"So... how much do you guys think we'll make from this trip?"
Zhu Dachun was lying between the two exotic beasts, covered with a roe deer pelt mattress. He was warm, stable, and had recovered enough of his spirits to feel like talking.
Zhou Pao turned his head and smiled. "Two exotic beasts. Worth seventy or eighty taels, at least!"
Zhao Lin deliberately asked, "Didn't you say the bear alone would go for sixty or seventy taels? We killed a bristleboar too, so why isn't the total much higher?"
Zhou Pao looked embarrassed. "Well... don't be mad, brother. The bear's hide is full of holes. It's pretty much ruined."
"We used too much poison, so the Bear's Paws and meat can't be eaten. We can't just sell it and poison people, can we? That would be unconscionable."
Liang Song quipped, "So all that's left is the bear gall."
Zhou Pao chuckled, trying to salvage the situation. "The bristleboar's hide is mostly intact, and its tusks and bristles can also be sold. Put them both together, and it's still a good bit of money."
"Besides, just putting these two exotic beasts on display in the village... even decades from now, whenever our four names are mentioned, who wouldn't give us a thumbs-up?"
Hearing this, Zhu Dachun and Liang Song couldn't help but nod in agreement. It was indeed something to be proud of.
Zhao Lin also smiled. "You're the leader, so whatever you say is right."
Joking aside, he was actually very satisfied with this haul. With this silver, he could not only buy his brother's freedom but also ensure they wouldn't have to live a hard life anymore.
And then there was the bear's Essence Soul, which was an unexpected bonus. He never could have hunted such a powerful exotic beast on his own.
The four of them chatted and laughed as they trudged back through the rough-barked birch forest. Lao Gualing was already visible in the distance.
THUD-THUD-THUD...
The sudden sound of hoofbeats. Seven riders on horseback charged out from the side of a mountain pass, their steeds kicking up flurries of snow.
The riders were all dressed identically in deerskin clothes worn with the fur facing out and leather facing in. They wore cowhide boots, had sabres tucked into their waists, and long spears stuck by their stirrups.
The chatter and laughter died instantly.
Seeing their attire, Zhao Lin's heart sank with a sense of foreboding.
"Shit, our luck's run out! We've run into bandits!" Zhu Dachun spat from the raft.
The smile had already vanished from Zhou Pao's face. He spoke in a low voice, "You lot stay quiet. I'll handle them."
"Whoa..."
The seven horses reined in together about five zhang away from Zhao Lin's group. The man in the center, holding a horsewhip, looked down on them and demanded, "Who goes there? State your name and affiliation!"
The speaker was a man in his forties with a hooked nose, a sharp chin, and three long strands of beard. He wore a sable hat and a long robe over his clothes, dressing differently from the other six. He was clearly the leader.
"Stating your affiliation" was bandit slang for announcing who you were. With those words, the man confirmed his identity as a bandit.
Zhou Pao clasped his fists, raised them over his left shoulder, and swung them back. He said, "We are Hunters from nearby. We were out of food for the winter, so we came to the mountains to hunt."
Zhao Lin had heard from the village Hunters that you should never clasp your fists in front of you when meeting bandits. The gesture looked too much like being in stocks and chains, which was a huge taboo for them. You had to use the posture Zhou Pao did.
"Hunting before spring has even arrived?"
The bandit leader glanced behind them and snorted softly.
Zhou Pao patted his old cotton-padded jacket and said self-deprecatingly, "We can't make ends meet otherwise! If I may be so bold, which gang are you heroes from?"
The bandit leader didn't speak. A rider to his left came forward—a man with a pair of bulging, goldfish-like eyes. He announced loudly, "Listen up! Our Chief Shopkeeper is the Drilling Mountain Leopard..."
Hearing the name "Drilling Mountain Leopard," Liang Song stiffened, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Zhao Lin glanced at him from the corner of his eye. 'What a small world for enemies,' he thought. 'Of all the rotten luck, to run into bandits on the way home.'
Goldfish Eyes assumed Liang Song was just scared by their reputation and didn't pay it much mind. He continued, "And this man before you is our Shuntian Liang, Lord Diao Liu!"
In his quest for revenge, Liang Song had spent years gathering information about bandits, and Zhao Lin had picked up a thing or two from their recent chats.
Bandits had a complete organizational structure. The top leader was called the "Da Dangjia" (Chief), and below him were the Second Shopkeeper and Third Shopkeeper. Further down the ladder were the "Four Beams and Eight Pillars."
