The second-in-command of Jiulan Mountain was dead, and quite a few mountain bandits immediately surrendered, shouting for mercy.
They had never been good people to begin with. Their earlier loyalty was merely because there had been profit to gain. Now that the situation had reversed, they naturally switched sides at once.
“You traitors.”
“Have you all forgotten the kindness the second-in-command showed us in the past?”
“Just don't fall into my hands in the future. You traitors—I’ll kill every one of you I see.”
A burly man with a fierce appearance and a scar across his face held a knife against Song Xingzhi’s neck and emerged while holding him hostage.
He was none other than Jiulan Mountain’s fourth chieftain, Scarface Ghost. Song Xingzhi had fallen into his hands after being caught in the ambush he had set.
“Fourth chieftain, you can barely save yourself, yet you still want to kill us?”
“We all have families. Unlike you, we aren’t lone bachelors.”
“This is called abandoning darkness and embracing the light. The stronghold chief abandoned us and ran off. How much is loyalty worth, anyway?”
The surrendered mountain bandits who had been captured saw that the fourth chieftain looked ready to butcher them, and immediately urged him to surrender as well.
A wise man avoids a disadvantage.
They were all mountain bandits, not righteous heroes. Loyalty was something they used to boast about only when they had money, wine, and beautiful women.
Who would really be foolish enough to throw away their life?
When stronghold chief Xu Shaofei learned that Jiulan Mountain was under attack, he swiftly escaped through a new secret passage, leaving this group behind as scapegoats to delay the soldiers.
If even the stronghold chief was neither benevolent nor righteous, why should these underlings bother with loyalty?
“Hah, when there was wine and meat, you fought desperately to become mountain bandits. Why didn’t you think of your families then?”
“Now that trouble has come, every one of you runs faster than the next.”
“You traitors all deserve to die.”
In his fury, the fourth chieftain tightened his grip. A bloody line immediately appeared across the neck of the Song Xingzhi he was holding hostage.
“Wretched scoundrel Zhou Jin, if you don’t want him to die, put down your sword and surrender.”
“He has been your subordinate for many years. You can’t just stand by and watch him die.”
The fourth chieftain had followed Tiger-Faced Wolf since childhood, and the two had been as close as brothers. Now that he had seen Tiger-Faced Wolf die horribly beneath Zhou Jin’s sword, he wanted nothing but to avenge his brother.
Zhou Jin had killed his brother, so he would kill Zhou Jin’s brother.
“Prince, don’t worry about me. These bandits deserve death.”
“Prince, you absolutely must not let me delay the great cause of bandit suppression.”
When the fourth chieftain heard Song Xingzhi say this, he deliberately pressed the knife in his hand deeper.
“Shut your mouth. Say another word, and I’ll chop off your head.”
“I can’t escape anyway. I’ll take a young general with me as a burial companion.”
“It’ll be worth dying for.”
“Wretched scoundrel, it seems that you’re just as cold-blooded and selfish as those high-ranking nobles.”
The wound on Song Xingzhi’s neck was already very deep. If the fourth chieftain pressed his knife even a little deeper, his life would be in danger.
With a clang, Zhou Jin threw down the personal sword in his hand.
“Release him, and this prince will be your hostage.”
The fourth chieftain let out a cold snort. He was fighting alone now and would not be fooled so easily.
This Zhou Jin was extremely cunning. Many people had fallen for his tricks. Killing him would not be easy.
“Take off your clothes, then come over.”
The fourth chieftain was afraid that Zhou Jin had weapons concealed on him. His combat power was extremely high, and the fourth chieftain feared he would be unable to deal with him.
At this, Zhou Jin leisurely began untying his waist belt.
The black brocade sash with auspicious-cloud trim was lifted in his hand. When he relaxed his grip, the waist belt fell to the ground.
His slender hand continued undoing the black garment’s jeweled clasps. Zhou Jin opened his outer robe and casually tossed it onto the ground.
Xu Bao'er widened her eyes and watched with great interest. Fourth chieftain, you really are something—providing a feast for everyone’s eyes.
