Chapter 6

Looking at the place where he had lived for eight years, Chen Jiu felt a bit reluctant to leave. This was his root in this world. In such a strange world, he had struggled for eight years, with no relatives around, truly living a solitary life.

In the past, Chen Jiu had been eager to leave this den of iniquity, but now that the day of departure had finally come, he felt a tinge of reluctance, a slight attachment.

With a light sigh, he said, "I, Chen Jiu, am not without feelings. I might as well return."

He simply packed his clothes, taking only the most precious items with him. As for the other items, they were not important, and Chen Jiu did not dare to touch them. After all, these bandits were all shrewd. If they noticed any suspicious behavior, and he appeared to be leaving for good, he would definitely not be able to leave the mountain stronghold. Chen Jiu was not that foolish.

After a simple packing, he opened the door, and the burly man who looked honest and simple was already waiting outside.

Chen Jiu smiled lightly, "Let's go. Are you ready?"

The man nodded, "I don't need to prepare much. When one person is full, the whole family is not hungry. We can leave at any time."

"Then let's go," he said and walked directly towards the outside of the stronghold.

The burly man followed behind, "Boss, don't we need to report to the chief?"

Chen Jiu shook his head, "No need to report. The chief already knows I'm going down the mountain."

As they passed by, they encountered busy bandits, and Chen Jiu kept greeting them.

When they reached the gate, it was still the same few bandits from that day. Chen Jiu couldn't help but smile, "Why are you still on duty? Haven't you been rotated?"

The fat man walked over, looking dejected, "Sigh, don't mention it. Yesterday, the chief led his wife to gather herbs in the mountains and went into seclusion. He happened to see us being lazy, and in a fit of anger, he punished us to guard here for half a month."

Chen Jiu felt good about this fat man. Although he was somewhat lazy and gluttonous, he was still very loyal.

"Alright, you don't have to guard the gate anymore. Come down the mountain with me today," Chen Jiu said, looking at the fat man.

No matter what the fat man chose, Chen Jiu had given him a chance. Whether he could seize it was up to him. If he couldn't, it was just his fate, and there was nothing to be done about it.

The fat man, hearing Chen Jiu's words, scratched his head in distress. His already bald head had only a few sparse hairs, and now even more had fallen out.

On one side was the chief's order, and on the other side was the chance to enjoy life down the mountain. This truly put the fat man in a difficult position.

Chen Jiu smiled at the hesitant fat man, "If you don't make a decision soon, I'll leave."

He took a step forward.

Seeing that Chen Jiu was really about to leave, the fat man patted his belly, "Alright, let's go. You and the chief are so close, it won't be hard to plead for me. I'm tired of the bland food up here."

He put down his weapon, said goodbye to the guards, and ran after Chen Jiu.

Seeing that the fat man was really being lured away by Chen Jiu, the other guards shouted, "Fat pig, are you really ignoring the chief's order?"

The fat man only wiggled his buttocks in response.

Looking at the honest and simple man, Chen Jiu smiled faintly, "Brother, what should I call you?"

The man glanced at Chen Jiu and then looked down at his shoes, "You can call me Zhongzi. My full name is Chen Zhong."

Chen Jiu shook his head, "That won't do."

Seeing Chen Zhong's puzzled look, Chen Jiu explained, "You are older than me. You could even be my father's generation. How can I call you Zhongzi?"

He paused, "How about I call you Uncle Zhong?"

Chen Zhong's lips moved slightly, and after a while, he said in a low voice, "That, that's not proper."

Chen Jiu looked at Chen Zhong, "I say it's proper, it's proper. Besides, this has nothing to do with propriety. It's my voluntary respect for an elder. Otherwise, calling a father's generation by their given name would be disrespectful to my father, even though I don't know if I have a father."

At this, Chen Jiu's voice sank.

Chen Zhong looked at Chen Jiu for a while, his eyes unusually bright, and nodded, "Alright."

