“Be careful, I’ve heard the Mao Mao Mountain bandits are no pushovers. Don’t capsize in the gutter, surviving the battlefield only to fall to bandits.”
Seeing Zhong Wu’s nonchalant attitude, Qing Huai warned.
“Don’t worry, marquis.”
Zhong Wu grinned, removing his armour.
Two other guards followed suit, changing into tattered clothes.
The three, without crossbows, took chipped knives and slipped into the bushes.
“Sir, let’s go watch the show.”
Qing Huai stood and headed to a nearby hill.
…
On Mao Mao Mountain, a cluster of thatched huts looked like an ordinary village, but no women or children were present.
To keep the bandits fierce, the head chief banned women from the mountain. If they wanted women, they’d raid below, enjoy their spoils, then return.
The raided women might be sold to illegal brothels or left dead in the wild.
A scrawny, monkey-faced bandit ran up from below, panting, and rushed into a courtyard, shouting to a burly man lifting stone weights, “Second chief, news about the third chief!”
“Speak!”
The second chief tossed the stone aside. “Where’s the third?”
After the head chief exiled Baldy, he wandered, coming every ten days or so to demand money.
But for over a month, Baldy hadn’t shown, and the second chief suspected trouble.
He sent men to inquire below.
Yet, no news came.
The scrawny bandit glanced fearfully at the second chief, hesitating.
Impatient, the second chief raised his foot to kick but lowered it.
The scrawny one was his loyal follower and strategist, often useful, not to be kicked like other bandits.
Suppressing his anger, he asked, “Was the third killed?”
“Uh… I heard, twenty days ago, someone saw the third chief arguing at a casino in Li Family Bay, thrown out by their men… He fought back, and… was beaten to death by the casino.”
The scrawny bandit relayed the news.
This was false information Qing Huai had Zhang Liang spread, ensuring even if the second chief survived, he wouldn’t trace it to Xihe Bay.
“No wonder we couldn’t find the third, he died in Li Family Bay!”
The second chief smashed a fist on the table. “Call the men, gather all the brothers, we’re going to that casino!”
“Second chief, don’t be rash.”
The scrawny bandit urged, “This news might not be accurate, it’s not wise to make a big move.”
Where there are people, there are rivalries. The Mao Mao Mountain bandits weren’t united, the head chief and second chief were at odds, which led to Baldy’s exile.
Recently, when one of the head chief’s men erred, the second chief beat him half to death, and the head chief was looking to retaliate.
The second chief thought and asked, “You’re full of tricks, what do we do?”
“Second chief, here’s my plan.”
The scrawny one said, “We go to Li Family Bay. If the news is false, we keep asking. If the third chief was killed by the casino, we pick a fight with them…
Best if a couple of our brothers get hurt, then I can rally men to crush the casino, and the head chief can’t object.”
The second chief grasped the plan.
Baldy was exiled, technically a traitor. Even if killed, the second chief couldn’t lead bandits to avenge him.
But if they were attacked at the casino, it’d be different.
The Mao Mao Mountain bandits would have to back the second chief, or morale would collapse.
“Second chief, brilliant.”
The scrawny one quickly flattered.
“Go tell Little Black, get a few men, we’re going to Li Family Bay to gamble!”
The second chief waved grandly.
The scrawny one agreed and ran off.
Soon, the second chief led four trusted men down the mountain toward Li Family Bay.
As they passed a grove, three men burst out.
“Stop!”
Zhong Wu bellowed, “This road is mine, these trees are mine, pay a toll to pass!”
“This road is yours?”
A lifelong bandit, now robbed at his own doorstep, the second chief laughed in anger. “Do you know who we are? I’m the second chief of Mao Mao Mountain!”
“I don’t care if it’s Mao Mao or Dog Dog Mountain, pay up, or don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”
Zhong Wu shouted fiercely.
“Kid, you look like a deserter. Want a mountain? Go elsewhere, this one’s taken.
You’re lucky I’m busy today, so get lost. If you’re still here when I return, I’ll skin you!”
Rushing to Li Family Bay, the second chief cursed Zhong Wu and moved to leave.
“I’ll skin you first!”
Zhong Wu roared, swinging his blade at a bandit.
The bandit, caught off guard, hadn’t expected Zhong Wu to strike so suddenly.
Zhong Wu felled him with one blow.
The two guards behind him charged simultaneously, each cutting down a bandit.
In a blink, only the second chief and the scrawny one remained.
The second chief, now scared, began, “Good man…”
Before finishing, Zhong Wu stabbed him through the heart.
“Spare me! Spare me!”
The scrawny one collapsed, kowtowing.
“Go tell your head chief, this mountain is mine, tell him to take his men and leave!”
Zhong Wu slapped him with the flat of his blade. “Go!”
“Thank you, good man!”
The scrawny one scrambled up the mountain.
Zhong Wu laughed, starting to loot the bodies.
To play the part fully, they took everything valuable, even stripping the bandits’ clothes.
“Haha, the real show’s starting.”
On the hill, Qing Huai stood, dusting himself off, and said, “Sir, wait here, I’m going down.”
Jin Feng watched Zhong Wu below, his heart churning.
Though he’d killed before, it was out of necessity, and after killing Baldy, nightmares haunted him for days.
But Zhong Wu, laughing throughout, killed as casually as slaughtering a chicken.
This showed Jin Feng the difference between a regular soldier and an ordinary person.
When he snapped back, Qing Huai was already down the hill.
Zhong Wu and the others returned to the grove, quickly donning armour and grabbing weapons.
Jin Feng saw Qing Huai pointing and directing below, the guards spreading out, crossbows in hand, hiding in different spots.
Even Zhang Liang slipped into a bush.
Only the swarthy man followed Qing Huai back to the hilltop.
“All set, sir, now we just wait for the show,” Qing Huai said.
