Chapter 6: Got Cheated! (Revised)

  From the memory of his mind, Xu Bin clearly remembered that he was in Heifengzhai, which had been the old nest operated by the two brothers of the Xu family since they became bandits. This easily defended and hard to attack location, with its advantageous terrain and proximity to the sea, was a coveted spot that other bandit strongholds had always envied and wanted to seize. With such a stronghold, even as a bandit, one could feel a bit safer!

  If it weren't for Xu Bin's father running the business properly and gathering a group of bandits who could really die for him, this Black Wind Fortress would have been taken over by other bandits long ago. From this point, we can also see that the ability of the two Xu brothers is still not bad!

  What are the intentions of those who climbed up the mountain under the cover of night? Are they the government troops that ambushed them today, or their fellow villagers who have a vendetta against the mountain stronghold?

  All the puzzles were solved when the three monkeys, who had been following Li Chengbing with a few dozen lightly armed men, appeared in Xu Bin's line of sight. Li Chengbing's face immediately turned gloomy as he was worried that something would happen to him and had been following closely.

  "MBD, this beast actually colluded with Ma Liu from Xianglu Peak. I said the head of the household trusted him so much, but he still betrayed the head of the household like this, forgetting his gratitude and righteousness. I didn't expect him to be Ma Liu's man. It seems that today's ambush by the government troops in the city is also related to that damned Ma Liu."

  Ma Liu, also known as One-Eyed Horse, got this nickname because one of his eyes was blinded by Xu Bin's father. The leader of the mountain stronghold, which has been established on another mountain for only five or six years, has always remembered the feng shui treasure land of Hei Feng Mountain.

  Once, when they tried to forcibly seize the stronghold, they were beaten by Xu Bin's father until they cried out in terror. Even one of Ma Liu's eyes was blinded in that battle. This led to a deep-seated vendetta between the two strongholds, and whenever they encountered each other while robbing outside the mountain, it would be a fight to the death.

  What Li Chengbing did not expect was that this Ma Liu would actually dare to openly defy the rules of the bandit world, colluding with the city's government troops to ambush his fellow outlaws.

  If this matter is known to other mountain stronghold leaders, they will not easily forgive him. The internal struggle within the banditry profession is one thing, and the infighting among everyone belongs to the civil war. But if you collude with the government army, it proves that you are not qualified to be a bandit at all. This is an unwritten rule recognized in the banditry profession. If a mountain stronghold dares to violate it, other bandit strongholds will surely attack him collectively.

  This kind of collusion between officials and the military was, in Xu Bin's eyes, a perfectly normal thing. "Cutting grass without removing its roots, it will grow again with the spring breeze." In Xu Bin's dictionary, there was no room for mercy when it came to eliminating enemies. Since Ma Liu dared to be an enemy of the mountain stronghold, there was no need to consider the saying "leave a way out for others, and you'll have a good encounter in the future". The true principle was to kill him with one blow, leaving not even a piece of armor behind.

  The principle of 'hitting a snake and not killing it, but being bitten by the snake instead' is undoubtedly the best evidence for Xu Bin's father's outcome today.

  Through Li Chengbing's low introduction, Xu Bin knew that the tall middle-aged man standing next to San Huazi was Wang Erpao, one of Ma Liu's most trusted "Four Great Kings". This is also why Li Chengbing dared to assert that the ambush during the day had nothing to do with Ma Liu as soon as he recognized his opponent.

  After all, Ma Liu has a close relationship with several wealthy businessmen in the city and has business dealings with them. It's no secret in these mountains that Ma Liu is from a humble background of doing small business.

  Who would have thought that this guy would dare to openly challenge the bottom line of the banditry, and collude with the official army in the city. If they had known earlier that Ma Liu was colluding with the official army in the county town, it's likely that the bandits in the mountain wouldn't have let him off either, and would have joined forces to drive Ma Liu's power out of the mountain. Because once a stronghold colludes with the official army, it will inevitably harm the bandits in the mountain.

  This year, the bandits were able to live so freely in the mountains and repeatedly escape the encirclement and pursuit of government troops. They relied on their familiarity with the terrain to outmaneuver the government troops, who were unable to understand the mountainous terrain and were powerless against these bandits who would hide in the mountains at the slightest sign of trouble.

  If there are familiar bandits in the government army who know the situation in the mountains and serve as guides, this geographical advantage will no longer exist. In the end, it can be imagined what will happen to those bandits who make a living in the mountains.

  Watching dozens of people sneaking in from the back mountain, the Black Wind Bandits who had been hiding in the mountain stronghold were filled with righteous indignation. If they hadn't wanted to surround and annihilate these people, it's likely that someone would have already fired a shot, unable to contain their anger.

  The bandits from Heifengzhai and Xianglufeng, two mountain strongholds, had been sworn enemies since the surprise attack that year. Every time they met, it was a fight to the death. Now, seeing each other again trying to raid their own stronghold, wasn't that equivalent to cutting off their lives and destroying their foundation? For bandits who were known for being protective of their food and territory, this kind of thing would undoubtedly be the most hateful.

