My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

He had been wandering around this area for half an hour. According to his senses, the second-in-command should be in this forest, but he couldn't find him.

Not a single hair could be found.

Xiong Lie stood under the pine tree for a while, then turned around and called out into the woods, "Come out."

The woods were quiet. The wind rustled through the treetops. No one came out.

Xiong Lie repeated, "I'll count to three. One."

With a whoosh, several people emerged from behind some trees.

The four were all henchmen of the second-in-command, dressed in black short-sleeved shirts, with knives at their waists, and their faces showed fear.

They kept their heads down, not daring to look at Xiong Lie or get too close, standing a dozen steps away like children who had made a mistake and were waiting to be punished.

The leader was named Li Si. He had been following the second-in-command for several years. He had a round face and usually looked quite clever. But at this moment, his round face was covered in cold sweat, and his face was as white as paper.

Xiong Lie looked at them without saying a word.

Li Si's leg trembled. He took two steps forward, then stopped, swallowed hard, and stammered, "Big...Big Boss, what brings you here?"

Xiong Lie didn't answer, he just looked at them.

The gaze wasn't heavy, but Li Si felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his back, making it hard to breathe.

He lowered his head, not daring to look anymore, and the three people behind him also lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.

"Where is the second-in-command?" Xiong Lie asked, his voice not loud, but each word sounded like a stone hitting the ground.

Li Si's leg trembled again.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He didn't know what to say.

When the second-in-command told them to come down the mountain, he said he had some things to take care of up there and told them to go ahead. So they left.

Then the bear demon came, and they were so frightened that they hid in the forest. They didn't dare to come out until the bear demon left.

After they came out, they searched for a long time but couldn't find the second-in-command.

I searched for a long time afterward, but still couldn't find it.

The second-in-command has disappeared; he's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.

"The second-in-command... he told me, we should go down the mountain first, saying he had to... had some business to attend to." Li Si's voice trailed off.

"What do you need me for?"

"N-I don't know. The second-in-command didn't say."

Xiong Lie frowned slightly.

Seeing that the chief was silent, Li Si assumed he was angry and quickly added a few more words.

"Later, a bear demon came up the mountain. It was huge, as tall as a three-story building, with shiny black fur. We saw it from the foot of the mountain, and we could feel the ground shaking from a great distance."

The bear demon charged towards the ginseng-gathering village. We thought the village was doomed, but then…

He paused, then swallowed.

"What happened next?" Xiong Lie asked.

"Later, the bear demon died." Li Si's voice was a little dry. "He was killed by a young man with a single sword strike."

The young man flew out of the village, brandishing a sword, and with a few swift strokes, cleaved the bear demon in two. We saw it with our own eyes, clearly from a great distance.

Xiong Lie's brow twitched. "Young people? What young people?"

Li Si shook his head: "I don't know him. He's not from the ginseng-gathering village. He's dressed quite plainly, like a stranger. But that sword is strange; it has a blue light that's dazzlingly bright."

After he finished off the bear demon, he seemed to have no strength left. He stood there, his legs trembling, looking as if he had collapsed.

Xiong Lie didn't speak, his mind racing.

A bear demon with a century of cultivation is not something that only a Martial Saint can deal with.

The fact that the young man could kill the bear demon with a single sword strike means that he was at least a Martial Saint.

But Li Si said he was exhausted after killing the bear demon, and his legs were shaking.

This shows that he didn't rely on his own abilities, but on something else.

It could be that sword, it could be some magical artifact he was carrying, or it could be some forbidden technique he used.

Regardless of the reason, he is not in a good state right now.

A glint flashed in his eyes, but his face remained expressionless.

Li Si added, "We thought it was Lin Wusheng who did it, but the people in the village say that Lin Wusheng hasn't shown his face for a year, and they don't know if he's dead or alive."

Xiong Lie suddenly laughed.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it was deep, like a stone rolling down a mountain, rumbling and booming.

Hearing this laughter, Li Si became even more frightened.

Having worked with the second-in-command at Black Wind Stronghold for so many years, he knew that when the leader smiled, it wasn't out of happiness, but because he was certain of something.

"Lin Wusheng is dead." Xiong Lie said this in a very calm tone, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

Li Si was taken aback: "B-Boss, how did you know?"

Xiong Lie glanced at him, his gaze as if he were looking at a fool.

He offered no explanation.

He doesn't need an explanation.

If Lin Wusheng were still alive, the people of Caishen Village wouldn't have sought outside help.

Why would a stronghold with a peak Martial Saint as its commander need to ask others for help?

When that bear demon comes, Lin Wusheng can take care of it himself. Why let a young man from out of town do it?

The outsider has made a move, but Lin Wusheng still hasn't come out, which means he can't.

He hasn't shown up for a year and can't come out. What else could he be but dead?

Li Si didn't understand all these intricacies. He only knew that the leader laughed and then said those words, and his heart sank.

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "What about the second-in-command?", but swallowed the words back.

He couldn't afford to offend either the second-in-command or the first-in-command.

Xiong Lie didn't look at Li Si again, turned around, and walked to the horse.

The horse was still standing under the pine tree, head down, munching on the grass.

He mounted the horse, pulled on the reins, and the horse raised its head and snorted.

"Is that 500-year-old ginseng still in the village?" Xiong Lie asked without turning his head.

Li Si nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes. It's right here in the village. It's for today's grand ceremony."

Xiong Lie nodded.

He thought of the ginseng, the exhausted young man, the reclusive Lin Wusheng, and the unarmed people in the ginseng-gathering village.

His lips twitched slightly, as if he were smiling, or perhaps he was thinking about something.

He was determined to have that ginseng.

No one can stop it.

He spurred the horse, and it started moving, heading down the mountain.

After walking a few steps, he stopped again, turned his head to the side, and did not look at Li Si and the others. His voice was not loud, but it was very clear.

"You guys, keep looking for the second-in-command. Once you find him, tell him I'm leaving first."

Li Si quickly responded.

Xiong Lie didn't say anything more, and the horse quickened its pace, soon disappearing into the woods.

Li Si stood there, looking in that direction, his hands still trembling.

The three people next to him also looked at him, but none of them said anything.

After a long while, one of them asked in a low voice, "Fourth Brother, what is the Boss... going to do?"

Li Si swallowed hard, his voice dry: "Steal ginseng."

The four people stood in the woods, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The sun rose higher, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy, shining on their faces.

Their shadows fell on the ground, short and dark.

No one moved, and no one spoke.