"Why should we hand over our Night Silver? What reason do they have?"
"Not long ago, we were almost starving. Now that things are getting better, we can't afford to be squeezed by Golden Rooster Ridge!"
Everyone was furious.
Although food was being brought in from outside by giant beasts, it still had to be bought. With such bad harvests, how could they afford to pay tribute to Golden Rooster Ridge?
The most important thing was that they had to support a group of bandits.
In this remote area, a family of three could survive for a month on just one piece of Night Silver if they were careful.
Now, the two men sent by Golden Rooster Ridge were sitting arrogantly on a chicken's back, casually demanding a month's worth of living expenses from each household. It was just too much.
And they didn’t even know if this was a one-time thing or if it would become a regular demand every so often.
"These bandits have really lost their humanity!"
The crowd was outraged, and people wanted to resist.
The two Golden Rooster knights had only come to inform the villages and were already far from the village entrance, yet they could still hear the angry voices behind them.
"These country bumpkins are overreacting. We need to report this to our superiors, or else we might stir up their emotions and they’ll resist recklessly."
"Yes, the strength in the stronghold has been weakened significantly. We need to be careful about the impact of this situation."
...
"Is anyone from Red Cloud City going to do something?"
The villages outside the mountain were restless, and everyone was discussing this matter.
Some suggested finding the patrol team to manage the situation and quickly report to Red Cloud City. They couldn't let the people from Golden Rooster Ridge run wild during this special winter.
An old man sighed, "The higher-ups in Red Cloud City might not have the energy to deal with this right now."
"Why is that?"
"A traveling merchant brought the latest news from there. Two major organizations suspect that the lord of Red Cloud City, Ling Xu, is colluding with high-ranking outsiders from Black and White Mountain. They were tricked by him last time in the mountains."
According to the traveling merchant, the atmosphere in Red Cloud City was tense.
There was no direct evidence regarding this matter; the two major organizations only suspected that Ling Xu had dark intentions and used their strength to manipulate them.
This issue would likely end up unresolved, but the higher-ups in Red Cloud City were too busy to pay attention.
Qin Ming looked at the dark night sky, listening to the people's discussions, and felt a bright light stirring within him. His emotions were also in turmoil.
Everyone has feelings and desires; it's impossible to stay calm all the time.
After a moment, the bright light around Qin Ming faded.
He entered the cellar and picked out two blood snakes, each about six to seven feet long and mutated once.
Then, he grabbed a long-handled black iron hammer and smashed the two spiritual creatures into a paste on an iron plate, cooking it himself to make a pot of meat soup.
Before leaving, he needed to make some arrangements.
Not long after, Qin Ming arrived at the small courtyard next door.
"Brother Lu, are you feeling better? I hunted a spiritual mountain beast in the mountains that might help you recover."
Qin Ming didn’t want to hide everything, so he told Lu Ze that eating the meat soup would not only help him recover quickly but might also allow him to experience a rebirth soon.
"Little Qin!" Lu Ze was a straightforward person and didn’t know what to say, just nodding heavily.
Liang Wanqing's eyes were red. She understood what rebirth meant in such a harsh environment; it meant she wouldn’t have to worry every time Lu Ze went into the mountains.
Qin Ming said, "Sister-in-law, you can have some too. There’s plenty of meat soup. Even if your body can’t be reborn, it can still improve your health."
"Smells so good! Uncle, I want to eat too." Wen Rui, who hadn’t gone to sleep yet, caught a whiff of the unique smell of the blood snake and was almost drooling like a little glutton.
"You’re still too young to eat it; it could cause early development. Here, Uncle brought you the freshest wild fruits. These are from Old Huang’s cultivation."
Wen Rui’s big eyes sparkled, but she looked confused. "Uncle, last time you said these fruits were grown by Uncle Niu."
"Yeah, something like that." Qin Ming smiled; these were indeed from the Wild Bull Territory.
"Uncle, I want some too..." Two-year-old Wen Hui woke up in a daze.
Then, Qin Ming heard a squirrel chattering in its cage, looking at him and begging for the meat soup made from the blood snake.
...
The next day, Qin Ming polished his jade iron knife. It was too eye-catching; if he drew it, he had to be ready to cut down anyone who saw it.
