A wave of panic spread through the crowd, and the shopkeeper's face turned ashen.

This tavern was the foundation of his livelihood, and to him, it was even more important than his life.

For a moment, the shopkeeper didn't care about anything else. He rushed to the door, yanked it open, ran a few steps outside, and with a "thud," he dropped to his knees, kowtowing like mad and loudly pleading, "Gentlemen, show mercy, don’t set the fire, please show mercy!"

"Is Fu Wenjun inside?" a deep voice asked.

The shopkeeper looked up and saw a burly man with thick brows riding a fine horse not far ahead. On each side of him, there was another rider, each holding a torch.

The burly man wore leather arm guards on both arms, setting him apart from the others—he was clearly the leader of the Night Crying Rangers.

The other Night Crying Rangers, meanwhile, continued to ride around the tavern, drawing their longbows. After nocking an arrow, they used the torches to ignite the arrowheads, then rode around the tavern shooting flaming arrows in all directions.

"I don’t know him... I don’t know Fu Wenjun..." the shopkeeper continued kowtowing. "Gentlemen, show mercy, show mercy!"

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot out with a sharp whistle, and with a "thud," it struck the shopkeeper's shoulder. The shopkeeper let out a scream and fell backward onto the ground.

"Since you don’t know, that makes you a worthless commoner," the archer from the Night Crying Rangers cursed. "Useless dog, how dare you come out and make noise?"

Several of the Night Crying Rangers laughed heartily. The burly leader praised, "Pang Lao Liu, your archery has improved again, looks like you’ve been practicing a lot."

Just as his words finished, another Night Crying Ranger drew his bow and released another arrow. It shot through the air like a meteor, and with a "thud," it struck the shopkeeper’s left knee. Amid the shopkeeper's agonized scream, the Night Crying Ranger laughed, "Captain, my archery hasn’t been neglected either."

"Ha ha ha, our brothers are truly full of hidden talents," the burly leader laughed loudly. "Keep your eyes wide open, don’t let Fu Wenjun slip away."

The tavern, built of wood, quickly caught fire as the flaming arrows hit the wooden walls. The fire spread rapidly from all sides, engulfing the tavern.

The travelers hiding inside the tavern had by now already started running out, crying in panic, scattering in all directions to flee.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The Night Crying Rangers had switched from flaming arrows to regular arrows, shooting a few at the fleeing travelers. The ones running at the front on either side of the group let out shrill cries as they fell to the ground.

"Don’t let anyone run, kneel and raise your heads," more than ten Night Crying Rangers had formed a semi-circle outside the tavern’s main door. One of them shouted harshly, "The arrows don’t have eyes. Those who disobey are traitors and will be killed on the spot."

No one dared to run anymore. They all knelt down instantly, resembling a herd of sheep cornered by wolves, their spirits crushed.

Wei Changle, among the crowd, watched the travelers kneel like lambs, frowning as he shouted, "Don’t kneel, stand up!"

But the travelers were already paralyzed with fear, not daring to stand.

Seeing the tavern keeper writhing in agony in the snow, Wei Changle didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward to check the shopkeeper’s injuries.

In the bitter winter and flying snow, the tavern keeper had kindly let the travelers seek shelter from the wind and snow. He was a good person.

But just as he took a step forward, he felt a tight grip on his wrist. Someone had caught hold of him. A voice said, "Don’t be impulsive, mind your own business, safety is the most important!"

Wei Changle turned his head to look and saw Wei Gu, who was carrying the long wooden box that had once been used as a pillow, staring at him anxiously.

"People’s hearts are like blooming flowers, yet I arrive when spring is gone," Wei Changle shook his head, shrugged off Wei Gu’s hand, and said indifferently, "If you don’t act impulsively at a time like this, then are you still a young man?" He strode forward.

"Second Young Master, you’re being foolish!" Wei Gu stamped his feet.

The burly leader kept scanning the crowd, clearly searching for Fu Wenjun, when unexpectedly, a young man walked out from the crowd, looking somewhat bewildered.

The young man wore a grey-brown cotton coat, a coarse cotton hat on his head, a leather wine pouch hung from his waist. His delicate features stood out, especially his eyes, which resembled stars in the night sky. He looked refined and gentle, like a well-behaved young master from a nearby family.

