```
In front of him were more than a dozen desperados with rusty blades in their hands.
The vast majority were merely ordinary people with a bit of courage and some strength.
Even from the nervous looks in the eyes of these desperados,
Luo Changfeng could easily tell that these men must have only joined recently.
The only exception was the man dressed in black, with a black cloth covering his head,
carrying a brand-new steel knife, his face filled with ferocity.
Though his figure appeared somewhat lean, the aura of bloodshed radiated from him unmistakably indicated a leader.
He was one who had already stepped into the realm of cultivation.
However, his strength seemed limited to the Initial Realm of Skin Refinement.
Such an existence, even in the dozens—
let alone ten,
sixty, or even a hundred—
Luo Changfeng would have been able to cut through them all and then leave safely.
...
"Old man, what are you thinking about?"
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
On a chaotic and impoverished street of Qingshi Town, quite a distance from the Luo Family Ancestral Land,
the leader of the dozen or so desperados
saw that Luo Changfeng was simply standing silently, not responding to his question,
and he started to get angry.
This would have been tolerable in a time of peace,
but now, it was a time of chaos!
In such tumultuous times, human life is worth less than that of grass.
Had it not been for the fact that he thought this old man must have quite a lot of money at home,
he would have already struck, ending the old man's life with a single blade.
"Brothers, take action."
"If we don't teach this old fellow a lesson, he really won't take us seriously."
The desperado leader dressed in black waved his brand-new steel knife,
commanding the desperados beside him.
The dozen or so desperados exchanged glances with one another,
and then, holding their rusty blades, they charged towards Luo Changfeng.
"Hmph, do these people really take me for just some ordinary old man?"
Luo Changfeng looked at the desperados before him,
his expression gradually becoming colder.
However, regarding these desperados rushing towards him,
Luo Changfeng had no intention of taking action himself.
Upon leaving the Luo Family Clan land, he had subtly felt that quite a few practitioners in the Skin Refinement Realm were following him.
With the appearance of these desperados,
the presence of those Skin Refinement practitioners became even more noticeable.
After these desperados began their charge,
those practitioners in the Realm of Skin Refinement even began to emerge from various corners around them, closing in on his position.
Centered around Luo Changfeng, they formed an impenetrable protective circle.
"The youngsters from the Luo Family are thoughtful..."
In the end, Luo Changfeng gave one last look to the desperados.
He silently turned around.
...
As the sound of clashing weapons gradually rose,
and as the scent of blood pervaded and spread through the air,
the battle also came to an end.
"Patriarch Changfeng, those bandits of no significant strength have all been slain."
"The bandit in the Initial Realm of Skin Refinement has been captured alive."
"What should we do with this man?"
A house servant Commander, clad in grey, likely at the Refining Stage of Perfection in the Realm of Skin Refinement,
was at that moment slightly bowing his head, his hands clasped together.
He asked Luo Changfeng respectfully.
"Do you know where that group came from?"
Luo Changfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly looking forward.
```
"It seems that this group of mountain bandits came from Blackwind Stockade, located in a small mountain outside Qingshi Town."
"Blackwind Stockade?" Luo Changfeng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Afterward, some information about Blackwind Stockade emerged in his mind.
Blackwind Stockade had probably been established about half a year ago.
Their main base appeared to be in a deserted small mountain outside Qingshi Town.
The leader of Blackwind Stockade was at the Refining Stage of Skin Refinement.
There were about five hundred people in Blackwind Stockade.
In terms of combined strength, they ranked tenth among the ten major bandit factions like mountain brigands and horse thieves outside Qingshi Town.
"Just kill them."
"As for Blackwind Stockade..." Luo Changfeng thought for a moment, then after a brief silence, he spoke in a low voice to the house servant Commander beside him: "Go and see if you can find the main base of Blackwind Stockade."
"If you can find it, take care of it while you're at it."
"If it cannot be found..."
"Then let it be for the time being. When there's time later and I am free, then deal with that stockade."
"Yes!" The house servant Commander nodded vigorously.
He then turned around, his expression somewhat cold as he walked towards the mountain bandit at the Initial Realm of Skin Refinement.
"You can't kill me."
"Do you know who I am?"
"I am the ninth leader of Blackwind Stockade; if you kill me, my big brother..."
The ninth leader of the bandits saw the house servant approaching him.
He then began to struggle frantically.
He even shouted out his identity loudly.
It seemed he was trying to exchange this information for his life.
It's just a pity...
Even if this bandit were only a minor ninth leader within Blackwind Stockade.
Even if this guy were the boss of Blackwind Stockade.
In the presence of the Luo Family, one of the four great families of Qingshi Town, he still had to die.
[Bang!!!]
The dull sound of a round head falling to the ground suddenly erupted.
At the gaping wound on the neck of the bandit's ninth leader,
the bright red blood kept spurting out.
"Do you know who the old man you tried to attack just now was?" The house servant Commander slowly sheathed his brand-new steel knife.
With a somewhat calm demeanor, he looked at the head still rolling on the ground and said in a low voice, "That was the Ancestor of the Luo Family, one of the four great families of Qingshi Town."
"Not to mention that you're just a minor ninth leader of Blackwind Stockade."
"Even if you were the leader of Blackwind Stockade, in front of that elderly man."
"You, still cannot escape death!!!"
...
After dealing with this matter,
the house servants began to swiftly clean up the scene.
Not until they had taken all the bodies away and thrown them to the side of the street,
did the group of house servants from the Luo Family Clan gradually vanish from Luo Changfeng's line of sight,
hiding in various corners around.
"It's also time to go back..."
Luo Changfeng glanced at the spot where the house servant Commander he had just been talking to was hiding.
He quickly withdrew his gaze,
and silently walked towards the direction of the Luo Family Ancestral Land.
"Sir, sir..."
"Lend me some money, please lend me a little money."
"As long as you agree to lend it to me, once I win back what I've lost, I will repay you double, triple, or even five times the amount!!!"
At the side of the street, just as Luo Changfeng had taken a few steps,
a middle-aged man clothed in tattered garments, with a sallow face and emaciated figure chased out by the casino goons,
quickly crawled towards him, desperately clutching Luo Changfeng's trouser leg with his somewhat grimy hands.
"This guy... is he the one who just sold his daughter?"
Luo Changfeng glanced at the middle-aged man beside his feet, with red eyes and a face full of haggardness.
He then looked at the casino that was seemingly bustling among the poor people.
Luo Changfeng sighed with some helplessness and said softly, "This casino, it really does bring people to ruin."