Chapter 213

Naming a newly formed force was something Heng Xian had never encountered before; after thinking a moment, he had no clue, so he simply said, "Let everyone discuss together and speak freely."

Tuzi was the first to speak: "If we're going to pick a name, let's make it a loud one—I've had a name brewing in my heart for a long time!"

Everyone hearing this felt curious: "Come on, tell us!"

"Blast-Heaven Gang!"

Tuzi narrowed his eyes: "White clouds drift in the heavens, the immortals' abode, while we are on the ground, blown by wind, scorched by sun, drenched by rain—so unfair. Better to blast heaven and dominate the world!"

As soon as he finished, a wave of boos rose.

Tuzi widened his eyes: "What? Not allowed?"

Pangwa spoke in a rough voice: "If heaven is blown up, who will protect us? Wouldn't we incur heavenly punishment? I think we should call it Invincible Stronghold—no one can beat us!"

The Second Chief coughed: "That's too blunt, it'll invite ridicule!"

Pangwa glared: "Then what do you suggest?"

The Second Chief shook his head and swayed: "We need to recruit troops and horses, unify the four directions under all major forces—better to call it... Unified Recruit Horse Sect!"

"'Unified Recruit Horse? More like unified scolding—I think you're just asking for a scolding!' Old Three of the Five Goats laughed loudly."

Baozhu said: "If that really won't do, let's pick something elegant—how about Sweetheart Stronghold!"

"'Sweetheart?'"

Everyone fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter, doubling over.

Tuzi slapped his fuzzy thigh: "Do we look like sweethearts? When we attack, if they shout 'Sweetheart's coming!' it'd be embarrassing—hahaha…"

Baozhu's face flushed slightly, she spat: "This won't work, that won't work, it's nothing—I give up!"

Sun Botian pondered: "How about we just call it the Five Goats Righteous Alliance?"

Everyone hearing this furrowed their brows.

Baoyu said: "Unsuitable—first, the name is awkward to pronounce and a bit weird; second, it's a combination of our two forces, and if we later recruit more brothers, it would be limiting."

"'Exactly!' Sun Botian patted his forehead."

Heng Xian looked toward the Master: "Old sir, you're a cultured person—do you have any opinions?"

The Master bowed and said: "Sir, you flatter me; I believe your intention is to unify the four directions, plunder resources, and reestablish the rules."

And among those present, including the people of the various major forces within Han Mountain, all are righteous warriors of the jianghu who act on heaven's behalf—why not call it... the Thieves Alliance?'

Everyone looked at each other, feeling it was okay but couldn't explain why, so they all turned to Heng Xian.

Heng Xian remained silent for a few breaths: "Remove the 'zhe' character, and just call it the Thieves Alliance."

"'Thieves Alliance? Good!' Everyone happily accepted."

Baoyu said: "Even thieves have a way—act on heaven's behalf, the prosperous follow, the rebellious perish."

"'This slogan is resounding, hahaha…' Everyone laughed loudly."

……

This year, Han Mountain saw unusually heavy rain, falling continuously for over ten days.

The Righteous Allies Gang had covered their original valley with dense, makeshift grass huts; the Thieves Alliance numbered over seven hundred, lying about in disarray.

During these past ten days, the alliance brothers, aside from being sent out to gather information from all sides, were secretly waiting for market news on shasha flower and double-tailed sable fur.

These two goods, the alliance had stockpiled too much—so much that outsiders couldn't help but laugh; if it weren't for the heavy rain, many would have come to mooch off them and shoot the breeze.

Under the largest tent deep in the valley, Heng Xian and a group of the main chiefs gathered.

The Master pointed at a simple map:

"'Fierce Tiger Stronghold lies sixty li to the southeast, reachable in half an hour; Clear Water Stronghold is forty-five li to the west, even closer,'

however, although each force numbers over two hundred, they are all warlike factions—it's not advisable to attack them first.'

Baoyu's injuries, after days of treatment with large amounts of herbs and elixirs personally refined by Heng Xian, had recovered to the eighth layer; he asked, 'If we don't fight those two, where should we strike first?'

Sun Botian's five brothers had already recovered; the second brother said in a deep voice: 'What remains are Heavenly Yang Stronghold, Three Gates Gang, Heroic Braves Gang, and Wall-Top Gang!'

Baozhu said: 'I know Heavenly Yang Stronghold—it has over a hundred thirty people; its chief, Lu Tianyang, has cultivated to the ninth level of the Qi Hai Realm, with seven subordinates at the Qi Hai Realm and sixty-one at the Condensing Qi Realm; its strength is average.'

