You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

"Get out of here!"

"Run!"

"We don't want the goods anymore!"

Someone shouted first, and the remaining bandits completely collapsed. No longer caring about the large carts covered with tarpaulins, they let out a shout and fled for their lives toward the valley entrance.

Some people even threw away their weapons in order to run faster.

"Chase them! Don't let a single one escape!"

Guo Xiaotian, covered in blood and looking like a mad tiger, brandished his long sword and chased after the attackers.

"Grandpa, spare me..."

"Good sir, please spare me..."

puff!puff!

The pleas for mercy abruptly stopped.

Guo Xiaotian raised his hand and brought down his knife. The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, and two heads flew up with horrified expressions. The headless corpses ran forward a few steps before crashing to the ground, spurting several feet of blood from their necks.

Without stopping, he spotted a henchman ahead who had lost his hat while running, caught up in a few strides, and swung his knife horizontally!

Click!

"what!"

The henchman let out a miserable howl, a clear cracking sound coming from his spine. He was swept away like a rag doll, crashing into a rock. His bones were broken, and he was clearly dead.

"Spread out! Don't gather together!"

A bandit leader who seemed to have some knowledge shouted, but he himself deliberately chose to go down the rugged and difficult path.

"Where do you think you're going!"

From the flank came Yang Tiexin's cold voice.

He led a team of agile, equally skilled, and gun-wielding elite soldiers to intercept and kill those bandits who tried to scatter and escape into the mountains or who resisted the fiercest.

With a soft thud, he pierced through a bandit hiding behind a tree who was trying to turn around and fire a sneak arrow.

With a flick of his wrist, he drew the gun tip, not even glancing at the fallen corpse, his gaze already locked on the next target.

"Stop them!"

Three bandits, confident in their strength, stood back to back, attempting to resist, brandishing single-edged swords against the mountain wall.

"court death."

Yang Tiexin snorted coldly, shifted his feet, and suddenly swayed to the left, causing the bandits in front of him to instinctively raise their knives to block. But he had already slid to the right side in a strange manner, and his steel spear stretched out like a venomous snake!

"Well!"

The bandit on the right felt a chill in his throat; it had been pierced.

The gun retracted, deflecting the blade slashing at it from the mountain bandit in the middle. Yang Tiexin then rammed into the bandit's arms, his left fist pounding into the bandit's chest!

boom!

puff!

The bandit's eyes bulged out, and he spit out blood and collapsed.

The remaining man on the left was terrified. He let out a strange cry, dropped his knife, and tried to run away, but was caught up by a new army soldier and cut down with a single blow.

The entire chase lasted less than fifteen minutes.

The complex terrain allowed a few bandits familiar with the local routes to escape by chance, but the vast majority of the routed soldiers were killed by the new army.

The stench of blood was so thick that it was impossible to breathe, and there were corpses lying everywhere and weapons scattered about.

"Cease the pursuit, regroup, and clean up the battlefield!" Yang Tiexin ordered.

Upon receiving the order, everyone quickly began the cleanup.

They finished off the bandits who weren't dead, collected the scattered weapons, and inspected the abandoned carts.

Guo Xiaotian, leaning on his knife and panting heavily, walked to Yang Tiexin's side and watched as his men lifted the oilcloth, revealing neatly stacked wooden crates inside.

Upon opening the box, one could see gleaming silver ingots, strings of copper coins, and various gold and silver jewelry, jade artifacts, and antiques.

"Damn it, these bastards are making a lot of money!"

......

After the initial count was completed, the junior officer in charge of the count ran over to report: "Reporting to the two generals, the preliminary count shows approximately five thousand taels of silver, gold and silver utensils, jewelry and jade items valued at approximately two thousand taels, and a certain amount of copper coins."

"There are also several boxes containing fine silks and medicinal herbs."

"Seven thousand taels..."

Guo Xiaotian grinned: "That's enough to buy some good iron for the brothers and forge a few decent suits of armor."

Yang Tiexin nodded, signaling the junior officer to continue carefully counting and cataloging, then said to Guo Xiaotian:

"Brother, in the past month or so, we have almost wiped out all the well-known and powerful bandit strongholds around Lin'an Prefecture under the guise of bandit suppression and troop training."

"It's good that they're all killed; it'll be peaceful."

Guo Xiaotian wiped the blood off a piece of clothing on a corpse with his longsword: "The bandits are all gone. Next... it's time for the real culprit."

"His Majesty ordered us to train troops in Lin'an and secretly raise military funds. This method... hey, it's fucking brilliant!"

"They not only gained practical benefits, but also made these greenhorns see blood and toughen up."

"That's a hundred times better than just showing off your skills in the camp!"

He paused, a mixture of ruthlessness and caution on his face: "However, we must be even more careful when dealing with those wolves in sheep's clothing."

