Visitors to Qingshan Village

"I wonder how much Luck Value it'll take to break the limit and upgrade it... I still owe the Hunyuan Body 19 points of Luck Value!"

Over the next two days, Lu Chen continued to cultivate diligently, without directly allocating Fate Value to his cultivation.

He didn't have enough Luck Value to make a breakthrough even if he used it, so he might as well save some.

He had something of a headache over how to obtain Luck Value.

Where was he supposed to find so many people with Luck Value?

He had wiped out the Black Pole Gang, and everyone from the Black Kill Pavilion was dead. Could it be...

He turned his attention to the neighboring counties.

Not far from Shahu County were two county seats, Tianmu County and Yuncheng County, both just over a hundred li away in a straight line. Although the mountain roads were rugged, he reckoned he could reach either one in less than half a day if he ran at full speed.

"Tsk, that's not a bad idea! I'd still be carrying out Heaven's justice and doing good deeds, earning myself hidden virtue."

Lu Chen was pondering this as he practiced the Vajra Body on the village exercise ground when he suddenly heard a muffled rumbling from the distance.

"Thunder... no, that sounds a bit like hoofbeats! There are quite a few people approaching on horseback!"

Lu Chen's heart jolted.

Not daring to delay, he hurriedly called out to Lu Huaiyi, Lu Zhen and the others nearby, "Uncle, it sounds like a group of riders is coming. I'm afraid they might mean trouble, so I'll go ahead. Hurry and bring the others!"

With that, he raced straight for the village entrance, vanishing after a few flickers.

On the exercise ground, the others were still somewhat confused. Lu Huaiyi, Lu Zhen and the rest looked grim and hurriedly called to everyone present, grabbing their weapons and charging out.

"Everyone, hurry and follow! Let's see what's happening out there!"

"Dad, a group of people rode up to our village! Grandpa's at the threshing ground and told you to hurry over! I think he said they were horse bandits!"

The group was rushing out anxiously with hoes and shovels. Some held steel sabers they had bought bit by bit, while others carried spears made with separately purchased spearheads. Just then, Lu Huaiyi's son, Lu Chengzong, came running over, his face covered in sweat.

The group of adults erupted in an uproar.

Horse bandits?

Their eyes reddened, and they clutched their weapons and rushed out in a crowd.

"Hurry home and stay there. Tell everyone else at home not to run around!"

Lu Huaiyi pulled Lu Chengzong aside and spoke sternly, then hurried to catch up with the others.

At that moment, in a spacious area inside Qingshan Village, not far from the entrance.

This was normally the threshing ground, where the villagers dried their grain.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense.

On one side were the people of Qingshan Village, led by Lu Xiande, Lu Wei and several other old men. Some women carrying farming tools were there as well, blocking the way at the threshing ground to keep the newcomers from entering the village proper.

On the other side were more than ten men, the three at their head mounted high on horseback.

"Old man, are you looking to die? How dare you block the Flying Eagle Horse Gang? Hurry up and call everyone in your village out. We have something to announce!"

A burly man astride a tall horse looked down disdainfully at Lu Xiande, who stood less than three paces in front of him. He held a whip in his hand.

The others beside and behind him also stared at the Qingshan villagers with ill intent. Some fixed their eyes on the young married women, licking their lips, the lust in their eyes nearly spilling over.

"I've already sent someone to call them. May I ask what brings you heroes of the Flying Eagle Horse Gang to our Qingshan Village?"

Lu Xiande's palms were sweaty and he was nervous, but he forced a smile onto his face and stood in the middle without moving aside.

Several other old men also stepped forward, blocking the gazes of a few of the thugs.

"Old man, you really are the old god of longevity hanging himself—tired of living!" The man lashed his whip against the ground with a sharp crack, like a firecracker going off. "Hurry up and call them, or I won't mind starting with you!"

He leaned down from his horse and looked at Lu Xiande, his voice vicious.

Lu Xiande jumped in fright, his face turning a little pale.

The others also cried out in alarm.

The thugs roared with laughter, openly pointing at women with decent looks and figures and making obscene remarks.

"Stand the hell in place, and don't waste my time!"

The man looked around and saw quite a few people running over from different directions.

A slender youth kept his head lowered as he mingled with the crowd, quietly studying the dozen or so men ahead.

Before long, Lu Huaiyi and the others also came charging over with their weapons.

"Who's come to our village to make trouble?"

Lu Huaiyi roared, looking up warily at the three men on horseback.

The three mounted men narrowed their eyes, somewhat surprised.

Quite a few people in the village had weapons such as sabers, spears and clubs. Judging by the burly men at the front, they clearly had some martial skill too; even their bearing was visibly different.

