With the Blade

Bai Wujiu certainly lacks the ability to command skilled fighters to work for him.

If he truly could have a master of flight and stealth work for him, he would have already asked that person to help him storm Jiankang City and seize the emperor’s throne. But clearly, this is just wishful thinking; his words don’t carry that much weight, and the rebel army’s relationship with the mysterious Forget Sorrow Village isn’t that friendly.

Their relationship is limited to the occasional transactions of goods, nothing more.

"But this still means we have a common interest, and with common interests, we can use that to our advantage."

Long before this incident occurred, when Bai Wujiu first decided that the Dengzhou rebel army should maintain trade routes, even at the cost of subsidizing money and grain, he mentioned this to his subordinates.

"You may not understand my actions today, but you’ll see in time... Yes, we cannot command these skilled fighters, but we can make ourselves a part of their interests. You might feel that we’re spending too much now, but think about it—if something happens to us and the supply of goods is cut off, what will those masters from Forget Sorrow Village think?"

At that time, Bai Wujiu’s subordinates didn’t take it seriously. After all, they were already developing quite well. Although Dengzhou officially still belonged to the Great Chen’s jurisdiction, they had their own troops and even managed to recruit several Evil Qi experts, only a step away from having a full-fledged uprising.

However, Bai Wujiu still refrained from initiating an uprising; he always felt that being the first to rise might not be beneficial. For safety’s sake, he planned to wait until others raised their flags, then he would join in as an underdog.

But it was clear that even if he didn’t initiate an uprising, Dengzhou’s situation couldn’t be hidden for long. And here it was: the court in faraway Jiankang specifically dispatched two Commanders here. It must be said that the often slow-reacting Great Chen court finally caught up with the trend, adopting the method of sending skilled fighters for targeted massacres.

This was exactly the method that disgusted Bai Wujiu the most; he had significant issues with such things that left him helpless.

So how could he not make any advance preparations?

He already had informants in Jiankang City. Although these informants were not powerful enough to eavesdrop on the specific arrangements of that old eunuch, the two Commanders disguised themselves and headed west, observed all along the way—it was quite the sight. Attempting to intercept these two Evil Qi experts would be difficult. After all, he had just casually written the Hundred Weapons Chart ranking back then, and he didn’t really know to what extent those top experts could fight.

This became evident when the Tian Can and Di Que brothers were killed; a ranking of the top twenty fell to number eighty-four. This was enough to show how much water was in that list.

This also meant that their own experts were likely unreliable.

"But that’s okay, Shan Bing, right?"

Bai Wujiu spread his hands.

"Don’t show him any hostility, obey him, completely obey him. Whatever he wants, give it to him. Of course, if he wants your lives, you should remember to run... Just in time for tomorrow’s shipment, when our good brothers from Forget Sorrow Village come, you know what to say, right?"

The subordinates all nodded; they certainly knew what to say, having repeated similar scenarios countless times.

So the next day at noon, when a few young people from Forget Sorrow Village arrived with large carts to pick up the goods, they were met with nothing but empty warehouses.

"There’s nothing left! It’s all been stolen!"

The officials originally in charge of the handover stamped their feet and pounded their chests.

"You have no idea, the city recently has two new masters, full of Evil Qi, merciless in killing, and they’ve stolen everything, even your goods..."

"...Huh?"

The young people from Forget Sorrow Village were stunned.

"This time we were supposed to take a few cartloads of fertilized soil back, did the masters even steal that?"

"...Stolen!"

The officials admitted with difficulty.

"Now the entire Dengzhou City is under their control; if they don’t allow us to work, what can we do?"

"Then... did you mention us?"

The young people from Forget Sorrow Village thought for a moment and still asked this question.

Though phrasing it that way wasn’t great, the fact was undeniable—while outside of Dengzhou, the name Forget Sorrow Village might not be widely known, within Dengzhou, it was quite famous.

The reason was none other than the fact that all the bandits and robbers who had plundered them were killed.

At first, some dim-witted bandits or robbers did target the caravans dispatched from Forget Sorrow Village, but as more were killed, certain unwritten rules began circulating among Dengzhou’s bandits—for example, no matter what, never rob people from Forget Sorrow Village. Even if the other party merely claimed to be from there without any solid evidence, it was best not to make a move. After all, if you guessed right, you’d only get one extra job and a bit more loot. But if you guessed wrong and actually attacked the Forget Sorrow Village’s convoy, you’d lose the entire stronghold.

Making money requires being alive to spend it. Even robbery, this ancient profession, requires the most basic common sense.