After disguising and covering the knife well, he sheathed it.
Qin Ming took a long stick to use as a spear and found the bow and arrows he had used before. Now he could say he was skilled with both spear and bow!
Soon, he showcased amazing spear techniques in the courtyard. The wooden stick in his hand twisted like a dragon, swirling in the air as if it wanted to soar into the sky.
With a gentle shake, the long stick created dozens of illusory shadows, stabbing towards different areas. Dozens of small snowflakes falling were instantly pierced.
However, as Qin Ming increased the force while shaking the spear, the sturdy wooden stick couldn’t handle his immense strength and broke into several pieces.
He picked up the bow and arrows, but after just a quick try, he stopped. With even a little force, the bowstring would snap, or the bow itself would break.
"At this rate, my claim of being skilled with both spear and bow is just empty talk; I don’t even have a decent weapon." Qin Ming decided to head into the mountains to find some suitable weapons.
In the Great Rift Valley, it was eerily quiet; the people from Golden Rooster Ridge had already left.
Qin Ming entered the gloomy underground cave, wandering through the web-like passages for a long time, seeing some broken armor, broken weapons, and a lot of blood. There were also some broken horns and bones from outsiders.
Eventually, Qin Ming discovered an altar deep in the cave, filled with a sinister aura. He kicked it, causing a large cloud of black mist to surge out.
However, when he unleashed his inner light, the dark mist quickly dissipated and evaporated completely.
"What were they doing here?" Qin Ming felt that the two bandits were colluding with the mysterious outsiders, and they weren’t up to any good.
He searched for a long time and found some intact weapons. As for the armor, he managed to piece together a few sets; the ones that survived were all of good quality.
He picked a large spear and a long knife, found a hard bow that could barely withstand his strength, and collected a bunch of iron arrows, filling six quivers.
"Tonight, I will be the Sword Immortal, Spear Saint, and Arrow God—master of sword, spear, and arrows!" Qin Ming muttered to himself.
He donned shiny armor, took the bow and arrows, hefted a heavy and exceptionally sharp long spear, and slung a long knife engraved with phoenix patterns over his back, then walked out of the underground cave.
"Hmm?" Qin Ming was surprised to find Old Liu’s trace outside the Great Rift Valley.
He didn’t hide and walked straight over.
Seeing him, Old Liu’s expression was very serious. "I heard you went into the mountains and guessed you would come here. Are you planning to take action against Golden Rooster Ridge?"
Since the last time they went into the mountains together to wipe out an ant nest, Old Liu had seen Qin Ming's strength far surpassing others of the same level. It was like a revelation, making him understand many things.
Plus, he had witnessed Qin Ming quickly mastering the inner light at Old Wu’s place, which shocked him and made him realize that Qin Ming could probably deal with those who had undergone rebirth four times, and he really wanted to do so.
Qin Ming noticed that this old man was quite sharp; he had probably figured out a lot.
"If you really want to go to Golden Rooster Ridge, I know I can’t stop you, but don’t rush into it. Wait a day or two."
"Why?"
Old Liu’s expression was serious. "Golden Rooster Ridge appeared because of the famous Golden Thief who used to do business between two major regions and used it as a base. Now it’s hardly used, but if you happen to run into them, that would be unfortunate."
Qin Ming took a deep breath of the cold air filled with drifting snowflakes. "Is your fate really that special? Nothing was going on, but after you mentioned it, it might just cause trouble."
He didn’t really believe this; he was just joking. He only trusted his own strength.
Old Liu said, "I’ll find someone to check it out. You don’t need to rush in the next couple of days."
"How do you have connections to find out about the Golden Thief’s whereabouts?" Qin Ming was surprised.
"I don’t have that kind of connection or ability, but I can make judgments based on past situations and current details. It’s said that whenever the Golden Thief is about to appear, the two bandits from Golden Rooster Ridge will send people to prepare rare ingredients and buy fine wine a day or two in advance, and they’ll even invite beautiful dancers."
Qin Ming nodded immediately, feeling it was very reliable, so he decided to wait for Old Liu’s news.
Then, he hid his armor in the mountains and returned to the village with a catch and Old Liu.
At this time, the village was in an uproar because the people from Golden Rooster Ridge had come again.
