“Since you are joining the Heiyun Stockade, you are a brother to me, Di Shan!”
“Brothers, open the gate and welcome Brother Luo!”
“We feast tonight as part of a welcome ceremony for Brother Luo! Let the wine flow and let the meat fill our empty stomachs!”
Di Shan laughed loudly above the dwelling. While he hugged the woman closer and tighter, his loud and bold voice was mixed with his surging presence as if his blood was boiling.
The bandits around him clamored and cheered.
Crank!
The gate of the stockade was slowly lowered down.
Zhao Donghan stood further away as he watched Luo Hong ride the horse into the stockade alone. The elegant yet lonesome figure in front of the Heiyun Stockade made Zhao Donghan anxious.
‘The young lord is venturing into the lion’s den alone. If he can’t come back from this trip, he won’t ever come back for good…’
Zhao Donghan breathed deeply while facing the tense situation. He held his anxiety and impulse back and quickly turned around, leaving the stockade in a flash.
“If the young lord is caught in a fight in the stockade, I’ll take the Violent Blood Pill and storm in! I cannot allow the young lord to fight this alone!”
…
In the dense forest outside the Heiyun Stockade, the emissaries from the Court of Judicial Review, Xin Wei and Fang Zheng, were standing on top of a giant tree branch.
“Young Lord ‘Long Hoe’ really went into the Heiyun Stockade alone…”
“Didn’t he bring the guard with Eight Rank Steel Bone along with him?!”
Xin Wei gasped, her pink lips slightly opened as she was shocked by what she saw.
“He must be trying to lower the bandit’s guard down by not bringing any guards, but doing so will also put himself in danger.”
Fang Zheng’s dull face looked rather impressed. “Even I don’t possess such courage. He ventured deep into the mountain, knowing well there are tigers lurking in the bushes…As expected of the representative of justice of Anping County.”
Xin Wei took a deep breath and said, “Let’s keep our eyes open. If something goes south, we must do our best to save the young lord…”
Fang Zheng’s dull face looked determined as he said, “Of course.”
It was not just because they admired Luo Hong as a person but also because of the sword cultivator senior behind the latter. If Luo Hong was in their debt, the two might be able to seize a huge opportunity for themselves.
…
In the Luo Residence, Anping County.
Luo Feng changed out of his emissary uniform into something more casual. He was visiting the Luo Residence for private matters, not official, or more precisely, he was trying to meet the senior in the Luo Residence.
After he stated his intention, the servant guided Luo Feng in. A few turns and a curvy stone bridge later, he arrived at the backyard adorned with a winding stream.
In his casual green robes, Butler Chen was sitting on the chair with a chessboard in front of him. On the chessboard, white and black pieces intercrossed each other’s paths.
“Senior!” Luo Feng cupped his fist and bowed respectfully.
The salutation he performed was supported to be from a junior to senior, and even though he was an officer from the Court of Judicial Review, he knew that the man before his eyes was more than worthy of his salutation.
Butler Chen glanced at him with a smile. “Have a seat. Do you know how to play Go?”
With his hands remained cupped in front of his chest, Luo Feng said, “Yes.”
He sat opposite Butler Chen, appearing revered.
The atmosphere suddenly plunged into silence. As the duo battled on the chessboard, white and black pieces were positioned swiftly, and after a long while, the board was filled.
Luo Feng put the chess piece back into the box and shook his head. “Senior, you are really skilled in Go. I’m no match for you.”
Butler Chen smiled without saying anything. He lifted his cup of tea and softly ground the edge with the lid.
Luo Feng could not hold back anymore, so he asked, “Senior…”
Before he could voice his question, Butler Chen stopped him. “I know why you are here. You don’t need to be a lobbyist anymore. Master Luo has grown tired of the deceiving and the lies. That’s why he brought his children here to Anping County to live a quiet life…
“Now, with Master Luo missing, he’s placed the young lord and young lady in my protection. I, Chen, have become a guardian who will protect the two of them for the rest of my life.”
Luo Feng was slightly shocked.
Butler Chen’s words meant more than it sounded. He seemed to know that Luo Feng had leaked the news to someone powerful back at the capital.
Luo Feng took a deep breath. On second thought, he decided to try to redeem himself. “Senior, I have news from the capital. It’s about the King of the North Garrison.”
Luo Feng then respectfully handed a letter to Butler Chen who squinted his eyes when he heard the name while the icy cold sword qi slowly merged around him.
A little hesitance later, he decided to take the letter.
…
At the Heiyun Stockade.
After Luo Hong came in, Di Shan walked to him with a big saber behind his back and a coquettish woman in his arms.
A fearsome presence seemed to be exploding from Di Shan as if he was an erupting volcano. With every step he took, the gravel beneath his feet would tremble.
Luo Hong’s eyes widened slightly. The tense aura from Di Shan was comparable to that of Zhao Donghan’s. “Martial cultivator: Eighth Grade Steel Bone!”
