Past the main gate of the village lay a vast plaza. Situated in a low-lying area, it served as the very heart of Shiniu Village. The surrounding slopes were dotted with several hundred households. All of them—hundreds of villagers, young and old—were now kneeling at the main gate, trembling.
On Qingniu Mountain, even the authorities were powerless. Hu Mazi was the true king here, wielding the power of life and death over everyone. Every single one of them shivered in terror.
Shi Yi rode a tall horse, approaching the village gate step by step. Influenced by the memories of the original host, a sudden sense of sorrow welled up in his heart. This village had been built by his father’s own hands. When his father was young, he had been a prominent landowner in their home region. Later, he had fled with his siblings to Qingniu Mountain, exhausting his family fortune to construct countless houses here. Many of the residents of Shiniu Village were, in fact, refugees. After they arrived, his father had distributed these homes to them for free, allowing them to settle down.
Chapter 23