Chapter 68: The Black Tiger Descends the Mountain
d, hearing that they only needed to repay forty wen a month to live in brick houses, they were suddenly delighted."Forty coins, that's not much,""Yes, yes, doing this work for Yang Lin, you can earn o...Get out of the way, get out of the way! You who don't want to die, get away from me!
The Han people glared with malice, brandishing their whips and galloping wildly, completely ignoring the panicked commoners on the road.
Some people couldn't dodge in time and were knocked aside by the charging horses, crying out in pain, but no one paid them any attention.
"Haha, Tiger Brother, this time coming to the city you'll stay for a few more days. Eat some good food, we've been holed up in the mountains for so long, our mouths are practically starved!"
The women in this city, we should have some fun with them too. Look at that girl, her figure, and her skin, she's really something else!
"Yeah, the women in the kiln are pretty tough too, way stronger than those we grabbed. The women caught on the mountain, they just want to die or come alive, it's not fun."
"Shut the ** up!"
The burly, black-faced man at the front of the charge shouted coldly, "Do you want everyone to know that you are bandits Get into town and be discreet!"
The leading Han was tall and burly, with a gloomy face. His narrow eyes glinted with ferocity, and a sneer played on his lips.
"What are you afraid of, Tiger Brother With Lord Zhou and Lord Zhao as our protectors, who could possibly do anything to us"
“That’s right, Jianghe County and our territory aren't that different. If it weren't for Brother Hu stopping you, the brothers would have taken over this entire county!”
"Hahahahahaha!"
The Han people burst into laughter.
Heihe's face turned completely dark, he reined in his horse, slowed down, and looked back at the crowd.
"
Be quiet!
"
The voice wasn't loud, but the bandits were all frightened by those terrifying eyes. Thinking of Tiger Brother's methods, they immediately shut their mouths obediently, and for a moment there was only the sound of horses' hooves tapping on the ground.
"Later, Lao Er and Lao San will go with me to Zhou's house to deliver money. The rest of you go to the inn. All of you behave yourselves! This is not the mountains. We are out here to make money, so don't cause any trouble for me!"
"Without my orders, who dares to cause trouble... Don't blame Tiger Brother for not considering him a brother!"
That night, Black Tiger brought the counterfeit second and third lieutenants, carrying a chest of silver, to the Zhou family. He had a convivial drinking session with Zhou Kun and his son.
After three rounds of wine and five courses, Zhou Zhengyang got down to "business."
"Tiger Brother, this is a small matter for me, I'd like to ask for your help, Tiger Brother."
Black Tiger narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled, "Zhou Shao need not be so polite. If there is anything Black Tiger can do to help, just command me!"
“Alright, let me get straight to the point. There's a Yang Lin in Heishan Village, a poor and penniless scholar who prides himself excessively and doesn't take our Zhou family seriously at all. Not long ago, he even offended Lord Zhao, making him furious!”
"Oh"
The black tiger widened his eyes and said coldly, "This man is so bold! Don't worry, Young Master Zhou. If anyone dares to provoke the Zhou family, I will kill him tomorrow! As for how you want him cut up, I'll cut him up that way!"
Facing Heihu's cold gaze, Zhou Zhengyang didn't dare to look directly at him and hurriedly said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Tiger Brother. This is just a little something. After the matter is done, there will be further rewards."
Saying that, Zhou Zhengyang took out a gold ingot from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Heihǔ.
The black tiger's eyes suddenly lit up.
This piece of gold weighs at least five ounces, which is equivalent to fifty ounces of silver!
When did Zhou's family ever spend so lavishly before
But there's one thing, we and Lord Zhao want to live! This Yang Lin, he married ten wives. By then, Tiger Brother, you bring him and all his women back here, just hand them over to us.
Heihu's eyes lit up again, and he immediately patted his chest: "No problem! I, Heihu, will take care of this!"
After finishing the serious talk, Zhou Kun suddenly seemed to react, smiling and raising his cup: "Come on, let's drink."
That night, as soon as Heihu and his men left the Zhou family, the second and third leaders couldn't help but speak up. “Heihu, something's not right about this. Do we really need to get involved just to catch a poor scholar”
"That's right, Tiger Brother. This silver is given too much, I always feel it's not that simple."
Heihǔ's face was dark as he said, "Need you say more Go back and investigate that Yang Lin first. What's the story behind him Are there any leads Why aren't the Zhao family and Zhou family moving against him directly And why are they taking him alive"
Black Tiger was a smart man. He believed that even if he was a bandit, he had to use his brain or he would die without knowing how.
Over the past few years, he'd climbed into the official circles. Every year, he'd pay a sum of silver to the Zhou family and Zhao family, and in return, they turned a blind eye as he plundered wantonly throughout Jianghe County.
This way, even though he had to spend a large sum of money every year to honor the Zhao family and Zhou family, his “business” thrived. They plundered everywhere in Jianghe County without fear of being caught by the authorities.
Although Heihu lowered his posture in front of the Zhou and Zhao families, he didn't take them seriously.
Therefore, he'll have to wait and see after checking it out before he can say for sure if this is true or not!
The next day at noon, the people sent out by Heihǔ finally got news.
In the inn, this bandit leader reported on his findings from his investigation.
"Tiger Brother, that Yang Lin is really not simple. The tofu he's been selling everywhere recently was actually his idea!"
He also sells a kind of magical potion, tofu is made with that kind of potion, it's said that one bucket of potion costs ten ounces of silver!
The petty officer was excitedly gesturing.
Hearing a hundred catties of gold, the bandits were all astonished.
"My goodness, you claim to be a poor student, but you're actually a wealthy tycoon!"
"Tiger Brother, I understand. The Zhou family and Zhao family want us to catch someone, they want the formula for that medicine, don't they"
"Why don't we just take care of Yang Lin right now! We can sell our own medicine water from then on!"
The bandits all gazed expectantly at the black tiger.
He glared at them, motioning for the small headman to continue his report.
"A few days ago, there was a wealthy man surnamed Liu in their village. In the middle of the night, he sent people to kill Yang Lin. Guess what happened"
"Four people were sent, two died, and two were seriously injured!"
The bandits were all astonished.
Heihǔ also frowned slightly: “Could it be that this Yáng Lín is a martial artist”
The small captain shook his head: "I don't know, nobody knows what happened that night. Anyway, Yang Lin was fine."
Afterward, Zhao Da personally went to Koushan Village to find trouble with Yang Lin. However, unexpectedly, the County Magistrate stood up for Yang Lin. Even Zhao Da was helpless against him!
The little leader finished speaking, and all the bandits were stunned.
"Heh heh, no wonder the Zhou family is so generous, it turns out they're loaded!" Black Tiger sneered.
"Tiger Brother, what are we going to do Are we still doing this" The Second-in-Command asked.
The Black Tiger said coldly, "You know why the Zhou family asked us to do this"
The bandits shook their heads.
“Because we are bandits! We don't have to follow the rules!”
Hei Hu picked up the knife from the table, cut a piece of meat, and shoved it into his mouth. He narrowed his eyes and sneered, "The Zhou family and Zhao family are doing bad things, and we can do them too."
"Tomorrow morning, we'll set off for Mount Village!"
"There's Yang Lin!"ter the meal, almost everyone eagerly asked about building a house. Yang Lin also answered everyone's questions one by one.He will start a housing project called "Mountainside New Village" today.There...