Wu Facai had once served in the military. A deep-seated fierceness ran through his bones. One sentence from him instantly silenced the crowd. “The bandits want to kill us, so should we just sit here and wait to die?”
Wu Facai spoke up for Lu Qing. No one dared speak after hearing his words.
“Village Chief!” “Village Chief!” At that moment, Liu Xicai also walked over.
“Village Chief, Lu Qing killed the Second Chief of Green Dragon Stronghold,” someone stepped up to report the situation to Liu Xicai.
“Village Chief!” Lu Qing also came forward. “Village Chief, it was Sun Magan who brought the men from Green Dragon Stronghold to kill me, but I turned the tables on them.”
Liu Xicai looked at the corpses on the ground. “Well done.” He gave Lu Qing a thumbs-up. “People from Manglong Village should have this kind of backbone.”
Liu Xicai backed Lu Qing. Though he had once shielded Sun Magan, when it came to these bandits, he didn’t hesitate to praise Lu Qing. Besides, by now Liu Xicai hated Sun Magan to the bone.
“Tomorrow, send these corpses and the two captured bandits to the Magistrate Office in Luliang County,” Liu Xicai instructed.
“Understood,” Lu Qing nodded.
…
The next day, Lu Qing, Xu Facai, Wu He, Wu Hai, and Liu Xicai brought the bandits’ corpses to the Magistrate Office of Luliang County.
“Who goes there?” A yamen officer barked as soon as he saw them arrive at the gate.
“Sir, I’m the village chief of Manglong Village. Last night, bandits attacked our village. We killed them and have brought their bodies here today,” Liu Xicai stepped forward and explained.
“Bandits?” The officer eyed them with suspicion. Bandits were vicious murderers. Even officers like him feared them. And yet these villagers had managed to kill some?
“That’s right,” Liu Xicai nodded. “Please take a look, sir.”
“Alright.” The officer stepped up, then suddenly exclaimed, “My god, that’s Qian Mang from Green Dragon Stronghold!” Sun Magan might’ve been unknown, but Qian Mang was notorious. His wanted poster was still plastered at the city gate.
“Is that so?” “No way… it really is Qian Mang!”
More officers gathered around and stared in disbelief at the corpse. “You people actually killed Qian Mang?”
In the Great Yong Empire, killing or capturing a common bandit earned a reward of 5 taels of silver. But someone as infamous as Qian Mang was worth far more.
When Lu Qing entered the city, he had seen the bounty posters—Qian Mang’s bounty was 30 taels of silver.
With two corpses and two captured bandits, Liu Xicai’s group earned 50 taels in total.
After leaving the Magistrate Office, Liu Xicai handed 40 taels to Lu Qing and gave the remaining 10 taels to Wu Facai, since Wu He and Wu Hai had captured the two bandits.
Upon receiving the silver, Lu Qing gave 1 tael to each of the others.
“Lu Qing, what are you doing?”
“It’s only right. Last night, I troubled everyone, and today you accompanied me all the way to the Magistrate Office,” Lu Qing explained. Though they initially refused, they eventually accepted the silver.
Afterward, Lu Qing treated everyone to a good meal. Everyone ate heartily, grease dripping from their mouths, fully satisfied.
When they left the restaurant, Lu Qing asked Liu Xicai to help him find a carpenter who specialized in making doors and windows. Once the price was settled, it was agreed that the carpenter would head to Manglong Village the next day.
Lu Qing and the others then returned to Manglong Village.
“Brother Qing, why’d you buy a sheep?” Tian Erwang saw Lu Qing with a sheep and didn’t understand his intent.
“It’ll be useful,” Lu Qing said mysteriously.
Back in Manglong Village, news quickly spread that they had received 50 taels of silver from the Magistrate Office. Everyone looked at Lu Qing with envy—50 taels was a lot.
“Lu Qing really has great luck!” Zhao Tiezhu was incredibly jealous.
“Yeah, ever since he got married, everything’s been going his way.”
“Why don’t we get that kind of luck?”
“Luck? If the bandits really showed up, would you dare fight them?” someone retorted to those envious of Lu Qing.
“Me?” “No way.” They all shook their heads. Bandits were fierce. None of them would dare risk their lives. It wasn’t worth dying just for a bit of reward money.
“Is Xiaojun feeling a little regretful now?” Aunt Zhang found Meng Xiaojun.
Lu Qing wasn’t just building a big house—now he also had silver. He was practically the wealthiest man in Manglong Village. Whoever married him would want for nothing.
“No,” Meng Xiaojun turned away stubbornly, but her eyes showed a hint of regret. She did regret it. If she had known Lu Qing would change like this, she would’ve married him without hesitation. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.
Everyone went their own way. Lu Qing asked Wu Facai, Wu He, and Wu Hai to stay.
After days of interactions, Lu Qing felt he could fully trust them.
“Is something wrong?” Wu Facai asked.
“Uncle Facai, do you know anything about Green Dragon Stronghold?” Lu Qing asked.
“Green Dragon Stronghold is a bandit den in the Manglong Mountains. I’ve heard there are about fifty men. The leader and Qian Mang, the Second Chief, are sworn brothers. That’s all I know,” Wu Facai replied, then looked at Lu Qing.
“Why do you ask?”
Wu Facai sensed Lu Qing had something planned.
“I caused this mess, so I should fix it myself. I killed Qian Mang—Green Dragon Stronghold won’t let it slide. If they retaliate, the entire Manglong Village could be dragged into it. So, I’ve decided to strike first,” Lu Qing said, his eyes flashing with cold intent.
Strike first?
Wu Facai was stunned and stared at Lu Qing. He knew Lu Qing had plans, but he didn’t expect he would consider taking the initiative.
This was Green Dragon Stronghold they were talking about.
The gap between them was like a chasm.
“Lu Qing, have you really thought this through? That’s Green Dragon Stronghold. We’re just a few men. Even if all of Manglong Village went, we still might not be a match.”
Wu Facai reminded him sternly. Just because he killed Qian Mang didn’t mean he could take on the entire stronghold.
“Brother Qing, my father’s right. Green Dragon Stronghold isn’t something we can handle. You don’t need to worry too much. If the bandits come, we can just hide in the mountain forest,” Wu He suggested.
“Wu He’s right,” Wu Hai nodded.
“You can run, but your home can’t. If we hide, what about our houses and our fields? What if Green Dragon Stronghold can’t find us and sets fire to the village instead? What happens then?” Lu Qing asked the brothers.
Wu He and Wu Hai were suddenly speechless. They hadn’t considered that. If their homes were burned, they really wouldn’t be able to survive.
“That’s why I believe it’s better to strike first than to sit and wait. I’m sure Green Dragon Stronghold won’t expect us to come after them,” Lu Qing said, turning to Wu Facai.