Displaced people

Liangshan Stronghold was not far from Beginner Village 10021.

It did not take Qin Shujian long to return.

But as soon as he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw a crowd of people dressed in rags, their faces sallow, looking like displaced refugees.

There were men and women, young and old.

A few of the younger, stronger-looking people held wooden clubs as weapons.

Meanwhile.

Several dozen bandits from Liangshan Stronghold had surrounded them.

Leading the bandits was Zhang Tieniu, one of Liangshan Stronghold's chiefs.

The two sides seemed locked in a standoff. Neither made any rash moves, but the atmosphere was tense.

When Zhang Tieniu saw Qin Shujian return, he seemed to have found his pillar of support and immediately went over to greet him.

"Stronghold Chief!"

"What's going on here?" Qin Shujian frowned at the scene.

"Stronghold Chief..."

Zhang Tieniu was just about to speak when an elderly man nearing seventy stepped forward to speak first from among the refugee-like crowd.

"May I ask whether you are the lord of this place? How should I address you?"

Hearing this, Qin Shujian looked toward the source of the voice.

The old man was likewise dressed in rags, his face sallow and dull. Yet his eyes were not clouded like those of other elderly people. Instead, they were exceptionally bright.

Even in such destitution, he retained a faint air of scholarly refinement.

It was an innate bearing.

One that external circumstances could not easily change.

Qin Shujian gave him a long look and said evenly, "I am the chief of Liangshan Stronghold. Who are you people?"

"This old man is Zheng Fang. My respects, Stronghold Chief!"

Zheng Fang first bowed, then said solemnly, "We have come today in the hope that you will take us in and give us something to eat. We are willing to join Liangshan Stronghold and serve at your command."

As his words fell.

Qin Shujian immediately received a system message.

"Displaced people wish to join Liangshan Stronghold. Do you agree?"

Displaced people!

Qin Shujian did not immediately agree upon seeing this. Instead, he said calmly, "If you wish to join Liangshan Stronghold, I certainly won't refuse. But do you know what sort of place Liangshan Stronghold is?"

"You need not worry about that, Stronghold Chief. Your stronghold enjoys great renown among outlaws, and we have heard much about it along the way." Zheng Fang's expression was earnest as he continued, "We sincerely beg you to take us in. We ask only that you grant our request."

At this point, Zheng Fang stared intently at Qin Shujian, sorrow welling up inside him.

When had he fallen so low that he had to keep company with bandits and robbers?

But—

Circumstances left him no choice.

In these war-torn times, human lives were worth no more than weeds. Ordinary, honest folk had long since lost any means of survival.

By the time they had made it this far, their original group of several hundred had already lost more than half its number.

If they did not find somewhere to settle soon, Zheng Fang had a premonition.

Before long, they would all be dead.

As Zheng Fang finished speaking, the displaced people behind him also looked at Qin Shujian with hope in their eyes, showing no fear of the bandits whatsoever.

In their eyes, distinctions between good and evil had long ceased to matter.

A full meal and a place to shelter were now their greatest hopes.

Qin Shujian looked at the displaced people without answering immediately.

There were roughly sixty or seventy of them. Most were young or middle-aged men, sallow and emaciated, with only a dozen or so children and elderly people among them.

Even though hunger had left the younger men gaunt, traces of the sturdy builds of farmworkers were still visible.

All of them were potential manpower.

At that thought, Qin Shujian finally nodded slowly. "Since you sincerely wish to join Liangshan Stronghold, I naturally won't refuse."

"But there is one thing I want you to understand!"

"Once you join Liangshan Stronghold, you belong to Liangshan Stronghold for life. If anyone tries to leave halfway through, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As he spoke, Qin Shujian's eyes shone brightly.

An intimidating aura erupted from his body.

It was as though a black tiger lay crouched before them, staring at them with icy eyes.

"We understand!" Zheng Fang's heart jolted, and he immediately bowed deeply.

The displaced people behind him all lowered their heads as well.

Lingering fear remained in many of their eyes.

Seeing this, Qin Shujian withdrew his aura and nodded in satisfaction. "From this day onward, you are members of Liangshan Stronghold."

"You have accepted the displaced people's request!"

"Sixty-three displaced people have joined Liangshan Stronghold!"

After the two consecutive notifications, Qin Shujian looked at Zheng Fang again, and the man's attributes appeared before his eyes.

Name: Zheng Fang

Identity: Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Realm: Fourth Level of Martial Entry

Techniques: Everlasting Spring Technique, fourth layer; Seven Flowers Piercing Leaves Palm (consummate mastery); Five Elements Eight Trigrams Step (consummate mastery)

At this sight, Qin Shujian could not help freezing for a moment.

Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

Three techniques: one primary cultivation technique for advancing his realm, and two supplementary techniques.

He had never expected the sallow, emaciated old man before him to be an expert concealing such formidable abilities.

But Qin Shujian quickly recovered.

He looked at Zheng Fang as though he had discovered a priceless treasure.

What a windfall!

This really was a windfall.

After all, the whole of Liangshan Stronghold had only two bandits at the entering martial second layer, Zhang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu. Above them was Qin Shujian himself, the stronghold chief at the sixth level of martial entry.

There was a severe gap in Liangshan Stronghold's fighting strength.

Essentially, any opponent above the Martial Entry Third Level required him, the stronghold chief, to deal with them personally.

Once he left Liangshan Stronghold, Liangshan would find itself in the awkward position of having no expert to guard it.

Moreover, even if he wanted to send someone out on a task, he had no truly capable expert available.

Now, looking at Zheng Fang, Qin Shujian felt as though he had found the hope of resolving those problems.

A Fourth Level of Martial Entry expert had come right to his door. That was no trivial matter; such an expert was a rare find.

After all—

Even Wu Sheng, the previous chief of Liangshan Stronghold, had only been at the Martial Entry Third Level without his faction's enhancement. In terms of actual strength, he was inferior to Zheng Fang.

After letting his gaze linger on Zheng Fang for a few seconds, Qin Shujian turned to the other displaced people.

Name: Zhao Shanlin

Identity: Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Realm: Entering Martial Second Layer

Techniques: Everlasting Spring Technique, second layer; Seven Flowers Piercing Leaves Palm (proficient); Five Elements Eight Trigrams Step (basic understanding)

Name: Wang Hu

Identity: Bandit

Affiliation: Liangshan Stronghold

Realm: Entering Martial Second Layer

Techniques: Everlasting Spring Technique, second layer; Seven Flowers Piercing Leaves Palm (basic understanding); Five Elements Eight Trigrams Step (basic understanding)

Entering Martial Second Layer!

Another two experts at the Entering Martial Second Layer.

However, after the outstanding discovery of Zheng Fang at the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, seeing two men at the Entering Martial Second Layer still pleased Qin Shujian, but did not excite him as much as before.