Banditry 05

Fang Zhiyi glanced at him with some amusement, no wonder this fellow followed Yan Qi—both had the same inflexible way of thinking.

Little Hei chattered on the side, "Let it blow, I say just let it blow. It's not us who'll get struck by lightning anyway."

Yan Qi still respected Fang Zhiyi's decisions somewhat, so he kicked his adjutant to shut him up.

Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes, "Next, we can start spending money."

"Aren't we turning it over to the higher-ups?" Yan Qi was somewhat puzzled.

Fang Zhiyi was even more puzzled, how did you manage to survive this long? These are chaotic times!

But he still patiently explained, "Turn it over? And then what? Let those higher-ups eat, drink, and take on more concubines?"

This shut Yan Qi up. Wasn't it precisely because he couldn't stand such things that he had been exiled here?

Soon, Yan Qi spread the word and began recruiting able-bodied young men to form a local security militia. With money and guns, and even death benefits for those killed in action, many people rushed to sign up. Among them were those who wanted to kill bandits and those who came for the money. Fang Zhiyi accepted them all without refusal—they were desperately short on manpower.

Meanwhile, there were quite a few spies from the bandits in Stream City. The earlier wall of grievances had already made these bandits uneasy. Then they suddenly heard about someone contributing to bandit suppression, followed by the establishment of the security militia. Immediately, some people in the city began heading out of town to report the news to their respective stronghold leaders, just in case.

Fang Zhiyi didn't do anything, he just had people record these individuals' names and physical features.

Yan Qi grew restless, "Sir, by being so conspicuous, aren't you alerting the enemy? If they're all on guard, what can we do?"

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand, "Don't worry, I have plenty of methods." Joking aside, if it were anyone else, it might require a battle of wits, but he had a cheat code right beside him! An aerial reconnaissance plane!

Yan Qi could only let out a heavy sigh. He didn't know why he had agreed to cooperate earlier, and now he was completely in the dark.

The bandits around Stream City also received the news one after another, and for a time, tension filled the air.

"You're saying that soldier wants to suppress bandits?" a fierce-looking man stared at the spy before him. The spy nodded.

"Hmph, asking for death!"

The spy hesitated, "Also, I think I saw an acquaintance."

"Who?"

"The Great Leader of the Clear Wind Stronghold, Down Mountain Tiger."

"What?" The man jumped up.

The Clear Wind Stronghold had disbanded overnight, leaving only a small group behind. The entire stronghold had relocated, puzzling all the bandits. Still, having one less competitor was good. But suddenly hearing this news shocked him.

"Yes, those soldiers made a big show of going to his house in the city and even sent him many gifts. I overheard..." the spy recalled, "...they said he had contributed greatly to suppressing the bandits."

Upon hearing this, the bandit lair fell quiet.

After a long while, someone erupted, "That damn Down Mountain Tiger! He sold us out!"

Similar scenes played out everywhere. No one knew Down Mountain Tiger's real name, but they all cursed him now. As fellow bandits, friction was normal, but betraying one's own kind was a major taboo!

The spies hurried back. During this period, they had to find out the army's movements.

As the spies returned, Fang Zhiyi suddenly gave Yan Qi a new task, which made Yan Qi even more uncomfortable.

"What? Have me, a soldier, go as a guest to that bandit leader's house? And maintain contact with him?" Yan Qi nearly jumped up.

Fang Zhiyi soothed him, "It has to be you."

Finally, after Fang Zhiyi's assurances, Yan Qi reluctantly set off, though still unwilling.

Fu Yunshen, whose heart was never at ease, received a distinguished guest—Yan Qi. The two men stared at each other, wide-eyed. Yan Qi forced a stiff smile onto his rigid face, but the smile made anyone who saw it uncomfortable, as if he were about to devour someone.

"Haha, you're doing well?"

Fu Yunshen was on guard, "Quite well. May I ask the purpose of Battalion Commander Yan's visit?"

"I, I came, I..."

The scene fell into silence. Fu Yunshen was utterly confused, his eyes full of suspicion.

Yan Qi felt extremely uncomfortable all over. Perhaps because in the original course of events, the two were sworn enemies, he looked at the face before him, desperately resisting the urge to hit him.

"Well, I have matters to attend to..." Fu Yunshen broke the silence. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Who would have thought Yan Qi still couldn't hold back? He jumped up and gave him a hard slap, followed immediately by a kick.

"I, I came specifically to commend you for your contributions to bandit suppression, and you say you have matters?"

Fu Yunshen's head buzzed. Once he finally made out Yan Qi's words, he almost cursed out loud. Was this damn commendation?

But Yan Qi's mind flashed with the atrocities described on the wall of grievances, and he started punching and kicking Fu Yunshen again. Fu Yunshen, who never expected the other to suddenly attack, could only hold his head and remain silent.

Finally, Yan Qi vented his anger, straightened his uniform, and said, "Hmm, hereby specially commended!" With that, he strode out.

After exiting, as Fang Zhiyi had instructed, he turned back and said loudly, "Brother Fu's great righteousness! Yan will remember it in his heart!" Only then did he get into the military vehicle and leave. As he got in, he looked up in confusion. It was clearly a clear, sunny day, so why had it suddenly become overcast?

Residents passing by gossiped.

"Isn't that Battalion Commander Yan? Why did he come to the Fu residence?"

"Not sure, but didn't Boss Fu make some contribution to bandit suppression the other day?"

"Did he contribute again?"

Fu Yunshen, with blood at the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth and got up from the ground. The gentleness in his eyes was gone, replaced now by a gaze full of malice and venom. Leave! He must leave! But he found he couldn't. Four soldiers were now stationed at his gate, supposedly for his protection.

A thread of fear crept into Fu Yunshen's heart.

Fang Zhiyi looked at the apologetic Yan Qi before him and didn't mind, "It doesn't matter. You just need to go often. How your relationship with him is isn't important. The key is to let others know you're on good terms."

Yan Qi's eyes lit up, "You mean I can still beat him up?"

"Don't get happy yet. We need to start taking action." Fang Zhiyi took out a map and pointed to a marked location.

Night fell. Yan Qi led a squad of soldiers and the raw recruits of the security militia out of the city.

In a small mountain gully not far from Stream City, the bandits were seeking entertainment as usual. Among the bandits stood two naked men, their bodies trembling with fear, their faces full of anxiety.

"Fight! The one who kills the other gets to live!" The bandit leader stood to the side, waving a short gun and shouting loudly. However, the two men seemed petrified, not moving at all.

Seeing this, one impatient bandit fired a shot into the air. The loud "bang" made the two men shudder all over. Immediately after, as if suddenly snapping back to reality, they began frantically lunging at each other.