The Second Chief said: 'The brothers below report: the Three Gates Gang totals 160 people, founded by three brothers—the eldest is at the Yuan Dan Initial Realm, while the second and third are roughly at the seventh/eighth level of the Qi Hai Realm!'

And the Heroic Braves Gang was formed by a group of outlaws who committed manslaughter, numbering over 180, with some women and children; its gang leader is at the Yuan Dan Initial Realm, with nineteen subordinates at the Qi Hai Realm!

Sun Botian said: 'Then let's first go to war with these three forces!'

The Master shook his head, pointing to the map's northeast corner: 'No! We'll attack the Wall-Top Gang first!'

Baozhu frowned: 'I've heard this gang has plenty of manpower—over three hundred, with two at the Yuan Dan Initial Realm—wouldn't that be tough to beat?'

The Master laughed: 'This gang is made of thirteen small forces; with too many voices, it lacks cohesion—its name Wall-Top means "wall grass," meaning opportunists; we can take them down without lifting a finger!'

As they spoke, a group of people all looked toward Heng Xian.

However, Heng Xian was looking toward the direction of Vast River Town.

"Sir?" Baozhu shouted.

"I'm listening." Heng Xian said: "War requires money!"

Stoneflower and double-tailed sable fur are his heart's ailment; the Heavenly Hexagram's hexagram is the hexagram, but if any change occurs, he's doomed!

Everyone stared at each other.

"Bandit Alliance"'s money was all spent buying stoneflower and double-tailed sable fur; these days' food, drink, and bodily needs all came from the Five Goat Stronghold's reserves.

The brothers' clothes and spiritual tools aren't even complete—let alone going to war; if stoneflower and double-tailed sable fur end up in their hands, the group would barely manage to survive the winter.

Baoyu sighed: "Tuzi's news should arrive soon!"

Just as his words fell, several vehicles came flying through the rain in the distance; Tuzi jumped out of the car far away, running and laughing wildly: "Hahaha, sir, brothers, we've struck it rich!"

Everyone immediately went up to meet them: "What's the word? What's the word?"

Tuzi dove into the shed, gulped two mouthfuls of old liquor: "The three sects of Qiyang Country have decided to explore an ancient relic, and they happen to need double-tailed sable fur, so they sent people to Vast River Town to buy.

Nowadays, only we have it on the market; the key is, a beast tide has occurred deep in Vast Mountain, the double-tailed sables have suffered heavy casualties, making it difficult to catch them in large numbers.

So how much we sell it for depends on our mood!

Everyone was delighted.

Heng Xian let out a sigh of relief and asked, "What about the sand-flower?"

The bald guy slapped his thigh: "This is even better—large areas of Xu, Song, and Lu states have been hit by a spirit‑rat plague, and the royal families, clans, and sects of the three countries are all scrambling to find sand‑flower."

Everything outside has been bought up, yet demand still outstrips supply, so everyone has come to us!

A sharp intake of breath—

Everyone sucked in a cold breath; if the master got one right, it could be coincidence or his skill in astrology and divination, but getting both right would be truly amazing!

Baoyu, Baozhu, and the group, together with the Five Goat brothers, all prostrated themselves in admiration, filled with hope for the future.

"Master, your divine calculations will surely bring prosperity to the thieves' alliance!" the steward flattered, laughing, "So how should we sell it?"

Baozhu said: "That's still simple—make them wait a few days, apply a little pressure, and the higher we raise the price, the better!"

"Exactly!"

Everyone echoed in agreement.

Heng Xian waved his hand: "No need! Those outsiders are frantic, jumping up and down; our foundation is too shallow, and if we squeeze too hard and too greedily now, we'll easily be taken down."

Raise the price of sand‑flower thirtyfold and sell it all outright!

As for the double‑tailed marten pelts… let's jack the price up ten thousand times!

"Uh… ten thousand times?" Everyone stared blankly.

Baoyu and Sun Botian quickly said: "Isn't… that a bit excessive?"

Heng Xian chuckled: "I heard the three sects of Qiyang State are major artifact refiners; if they supply us with ten thousand sets of spirit armor and spirit weapons, we'll give them the double‑tailed marten pelts for free; otherwise we'll sell them at ten thousand times the price—they'll surely know how to choose."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst out laughing: "Master, you're brilliant!"

Spirit armor and spirit weapons are hard to buy even with money; running around trying to purchase them could take who knows how long, so directly exchanging them is actually a great idea.

Heng Xian added: "These two deals will be handled directly by Sun Botian and his three brothers together with Baoyu; the four of you will hold down the fort with your elemental cores, so we won't get ripped off by others."

The four immediately clasped their fists: "Yes!"

(End of Chapter)