Black Wind Stockade

"Bandits kill without batting an eye. Even if you have martial arts skills, two fists can't fight four hands. How can you fight them?"

Seeing the young man wearing a sword at his waist and the woman completely disregarding the Black Wind Stockade bandits outside, the thin innkeeper worried that the two didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth and were intent on showing off, which would implicate his small shop.

"Please, you two, hide in the backyard first. I'll do my best to stall them for you."

Zhang Yu stood up and said, "Thank you, boss."

The two lifted the curtain and had just stepped into the backyard when they heard the bandits shouting from outside.

"Where's Wang Laosan? Why aren't you out here to lead our horses for us? Did that old hag lock you up?"

"Coming, sirs."

Wang Laosan wiped the tears from his eyes, forced a smile, and walked out.

Eight people stood under the eaves. The bald man at the head rode a horse, his face showing ferocity. The other followers carried various packages on their backs, all looking excited. There were also four women, their hands tied with ropes, looking frightened and terrified, trembling like quails on the snow.

These bandits had clearly just finished looting. The blood on their knives was still wet. One didn't know which village had fallen victim this time.

Wang Laosan smiled and stepped forward to take the horse reins, but he was struck across the face with a whip. Bloodstains immediately appeared on his face. He was long accustomed to it and didn't dare to cry out in pain, standing submissively by the horse's head to beg for forgiveness.

"What are you dawdling for? Don't you welcome us brothers?" Song Chang asked with a smile.

Wang Laosan quickly looked up at Song Chang, his face a mixture of smiles, tears, and blood, looking extremely comical.

"How could I not? It's an honor to have Leader Song grace my humble shop. I'm overjoyed."

Song Chang dismounted and threw the reins at the innkeeper, saying with a half-smile, "Is that so? I thought you were entertaining other distinguished guests? Looking down on us brothers."

Wang Laosan patted his chest and said, "Leader Song, you are the most distinguished guest of my shop. Even if the county magistrate came, he'd have to wait in line."

"I hope you mean that from the bottom of your heart!"

Song Chang smiled and lifted the door curtain. Six people swarmed in, leaving two bandits outside to guard the horses and the women.

He surveyed the interior of the shop. Seeing that one table had no bowls or chopsticks but had traces of wine, he gave a look, and a follower immediately went out and dragged Wang Laosan back into the shop like a chicken.

Song Chang sat on the long bench with his legs spread wide, touched his bald head, and chuckled, "Boss Wang, where are the guests? Hurry and invite them out. Don't let us brothers disturb your business."

Wang Laosan said obsequiously, "Reporting to Leader Song, there were two guests, but they left long ago."

Song Chang sneered, "They left, but their horses are still here?"

Wang Laosan replied, "I heard they were going to Qiqu Creek, and riding horses would be inconvenient, so they temporarily left them at the shop."

Song Chang burst into laughter, "Wang Laosan, you're not being honest! Brothers, search the place!"

The bandits rushed into the backyard, kicking boxes and overturning cabinets. They didn't find any fat sheep who could afford fine horses, but they did find Wang Laosan's wife, a mute woman, in a pile of firewood.

A follower reported, "Big Brother Song, we also found a lot of cured beef, smoked goose, white flour pancakes, and three large pots of rice in the kitchen."

Song Chang stared at the mute woman, who was still quite attractive, and said with a smile, "Wang Laosan, who were you preparing all this for?"

Wang Laosan said with a bitter smile, "Of course, it was prepared... to entertain Leader Song."

"Since that's the case, I won't be polite."

Song Chang pulled the mute woman into his arms. She struggled with all her might, her muffled cries unable to form a complete word. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at her husband.

"Leader Song, please let her go? She's just a mute." Wang Laosan knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, begging desperately.

"Let her go? I'll let her go right now."

Song Chang smiled and extended his devilish hand, tearing open the mute woman's clothes, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin. The bandit followers began to jeer, urging Brother Song to deal with the woman on the spot. She looked at Wang Laosan in despair, shaking her head desperately.

Just then, a few screams suddenly came from outside.

Song Chang's expression changed slightly. He pushed the woman away, drew his iron saber, and rushed out the door.

The tall woman pulled a fire poker from her chest. The bandit fell, and two red flowers bloomed on the snow.

The combat strength of these bandit followers was far inferior to that of the Dragon Scale Association or the Wild Wolf Gang disciples. They were only slightly stronger than ordinary people, swinging their swords and sabers haphazardly without any discernible style or system.

Beside the woman wielding the fire poker to kill, stood a swordsman in black robes. Seeing Song Chang emerge, he smiled grimly.

Song Chang's hand, gripping the saber, trembled uncontrollably. He knew he had encountered a tough opponent.

"I am Song Chang of the Black Wind Stockade. May I ask which hero you are? Are you here to play a joke on Song?"

"No joke!"

Zhang Yu walked up to the six Black Wind Stockade bandits.

