Xu Jinhuan said in a gentle tone, "If you're asking about that bandit leader with the thick beard, I've already killed him."

"He...he's dead?" the child murmured in disbelief.

He then ran to his mother's body, leaned close to her ear, and cried, "Mother, that wicked man is dead. You are really free now, waaaah."

Xu Jinhuan looked around and found that apart from the straw mat where the two were lying, there was nothing else in the room. He figured that the mother and son had also been forcibly taken by bandits.

After crying for a while, the child seemed to remember something, and he ran back to Xu Jinhuan and knelt down on the ground.

"My benefactor, could you please help me bury my mother? If you're willing to help, my life is yours. I'll do anything you ask!"

Xu Jinhuan looked at him with some surprise upon hearing this, then nodded, "Okay, then you can follow me from now on."

Just then, a voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"You bitch, what time is it and you still haven't come out? The boss is already tired of you, and you still dare to act tough in front of the brothers."

After he finished speaking, the man kicked the door open.

When he saw Xu Jinhuan, his eyes flashed with surprise and greed. "Oh, where did this young lady come from? Once you're in our Wooden Village, you won't be leaving. Let me have a taste of the good life first!"

As he spoke, he lunged at Xu Jinhuan, completely ignoring the child standing beside him.

Xu Jinhuan didn't tolerate him. He picked up his long knife and stabbed the man who was spewing filth right through him.

She wiped the blade with a disdainful yet skillful air. After wiping it, she turned to look at the child, just about to say a few words of comfort, when she saw the child's eyes sparkling as he spoke.

"My benefactor, can I learn swordsmanship from you too? If I had been as skilled as you back then, my mother wouldn't have died..."

Xu Jinhuan patted the child's head with his clean hand and said gently, "Of course you can. You don't need to call me benefactor. Just call me boss. That's what my men call me."

The child nodded seriously, "Boss!"

After saying that, he looked at Xu Jinhuan hesitantly, "Boss, can you help me choose a new name? I don't want to have anything to do with that runaway man anymore."

Seemingly noticing the confusion in Xu Jinhuan's eyes, the child recounted what happened when they were robbed by Boss Niu.

It turned out that the family of three had gone out together, but when the father encountered bandits, he took advantage of the chaos to run away, abandoning his wife and son.

The child now only feels hatred for his father and has no desire to use that disgusting surname.

Xu Jinhuan sighed softly after hearing this. Human nature is truly the most unpredictable thing.

"Since that's the case, you shall take my surname, Xu. People say that a light boat has already crossed ten thousand mountains. May everything go smoothly for you after you overcome this tribulation. From now on, you will be Xu Qingzhou."

The child—no, now it's Xu Qingzhou—wiped away his tears and nodded seriously.

Xu Jinhuan asked with a smile, "Want revenge? Answer me loudly."

Xu Qingzhou immediately shouted, "Yes!"

Xu Jinhuan stroked the long sword in his hand, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. It wasn't that Xu Jinhuan was ruthless, but that in this chaotic world, without courage, it would be difficult to survive.

"Then take your little dagger and follow behind me. I'll leave them alive so you can finish them off."

After Xu Jinhuan finished speaking, he grabbed his long sword and rushed out.

She had already scouted the area and found that there weren't many people left in the village, so it wouldn't take her long to deal with them all by herself.

Soon, wherever Xu Jinhuan went, the bandits fell to the ground one by one, with only the faint fluctuations in their chests proving that they were still alive.

Xu Qingzhou used that small dagger to stab their hearts again and again, completely sending those bandits with weak breaths away.

At first, Xu Qingzhou's hands trembled slightly, but later he became very skilled at stabbing the heart and was able to ensure that the blood did not splatter on himself.

"You little brat, you actually colluded with outsiders to attack the stronghold! I'll kill you to avenge my brothers!"

A bandit who had just finished urinating returned to find himself witnessing a scene that horrified him. Without a second thought, he charged at Xu Qingzhou.

Xu Qingzhou dared not be careless at all. He gripped the small dagger in his hand tightly, ready to fight to the death with his opponent.

He glanced instinctively at the room where his mother's body was.

Mother, your child is coming to be with you. It's just that I feel sorry for the eldest son. He said he would use his life to help her, but he didn't do anything.

At that moment, the bandit who had rushed over suddenly clutched his body and fell to the ground, revealing Xu Jinhuan behind him.

"Xu Qingzhou, if you can't beat him, why don't you run away? Standing there like that is just asking to get stabbed!"

Looking at her eldest daughter's concerned expression, Xu Qingzhou felt a warmth in her heart. Mother, it turns out there are still people in this world who care about me...

Xu Qingzhou blinked hard to stop himself from crying. He smiled and promised, "Boss, I know I was wrong. I'll definitely run away right away next time."

Xu Jinhuan shook his head helplessly, "Be careful, there shouldn't be many people left in this village. We'll leave after we're done killing them."

“Yes!” Xu Qingzhou responded loudly.

Not long after, Xu Jinhuan had killed all those bastards and was just about to take Xu Qingzhou to bury his mother when he heard him say that.

"Boss, I know where Boss Niu hid his good stuff. Come with me!"

After saying that, he started jogging without waiting for Xu Jinhuan's reply.

Xu Jinhuan immediately caught up with Xu Qingzhou, "If you're talking about the things in his cellar, I've already taken them all."

Xu Qingzhou shook her head. "Not there."

After saying that, he led Xu Jinhuan to the room where they had been before.

"Here?"

Xu Jinhuan looked at the empty room. Apart from the tattered straw mat and Xu Qingzhou's mother's corpse, there was nothing else in the room.

Xu Qingzhou nodded, a trace of sorrow flashing in her eyes.

“My mother found it. She said that the place was full of ill-gotten gains, and if the government troops ever came to suppress the bandits, she wanted me to bring them here. What a pity…”

It's a pity his mother didn't make it to this day, and it's a pity the government troops didn't come to suppress the bandits...

Xu Qingzhou didn't dwell too much on his grief. He quickly composed himself, touched the uneven wall, and found a slightly loose mud brick.

After removing the mud brick, another layer of space was revealed.

Xu Jinhuan nodded knowingly, then said to Xu Qingzhou, "Stay away, I'm going to break down this wall."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingzhou immediately stood obediently in the corner, watching as Xu Jinhuan's long sword easily smashed a large hole in the wall.

Then, a blinding golden light shone on their faces.

"So many?"

Xu Jinhuan stared in astonishment at the stacks of gold bricks; it was an amount that no bandit could possibly possess.