Chapter 9: Are the Snow Wolves Really Here? I'll Lead the Way and Bash Them with Bricks!

Lin Xuan returned in triumph, carrying five hundred taels in silver notes and two "account managers" who worshipped him to the point of prostration.

Inside the Justice Hall, when Lin Xuan slapped that five-hundred-tael silver note onto the table, the entire mountain stronghold fell into a deathly silence, followed by an earth-shattering cheer!

"Five hundred taels! It really is five hundred taels!"

"My dear mother! Consultant Lin is truly a god among men!"

"Without drawing a single blade, he earned five hundred taels from the Four Seas Trading Firm just by flapping his lips! I’m convinced!"

The bandits who had previously grumbled about Lin Xuan’s reforms and paid training were now looking at him as if he were the God of Wealth. Even the Great Leader, Black Bear, was so excited his face turned red, rubbing his hands together, not knowing what to say.

[Ding! Detected extreme shock and worship from all members of the Black Wind Stronghold, emotion points +9999!]

[Ding! Achievement "A Word Worth a Thousand Gold" unlocked!]

Lin Xuan enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention, but he knew in his heart that trouble would soon follow.

He raised a hand to suppress the noise, his expression turning serious: "Brothers, the money is earned, but the crisis has arrived as well."

The crowd was stunned.

"To gain the trust of the Four Seas Trading Firm, I casually fabricated the news that the 'Blood Wolf Gang' would attack them," Lin Xuan said in a low voice. "But according to the information provided by the Great Leader earlier, the Blood Wolf Gang drifting into the vicinity is real."

Black Bear’s expression changed: "Consultant Lin, you mean..."

"I mean, if the Four Seas Trading Firm remains safe, they might just think I am well-informed. But if they truly encounter the Blood Wolf Gang, and our Black Wind Stronghold does nothing, or worse, gets our base wiped out by the Blood Wolf Gang..." Lin Xuan looked around at everyone, "Then the reputation of our 'Black Wind Logistics' will be ruined! We cannot afford the retaliation of the Four Seas Trading Firm!"

The crowd immediately panicked. The Blood Wolf Gang was notorious; their leader was at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and their members were all fierce and brave. They were definitely not a match for this group of old, weak, sick, and disabled (who had just finished having diarrhea) bandits.

"Then... what do we do? Should we run away?" a bandit asked timidly.

"Run? Where to?" Lin Xuan sneered. "If we run, this foundation we’ve worked so hard to build will be gone! Besides, the Four Seas Trading Firm will think we are guilty and won't let us off the hook."

"Then... then we fight the Blood Wolf Gang to the death?" another bandit asked, neck stiff, though his voice was clearly shaky.

"Fight? With what? In your current state, how much of your strength can you even use?" Lin Xuan struck them down without mercy.

An atmosphere of despair began to spread.

Just then, Lin Xuan changed his tone, a glimmer of cunning flashing in his eyes: "A head-on fight won't work, but we... can win with wit."

"Win with wit?" All the bandits looked at him eagerly.

"Exactly!" Lin Xuan walked to the sand table. "If the Blood Wolf Gang really intends to act, they will inevitably choose the most complex terrain, 'Falling Eagle Ravine,' to set their ambush. We will prepare some 'surprises' for them on the road where they plan to ambush!"

He began to issue a series of orders, speaking at a rapid pace:

"Wang Laowu! Take a few men and replace all the vines on both sides of the small path leading to Falling Eagle Ravine with rotten vines that look the same but snap at a single pull! Yes, the kind that falls apart at a touch!"

"Li Goudan! Take a team and dig traps! They don't need to be deep, but they must be slippery. Pour oil inside and... well, the 'five-grain cycle products' specialty of our stronghold!"

"Zhang Mazi! You have nimble hands; take some men and rush to make a batch of... this!" Lin Xuan took out a sketch depicting a crude, large slingshot made of tree branches and rubber bands, as well as "smoke bombs" made of lime powder wrapped in rags.

"The rest of you, come with me and prepare enough... bricks!"

Bricks?! The bandits were baffled again. Is this stuff useful against cultivators?

"Don't underestimate the brick!" Lin Xuan looked unfathomable. "The key lies in timing and usage! We aren't fighting a war of annihilation; we are fighting a harassment war, a psychological war! We want the Blood Wolf Gang to feel like they haven't encountered bandits, but have instead run into ghosts!"

Although they didn't understand, out of blind trust in the "miracle" Lin Xuan had just created, the bandits acted quickly.

The entire Black Wind Stronghold became like an efficient (though it looked ridiculous) workshop, rushing to produce various "non-mainstream" weapons.

Lin Xuan seized the time to use the large amount of "slacking off" points he had just harvested to redeem a movement technique suitable for group fights and ambushes from the system shop—"Ghost Shadow Steps"—and a technique for concealing one's aura—"Turtle Breathing Art."

A day passed in tense and bizarre preparations.

Just past noon the next day, the bandit on lookout duty came running back, tumbling and crawling: "They're here! They're here! The Blood Wolf Gang really came! About thirty-some people, heading toward Falling Eagle Ravine! The Four Seas Trading Firm’s caravan is less than ten miles from the ravine!"

What was meant to come, had finally come!

The members of the Black Wind Stronghold immediately grew tense, looking toward Lin Xuan one after another.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes sharp: "Follow the plan! Remember, our goal is not total annihilation; it is harassment, creating chaos, and making them feel that this place is eerie so they dare not stay long! Everyone, follow my orders!"

"Yes! Consultant Lin!" the crowd roared in unison. At this moment, Lin Xuan was their backbone.

