Bandits were bandits, whether small leaders or the boss, always acting fierce to intimidate others from the start.
Jin Feng sneered, leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, casually looking up and asking, “You’re the boss of Tieguan Mountain?”
“Yes, I’m Liu Jiang.”
The boss wasn’t angered by Jin Feng’s attitude, clasping his fists. “Yesterday, you said I lacked sincerity. Today, I’ve brought sincerity!”
He waved to the rear, and a group of bandits promptly brought out baskets of various sizes.
“Here’s a hundred jin of cured meat, a thousand jin of rice, and ten zhang of fine cloth. Are you satisfied with this sincerity?”
Jin Feng didn’t respond, but the old village head and others behind him were thrilled.
For years, they’d paid tributes to the bandits, and this was the first time bandits had brought gifts to the village.
Regardless of the amount, it showed the bandits’ attitude and confirmed Jin Feng’s claim that they wouldn’t dare harm him.
The trembling villagers, influenced by Jin Feng’s calm, finally relaxed a bit.
Liu Tie tucked his chopper into his waistband, ready to fetch the baskets if Jin Feng nodded.
This would give the bandits a way out, allowing negotiations to resume.
But Jin Feng glanced at the baskets, his eyes full of disdain. “That’s it?”
The pile of grain and meat looked impressive but wasn’t worth much.
The money extorted from the escort team at Tongshan alone could buy several cartloads.
Liu Tie tensed, quickly drawing his chopper again.
Yet the boss showed no anger, as if expecting Jin Feng’s dissatisfaction, smiling and waving to the rear again.
A bandit brought a small wooden box, carefully placing it on the baskets.
Lifting the lid revealed rows of silver ingots.
“Add three hundred taels of silver,” the boss said. “Satisfied now?”
In truth, the bandits had taken just over a hundred taels from the escort team at Tongshan. Three hundred taels was nearly double compensation.
For predatory bandits, this was indeed sincere, even a form of submission.
But Jin Feng still didn’t rise, only shaking his head.
The boss’s smile vanished, his voice cold. “Don’t push it!”
“If you think it’s too much, take your stuff and leave. I’m not stopping you!”
Jin Feng’s tone turned chilly.
Behind him, the village head and others felt their hearts in their throats.
They hadn’t expected Jin Feng’s stance to be so unyielding.
The bandits had offered double compensation, yet he still refused, an insult to them!
“Boss, why waste words with a mountain villager? Just cut him down!”
“Yeah, he’s throwing our goodwill back in our face!”
“Chop him!”
Several bandit leaders on horseback drew their long knives.
The bandits behind, though unable to hear Jin Feng, saw their leaders draw weapons and followed suit.
Hundreds of fierce-looking bandits glaring together created a chilling aura.
The atmosphere dropped to freezing.
Though it was midsummer, the villagers felt as if plunged into an icy cave.
More began to tremble.
But for Jin Feng, who’d survived the Battle of Qingshui Valley, the bandits’ posturing was laughable, bolstered by his confidence.
It was like a three-year-old glaring and shouting, “I’m gonna hit you!”
“I must say, you’ve got guts!”
Seeing Jin Feng unmoved, the boss pulled several banknotes from his chest and tossed them into a basket.
“Now is it enough?”
“Barely.”
Jin Feng snapped his fingers, and Liu Tie led men to carry the baskets to the rear.
The village head and others finally relaxed.
“Alright, I’ve taken your stuff. You can leave.”
Jin Feng stood, stretched lazily, and waved dismissively, as if shooing annoying flies.
The boss’s eyelid twitched, suppressing his anger. “Where’s my stuff?”
“What stuff?” Jin Feng asked, feigning surprise.
“Friend, this isn’t fun anymore.”
A glint of menace flashed in the boss’s eyes. “You took my goods. Hand over the spinning wheel, and you’re not to use it again!”
“Oh, so your gifts were to buy my spinning wheel? I thought they were an apology.”
Jin Feng acted enlightened, then shook his head. “If you want to buy the spinning wheel and ban me from using it, that’s not enough.”
“How much do you want?”
The boss asked through gritted teeth.
“The spinning wheel is priceless. No amount will do!”
Jin Feng shook his head firmly.
“So, you’re toying with me?”
The boss asked, word by word.
His anger was nearly uncontrollable.
Even Master Zhou had never mocked him like this.
“Oh, you figured it out?”
Jin Feng feigned shock. “Guess you’re not hopelessly stupid, a bit smarter than a wild boar.”
“Kid, you think I really don’t dare kill you?”
The boss glared.
“Do you?” Jin Feng countered. “Your master told you not to touch me, right?”
“That’s your confidence to mouth off?”
The boss laughed, pointing at the villagers behind Jin Feng. “True, I can’t kill you, but I can kill them! I can kill your family! I can kill everyone connected to you!”
“That’s your confidence to mouth off?”
Jin Feng threw his words back. “Can’t you bandits aim higher? Always the same carrots-and-sticks, threats and bribes.”
“You think I’m bluffing?”
The boss drew his long knife, sneering. “I swear, if you don’t hand over the spinning wheel today, I’ll kill everyone here!
Your family and the village’s women and children are hiding in the rear mountain, right?
Don’t worry. After killing these people, I’ll send men to the rear mountain, drag your family out, and kill them one by one in front of you!”
The village head felt his vision darken, his legs weakening. If not for Liu Tie’s support, he’d have collapsed.
The villagers beside him turned ashen with fear.
But Jin Feng’s expression remained calm, shaking his head with a smile.
“I gave you a chance to live, and you didn’t take it. Now you’re out of chances.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got!”
The boss sneered but scanned the surroundings, taking a helmet from his horse’s neck and putting it on.
“Good. As you wish!”
Jin Feng raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
