Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The Green Forest is no closer to the Guan Clan than any of the other Middle Kingdom martial artists. The more connected a group or faction was to the civilian population, the more likely it was to encounter the Guan Army, which had to stabilize the civilian population.
In that sense, the Green Forests were more likely than anyone else to encounter the Guan Army.
The Yangshan sect already had a saying among the bandits of the Green Forest.
“If you’re going to be captured by the Guan Army, be lucky to fall off a cliff. ”
As he remembered the laughable proverb, Yang Yangfa, one of the bandits who had already half given up on life, shuddered.
“……Why such luxury.”
The sumptuous food and liquor in front of him, and the man smiling benevolently as he untied the ropes that bound him, baffled Yang Yangfa.
“All the bandits we’ve captured have said in unison that you’re the highest-ranking of them all, second only to the chieftains.”
Yang Yangfa’s face contorted at the words. The damned bastards had sold him out. They had no sense of loyalty.
The man who didn’t care whether Yang Yangfa’s face twisted or not spoke up.
“That’s why I’m telling you. I’ll give you a chance.”
His face was kind, his words merciful.
Yang Yangfa looked at the man as if mesmerized.
“Ten thousand gold coins.”
Yangshan shook his head at the mention of gold coins.
“Can’t you think of anything?”
“No …….”
“I will ask you again, and if I speak briefly, you will have to answer long and kindly.”
The man placed his hand on the hilt of his sword beside his chair.
A snap.
My mouth dropped open. A bandit had to have a sixth sense, if he was to survive as a bandit for long.
Instinctively, Yang Yangfa realized that the man before him was not normal.
“……, no.”
“Are you sure you don’t have it, I ask you for the last time.”
The man’s face became increasingly frightening. The benevolent tone turned cold.
“I want you to think of something, anything. If you can tell me anything that isn’t a lie, the food in front of you is yours. If you give a decent answer, you’ll keep the drink in front of you.”
With food and drink in front of him, and the sweet stories of the men, Yangsanpa was troubled.
“There must have been moments in time when it moved in cycles. If it wasn’t you, then it was the vendors themselves. But it’s been over five years, and it’s impossible to tell. No matter how subtle.”
Human beings are not infallible. Something that had been going on for over five years could not be kept a complete secret among hundreds of bandits.
Grunt.
“There’s a saying, if you’re going to get caught, get lucky falling off a cliff. If you tell it plainly and don’t remember it. No, unless you have a story worth telling.”
The tip of his sword gleamed sharply.
“You will never be so lucky, I assure you, on my name.”
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, Yang Yangfa realized that the man in front of him was not the kind of man to joke around.
His next words made her feel the blood drain from her body.
“Oh, and by the way, I’m the monkfish sect leader, Huang Tianhou.”
* * *
In the first place, the front line formed at the entrance to Shandong didn’t belong to the Southern Palace. It was spearheaded by Huang Boshe, the lord of Shandong Province, with the Southern Palace, Mo Yong, and Fang Family joining forces.
The problem was, no one in the Huang Bo family had ever surpassed the stature of a single man.
Iron Blood Sword Star An Bai.
Unsung, unrecognized, and unrivaled.
No matter who you put forward, no one could surpass his reputation.
And there was some politics in it, An Baek said.
“Even with ……the Southern Palace in the background, it would have been easier for him to put me forward. Other families would have felt intimidated because the Huangbao family would be in charge of overall command and all policy matters, including supply, personnel, and so on.”
To be a front means to be a force. And once a faction is established, it becomes a power.
And when power grows, it’s competing powers that become uneasy, meaning that the Mo Yong family, the Fang family, and even the Southern Palace family didn’t want the Huang Bo family to grow stronger.
“……What a bunch of useless, insignificant thoughts.”
I considered them all unnecessary. I felt like a hypocrite for trying to weigh my own interests in a group gathered for the stability of the people.
Seeing my behavior, my uncle-in-law shook his head.
“Don’t think so. If you become the head of the family, there will surely come a time when you will not be able to persuade the members of the clan without such self-interest.”
With those words, I turned to face the matriarch.
Namgung Han, Namgung Suk, and the head of the Gui Clan, Huang Tianhou, are here, listening.
How easy it is for you to tell me to leave.
I gave my uncle a disapproving glance.
“What’s the matter, I’ve been your guardian for six years now, and I can’t even say this much.”
Bam, I couldn’t argue with that.
“Anyway.”
My aunt cut back to the chase.
“After I was handed over command, I was in charge of the whole thing, and I organized the front lines with the Southern Palace and Fang Family. Communication with the Mo Yong Family and Huang Bo Family was also uninterrupted, but the problem began when we went to war with the Green Forest.”
The old man sighed as he continued.
