21: Chapter 21 Unexpected Gain

In the Juyi Hall, there was a deathly silence.

That heavy Ghost-Headed Greatsword was casually resting on Chen Fan's shoulder, the blade reflecting the torchlight, making everyone feel uneasy.

Iron-Armed Monkey's face turned a purplish-red, his chest heaving violently, yet he couldn't utter a single word.

The bandit leaders behind him also lowered their heads, not daring to look at Chen Fan.

Robbing the rich to help the poor?

Hearing these words from their murderous Chief felt more absurd and terrifying to them than government troops attacking the mountain.

Chen Fan scanned the room, taking in everyone's reactions.

Good, no one objects.

Or rather, no one dares to object.

He slammed the Ghost-Headed Greatsword onto the ground with a dull thud, then turned and sat back down on the tiger-skin chair.

"It's settled then."

He picked up his wine bowl, no longer looking at anyone.

This absurd victory banquet ended hastily in such a strange atmosphere.

The bandits dispersed, huddling in small groups and whispering to each other, filled with awe and confusion whenever they looked toward the head seat.

The Chief has truly changed.

The old Chief, though fierce, only thought about killing, stealing money, and playing with women.

The current Chief has become incomprehensible to them.

...

Over the next few days, Black Wind Mountain entered a brief period of rest and reorganization.

In the mountain stronghold, the earth-shaking shouting and finger-guessing games were no longer heard.

Iron-Armed Monkey locked himself in his room, drinking gloomily all day and seeing no one.

Only the Third Chief, Smiling Tiger, took the initiative to seek out Chen Fan the next day.

"Chief."

Smiling Tiger bowed, handing over a bamboo scroll, a shrewd smile plastered on his fat face.

"The matter you asked me to look into has some leads."

Chen Fan was in the stone room of the back hall, helping Yun Niang and the others study a new type of Cat's Cradle. Hearing this, he casually took the bamboo scroll.

On the bamboo scroll, written in crude handwriting, were the names and assets of several wealthy families near Qinghe County.

The Zhang Family, west city rice shop, hoarded grain for speculation, used unfair measures, and drove three tenant families to their deaths.

The Li Family, engaged in usury with compounding interest, causing no fewer than ten families to be ruined.

The Wang Family, colluded with the county yamen to forcibly seize a hundred mu of fertile land...

Chen Fan skimmed through the list; these were the "high-quality clients" Smiling Tiger had filtered from Black Wind Demon's memories.

"Just these few?" Chen Fan tossed the bamboo scroll onto the table.

Smiling Tiger was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said, "Chief, these families are notorious for being wealthy and unscrupulous. They have substantial assets and few guards, making them the best targets!"

He thought Chen Fan was unhappy with the small number of targets or that the "meat" wasn't fatty enough.

"I'm asking if they truly deserve to die," Chen Fan said calmly, pouring a cup of water.

Smiling Tiger's smile froze on his face.

Deserve to die?

They were bandits; did they need a reason to rob someone? Wasn't being "fat" enough?

But looking at Chen Fan's calm, expressionless profile, he felt a shiver and immediately put on a face of righteous indignation.

"They deserve it! They all deserve to die! Those god-awful gentry scrape the people's wealth and drive so many to displacement! We are acting on behalf of Heaven!"

Chen Fan He glanced at him， He didn't speak..

This fat man was certainly adaptable.

"Fine, them it is."

He waved his hand.

"Have the brothers get ready; we head down the mountain tomorrow."

"Understood!" Smiling Tiger was overjoyed, bowing and scrambling out of the room.

As long as they could go down the mountain and start business, anything like "acting on behalf of Heaven" was fine by him!

...

Early the next morning.

Iron-Armed Monkey, who had been cooped up for days, finally led over a hundred howling bandits down Black Wind Mountain.

The ferocity he had suppressed for so long completely exploded.

Chen Fan did not go.

He stayed on the mountain, sitting on the high platform outside the back hall, watching the group disappear at the end of the mountain path.

He wasn't the real Black Wind Demon.

He was just a passerby who wanted to live a stable life and experience a different life along the way.

Fighting and killing could be left to his subordinates.

He only needed to set the rules.

As for whether his subordinates would follow them one hundred percent...

That was beyond his control.

All he could do was make things move in the direction he hoped for within his own capabilities.

Even if it was just a little bit.

This raid was unexpectedly smooth.

In just three days, Iron-Armed Monkey returned with the team, fully loaded.

Dozens of large carts were filled with grain, cloth, gold, and silver.

Every bandit's face beamed with the euphoria and satisfaction of having survived and succeeded.

At the foot of the mountain, a group of ragged refugees had gathered, having heard rumors and come from all directions.

They looked at the fierce bandits with fear, yet were so drawn to the grain on the carts that they couldn't move.

Iron-Armed Monkey sat on his horse, a trace of impatience and disgust flashing across his face as he looked at the refugees.

But he remembered the Chief's rules.

He hesitated for a moment, then roared reluctantly.

"Damn it, lucky you Mud-legs!"

He waved his hand.

A few bandits cursed as they hauled several bags of grain off the carts and threw them roughly onto the ground.

"Scram, scram, scram! Take the stuff and get lost!"

The refugees were stunned at first, then erupted in massive joy, swarming forward to scramble for the food.

Iron-Armed Monkey snorted coldly, ignored them, and led the main force up the mountain in a show of power.

From the high platform, Chen Fan saw everything.

The grain distributed wasn't even a tenth of what they had stolen.

But he wasn't surprised.

Expecting a bunch of outlaws to become Living Bodhisattvas overnight was pure fantasy.

Having this start was good enough.

He stood up, preparing to return to the stone room.

However, at the very end of the line, he saw an unusual scene.

Two women, tied up securely, were roughly pushed off a small carriage by several bandits.

One appeared slightly older, dressed in silk clothes; though her hair was disheveled and her face stained with mud, she still held her head high, her face full of stubbornness and anger.

The other was a young girl dressed as a maidservant, trembling all over with teary eyes, shrinking behind her mistress and not daring to look at anyone.

Chen Fan's footsteps stopped.

He hadn't ordered them to take people.

In the Juyi Hall, the revelry began again.

Iron-Armed Monkey poured a chest of gold and silver onto the table with a "clatter," the glittering golden light stinging everyone's eyes.

"Hahaha! Refreshing! This is the life!"

"The Chief is brilliant! Robbing these wealthy families is indeed much more profitable than robbing those paupers!"

The bandits cheered as they divided the loot.

Chen Fan sat in the head seat, expressionless, merely fiddling with the Jade Thumb Ring in his hand.

Until Iron-Armed Monkey and Smiling Tiger, along with several bandits, brought the two women up.

"Chief!" Iron-Armed Monkey had a smile like he was presenting a treasure. "Look, we had an unexpected harvest during this trip down the mountain!"

He pointed at the woman in silk, winking.

"This woman, we ran into her on the way back! She's quite something! The brothers thought you might be lonely on the mountain, so we brought her back for you!"

A burst of laughter and vulgarities rang out in the cave.

Chen Fan's gaze fell upon the woman.

She was held down by the shoulders by two bandits, yet she still kept her back straight.

In the torchlight, those eyes held no fear, only cold, burning rage.

"You beasts, worse than pigs and dogs!"

The woman's voice was cold and slightly raspy, yet every word was clear.

"If you have the guts, kill me right now!"

She stared intently at Chen Fan, who sat on the tiger-skin chair—the bearded, bandit leader overflowing with Evil Qi.

"Otherwise, I will surely make you pay for your blood debts in kind!"