The Thief Prince

"The so-called pledge of allegiance is to teach you to go down the mountain and kill someone, then present the head to your brothers, and you will have no more doubts."

Tang Meng was afraid that Li Zheng wouldn't understand, so he explained it again.

Without him needing to say more, Li Zheng understood what the pledge of allegiance meant.

He had read "Water Margin"; the boss specifically asked him to read it.

There are some true facts in the novel. The general quality of the generals in the Qing Dynasty was generally poor. If we take "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as a military book, we can understand it.

Li Zheng's boss didn't entirely approve of "Water Margin," and often told Li Zheng and his colleagues what Song Jiang did well and what he did poorly.

As the boss's confidant, Li Zheng was also well-versed in "Water Margin," and his pledge of loyalty came from the chapter "Lin Chong Goes to Liangshan on a Snowy Night."

Facing the gazes of the bandits, Li Zheng remained unfazed: "So this is the pledge of allegiance. Since it's the rule among heroes, I'll gladly accept it!"

Seeing Li Zheng readily agree, a strange light flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes.

Tang Meng wanted to persuade him, but ultimately remained silent.

Zhang Yin's face lit up with joy: "This is what Brother Li himself said. If it doesn't work out, don't blame us for being disloyal."

"A true hero's word is his bond, why blame your brothers?!"

Li Zheng cupped his hands in greeting to Zhou Qing: "I've been traveling for several days and am exhausted. Could you give me a day's rest?"

Zhou Qing nodded: "It's alright, it's alright. Brother Li, you can go after you've rested. Although the mountain stronghold is poor, there's plenty of food."

He immediately ordered a henchman to take Li Zheng to the back room to rest.

Li Zheng cupped his hands in greeting to the three of them, then led Yan Yun and the other two out of the hall.

The main stronghold was the residence of the three leaders, and was occasionally used for meetings and meals. The ordinary bandits' houses were all located behind the main stronghold.

The mud houses built of yellow mud could barely serve as shelter from the wind and rain, and were not much more comfortable than those of poor people.

The henchman leading the way was quite attentive, striking up a conversation with Li Zheng along the way:

"My name is Ma San. If you have any requirements for the residence, Fourth Master, just tell me."

Li Zheng asked curiously, "Why do you call me Fourth Master?"

"Once you, brother, have pledged your allegiance, you will be the fourth-ranked leader of Black Wind Stronghold. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for me to call you 'Master'."

Li Zheng smiled but didn't respond. Instead, he asked, "Have you all submitted these pledges of allegiance?"

Ma San hurriedly replied, "We men are not fortunate enough to have such an honor. Only you leaders need to pledge your allegiance to the mountain."

Li Zheng understood. It seemed that this pledge of allegiance was not the usual rule for bandits to join; ordinary underlings couldn't be recruited.

Those bandits who pledged their allegiance to the bandits would inevitably be given a high position once they joined the bandits.

Come to think of it, if everyone were to pledge their allegiance, probably no one would dare to venture within miles of this area.

"There are many of us, so we'll just pick a bigger house."

Ma San glanced at Yan Yun and the little girl, then immediately looked away: "Alright, brother, come with me."

Arriving at a mud house, Ma San introduced, "This is the largest house in the village. It was just vacated a few days ago. Brother, do you think this place is suitable?"

This house is indeed much larger than the surrounding mud houses, and it is even divided into a living room and two bedrooms.

It's not a problem that the windows are bright and clean; at least it's not too dirty, and there's no unpleasant smell.

In modern times, no one would even use this dilapidated house as a toilet, but Li Zheng felt quite satisfied at this moment.

He didn't ask where the original homeowner had gone; he guessed he was either dead or arrested by the authorities.

"Okay, this is fine. I'll stay here." Li Zheng looked at Ma San. "Is there anything else to eat?"

Ma San said, "I'll go get some rice balls and cured meat for you, brother. There should also be some wine."

Li Zheng glanced at Yan Yun and the little girl: "Could you help find some food for the children?"

Ma San looked troubled: "There are still sugar cakes, but those are for festivals, I'm afraid..."

Li Zheng placed his hand on his shoulder: "Just tell the three brothers that I wanted it. I'll remember this favor. Please help me out, brothers."

