Chapter 350: Blast Them All to the Sky
Chapter 350: Chapter 350: Blast Them All to the Sky
The villagers followed Shen Ningning.
The two brothers, Dong Aniu and Dong Ermu, walked at the very back.
After walking for a while, Dong Ermu whispered, "Brother, something doesn’t feel right."
"That Shen Ningning was so unreasonable before. Why would she suddenly be willing to give us silver now?"
Dong Aniu just laughed, chiding him for being overly suspicious.
"She’s scared. What’s the use of being unreasonable now? She’s just a child, after all."
"I’ve already looked into it. She saw Wu Zuchang as her own brother. On top of that, she feels guilty for accidentally causing the death of the Wu family, so she comes to pay respects every festival and holiday."
"You strike a snake at its vital point. We’ve got her right where it hurts. How could she possibly refuse?"
Dong Ermu verbally agreed, but his shifty eyes darted around.
He quietly fell back a couple of steps, letting the clueless Dong Aniu continue following the villagers.
Shen Ningning led them to Wu Zuchang’s grave.
Just as she expected, the grave had been dug up, leaving nothing but a pit.
The altar was smashed to pieces, and even Wu Zuchang’s tombstone had been toppled over.
Shen Ningning’s small hands clenched into fists, her little body trembling with anger.
’I’ve been too merciful.’
’I keep thinking that these people are living beings.’
’But they repeatedly trample on my tolerance and cross my bottom line.’
Chen Ye said in a low voice, "Miss, just give the order, and I can kill this group of people for you at any time."
"I, Chen Ye, will bear all responsibility. It will not involve you in any way!"
Shen Ningning exhaled slowly. When she turned around, her small face was serene.
She smiled at Chen Ye. "Brother Chen, what are you saying? We can’t be so cruel."
The little girl pointed to a spot nearby and said to the villagers, "Go ahead and dig. Whatever you find is yours."
The villagers from Xitai Village exchanged glances, their eyes glinting with avarice.
They scrambled over one another, using hoes and even their bare hands to dig at the soil, which was frozen solid by ice and snow.
Shen Ningning leisurely strolled toward the deep forest to the side.
She used a large, protruding rock to hide herself from view.
Xie Ming’an had just caught up in time to see the little girl duck behind the rock.
He couldn’t help but walk over sideways to get a look. He saw Shen Ningning rummage in her sleeve and suddenly, out of thin air, produce a gunpowder-based cannon!
Shen Ningning didn’t notice Xie Ming’an. She stood on her tiptoes and called Chen Ye over.
Dong Ermu’s suspicious gaze followed Chen Ye.
Once Chen Ye was also hidden behind the rock, Shen Ningning, with practiced ease, took out cotton balls and gave them to him, telling him to plug his ears.
Then, she plugged her own ears with cotton balls as well.
To Xie Ming’an’s surprise, she then actually took out a flint!
Shen Ningning’s small face was cold and calm as she directly lit the cotton fuse on the cannon!
Next, she had Chen Ye lift her up, set up the cannon on the rock, and aimed it at the group of villagers who were digging with all their might.
SIZZLE... The flame devoured the fuse until it burned to the end.
Shen Ningning squinted one eye, aiming right for Dong Aniu’s rear end.
Suddenly!
Dong Ermu recognized what it was and shouted, "It’s gunpowder! Run!"
Just as he was about to flee, a massive BANG echoed from behind him.
The villagers were sent flying by the explosion.
Dong Aniu vanished completely in a cloud of gunpowder smoke.
In that instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, as if a Heavenly God were roaring in fury.
The birds that had been resting nearby flapped their wings and flew away in a panic.
On Wolf Mountain, the Black Wolf King, who had been sleeping, shot up at the sound.
The entire wolf pack, as if sensing danger, looked around warily.
Xie Ming’an had thrown himself to the ground immediately, but he was still hit in the head by flying debris.
