With Yang Wanli leading the way, Wang Yi entered Huangni Village smoothly and without any obstruction.
None of the Huangni Village villagers who participated in the plundering dared to return. The village was now only home to the elderly, children, and women. They were all crying and in a panic, and upon seeing Wang Yi, they scurried away in terror.
Wang Yi had no intention of making things difficult for these Mortals. His main purpose for coming here was to see Ma Changgui's territory and destroy his functional buildings.
Ma Changgui's territory was the small square in Huangni Village.
The area was no longer a Player's territory, but the Mountain Bandit Camp was still standing.
Wang Yi could see the building's information panel, but he had no administrative rights over it. Only Ma Changgui could activate its functions. Since Ma Changgui was no longer a Chaos Lord, it was now just a defunct, abandoned structure.
'After we fought off the first wave of the void invasion, the system gave out Random Building Drawings as a reward. I got the Chaos Warehouse, so Ma Changgui must have gotten this Mountain Bandit Camp. What a shame. It was a pretty good building, now it's just a ruin!'
Wang Yi shook his head and tossed a torch at the structure. The Mountain Bandit Camp quickly caught fire, burning with a loud CRACKLE. As it burned, it flashed with white light before vanishing completely a moment later.
Immediately, Wang Yi received another system notification: "Ding! You have destroyed one Mountain Bandit Camp. Lord Experience +100!"
"Ding! Tip: Destroying enemy buildings can grant Lord Experience. If you possess a Plundering-type Talent, there is also a chance to obtain construction resources, drawing fragments, and more. Please explore on your own for details."
'That Ma Changgui seemed to have a Plundering Talent...'
Wang Yi shook his head. With 100 Lord Experience points in hand, his objective was more or less accomplished.
A moment later, Wang Yi departed, having also confiscated a large Iron Pot.
But aside from that, there was nothing else to be gained.
'One large Iron Pot, 5,890 points of Chaos Energy, and a total of 200 Lord Experience points. The rewards are just so-so.'
Wang Yi sighed. He couldn't be bothered with what Yang Wanli and the others did next.
「Hundreds of miles away, in the courtyard of a certain mountain stronghold」
A furious shout suddenly erupted. "Son of a bitch! A little C-rank Talent scrub actually managed to gank me!"
The one spewing curses was none other than Ma Changgui.
Players could enter the game world in one of two ways. The first was a direct physical transmigration, like Wang Yi's case—no one knew him, and he had no established background. The second was soul transmigration, which was generally for those who were given an existing identity, background, and social connections.
Ma Changgui had transmigrated into the body of the Huangni Village chief, but now he had reverted to his original appearance: a man in his thirties with a crew cut and a beer belly.
As a Player, he had two lives. After being killed by Wang Yi, Ma Changgui revived at the nearest resurrection point. However, he was now branded a Wandering Player. He had lost his Lord status, been stripped of his Lord Talent, and all the items he had been carrying were gone—including his Fierce Tiger Fist.
This was a one-time privilege, however. Ma Changgui had already received a system notification: if he were killed again, he wouldn't even be able to remain a Wandering Player. He would be completely erased by the system.
'It was my own damn fault for being careless. That bastard tricked me. Damn it, my Fierce Tiger Fist is gone! I had the strength of a Hundred-man Enemy! I swear I won't rest until I get my revenge!'
Ma Changgui clenched his fists tightly. He looked around at the pitch-black surroundings, a total stranger in a strange land, and felt completely lost.
"Who's making all that noise?"
"An Assassin!"
"Quick, light the torches!"
"Who's got a death wish, barging into our Black Mountain Stronghold at night?"
"Get him!"
Suddenly, shouts rang out, and torches were lit one after another. Ma Changgui scratched his head, confused about the situation. He stood there stunned for a moment, only to find himself surrounded by burly, knife-wielding men.
'Huh? Did I just land in a den of bandits?'
Ma Changgui suddenly realized his predicament. He no longer had his Fierce Tiger Fist and possessed no real combat strength, so he didn't dare act arrogantly. He quickly cupped his fists toward the men. "My good sirs, please don't be rash. My name is Ma Changgui..."
Before he could finish, a burly man with a scar on his face strode forward and kicked him to the ground. "I don't give a damn what your name is!" he roared. "Barging into my Black Mountain Stronghold at night, screaming your head off, you clearly have no respect for me, Rolling Python! Men! Throw him in the cesspit and let him soak for two days!"
"Yes, sir!"
Two more muscular men appeared at once. Without another word, they seized Ma Changgui and began to drag him away.
"No, no, no! I'm a Player! I'm Ma Changgui! Let me go! Fucking hell, who dares throw me in a cesspit!"
Ma Changgui yelled and struggled with all his might.
It would have been better if he hadn't resisted. His struggles earned him an immediate and vicious beating. After a hail of punches and kicks, he finally submitted and was, indeed, thrown into the cesspit...