"Who are we doing this for? Isn’t it to protect you? That’s why we hurried to recruit those who have undergone rebirth."
Golden Rooster Ridge was already aware of the strong resistance from the villages. Now they sent people to try to ease the atmosphere and provide some necessary explanations.
"A few days ago, we fought fiercely with the outsiders in the Great Rift Valley for the villagers outside the mountains, killing many mutated creatures that wanted to occupy the outer areas of the mountains, and we nearly lost our entire force."
Some villagers looked at them with hatred upon hearing this. Who didn’t know that Golden Rooster Ridge was after the mysterious resources in the mountains? They had their own crops, and due to bad luck, they were almost wiped out, and now they claimed it was to protect them?
"The two leaders understand your situation and have decided to postpone the collection of that piece of Night Silver until next month, giving you time to prepare."
There was no doubt that Golden Rooster Ridge's explanation was weak and only fueled the villagers' resentment. In the end, they still wanted to squeeze money from each household; the protection tax couldn’t be less, and many wanted to fight back.
"This group of country bumpkins is overreacting!" In the end, the people from Golden Rooster Ridge hurriedly left.
That day, Old Liu brought news that Golden Rooster Ridge had not made any moves. There was reliable information that only two bandits and their close associates were in the stronghold.
"Additionally, two traveling merchants appeared in Silver Vine Town, bringing the latest news that Red Cloud City is about to change its lord. Although Ling Xu isn’t in any trouble, he is being transferred to another city."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming nodded. Now was a good time to take action.
He muttered to himself, "If a major organization suspects the lord of Red Cloud City is colluding with outsiders, they might also suspect the local organization is leaking information and cooperating. They can’t move against Ling Xu, so they must not dare to wipe out Golden Rooster Ridge!"
Then he continued, "The two bandits colluding with the outsiders, and the man who could turn to mist dies mysteriously. Wouldn’t his peers and elders suspect Golden Rooster Ridge?"
At this moment, the night was coming to an end. Qin Ming directly entered the mountains, changed into his armor, equipped himself with weapons, and headed towards Golden Rooster Ridge, which was fifty miles away!
The night was thick, and the journey wasn’t short; ordinary people wouldn’t dare to travel alone at night.
In fact, Qin Ming also encountered an unexpected event on the way. He was attacked by a strange beast with flowing purple light that suddenly leaped out from the forest, charging at him.
Its head resembled a horse, but it was definitely not a horse. Its snow-white sharp teeth glinted coldly, clearly a carnivorous beast. It had a body like a tiger or leopard but with long limbs and heavy hooves.
Its silky fur flowed with a faint purple glow, making it look majestic. It leaped into the air, its massive hooves coming straight for Qin Ming’s head.
"Purple Lightning Beast?" Qin Ming was surprised to encounter such a creature. Recently, he had learned a lot about the creatures in the mountains from Old Liu and knew about this one.
The Purple Lightning Beast was a newly emerged mutated creature that had undergone three mutations, running faster than those that had mutated four or five times.
It seemed startled, having escaped from the mountains, and when it saw Qin Ming blocking its path, it kicked him. If he didn’t dodge, he would be in for a nasty surprise.
Qin Ming slightly sidestepped, avoiding the large purple hoof, and quickly closed in, touching its shimmering purple body.
The Purple Lightning Beast was shocked. What kind of monster was this? How could a mere fingertip barely touch its fur and stick to it like a dog’s skin plaster?
Qin Ming’s inner light’s sticky property kicked in. As long as he made contact, it wouldn’t escape. First, it was his fingertip, then his whole palm firmly grasped the Purple Lightning Beast’s fur, and finally, he directly climbed onto its back.
"Don’t struggle, take me for a ride!" Qin Ming said.
The Purple Lightning Beast was furious; it was a difficult creature to tame and tried to shake him off.
Qin Ming didn’t waste time arguing with it. With a swift motion, he drew out his shiny long knife and held it to its neck. If it didn’t comply, he would kill it. The glowing purple mane fluttered, and many strands were cut off.
The Purple Lightning Beast’s body tensed, not daring to resist anymore. It glanced into the depths of the mountains and then began to run wildly.
In the thick darkness of the night, Qin Ming rode on the majestic creature with flowing purple light, swiftly approaching Golden Rooster Ridge!