He was dizzy for a moment. As he used a tree to pull himself up, he saw Shen Ningning carrying the cannon in her small hand, strolling leisurely toward the smoke-filled area.
The air was filled with wails of agony.
Most of the greedy villagers had lost their lives. A small, lucky few had only lost an arm or a hand.
Shen Ningning walked up to them, looking down with imperious eyes.
They screamed in terror, as if they had seen a god of slaughter, and scrambled backward.
The little girl’s tender, peach-blossom pink lips pressed into a thin line.
"You were insatiably greedy and pushed me to my limit. You deserved this."
She looked to the side. Dong Ermu had lost a leg in the blast and was clawing at the ground with his fingers, trying to crawl away.
Shen Ningning lifted her chin. "Seize him!"
Chen Ye immediately stepped forward, planting his foot on Dong Ermu’s back.
Dong Ermu let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Shen Ningning walked over and squatted in front of him, her large eyes glittering with a crystalline black light.
"This was your idea, wasn’t it?" the little girl asked.
Dong Ermu was already scared out of his wits by her.
’How could he have ever imagined that a five-year-old child would be so ruthless as to carry gunpowder around with her!’
He shook his head, trembling, his face covered in black soot and the corner of his mouth bleeding. "No, it wasn’t me!"
"It was my brother, Dong Aniu, who found out about it! I... I just gave a little advice! He was the one who instigated me to go against you! I... I was wrong, Princess Funing! Please spare my life!"
Dong Ermu began to kowtow heavily on the ground.
But Shen Ningning stood up, surveying the crater in the mountainside that she had created with a single explosive charge.
Trees lay toppled in every direction, and many villagers had been crushed to death by them.
A cold wind blew, carrying the acrid smell of sulfur from the gunpowder smoke.
Shen Ningning’s small face was fair, and strands of her short black hair fluttered by her ears.
"I spared you, but you didn’t spare Brother Zuchang."
"He had such a hard life, and even after death, he’s been implicated because of me."
"You run fast. Otherwise, I would have sent you to the heavens along with Dong Aniu."
Dong Ermu shrieked, his voice filled with terror.
Chen Ye thrust his sword through the man’s chest. After a moment, Dong Ermu shuddered and then fell silent forever.
Looking at the moaning villagers on the ground, Chen Ye asked, "Miss, I caused this disaster, and I killed the men. You should leave first."
Shen Ningning blinked her large eyes. "Brother Chen, I can’t possibly leave."
"I’ll take responsibility for what I’ve done. Go report this to the officials."
Chen Ye was stunned. "What?"
Shen Ningning’s soft voice was calm. "Go report it to the officials. Tell them exactly what happened."
’I’ll be fine.’
Chen Ye refused to go, but after Shen Ningning urged him repeatedly, he had no choice but to turn and leave.
After he left, Xie Ming’an’s dizziness finally subsided.
Xie Ming’an looked up, searching for any sign of Shen Ningning.
But he discovered that it had started to snow!
The little girl was kneeling amidst the swirling snow, using her small hands to scoop up handfuls of earth and place them back into the grave pit.
As Xie Ming’an approached, he could hear her quiet sobs.
"Brother Zuchang, I’ve implicated you... I’m so sorry."
"I couldn’t protect you when you were alive, and after your death, I caused them to dig up your bones..."
The little girl wiped away her tears.
Just then, a slender hand holding a bundle appeared before her eyes.
Shen Ningning lifted her head, her vision blurred by tears.
In the wind and snow, Xie Ming’an’s gaze was incredibly dark and deep.
He said, "On my way up just now, I collected Wu Zuchang’s remains for you."
The little girl was taken aback.
She saw that the cloth wrapping Wu Zuchang’s remains was actually Xie Ming’an’s own cloak.
Shen Ningning reached out her small hands to take it, her tears of gratitude falling one after another.
But then, the little girl remembered the gruesome scene around them.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her soft voice muffled. "You’re going to arrest me soon, aren’t you?"