Chapter 3: The New Patriarch (Revised)

  As the leader of Heifengzhai, the Xu brothers' prestige in the eyes of the bandits was still quite high. Moreover, most of the bandits who joined the mountain were farmers from nearby villages who could no longer make a living. Most of them had lost their livelihoods at the foot of the mountain and voluntarily went up the mountain to become bandits, and were taken in by the Xu brothers.

  If it weren't for the hospitality of the Xu brothers over the years, many of them might not have made it to this day. In these chaotic times of warlordism, sometimes just staying alive was a luxury. As a result, the bandits who had lost their leader and were now like a dragon without a head, became especially concerned about the two remaining members of the Xu family in front of them.

  If the Black Wind Fortress starts to decline because of today's events and eventually disbands or disappears, there are only two paths available for these bandits: either go down the mountain and continue to be farmers, living a life of uncertainty and hunger; or they can only join another fortress as cannon fodder.

  These two roads, in this era where human life is as worthless as grass, are not much different from choosing a dead end. If going down the mountain to be a farmer could really make a living, why did they have to come up the mountain and become bandits that both the common people and the government hate?

  Even if the Black Wind Stockade has been following Xu Yiren's rules 'don't rob the poor, don't kill the elderly and children' all these years, in the eyes of ordinary people at the foot of the mountain, they are no different from other mountain bandits, all being mountain overlords who cannot be easily contacted or offended.

  As for the black wind stockade specializing in robbing and killing landlords and dishonest merchants, it's even more so, hating them to the bone. Otherwise, they wouldn't have laid an ambush with heavy troops halfway down the mountain today, intending to annihilate them all.

  Xu Yizhong saw the mountain stronghold of these brothers, after learning of the death of his elder brother, did not, like other strongholds, fight for the position of leader. On the contrary, they still treated him with respect and courtesy as before. This made Xu Yizhong feel that in losing his elder brother, the years he spent taking care of the stronghold's two or three hundred people, and the careful way he and his brother lived, were not in vain.

  Seeing everyone's concern for himself and his nephew, Xu Yizhong adjusted his mood and forced a smile: "Thank you all brothers for your concern, Bin'er is fine. Xiao Bin, come over and thank the uncles and elder brothers for their kindness."

  "If it weren't for them fighting to the death, they wouldn't have been able to retrieve you and your father's body from the mountain. We might not have even had a chance to see each other one last time. You should really thank these brothers in front of you!"

  After knowing that the strong and powerful eldest brother was gone, Xu Yizhong's attitude towards these subordinates also became a bit more polite. In addition, he planned to push Xu Bin onto the position of the big boss, without the support of this group of bandits, it would be impossible to play. A little bit of carrot-and-stick approach, he could still do it.

  Similarly, Xu Bin, who was not foolish, naturally cherished the limited capital left to him by his cheap father. He walked up, bowed ninety degrees and said: "I represent my father, thank you all for risking your lives to save his body. This time, my father and the brothers of the mountain stronghold were ambushed and killed by government troops. This deep blood feud, as the young master, I will avenge it sooner or later."

  I only hope that everyone can endure for a while, and must not make mistakes that cost lives due to impulsiveness. There is a saying 'A gentleman takes revenge, ten years are not late', let alone we don't have to wait ten years to take revenge. I swear to all my brothers, the debt those officials and soldiers owe us today will be repaid within a year!

  However, the most urgent thing we need to do now is to bury my father's body as soon as possible on a good day, and also strengthen the mountain stronghold's defense and vigilance capabilities to prevent other bandits from launching a surprise attack after learning the news.

  If we now only think of revenge and forget where we are, this is a place where the strong prey on the weak. In the future, our fate will not be good.

  "As the young master of Hei Feng Zhai, I hope that all of you brothers will help me and the second master in the days to come. As long as we work together with one heart, I believe that the future of Hei Feng Zhai will be better and better. At that time, we can also use this to comfort our father's spirit in heaven. Do you think what I said is right or not?"