Wang Yi, of course, knew nothing of Ma Changgui's ordeal. When he woke up, the villagers from Stone Village had already arrived. A group of them were gathered outside his territory, some sitting, some squatting, all murmuring with excited expressions.
Upon seeing Wang Yi, Yang Qingniu let out a great shout, rushed forward, and dropped to his knees to kowtow. "Great Roasted Chicken Immortal! I kowtow to you for your kindness!"
Wang Yi noticed that Yang Qingniu was injured. His right thigh was bound with a strip of cloth stained with fresh blood.
"You're injured? Get up, quickly!"
Wang Yi reached out and helped Yang Qingniu to his feet. The big man, however, was beaming with delight. He pounded his chest and said, "It's just a small wound, nothing to worry about! We caught that Zhang Gouzi last night. He thought I was scared of him and cut me, but I smashed a rock on his forehead! Haha!"
Zhang Dashan stepped forward as well, presenting a large blade to Wang Yi with both hands. "My brother-in-law killed Zhang Gouzi. This was his blade. We offer it to you, my Lord!"
Yang Wanli sighed, then also stepped forward and bowed to Wang Yi. "Let's call a spade a spade. Thank you, my Lord, for driving back the bandits and keeping all of us in the village, young and old, safe."
Having witnessed Wang Yi's power firsthand, Yang Wanli was now even more convinced that he was no Mortal, and his heart filled with a deeper sense of awe and wariness.
"It was a small matter, not worth mentioning."
Wang Yi chuckled. He accepted the large blade from Zhang Dashan, tossed it casually to Man Datou, and said, "If there's nothing else, let's all get to work. Haul stones, gather wood, keep at it!"
"You got it!" Zhang Dashan nodded. "I'll get everyone organized!"
Yang Wanli spoke up again. "My Lord, there are still some matters to attend to in Huangni Village. I'd like to take a few able-bodied men over to sort things out..."
"Of course. Just ask Dashan for the men you need." Wang Yi waved his hand dismissively. "Harmony is the most important thing. I don't think those villagers are bad people; they were probably coerced by their bandit chief. There's no need for more violence. If you can, bring back whoever is in charge over there. I'd like to have a word with him."
'The villagers of Huangni Village are a source of labor, too,' Wang Yi mused. 'It would be great if I could recruit them.'
A short while later, Zhang Dashan led the villagers to work, while Yang Wanli departed for Huangni Village with Yang Qingniu and a few other able-bodied men.
By the afternoon, Yang Wanli and his group had returned. They brought back a tall, dark-skinned man and a wooden-wheeled flatbed cart.
On the cart was a sack of grain and fifteen Crispy-Skinned Chickens. The chickens were still alive, but their feet were tied, keeping them docile.
The tall man looked to be in his forties. He was a villager from Huangni Village named Boss Li, and he was now the one in charge there.
The moment he saw Wang Yi, his legs began to tremble. He scrambled to his knees and pleaded, "Roasted Chicken Immortal, spare my life! Roasted Chicken Immortal, spare my life..."
Last night, Boss Li had personally witnessed Ma Changgui being turned into a flash of white light by the Roasted Chicken Immortal's mount. He knew it was the work of an Immortal and was utterly terrified of Wang Yi.
"We're good folk, sir! It was that Ma Changgui who forced us to become Mountain Bandits! He even beat my second brother to death! We never wanted to be bandits! Immortal Master, please have mercy and spare our lives..."
Boss Li kowtowed repeatedly as he begged, sweat beading on his forehead.
Wang Yi chuckled and helped him up, then eyed the flatbed cart with interest. "It's quite a feat that these Crispy-Skinned Chickens managed to survive..."
Boss Li quickly explained, "The day before yesterday, a huge flock of Crispy-Skinned Chickens suddenly appeared in our village. We killed a lot of them, and not many survived. We've brought them all as tribute to you, Immortal Master. That's fifteen whole chickens..."
'So, invading monsters can be captured alive...'
Wang Yi looked thoughtful. "I'll accept your tribute. You may go back. This Lord is magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against you. By the way, I intend to open a sand plant and I'm currently in need of workers. If the able-bodied men in your village are interested, they can come work for me!"
'The river sand resource point isn't far from Huangni Village,' Wang Yi considered. 'It is a resource node, after all. Even though I don't need river sand right now, it's never a bad idea to start mining and stockpiling resources early.'
"A sand plant? Work?"
Boss Li didn't understand the words, but he nodded in agreement anyway.
Yang Wanli, Yang Qingniu, and the others didn't understand either, but they all thought it sounded very impressive.
Wang Yi glanced at Yang Qingniu again, who immediately stood ramrod straight.
"Not bad," Wang Yi said. "Yang Qingniu, right? I can tell you're the kind of man who's willing to risk it all. Are you interested in becoming a Civilian Militia Captain?"
"What's a Civilian Militia Captain?"
Yang Qingniu scratched his head, not understanding the term, but he immediately dropped to his knees. "As long as there's roasted chicken to eat, I'll be whatever you want me to be, my Lord!"