After Wang An stood up, he spoke with a look that was half-smile and half-fury
"Wouldn't it have been better for Lehe'er to just collect the money that was owed? Why did you have to try and squeeze more out of them?"
Wang An took a step forward, pointing his gun at Qiu Ba with his right hand, while his left hand snatched a pistol from the small of Qiu Ba's right back.
These pistols were quite common in the Northeast; it was a Chou-style revolver. Its range was short, its accuracy was poor, and reloading was slow, yet the price wasn't low at all—roughly the same as a Type 54!
The advantages were that it was light, compact, easy to carry, held six rounds, and could fire in rapid succession!
He casually stuffed the revolver into his pocket, his mind already churning over what to do next.
"Brother, I admit defeat, alright?" Qiu Ba clutched his leg, his head drenched in sweat from the pain, droplets trickling down from the brim of his hat.
"You admit defeat *now*? What the fuck were you doing before? Are you a goddamn idiot?" Wang An was currently very angry.
Because Wang An was also conflicted about what to do next!
He had certainly offended Qiu Ba beyond repair. If he let him go, given the man's wealth and influence, he and his family would never know a day of peace!
Killing him would be simple. Although he was a well-known figure in the county and had a gang of followers, what mountain didn't hide a few corpses?
The main issue, however, was that Lu Yueyue was watching from the side!
At the end of the day, this Lu Yueyue was the biggest obstacle to murder!
Seeing Lu Yueyue standing there with her arms crossed, weeping, Wang An's eyes lit up. An idea formed in his mind, and he said, "Sister-in-law, look, things have come to this. What do you think should be done?"
"Kill him! Kill this beast!" Lu Yueyue shouted emotionally.
"Alright, we'll do as Sister-in-law says!" As Wang An spoke, he pulled out the revolver, cocked the hammer, and handed it to Lu Yueyue.
Then he said, "Aim for the bra—" Before he could finish, a "bang" rang out!
To be honest, the gunshot startled Wang An, sending a shiver through his entire body!
Before the shock had worn off, "bang," "bang"—two more shots followed! Then came the "click-click" of the hammer hitting empty chambers.
Qiu Ba had been shot three times in the head. Without even a chance to scream, he collapsed to the ground!
The three consecutive gunshots completely stunned Wang An!
Just how far had this woman been pushed? How deep must her resentment be?
"Wang An, thank you!" Lu Yueyue said, sobbing.
Wang An calmed his emotions, took the revolver and stuffed it in his pocket, and then asked while rifling through Qiu Ba's crossbody bag, "What are your plans for the future?"
He felt a sense of worry. Whether it was tinkering with guns in his previous life or spending time behind bars, Wang An remembered the various penal codes vividly; thirty or forty years of rote memorization were practically etched into his brain!
When it came to killing, it was always better if only one person did it. Although he hadn't pulled the trigger, he was an accomplice!
If the law caught up with them, no one would escape. He was just lucky to be in this era and this region!
Lu Yueyue seemed unaffected after the killing; she stopped sobbing quickly, her face returning to a mask of expressionlessness.
In a flat tone, she said, "I don't know. I heard that Fang Xiu'e and her sister ran away..."
Wang An was momentarily stunned. A flash of memory crossed his mind: that woman standing in the corner who had spoken only one sentence the day he had beaten the two Ma Laizi brothers.
However, Wang An simply shook his head. In this era, without a letter of introduction, it was hard for a man to survive in another region, let alone two beautiful women! At the very least, staying alive was the biggest problem!
"What? You want to run too?" Wang An asked indifferently.
"I'm not running, and I have nowhere to run. If I ran away, I wouldn't survive unless I sold myself," Lu Yueyue said calmly, seeing things with stark clarity.
Since it had nothing to do with him, he was just asking; she could do whatever she wanted. After emptying the pockets, Wang An stopped talking!
Qiu Ba truly lived up to his reputation as a loan shark; he was genuinely wealthy. Wang An pulled out a thick stack of "Big Unity" bills—at least two thousand odd yuan, with absolutely no small change!
There were several stacks of coupons, a pile of uncollected IOUs, and an exquisite dagger! Wang An stuffed them all into his pockets.
"Aren't you curious how I knew they ran away?" Lu Yueyue suddenly asked.
"Oh? How did you know?" In truth, Wang An wasn't curious at all. Whether they ran or not had nothing to do with him.
"Shen Wei told me. And I know about the things between you and Shen Wei," Lu Yueyue said, her tone still flat.
Wang An remembered now; Lu Yueyue and Shen Wei were both educated youths. Although they hadn't arrived in the same year, as fellow youths, they were naturally close!
But Wang An didn't care. Regardless of the era, the location, or whether someone was a widow or orphan, things like his relationship with Shen Wei were common!
It had to be said that the female educated youths in Kaoshan Village were all from the South. The two with the hardest lives, Shen Wei and Lu Yueyue, weren't as perfect as Mu Xueqing, but they were both quite striking and beautiful!
In Wang An's previous life, both of them had died because of Niu Dali!
As Wang An dragged Qiu Ba's corpse onto the sledge, he said casually, "Shen Wei told you about this? You two must be quite close!"
"Mm, we just sympathize with each other's plight," Lu Yueyue replied.
"Let's go. Let's deal with him first," Wang An said after tying Qiu Ba to the sledge and cleaning up the bloodstains.
Hearing this, Lu Yueyue walked over. The two of them drove the sledge, pulling Qiu Ba toward the large ditch!
Stripping the clothes to burn them and throwing the body into the ditch—Wang An performed these tasks with great fluidity now; it had practically become muscle memory!
Seeing how proficient Wang An was, a strange light flickered in Lu Yueyue's eyes, but she said nothing, perhaps fearing that Wang An might kill her as well!
Actually, her thinking wasn't wrong, because only dead men keep secrets! And such a thought had indeed flashed through Wang An's mind!
Once everything was tidied up, the two headed back to the village.
As they were about to enter the village, Lu Yueyue suddenly said, "When I came to the countryside, my parents gave me something. Can you come to my house in a bit to help me look at it, and then help me sell it? It's still in the hospital..."
"What is it?" Wang An asked casually, not thinking much of it.
"I don't know. You must come," Lu Yueyue said softly, her face expressionless.
"Oh." Wang An didn't take it seriously. It was probably some treasure, but in this day and age, treasures weren't worth much!
But, help her sell it?? He finally understood Lu Yueyue's intention; she wanted a share of Qiu Ba's money! Did she have to beat around the bush to ask for money? Honestly!
Thinking of this, Wang An said, "Right, Sister-in-law, half of this money should go to you." As he spoke, he pulled out the money, intending to count it!
Lu Yueyue remained expressionless and said, "Don't give it to me now. I'll come find you for it later."
"Huh?? Oh! That works too!" Wang An was puzzled. Wasn't she wanting the money now? But he wasn't short on cash, especially not "blood money" like this!
Recalling Niu Dali's character, Lu Yueyue's approach was perfectly reasonable! Even if the money reached her hands now, she might not be able to keep it!
But not wanting the money now, yet wanting to sell something! What kind of play was this?
Regardless, Wang An put the money back in his pocket.
Passing by Lu Yueyue's house, Wang An stopped the big horse. As Lu Yueyue stepped off the sledge, she said again, "Don't forget, okay?"
Wang An was actually still a bit bewildered and confused; this woman was strange in every way!
But since Lu Yueyue reminded him again, Wang An became very eager to figure out what was actually going on!
He replied, "I got it, Sister-in-law." With that, he drove the sledge home.