3: Chapter 3: The Bracelet That Can't Be Removed!

Black Wind Stronghold.

Located in the northwest of Daliang Dynasty, it is a lawless borderland that mapmakers didn't even bother to draw clearly.

Ever since Chun Xiaobai became the Mountain King, it has turned into the "Three No-Pass Zone."

No passing without paying.

No passing without showing sense.

No passing without politeness.

The rules are so overbearing they could pluck feathers from a passing goose; even a passing donkey would be tied up and taken up the mountain to pull a millstone for two rounds.

But why are these bandits, who pride themselves on being "professionals," still dirt poor?

Just as Chun Xiaobai stepped onto the last stair, an old man carrying a fish basket approached him with two little grandsons who looked like mud monkeys.

The old man looked at the woman on Chun Xiaobai's shoulder, tactfully refrained from asking questions, and skillfully cupped his fists.

"Great King, I've brought you the fresh fish you requested."

"Mm." Chun Xiaobai tilted his chin. "Go find our Fifth Manager to settle the bill."

"It's already been settled!" The old man patted the money pouch at his waist, his face full of gratitude.

The two small children had already boldly gathered around, their dark eyes staring curiously at the Woman in Red on Chun Xiaobai's shoulder, their little noses sniffing.

"Wow, this big sister smells so good!"

"Big Brother King, is this the 'Fortress Lady' they talk about?"

"Smack!"

Chun Xiaobai slapped the shapely buttock on his shoulder and curled his lips. "That depends on whether she has any money!"

If she could fund his cultivation travel expenses, letting her be the Fortress Lady for a few days wouldn't be out of the question.

The other child tugged at Chun Xiaobai's leg and said in a milky voice, "Big Brother King, when I grow up, I want to be a bandit with you too!"

"Mm, you've got ambition."

Chun Xiaobai freed a hand and gave the boy's head a messy rub.

"Wait until you grow a beard. Now, take your grandfather down the mountain quickly. It's getting dark; don't let him trip!"

The old man nodded gratefully and led his grandsons away.

Over the years, the villages for miles around the foot of Black Wind Stronghold had been able to live in peace entirely because of this young Mountain King, who looked like a bandit but acted with honor.

Back then, the first thing he did upon succeeding the position was to use his superior martial arts to lead his brothers in sweeping clean all the marauding bandits and petty thieves within a five-hundred-mile radius.

Since then, the farmers at the foot of the mountain, who lived by the soil, saw their daughters dare to go out to wash clothes and their wives dare to climb the mountain to chop wood; every household had surplus grain.

However, the young Mountain King refused to take credit for this.

He insisted that if the surrounding hundred miles were uninhabited, even a fool would know a nest of bandits was entrenched there, and legitimate merchant caravans wouldn't dare pass through.

If no one passed through, they couldn't collect road tolls.

That was why he protected these common folk.

Over time, the villagers at the foot of the mountain became like family with the bandits, even helping them hide during government inspections.

Worried they might be caught for consorting with bandits, the young Mountain King claimed he had an unrealistic dream of becoming emperor.

If the Daliang Dynasty Dynasty ever truly collapsed, with one call to arms, the villagers for hundreds of miles around would be his die-hard core, ready to shoulder hoes and join his rebellion.

But this still didn't scare the people; instead, every household was waiting for that—call to arms.

"Thud!"

Chun Xiaobai carrying his "hostage," crossed the Martial Arts Field and kicked open the doors bearing the "Zhongyi Hall" plaque.

"Gulp!"

As soon as he turned around, he saw a large group of Adam's apples bobbing up and down.

Behind him, the Second-in-Command, Third Leader, along with the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth-in-Command who weren't on missions...

All eight leaders gathered around without exception, drooling like mountain springs, their eyes fixed intently on the woman on his shoulder.

"Everyone, get lost!" Chun Xiaobai roared.

"That... that..." Scarface, the Fourth-in-Command, rubbed his hands and approached with a fawning look. "Great King, could this... could this be the Fortress Lady you've found for us?"

