In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

"Get moving!"

Zhao Wu's voice rang out; he had returned from outside with his men, and there were several more bloodstains on his body.

"Do what the master tells you to do! Are you dawdling and looking for trouble?"

With a supervisor in place, everyone's work immediately sped up.

Despite their nausea, they began stripping the clothes off the corpse and piling up the scraps of copper coins, daggers, tobacco pouches, and other such items they had found.

Qin Shaolang, accompanied by Wang Tiezhu and carrying the set of keys they had taken from the third leader, headed towards the back hall of the Gathering Hall.

The back hall connects to several rooms.

The first room was the third leader's bedroom, which was in a mess and reeked of alcohol and sweat.

Qin Shaolang wasn't interested in looking at it and went straight to a large wooden box in the corner.

Wang Tiezhu stepped forward and tried a key.

"Click".

The lock is open.

The lid of the box was lifted, and the two of them immediately caught their breath.

A whole box full.

It wasn't gold or silver, but weapons neatly arranged!

Standard waist swords, spearheads of long spears, and several sets of leather armor!

These are far more valuable than gold and silver!

"Sir, these... these are all officially manufactured weapons!" Wang Tiezhu's voice trembled.

Black Wind Stronghold has secretly hoarded so many officially manufactured weapons!

If the authorities find out, it's a serious crime that could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family!

Qin Shaolang's expression remained calm.

He picked up a waist knife and drew it.

The blade gleamed coldly and felt heavy in the hand, clearly made of high-quality steel.

"Keep it safe."

He only said two words.

Continue to the next room.

The door to the second room was locked.

Wang Tiezhu stepped forward again and changed the key.

The door opened.

A fragrant aroma of grain wafted towards me.

This is a warehouse!

The room was piled with bags of grain, including millet, black beans, and several large bags of wheat flour!

In the corner hung dried cured meat and salted fish, along with several jars of pickled vegetables.

"We've made it...sir, we've made it!"

Wang Tiezhu's face turned red with excitement.

So much food!

That's enough to feed dozens of them for more than half a year!

Qin Shaolang felt a slight sense of relief.

With food and weapons, they finally had a foothold here.

He went into the warehouse, patted a grain sack, and then inspected the cured meat.

It is not rotten.

well.

The last room was also locked.

This lock is larger than the previous ones; it's a brass lock.

Wang Tiezhu used the last key to open it.

Push open the door.

This time, there was neither the aroma of grain nor the cold glint of weapons.

There was only a bright, yellowish-white thing.

Three large boxes were placed open in the center of the room.

A box was filled with gleaming gold bars.

The other two boxes were filled with snow-white silver ingots and strings of copper coins!

The glittering gold and silver was so dazzling that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Even with Qin Shaolang's resolute character, seeing the room full of gold and silver made his breathing become heavier.

Wang Tiezhu swallowed hard, his eyes widening in disbelief.

He had never seen so much money in his entire life!

"How...how many are there...?"

Qin Shaolang did not answer.

He stepped forward and casually picked up a silver ingot.

The silver ingots even bear the official stamp of the government.

Black Wind Stronghold had been entrenched for many years, burning, killing, and looting, and it seemed to have accumulated astonishing wealth.

Now, all of these belong to him.

Qin Shaolang threw the silver ingot back into the box, making a crisp clinking sound.

The sound brought Wang Tiezhu back to his senses.

"Sir, this money..."

"Seal it off first."

Qin Shaolang closed the box and locked the door again.

Wealth can be very tempting.

Now is not the time to divide the money.

He needs to use this money to do something more important.

When the two came out of the back room, the corpses outside had already been stripped naked and piled up in the middle of the courtyard.

The blood-stained clothes that had been torn off were piled up into another small mountain.

The able-bodied men, their faces ashen, slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

After this battle, they seemed to have been completely drained of their energy and spirit.

Qin Shaolang walked into the courtyard.

All eyes were instinctively drawn to him.

Fear, awe, and a touch of bewilderment.

"Starting today."

Qin Shaolang looked around at everyone, his voice not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Here, I'm in charge."

"If you want to live, listen to me."

"If you want to die, you can leave now."

He pointed to the gate of the mountain stronghold.

"I won't stop you."

silence.

A deathly silence.

No one moved.

go?

Where can they go?

Outside, a chaotic world rife with bandits, these unarmed ordinary people faced certain death if they left the protection of this place.

Moreover, they had just participated in the operation to wipe out Black Wind Stronghold.

If word gets out, whether it's other bandits or the government, they won't survive.

Staying here and following this killing god is the only way to survive!

Qin Shaolang looked at them, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.

He knew that no one would leave.

"very good."

He nodded.

"Zhao Wu, Wang Tiezhu."

"Here!" The two immediately stepped forward, straightening their chests.

"Starting tomorrow, the two of you will be in charge of training them."

Qin Shao-Lang's gaze swept over the group of strong men who were slumped on the ground, his tone icy.

"I don't care what methods you use, within ten days, I want them to be able to pick up a knife and dare to kill."

"If you can't do it, then you two go and rent out the outhouse in this mountain village."

Zhao Wu and Wang Tiezhu's faces fell instantly.

They booked... a makeshift outhouse?

What does that mean?

The Black Wind Stronghold's hundreds of bandits ate, drank, and relieved themselves here. That outhouse, over the years, was simply a living hell.

Forget about the bag, just smelling it up close would make me want to throw up my leftovers.

Are you suggesting we send those two to do this?

The two shivered, feeling a stench rising to their noses.

"Sir..." Zhao Wu's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke with difficulty, "Ten days, isn't that a bit...too tight?"

"They were just ordinary farmers, they'd barely even killed a few chickens, yet they dared to kill someone within ten days..."

This is simply an impossible task!

Qin Shaolang's gaze remained completely unmoved.

Is it tight?

He asked indifferently.

"I feel quite well-off."

His gaze shifted from Zhao Wu and Wang Tiezhu's faces to the group of strong men who had collapsed on the ground.

"In chaotic times, no one will give you time to grow slowly."

"If we can kill the people of Black Wind Stronghold today, tomorrow, other strongholds, or even government troops, will come to kill us."

"Who will give you ten days to prepare?"

Qin Shaolang's voice was soft, yet it was like icicles piercing into everyone's heart.

Yes.

Black Wind Stronghold is gone.

But Black Wind Stronghold wasn't the only force entrenched around Lantian Town!

And then there's Hungry Wolf Mountain, White Horse Slope... those bandits are no weaker than Black Wind Stronghold.

With such a large piece of meat, Black Wind Stronghold, taken away, once the news gets out, how could those hungry wolves not be envious? How could they not come to get a share?

What will they use to resist then?

The fear that had just subsided in everyone's hearts was reignited.

This time, it's the fear of the unknown.