I worked myself to the bone to become a saint, and survived on a deserted island with a stunning pri

"Boy, leave your silver and horses behind, and I'll spare your lives!"

"So they were bandits..." Chu Nan's eyes flickered as he muttered to himself.

"Kid, I'm talking to you, are you deaf?" The bandit leader's face darkened.

Chu Nan raised his hand and toyed with the black arrow in his hand for a while.

"Are you bandits who have taken up residence here?" Chu Nan asked.

Upon hearing this, the bandit leader laughed heartily: "You have some discernment. I am Zuo Shandiao, who in this area doesn't know my name?"

Chu Nan immediately scoffed, "You dare call yourself the Mountain Eagle?"

The bandit leader's previously smiling face instantly darkened: "Kid, you're asking for death!"

"I was going to give you a way out, but since you're courting death, I'll send you to meet the King of Hell!" The bandit leader sneered, brandishing his knife as he charged at Chu Nan.

In his view, Chu Nan was not particularly burly. He was certainly not as strong as him, and he only had a broken knife in his hand, which was utterly vulnerable compared to the wide and thick ring-handled sword in his own hand.

"Kid, die!" The bandit leader laughed loudly, as if he could already see Chu Nan's head being chopped off.

However, the next moment, his body froze on the spot.

Chu Nan had somehow gotten behind him, and a long sword was already pressed against his neck.

"I still need to practice..." Chu Nan said calmly.

The bandit leader, his face filled with terror, asked, "You...are you a human or a ghost?"

"Whether you're a human or a ghost depends on whether you know what's good for you," Chu Nan said with a slight smile.

"What do you want?"

Chu Nan turned to look at the forty-odd bandits and slowly said, "From now on, this stronghold belongs to me. What do you think?"

"This..." The bandit leader gritted his teeth, his face full of resentment.

"A wise man submits to circumstances. Do you want to be a wise man who submits to circumstances, or do you want to become a wise man who submits to circumstances?" Chu Nan asked.

The bandit leader immediately shuddered.

"I promise, I promise!"

The bandit leader recalled Chu Nan's ghostly movements and lightning-fast attacks, which made him completely convinced of Chu Nan's martial prowess.

When you encounter someone like that, you are powerless to resist, and your life and death are not in your own hands. You can only do whatever the other party says to save your life. If you disobey, the other party may kill you if they say so, and even the brothers behind you may not be able to stop them.

"Smart, I like smart people like you!" Chu Nan patted the bandit leader on the shoulder: "What's your name? Don't tell me you're called Zuo Shandiao."

"B-Big Brother! My name is Zhang Mazi!" the bandit leader said cautiously.

"Damn! You might as well call yourself the Mountain Eagle then," Chu Nan said with a laugh.

"How about this, I'll change your name for you. From now on, you'll be called Zhang San, okay?"

"Yes, yes, from now on I'll be called Zhang San. Thank you for the name, brother." The bandit leader thanked him repeatedly.

"Alright, since that's the case, take me back to the village and let me see what my village is like!" Chu Nan released Zhang San.

Led by Zhang San, the two sides joined forces and headed straight for Zhang San's mountain stronghold.

There is a narrow path in the mountains. After walking along the path for about an hour, you will see a thatched building nestled in a ravine.

"Brother, this is our stronghold," Zhang San said ingratiatingly.

"Not bad, quite secluded, suitable for a small group of bandits like yours." Chu Nan looked around; this place would be hard to find without someone to guide you.

The advantage is its seclusion, but the disadvantage is that this place is like the mouth of a gourd; once it's blocked, there's no way out. It's surrounded by steep mountains, so even if you wanted to climb, you couldn't get out.

"Brother is right. I also wanted to find a good place, but all the good strongholds around are occupied. I'm already quite lucky to have found this secluded spot," Zhang San replied, scratching his head.

"Are there other bandits? How many are there?" Chu Nan raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang San said, "There are Qinglong Village, Menghu Village, and Huoshan Village nearby... These three villages are currently the closest to us. Qinglong Village has more than 100 people, Menghu Village has more than 170 people, and Huoshan Village has the most, with more than 300 people."

"That makes over six hundred people in total." Chu Nan's eyes lit up.

In this feudal era, power was paramount for survival. The source of power lay in how many people you could command—that was the essence of power.

If we can subdue these 600 people, plus the 60-odd people we have here, we'll have 700 people in total.

Li Shimin dared to confront Li Jiancheng at Xuanwu Gate with only 800 men; if I had 700 men, I could also achieve a considerable force.

"Brother, I'll arrange for someone to bring wine and food right away. Please come to the banquet," Zhang San said obsequiously.

"Alright." Chu Nan nodded. Since he transmigrated to this world, he hadn't eaten anything good.

Even after arriving in South Korea by boat, there wasn't time to eat a proper meal; the food eaten on the boat was mostly simple dishes.

Within the mountain stronghold, just like the houses in a village, the bandits each lived in their own separate quarters, except for Zhang San, who had a relatively large one. It was a thatched hut with a courtyard, where they usually held meetings.

In the center of the largest thatched hut's hall, there was a large chair covered with a yellow tiger skin.

"Please take a seat, brother." Zhang San stretched out his hand and invited Chu Nan to sit down on the tiger-skin chair.

Sitting in the tiger-skin chair, looking at the more than sixty men he had gathered, Chu Nan temporarily changed his plans.

Even if I went to the capital now, I probably wouldn't be of much help.

Ultimately, it was the emperor himself who had the final say.

Moreover, it's uncertain what the emperor's attitude towards me is. Better safe than sorry, I might help him, but he might not help me in return.

Having figured all this out, Chu Nan decided to settle down in the mountain stronghold for the time being.

"Do you have paper and pen?" Chu Nan asked.

Zhang San scratched his head: "Nobody can write, we don't have that."

"Alright, then bring me a decent piece of cloth and a small piece of charcoal," Chu Nan ordered.

Zhang San agreed and quickly arranged for his men to prepare.

Before long, his men brought over a piece of cloth that looked decent, and a small piece of charcoal.

Chu Nan held the charcoal, pondered for a moment, and then drew a pattern on it.

"Zhang San, send someone to a nearby county to deliver this piece of cloth to Miss Ling of the Ling family in the capital," Chu Nan said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhang San was immediately taken aback: "So, Brother, you actually have connections in the capital. I truly admire you."

"Alright, stop joking around. Quickly arrange for someone to deliver the message." Chu Nan waved his hand.

"Okay!" Zhang San replied cheerfully and arranged for people to get to work.