When the Night Crying Rangers saw Wei Changle walking towards them, the travelers, who had been kneeling like lambs, were stunned and could hardly believe their eyes.

The Night Crying Rangers were notorious for their cruelty, and the people feared them more than anything. They couldn’t fathom why the young man would dare approach them—had he lost his mind and was walking to his own death?

The young man knelt beside the shopkeeper, whispered comforting words, and then removed the wine pouch from his waist to feed him two sips of wine.

A nearby Night Wailer saw this and immediately drew his bow, ready to shoot at Wei Changle.

“Wait!” The thick-browed leader raised his hand to stop him, staring intently at Wei Changle.

The Night Wailers had ambushed the tavern, leaving everyone paralyzed with fear, as if waiting to be slaughtered. Yet, this young man remained calm and composed, unlike the others, standing out conspicuously. This demeanor made the leader wary—what kind of powerful background could give this boy such boldness?

“A group of people sitting around a fire dreaming, suddenly attacked by so-called officials who burn and kill without mercy. Where is the law? Is there no justice?” Wei Changle stood up slowly, letting out a sigh, then spat fiercely on the snowy ground.

“Say one more word.” The thick-browed man chuckled coldly. “When your tongue is cut out, let’s see if you can still speak.”

“You want to cut out my tongue?” Wei Changle’s expression remained unchanged, a faint smile on his face. “Which law have I broken?”

The leader leaned forward slightly. “I am the law. Offending me is breaking the law.”

“Arrogance indeed.” Wei Changle smirked, pulling a document from his pocket and holding it up. “Before you cut my tongue, take a look at this. Oh, by the way, do you even know how to read?”

The thick-browed man hesitated for a moment, then motioned for one of his subordinates to ride over. The Night Wailer grabbed the document from Wei Changle’s hand and delivered it back to the leader.

The leader took it, scanned it briefly, and laughed uproariously. “I was wondering who had the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard—it turns out to be the great county magistrate!” Tossing the document to another subordinate, he added, “Here, take a look. This is the magistrate’s official assignment to take office in Shanyin. Hahaha!”

Another subordinate, holding a blade, caught the document with its flat side, laughing as he said, “Leader, I can’t read. What’s written here anyway? How important is this county magistrate position?” As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, throwing the document to the side.

It wasn’t caught; instead, another blade slapped it away, sending it flying back and forth amidst the laughter and flashing steel.

The shivering travelers overheard the boy being addressed as the Shanyin County Magistrate. Though initially surprised and hopeful that the magistrate might resolve this disaster, their hopes quickly faded as the Night Wailers openly mocked and humiliated him.

“What rank is a county magistrate, anyway?” The thick-browed man feigned thoughtfulness before sneering. “Oh, right, ninth rank—a mere sesame seed-sized official! Hahaha, what a tiny rank!”

The Night Wailers laughed even harder, one of them calling out, “County magistrate, did you buy your title with silver? To dare take office in Shanyin, you must truly have guts of steel.”

Wei Changle remained calm, even smiling as he stared at the leader. “A place that produces men like you—Shanyin must be no ordinary town.”

“It’s a land of fortune and treasure,” the leader replied with a grin. “County magistrate, after we’ve captured our target, you can ride with us to Shanyin. Pay each of us a little tea money, and we’ll ensure you arrive safely at Shanyin City.”

If they dared extort the magistrate himself, their treatment of ordinary citizens must be utterly ruthless.

Wei Changle chuckled lightly. “These are just common folk seeking shelter from the snow. Do me a favor—refrain from any further violence and leave early.”

“And who do you think you are?” someone shouted. “Do you think we owe you anything? You have no standing with us!”

“Well, not entirely impossible.” The one who had shot the shopkeeper earlier, Pang Laoliu, raised his broadsword and pointed its edge at Wei Changle. “There are twenty-three of us here. If you bow to each of us three times, I’ll consider giving you face. Aside from our target, we’ll let the others leave.”

This proposal sent the Night Wailers into uproarious laughter.

“Come on, kneel and bow to us! Give us some respect, magistrate! Hahaha!”

The trembling travelers kept their heads low, horrified by the thought of the county magistrate being forced to kneel.

[--------------------------------------------]

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