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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Xiaoman carried a water pouch, tending to the wounded one by one. Her left hand was wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, yet she persisted in using her right hand to stitch wounds. When she saw Lin Dahe approaching, her eyes brightened. "The granary has preserved thirty percent, and the seeds in the cellar are safe."
"What about that old dog?" an old soldier spat blood.
Zhou Liangzhang was tied to a hitching post in front of the ancestral hall, his face smeared with mud and blood from his nose. The Mad Old Woman sat cross-legged opposite him, her bony fingers fiddling with several damp letters.
"Look at this." She handed a letter to Lin Dahe.
The paper was so blurred it was hard to decipher, but the official seal at the bottom still bore the words "Ministry of Revenue." After scanning, the system displayed key information: [Document for grain allocation from the Yanzhou garrison in the first year of Chongzhen, handwriting inconsistent with existing records].
"Forged..." Lin Dahe's heart sank. "They dare to forge imperial documents!"
Suddenly, a woman's sobbing echoed from the corner of the ancestral hall. Aunt Ma was curled up beneath the incense table, her right foot pierced by three iron caltrops—the very ones she had secretly scattered along the retreat route last night.
"You wretched woman!" Zhou Liangzhang suddenly struggled and cursed, "You’re more trouble than you’re worth!"
Aunt Ma shot up her head, a flicker of resentment in her eyes. "Zhou! If it weren't for your promise to redeem me..." She tore open her collar, revealing a blurred brand on her collarbone. "The clients I had in Yangzhou were more honorable than you!"
The one-armed old soldier suddenly stood up with his knife. "Everyone shut up!" His single eye swept over them all. "The urgent matter is to clean up. These corpses..."
"Bury them in the abandoned kiln," Seventh Uncle coughed out. "That will block off that secret passage."
"And what about them?" Cui Xiaoman pointed at Zhou Liangzhang and Aunt Ma.
Just as Lin Dahe was about to speak, an alarm sounded from the system. The map interface popped up automatically, showing a large group moving towards the village ten miles away—this time not red dots, but blue markers representing government troops!
"The county office is sending people," he said solemnly. "At least twenty constables, armed with torture devices."
The one-armed old soldier suddenly laughed. "Perfect." He kicked the ledger on the ground. "This gift should be sent out."
At noon, the county magistrate arrived with three squads of Yard Officers marching into the village. Upon seeing Zhou Liangzhang tied up in front of the ancestral hall, his face instantly fell.
"Bold!" He pointed at Lin Dahe and shouted angrily. "How dare you set up a court without permission!"
"Your Honor, please see," Lin Dahe replied calmly as he presented the ledger. "Last night, bandits attacked the village; thanks to Zhou Liangzhang... he risked his life to protect this ledger."
The magistrate's expression changed dramatically. He took the ledger and flipped through two pages; his goatee began to tremble uncontrollably. When he saw the letter bearing the fake seal of the Ministry of Revenue, he accidentally pulled out several strands of his beard.
"This... this..."
"Your Honor!" Zhou Liangzhang suddenly screamed, "These rascals forged..."
Slap! The magistrate backhanded him across the face, causing blood to trickle from his mouth. "Shut up!" He turned to the constables and ordered, "Take Zhou Shichang back to jail! And this one..." He cast a disdainful glance at Aunt Ma. "Arrest her too!"
As the troops dragged Zhou Liangzhang away, the one-armed old soldier chuckled coldly. "Old fox. That ledger records all the dirty money collected by the county office over the years."
As the villagers were about to celebrate, the sound of urgent hoofbeats suddenly echoed from the village entrance. A blood-soaked courier stumbled off his horse, gasping, "Jian Lu has broken through!"
He trembled as he handed over the blood-stained report. Lin Dahe unfolded it, and his scalp went numb—during the winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen, the Later Jin had breached the Great Wall defenses and had already captured three counties!
The blue markers on the system map suddenly turned red, and the countdown timer flashed wildly: [24:00:00]. Even more terrifying was a wave of crimson markers appearing in the northwest, spreading towards them at an alarming speed...
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