"We can't just openly fight like we're killing bandits."

"We must find out the details, pinpoint the key points, strike decisively, and clean up the mess completely. We must not let anyone know that it was our 'Lin'an New Army' that did it."

Yang Tiexin wholeheartedly agreed: "What you say is absolutely right, elder brother."

"The priority is to raise military funds and train the new army, but we must not give others any ammunition against us, especially we must not let people focus their attention on the new army."

"This matter requires careful planning. The target must be chosen precisely, and the operation must be carried out discreetly and cleanly."

"When I get back, I'll have my clever scouts go to the teahouses and bustling streets to listen to the gossip of the clerks, clerks, and sycophants. Maybe we can find some clues."

The two whispered a few more words about the details. Meanwhile, the battlefield had been cleaned up, the money and goods were loaded onto the carts, and the bodies of the fallen brothers had been simply collected.

Guo Xiaotian ordered his men to dig a pit and bury the bandits' bodies on the spot to erase all traces. Then, he led his team, escorting the spoils, and quietly withdrew from the valley that had just experienced the bloodshed, disappearing into the vast night.

……

Niujia Village, the new army camp.

The camp was built against the mountain and beside the water, with simple defenses of wooden fences and moats on the outside, and the tents inside were neatly arranged.

It was nearly midnight, but the open space in the center of the camp was still bustling with activity.

Thousands of men, shirtless or wearing only short jackets, are training under the bright moonlight.

On the east side, hundreds of people stood in neat rows, holding long spears made of ash wood. Following commands, they thrust, retracted, parried, and swept in unison.

The spear shaft whistled through the air, producing a dull "whoosh" sound—the basic stance of the Yang family spear technique taught by Yang Tiexin.

Although he only learned the basics, he was meticulous and had already begun to show his potential.

To the west was the archers' training area. Targets stood a hundred paces away, and the recruits took turns stepping forward, drawing their bows, nocking arrows, aiming, and releasing them. The twang of bowstrings and the clatter of arrows hitting targets filled the air.

Instructors would frequently step forward to correct postures and explain the key points of force exertion.

The entire camp was filled with the smell of sweat and earth, as well as a vibrant, upward-striving atmosphere.

Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin led the convoy back to the camp and called on the logistics officer who had been waiting to unload the goods and put them into inventory.

"Tie Xin, I've done a rough calculation."

Guo Xiaotian watched as the last box of silver was carried inside and said in a low voice, "Adding to tonight's seven thousand taels, we should have around ninety thousand taels left for military expenses, right?"

"More than 93,000 taels."

Yang Tiexin accurately reported the figures, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Enough to forge excellent iron armor, powerful bows and crossbows for at least two thousand brothers, and prepare at least half a year's worth of extra rations and compensation."

As the two were talking, a new recruit who was in charge of guarding the camp's perimeter that night came running up, panting, stopped in front of them, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Generals!"

"Seven men arrived at the edge of the woods to the east of the camp, leading a skinny horse, saying they wanted to see the person in charge of the camp."

"Judging from their attire, they didn't look like government soldiers or ordinary civilians. The leader was an old man wearing a straw hat, and the other six were all carrying weapons."

Guo Xiaotian frowned: "Did you give your name?"

"No," the recruit replied.

"Let's go take a look."

Yang Tiexin and his companion, along with several trusted and skilled men, hurried towards the east gate of the camp.

.....

Under the moonlight, outside the east gate of the camp.

Outside the wooden fence and simple barricades, seven figures stood silently.

The leader was tall and thin, wearing a wide-brimmed bamboo hat that covered most of his face, revealing only his angular jawline and slightly graying short beard.

He held a rather old-looking iron staff in his hand, and behind him stood six people, men and women of varying heights and builds, but each with a shrewd and restrained gaze and a calm demeanor.

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian approached with several guards, stopped behind the barricades, glanced at the seven men, and clasped their hands in greeting:

"My name is Yang Tiexin, and my elder brother Guo Xiaotian and I are honored to be the commanders of the new army in this area."

"I wonder who you all are...?"

Upon hearing this, the old man wearing a straw hat smiled and said, "General Yang, General Guo."

"Didn't you two generals send people to the Jiangnan region a month ago to search for my seven siblings?"

"What's wrong? Now that the real person is right in front of you, you don't recognize them?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tiexin's face immediately showed a look of realization, and he blurted out, "Could you all be... the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan?"

"Indeed, it is us."

Ke Zhen'e laughed heartily, took off his bamboo hat, and tucked it under his arm as a formal greeting: "I am Ke Zhen'e."

He turned to the side and introduced the people behind him: "This is my second brother, Zhu Cong, the Master of Skills; my third brother, Han Baoju, the Horse King; and my fourth brother, Nan Xiren, the Woodcutter of Nanshan."

