"Fire! Fire! Come quickly to put out the fire."
With a loud shout, soon the entire Lower River Village became bustling, with villagers each shouting loudly, carrying wooden buckets, and bringing water to fight the fire.
Zhong Lin watched the scene before him with cold eyes, the firelight flickering in his pupils, and finally he turned away expressionlessly.
"How... how did the fire start? It's not even mealtime, there's no way Zhang Kun's wife would be lighting a fire now?"
Villager Zhang Sheng wiped the sweat off his forehead, full of confusion.
"Did any of you see Zhang Kun and his wife come out?"
Another villager looked around but did not find Zhang Kun.
"Let's not worry about that now, let's put out the fire quickly before it spreads."
"Yes, yes, put out the fire first."
The fire was quickly brought under control, but it was autumn with dry air, and the fire came suddenly, with the houses mainly made of thatch and wooden frames, so even if the fire was extinguished, they were mostly burnt.
A few brave ones went inside to search and soon ran out screaming, vomiting repeatedly.
"It's Zhang Kun and his wife."
"There are also two others, from the body shapes they look like Skinny Monkey and Scar."
"All... all dead, all dead."
In one courtyard, a total of four people were dead, enough to horrify anyone, and what's more, they were four charred bodies, with the smell of burnt flesh making people nauseated.
"How could they all be dead? When there was a fire, wouldn't they run outside? Moreover, there wasn't even a shout for help? You Gen, your house is closest to Zhang Kun's, did you hear any shouting?"
You Gen, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, seemed to have remembered something when he was asked and his face changed, subconsciously glanced in the direction Zhong Lin had left, and finally shook his head vigorously.
"No... No, I didn't hear anything, didn't see anything, I... I still have some work in the fields, I'm leaving now."
After saying this, he hurried off, as if a snake was chasing him.
"Look at him, scared, why run, is there a tiger or something?"
"Maybe there really is a tiger, I saw Big Forest come here this morning."
The voices suddenly quieted.
The crowd wasn't foolish; a fire started for no reason, and not a single person escaped, with four people dead inside. If there was nothing fishy about it, even a ghost wouldn't believe it.
The people among the crowd who went to the "feast" yesterday all looked pale, and those who didn't go were also visibly shocked.
How could Zhong Lin, in their eyes synonymous with honesty and sincerity, become like this?
This is murder!
"You go and deal with Zhang Kun and the others' bodies first. After all, they're from the village, and debts die with people; I'll go check on Big Forest's house."
A villager in the crowd sighed, put down his water bucket, and walked towards Zhong Lin's house.
...
"Big Forest, it's your Uncle Taro, open the door."
"Coming."
Zhong Shi trotted over with his short legs, pulled the latch and opened the courtyard door.
"Uncle Taro."
"Shi, where's your brother?"
Uncle Taro touched Little Stone's head, smiling as he spoke.
Little Stone turned and shouted loudly towards the kitchen: "Second brother, Uncle Taro is looking for you."
Uncle Taro glanced around and finally his gaze rested on the arrow quiver in the corner, his expression slightly changed, and he sighed heavily.
Zhong Lin also came out of the kitchen at this time, holding roasted deer meat in his hand.
"Uncle Taro, why are you here?"
In his previous memories, Uncle Taro had always had a great relationship with his late father, and after his father and elder brother met with mishap in the mountains, he often supported the two brothers, regarded as the best person to them in the entire Lower River Village.
Uncle Taro was straightforward, pointing at the arrow quiver and directly asking, "Zhang Kun's house caught fire, and four people died. Did you do it?"
Zhong Lin paused for a moment: "If they didn't die, my brother and I would be in trouble."
Uncle Taro also knew Zhang Kun's "three harms" traits, and naturally knew Zhong Lin was telling the truth, for any words he merely sighed.
"Uncle Taro, I know what you mean. People don't provoke me, I don't provoke them. Zhang Kun intended to harm me, so I acted; I won't harm others, and if you don't trust, you can choose to report to the authorities."
For "reporting to the authorities," Uncle Taro pretended not to hear; mainly because it was absolutely impossible.
Lower River Village is so remote that the Court's officers only come annually for tax collection, otherwise they never come to this godforsaken place; even if they did, it would only be a formality, no one would offend Zhong Lin over a few scoundrels' deaths, they dare not.
Moreover, Lower River Village's population is diverse, not a village composed of the same surname or clan, but from people who fled and gathered here a hundred years ago, meaning there are no clans or clan elders.
People don't report, and officials don't investigate.
Report to the authorities?
It's useless.
"Besides, Stone and I plan to leave Lower River Village," continued Zhong Lin.
"What? You're leaving? To where?" Uncle Taro exclaimed.
"Lower River Village is too small, I want to see the outside world, and just take this chance to leave; if I don't go, many people won't sleep well," Zhong Lin said with a smile.
Uncle Taro ignored Zhong Lin's subsequent jest, his face full of urgency: "Stone is so small, how could he follow you on a long journey? And do you think it's easy out there? It's not like home outside; here I can support you, but out there..."
"Uncle Taro," Zhong Lin firmly interjected, "I've made up my mind. I also want to explore, not wanting to stay cooped up in this small mountain village all my life. I'll come back to see you once I've made a name for myself."
Uncle Taro wanted to say more but ultimately could only sigh helplessly.
He knew Zhong Lin was no longer the same as before; the old Zhong Lin would never have done something like killing and arson, or involving four people.
"Take care of Stone, if you can't make it outside, just come back; as long as I have something to eat, you brothers won't starve."
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Taro."
This ended their conversation, Uncle Taro patted Little Stone's head, sighed, and turned to leave.
Little Stone looked up at Zhong Lin and asked, "Second brother, are we really leaving?"
"Don't want to go?"
"No, wherever you go, second brother, I'll go. When are we leaving?"
"Tomorrow. Go deliver these innards and deer meat to Uncle Taro's house; if he doesn't want them, tell him we're leaving tomorrow, and it'd be a waste if they go uneaten."
"Okay!"
Little Stone trotted over with his short legs, carrying a wooden basin filled with innards and meat towards Uncle Taro. Though this basin weighed about six or seven pounds, it was still somewhat difficult for Little Stone; thankfully, the distance wasn't far, otherwise Zhong Lin wouldn't have let him do it.
Leaving for the county was a plan Zhong Lin had long intended, but he originally thought of staying a little longer to eat more meat to build up his body, yet unexpected events of murder and arson occurred, prompting him to not linger any longer and act sooner.
The smoked meat was already prepared, which could last a short time in this weather without spoiling, and he could continue hunting on the way, not worrying about hunger with his full-level archery skill.
Little Stone returned shortly, now holding a package in his hand.
"Second brother, this is something Uncle Taro insisted on giving me; I didn't want to take it."
Little Stone looked dejected, as if he had done something wrong.
Zhong Lin took the package, opened it, and found it was some jerky, the kind that could be eaten directly, clearly meant for the brothers to use as travel provisions.
"If he gave it to you, then keep it!"