In a dense forest outside Falling Eagle Ravine, more than thirty fierce bandits from the Blood Wolf Gang were lurking, sharpening their blades, waiting for the Four Seas Trading Firm’s caravan to enter the ambush circle. The leader, Blood Wolf, a fierce man with a scar on his face, was squinting his eyes, calculating the time.

However, they didn't wait for the caravan; instead, they were met with—

"Whoosh—thwack!"

A pebble, flying from who knows where, accurately struck the back of a Blood Wolf Gang member's head.

"Ouch! Who?!" The member, in pain, turned around angrily, but saw nothing.

"Whoosh—thwack!"

Another pebble hit another member’s backside.

"Damn it! Are there mosquitoes?" the man swatted irritably.

Blood Wolf frowned, feeling something was wrong.

Just then—

"Pull!" A low shout from Lin Xuan came from deep in the dense forest.

The vines that several Blood Wolf Gang members were using for leverage suddenly snapped! Caught off guard, several people tumbled down the hillside with cries of alarm; although they weren't seriously injured, they were in a sorry state.

"What’s going on?!" Blood Wolf stood up abruptly.

Before he could figure it out—

"Fire!" Lin Xuan ordered again.

A dozen crude "large slingshots" fired simultaneously, not stones, but bundles wrapped in rags that emitted a foul stench!

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"

The bundles exploded in mid-air, and the "essence" of the yellow-white matter scattered like flowers, drenching the Blood Wolf Gang members below from head to toe!

"Ugh—! What is this?! So stinky!"

"It’s shit! It’s fucking shit!"

The stench instantly filled the air, and the Blood Wolf Gang fell into chaos, with many vomiting on the spot.

"Bastards! Which turtle-grandson is it! Get out here!" Blood Wolf was furious; these tactics were too low-class!

His response was more "lime powder smoke bombs" shot from different directions!

"Poof!"

White smoke filled the air, choking people until tears streamed down their faces, obstructing their vision.

"Careful! The smoke is poisonous!" someone shouted (it was actually one of Lin Xuan's men), and the Blood Wolf Gang became even more panicked.

"Bang!"

A Blood Wolf Gang member was vigilantly watching the front, but the back of his head was hit solidly by a brick, and he fainted without even a groan.

"Bang! Bang!"

Bricks flew from all sorts of bizarre angles, specifically targeting heads! Accompanied by lime powder and the stench attacks, the Blood Wolf Gang was in complete disarray! They had cultivation and ferocity, but they couldn't even touch the shadow of their enemies, forced to take a beating passively, feeling so stifled they wanted to vomit blood!

"Leader! This place is evil! There must be an ambush!" a subordinate shouted in terror, covering his eyes blinded by lime.

Blood Wolf looked at his chaotic, demoralized men and smelled the nauseating odor in the air; he felt his own heart go cold. He had never heard of such a fighting style! They didn't act like bandits at all, but rather like a group of... ghosts who would stop at nothing!

Just as he hesitated about whether to retreat—

"Blood Wolf Gang scum! Daring to run wild on your Grandpa Black Wind’s territory! Taste your grandpa’s might!" A roar came from the forest, full of vigor (Lin Xuan had channeled his spiritual power), yet elusive and impossible to locate.

Immediately after, an exceptionally large brick, carrying the powerful spiritual power of the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, shot toward Blood Wolf like a cannonball!

Blood Wolf subconsciously swung his blade to block.

"Boom!"

The brick shattered, and Blood Wolf’s arm was numbed by the shock; he was horrified! The opponent’s strength was not weak!

"Retreat! Retreat for now!" Blood Wolf finally couldn't bear this double torture of spirit and body, and gritted his teeth to give the order.

The remaining Blood Wolf Gang members, as if granted amnesty, helped the wounded and fled Falling Eagle Ravine in a panic, covered in dirt and stench, not even caring about the ambush on the Four Seas Trading Firm.

In the dense forest, the bandits of the Black Wind Stronghold watched the fleeing Blood Wolf Gang, their eyes wide, as if they were dreaming.

They... fought them off?

The arrogant Blood Wolf Gang was beaten off by us using bricks, lime, and shit...?!

[Ding! Detected the shattering of worldviews and ecstasy of all members of the Black Wind Stronghold, emotion points +!]

[Ding! Detected the frustration, fear, and existential doubt of the Blood Wolf Gang members, emotion points +8888!]

[Ding! Achievement "Using Rot to Control Violence" unlocked!]

"Consultant Lin... did we... did we win?" Black Bear asked with a trembling voice, still unable to believe it.

Lin Xuan clapped the dust off his hands and walked out from his hiding spot, looking in the direction the Blood Wolf Gang had fled, a satisfied smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"We won, and we won very 'lazily'."

He turned around, looked at the group of bandits with burning eyes, and said loudly:

"Brothers, did you see that? This is the combat power of our Black Wind Logistics! To subdue the enemy without fighting is the best of the best! Of course, we used bricks and lime."

"Hahaha!" The bandits burst into laughter, feeling the joy of surviving a disaster and finally venting their frustrations.

Just then, a bandit responsible for monitoring the caravan ran over to report: "Consultant Lin, the Four Seas Trading Firm’s caravan has safely passed through Falling Eagle Ravine! They... they seem to have sent people toward our stronghold!"

Lin Xuan’s eyes flashed, and he smiled: "It seems our 'after-sales service' client has come to the door."

He straightened his robes; although it was still the same tattered purple robe, in the eyes of the bandits at this moment, it seemed to radiate ten thousand rays of light.

"Let’s go, go back and prepare to welcome our... big client."

(End of Chapter Nine)