The men wore mocking expressions. Ignoring the dense crowd around them, they instead squeezed their horses' flanks and rode forward a few paces, nearly running into Lu Xiande.

"Dad, get back!"

Lu Huaiyi went to Lu Xiande's side and helped him back, then he and several hundred other men surrounded the horse gang members, looking at them with hostility.

"What do you want in Qingshan Village?"

The others shared his anger and shouted loudly as well.

"That's right! Get out of here! You're not welcome!"

"Hurry up and leave, or don't blame us for getting rough!"

Lu Huaiyi had already seen Lu Chen standing in the crowd. Lu Chen gave him a slight nod, putting his mind at ease.

"Now that just about everyone is here, then..." The horse gang leader looked around at the weapons in the farmers' hands and smiled disdainfully. Suddenly, he roared, his voice like a great bell, "Shut the hell up! Listen to my announcement!"

He raised his horsewhip and lashed the ground. "Listen up! My name is Wang Feng, the sixth leader of the Flying Eagle Horse Gang! These men are all brothers of the Flying Eagle Horse Gang!"

The tremendous volume left everyone's ears ringing. They couldn't help feeling afraid and fell quiet.

Seeing that everyone had gone quiet, Wang Feng grinned. "Now, all of Shahu County is Flying Eagle Horse Gang territory, and that includes your Qingshan Village! To better manage you and keep you safe from harm by others, we'll provide you with protection! But you'll have to pay a little price too!"

"What?" Lu Huaiyi's expression turned ugly.

Wasn't this just protection money?

How was it any different from robbery?

His face was livid. Several of his kinsmen gripped their weapons tightly, anger and a trace of hesitation in their eyes.

Should they fight?

They exchanged glances, then saw the worried expressions on the faces of their wives and children behind them. They couldn't quite make up their minds.

The others were furious.

They had come all the way to the village to collect protection money?

What need did the village have for their protection?

Keep them safe from harm by others? The only danger came from these men!

The burly man on horseback curled his lips.

He had seen this situation plenty of times.

They saw that the gang had only a dozen or so men while their village had several hundred, and they weren't willing to obediently hand over the money. That was why they wanted to resist.

"Pah, you can't tell how strong we are, and you think the likes of you can actually lay a hand on us?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other dozen or so thugs burst into laughter, mocking the people of Qingshan Village for not knowing the height of heaven or the depth of earth.

"Hahaha, do they think those pieces of scrap metal in their hands can compare to ours?"

"I bet hardly any of them have even seen a dead man! Hahahaha!"

"Heh... ptooey! A bunch of fools dare to stand against the Flying Eagle Horse Gang? They won't shed tears until they see the coffin. In the last few villages, they only paid up after a few people died. I bet Qingshan Village is the same! Sixth Brother, why waste your breath on them? Kill a few and they'll behave!"

"That's right! Beat a few of them to death first and talk later. They won't agree to pay unless a few of them die!"

Wang Feng, the leader, shook his head and merely looked at Lu Huaiyi.

Qingshan Village was a little different from the other villages.

It clearly had more people, they were more united, and some of them had a little martial skill.

There were only a dozen or so gang members; if a fight really broke out, they might come off worse too.

Hidden in the crowd, Lu Chen made his way to Lu Xiande and whispered a few words to him.

Beside Lu Xiande, Lu Wei and the other old men casually turned sideways to shield Lu Chen from view.

Lu Xiande also quietly hid Lu Chen behind him, turning his head slightly to listen closely. Then he glanced at the horse gang members and sighed.

"Sir, may I ask how much we have to pay?"

He stepped forward, his face full of distress, and cupped his hands as he asked.

"Dad!"

"Patriarch, this..."

The expressions of Lu Huaiyi and the others changed. They wanted to say something, but held their tongues out of respect for the authority of Lu Huaiyi's own father and their patriarch.

Wang Feng burst out laughing.

"Good! You've got more sense, old man. You're smart! I won't make things difficult for you. I'll count your village as having a thousand people, and each person will pay us two taels of silver. Once you've paid, we'll leave at once, and I guarantee we won't harm a hair on your heads afterward!"

Standing in the crowd, Lu Chen swept his eyes over the dozen or so thugs, committing their faces to memory.

He himself remained in the crowd and did not step forward.

What could he do by stepping forward?

Display his strength and make these men retreat in the face of difficulty, or kill them all on the spot?

It was better to pay them first and let them leave.

Once he made a trip to the county seat, he would have plenty of ways to deal with them!

The money he handed over would only be left with them for safekeeping for the time being.

He couldn't fight freely in the village, either. If he really drew the others' attention, he could easily bring disaster upon the village instead.