"Fifth brother, Zhang Asheng, the Laughing Buddha; sixth brother, Quan Jinfa, the Hidden Hero of the City; seventh sister, Han Xiaoying, the Swordswoman of Yue."

As he introduced himself, the six people behind him clasped their hands in greeting.

Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin quickly returned the greeting with utmost formality: "So it's the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan in person!"

"I've long admired your name; it's legendary!"

"I did send people to search for you before, but I only heard that you were traveling all over the world and your whereabouts were uncertain, so I was unable to meet you, which is very regrettable."

"What a stroke of luck to meet you here today!!"

Ke Zhen'e waved his hand and laughed, "My seven siblings and I have not actually traveled far."

"Oh?" Yang Tiexin was taken aback.

"Ever since we heard that the two generals had raised recruitment flags in Lin'an and formed a new army, my brother and I have been keeping an eye on it."

"This month, the two generals led their men to suppress bandits and pacify the people, quelling more than ten mountain strongholds and river bandits that had plagued Lin'an for many years. Most of the money and grain obtained were used for military supplies and relief, benefiting the people of Lin'an and gradually opening up trade routes."

"My brother and I saw this clearly from the shadows, which is why we came to see you tonight."

"May I ask what brought you two generals to us in the first place?"

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian exchanged a glance, both of them realizing that these seven renowned heroes had been secretly observing them all along.

It seems that their actions of "using the suppression of bandits to train troops and raise funds" were somewhat shady, but they actually eliminated harm and brought peace to the people, which caught the eye of these truly chivalrous people.

Yang Tiexin did not hide anything and frankly said, "To be honest with Master Ke and everyone else, when I first came to search for them, I did hear about the Seven Heroes' reputation for righteousness, their high level of martial arts, and their chivalrous hearts."

"My brother and I were ordered to train the troops. We know that to build a strong army, we not only need strict discipline and excellent equipment, but also to broaden the horizons of our soldiers and enhance their combat capabilities."

"The martial arts world is full of hidden talents, with many skilled in actual combat and unique techniques that are beyond the reach of the usual routines in the military."

"Therefore, I had the idea of ​​inviting a master like the Seven Heroes to join my army, to teach some practical combat skills, to guide the soldiers, and to use his righteousness to cultivate the ranks."

"I don't know..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ke Zhen'e exchanged a glance with the six people behind him.

Zhu Cong waved his feather fan and said with a smile, "We appreciate General Yang's kindness."

"However, my siblings and I are used to being carefree and can't stand the rules and regulations in the army, let alone the daily roll call and orders."

"Joining the new army and receiving an official position and salary is absolutely out of the question."

Han Baoju replied in a booming voice, "That's right!"

"We, the people of the martial arts world, value the pleasure of settling scores and living a carefree life."

"Entering the military camp, with its restrictive structure, wouldn't it be incredibly stifling?"

Quan Jinfa added with a grin, "Besides, our meager skills are mostly for street brawls and are not up to the standards of a large army. We might just be hindering the general's important plans."

Guo Xiaotian was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but then Ke Zhen'e changed the subject: "However..."

"Since General Yang and General Guo were training troops to resist the enemy and protect the people, what they did was truly a chivalrous act."

"Although we, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, are unwilling to be bound by official positions, if the General has any difficulties, just give the order, and the seven of us siblings will not hesitate to do our utmost!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian were secretly delighted.

These top martial arts masters actually have more freedom, which makes them better able to solve some problems that the military cannot directly intervene in.

Guo Xiaotian, being quick-tempered, immediately laughed heartily, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Hero Ke and everyone else are straightforward and honest, truly kind!"

"To be honest, there is indeed a thorny issue at the moment, and perhaps we need to rely on the Seven Heroes' methods!"

"Oh? What is it?"

Yang Tiexin: "Within Lin'an Prefecture, some officials appear to be well-dressed, but in reality, they are corrupt, embezzle public funds, and may even be secretly colluding with enemy countries."

"What our army gained from suppressing the bandits was only a drop in the ocean."

"However, the imperial court has its own laws and regulations, and moving one hair can affect the whole situation. If we act rashly without solid evidence, we may alert the enemy and cause trouble instead."

"I wonder if the Seven Heroes would be willing to lend my new army a hand by secretly investigating the misdeeds of such officials, especially... where they hide their ill-gotten gains?"

"If we could find the exact location of the hidden silver or the secret ledger..."

"The rest will be much easier."

"The sooner these parasites are eliminated, the sooner the people will be at peace, and the national treasury will be replenished."

"I wonder if this can be considered a just act?"

To deal with corrupt officials, confiscate their ill-gotten gains.

This is absolutely perfect!

Ke Zhen'e said in a deep voice, "Punishing corrupt officials and confiscating stolen money is naturally a matter of paramount justice!"

"We, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, will take on this task!"