Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The lackeys in the stronghold all wore ordinary clothes, and though torches hung on the outer walls, the darkness made it nearly impossible to see faces clearly, so Ye Qing was quite safe.

She avoided crowded areas and made her way toward the small buildings where the stronghold leader and Wei Zicheng lived.

The stronghold’s people were all celebrating the wedding at the front, leaving only a few guards here and there. These guards held wine bowls and were chatting and laughing at the entrance.

Ye Qing first circled to the leader’s building. She went around to the back, tried a few times, and finally pushed open a loosely shut window on the first floor, climbing inside.

The room was pitch black. Ye Qing took an oil lamp from her space to light the way. She carefully headed upstairs, avoiding rooms with people inside. On the second floor, she walked the corridor and ran into a female Kunze.

The female Kunze, noticing Ye Qing’s unfamiliar face, asked, “Are you new?”

“Yeah, the leader sent me to grab something, but I’ve never been here before, so I’ve been looking around,” Ye Qing replied.

The female Kunze looked unwell and, hearing Ye Qing was sent by the leader, grew cold. “It’s the first room over there. But be careful—he doesn’t like people touching his things. If you take the wrong thing, you’re done for.”

“Got it,” Ye Qing said, hurrying to the room. She pushed open the door and walked in.

The leader’s room was nothing like she expected. It reeked of wine and the stench of an unwashed body.

Ye Qing nearly gagged but forced herself to go in. The outer area was a dining room. She entered the leader’s bedroom, where the smell was even worse.

Disgusted, Ye Qing looked around, checking the bed but finding nothing valuable.

She moved deeper into the room, finding a small study connected to the bedroom. A rack on one side held a long sword, and a bow and arrow hung on the wall.

Ye Qing examined the sword. It was decent, and since weapons were consumables, she tossed it into her space for later use.

She did the same with the bow and arrow, throwing them into her space. At the leader’s desk, she noticed a stack of books.

Ye Qing picked one up. It was in traditional characters, which she could read.

They might not be useful, but they’d do for kindling. Her space had plenty of room, so she tossed them in.

Though she found a few useful items, Ye Qing’s goal wasn’t these. She was after the leader’s treasury.

These bandits had likely robbed plenty of goods and silver over months. Even if they’d spent some, there had to be something valuable left, and the safest place would be the bedroom.

Ye Qing searched again, turning the leader’s wardrobe upside down, but found only clothes.

Just as she was getting frustrated, she noticed something odd. The bottom of the wardrobe was about 50 centimeters off the ground, but the base was sealed.

Sensing something off, Ye Qing pushed the wardrobe forward, revealing the back. Sure enough, there was a small locked door hidden at the bottom.

Ye Qing grabbed an axe from her space and smashed the lock open with one swing.

Opening the door, she found a small wooden box inside.

She pulled the box out. It was locked, so Ye Qing hacked it open with the axe. Inside was a box full of gold bars.

Without counting, Ye Qing closed the box and tossed it into her space.

After finishing, she picked up a cloak from the floor and quickly headed downstairs.

Before reaching the door, she heard the guards talking outside.

“Ugh, what’s going on? You guys keep watch. I’m hitting the outhouse.”

“Wait, me too.”

“Tch, look at you weaklings. Just a few bowls, and you’re already running to the outhouse.”

Ye Qing could tell they weren’t drunk. Instead of heading out, she returned to the room she’d climbed into, ditched the cloak, and slipped out through the window.

Thinking quickly, she circled to the back of Wei Zicheng’s building. She checked the first-floor windows, found a loose one, pushed it open, and climbed inside.

Perhaps because Wei Zicheng was particular, his building was much brighter than the leader’s, though it was empty.

Ye Qing had been here once before and knew the first floor was just a study and dining area—nothing worth seeing. She went straight to the second floor.

There, she ran into a maid who had seen her before. Surprised to see Ye Qing now, the maid said, “Miss Ye? Why are you back?”

“Oh, I came to grab something. Where’s the young master’s bedroom?”

The maid sensed something off but pointed. “It’s over there.”

As the maid turned to leave, Ye Qing knocked her out from behind.

She quickly opened Wei Zicheng’s room. It was far more refined, with vases and porcelain on the table and a luxurious bedroom.

