Song Xingzhi presented the peace amulet with both hands. Zhou Jin took it and casually played with the jade pendant. The pendant was made of excellent material, carved from top-grade jade. Its quality was translucent, and its emerald color seemed almost ready to drip.
It seemed Zhang San had put considerable effort into it.
“You may leave.”
Song Xingzhi had originally been prepared to accept punishment, but he never expected the prince to merely tell him to leave. He quickly slipped away.
It seemed the prince was in an excellent mood. He had disobeyed the prince's orders, yet he was not punished.
The peace amulet really did ensure peace.
Zhou Jin lowered his head and looked at the character “Jin” on the small golden bead. His brows lifted slightly as he wondered inwardly, “What exactly are you plotting?”
“If you harbor ill intentions, this prince will kill you as a sacrifice to Heaven.”
After confirming that a traitor was hiding among the officials, Zhou Jin enacted the “ten-house collective responsibility system,” grouping the entire county's population into units of ten households. If one household within the ten colluded with the mountain bandits and the other nine households failed to report it in advance, all ten would suffer collective punishment.
Once this regulation was issued, many relatives of the mountain bandits were exposed. In a single night, they were all arrested.
This action thoroughly enraged the jiulan mountain bandits. They all shouted that they would kill Zhou Jin; they had never suffered such humiliation before.
Xu Shaofei, who had originally intended to remain still and wait for an opportunity to act, was forced into a corner.
“Chief, that little Prince Duan is simply going too far.”
The second-in-command, Tiger-Faced Wolf, gripped his great cleaver and wished he could lead his brothers right now to take Zhou Jin's head on one’s shoulders.
“Take Prince Duan's dog head and sacrifice it to Heaven for our dead brothers.”
“That wretched scoundrel actually captured my entire family! If I don't kill him, I won't be able to dispel the hatred in my heart.”
“Kill him! Kill him!”
The mountain bandits were worked up, shouting furiously.
Xu Shaofei suddenly slammed his hand on the table. His gaze sharpened as he berated them harshly.
“Stop shouting.”
“Prince Duan isn't some stray cat or dog. We cannot throw ourselves into chaos.”
“Luo Qiang is in his hands now, and Luo Qiang is familiar with the terrain of Jiulan Mountain and our hiding places. If Luo Qiang has already surrendered and entered government service, the situation will be extremely disadvantageous for us.”
Xu Shaofei had remained still all this time because he wanted to find another route, lest they be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Prince Duan had made a name for himself in battle at a young age and had never suffered defeat. Someone like him was too frightening to underestimate.
“Damn it!”
“I can't stand this humiliation anymore. Always worrying about what comes next—would that do justice to our brothers?”
“Old Liu's entire family was captured. They didn't even spare the baby in swaddling clothes.”
Tiger-Faced Wolf had always been a crude brute who could barely recognize a few characters. He had risen to become the second-in-command solely through his courage, martial prowess, and loyalty.
He had long been dissatisfied with Xu Shaofei. Xu Shaofei did everything in such a hesitant manner that he did not seem like a bandit at all.
“Kill Prince Duan and avenge our dead brothers.” Tiger-Faced Wolf led the shouting, and the other mountain bandits responded in unison.
“Revenge!”
“Revenge!”
Seeing that the situation was becoming uncontrollable, Xu Shaofei was extremely troubled. He knew Tiger-Faced Wolf would not listen to him. The desire for revenge had robbed Tiger-Faced Wolf of what little reason he possessed.
Prince Duan was truly a sinister man.
He was forcing them into internal conflict. It seemed they would have to call upon the people behind them to intervene.
“What a brilliant strategy, prince. I never expected so many people among the common people of Baiqu County to be colluding with the mountain bandits.”
The Magistrate of Baiqu County gazed at Zhou Jin with admiration. When Zhou Jin had first arrived, he had worried that Zhou Jin was merely a reckless brute who knew how to fight and understood nothing about bandit suppression.
Now that he thought about it, how could a great general capable of strategizing on the battlefield and winning every battle possibly have a simple mind?
Prince Duan truly possessed both courage and wisdom.
“Now that we have captured so many relatives of the mountain bandits, they surely won't be able to sit still. Should we make preparations early so that we can better face the enemy?”
Zhou Jin waved his hand. The outer corner of the eye of his exquisite auspicious phoenix eyes lifted slightly as his gaze swept across the officials present, as though everything lay within his grasp.
“There is no need to worry. Those bandits possess only brute force and are no cause for concern.”
