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

A silent, cold smile curled at the corner of Qin Shao-Lang's lips.

Just as he expected.

After the crushing defeat, the entire Black Wind Stronghold became like frightened birds.

"One hidden sentry."

Qin Shaolang then pointed to the left front, behind a huge rock.

"Two sentries."

There are three in total.

His voice was so calm, as if he were talking about how many fireflies there were tonight.

Zhao Wu and Wang Tie-zhu felt their scalps tingle.

They hadn't even seen a ghost, yet the gentleman had already figured out the exact location of the enemy's sentry posts.

Is this...is this even human?

"Sir, what... what should we do? Charge in?" Zhao Wu asked.

"Chong?"

Qin Shaolang turned around and glanced at him.

"Why rush?"

He untied the steel knife from his waist and handed it to Zhao Wu.

Then, he pulled out a smaller and sharper dagger from his leg, one that he had previously seized from a bandit leader.

"You all stay here and wait for me."

"teacher!"

Zhao Wu was shocked. "You're going alone? No! It's too dangerous!"

"Yes, sir! Let's all attack together and hack them to death!" Wang Tiezhu exclaimed anxiously.

"Shut up."

Qin Shaolang's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

"If you all attack together, it'll be too loud."

"Killing these three people is enough for me alone."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them.

He lowered his body, like a raccoon dog, and silently disappeared into the deeper darkness.

Zhao Wu and Wang Tiezhu could only watch helplessly as his figure disappeared.

Behind them, the twenty-odd strong men didn't dare to utter a sound.

Time passed, breath by breath.

Every breath felt like a year.

Zhao Wu stared intently at the darkness ahead.

His hand gripped the steel knife Qin Shaolang had left behind tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

He was praying frantically in his heart.

Please, please don't let anything happen.

Absolutely not!

Sudden.

A very faint "plop" sound came from the big tree in front.

It felt like something had been pierced.

Immediately afterwards, a dark figure fell silently from the tree branch.

There were no screams.

There was no struggle.

With a muffled thud, there was no more sound.

Zhao Wu's heart skipped a beat.

One!

He hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath.

A muffled groan came from behind the boulder to the left.

Then came the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

the second!

Zhao Wu's breathing almost stopped.

He subconsciously looked toward the position of the third visible sentry post.

There stood two bandits holding torches.

They seemed to have heard something too, and were cautiously looking towards the direction of the boulder.

"What happened?"

"Let's go take a look!"

A bandit, holding a torch, was about to take a step.

A dark shadow, like a demon emerging from hell, appeared silently.

He appeared behind his companion.

The bandit hadn't even reacted yet.

A hand covered his mouth tightly from behind.

At the same time, a cold glint flashed past his neck.

"Waaah..."

He only managed to let out a muffled whimper before his body went limp.

Another bandit finally realized something was wrong.

He turned around abruptly.

What I saw was the horrific scene of my companion having his throat slit and blood gushing out.

And, standing behind his companion's corpse, was the man who exuded an aura of death.

"enemy……"

He only had time to utter one word.

The dagger in Qin Shaolang's hand had already slipped from his grasp.

Whoosh!

The dagger drew a straight black line in the air, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

puff!

It went in with perfect accuracy and depth into his throat.

The bandit's eyes were wide open.

He clutched his neck with his hand, and blood gushed out from between his fingers.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

His body swayed, and he fell backward.

Triple kill!

From beginning to end, it only takes a mere thirty breaths.

All three sentries were killed.

The entire process was smooth, clean, and efficient.

There wasn't a single unnecessary movement.

Qin Shaolang walked to the corpse, pulled out his dagger, and wiped it on the bandit's clothes.

He didn't even glance at the corpses.

It was as if he had only stepped on three ants.

He waved in the direction where Zhao Wu and the others were hiding.

Zhao Wu and Wang Tiezhu were completely dumbfounded.

The strong men behind them all gaped open, as if they had seen a ghost.

It wasn't until they saw Qin Shao-Lang's gesture that they snapped out of their daze and scrambled over to him.

When they saw the three corpses on the ground, their eyes wide open in death, they couldn't help but gasp.

When they looked at Qin Shaolang again, it was no longer with awe.

That was fear.

Fear that comes from the depths of one's soul.

The person they worship is not a teacher.

This is clearly a living Yama who has walked out of hell!

"Don't just stand there."

Qin Shaolang's voice pulled them back to reality.

"Pick up the torch."

"From now on, we are the Black Wind Village patrol team."

"Walk up there with a swagger."

"Walk up there with a swagger."

Qin Shaolang's voice was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Zhao Wu and Wang Tiezhu exchanged a glance, both seeing the horror in each other's eyes.

crazy.

The man must be insane.

After killing the enemy's sentry, instead of quickly sneaking in under the cover of darkness, you went and carried torches, pretending to be the enemy's patrol.

Isn't this just walking into a trap?

"Sir, this..." Zhao Wu's voice trembled.

"Scared?" Qin Shaolang didn't turn around, but simply asked indifferently.

Zhao Wu immediately shut his mouth.

afraid?

Of course I'm scared!

I was so scared my calves were cramping.

But he was more afraid of Qin Shaolang.

This man terrified him more than the ghosts in the mountains or the butcher's knife of Black Wind Village.

"Pick it up." Qin Shaolang's command was devoid of any emotion.

No one dared to question it anymore.

The able-bodied men, trembling, picked up the two still-burning torches.

The firelight illuminated their pale, paper-white faces.

"From this moment on, you are no longer refugees, no longer recruits."

Qin Shaolang's gaze swept across everyone's face.

"You are the Black Wind Stronghold bandits who just suffered a defeat, lost brothers, and were implicated by that idiot second-in-command. You are full of resentment."

His voice carried a strange, guiding quality.

"You guys are exhausted, hungry, and cold, and you've been sent out to patrol the mountains."

How are you feeling right now?

"..."

No one answered.

"Wang Tiezhu, you speak."

"I...I fucking want to curse!" Wang Tiezhu shouted instinctively when his name was called.

"Yes!" Qin Shaolang nodded.

"That's the feeling."

"Get your backs down! You're all slumped over like you've lost your fathers! Anyone who dares to show even a shred of spirit, I'll send them to meet the King of Hell right now!"

The chilling, bone-chilling killing intent sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

They understood instantly.

Sir, you're asking them to put on a show!

They're playing a bunch of stray dogs!