  From his childhood memories, Xu Bin clearly recognized the trouble that needed to be solved immediately in front of him. It wasn't about going down the mountain to take revenge on those soldiers right away, but rather to guard against other bandits in the nearby mountains who made a living by robbing and killing, and might launch a sneak attack. In the world of bandits, kicking someone when they're down was a very common thing.

  What is friendship and what is morality? When faced with interests, they are all empty words. If you really think that bandits are very loyal, it proves that you are basically close to death!

  What made Xu Bin somewhat puzzled was that after he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly became quiet. These bandits looked at him with a shocked expression, making Xu Bin, who was already nervous and guilty, wonder if they had seen through his disguise.

  Xu Bin, who was slightly short of breath, felt that he couldn't hold on to the straight and piercing gaze of a group of old men. If he were a beauty, they could get away with staring at him like this. But the key was that he was also a small man who had basically fully developed, and this kind of gaze made him feel really anxious!

  Just as the bandits thought he seemed shy and didn't dare to raise his head, Li Chengbing, who was squatting on the ground smoking a dry tobacco bag, suddenly stood up and shouted: "Master, you can rest assured and leave now. The young master has finally grown up and become sensible. With him in our mountain stronghold, we will definitely avenge you, so go ahead and set off at ease!"

  Li Chengbing, having finished his outburst, suddenly burst into loud wailing like a child who had lost its favorite toy. His strange behavior naturally caught Xu Bin's attention.

  When he saw the middle-aged man's face clearly and learned from his memory as a teenager, this normally taciturn middle-aged man was actually Li Chengbing, the trusted confidant of his father who had never met before. He also left an extra thought for the leader of the mountain stronghold.

  From his roar, Xu Bin finally realized what he had done wrong earlier, and why the bandits were staring at him with shocked eyes. It turned out that this young man, before he even borrowed a corpse to return to life, was simply a useless good-for-nothing who couldn't even fart loudly with one stick.

  He suddenly became rational and eloquent, no wonder these bandits thought he was a bit abnormal, it's only natural to take a few more glances. Xǔ Bīn, who understood this, also quickly decided in his heart that from now on he should be more low-key, otherwise people would see through him as an imposter and who knows what kind of chaos would ensue!

  Because of the previous support from Xu Yizhong and Li Chengbing, this big head, Xu Yizhong proposed that Xu Bin take over as the new leader of the mountain stronghold, which quickly gained unanimous agreement from the bandits. Even some small heads who thought Xu Bin was a bit unreliable didn't dare to express their opposition in this situation.

  Learning that the mood of these bandits had slightly improved, from their return to the mountain until now they hadn't eaten yet, Xu Bin, who had just been elected as the new leader of Heifeng Gang, finally issued his first order. That was to let these bandits hurry up and have dinner and rest, as for what the gang would do next, it could be discussed tomorrow morning without delay.

  Today, Hei Feng Zhai suffered a lot of casualties in the ambush, and many brothers were injured or killed. Plus, they didn't even have lunch at noon, so every bandit looked exhausted. If they continue to hold on like this, if something really goes wrong in the mountain stronghold later, I'm afraid no one will be able to muster up the spirit to fight back.

  When the cook in the mountain stronghold finished cooking, Xu Bin came to the dining hall and saw that today's dinner was plain rice with radish stewed meat. He also felt that this life of being a bandit wasn't so bad after all!

  Fortunately, from the memories of his youth, he also knew that in Heifengzhai, the opportunity to eat meat was not often available. It seemed that tonight, it was because of his second uncle, who was in charge of accounting and food, had exceptionally added a meat dish to appease these mountain bandits. From this point, it could be seen that this second uncle still had some ability in grasping people's hearts.

  Otherwise, in the past, Hei Feng only had meat during Chinese New Year or when there was a big celebration in the mountain stronghold. At ordinary times, the bandits usually ate cabbage and rice. But being able to eat a bowl of millet every day, in an era when most common people were eating wild vegetables and chaff, the bandits' food was undoubtedly exceptionally happy.

  No wonder why Xu Bin would find that in his memories of his youth, this era was filled with bandits roaming everywhere. It seems that being a bandit is far more fortunate than being a farmer!