, not only would the houses be confiscated, but the two girls would also be taken away to become official courtesans.

  Takejiro drew a hazy picture and said strangely: "Whose idea is this between the two of you?"

  "It was Jade Lotus's idea, and this contract was also written in Madame Qin's handwriting by her."

  Wu Song couldn't help but glance at Bai Yulian, the young woman lowered her head and blushed, counting buttons, her eyes rolling around.

  "Wu Song thought to himself: 'These two girls are not simple-minded, they have a lot of schemes in their hearts. If I take them in, it's bound to end in disaster.' He spat and said: 'I'm really a beast, they're so young...' Then he said: 'There's one more thing, my surname is not Ximen, nor am I the great official of Yanggu County, but just an ordinary citizen named Wu Song, also known as Wu Erlang. You can still back out now.'"

  Two girls smiled at each other, got up and curtsied, one on the left and one on the right, leaning against his chest, chirping: "Wu Da Guan Ren, let's go home with us to see the house!" Wen Yu was full of joy, a pure and fragrant scent filled the air, Wu Er Lang felt like he had eaten a ginseng fruit, feeling refreshed in body and mind.

  "Am I not the Wu Song version of Ximen Qing? Cough, you two little ladies, follow Officer Wu to look at houses, golden house hiding beauties, can't help but be corrupted a bit!"