  Just as the bandits in Heifengzhai were eagerly waiting for each other to enter the ambush, Wang Er'niu, who was usually cautious, suddenly raised his hand and said: "Everyone stop for a moment, I feel that something is not right here. It's too quiet, isn't it? Why is there no sound at all?"

  Worried about an ambush, Wang Er Niu immediately stopped his men from advancing and turned to look at San Hou Zi standing beside him. He wanted the other party to give a reasonable explanation, otherwise, for the safety of these brothers who came together, he could only turn back and abandon tonight's raid on the camp.

  Wang Erpao was well aware that with the few dozen men he had brought to launch a surprise attack, if the Black Wind Stockade people were on their guard, he would not be able to take down their stockade.

  It's worth noting that the overall strength of Heifeng Village is far superior to Xianglu Peak. If it weren't for Ma Liu's sneak attack, colluding with government troops and launching a surprise attack on Heifeng Village, and knowing that Heifeng Village suffered heavy losses in the ambush today, he wouldn't dare take the risk of losing his head and secretly raiding the other party's lair.

  Three monkeys clearly saw the character of Wang Er Zhuang in front of them, and smiled softly to explain: "Tianwang, you really are overthinking. Today, the mountain stronghold was deceived by the big master and several dozen brothers, these people have long been chaotic."

  If it weren't for dinner time, Xu Bin that rabbit came out to comfort the emotions, this Black Wind Fort would have been chaotic long ago. They had just finished eating and all went back to their rooms to rest. When I came out to meet you, I had already looked around and found that only the mountain path in front of the mountain was guarded, and no one was guarding other places.

  At this time, do they still have the mood to consider that someone will launch a sneak attack? If we miss this excellent opportunity today, it's likely to be difficult to take down the Xu family village later on. Heavenly King, an opportunity like this cannot be missed!

  After listening to the three monkeys' explanation, Wang Er's worries in his heart were slightly alleviated, but the chill on his head seemed to be warning him that going further would definitely lead to unpredictable dangers. It is worth noting that this premonition was the biggest reliance for him to survive for more than a decade as an outlaw.

  Compared to Wang Er's usual cautiousness, the bandits who had come tonight with the intention of raiding Hei Feng Zhai and making a fortune were more willing to believe San Hou Zi's words.

  A small head who was standing behind the two men suddenly walked forward and interjected, "Tian Wang, I think San Ge's words make sense. If we miss this good opportunity today, it will be difficult to take down Hei Feng Gang in the future."

  Moreover, if the master of the house colludes with the government army and this is discovered by the mountain people, our mountain stronghold will not be able to withstand the siege of other strongholds.

  "If we can take down the Xu family stronghold tonight, even if other mountain stronghold leaders find out, they'll know it was our great master who did it. With such a easily defended and hard to attack treasure land, we won't be afraid of them surrounding us. Which head is light and which head is heavy, I hope the Heavenly King will think thrice!"

  The three monkeys' words only dispelled some of Wang Er's concerns, but the little head's words were more worthy of his deep consideration. As for Ma Liu colluding with the government army, to be honest, he felt somewhat unscrupulous in his heart. But he was clear that since Ma Liu had been blinded in one eye by Xu Dazhang, he had been thinking about uprooting this mountain stronghold at all times.

  Unfortunately, the Xianglu Peak was just a newly established stronghold that had only been standing for a few years, and it couldn't be compared to the old stronghold of the Xu family, which had been operating for over a decade. Ma Liu, who was worried about his own strength being unable to avenge himself, finally relied on his business relationships with several wealthy merchants in the county town at the foot of the mountain, and specially sent someone to provide intelligence to Zhu Shan, the head of the City Defense Camp, who had been troubled by the Black Wind Stockade, a local bandit stronghold that had been causing trouble for many years.

  Both sides joined forces to have today's Heifengzhai bandits, and as soon as they came down the mountain, they were ambushed. In order to carry out this ambush well during the day, Ma Liu had sent his younger brother Ma San, also known as Sanhuzi, here two years ago to act as a mole, sparing no effort. If he missed this opportunity, he would not be able to avoid being scolded when he returned!

  Three monkeys and Little Head's singing and drumming, made Wang Er Zhuo very passive, plus the expressions of these bandits behind him jumping with excitement. He knew that if he gave up tonight's sneak attack on Black Wind Stockade and returned to Xiang Lu Peak, the sensitive and suspicious Big Master would also distrust him.

  This is an outcome that Wang Er Zhuang, who had completely relied on Ma Liu's trust to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Xianglu Peak, would not want to see.

  King Wuer sighed secretly, thinking it was difficult to do. He could only hope that today's premonition was overly sensitive and began directing his subordinates to carefully approach the Xuhuai stockade along the mountain path.

  When dozens of people entered the inner courtyard of Heifeng Village, Wang Erzhuang saw that there was not even a single oil lamp lit in the houses in the yard. His heart suddenly panicked and he exclaimed: "Damn it, we've been deceived! Brothers, hurry up and withdraw from here!"

  What's going on here?