Setting aside Ning Qingtian’s astonishment, Wu Qianlan—who had been silently observing behind him—was seething with fury.

She never imagined that a mere village head would have so much hidden wealth and grain, while she, the ruler of an empire, presided over an empty treasury—so bare that even the rats would weep upon entering.

If she ever returned to the palace, she swore she would retake all the land under heaven and eradicate every last one of these parasites who preyed on the people.

“What’s inside this chest?”

Ning Qingtian didn’t dwell on his thoughts. He nudged the redwood chest with his foot and asked Yang Ba.

Yang Ba immediately knelt and opened it, revealing stacks of documents.

“Master, these are the land deeds and various high-interest loan contracts owned by the village head’s family.”

“Oh? There are this many?”

Ning Qingtian was stunned. He took a handful of papers from Yang Ba and flipped through them. Most were indeed land titles or predatory loan notes.

He even found the debt contract belonging to Zhang Kai’s family—he had borrowed two guan during a famine year, but by this year, he was expected to repay twenty taels of silver.

He hissed sharply.

This wasn’t usury.

This was robbery—no path left for survival.

When he lifted his gaze, he saw villagers watching anxiously, or rather, watching the loan notes in his hand.

After a moment of thought, Ning Qingtian made a firm decision.

He took a torch from a follower, looked once more at the villagers shivering in the cold wind, then—with a faint smile—threw the torch into the chest under their shocked gazes.

The flames surged upward, devouring the deeds and loan notes.

The firelight glowed warmly over his face.

Around him, the bandits groaned in regret while the villagers secretly sighed in relief.

When the chest and papers finally turned to ash, the villagers’ once-fearful expressions began to soften.

Still, none dared speak. They only looked at this scholarly-looking “chieftain,” unsure what his actions meant.

Ning Qingtian ignored the puzzled looks from the bandits. He now controlled the stronghold—his word was law. Standing atop the stone grain roller, he addressed the villagers loudly,

“Dear elders and villagers, forgive us for disturbing your night. I burned these deeds and loan notes as a small greeting gift to everyone.”

The villagers did not dare respond.

Even if the deeds burned, the land wouldn’t return to them.

Once officials reshuffled the land, they would remain tenants. This was how it always was.

Ning Qingtian didn’t blame them; he understood their fear.

Just then, Zhang Kai woke up. The moment he spotted Ning Qingtian, he broke away from others restraining him and threw himself to the ground, kowtowing three times.

“Thank you, Chief, for helping me avenge my parents! From today onward, my life belongs to you. If I break this oath, may I not be a son born of humans!”

Seeing Zhang Kai try to swear more oaths, Ning Qingtian hurried down from the stone mill and helped him up.

“Since you’ve joined our stronghold, you are my brother. How could we ignore a brother’s enemies? We’re one family—no need for such formalities.”

Zhang Kai choked up again and immediately kowtowed three more times.

Yang Ba, seeing the chief bending again, rushed forward and hauled Zhang Kai upright.

“Good lad. Our chief personally came down the mountain to avenge you—he deserves that respect.”

He had clearly been moved by Ning Qingtian’s actions, even addressing him with honorifics.

Then Ning Qingtian suddenly smacked his forehead.

How foolish of him!

With a local like Zhang Kai, everything would go smoother—and the villagers wouldn’t fear him as much.

He waved Zhang Kai over and asked warmly, “Zhang Kai, how many households are in your village?”

Zhang Kai didn’t understand why he was being asked, but he answered quickly, “Master, we have 397 households in total.”

Ning Qingtian nodded thoughtfully, then looked at his wife.

Wu Qianlan frowned slightly. Why was this bandit husband looking at her now?

“Wife, can you confirm that all stronghold affairs were entrusted to me?”

She found this question odd, but since she didn’t yet understand the workings of this place, she simply nodded.

“Very good.”

Having confirmed his authority, Ning Qingtian turned back to Zhang Kai.

“Go tell the villagers this: we disturbed them tonight and caused a fright. As an apology, our stronghold will give each household ten shi of grain. It isn’t much, but it expresses our sincerity.”

Zhang Kai froze.

Before he could react, a shocked Yang Ba blurted, “Chief… that’s four thousand shi of grain! We’re giving all that to villagers who have nothing to do with us?”

Everyone stared at Ning Qingtian like he had lost his mind.

He frowned.

“We raised the banner of Acting in Heaven’s Name. From now on, everything we do must align with that principle. Not just tonight—every time we borrow grain in the future, we must act like this.”

Though still confused, no one dared argue with the icy look he gave them.

Yang Ba dragged Zhang Kai away to start distributing grain.

Behind him, Wu Qianlan trembled with fury and disbelief.

As the Empress, she instantly knew what this man was doing.

Killing corrupt officials.

Distributing grain to win the hearts of the people.

This was unmistakably…

A path toward rebellion!