Chapter 112 - 81: Destroying Three Strongholds in One Day, Killing Them Until They Dare Not Come Down the Mountain to Plunder!

Chapter 112: Chapter 81: Destroying Three Strongholds in One Day, Killing Them Until They Dare Not Come Down the Mountain to Plunder!

Zheng Jun completely ignored the five of them.

"I, Qiwei, thank my benefactor for saving my life," she said. "Although we are no longer in mortal danger, the weather here is freezing and we are strangers in this area. I wonder if you, young hero, could... escort us to the nearest county town."

Sun Qiwei first glanced at her second brother, but seeing that he was already in a panic and unable to speak a single word, she could only grit her teeth and take the initiative to continue. "Although our Sun family has been robbed by these bandits, my maternal uncle is the Chief Shopkeeper of Jishi Hall in Bozhou. He will surely present you with Spiritual Medicine to repay my benefactor for saving our lives."

Hearing Sun Qiwei’s words, Zheng Jun nodded.

Jishi Hall—he had heard of it. Along with Caiwei Hall and Kangsheng Hall, they were known as the three great halls of the Northern Border. Their main business was Alchemy and making medicines. Items like the Blood Nourishing Pill and Qi Storage Pill were the classic products of the three great halls.

"Come with me for now." Zheng Jun nodded. After instructing them, he looked at the bandit kneeling on the ground, whose body couldn’t stop shivering. "To what’s-his-name, Zhang Kang’s stronghold—you know the way, right?"

"I know the way! I know the way!" The bandit shook like a leaf in the wind.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. He probed, "What other strongholds do you know of?" as he led the five hostages back to the camp.

The Personal Soldier Squad of the Black Mountain Guard was still stationed at the stronghold. But later on, they could come back and move the supplies from here as well.

Before long, Zheng Jun had brought the five hostages back to Zhang Kang’s camp. He casually gave Du Ding an instruction, telling him to find some food for the five of them, before escorting the bandit toward another bandit lair.

He was just doing it in passing to see what kind of Wonderful Pills he could obtain. Even if the rewards were subpar, getting a discount from this supply channel in the future shouldn’t be a problem, right? ℴℴ𝘮

With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun continued onward.

A mighty caravan ascended the mountain.

Cai Xun sat in the lead carriage. He directly released his Outer Gang Cultivation without any concealment to deter any surrounding scoundrels. Sitting beside him was the somewhat reserved Squad Leader Zhou Pu of the Strong Shift. Seated next to the County Captain, the honest and simple Zhou Pu was naturally constrained, and even his speech became somewhat nervous.

"Brother Zhou." Cai Xun greeted Zhou Pu very amiably. "Recently, there have been many official vacancies in our Black Mountain County. Are you interested in moving up to become a Ninth Grade County Official of our Great Zhou and serving as the Historian?"

Hearing Cai Xun’s words, Zhou Pu was naturally somewhat tempted. After all, it was a promotion. Who wouldn’t want one? But he was also a bit hesitant and refused, "Lord County Captain, I, Old Zhou, am just a rough man. I have no special skills, nor have I made any real contributions. To be honest, managing to become the Squad Leader of the Strong Shift is already an immense blessing from my ancestors. I wouldn’t dare hope for more."

He knew very well that he hadn’t established a single inch of merit.

This County Captain’s current action was entirely to show goodwill to his brother-in-law, Zheng Jun. In Zhou Pu’s eyes, his brother-in-law was meant for great things, and he couldn’t hold him back. Accepting a favor would mean owing one. What if Sanlang didn’t want to be too entangled with this County Captain?

"You can rest easy regarding the matter of contributions, Brother Zhou," Cai Xun smiled faintly, not minding at all.

Orchestrating someone into the position of a County Magistrate would be as difficult as scaling the heavens, but manipulating the appointment of a Historian? That was as easy as turning over a hand.

Contributions? Squad Leader Zhou Pu had bravely taken the lead during the bandit extermination, guiding the Civilian Soldiers to transport supplies at the very first moment. He salvaged untold amounts of treasure for Great Zhou—a massive contribution!

Historically, the position of Historian had always been filled by locals. The only ones who could compete with Zhou Pu for the role were Squad Leader Sun of the Fast Shift and Squad Leader Bai of the Black Shift. However, the power to decide the final placement remained with the County Magistrate and the County Captain. Therefore, it was a very simple matter.

Despite hearing Cai Xun put it this way, Zhou Pu felt conflicted. He gritted his teeth, still wanting to refuse.

"You don’t have to be like this, Brother Zhou. We’ll talk again after we see Sanlang later." Cai Xun smiled amiably. "Who knows, our two families might even become in-laws in the future."

Zhou Pu cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

Before long, the caravan ascended the mountain under the guidance of the County Soldiers and arrived at the bandit stronghold. It was noon. The snow had stopped, making the carriage wheels slip a little.

"Lord County Captain!"

The two officers, Du Ding and Xu Zhilei, were surprised to see Cai Xun arrive in person. They quickly stepped forward to pay their respects, but Cai Xun lifted them up with a chuckle. Looking around, he asked, "Where is my worthy brother, Zheng Jun?"

"Reporting to the County Captain, the Captain... he said he went out to practice his saber skills," Du Ding reported after a moment’s hesitation. "The Captain went out last night and wiped out the Flying Thief. He just informed us about it earlier and also brought back Miss Sun and the young master of the Sun family from Changyang Commandery, who were kidnapped by the Flying Thief. He just left again, saying he was going to look for another bandit gang led by ’Songshi’."

Hearing Du Ding’s words, Cai Xun froze for a moment. He couldn’t quite believe his own ears.

"Huh?" Cai Xun dug out his ear and repeated his question. "He rode single-handedly into the bandit lair and slaughtered them all?"

"Yes." Du Ding nodded. "The heads of Zhang Kang and Li Bao are right here. Both are wanted criminals in the Commandery. The former carries a bounty of three hundred taels of silver, and the latter, two hundred and fifty taels... There’s also Songshi. Songshi’s bounty is fifty taels."

With that, Du Ding pointed to a nearby pile of heads stacked into a gruesome mound. The two at the very top belonged to the thieves, Zhang Kang and Li Bao.

Seeing this scene, Cai Xun was momentarily at a loss for words. He wondered, "Could Zheng San really have reached Outer Gang? How else could he run rampant across Black Mountain with such unrestrained ease?"

It hadn’t even been three months since he took up his post. Was he really going to personally witness Zheng San’s triple jump in cultivation—from Blood Refining to Qi Storage, and from Qi Storage to Outer Gang?