Chapter 44

A cold wind blew overnight, and heavy snow followed.

It seemed as if in just one night, the inside and outside of Black Mountain were already covered in white, all things silent, the world desolate.

As the sun set behind the western mountains, under the night sky, even the chirping of insects and birds ceased, making the atmosphere even more chilling.

Whistling~

The wind was fierce, and the grass and trees trembled.

Yang Yu's body moved up and down, like a weasel darting through the shrubs. At a certain moment, he crouched down.

Not far away, there were flickering points of firelight.

Faintly, a crudely built mountain stronghold could be seen, with bandits patrolling both inside and outside.

"Such strict defenses..."

Yang Yu was not in a hurry.

Hiding behind a large tree, he took out an iron bead and swallowed it with a snowball, restoring his strength.

The difficulty in suppressing bandits has always been twofold: one, the officials and soldiers are not fully committed; two, the mountain paths are rugged and full of traps, making it hard to advance.

However, Wang Wu seemed to have a very detailed map, so the latter was not a problem.

As for the former, Wang Wu led by example, always being the first to act and the last to stop, and with the rewards from the Six Ministries, there was no problem either.

The Six Ministries were much more generous than Liu Wenpeng.

A common bandit's head was worth three taels of silver, and a blood-replaced bandit's head was worth as much as fifty taels.

In Black Mountain, there was nothing in abundance except bandits!

In half a month, Yang Yu had at least cut off dozens of heads, and the silver he earned exceeded two hundred taels, not counting what the bandits themselves had.

However, only Yang Yu could do this; other blood-replaced warriors could hardly match a third of his performance.

His blood-replacement progress was not high compared to others, but in this winter mountain, he was the most enduring.

No one else could match him!

"It's said that the base of the Life-Pitying Sect is almost located. I must seize the opportunity and try to take down this stronghold. Otherwise, there won't be another chance..."

Feeling the warm flow inside his body, Yang Yu planned.

A battle, three years of practice!

Martial arts can only be refined and improved through real combat.

For Yang Yu, this was as important as silver.

In half a month of battles, he not only made significant progress in both internal and external martial arts but also advanced in blood-replacement.

He speculated that the undigested medicinal liquid in his body was the reason.

"Can't rush, can't rush..."

Although he had the idea to attack the stronghold, Yang Yu did not act rashly. Instead, he took the iron bead to restore his strength and waited for the right moment.

This wait lasted for over two hours.

After midnight, when the sky was darkest and people were most likely to be drowsy, he shook off the accumulated snow and strode towards the main gate of the stronghold.

He had been watching this stronghold for a long time and was familiar with its layout.

He even knew exactly how many people were inside.

Of course, this information was hard to come by; he had to kill at least a dozen bandits from the stronghold to gather this detailed information.

...

Slap!

In the crudely built main hall of the stronghold, the sound of smashing and angry roars echoed:

"Ah! Too much! Too much!"

The few bandits at the door dared not breathe loudly.

This was not the first time the chieftain had lost his temper.

In the past half month, almost all the bottles and jars in the "Assembly Hall" had been smashed.

In the spacious hall, a bonfire burned fiercely, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air.

Many bandits stopped gnawing on their meat and looked up cautiously.

On the three large chairs covered with tiger skins, two men and a woman sat. At the center, a bearded man glared angrily.

The bandit kneeling below trembled with fear, his face pale.

"Anger is harmful to the body, Big Brother, you should calm down."

Under the thin red veil, the woman's body was like a snake, half-reclining against the man, soothing his anger.

"I must have been blinded to trust Black Mountain! The prison raid was already a heavy loss, and now they dare to issue a wanted notice and offer a reward to the government!"

Han Jiang slapped the armrest, still seething with anger.

"Bandits have never fought the government. I say we shouldn't have accepted Black Mountain's invitation! They can't even protect themselves, why should we get involved in this mess?"

On the left, a somewhat effeminate man spoke in a high-pitched voice:

"In my opinion, letting the constables wipe out Black Mountain would be more beneficial to us!"

"Second Brother!"

Han Jiang's face darkened, and the effeminate man immediately fell silent.

"Get away!"

Han Jiang pushed away the woman who was half-reclining on him, breathing heavily:

"I can't take this anymore!"

"Big Brother is wise."

The effeminate man was about to say something when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. Without waiting for a summons, a bandit rushed into the hall in a panic.

"Enemy, there's an enemy!"

The bandit was full of fear.

"What?!"

All the bandits in the hall stood up, their anger rising as they looked up.

Sure enough, with a 'slap,' a wine bowl shattered, and Han Jiang laughed in rage, his bristly beard trembling:

"Too much! Too much!"

Han Jiang was furious!

Since receiving Black Mountain's invitation and sending people to participate in the ambush of the constables, not only did all the people he sent die, but in the past half month, more and more people kept dying.

He had already given up on reclaiming his reputation, but now the constables had actually come to his door?

"Wait!"

The effeminate man stopped Han Jiang and asked sternly: "How many people came? Is the leader Wang Wu?!"

"Wang Wu..."

Hearing this name, Han Jiang felt a bucket of cold water poured over him, from head to toe.

Half a month ago, he had seen Wang Wu in action from a distance.

Thirteen strongholds sent over 150 elite subordinates to ambush, but they were almost all killed.

The most ferocious among them was Wang Wu.

This constable from another county had the strength of a bull, and wherever he went, there was only death, not injury. Even a few blood-replaced leaders were easily killed.

If this person came to his door, what would he do?

"No, it shouldn't be!"

The woman in the red veil also lost her composure.

She had seen Wang Wu in action, killing a blood-replaced warrior with one palm, which was beyond their ability to handle.

"Ah, no, it's... it's..."

The bandit, under such intense scrutiny, trembled and hurriedly replied:

"It's not Wang Wu. From the figure, it seems to be the young bandit who killed our brothers before!"

"That young bandit?!"

With his fear gone, Han Jiang's anger rose again. Just as he was about to step forward, he was stopped by the effeminate man.

He turned around and glared, "Second Brother!"

"How many people came?"

The effeminate man asked again.

The bandit swallowed and was uncertain: "It seems, it seems there's only one."

"One person?!"

Han Jiang's nostrils flared, and he pushed the effeminate man away, his anger rising as he strode out.

The bandits in the hall, some surprised and some doubtful, followed him out.

"Really, really just one person?"

At the stronghold gate, the effeminate man carefully scanned the surroundings, looking at the seemingly young figure at the mountain gate, feeling bewildered:

"Is he here to die?"