Zhao Donghan was right. Di Shan was a martial cultivator with Eighth Grade Steel Bone.
While the bandits gathered around him, eeriness floated in the air.
Di Shan looked down at Luo Hong and grinned coldly. “Anping County’s man of justice joining the Heiyun Stockade…You flatter me!”
Luo Hong smiled. He raised his hands and wanted to speak, but the coquettish woman in Di Shan’s arms somehow slipped out of the latter’s strong arms.
To everyone’s surprise, she fell onto Luo Hong like an aromatic gust.
Luo Hong reacted to the situation right away and was shocked. ‘Stop fooling around! Is this woman trying to frame me or something?!’
Di Shan was also surprised. He dragged his woman away and swung his fearsome saber to the ground.
Crank! The saber caused a crack on the ground.
Di Shan felt like he was being cuckolded and was extremely sour.
The bandits clamored and shouted at Luo Hong right away.
“Get your hands off the lady!”
“Do you have a death wish?!”
“I knew you were a good-for-nothing b*stard at first glance!”
Di Shan, who welcomed Luo Hong, put on a gloomy face. Clearly, he was not in a good mood.
“A righteous Ruism cultivator like you joining the Heiyun Stockade? Do you think I’m stupid? I’ll lend you ten men. Travel around 5 miles from here to Longhu Village and raid it tomorrow. Only then will I accept you as one of us. I can even promote you to become the fifth chief of the stockade!” Di Shan glared at Luo Hong and shouted. Immense pressure was emanating from him.
How dare the little b*stard seduce his woman?!
Luo Hong was rendered speechless.
As Di Shan cut the chatter, he lifted his huge saber and swung it backward.
“Lock him up in the firewood room. If he dares to run, I’ll chop him up and feed him to the dogs!”
Then, Di Shan hugged the coquettish woman in his arms. He moved his hand down to the delicate and pitiful woman’s voluptuous bum and smacked it.
“You whore!” he bellowed.
“M-my…my king, I’m sorry!”
As the coquettish woman’s seductive voice rang out, Di Shan left with the woman in his arms.
Luo Hong was brought to the dark firewood storeroom by two bandits. Everything had been progressing according to plan until that coquettish woman ruined it all!
‘Is there something wrong with my plan? Or is that woman doing it on purpose?’ Luo Hong frowned.
The little incident taught him something. A boy must learn how to protect himself outside.
Even though something went sour, at least, he made it into the Heiyun Stockade and became a bandit.
Luo Hong was having a headache because of the proof of allegiance. Di Shan obviously wanted his allegiance by ordering him to raid a village.
After suffering from the headache for a while, Luo Hong decided to put it aside. He took the human skin manual out and flipped it to the diary page. His eyes were gleaming in anticipation.
The entry for the Antagonist Diary was being written by the manual itself.
“June 13th, the Great Xia Calendar. Cloudy.
“I finally joined the Heiyun Stockade and became a bandit who robs and commits crimes. I’m a freshman bandit! This is rare!!!
“Diary entry. +20 Sin Level.”
Luo Hong was shaken by the diary entry. He stared at the page blankly and tears filled his eyes.
The three exclamation marks at the end felt like even the manual was proud of him.
It was his first time earning this much Sin Level!
His Sin Level was almost positive now!
Luo Hong was extremely delighted, and he could not hold back his emotions from overflowing at that moment.
Without Zhao Donghan, who would fill in the gaps with his own imagination, and Luo Feng, the honest emissary from the Court of Judicial Review, Luo Hong believed he would succeed this time.
He ought to put more effort into his plan. Tomorrow would be the day when the prizes in the Prize Pool were updated. With a positive Sin Level, he was one step closer to the special prize, one step closer to becoming a leading antagonist, and one step closer to the epitome of his life!
Luo Hong was excited despite being locked up in the firewood storeroom. He had to admit that he was a little carried away.
Outside the storeroom, the bandits in the stockade started their night with a feast by way of welcoming Luo Hong, who was locked up in the firewood storeroom.
In actuality, the welcoming ceremony was just an excuse for the bandits to drink and feast.
Luo Hong heard ceaseless noise from the feast. Lights flashed as wine glasses were emptied and clamoring was loud and clear.
The noises slowly calmed his excitement.
Time flew by and it was near midnight. The moon shed its purity over the creek on the roof of the storeroom.
As Luo Hong sat on his knees and cultivated Phantom Shadow, he gathered the ominous energy at his dantian.
The noise in the stockade started to quiet down to the point that the silence felt eerie.
All of a sudden, a sudden chill enveloped Luo Hong whole and forced him to stop cultivating.
The dense smell of blood filled the air, overpowering the scent of wine, and it seeped into the storeroom through the creeks.
Luo Hong opened his eyes.
Thud!
The lock fell onto the ground. An eerie peal of laughter similar to that of a female ghost rang out and circulated the storeroom, getting louder and clearer by the second.
The storeroom opened, followed by the sharp creaks from the old pivots.