The Princess Consort's Disappearance

Zhou Tong's eerie words lingered in the cave.

As his voice faded, his figure vanished into the light at the cave entrance.

The Gathering Hall fell deathly silent.

Zhou Tong's final words were like a basin of ice water dumped over every bandit's head, jolting them awake from their dreams of riches.

"B-big brother..."

Iron-Armed Monkey's fierce face had turned deathly pale. He turned, his lips trembling, and looked at Chen Fan, who was still leaning back in the tiger-skin chair.

"Is... is what he said true? The imperial army?"

"We're finished! We're all finished!"

"I said we should have agreed to his offer! Now look, we've offended them, and the imperial army is coming too!"

"Let's run! Hurry and divide the gold and silver, and let's each flee for our lives!"

Panic spread through the bandits like a plague. Just moments ago, they had been dreaming of being made kings and ministers; in the blink of an eye, they had been cast into an unfathomable abyss.

Chen Fan ignored their wails.

He simply picked up the half-eaten apple he had left on the ground, casually wiped it on his sleeve, and took another bite.

Crunch.

The crisp sound stopped everyone's wailing for an instant.

"What's all the noise about?"

Chen Fan casually tossed the apple core aside and stood up, his towering frame bearing down on everyone.

"Has the sky fallen?"

He swept his gaze over the panicked faces, a trace of impatience in his rough voice.

"You believe whatever the Yellow Robe Army says? If he says the imperial army is coming, does that mean it really is?"

"Even if it does come, so what? When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."

Chen Fan slung the ghost-head saber over his shoulder and headed for the rear hall, leaving the others with the sight of his utterly unconcerned back.

"Benefits that come knocking on your door are never easy to take. The Yellow Robe Army wants us to draw the court's fire for them in Xiushan Province and be their scapegoats. Anyone who wants that kind of good fortune can have it."

"All of you, put your hearts back in your bellies. Eat and drink as you normally would."

"If the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

As his voice faded, his figure vanished into the depths of the passage.

In the Gathering Hall, the bandits looked at one another. The chief's words seemed to make some sense, but fear of the imperial army still lingered in their hearts.

Only Smiling Tiger narrowed his little eyes and gazed thoughtfully at the entrance to the dark passage.

The chief didn't seem afraid at all.

The stone door shut out the clamor outside.

Chen Fan returned to his stone chamber and tossed the ghost-head saber into a corner.

The imperial army?

That is a bit troublesome.

But that's all it is-troublesome.

If he really were surrounded and killed by the army here, he wouldn't lose much.

As for the bandits of Black Wind Mountain, they deserved to die; not a single one would be wronged. Besides, he didn't know what sort of soldier he might be able to possess after they killed him, an Eighth Rank martial artist.

If he could get it done in one step and possess a general who commanded troops, that would be interesting.

As for rebellion...

When a dynasty rose, the common people suffered.

When a dynasty fell, the common people suffered.

Though he was only a passerby, deep down he was still the soul who had received nine years of compulsory education. He had seen with his own eyes the struggles of the people at the bottom of society in this era, the misery of those driven from their homes and forced to sell their sons and daughters.

Although Great Shang's current emperor was incompetent, the court's order still stood.

Once the flames of war spread across all of Xiushan Province, who knew how many more people would die, or how many more refugees there would be?

He didn't want to be the chief culprit behind such a bloody storm.

It was too troublesome.

And too dirty.

He only wanted to experience life in peace and stability. It was precisely because he did not contend that no one under heaven could contend with him.

"Chief, you're back."

Yun Niang's timid voice drew him from his thoughts.

Chen Fan raised his head and saw three women, each charming in her own way, gathered around the table, apparently mending some clothes.

He grinned, spread his arms, and put on Black Wind Baleful Intent's crude manner.

"Come here, all of you."

In the days that followed, Black Wind Mountain returned to its former peace.

The small disturbance caused by the Yellow Robe Army was soon washed away by happy days of eating meat by the mouthful and drinking wine by the bowlful.

