Chapter 22

Jiang Xiaomu followed the crowd into the stronghold's center; the surrounding bandits paid him no heed, everyone's attention focused on Qin Feng and Hei Xuan.

This suited him just fine; he quietly slipped to the edge of the crowd and observed the situation.

【Warning! Hei Xuan saw that the host was a stranger and thought the host had led Qin Feng into the stronghold.】

【Issue the order: these traitors shall not be spared; I command that I will personally behead him.】

【In three minutes, behead the host publicly.】

Jiang Xiaomu let out a cold laugh—this Hei Xuan really is a bully who fears the strong.

He pretended to approach Hei Xuan casually and shouted loudly: "Stronghold Chief, mighty! Stronghold Chief, brave! You'll surely take down this ignorant fool!"

Hei Xuan noticed him, grabbed Jiang Xiaomu's shoulder in one motion, and shoved him before Qin Feng.

He bellowed: "Qin Feng! You dare come to my Heifengzhai to cause trouble—today I'll take your life as an offering to the flag!"

Jiang Xiaomu feigned terror and shouted: "Stronghold Chief, spare my life! Stronghold Chief, spare me! I have nothing to do with this!"

Qin Feng examined Jiang Xiaomu with interest, shaking his folding fan, and said: "Hei Xuan, what's this? Dragging an unrelated person to take the blame?"

Hei Xuan was about to speak, but Jiang Xiaomu cut him off: "Stronghold Chief Qin Feng, see clearly! This Hei Xuan clearly intends to make me the scapegoat."

"He's afraid of you, doesn't dare to confront you head-on, so he wants to use this despicable method to save himself!"

Heixuan's face changed, he shouted angrily: "You're talking nonsense! Come, drag him out and chop him!"

Jiang Xiaomu showed no fear, instead bursting into laughter: "Heixuan, do you think I'm stupid? I know exactly what scheme you're hatching! Do you think killing me will settle things? Will Qinfeng chieftain let you off? You're dreaming!"

The surrounding bandits looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Heixuan's face darkened terrifyingly; he never expected this seemingly insignificant kid to dare publicly expose his plot.

Qinfeng watched the scene with interest; he never expected things to develop like this.

He had originally just come to Heifengzhai to scout things out and, by the way, teach Heixuan a lesson, but he unexpectedly discovered an interesting person.

"What's your name?" Qinfeng asked.

"Jiang Xiaomu."

"Jiang Xiaomu," Qinfeng repeated his name, "you have great courage and vision."

"You saw Heixuan's weakness, and you also saw my purpose."

"What do you think I should do with Heixuan?"

Jiang Xiaomu smiled slightly and said: "Qinfeng chieftain, although Heixuan has committed many evils, he still has several hundred followers; if we clash head-on, we might both lose."

"Rather..." He walked up to Qinfeng, leaned close to his ear, and whispered his plan.

Qinfeng listened, his eyes lit up, and he nodded approvingly: "Great plan! Let's do it as you said!"

Heixuan was completely bewildered; he didn't know what Jiang Xiaomu and Qinfeng were whispering about.

He felt a vague unease in his heart, yet dared not act rashly.

Jiang Xiaomu turned around and said to Heixuan: "Heixuan, Qinfeng chieftain has already agreed to my terms; if you agree to let me manage the stronghold, we'll be friends, and today's matter will be settled—how about it?"

Heixuan stared, never expecting Jiang Xiaomu to propose such a condition.

"Manage the stronghold? What exactly does this kid want to do?"

"What makes you think I'll agree to you?" Heixuan sneered.

"Because I understand your followers better than you do," Jiang Xiaomu said confidently, "your bandits are all desperate men; they only recognize money, not people."

"You give them food and drink, and they'll fight for you; but if someone can offer them more money and greater benefits, they'll hesitate not to betray you."

"And I can give them more."

Heixuan fell silent, unable to deny that Jiang Xiaomu was right.

His followers really are a rabble, with no loyalty to speak of.

"Fine, I agree," Heixuan finally conceded.

"Refreshing!" Jiang Xiaomu laughed, "Then let's agree on a signal.

Three nights from now, I'll light three fires at the mountain base; then you'll bring your people down the mountain to meet with Qinfeng's men.

Heixuan nodded, indicating his agreement.

Jiang Xiaomu cupped his hands toward Qinfeng, turned, and went down the mountain.

Watching Jiang Xiaomu's retreating back, Qinfeng's eyes flashed with a hint of admiration. This young man is not simple.

Heixuan, meanwhile, stood where he was with a grim face, wondering what he was thinking.

【Ding! Heixuan has sent fifty bandits down the mountain to hunt you down; because you didn't dodge in time, you were beaten to death with clubs.】

【The fates of the others remain unchanged.】

Fifty? Jiang Xiaomu clicked his tongue inwardly; Heixuan really thinks highly of him.

A head-on clash definitely won't work; only cunning will do.

He quickly analyzed his surroundings—the dense forest, the rugged mountain paths—all advantages he could use.

Jiang Xiaomu hurried down the mountain, paying attention to the environment on both sides as he went.

Sure enough, not long after, Heixuan's pursuers appeared. They surged down the mountain with a fierce aura, wielding knives and sticks, shouting that they would capture Jiang Xiaomu.

Jiang Xiaomu could only use the terrain to play hide-and-seek with them.

He deliberately took the rugged, hard-to-traverse mountain paths, sometimes climbing trees, sometimes diving into thickets, making the pursuers go in circles. Although they were many and strong, they couldn't maneuver in the complex terrain and were instead made dizzy by Jiang Xiaomu.

"Damn it! This kid runs fast!" a bandit cursed, panting.

"Don't let him run! The chief said, capturing him brings a big reward!" another bandit shouted.

Jiang Xiaomu ran while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

He saw ahead a thicket that was much denser than it looked from outside, with intertwined branches and thorns growing thickly.

After Jiang Xiaomu hid inside, he discovered a narrow cave entrance within.

The mouth of the cave was concealed behind the thicket; without his enhanced vision from the Heaven's Mandate system, it would have been nearly impossible to spot.

The cave mouth could only allow one person to pass; inside it was pitch black, unknown where it led.

He was about to continue pursuing the person, but suddenly stopped, looking around in confusion. "Where is the person? How did they disappear?"

Jiang Xiaomu held his breath, not daring to move a muscle, for fear of being discovered.

He knew that his only hope now was to hide in this cave and wait for an opportunity to escape.

The pursuers, helpless, had no choice but to return resentfully to Heifengzhai.

Jiang Xiaomu watched from the cave as the pursuers left, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

He walked down the mountain path, preparing to leave the territory of Black Wind Mountain.

Not long after walking, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.

His heart startled, he quickly hid behind a large tree.

He saw a figure emerge from the darkness.