"It's all because I've been by Master's side for so long, I've been influenced by him!" Zhao Wu immediately turned around and gave Zhao Cheng a silly smile, reverting to his usual sycophantic manner.

"Don't slander me, I'm not as good at pretending as you!"

Zhao Cheng stepped down from the carriage and said, "It's a waste of your talent to leave you in Yanchuan City. I only just discovered how good you are at fighting. Who's stronger, you or my sister?"

Zhao Wu's legs went weak with fear, his face changed, and he said, "Master, you can't joke like that..."

"My sister is that scary?" Zhao Cheng rolled his eyes at Zhao Wu, walked up to the two survivors, looked at the man who was rolling on the ground clutching his groin, and asked, "What's his background?"

"It hurts! It hurts so much..."

"My master is asking you a question!" Zhao Wu stabbed him in the thigh.

"Ah! I'll talk, I'll talk!" the man said. "We're mountain bandits..."

"Still pretending!" Zhao Cheng said, giving Zhao Wu a wink.

Snap!

Zhao Wu killed him with a single blow.

Zhao Cheng walked up to the blind man, King Kong, who was kneeling on the ground without saying a word, as if he were already depressed.

Zhao Cheng said, "Speak, who sent you?"

The man shook his head.

At that moment, a figure flew out of the woods and landed heavily beside the carriage.

It was Liu Bo's body. There was a note stuck to his face that read: "Yun Jing Juyi Hall, Protector Liu Bo".

Zhao Cheng smiled and thought to himself that it must have been Zhou Nuo's idea.

"So it's Protector Liu of the Gathering Righteousness Hall!" Zhao Cheng said deliberately to the blind man.

The blind man had obviously heard the noise as well, and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Big brother! Big brother?!"

"Your older brother is dead. Do you want me to bring his body over so you can smell it?"

"How is that possible! My elder brother is a top-tier master!!"

"Are top-tier experts really that powerful?" Zhao Cheng asked Zhao Wu.

Zhao Wu nodded and said, "Just as awesome as me."

"Oh..." Zhao Cheng said, "Isn't it normal for them to die?"

Zhao Wu: "..."

blind:"……"

Zhao Cheng kicked the blind man so hard he fell backward, saying, "Now you're the only one left. Are you going to talk or not? If you don't, I'll turn you into this guy next to me. I won't kill you yet, I'll castrate you!"

"No!" the blind man roared. "Even if I die, I must be a man!"

The blind man quickly got up and knelt down, saying, "We've come to the General's Mansion for refuge!"

Zhao Cheng gave a knowing look, then took a step back and nodded to Zhao Wu.

Snap!

Zhao Wu stepped forward to deliver the finishing blow.

Besides the two sides fighting, the bandits who had been watching the battle from the sidelines were also involved in this small-scale battle at the foot of the mountain.

Not only did they not have enough time to escape, but the battle was over before they even had the thought of escaping.

Zhao Wu is too fast.

Zhou Chuan is fast too.

Feeling Zhao Cheng's gaze fall upon him, the leader of the bandits swallowed hard and then performed a feat that left Zhao Cheng in awe—he covered a distance of a dozen steps in just three seconds by kneeling and 'walking' to Zhao Cheng!

They kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Our benefactor! Thank you so much!! You saved us!!!"

"Save you?"

"Yes, my benefactor! If you hadn't come, we would have been killed by these villains!"

Zhao Cheng was amused by this person. "You're clearly a bandit, yet you call others villains?"

Have you no shame?

Zhao Cheng asked, "How do you know I won't kill you?"

The bandits continued to kowtow, crying out, "Benefactor, spare our lives! Spare us poor souls!"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and shouted at the twenty or thirty people kneeling down, "Are you all stupid? Come and beg for mercy!!"

The bandits rushed over and knelt down in front of Zhao Cheng, begging for mercy.

Zhao Cheng doubted his eyes and asked, "Are you really bandits?"

"Yes, my benefactor! My name is Ma Cong. I'm from Shiligou in western Sichuan. I used to be a pig butcher, but I had to come out to make a living because there were no more pigs to slaughter."

"You call going out to be a bandit a way of making a living?"

"They all earn money through their skills!"

"Then why can't you go somewhere farther away from home? Even courtesans know not to do business in their local area!!"

"My benefactor, I swear to God! I, Ma Cong, never rob locals. My brothers and I only rob outsiders! I often tell my brothers that we can't bully our fellow villagers. Even thieves have their code of honor!"

The bandits immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's what our leader said!"

"That's how the boss taught me when I was a kid..."

"Go away, stop flattering yourself. You even have a code of honor among thieves! You're something else!" Zhao Cheng kicked Ma Cong, then looked at Zhao Wu.

Upon seeing Zhao Cheng's action, Ma Cong's hair stood on end.

This is how Zhao Cheng saw him before Zhao Wu delivered the final blow!

He could almost hear the "click" sound!

"No, young prime minister!!!"

Ma Cong desperately clung to Zhao Cheng's leg, crying out, "Please, young prime minister, spare our lives!! We're all poor, unfortunate bandits!! To tell you the truth, a few days ago I took a job. They said they were going to fight someone and wanted us to bring men to boost their morale, and they'd give us a hundred taels of silver! I thought, 'A hundred taels of silver is a lot of respect for me, Ma Cong,' so I brought all my brothers from the mountain—more than fifty of them! Last night we stood with that group all night, we were practically dying from mosquito bites! But not only did they not give us the money, they even teamed up with the other side to rob us! I lost more than ten brothers! This morning, as soon as we came back, we ran into these villains, and lost another ten brothers!! We're in a terrible state!!!"

Zhao Wu was furious when he heard this and shouted, "This is so unethical! It's like double-crossing us!"

Zhao Cheng shook his head as he listened, thinking to himself, "Brother, you're really something. No other bandit would act like you."

How did you recognize me?

"Everyone in Yanchuan knows that the young prime minister destroyed the Southern Zhou intelligence network in the thirteen cities of Jingdong. His Majesty has specifically requested the young prime minister to attend the state banquet. This is the Right Prime Minister's carriage, and this road leads to Changsui. Looking at you, you are handsome, elegant, and have an extraordinary temperament, like a wolf or a tiger. Who else could it be but the young prime minister?!"

Zhao Cheng nodded in satisfaction and said, "You're very smart, but don't use the phrase 'like wolves and tigers' carelessly anymore."

As he spoke, Zhao Cheng glanced at Zhao Wu again.

Ma Cong hugged Zhao Cheng's legs even tighter, wailing, "No, young prime minister!!!"

"Look at your pathetic state, I'm not going to kill you!"

"Then why are you looking at him?"

"Give me the money!"

Zhao Cheng opened his hand, and Zhao Wu patted his pocket, took out a money pouch, and handed it to Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng weighed the money bag in his hand, then tossed it behind Ma Cong, saying, "There isn't a hundred taels here, but there's definitely fifty taels."

The bandits stared at the money bag, puzzled.

Ma Cong looked up at Zhao Cheng and said, "Young Prime Minister, what is this...?"

Zhao Cheng chuckled and said, "Take this money and divide it among the brothers. Let them help me do something big!"