The Four Beams referred to the Dingtian Liang, who led the charge; the Shuntian Liang, who managed provisions; the Yingtian Liang, who was in charge of sentries; and the Tuotian Liang, who acted as the strategist.
The Eight Pillars were leaders of more specialized roles, such as kidnapping, negotiation, intelligence, and protection.
The bandit leader before them was the Shuntian Liang. He was called Lord Liu, which clearly indicated his high status within the gang.
"Ah, so it is the Shuntian Liang of the Drilling Mountain Leopard. My respects to Lord Diao Liu and all you heroes." Zhou Pao forced himself to remain calm and made a deep, circling bow.
"What did you hunt in the mountains?" Diao Liu asked, tilting his chin up.
Zhou Pao, Zhao Lin, and Liang Song were standing side-by-side, conveniently blocking most of the bandits' view. With the blanket covering Zhu Dachun, they couldn't immediately see what was on the raft.
"Well..." Zhou Pao hesitated.
Goldfish Eyes barked, "Get out of the way! Let us see!"
Zhou Pao had no choice but to give Zhao Lin and Liang Song a look, saying, "There's an injured man lying on the raft."
Liang Song stood his ground, craning his neck stubbornly, but Zhao Lin forcibly pulled him aside.
Goldfish Eyes leaped off his horse, bounded over, and threw back the roe deer pelt blanket.
"Th-these... you killed these?"
Seeing the two exotic beasts on the raft, the bandits were all stunned. Some were surprised, some were doubtful, and some had a flicker of apprehension in their eyes.
"Lord Liu, those four killed a bear and a bristleboar. They must be skilled!" a tall, skinny bandit next to Diao Liu murmured.
"Skilled, my ass!"
Diao Liu pointed at the two beast corpses and laughed loudly. "You idiots, look closely! These two exotic beasts obviously killed each other. These guys just got lucky and stumbled upon them."
The bandits craned their necks to get a better look and saw it was true. One after another, they breathed sighs of relief.
"Damn, that scared the hell out of me."
"The bear strangled the bristleboar, and the bristleboar bit the bear to death... Heh, what insane luck!"
Goldfish Eyes said fawningly, "As expected of Lord Liu, your eyes are sharp. I was completely fooled by them."
Zhao Lin observed them quietly. The bandits' eyes were all filled with greed; they had clearly set their sights on the exotic beasts.
Zhou Pao also had a bad feeling. He took out a piece of silver from his robes and smilingly offered it to Goldfish Eyes. "You heroes must be tired from patrolling the mountain. This is just a small token of our appreciation."
Goldfish Eyes didn't reach for it, instead glancing back at Diao Liu.
Diao Liu curled his lip in a cold sneer but didn't say a word.
Goldfish Eyes turned back, his expression instantly changing. "Fuck off! You think you're giving handouts to a beggar?" He kicked Zhou Pao, sending him stumbling back.
Zhou Pao clutched his stomach and sucked in a breath, but kept the smile on his face. "What is it that you heroes desire?"
Hearing this, the bandits looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Goldfish Eyes laughed so hard he was bent over. He pointed at Zhou Pao and said, "You ugly oaf, are you really that dense, or are you just playing dumb? I'll tell you straight: we're taking these two exotic beasts!"
Zhou Pao's expression flickered. He stopped looking at Goldfish Eyes and addressed Diao Liu directly. "The gang's code doesn't allow for robbing Hunters. I ask that Lord Liu show mercy."
Diao Liu's face darkened. "Don't talk to me about rules. My brothers have no meat to eat. I'm taking this bounty, and that's final!"
Zhou Pao sighed and tried to compromise. "If Lord Liu truly wants them, this humble one wouldn't dare refuse. I only ask that you spare a little something for our trouble, so that our efforts weren't all for nothing."
"Heh, you dare ask me for money?"
Diao Liu's eyes were full of mockery. He turned to the others and asked, "Brothers, I don't want to pay, but I want the goods. What do you think we should do?"
"Haha! Asking us for money? He must have a death wish."
"You want money more than your life, is that it?"
"Keep yapping and we'll finish you off too..."
Liang Song's face turned livid with anger, his lips trembling. He looked like he was about to erupt.
Zhao Lin wanted to tell him not to be impulsive, but as the words reached his lips, he suddenly felt his own anger flaring up. His hand, without him realizing, had come to rest on the handle of the axe at his waist...
'Once you have power, your courage grows with it.'
'There's just one thing I don't know,' he thought. 'How strong are these bandits, really?'