Bai Lifei unfurled a map.
It depicted the terrain of the Crimson Forest Ridge.
"The terrain of the Crimson Forest Ridge is steep and surrounded by mountains on three sides. There is only one way in and out, and the bandits have set up countless traps along the way.
"If you can enter the mountains through this path, you should be able to see a stronghold built against the mountain. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are even crossbows set up that can shoot through a cow within a thousand steps.
"Last time, the yamen organized five hundred constables to attack, but they were beaten to a pulp by a mere hundred bandits. They suffered heavy losses and returned in a sorry state.
"Besides, the leader of the bandits, Guan Chao. His Nine Chain Ghost Saber is a treasured saber forged from cold iron. The blade is sharp and powerful. Even if you enter the state of iron, you may still be injured. You must be on guard. "
As he spoke, Bai Lifei untied an ancient longsword from his waist and handed it over. Shen Lian received it, and his hand fell. It was unexpectedly heavy.
"This sword is called Windchaser. It has been with me my whole life since my master passed it to me. The blade is three feet three inches long and weighs nine kilograms. It can cut through iron like mud and cut through hair. It is ranked sixth in the Weapon Chart. Today, I give it to you to kill bandits," Bai Lifei said solemnly.
Shen Lian's expression changed. He hurriedly picked up the Windchaser Sword with both hands, feeling touched.
He had spent ten thousand taels to learn from Bai Lifei, but this Windchaser Sword was worth more than a hundred thousand taels.
Bai Lifei was truly generous to him.
"Senior, don't worry. I will definitely chop off Guan Chao's head to repay the favor of giving me this sword!" Shen Lian held the sword and bowed deeply, then strode into the mountains.
After crossing a redwood forest, he soon entered a canyon.
The mountain path ahead became more and more rugged and narrow. Cliffs appeared on both sides, like two giant hands slowly closing in on each other.
It was indeed as depicted on the map. It was an excellent place to set up an ambush.
As long as a large rock was placed at the edge of the cliff and gently pushed, even if there were thousands of soldiers and horses below, they would all die here.
And that was indeed the case. On the top of the cliff, large rocks could be seen everywhere. Occasionally, a small stone would be blown down by the wind and hit the cliff with a thunderous sound, causing people to be on high alert.
"The saying 'one man can hold back ten thousand men' is probably referring to this kind of terrain." Shen Lian looked up and narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, five people suddenly emerged from the bushes.
They were all dressed in brown leather and animal skins, their hair in a mess, their faces repulsive, and they surrounded him, two in front and three behind.
"Who is it?"
The two men standing in front of him both used sabers, while the three behind him were armed with bows and arrows, fully drawn.
Shen Lian sized up the person who asked the question.
He was tall and sturdy, bald, and had one eye. He was eight feet tall, which was about 1.89 meters.
The muscles all over his body bulged like toast, and he held a thick machete in his hand. His body faintly exuded the ferocious aura of a wild beast.
"I'm a Little Red from the Central Plains. I'm a good friend of your Guanchao Stockade Master. I'm here to pay you a visit. You should inform him quickly." Shen Lian looked arrogant and said frankly.
"A Little Red from the Central Plains? Who's that?"
"I've never heard of him."
"What should we do?"
"What do you mean what should we do? Let's take him down first."
"What if he's really a friend of the Stockade Master?"
The five bandits discussed animatedly, unable to make up their minds. The bald, one-eyed man hesitated for a moment, then turned to the man beside him and said, "Stop arguing. Butcher Lin, go to the stockade and ask the Stockade Master."
That man turned to leave, but Shen Lian suddenly raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute."
He took out a greeting card inlaid with gold from his chest. There were ten notes worth a hundred taels of silver inside. One thousand taels of silver!
The five bandits' eyes lit up in an instant.
"This is the greeting card. Give it to your Stockade Master for me."
"Okay …"
Butcher Lin licked his lips and took the greeting card. He felt that it was a little hot, so he stared at the notes for a long time before running into the depths of the canyon.
The other four people relaxed a little. The other party was here to give them money, and one thousand taels of silver was a rare thing. He might really be a good friend of the Stockade Master, so they didn't dare to offend him.
Moments later, Butcher Lin ran back and said, "The Stockade Master invites you in."
As expected, money makes the world go round!
Shen Lian didn't plan to attack from the beginning, but chose to use money to open a path. When he saw Guan Chao, he would capture the leader first to catch the bandits off guard.
No matter how these bandits racked their brains, they would never have thought that someone would dare to enter the tiger's den alone.
With Butcher Lin leading the way, Shen Lian passed through the canyon in no time. He saw a stone stronghold built on a rocky mountain standing in front of him.
The entire stockade was surrounded by tall stone walls that looked like city towers. A row of mechanical crossbows were installed on the walls, and the arrows were two meters long with extremely strong penetrative power.
This kind of defense could be described as an iron bastion, easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Seeing this scene, Shen Lian couldn't help but feel a little enlightened. No wonder five hundred soldiers couldn't take down this stockade.
After passing through the gate, Shen Lian walked up the stairs and into a large hall.
The layout of the hall was simple. The innermost part of the hall was a throne made of tiger skin facing the south. The throne was divided into two rows of seats, just like an emperor attending court.
