Zi Shou was still idling away in Chaoge. The greatest benefit of being a muddleheaded ruler was how easy and hassle-free it was. Handling hundreds or thousands of memorials a day? Not a chance. Do you think I'm Zhu Yuanzhang? Reading two or three already counts as dedication to the job.
But everyone else could not afford to sit idle.
Several years had passed since Yang Jian had been granted the title of Demon-Slaying Great General.
Over those years, he had exterminated many demons. This time, he had set his sights on the increasingly powerful Liangshan Bandits.
Yang Jian's face was grim. Xin Huan's Four Brothers had once followed Zi Qi into rebellion. King Zhou had been benevolent, not only declining to hold them accountable but appointing them as generals and trusting them to guard Chaoge's Four Gates.
Yet instead of repaying their country and their sovereign's kindness, Xin Huan's Four Brothers had abandoned their posts and become outlaws.
They had even grown stronger step by step, swallowing up large numbers of mountain bandits.
Rumor even had it that they intended to proclaim themselves "Bandit King."
Was "king" a title just anyone could claim?
Yang Jian tightened his grip on the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear. He would personally slay those disloyal, dishonorable men.
"Howling Celestial Dog, where are we?"
The Howling Celestial Dog, in human form, barked twice. "Limitless Heaven and Earth, Ten Thousand Mile Tracking!"
Then he sniffed. "Just up ahead."
Yang Jian was not fond of this annoying habit of the Howling Celestial Dog's. All he did was sniff, yet he insisted on shouting a few lines to make himself look impressive.
He gazed ahead and narrowed his eyes.
"Coming to a place like this to become outlaws... mountain bandits..."
"And Lintong Pass, the closest place to here, happens