The Thief Prince

Meanwhile, Sun Wang went up the mountain path. At this time, it was still dark, but there were patrolling guards going back and forth on the mountain path.

The henchmen, in twos and threes, carrying whistles and singing obscene tunes, wandered around aimlessly.

Sun Wang neither dodged nor circled, sometimes slowing his pace, sometimes suddenly stopping, always managing to avoid the gazes of those henchmen, as if he were in an empty place.

The patrolling henchmen were sometimes only a few steps away from him, yet they never saw him.

He swaggered along like that, and made his way to the Taoist temple halfway up the mountain.

The main gate of the Taoist temple had been burned down by bandits and used as firewood. At the base of the wall, half of a wooden plaque with the three characters "Yuqing Temple" could be seen.

In the open space in front of the temple, a large iron pot was placed on a fire, with the firewood underneath dying down and a little meat broth remaining in the pot.

A dark-skinned man sat imposingly in front of the pot, surrounded by more than ten other people.

The burly man was tall and imposing, with a fierce-looking face. His shirt was wide open, revealing a patch of dark chest hair.

This man was none other than Wang Jing, the bandit leader of Niutou Mountain.

The other bandits looked at Wang Jing with fear in their eyes, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Wang Jing put down the bowl in his hand, wiped the grease from his mouth, and sneered:

Last year, I was doing business with that Master Gu in a perfectly good manner, but because he had a degree in officialdom, he looked down on me in every way.

"Now that we've become bandits, this guy is willing to offer his wife and daughters to me to play with in order to save his own life."

Wang Jing licked his lips, as if savoring the memory of the mother and daughter.

That Master Gu is so hateful. Didn't he just mix in half of the damp herbs himself? It didn't stop him from selling them!

Fortunately, he had already vented his anger and had the man's wife and daughter serve him for several days, all under the watchful eye of Master Gu.

What scholar, what wealthy family? When a knife is held to their throat, they become dogs.

Doing business with a knife in hand is so much easier than before!

Wang Jing glanced at the crowd and sneered, "Today I killed that old woman, and you all complained about her age and couldn't bring yourselves to it..."

"Okay, you're my brothers, I won't hold it against you."

"I haven't had enough fun with this little one yet. So that my brothers can have a good meal, I'll reluctantly kill him tomorrow."

"If anyone remains ungrateful, don't blame my axe for not recognizing a brother!"

Upon hearing this, the bandits trembled with fear, their terror of Wang Jing growing ever stronger.

Wang Jing seemed quite satisfied with their reaction. He slammed the bowl on the ground, stood up, and patted his belly.

"Now we have a backer, and we just need to deliver this batch of goods next month to get this money."

"When the time comes, I'll lead you all to slaughter your way into the homes of those who have grudges against anyone, and let you have some fun!"

The henchmen responded with a roar, howling like wolves and ghosts, as if they were a group of little demons worshipping a monster.

However, no one noticed that a pair of eyes were staring intently at them from the blind spot on the roof of the Taoist temple.

Sun Wang heard everything clearly, and now he felt a chill run down his spine.

Looking at the big pot again, I knew what was inside. I felt my stomach churning and almost vomited.

He had served in the border army for many years and had heard of the unspeakable evil deeds of the northern barbarians, but he had never witnessed them with his own eyes.

Now that I've seen it, I know what kind of creatures are entrenched on Niutou Mountain.

No wonder my brother suddenly came to attack Niutou Mountain out of the blue.

It was originally for the purpose of slaying demons and eliminating evil!

He took a deep breath and, like a night cat clinging to a roof tile, silently retreated along the roof ridge.

Halfway there, Sun Wang suddenly felt as if something inside the house was watching him.

Looking down, I saw three clay statues lying on the ground, their eyes facing the roof.

Sun Wang breathed a sigh of relief and silently prayed, "Grandpa Sanqing, please wait a little longer. I'll go and invite my brother over, and then we'll help you subdue these demons!"

. . . . . .

Liangshan, Black Wind Village.

Li Zheng listened calmly to Sun Wang's description, but his heart was in turmoil.

"Was that really people you were eating? Did you see any other people on the mountain?"

Sun Wang shook his head: "I didn't see anyone, but I saw women's clothes in the Taoist temple."

"Those beasts all live around the Taoist temple, and they dug a cellar in the back mountain. There are always people on guard, so I can't get close."

Li Zheng then asked, "How many people are on the mountain? Do they have armor and crossbows?"

"There were only about three hundred people on and around the mountain. I didn't see anyone wearing armor, nor did they have any bows or crossbows in their hands."

Seeing Li Zheng fall silent, Sun Wang continued, "Brother, that Wang Jing is truly heartless. Everyone in the surrounding villages knows about his cannibalism, and now no one dares to approach Niutou Mountain."

Li Zheng knew that such things occasionally happened in ancient times. The so-called exchange of children to eat each other was a last resort under the background of a great famine.

Or during the Five Barbarian Invasions or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, warlords used dried meat as military rations, but those were times of moral decay, famine, and war.

There are also scenes in "Water Margin" such as Li Kui roasting Huang Wenbing's meat to drink with wine, Sun Erniang selling meat buns at the Shizipo Black Inn, and Zhu Gui slicing human flesh into cured meat at the Black Inn.

But that's a plot from a novel!

Even though the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are having a hard time, they have never reached the point of cannibalism.

There's only one reason why Wang Jing is such a beast.

This scoundrel is a cunning businessman who has no control over his vicious and ruthless subordinates.

He could only use this perverse method to make himself appear ruthless, thus intimidating his band of robbers.

This is absolutely outrageous and inhuman!

Not only Li Zheng, but all the leaders were also indignant.

Although they became bandits in the mountains and were removed from the household registration of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they at least had no intention of leaving the status of human beings.

Tang Meng spoke first: "Brother, why keep such a scoundrel alive?!"

Zhang Yin chimed in, "As fellow outlaws, I am ashamed to associate with such demons. Let's send them to be reincarnated!"

"Brother, give the order!"

"Yes, brother!"

Li Zheng silently stood up, and could see the banner of "Acting on Behalf of Heaven" fluttering in the wind outside the village.

Now that we've raised this banner, there are some things we should do.

Now that demons are roaming the human world, and Heaven has not punished them, let me take their place!

"Send the order: muster the troops!"