“The Mangu knew of the weaknesses in this front, of the connections between the families. They relentlessly targeted members of the Mo Yong Family and the Huang Bo Family, and the two families that suffered the most were suspicious of my command and strategy, not the Green Forest.”
Red, White, and Green.
The sight of the three lords made the old man shudder.
They were uncharacteristically sinister, and their boldness confused the wires. That was the first problem, and the second.
“……And soon afterward, something happened that required Duke An to return home.”
Namgung Han took in the words and opened his mouth.
He was literally blindsided.
To make matters worse, when An Baek, who was in charge, returned to Anhui Province due to the death of my sister-in-law An, the front literally went to shit.
The Mo Yong family and Huang Bao family, who resented their in-laws, withdrew their forces.
“In the Fang family, Ho Tae-do Fang Gak took over the command in good faith from the An family, but even that didn’t last long, as the Fang leaders concluded that there was no point in trying to hold the front any longer.”
So with all the houses out, only the Southern Palace remained.
“……With nowhere else to go, we consolidated our position and requested the main family to establish a branch of the Southern Palace Family in Shandong.”
Namgung Han and Namgung Suk had decided that it was better to form the Shandong branch with the members of the Fang Clan whose hearts had already been broken by Namgung Mu Bai, so they had settled in Shandong.
I narrowed my eyes.
“You allowed a branch to be formed in Huangbao, I don’t understand.”
Who would allow another rival faction in my front yard?
The elderly uncle, Nan Gonghan, and Nan Gongxue were silent at the incomprehensible behavior of the Huang Bo family.
Then it was Huang Tianhou, the leader of the monkfish troop, my brother-in-law, who spoke up.
“…… yi yi ji.”
It was none other than Huang Tianhao who answered.
“I can make you feel indebted to me by giving you a small piece of land, and I can blow my nose without touching you, and I can deal with your troubles.”
After tapping the table a few times, Huang Tianhou drew an arc around his eyes. He was intrigued.
“It seems there’s someone in the Huangbao family who knows how to play tricks, Ban Ao.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“Tomorrow.”
“I’ll have to prepare the …… trap.”
“Luckily, there’s a bandit who remembers where to trade gold.”
“Good luck.”
“I can’t be sure, maybe the miners made the move themselves. But they’ve been around long enough that they’ve learned the ropes, and they’re more thorough than I thought.”
“…… will catch up with you.”
“That’s what I was going to ask. Who else can make the move but you?”
With those words, Huang Tianhu fulfilled his one command.
Red, white, and green tigers.
The twenty-five mountain vegetables that had wrinkled Shandong were erased, but few people knew of it. The Shandong Branch and the Aguidan had taken it upon themselves to make sure that it was thoroughly concealed, ordering them to watch their surroundings so closely that not even a single passerby would pay attention.
“I heard there’s a group in Zhongyuan called the Gongqing. Even the beggars must be wary, and the other bandits must not know.”
“Also, children, the elderly, and women must all be careful.”
If I was going to do it, I had to be sure. Huang Tianhou smiled with satisfaction at my words.
* * *
The next day, after dusk, the Yang family set out on the road, accompanied by a few bandits.
“Brother Yang, where are you going?”
“We’re not going anywhere, you bastards. We’ll do as we’re told.”
Boom.
I had to force myself to resist the urge to run, remembering the pouch of money in my arms. He had to be careful, though, because the bandits would be salivating at the first sign of trouble.
With so much to be cautious of, he had to cut short his delusions early, remembering the words of the monkfish leader that there was no guarantee of what would happen to him if he fooled around.
As they left the foothills of Shandong and approached Mount Taishan, a sheer cliff appeared, unlike any other in Shandong. At the same time, the smooth rocks beneath the cliffs were quite visible, and Liang Shanfang had to hold his breath as he cracked down on the bandits.
I think it was around this time.
As he stood around and pretended to be popular, but no one came, his impatience grew. His own miserable words, so obviously false, came to mind.
Then.
“Why don’t you speak the dark language?”
The gravelly voice came from the shadows, and Yang Yangfa felt a mixture of relief that he hadn’t been wrong and a tension that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“I didn’t get …….”
“Where’s Hossan, sending a messenger like this instead of coming himself?”
The masses arched their eyebrows at the word “futile”.
“…….”
Yang Yangfa had to swallow hard at the shadowy figure that slowly revealed itself.
The biggest man he knew was a green leopard, and he had to gulp in air at the sight of a fist the size of a pot lid that could crush even a leopard.
“Next time, if he doesn’t come in person, tell him I consider the deal off.”
“……I will.”
Yang Yangfa pulled a jingling pouch of money from his bosom. The Shadow strode up to Dahl’yin, light for a man of his size, and reached for it.
And then.
Swoosh.
“I never knew there were guys ……who actually had the backs of bandits.”
Digging in.
The tip of the sword, crackling with blue light, sliced between the sun and the shadows.