Chen Jiu smiled, and at that moment, a voice called out from behind, "Little Boss, wait for me!"

The two turned around and saw a ball of flesh wobbling towards them from the mountain. It was hard to imagine how this guy could be so fat.

Seeing the panting fat man, Chen Jiu smiled teasingly, "Aren't you afraid of the chief's punishment?"

The fat man squatted down, caught his breath for a while, and then looked at Chen Jiu with a look of disdain, "Isn't there still you? It was you who lured me down the mountain."

Chen Jiu, "I...," was speechless, slightly underestimating the fat man's shamelessness.

Seeing Chen Jiu's stunned look, the fat man laughed loudly, startling a flock of birds.

Chen Jiu looked at the fat man and shook his head helplessly, "Now that we are down the mountain, we need to change our titles. Calling me 'Little Boss' would expose our bandit identity, and we might be caught as soon as we enter the city."

The fat man, exhausted from the run, sat on the ground, "Then what should I call you?"

Chen Jiu thought for a moment, looked at Chen Zhong and the fat man, and pointed to Chen Zhong, "Call him Uncle Zhong."

Then he pointed to himself, "Call me Xiao Jiu, because I like drinking."

Finally, he looked at the fat man's layers of fat and shook his head helplessly, "As for you, choose between 'Dead Pig' and 'Fat Pig.'"

"Ah," the fat man opened his mouth wide and shook his head vigorously, "I don't choose either."

"Then I'll call you Fat Man," Chen Jiu decided.

The three of them moved slowly, reaching the foot of the mountain by noon and stopping about ten miles away from the base by nightfall. There were no villages nearby, so they decided to start a fire and grill some game.

Chen Jiu picked up a mountain chicken and started kneading mud.

The fat man, puzzled, asked, "Why are you kneading mud? Hey, hey, why are you wasting food?"

Chen Jiu wrapped the mud around the mountain chicken.

Just as the fat man was about to complain, a sound of footsteps startled them. A man in white, looking like a refined gentleman, appeared in the firelight, his face clearly visible.

"Excuse me, do you know where Qinglong Stronghold is?" His voice was as smooth as jade, making one feel like soaking in a hot spring.

Chen Jiu, seeing this man travel alone through the mountains at night and not fear Qinglong Stronghold, felt his heart skip a beat.

Then, as if encountering something terrifying, Chen Jiu asked, "Sir, do you have any connection with the evil Qinglong Stronghold?"

As he spoke, he assumed a defensive stance.

The fat man and Chen Zhong, though puzzled by Chen Jiu's words, were both shrewd and stood beside Chen Jiu, also assuming a defensive stance.

The man in white smiled lightly, "Gentlemen, you misunderstand. Qinglong Stronghold owes me something, and I naturally need to reclaim it. Please tell me where it is."

Chen Jiu shook his head, "No, the people of Qinglong Stronghold are all heinous criminals. You are alone, and I cannot tell you, as it would be sending you to your death. Telling you would be harming you."

As he spoke, Chen Jiu relaxed his guard.

He was about to start persuading the man when the man casually flicked his hand, slicing off a corner of a nearby boulder, "Brother, how is this sword?"

The three swallowed hard, and Chen Jiu, as if swallowing his words, pointed in the direction of Qinglong Stronghold.

The man in white nodded, "Thank you," and disappeared in a flash of light.

Seeing the man leave, the fat man and Uncle Zhong were about to speak when Chen Jiu gave them a fierce glare and said, "This guy is going to cause trouble for Qinglong Stronghold. Hahaha, that cancerous growth will finally be removed, what a relief. It saves us the trouble. Otherwise, I would have personally removed Qinglong Stronghold."

In the distance, the man in white sneered, "Truly ridiculous. Meeting me is their good fortune; otherwise, these three fools would not have left any remains after entering Qinglong Stronghold."

With that, he disappeared into the distance.