"Lady?"

Chun Xiaobai tossed the Woman in Red from his shoulder onto the long table like a sack of grain.

Three years ago, with this woman's beauty, she would indeed have been qualified to be the Fortress Lady of Black Wind Stronghold.

But after witnessing an Immortal flying on a sword, his dreams could no longer be contained by a mundane Dragon throne.

A Fortress Lady?

No matter how beautiful a mortal woman was, a hundred years later she would be nothing but a handful of yellow earth in a thin wooden coffin.

He wanted to be an Immortal Emperor!

And the one he looked for had to be a fairy who could accompany him for tens of thousands of years!

As for the woman before him...

Right now, she could only be travel expenses!

It was funds for his journey to immortality!

"Get out, get out, get out!"

Chun Xiaobai waved his hand impatiently, shooing those useless fellows out of Zhongyi Hall like flies, and bolted the door behind them.

Once the covetous gazes outside were shut out, the hall fell silent.

Chun Xiaobai rubbed his hands, chuckled, and once again reached for the Woman in Red's neck.

He pinched the string of crystalline red gems and pulled hard!

It still wouldn't budge.

Refusing to believe it, he increased his strength.

"Rip—!"

The unconscious Woman in Red was lifted off the table by her neck, dangled in the air for a moment, and then fell back with a thud.

"This damn thing is just a normal red string, how can it be tougher than ox tendon?"

Chun Xiaobai looked at the thin red string in his hand, his face filled with disbelief.

He leaned in to look closely but couldn't find a clasp.

"Eerie!"

"There's no way this pendant has been on her since birth, right?"

Chun Xiaobai muttered to himself, temporarily giving up on the pendant, as another urgent matter came to mind.

"This woman's belongings at her waist!"

He immediately leaned over and reached for the woman's lower abdomen, but his hand found nothing.

He tried another spot, searching repeatedly over her flat belly.

It was flat and smooth.

That hard box he had felt earlier... was gone?

Chun Xiaobai flipped the woman over, laying her face down on the table, and lifted her red skirt. A red bellyband came into view, outlining her breathtaking curves, yet he still saw no box.

"Damn it, it probably fell off because the road was too bumpy!" Chun Xiaobai's face darkened.

But on second thought, there was no need to worry if it was lost on the path down; there was only one road. He would have his men form a line later and conduct a carpet search.

As long as no hungry beasts had found it, there was a high probability they would.

Putting that aside, he searched the Woman in Red's entire body.

After a thorough search, Chun Xiaobai found that besides the unbreakable pendant, the unremovable bracelet, and the missing box, all that remained was this red dress.

He didn't know what material the dress was made of, but it felt silky and cool, exceptionally flexible, and seemed to have a faint shimmer—it clearly wasn't ordinary cloth.

"I don't care what you're made of; I'll strip you and sell you for money in a bit!"

Chun Xiaobai's gaze fell once more on the Purple Jade Bracelet.

He grabbed the soft, boneless hand and pulled the bracelet with all his might, but after a long time, the bracelet remained stuck on her wrist, completely unmoved.

"Clang!"

Losing patience, he turned and grabbed a Cow-ear Pointed Knife from the nearby weapon rack—the tool he usually used to carve whole roasted sheep.

Its sharpness was beyond question.

Chun Xiaobai gripped the red string around her neck with one hand and held the knife in the other.

"Screech, screech!"

The blade sawed repeatedly against the red string on her neck, making a sound like sawing through iron, but the red string was as tough as steel wire, showing no sign of being cut at all.

"What the hell is this Materials made of?"

Chun Xiaobai tossed the knife aside, pulled the red string, and leaned in to study it.

His breath brushed against the Woman in Red's cheek, causing her brows to furrow slightly.

"Could it be made of woven Diamond Wire?"

Refusing to give up, Chun Xiaobai pulled the red string taut against the edge of the table and hacked at it fiercely with the knife.

The dull thuds caused the woman in the red dress to frown deeper and deeper.