Ye Qing rummaged through but found little of use. The only thing worthwhile was that Wei Zicheng didn’t guard his wealth closely. A medium-sized wooden box sat by the wardrobe. Opening it, Ye Qing saw gold bars, silver ingots, and a small box of assorted jewelry, all jumbled together.

After a quick look, Ye Qing tossed them into her space. She also found two newly made cloaks in Wei Zicheng’s wardrobe and threw those in too.

Ye Qing climbed out the first-floor window again, but this time, she used a fire starter to ignite some books on the first floor. By the time she was far enough away, Wei Zicheng’s building was catching fire.

Having set Wei Zicheng’s building ablaze, Ye Qing circled back to set the leader’s building on fire too.

The laxatives were taking effect now. The guards were collapsing like weak shrimp, some soiling their pants halfway to the outhouse. The outhouse became the stronghold’s hottest spot, with people desperately crowding in. Those who couldn’t make it or couldn’t hold it relieved themselves on the spot.

Back in the main hall, the leader’s sworn brothers were also clutching their stomachs in pain.

“Big Brother, I gotta go.”

“Me too. Let’s go—oh no, too late!”

“Damn it, Old Six, that’s disgusting! Big Brother’s right here, and you just…”

“Shut up! It’s my wedding day! How can you all make this place stink like this? What will Ye Qing think of me?” Wei Zicheng said.

Then he startled himself. “Wait, Ye Qing went to the outhouse too. Did she eat something bad?”

At that moment, the leader’s stomach started gurgling. He stood up from his tiger-skin chair, clutching his belly. “I can’t hold it either. Something’s wrong. Old Two, go get the kitchen staff. Is the horse meat undercooked? Why’s everyone got diarrhea?”

“Big Brother, could someone be trying to harm us? Ye Qing—she’s the only outsider here. It must be her poisoning us!” said Old Seven, the one whose hand Ye Qing had broken before.

Old Seven strained too hard while speaking and let out a spray, filling the hall with an indescribable stench.

Furious, Old Seven continued, “It’s definitely Ye Qing! That b1tch did this!”

Wei Zicheng was livid too. His wedding day, and his father’s sworn brothers were turning the hall into a stinking mess. He nearly cried from anger, shouting back, “You’re slandering her! It’s clearly the kitchen’s fault. Ye Qing was the first victim—she went to the outhouse first.”

“What outhouse? She probably ran off already,” Old Seven said, his stomach acting up again, making the hall smell even worse.

Wei Zicheng snapped, “Get out! Go to the outhouse and stop dirtying this place. Ye Qing must have eaten something bad too.”

Since Wei Zicheng drank less, his stomach was still fine. He watched as his father and uncles rushed to the outhouse.

He wanted his trusted men to find Ye Qing, but realized they were all gone.

Standing alone in the hall, he was half-dead with anger.

Soon, a lackey clutching his stomach ran in to report, “Bad news, bad news, Young Master!”

Wei Zicheng kicked him in the face. “What nonsense? I’m fine!”

“Young Master, spare me! Your and the leader’s buildings are on fire! The flames are huge—you need to go see!” The lackey, stomach gurgling, crawled out of the hall.

Veins bulged on Wei Zicheng’s forehead. He rushed outside and saw the two buildings engulfed in flames, the fire reaching the roofs. Pointing, he shouted, “What are you waiting for? Put out the fire, you bastards! Go!”

But everyone was too busy with their own problems. Some, just back from the outhouse, were too weak to move. Others were still heading there, and some, unable to make it, had soiled their pants.

Wei Zicheng yelled furiously in the courtyard. Suddenly, his stomach churned. He ran toward the outhouse, but the urge hit too fast. Halfway there, his expensive silk skirt was splattered with mess.

Stunned, Wei Zicheng stood frozen, unsure what to do.

The pampered bandit young master had never faced such humiliation. Feeling like the sky had fallen, he shed tears, standing disheveled in the wind.

But the rest of the stronghold was too busy to care about the young master in the courtyard.

By now, Ye Qing had returned from the buildings. She even stopped to watch the chaos, barely containing her laughter. No wonder they were in such a state—she’d put half a bottle of laxative in the wine and horse meat. They wouldn’t stop running to the outhouse for at least a dozen trips.