At this moment, a middle-aged man about forty years old with a malicious expression was sitting on the throne made of tiger skin. He sat upright with one hand on the tiger's head and the other holding Shen Lian's invitation card. He stared coldly at Shen Lian, his eyes reflecting a trace of chilliness.
This was naturally Guan Chao, the murderer and robber wanted by the imperial court with a bounty of one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver!
There were eight people in each row under Guan Chao's seat.
These sixteen people were all ferocious people. Their faces were ferocious, and they looked at Shen Lian with evil intentions. Some of them didn't even try to hide their lust, looking at Shen Lian like he was a flower girl.
"You are one of the Central Plains' Red Dots?" Guan Chao stared at Shen Lian and sneered. "I don't remember having a friend like you."
Shen Lian took a few steps forward and took off his thick coat inlaid with gold and jade, revealing his martial arts attire. He held the Wind Chasing Sword in front of him like a crutch and smiled. "Stockade Master Guan is a mysterious dragon. I took the liberty to visit. In order to see you, I had to play a little trick. I didn't mean to tease you, so please don't blame me."
"Oh, then who are you?" Guan Chao's eyes flashed at the Wind Chasing Sword.
Shen Lian said, "I am a businessman. I kill whoever gives me money."
"Assassin?!"
Guan Chao's eyes widened, revealing a hint of vigilance. "Who did you come here to kill?"
Shen Lian laughed and shook his head. "Stockade Master is brave and invincible. You have many fierce generals under you. How would I dare to be presumptuous here? To tell you the truth, I came here because I have a big business deal to discuss with stockade master. "
Guan Chao narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything.
Shen Lian continued, "Not long ago, I received a business deal. Someone offered me a hundred thousand taels to kill someone. The target was Wang Fugui, the eldest son of the Wang family, one of the four great families in Snow Ridge City.
However, there was a special request for him to die. He couldn't die by assassination or accident. He had to meet a robber on the road and die by the robber's knife. "
Guan Chao understood. "You want me to help you kill someone?"
Shen Lian nodded. "After the job is done, the reward will be seventy-thirty. How about it?"
Guan Chao snorted and sneered. "You want us to kill the person and take responsibility for the crime, but you want thirty thousand taels. Is there such a good deal in the world?"
Shen Lian smiled indifferently. "How much does stockade master want?"
"I want ninety thousand taels!"
"Eighty thousand! At most, I can give you eighty thousand taels! "
"Ninety thousand, not one less. We are the ones who are risking our lives."
"... Fine!"
Shen Lian was silent for a few seconds and agreed with a bit of dissatisfaction.
Guan Chao was proud and laughed. "When do we do it? How do we do it?"
"Two days later, Wang Fugui will leave Snow Ridge City with about ten retainers. They will pass by the main road near Chi Lin Ridge. You just have to set up an ambush and kill him."
"That's easy!"
"The Wang family also has experts. Just in case, I hope that stockade master will personally make the trip. I will also assist you.
After the job is done, I will stay in the stockade until someone delivers the ninety thousand taels. What do you think? "
"Well said, well said!"
Guan Chao only relaxed at this moment, revealing his uncouth side.
In fact, in this ancient world, there was no internet and information technology was not developed. The human heart was still relatively simple. It was a bit like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Some people were not fools and were very smart. However, they fell into a trap just like that.
Done! Shen Lian let out a sigh of relief and successfully infiltrated the stockade.
"Bewitching Guan Chao successful. You have received one point of bewitchment." A strange voice sounded and Shen Lian could not help but smile.
"Men, set up a banquet. I want to drink three hundred cups of wine with Dian Hong!" Guan Chao excitedly waved his arms and shouted.
Soon, a grand banquet was set up.
The food on the table was all wild boar, wild deer, wild rabbit and so on. There was also wine.
In the stockade, seventy to eighty people gathered together, eating big pieces of meat and drinking big mouthfuls of wine. It was very lively.
Not long after, a few trembling young girls were chased out and asked to dance. If they didn't dance well, they would be whipped. Their screams led to roars of laughter, which only made the bandits even more excited and unbridled.
One of the girls looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. She moved around stiffly like a wooden puppet. Her tears had already dried up and there was only despair in her eyes.
"Come come come, Dian Hong, let me give you another toast." Guan Chao kept pouring wine for Shen Lian, drinking bowl after bowl.
"I also give a toast to stockade master. Stockade master, you will enjoy immortal blessings and live as long as the heavens! "
Shen Lian could not stop praising and gulping down the wine. His alcohol tolerance was not bad and he could be on par with anyone. However, he realized that once the wine entered his throat, it was quickly refined into Qi of vitality by the two Gu. He did not feel drunk after drinking it.
Thinking about it, wine was brewed from grains and did not need to be digested to enter the bloodstream. Naturally, it would be converted into primeval qi faster than food.
"Medicinal wine …" Shen Lian had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of a good way to refine primeval qi.
At this time!
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Shen Lian was stunned and saw the bandits were all looking in one direction.
He turned around and suddenly saw a woman in splendid attire walking over. This woman was extremely beautiful and had a very good figure. Her front and back were perky, and her skin was as white as snow. She was even more beautiful than the courtesan of the Drunken Flower Brothel, Li Chengcheng.
"Greetings to Madam!"
The bandits all lowered their heads.