"G-General Yang?!"
Xin Huan, who had been discussing matters with several brothers, recognized Yang Jian at a glance. Although they had only met a few times in Chaoge, there were precious few men in the world as handsome as Yang Jian.
Yang Jian recognized Xin Huan as well. There were also precious few people in the world with a bird's beak and wings. When those bandits called someone else a birdman, they might have been insulting him, but when they called Xin Huan that, they were simply telling the truth.
"Greetings, Xin-"
Yang Jian paused. He had meant to call him general, but when he thought of King Zhou's plan and how much Liangshan had accomplished, he changed his wording. "Greetings, Second Chief Xin."
This was also an acknowledgment of Xin Huan's Four Brothers. They had carried out King Zhou's plan faithfully. They had neither run wild after leaving Chaoge and its restraints nor committed evil under the guise of being bandits.
After all, with bandit reputations to uphold, even if they had inflicted a little harm on the local villages, King Zhou probably would not have blamed them, for the sake of his greater plan. Yet Xin Huan and the others had done no such thing. Their strict self-discipline inspired admiration.
This time, Wen Liang was the one surprised. He had not expected this newly recruited brother to know the chiefs.
Yang Jian greeted the others. "When we last met, you brothers were still generals guarding Chaoge's four gates. Now that we meet again, you've become the famous bandits of Liangshan."
Deng Zhong, the eldest of the four brothers, stepped forward and waved a hand. "What are you saying, General Yang? General, outlaw, bandit, Yellow Turban-they're all merely names for outsiders to see. What truly matters is what we