Seeing Zhou Jin's confident appearance, the Magistrate of Baiqu County felt vaguely concerned. With a major battle imminent, would it be bad for him to underestimate the enemy so much?
Yet that very night, the lair of the jiulan mountain bandits was attacked by surprise.
Zhou Jin led elite soldiers in separate groups to encircle and suppress them. They set the nest of the jiulan mountain bandits ablaze, catching the mountain bandits completely off guard.
“Wretched scoundrel, prepare to die!”
“Let's see if I don't hack you to death today!”
When Tiger-Faced Wolf saw Zhou Jin, his eyes bulged with rage, and he wished he could tear him apart and eat his flesh. Zhou Jin had captured his biological brother, cut him into pieces to feed the dogs, and tortured him until he was no longer recognizable.
When his mother learned of this, she fainted on the spot.
This hatred was irreconcilable. He was determined to take Zhou Jin's life.
Tiger-Faced Wolf swung his broadsword and strode toward Zhou Jin, every slash aimed at a vital point and delivered with lethal intent.
At that moment, Xu Bao'er had climbed to the treetop and concealed herself among the leaves as she watched the battle.
In Zhou Jin's eyes, she was a delicate woman without the strength to bind a chicken. He certainly would not bring her along for something as dangerous as bandit suppression.
If he would not bring her, she would come secretly.
Xu Bao'er wore nighttime garb, her hair bound with a jade hairpin and her face covered, revealing only a pair of eyes. Once the fighting began, not only would Zhou Jin fail to recognize her—even a ghost would not recognize her.
As the famed God of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Jin had entered the battlefield at the age of twelve. Many people said that his blood was cold and that he killed without blinking.
Tiger-Faced Wolf thought that today he would take the head of this God of War and let the dog emperor see the consequences of bandit suppression.
“Today, I will take your life and avenge my brother.”
“Brothers, kill!”
Facing Tiger-Faced Wolf's relentless cleaver strikes, Zhou Jin dodged calmly, as though he were merely playing with his opponent.
Under the nightshade, Zhou Jin's languid eyes held a hint of disdain. His thin lips curled slightly as he effortlessly blocked his opponent's attacks.
The red tassel of the peace amulet at his waist swayed with his steps. His agile figure, narrow waist, and long legs possessed explosive power.
If Xu Bao'er had not possessed such a strong body, an ordinary young lady of a noble family probably would not have been able to withstand Zhou Jin's endurance.
Although a fight was taking place below, Xu Bao'er's thoughts had wandered elsewhere.
It was all because Zhou Jin appeared Ascetic and noble, yet when he became fierce, he seemed utterly heedless of his own life. That restrained panting, that forceful suppression—
Whenever she thought of it, her legs went weak.
“Ah.”
With a scream, Zhou Jin pierced Tiger-Faced Wolf's heart with a single sword thrust. Red blood streamed down the white sword's gleaming blade.
Tiger-Faced Wolf's massive body crashed to his knees, his pair of tiger eyes exceptionally vicious.
“Tiger-Faced Wolf, you killed thirteen members of the Magistrate of Baiqu County's household, and you did not even spare the infant in swaddling clothes.”
“Today is all your own doing.”
As the blade was withdrawn, Tiger-Faced Wolf fell face-first to the ground with a heavy thud.
The evil second-in-command of Jiulan Mountain died just like that.
At that moment, a Mountain Bandit tried to launch a sneak attack at Zhou Jin from behind. Seeing that something was wrong, Xu Bao'er prepared to throw a throwing dart to help Zhou Jin.
Before she could act, however, she saw Zhou Jin turn around swiftly and kick the Mountain Bandit flying.
His black black cloth boots, patterned with silver-thread tiger stripes, struck with brutal force and weight, without the slightest wasted motion.
Xu Bao'er had originally regarded Zhou Jin merely as a character in her mission, but at this moment she was stunned by his combat power.
She clearly felt that Zhou Jin was a living, breathing person—a person of flesh and blood.
Under the bleak, ghastly moonlight, Zhou Jin resembled a living yama who had crawled out of Hell, surrounded by the corpses of the mountain bandits.
Blood streamed from his sword blade, and crimson droplets splattered down, creating a strangely beautiful sight.
From the Cold Palace youth who had initially feared killing, to the Prince Duan who now killed without blinking.
To survive, Zhou Jin had licked blood from the edge of a blade and transformed into a demon that inspired terror wherever he went.
The night wind rose, and the red tassel of the peace amulet swayed, adding a touch of warmth to the demon.