Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin!

Note: Leaning on the Sword, Listening to the Wind will become Sword Wind

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One of the bandits quickly blew a whistle.

"Woo!!! Woo!!! Woo!!!"

Soon, a hundred and eighty burly men emerged from the fort, all armed and wearing fierce expressions.

"Brother, it's me! We're on the same side!!!"

The bandit on the battered river boat shouted.

...

Inside the hall deep within the bandit fort.

At the top was a huge stone throne with a tiger head carving, and it was covered with the hide of a fierce tiger. From a distance, it exuded a cold aura.

Sitting on the throne was an eight-foot-tall man, shirtless, with a bronze-colored skin and strong muscles, all of which indicated that he was a fierce tiger.

"What did you say!? Zhou Hu was killed? His bandit fort was also captured by the soldiers?"

The voice roared like a fierce tiger, shaking the mountains and forests.

The bandits kneeling on the ground were trembling in fear, explaining, "Yes! Some of our brothers died, and some surrendered! I took advantage of the chaos to escape."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have died too!"

"Humph! How many soldiers went there? Who was the one who killed Zhou Hu?"

The man on the throne, Zhou Tai, asked in a deep voice.

"There were about fifty or sixty soldiers who went there, and the one who killed Zhou Hu was a young man with a kind face. Although he gave off a very pleasant vibe, he didn't show any mercy when it came to killing!"

The bandit recalled.

But he still trembled with fear, primarily because the man on the throne exuded an overwhelming aura.

There was an invisible sense of pressure.

He was Zhou Tai, the biggest bandit leader in Xia Cai County, Jiujiang Commandery, and even in Jiujiang Commandery, he had never had an equal.

The former bandit leader Zhou Hu was just a subordinate of Zhou Tai.

So after escaping from Long Chen's hands, he hurried to seek shelter from Zhou Tai, the big brother with the strongest fist.

Although Zhou Hu was just a small fry among Zhou Tai's subordinates.

But in the world of bandits, just like the outlaws in the green forest, the principles are the same.

When a little brother is provoked and killed, the big brother has to step up to protect him.

Otherwise, without a sense of loyalty and righteousness, who would want to continue associating with you?

So in the world of bandits, most of them are a group of men with a sense of camaraderie and righteousness.

Zhou Tai remained silent, deep in thought.

Although he wasn't afraid of the soldiers, they represented the Eastern Han Dynasty. Engaging in combat with the soldiers would be equivalent to taking a step towards rebellion. For Zhou Tai, this was absolutely unacceptable. He had grand ambitions and unfulfilled aspirations and was unwilling to be labeled as a rebel.

Even though the Eastern Han Dynasty was in a dire state due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion at this time.

"I have understood your situation. You can go and rest for now," Zhou Tai waved his hand, dismissing the bandit.

"Big Brother!"

A man over seven feet tall stepped forward and respectfully saluted.

This man wore a dark blue headscarf, had thick ink-like eyebrows, and exuded a powerful and imposing aura.

"Gong Yi, do you have any insights? Speak quickly!" Zhou Tai asked, eager to hear what his first-in-command, Jiang Qin (styled Gong Yi), had to say.

Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin had deep connections. Both were notorious bandits in Jiujiang Commandery. Zhou Tai hailed from Cai County, his hometown, while Jiang Qin was from Shou Chun County. Their two groups had once set their sights on the same merchant ship sailing along a tributary of the Yangtze River.

This unexpected encounter led to their becoming the best of friends. Today, they had merged into one group, with Zhou Tai as the leader and Jiang Qin as his right-hand man.

"Big Brother, even though we can't move against the soldiers, we can take action against the outsider who killed Zhou Hu. This way, we can appease the anger of our brothers below," Jiang Qin suggested.

Zhou Tai stroked his stubble-like beard and nodded, "You're right, my brother. Let's do it."

"Summon someone!"

"Thoroughly investigate the outsider who killed Zhou Hu. Find out all the details about his whereabouts!"

The elite bandits kneeling on the ground replied, "Yes!"

...

Far away in Huangshui Village, Long Chen remained unaware of these events. Upon returning to the village, he was warmly welcomed by the villagers. Long Chen's high charisma, combined with his heroic actions against the bandits, had endeared him to the villagers even more.

Additionally, after dismantling the pirate hideout, the game system rewarded him.

[Game Announcement: Player "Sword Wind" was the first to cooperate with the soldiers to destroy a small bandit fort and earned the title of "First Blood."]

This game announcement reached all the players in the Huaxia server. The player ID "Sword Wind" quickly rose to the top of the trending list.

"Sword Wind? Isn't that the person who slaughtered everyone in the bandit hideout?"

"Upstairs, have you seen it with your own eyes?"

"I haven't seen it in person, but there are videos of that person on the forum. If I didn't know he was a player like us, I would've thought he was an NPC!"

"Wow! Big bro, carry us!"

...

The forum was buzzing with excitement.

At the same time, Long Chen received another notification from the system.

[Received 50 Reputation Points]

[Silver Coins*100]

[Wood*200]

[Stone*200]

[Iron Ore*50]

"Hmm!? Such generous rewards?" Long Chen was astonished by the game system's generosity.

With these resources at his disposal, he could quickly move forward with the village establishment. Long Chen approached the Sichuan Silk Merchant, Mr. Fan Wei, to complete the mission.

Mr. Fan Wei was quite pleased and warmly shook Long Chen's hands, saying, "I've heard about your successful mission from Shi Qiang. He said that your planning played a crucial role in its success!"

"I dare not take all the credit. It was the bravery of our brothers that led to our victory," Long Chen humbly replied.

The more Mr. Fan Wei looked at Long Chen, the more satisfied he became.

[Ding! Mr. Fan Wei's favorability towards you has increased to 73.]

[Ding! Mr. Fan Wei is extremely grateful to you. You will receive additional discounts when purchasing items from him.]

"Hmm!? Is there such a thing?"

Upon hearing the system's notification sound, Long Chen's mind became more active. He had been wondering where to buy materials.

Now, he saw a great opportunity. He inquired of Mr. Fan Wei, "May I know if you sell wood and stone here?"

"I have plenty of those resources here. How much does the honorable guest need?" Mr. Fan Wei replied.

After a moment of consideration, Long Chen said, "The more, the better, of course!"

These basic resources would be needed for future village upgrades or the construction of other facilities. Naturally, the more, the better.

Mr. Fan Wei furrowed his brow slightly and said, "I currently have 400 units of wood, 250 units of stone, and 57 iron ore in stock. If you need them, I can offer you a 40% discount, which is equivalent to the cost price."

In ancient times, "discount" meant a price reduction.

Long Chen was delighted to hear this and asked, "May we establish a long-term cooperation in the future?"

"Of course, we can. If the honorable guest needs anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I have a store in Xia Chai County named 'Shunxingde.' We mainly sell special products from Yizhou and Sichuan silk. We also have plenty of wood and stone in stock."