Iron-Armed Monkey led the men in daily drills, their cries ringing out, and occasionally went down the mountain to "open for business" with a few rich and heartless households. Life was a hundred times better than before.

Smiling Tiger, meanwhile, applied the policy of "robbing the rich to aid the poor" with consummate skill.

The money and grain they seized were divided into three portions.

One went into the common stores, one was shared among the brothers, and the remaining portion was distributed with great fanfare to the refugees at the foot of the mountain.

Black Wind Mountain's reputation in Qinghe County split entirely in two.

Local gentry and wicked households turned pale at its mention, while the poor regarded them as saviors.

Chen Fan was happy to see it all.

He continued his decadent life as a mountain chief, practicing his saber, sleeping, and exploring the true meaning of life with his three wives.

One day, the grain on the mountain was running low again.

That day, Chen Fan felt a little bored staying on the mountain and decided to go down and have a look.

So he took Smiling Tiger and more than a dozen elite brothers, changed into ordinary clothes, and went down the mountain to scout, planning to stop by the county town to gather news as well.

Outside Qinghe County's town, at a tea stall beside the official road.

Chen Fan and his companions took a large table and ordered a pot of coarse tea and several plates of snacks, posing as traveling merchants.

The other customers sat in twos and threes, traveling north and south. It was just the place to gather news.

"Have you heard? Something earth-shattering happened in Xiushan Province recently!" At the next table, a man with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously to his companion.

"What else could it be? Isn't it just the Yellow Robe Army making trouble over in Jing Province?"

"What's that compared to this?" The man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks looked disdainful. "What I'm talking about is bigger than a rebellion!"

He looked to either side and leaned closer.

"The Prince of Xiushan's consort has disappeared!"

"What?!"

His companion was so shocked that he spilled his tea.

The Prince of Xiushan was the reigning emperor's uncle, and all of Xiushan Province was his fief. His consort was the most esteemed woman in the entire province!

"It's absolutely true! The official roads throughout Xiushan Province have been sealed, and soldiers are checking people everywhere! They say the Prince of Xiushan flew into a thunderous rage and gave strict orders to turn the entire province upside down if that's what it takes to find her!"

Chen Fan held his tea bowl and drank at an unhurried pace.

The princess consort disappeared?

Gossip about the imperial family was a novelty.

Smiling Tiger listened with relish beside him, repeatedly winking at Chen Fan, as if to say, Look how chaotic the world is.

"How could the princess consort just disappear when she was perfectly fine? Was she kidnapped?"

"Who knows?" The man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks smacked his lips and dropped an even more explosive piece of news.

"But I heard something from an inside source... This princess consort has an unusual background!"

"Apparently, she wasn't a young lady from some distinguished family at all."

"She was originally a merchant's family member fleeing disaster from another province. She ran into bandits on the road, and the Prince of Xiushan played the hero and saved the beauty. They fell in love at first sight, and he married her and brought her into his residence!"

A chorus of gasps filled the tea stall.

It was the sort of story one only found in a tale.

But Chen Fan's hand, holding his tea bowl, suddenly froze in midair.

A merchant's family member fleeing disaster?

An image surged uncontrollably from the depths of his mind.

In the firelight of the Gathering Hall, the woman in brocade had been bound hand and foot, her clothes disheveled, yet she had still held her head high, her face full of defiance and fury.

She, too, had claimed to be a merchant's family member fleeing disaster.

Chen Fan's fingertips trembled slightly.

It... can't be such a coincidence, can it?

Just then, the man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, seemingly showing off how well informed he was, added another remark.

"Otherwise, why do you think the court is sending an army to wipe out the bandits? Would a bunch of bandits be worth the imperial army coming in person?"

"The truth is, the imperial army is coming for the Yellow Robe Army. They say the Prince of Xiushan has already found out that the Yellow Robe Army was behind it and kidnapped the princess consort!"