Ma San, a lowly henchman, had never been treated with such importance before. He immediately felt his head throb and his face flushed instantly.

"Brother, rest assured, I will retrieve it for you even if it kills me."

Having said that, he turned and left excitedly.

Looking at his retreating figure, Li Zheng thought of the new recruits in the company.

Most of them, like Ma San, were easily provoked by a single kind word from their leader, feeling as if they had received the greatest appreciation.

As for the outcome, most of them didn't fare well, so there's no need to elaborate.

Throughout history, these henchmen's thought processes have never changed.

"Let's go inside and rest," Li Zheng said to Yan Yun, then pushed open the door and went inside.

Just as I closed the door, I heard a thud.

Turning around in surprise, Yan Yun was already kneeling on the ground, holding the little girl beside her.

Although the little girl was puzzled, she obediently knelt down as well.

Li Zheng asked, "What are you doing?"

Yan Yun said, word by word, "Brother, I am deeply grateful for your life-saving grace today. I can only kowtow to you three times first, and repay you by serving you like a slave in the future!"

Speaking of today's events, Yan Yun knew in his heart that if Li Zheng hadn't intervened and killed those two human traffickers, they would have met a terrible end.

Not to mention that Li Zheng even protected them as they went up the mountain; otherwise, where would those two children go in this desolate wilderness? They would have been carried off by wolves again.

At that time, Li Zheng had already gained the appreciation of the bandit leader, and there was no need for him to take the risk of making further demands on Tang Meng for them, but Li Zheng still did it.

Li Zheng reached out and supported Yan Yun's arm: "It's a small matter, why make such a fuss? You were the ones who fed me water when I was unconscious."

Yan Yun said solemnly, "It's a small matter for my brother, but a matter of utmost importance for both of us!"

"Though the cloud is small, it knows the grace of saving a life."

Li Zheng felt a mix of emotions. Yan Yun was only a little over ten years old, which would be equivalent to a junior high school student in his own school, yet he could say such things.

"Alright, I understand your intentions. Let's get the girl up first. The ground is cold and dirty; it would be bad if she caught a disease there."

With that, he pulled on his arm and up the two children as if he were pulling up radishes.

Yan Yun was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Li Zheng to have such a strong grip.

He didn't seem to care, and asked seriously, "Brother, are you planning to stay in this mountain stronghold?"

The word "brother" brought a pang of sadness to Li Zheng's heart.

Unlike "brother," which is a respectful term among heroes from the martial arts world, it doesn't represent age or closeness.

But this "brother" is different; not only are they close, but Li Zheng is also quite familiar with him.

That's what the children in the orphanage called Li Zheng in his previous life.

Li Zheng nodded: "I have nowhere else to go, so I might as well stay here temporarily."

"But you two don't need to worry. Once I've established myself here, I'll find a way to send you home."

Yan Yun shook her head decisively: "I won't go back. Wherever my brother is, I will be there."

The girl nodded vigorously beside her, looking very serious.

Li Zheng smiled and said, "It's up to you, but it's not safe for you to stay by my side. As you saw today, not everyone in this mountain stronghold welcomes us."

"Brother is right. Looking at those three leaders, I'm afraid only Leader Tang is truly loyal to you."

Yan Yun, with a serious expression, analyzed, "As for that leader Zhang, there's no need to say anything; he just insists on using some kind of rule to make things difficult for us."

"Even that chieftain only wanted me to do some bookkeeping chores; he probably had some reservations about me."

Hearing Yan Yun's analysis, Li Zheng was somewhat surprised. Such a young age and such a meticulous mind. This little guy is really something.

Needless to say, Zhou Qing intended for him to come up the mountain and become his accountant.

Doesn't he know what an accountant is?

I've worked for this boss for four or five years, and he's had seven or eight different accountants. If I add up all my sentences, I could be serving time until the 22nd century!

If modern accounting is like this, then ancient accounting probably wasn't much better.

As for Zhang Yin, although he made things difficult for him at every turn, for some reason, Li Zheng did not sense any hostility from him.

Just then, Ma San's excited voice came from outside the room:

"The sugar cakes are here!"

Li Zheng and Yan Yun exchanged a glance and tacitly stopped talking.