In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.
Qingshi Town, located nearby, was known for its production of cheap and sturdy bluestones.
Consequently, the number of mountains in the vicinity was particularly high.
And with the increase in mountains, the number of mountain bandits claiming dominance over them naturally grew over time.
Blackwind Stockade was one such place that had risen to prominence in recent years, amidst the Da Feng Dynasty's severe droughts and the rampant exploitation by corrupt officials.
Although Blackwind Stockade was still a small stronghold,
the total number of its inhabitants had just surpassed five hundred.
Yet, Blackwind Stockade paid considerable attention to the source of various pieces of information,
especially news from Qingshi Town, which was the closest to the stockade.
Blackwind Stockade paid the utmost attention to it.
...
In the early morning, when the sky was a dull gray and the thick fog in the mountains had not yet fully cleared,
on a small hilltop occupied by Blackwind Stockade near Qingshi Town,
within a stronghold that was not particularly large,
a low-ranking thug, dressed in cloth and carrying a rusty steel knife with several notches,
was hurrying towards the hall where matters were discussed within the stockade.
"Boss, it's bad, something terrible has happened..."
The thug with the rusty steel knife shouted as he ran.
"What's all the rush? What do you look like?"
In the Blackwind Stockade's meeting hall, on a giant and imposing chair made of bluestone,
Xiong Qi, the founder of Blackwind Stockade and its current leader known as Black-haired Tiger,
was leaning on the chair in utter boredom.
He held a jug of wine in his left hand and a greasy pork trotter in his right,
eating and drinking,
watching the somewhat flustered thug approaching.
"Boss, just yesterday, our Blackwind Stockade's Ninth Leader..."
"Ninth Leader..."
"What happened to Old Nine?" Black-haired Tiger Xiong Qi saw the thug struggling to complete his sentences and immediately showed a trace of displeasure on his face.
"Yesterday, the Ninth Leader was killed in Qingshi Town!!!"
The thug swallowed his saliva, looking somewhat nervous as he spoke.
"What did you say?" Black-haired Tiger Xiong Qi's eyes, large as copper bells, instantly widened,
and he exhaled two long streams of white mist from his nostrils.
In an instant, his bored expression changed to one of anger.
Since half a year ago, when Blackwind Stockade was established, things had been going smoothly.
No one had dared to provoke Blackwind Stockade, which Xiong Qi had started single-handedly.
Those who dared to provoke Blackwind Stockade now had grass over three meters tall on their graves.
What Xiong Qi had not anticipated was...
Just when he was planning to expand his ambition and steer Blackwind Stockade onto a path of greater strength,
the Ninth Leader of Blackwind Stockade, who was in the Initial Realm of Skin Refinement and recruited not long ago, had died just like that?
Although the Ninth Leader of Blackwind Stockade was only a martial artist in the Initial Realm of Skin Refinement,
even sturdy men with a bit of strength were not easy to recruit in these chaotic times,
let alone those who had entered the world of cultivation and possessed certain power.
"Damn it, they dare to touch my Blackwind Stockade, are they tired of living?!!"
Inside the meeting hall, Black-haired Tiger Xiong Qi cursed while grabbing the steel knife beside him, a weapon that had seen countless battles and beheaded numerous foes.
Step by step, he advanced towards the thug.
With a fierce look, he asked the thug in a low voice, "Who did it?"
"Luo, the Luo Family..."
The minion, overwhelmed by the oppressive aura emanating from his boss, replied in a trembling, low voice.
"The Luo Family, right?" Xiong Qi silently nodded his head, raised the ten-refined steel knife in his hand, and thought of heading out.
He seemed to want to gather all of Blackwind Stockade's people.
To cleanse the shame of the Blackwind Stockade's Ninth Master's murder by blood-washing the Luo Family.
"Right." Just as Xiong Qi was halfway out,
He seemed to have remembered something and retraced his steps.
"The Luo Family you just mentioned, which Luo Family is it?"
"Qingshi Town, the Luo Family..." the minion answered with his head slightly bowed.
"I know it's the Luo Family of Qingshi Town, but there are more than one family with the surname Luo in Qingshi Town, so which one exactly are you referring to?"
"Qingshi Town, one of the four great families, the Luo Family..."
As the conversation came to an end, the entire hall fell into a silence as deadly as death itself.
"The Luo Family of Qingshi Town, one of the four greatest families?"
Xiong Qi looked at the minion in front of him, repeating incredulously.
"Yes, yes."
The minion nodded his head repeatedly.
And with the murderer of the Blackwind Stockade's Ninth Master finally confirmed,
Xiong Qi, the current chief of the Blackwind Stockade, known as the Black Haired Tiger,
Now seemed to calm down even more.
He silently returned to the main seat of the council hall and sat down quietly.
His brow was furrowed, his mind busily contemplating one thing.
"Boss, are we still going to take revenge for this?" Inside the council hall, seeing his boss suddenly fall silent,
The minion mustered up his courage and asked timidly.
"Revenge? What revenge?" Xiong Qi's train of thought was interrupted, and he stared intently at the minion before him as he asked.
"The revenge for our Ninth Master!"
"Ninth Master? What Ninth Master? Our Blackwind Stockade has never had this so-called Ninth Master, remember that!"
"Ah????" The minion seemed utterly astonished.
"You may leave, I am somewhat tired..." Xiong Qi waved his hand and rubbed his head, which was starting to ache.
And with the minion thief exiting the council hall,
A scholar who had been hiding in a corner of the hall, rather handsome in appearance,
Now quietly stepped out.
"Master, a grave problem has arisen."
"I had intended to wait until Blackwind Stockade grew strong enough before moving against Qingshi Town."
"But who could have imagined... "
"That damned Old Nine went to Qingshi Town behind my back."
"Damned fool, going to Qingshi Town would have been fine,"
"But of all people, he had to provoke the Luo Family, one of the four strongest families in Qingshi Town."
"The Luo Family now is not an existence our humble Blackwind Stockade can afford to provoke."
"Master, what should I do next?" His brows locked tightly, Xiong Qi asked the scholar before him in a somewhat helpless tone.
If he wasn't guessing wrong, the Luo Family
may very likely have already set their sights on his Blackwind Stockade.
Fortunately, Blackwind Stockade's main encampment was located in a rather hidden place.
It shouldn't be so easy for the Luo Family to find his Blackwind Stockade.
But just in case, by some carelessness,
if his Blackwind Stockade were to be discovered by the Luo Family, wouldn't he and his troop be doomed?
Despite how mighty Blackwind Stockade seemed before countless refugees and commoners these days,
if really compared to those families that had existed for two to three hundred years,
Blackwind Stockade, established for merely half a year, naturally couldn't compare to those deeply rooted noble clans.