Chapter 87

Some people are truly reckless; when they encounter something unpleasant, they just charge in, preferring to use their hands rather than their mouths, like Xiong Kuo Hai.

Some people are only superficially reckless, just pretending for certain reasons or causes, like Wu Fan.

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Fan loosened his collar and said, "Just now, I deliberately provoked a conflict with someone. Do any of you elder brothers know why?"

Xiong Kuo Hai grunted and urged, "Don't keep us in suspense, just say it!"

Wu Fan really had no way to deal with him, so he said straightforwardly, "Crossbows! They were preparing crossbows! I saw them when I deliberately led the person into their crowd, I saw them with my own eyes."

Silence.

Dead silence.

After a long while, Xiong Kuo Hai frowned and said, "Crossbows? What's the problem with that?"

Wu Fan also frowned and countered, "Is there no problem with that?"

Seeing the two about to clash, Zhai Rang quickly intervened, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Please calm down!" Turning to Wu Fan, he continued, "Brother, you don't know! Although the empire strictly prohibits the private possession of crossbows, in the Green Forest, people don't avoid them. Those who travel the world always carry one for safety."

Wu Fan's eyebrows twitched, and he licked his lips, "What if I say I saw over a hundred crossbows? Is that not a problem?"

"Over a hundred?" Shan Xiong Xin, who had been silent, could no longer sit still and asked in surprise, "Brother Wu, are you sure about this?"

One or two crossbows might not be a big deal, but over a hundred crossbows... the potential harm is enormous!

Wu Fan nodded and said with great certainty, "I swear to heaven!" After a pause, Wu Fan continued, "If it were any other time, seeing so many crossbows wouldn't have alarmed me, but the timing now is off!"

Shan Xiong Xin stroked his chin and asked, "The timing is off? What do you mean by that?"

Wu Fan took a deep breath and said, "Let me start from the beginning. Do Second Master Shan and Your Majesty know about the missing grain tax ship from Ji Prefecture?" Seeing Shan Xiong Xin and Xiong Kuo Hai nod, Wu Fan continued, "It was the remnants of the Maitreya Sect who did it. All their activities in Luoyang were to prepare for the grain tax ship heist. But their plans were foiled by me, and they only managed to steal one large ship loaded with coins, worth about two million silver taels! I was dispatched from Luoyang to here for this matter. Two days ago, I found those remnants of the Maitreya Sect and uncovered their plot... They plan to use the Seven Prefectures Green Forest Assembly to coerce all of you..."

"Coerce us?" Xiong Kuo Hai chuckled and said disdainfully, "Why would they coerce us? Just with a few crossbows?"

Wu Fan grimaced and sighed, feeling quite frustrated, "Why would they coerce you? What does the Maitreya Sect do? They raise the banner of rebellion! And... Your Majesty, can you think before you speak? You are a hero, unmatched in bravery, and you don't need to fear the threat of crossbows. But... what about your men? What about the leaders of other bandit camps? Can they? Huh? Can you guess what might happen then? Not to mention, this place is in your territory, the Purple-Faced Heavenly King. If countless Green Forest brothers die here, will you still be able to survive in the world?"

Wu Fan added with a deep sense of resentment, "My nephew is about to become your disciple. We have a relationship. Could I harm you? Right? It was just a small matter before, and I did it for everyone's good. You don't have to undermine me like this, do you? A man as tall as you, with such a small heart!"

Xiong Kuo Hai, stung by Wu Fan's sarcastic remarks, wanted to retort but was at a loss for words and had no reason to argue back. He was so frustrated that the breath he exhaled was scorching hot.

Shan Xiong Xin pondered for a long time, his eyes burning as he looked at Wu Fan, "Brother Wu, you came here for this matter?"

Wu Fan nodded and clasped his hands, "Exactly! Otherwise, I wouldn't have broken the rules and put Brother Zhai and Your Majesty in an awkward position! It's really about everyone's safety, and I had no choice but to do it! Fortunately, I noticed something suspicious and provoked a fight with that person to find out what was going on."

Shan Xiong Xin said with a half-smile, "Aren't you afraid that we might have already colluded with the Maitreya Sect and been bought off by them?"

Wu Fan's heart skipped a beat, his face froze, but then he laughed and shook his head, "I don't believe it! All of you, whether you became bandits out of necessity or to live a free and unrestrained life, would never become dogs for a despicable cult! Even if that dog... is very rich!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Shan Xiong Xin laughed heartily, extremely pleased.

After the laughter subsided, Shan Xiong Xin re-evaluated Wu Fan, stood up, and clasped his hands, "Whether you are an official or not, based on your noble spirit and loyalty today, I must make friends with you!" He bowed and said with a smile, "I have been rude and suspicious of you before, please forgive me!"

Wu Fan hurriedly returned the bow, humbly saying, "I am not worthy! I am not worthy!"

Shan Xiong Xin stood up, his head slightly raised, his eyes full of killing intent, and he gritted his teeth, "I want to see what tricks those bandits can pull today! Hmph! Do they really think we in the Seven Prefectures Green Forest are all fools and cowards, to be manipulated by them?"

In that moment of overwhelming heroism, the leader of the Seven Prefectures Green Forest lived up to his reputation.

Xiong Kuo Hai, who was slow to think, only understood now, a bit embarrassed and still a bit不服气 (unconvinced), asked, "You really didn't deceive me?"

Wu Fan patted his forehead, feeling frustrated, "Would I lie to you for money?"

Xiong Kuo Hai was taken aback and said unhappily, "Why is it always about money?"

【Eh...】

Mentioning money, Wu Fan suddenly had a flash of inspiration—In the case of the missing grain tax ship from Ji Prefecture, the ship that went missing was loaded with copper coins worth two million silver taels! Two million silver taels... silver?

Seeing Wu Fan lost in thought, Xiong Kuo Hai said, "You haven't answered my question yet!"

Wu Fan turned back and smiled, "I didn't lie to you! Really! Also... after this matter is resolved, I might have a great fortune to offer the three of you! But, I must emphasize, keep this matter secret! Absolutely secret!"

Seeing Shan Xiong Xin's enthusiasm and Xiong Kuo Hai's awkwardness, Zhai Rang felt relieved for Wu Fan. But just as he relaxed, he immediately became anxious again and interjected, "Let's not talk about that. How should we deal with this? We can't just go and arrest them now. If they deny it to the death, our reputation in the Green Forest will be ruined! Besides, we can't guarantee that we can catch all of them. We need to think of a way to make them reveal themselves, and then we can catch them all!"

Shan Xiong Xin nodded in agreement, "That makes sense!"

Wu Fan laughed and clasped his hands, "That's easy! Please come closer, the three of you!"

Then...

Wu Fan: "We will... do this... and this... and this... It will definitely work!"

Zhai Rang: "Brilliant plan! Brilliant plan!"

Shan Xiong Xin: "Good! Let's do it!"

Xiong Kuo Hai: "Whatever... you decide, I'll follow."

...

PS1: Request for favorites, recommendations, likes, and everything else.

PS2: Thank you to Northern Little Dragon for the