She had not been able to see Zhou Jin’s physique clearly that night. Who would have thought he was so well-built? Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, an alluring mermaid line, and perfect eight-pack abdominal muscles.
He was practically an immortal-tier beauty of the Mortal Realm!
“That’s enough. Come over here.”
Seeing that Zhou Jin had stripped down to only a pair of black undergarments, the fourth chieftain lost patience and urged him to come over and meet his death.
At this moment, Song Xingzhi’s consciousness had grown hazy from the injury to his neck, and his lips were pale.
Zhou Jin strode forward and gestured for the fourth chieftain to release Song Xingzhi.
However, the fourth chieftain had never intended to let Song Xingzhi go. From the beginning, he had planned to kill both of them.
Killing these two would at least make his worthless life worthwhile.
The fourth chieftain pretended to release Song Xingzhi, but the knife in his hand was already poised. He immediately swung it at Zhou Jin.
If Zhou Jin had not been nimble, this sudden slash would likely have sliced off half his head.
Seeing that Zhou Jin would not be easy to kill, the fourth chieftain decided to kill the Song Xingzhi lying on the ground first.
He drove the knife downward with the back of his hand. If Zhou Jin had not been fast enough to kick the broadsword away, Song Xingzhi would likely have died on the spot.
“Look out!”
The soldier’s voice drowned out Xu Bao’er’s.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the fourth chieftain drew a dagger from his waist and viciously plunged it into Zhou Jin’s back.
Zhou Jin grunted and dropped to one knee.
Seeing this, Xu Bao'er hurriedly pulled out a throwing dart and hurled it at the fourth chieftain. Unfortunately, the mountain wind was too fierce at night and blew the throwing dart off course.
Sigh, forget it. Zhou Jin, I guess you’re just unlucky.
The male lead won’t die anyway. Once he’s injured, I can conveniently come to his rescue and deepen our bond a little.
Xu Bao'er took out some sunflower seeds, preparing to slack off and watch the show.
The male lead really was the male lead. Zhou Jin quickly threw a punch with his right hand, smashing it into the fourth chieftain’s abdomen.
“Ow!” The fourth chieftain howled in pain and staggered back several steps.
Zhou Jin quickly picked up the great cleaver from the ground and swung it fiercely, chopping off the fourth chieftain’s head.
Blood sprayed in all directions. The fourth chieftain, who had been snarling and clawing moments ago, was already dead.
The splattered blood sprayed across Zhou Jin’s sharply defined face and slowly trickled down.
The mountain wind lifted his flowing black hair. Zhou Jin calmly pulled the dagger from his shoulder and casually tossed it aside.
Under the moonlight, his peerlessly handsome face, fierce eyes, and bloodstains across his features resembled a beauty’s face torn open by claws.
Broken and bewitching.
The fourth chieftain’s head rolled to a stop beside his black black cloth boots, his eyes wide open as though he had died unwillingly.
All the mountain bandits present were terrified, afraid that they would end up like the fourth chieftain, with their heads severed from their bodies.
Seeing this, the soldiers hurried forward and lifted the Song Xingzhi who had fallen to the ground.
Zhou Jin bent down and casually draped the black robe over himself without tying the waist belt. He also picked up the peace amulet that had fallen into the mud and hung it back on the black robe.
With the black robe hanging open, every step Zhou Jin took made the abdominal muscle definition at his waist increasingly prominent.
Suddenly, Zhou Jin stopped and looked up at the albizia tree where Xu Bao'er was hiding.
Oh no, could I have been discovered?
Xu Bao'er drew in her legs, trying to conceal herself among the dense flowers and leaves.
Zhou Jin’s gaze was icy cold at this moment, carrying a detached indifference that seemed to see through the mortal world—proud, aloof, and murderous.
When the wind blew, the branches swayed gently. Albizia flowers, like pink fans, drifted down and landed in Zhou Jin’s broad palm.
Zhou Jin slowly tightened his hand, crushing the albizia flowers in his palm. He then turned, mounted his horse, and left without looking back.
Xu Bao'er, still perched in the tree, let out a deep sigh.
That was close. I wasn’t exposed.