"Put down your weapons!"

Song Chang asked tremblingly, "If we put down our weapons, can we live?"

"Not necessarily..."

Song Chang gritted his teeth, "Then... why should I submit to death?"

Out of the pride of a professional bandit leader, he brandished his iron saber and charged forward. The outcome, of course, was not in doubt. The woman swung the fire poker, smashing the skulls of five bandits, leaving only Song Chang.

The four women knelt on the snow. Seeing the villains who had killed their fathers, husbands, and sons being punished, they felt both grief and exhilaration.

Inside the shop.

Wang Laosan held the mute woman and sobbed quietly. With the death of these people from the Black Wind Stockade, his hotel, which he had endured countless grievances to maintain, could no longer continue. He could only pack his belongings and leave his homeland.

Song Chang knelt before the table, a stark contrast to his previous ferocity, as if he were a completely different person. "I'll do anything, I beg you, just let me live!"

Zhang Yu nodded. "We won't kill you. We just have a few questions."

Driven by a sliver of hope for survival, Song Chang spilled the beans about his mountain stronghold like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.

Black Wind Stockade was located in the Cloud Mist Mountains, thirty li east of Bailuo County. It originated from a group of tenant farmers who failed in their rebellion against rent increases. They later grew in power, amassing two hundred ruffians, with over fifty seasoned veterans who held a higher status than ordinary members.

The stockade master, Cao Long, nicknamed 'Mountain-Drilling Centipede,' wielded a steel fork weighing one hundred and twelve jin. Ordinary men, seven or eight of them, couldn't get close to him. He was quite renowned in the Cloud Mist Mountain area.

Eight chieftains were often ordered to lead teams down the mountain to plunder for wealth and people. Merit and punishment were determined by the amount of spoils. The authorities were powerless to suppress them, and wealthy families gathered their own forces for protection, leaving the common folk to suffer.

Zhao Xia harbored doubts. Her Xuanhua Great Axe, a typical heavy weapon, weighed only about sixty jin. She asked, "A steel fork weighing over a hundred jin? What's Cao Long's background?"

Zhang Yu was also somewhat surprised. At the late stage of Dan Energy, lifting a hundred jin object was not a problem, but using it as a weapon was difficult to do with ease. Weapons were meant to be light, agile, and appropriate. Forcing a small cart with a large horse was no different than playing with one's own life.

Song Chang still held Cao Long in awe, his eyes showing a look of terror. "The Grand Stockade Master was a blacksmith by trade and a formidable martial artist. I personally saw him lift a stone pier weighing several hundred jin with one hand and throw it over his head. He's incredibly powerful!"

Zhang Yu couldn't help but frown and asked, "What about the defenses of Black Wind Stockade?"

"The fifty veteran brothers directly under Cao Long rarely leave the stockade. The others take turns going down the mountain to forage. There are at least a hundred guards. On the two wooden towers by the stockade gate, there are ten archers in total. They are all hunters, veteran brothers who were once deserters. Their leader is Chen Wu, who is quite skilled at archery and rarely comes down the mountain."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment, having no more questions. He said, "Get lost."

"Thank you, good sirs, for sparing my life. Thank you, good sirs, for sparing my life." Song Chang repeatedly kowtowed his thanks. Before he could even look up, he felt his body jolt, followed by intense pain.

Zhao Xia flung out a pair of fire tongs, smashing Song Chang's shoulder blades, and then kicked his leg backward, breaking it.

Song Chang fell to the ground, gritting his teeth. "You... you broke your promise!"

Zhang Yu threw Song Chang's saber with a clang in front of Wang Lao San. "I promised not to kill him. Whether he lives or dies is entirely up to you and your wife."

Wang Lao San was still lost in thought, holding his wife.

Hearing this, Song Chang immediately wriggled his body and, using his one good leg, desperately crawled towards the door, squeezing through a corner of the curtain.

"Ah!"

Wang Lao San roared, picked up his saber, and rushed out. He saw that Song Chang was already dead, his blood staining the snow-covered ground. The four young women who had been forcibly abducted by the bandits were covered in blood and were hacking away at Song Chang with their swords, one after another. They had struck so many times that the blades were already chipped.

"Kill!"

He walked over with bloodshot eyes, his saber flashing, and the bandit leader's head separated from his neck. Only then did the four women, as if released from a spell, let go of their weapons and collapse to the ground.

The two walked out the door and looked at the three horses by the trough, drinking water and eating fodder together.

Zhao Xia said with some concern, "A stone pier weighing several hundred jin... Sir, does that mean Cao Long is likely a master of the Qi Hai realm?"

Zhang Yu looked at the unseeing eyes of Song Chang and shook his head. "Masters of the Qi Hai realm can establish their own sects in the martial world. Why would they stoop to being a bandit leader in a hidden mountain stronghold?"

Zhao Xia asked, "What do you mean, Sir?"

"I'll personally go to Cloud Mist Mountain to investigate."