Chapter 57: The Compound Bow Shows Its Divine Might

Chu Chen finished speaking and strode into the tearoom.

He opened the drawer of the tea table, took out the handgun, tucked it into his waistband, and conveniently grabbed two extra ammunition magazines.

Walking back outside, he called out to Feng Er, "Uncle Feng Er, the mountain bandits are here, and they mean trouble. Stay behind me, find a spot to hide when things kick off, and follow my lead based on my hand signals."

Feng Er nodded upon hearing this. Is this young lad an immortal? How fortunate that the moment he handed me this divine artifact, those wicked bandits showed up.

And what a timing! After practicing for so long, he had been fretting over having no chance to test it.

Chu Chen trotted all the way and met the Third Master and Wang Defa on the path leading into the village.

"Yo, Uncle Wang, you've got guests."

Chu Chen drew the handgun from his waistband and concealed it within his wide sleeve.

Seeing Chu Chen arrive, Wang Defa suddenly felt as though he had found his backbone.

"Ah, it's young Chu. This is the Third Master of the Fierce Tiger Hall from Green Ox Mountain. Hurry up and pay your respects."

Wang Defa wore a solemn expression, constantly flashing meaningful glances at Chu Chen.

"So it's the Third Master. Are you here to collect the tribute? Uncle Wang, I recall we already gathered the full amount. This is..."

Chu Chen pointed at the group of people before him.

Meanwhile, Huzi and the others had also caught wind of the news and came rushing over.

More than a dozen soldiers on duty in the mountains suddenly noticed something amiss down below, and the sharp-eyed man among them immediately ran toward their leader.

"Captain, we have a situation. Those people down the mountain appear to be bandits."

With that, he pointed at the confrontation unfolding in Mashan Village between Chu Chen and the others.

"Quick, assemble! Down the mountain at once!"

The leading man did not dare to delay and immediately led the group toward Mashan Village at the foot of the mountain.

At that moment, the Third Master's eyes turned cold as he locked his gaze on Chu Chen.

He saw that Chu Chen was dressed in fine silks and satins exclusive to city folk, carrying the imposing air of a wealthy family's heir.

The Third Master immediately spoke up, "Oh, so this little brother is the distinguished benefactor building the new house in Mashan Village?"

"I, Ma Lao San, came here today because I'd like to borrow some silver to spend. Life up on Green Ox Mountain is hard, you see. Why don't you take us brothers over to your place for a sit-down?"

*What a joke,* Chu Chen thought. *You must be out of your damn mind. If you laid eyes on those gorgeous women of mine at home, you'd fight me to the death without end.*

Looking at the score of men standing behind Ma Lao San, Chu Chen began calculating in his mind.

With Feng Er stationed behind him, he could probably pick off a few with arrows. As for the handgun in his hand, at such close range, it was both fast and accurate.

With three full magazines totaling twenty-four rounds, to be honest, Chu Chen felt not a shred of fear.

However, whenever possible, it was best not to expose too many cards.

So, flipping his wrist, he produced a ten-tael silver ingot and said to Ma Lao San before him, "Since the Third Master came in person, how could I let you make a wasted trip? Let this ten-tael ingot serve as Mashan Village's tribute to you all."

Ma Lao San stared at the silver in Chu Chen's hand and burst into a loud laugh.

"You motherfucker, are you trying to brush off a beggar? If you know what's good for you, get out of my way and tell me what goods are shipped out every month. Otherwise, I'll have to make you a ghost beneath my blade!"

Right at that moment, Huzi and several other young men arrived behind Chu Chen, gripping long sabers in their hands.

"Hah, what's this? A bunch of stubborn peasants from a barren, backwater mountain village actually want to resist?"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of Ma Lao San's henchmen raised his saber and slashed directly at Chu Chen.

From behind, Feng Er raised his compound bow and loosed an arrow.

In a fraction of a second, the projectile pierced clean through the man's skull.

"It's an ambush! Take down this brat first!" Sensing the situation turning sour, Ma Lao San roared and charged toward Chu Chen.

"Ha! Mere bandits acting so arrogant—do you really think our Mashan Village is easy to bully?"

Chu Chen moved as well. With a flick of his hand and a pointed gesture, a deafening explosion suddenly echoed through the air.

Ma Lao San would never have dreamed in his wildest nightmares that merely coming to collect tribute would cost him his life.

The flock of thugs froze in their tracks, paralyzed by the sudden gunshot. Were they seeing ghosts? The young man had simply pointed his finger at the Third Master.

And instantly, a bloody hole appeared on the Third Master's head, leaving him thoroughly and irrevocably dead.

In truth, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Chu Chen wanted precisely this psychological effect; once they were terrorized, this rabble would lose all their fighting spirit.

The moment Chu Chen fired, Huzi grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him behind his back.

"Little Chu, run! Big brother will hold them off for you!"

With a roar, Huzi swung his long saber, hacking toward the nearest thug. The thug raised his weapon to parry, but amidst a crisp metallic snap, his blade was broken in half.

Huzi lacked finesse, but brute strength he had in abundance. His saber continued on its relentless arc, crashing heavily into the enemy's body.

Half of the man's head was instantly cleaved off.

In an instant, a mixture of red and white splattered across Huzi's face.

Being a farming lad from the mountains, when had he ever witnessed such carnage? His earlier bravado had been purely driven by momentary adrenaline.

He let out a retching sound and began to vomit violently.

At that moment, three more thugs who had snapped out of their shock lunged forward.

Feng Er dropped one of them with an arrow from the rear, while Chu Chen raised his hand, ready to fire again.

Suddenly, a dozen figures resembling elite soldiers surged onto the scene.

They instantly closed in on the remaining bandits.

Facing trained soldiers, the disorganized and chaotic bandits were cut down and slaughtered within the time it took to burn a single stick of incense.

The single bandit who managed to run fast and break away was pierced through the abdomen by an arrow from Feng Er shortly after fleeing, crashing heavily to the ground.

He was promptly finished off with a slash to the throat by the pursuing soldiers.

Regarding these sudden reinforcements, Chu Chen recalled that Zhou Heng had briefly mentioned such an arrangement when they signed their agreement.

He had not expected them to come in handy right at this moment.

Having wiped out the invading bandits, the commanding soldier walked up to Chu Chen and said, "Young Master Chu, this incident occurred due to our negligence. Please punish us accordingly."

"Brother, you flatter me. May I ask your name, and where Lord Zhou has stationed you all?"

Chu Chen asked straightforwardly, cutting straight to the point.

Tang Jiang涛 pointed toward the back mountain and replied to Chu Chen, "This subordinate is Tang Jiangtao, the squad leader dispatched by Young Master Zhou to protect Mashan Village. To avoid disturbing everyone, we usually camp over there."

Following the direction of Tang Jiangtao's finger, Chu Chen looked over and shook his head helplessly.

Which tactical genius came up with this deployment? Why not station themselves all the way in Green Ox Town instead?

Yet, facing Tang Jiangtao, Chu Chen spoke with genuine gratitude, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Jiangtao. Is Zhou Heng out of his mind, arranging for you folks to stay in such a God-forsaken place? It must be terribly hard on you all."

Hearing Chu Chen utter such words, Tang Jiangtao was so startled that he dropped to his knees on the spot. This young master before him truly had no filter!

Although the Eighth Prince was kind and easygoing with people, one simply did not speak of him with such casual irreverence.

"Young Master Zhou also took into consideration that our presence might disturb the villagers, which is why... Please understand, Young Master Chu."