Chapter Twenty-Four: Storming the Bandits’ Den Alone!

"Did he come alone, or did he bring a crowd?" Liu Jinyu couldn't help but ask. In his memory, Chen Xuan was a coward who wouldn't even dare to fight back if he were beaten.

A spineless wretch with that kind of personality would certainly not come by himself; he likely brought a massive force behind him. If he had indeed brought a large army, then the destruction of Jinfeng Stronghold being linked to him would actually make sense.

"Answering the Chief, he came all by himself!" the gatekeeper replied immediately.

"Are you sure there is no one following him?" Liu Jinyu simply did not believe it.

"It is the absolute truth. If I have said even half a lie, the Chief can chop me into pieces and feed me to the dogs!" The subordinate spoke with immense certainty, feeling a bit frustrated inwardly; he was clearly telling the truth, so why wouldn't the Chief believe him?

"Something is wrong. There must be a trap here!" The more Liu Jinyu thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

Before he turned to banditry, he had been a prominent and well-connected figure in the capital. A man like him was not as brainless as an ordinary bandit. For Chen Xuan to show up single-handedly, there had to be a significant ulterior motive!

What exactly was he trying to do? For a moment, Liu Jinyu couldn't fathom it. And the more unfathomable a situation was, the more it led to wild speculation. Liu Jinyu felt that Chen Xuan coming here unafraid of death meant he definitely had a hidden agenda.

"Report!"

Just as he was scratching his head, wondering about Chen Xuan's purpose, another subordinate rushed in. The man was bruised and swollen, with blood still dripping from one nostril—clearly the result of a beating.

"Xiao Liuzi, did you fall or something?" a bandit couldn't help asking.

Xiao Liuzi looked aggrieved and furious. "I didn't fall. I was beaten by someone!"

"Beaten?"

"Dammit, this is Liufeng Stronghold, our territory! Who on earth dared to hit you?" Immediately, the bandits erupted in rage, their faces twisting into ferocious expressions as if they couldn't wait to tear whoever had hit Xiao Liuzi to shreds. For a moment, the entire bandit den was filled with cursing and shouting as they clamored to avenge him.

"I hit him."

Just as their emotions reached a fever pitch, a cold, clear voice rang out. The volume was not high, yet it fell with perfect clarity into the ears of everyone present. It was the result of a powerful core and deep internal energy, possessing an intense penetrating force. If he had wanted to, a single shout could have shattered their eardrums.

The scene fell instantly silent. Everyone looked toward the entrance.

A young man riding a fine horse was walking in slowly. Upon reaching the doorway, he pulled gently on the reins, and the horse beneath him stopped obediently in its tracks.

"Chief, that's him! That is Chen Xuan!" the first subordinate who had come to report shouted.

"Chief, he is the one who beat me! He urged me to tell you to come out and see him immediately. I replied by telling him to stop wasting time and wait patiently, and then he hit me!" Xiao Liuzi quickly filed his complaint, feeling that the beating he had received was entirely unjust.

"You are just a gatekeeper, yet your attitude toward a distinguished guest like me was foul to the extreme. Tell me, didn't you deserve to be beaten?" Chen Xuan said nonchalantly. Even though he had ventured alone into this dragon's den of a bandit lair—a situation that would have left others sweating with nerves—Chen Xuan remained unfazed, maintaining his air of ease.

"You!" Xiao Liuzi was so angry he could only glare. This was a bandit den, not some brothel where they sold smiles; what was wrong with having a bad attitude? Just because I spoke to you rudely, I deserve a beating? What kind of logic is that? Wait—I am a bandit, why am I the one trying to reason with him?

"Kid, do you really think you're something special?" Xiao Liuzi retorted with a mocking laugh. Back at the gate, there was no one to help him, which was why he had been beaten into begging for mercy. But now, they were inside the stronghold; he had the entire Liufeng force to back him up! Especially the Chief, who was a renowned expert among the Hahan Mountains. And yet, Chen Xuan dared to be this arrogant? It was preposterous!

"Kid, remember what I said before you hit me? I told you to wait, and that you'd get what's coming to you!" Xiao Liuzi gritted his teeth.

"Oh? I'd like to see how you plan to make me regret this."

Chen Xuan smiled. In this world, the realms of cultivation were divided into eight stages: Martial Disciple, Martial Practitioner, Martial Master, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Venerable, Martial Sovereign, and Martial Saint. And Xiao Liuzi, this small-time bandit, was at best a fourth or fifth-level Martial Disciple. His strength was only marginally better than that of an ordinary person.

Seeing Chen Xuan's indifferent demeanor—as if he didn't take him seriously at all—Xiao Liuzi was filled with spite. He hurriedly said to Liu Jinyu, "Chief, you must avenge me!"

"Xiao Liuzi is right, Chief! This brat is too arrogant; we must teach him a harsh lesson!"

"We must kill him today and hang his head above the stronghold as a sacrifice, so that people from other mountains know the consequences of provoking Liufeng Stronghold!"

"But this kid is from the Chen family."

"So what if he's from the Chen family? He's already a cast-off son; the Chen family won't bother fighting us for the sake of a piece of trash!"

The group of bandits shouted loudly, deeply displeased by Chen Xuan's high-profile approach of walking into the stronghold with just one horse and one man. They felt he had to be killed, and his corpse whipped, to satisfy their fury.

However, despite the loud slogans of his subordinates, Liu Jinyu, the bandit leader, did not speak much. He stared at Chen Xuan, sizing him up, as if trying to gauge his depth. Chen Xuan was looking at him in return.

"You are the Chief of Liufeng Stronghold, right?"

"Indeed!" Liu Jinyu narrowed his eyes.

"How does your strength compare to the Chief of Jinfeng Stronghold?" Chen Xuan asked. The Chief of Jinfeng Stronghold had been a seventh-stage Martial Practitioner. This Liu Jinyu before him should be stronger.

"Hmph, does the Chief of Jinfeng Stronghold even deserve to be compared to ours?"

"He was only a seventh-stage Martial Practitioner; he isn't even fit to carry our Chief's shoes."

"If it weren't for the fact that Jinfeng Stronghold was backed by that Lord Sima, we would have swallowed them up long ago!"

At the mention of Jinfeng, the subordinates spoke with disdain. Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. He had heard the name "Lord Sima" again! It seemed the people of Liufeng Stronghold knew something. Perhaps he could get the answers he wanted from them.

The corners of Chen Xuan's mouth curled upward.