Wild Wolf Valley

After dealing with the matter of the bandit queen, Lin Mo, guided by Liu Lao Liu, began searching the rooms of the three chieftains one by one.

"This way, sir!" Liu Lao Liu bowed and led the way, his steps light.

The rooms of the three chieftains were all in the north courtyard, each occupying a wooden building.

Lin Mo first stepped into the bedroom of the Great Chieftain, Zhao Tieshan.

This bedroom, located on the second floor, was unexpectedly neat and elegant.

A large carved wooden bed was draped with plain curtains. On the desk by the window, the "Four Treasures of the Study" were neatly arranged.

Several well-preserved animal skins hung on the walls as decoration.

The entire room exuded a scholarly air, somewhat incongruous with the identity of a mountain bandit.

"Zhao Tieshan can read?" Lin Mo was a little surprised.

"He knows a little," Liu Lao Liu quickly explained. "His family background was decent in his early years, and he studied in a private school for a few years. Later, his family fell into decline, and he joined the army."

Lin Mo signaled his clones to begin a thorough search.

Before long, a hidden compartment was discovered beneath the bed board.

After prying it open, several items were displayed inside:

A stack of banknotes, ranging from fifty to five hundred taels, totaling about three thousand taels.

Several pieces of jewelry, of better quality than those in the silver vault.

A small wooden box. When opened, it contained five golden pills the size of longan fruit, emitting a rich medicinal aroma.

[Item: King Kong Pill x5] [Quality: Purple] [Effect: For half an hour after consumption, skin becomes as hard as iron and stone, Defense +50. Side effect: After the effect wears off, the skin will temporarily lose sensation for two hours.]

When searching the desk, Lin Mo found that one of the drawers was locked.

"Where's the key?"

"This... I don't know, sir." Liu Lao Liu shook his head. "Zhao Tieshan never let anyone touch his personal belongings."

Lin Mo, too lazy to look for a key, directly drew the Mountain Splitting Axe and brought it down with a chop!

"Crack!"

The lock broke with a snap.

Pulling open the drawer, the topmost item was a sheepskin map, drawn quite meticulously.

With Black Wind Stronghold as the center, the mountains, rivers, villages, and roads within a hundred-mile radius...

Even the strongholds of other mountain bandit factions were clearly marked.

"Good stuff!" Lin Mo's eyes lit up.

With this map, it would be much easier to expand, plunder, or avoid danger in the future.

Below the map were over a dozen yellowed deeds.

[Linshan County West Street Three-Entry Courtyard House Deed x1] [Linshan County East Market Silk Shop Deed x1] [Linshan County Thirty Miles Outside the City, Qing Shui Riverbank, Two Hundred Mu of Good Farmland Deed x1] [West Mountain Foothills Twenty Mu Tea Garden Deed x1] ...

The deeds bore the official vermilion seal of the government and were signed by "Zhao Tieshan"!

This scoundrel Zhao Tieshan actually owned so much property in the area below the mountain!

A courtyard house, a shop, fertile land, a tea garden... This wasn't a mountain bandit, but a hidden landlord!

Lin Mo picked up the letters again.

The wax seals had already been broken. He pulled out a letter and unfolded it.

The handwriting was neat, using the format of official documents, but the content was shocking:

"...The matter entrusted by Brother Zhao has been handled. The courtyard house on Lindong Street has been transferred to your name. The County Magistrate requires five hundred taels of silver for arrangements. Please prepare it quickly..."

"...The merits of the bandit suppression last month have been reported. The Ministry of War's reward of eight hundred taels of silver will arrive soon. As agreed, you will receive six hundred, and I will receive the remaining two hundred..."

"...A new batch of military supplies has arrived. I can sell you thirty powerful bows and five hundred arrows. The price is three hundred taels. Transaction at the slope ten miles outside the city..."

The signature simply read "Your brother, bowing."

One letter was particularly revealing:

"...Recently, the prefecture issued a notice ordering all counties to clear out bandits. The County Magistrate has devised a plan to use the guise of bandit suppression to actually eliminate his opponents.

The list is attached. The eight merchant households on it all have old grudges with the County Magistrate.

You can choose an opportune moment to rob them. The spoils will be split fifty-fifty."

Remember, it must be done cleanly.

Attached to the letter was a list, detailing the addresses, family members, and estimated assets of eight merchant households.

Finally, it specifically noted: "The Zhang family has a daughter, sixteen years of age, beautiful, she can be left alive to be presented to the County Magistrate."

The figures mentioned in the letter – the County Magistrate, the County Lieutenant, and border generals – were all powerful figures in the region.

"Officials colluding with bandits..." Lin Mo sneered, "No wonder Black Wind Stronghold has been able to run rampant for so many years; it turns out they have so many protectors behind them."

He carefully put the letter away.

These were all compromising materials that might be useful in the future.

Next, they searched the rooms of the second and third-in-command, and the haul was considerable:

Gold, silver, jewelry, hidden weapons, and several erotic art books...

There were also two green quality skill books – Consecutive Arrow Technique and Wind Breaking Saber Technique.

Lin Mo immediately learned these two skill books.

A large amount of exquisite knowledge regarding archery and saber techniques flooded his mind.

By the time the search and sorting were complete, it was nearly noon.

Lin Mo instructed Lin Er to sort all the seized items into categories, putting away what needed to be stored and keeping what was to be used.

But what interested him the most was still that sheepskin map.

It was a hand-drawn sheepskin map covering a hundred-mile radius around Black Wind Stronghold.

Mountains, rivers, villages, towns, and official roads and small paths were clearly marked, and several locations were even specially marked with red circles.

One of these red circles was located in the back mountain of Black Wind Stronghold, with a small note next to it: "Wild Wolf Valley."

"Wild Wolf Valley?" Lin Mo looked at Liu Lao Liu, "What is this place?"

Liu Lao Liu leaned over to take a look:

"My lord, this place is a valley in the back mountain."