Chapter 58 Desiring to Quarter Troops Within the Village

Looking at Tang Jiangtao, who dropped to his knees without a word of warning, Chu Chen was left momentarily speechless.

He immediately stepped forward to help him up and said, "Come on, my friend, don't go around dropping to your knees so easily. A true man has gold under his knees."

Tang Jiangtao had not expected the young man before him to utter such words, and his respect for Chu Chen rose a notch in his heart.

However, what truly amazed him was the sheer power of Chu Chen's casual pointing gesture earlier.

As they were charging forward at the time, that thunderous roar was heard with absolute clarity.

"I must ask the young master to enlighten us—what kind of spell was that finger-point of yours just now?"

As Tang Jiangtao asked this question, everyone nearby, including Wang Defa and Huzi, pricked up their ears.

No one could resist the curiosity of how this notorious spendthrift Chu lad had suddenly become so formidable.

This display only made the villagers of Mashan even more firmly convinced that Chu Chen was a disciple of immortals or an immortal reincarnated.

Chu Chen looked at the expectant faces all around him and said, "It was just a little trick, nothing for everyone to make such a fuss about."

With that, he raised his hand and pointed behind him. At the sight of Chu Chen's hand sweeping past, the surrounding people hurriedly ducked and dodged out of the way.

"Uh, what is going on here? Am I, the Chu lad, really that kind of person?"

"Where's my brother Huzi..."

Chu Chen immediately withdrew his hand and said loudly, "Good grief, these people are seriously afraid I might blast them with that thing."

"What is it, Chu lad?" Huzi, who was retching off to the side, heard Chu Chen calling him.

Suppressing his nausea, he came over to Chu Chen's side and asked.

"Look at that cowardly look of yours, you're really bringing shame to Mashan Village."

Though he was scolding Huzi in words, a wave of warmth washed over Chu Chen's heart.

This Brother Huzi, much like his second uncle, always managed to step in front of him whenever trouble arose.

"Go on, prepare wine and food. Today, I'm treating everyone to a drink," Chu Chen said generously to Huzi.

Of course, Chu Chen's underlying intention was actually to treat these soldiers.

If he could find a way to make them stay permanently in Mashan Village, the safety of the village would be guaranteed all the more.

"Brother Tang, let's go. Everyone has worked hard today. Bring the brothers along and let them have a proper feast."

At this moment, Wang Defa—whom Chu Chen had pushed aside the instant the battle broke out—popped out from somewhere.

He, too, had been thoroughly startled by Chu Chen's celestial finger-point and the sudden appearance of the soldiers.

"Greetings, brave soldiers. I am Wang Defa, the village chief of Mashan. On this occasion, on behalf of the two hundred souls of Mashan Village, I thank you all."

"Village Chief Wang, Young Master Chu, we are on official duty. Doing this is probably... inappropriate, isn't it?"

"That's right, Young Master Chu. If our Young Master Zhou were to find out about this, he'd have our heads."

Just as Tang Jiangtao's voice trailed off, a scrawny soldier behind him spoke up loudly to Chu Chen.

In truth, Chu Chen knew exactly what they were driving at; having spent all those days up in the mountains, their palates must have become as bland as dry twigs.

That scrawny soldier was a clever fellow, essentially saying: "We'd love some wine too, but Zhou Heng doesn't allow it. How about we drink it, and you put in a good word for us with Zhou Heng next time?"

"Haha, little brother, what is there to fear? Even if Zhou Heng were standing right here, you wouldn't need to be afraid. Just rest easy and follow me."

Right at that moment, the bodies of the bandits were being gathered up.

Tang Jiangtao pulled a token from inside his robes and whispered a few words into the ear of one of the soldiers.

That soldier took the token and headed in the direction of Qingniu Town.

Meanwhile, Chu Chen led the group to the open space outside the villa.

Everyone followed Tang Jiangtao and sat down. With his sharp eyes, Tang Jiangtao immediately spotted the compound bow in Feng Er's hands.

He stepped forward, cupped his fists at Feng Er, and said, "Brave warrior, those three arrows fired just now—were they shot by your hand?"

Feng Er cast an inquiring glance at Chu Chen.

Seeing Chu Chen give a nonchalant nod, Feng Er then spoke up.

"Military officer, I dare not claim to be a brave warrior. Those arrows were indeed loosed by this humble person."

Hearing this, Tang Jiangtao instantly grew deeply interested.

At such a long distance, every single arrow had hit its mark with absolute precision. Even the master archers in the military probably couldn't boast such accuracy.

And even if they had the accuracy, they wouldn't have possessed such terrifying force.

Gazing at the strange bow in Feng Er's hands, Tang Jiangtao reached out and asked, "You are too modest. I wonder if you might allow me to take a look at the bow in your hand?"

In fact, Feng Er's questioning glance at Chu Chen just moments ago had been to ask whether this bow could be shown to outsiders.

Chu Chen, however, didn't care; besides, what difference would it make now that people had already seen it?

He could keep his pistol a secret, but a gadget like this didn't matter if word got out.

Feng Er handed over the compound bow, though he kept the arrows slung across his back with no intention of parting with them.

Tang Jiangtao took the compound bow and pulled the string back with a gentle tug, drawing it all the way to its full length.

He stared in disbelief at the lightweight contraption in his hands and asked, "This bow actually packs such tremendous power?"

At that moment, Chu Chen walked over and said to Tang Jiangtao, "Brother Tang, this is called a compound bow. Our Great Xia cannot manufacture these yet."

"Alright, Brother Tang, everyone is tired. Come, have some water first. We can study this piece of junk another time."

Hearing Chu Chen put it this way, Tang Jiangtao felt too embarrassed to press further.

He handed the compound bow back to Feng Er and sat down beside Chu Chen.

After a brief spell of idle chatter, the aroma of meat began to waft across the open ground outside the villa.

Speaking of Huzi, not only was he blessed with great strength, but his efficiency in organizing and preparing meals was astonishingly fast.

"Chu lad, come and eat!"

At Huzi's loud shout, everyone walked over toward the dining tables.

Inside large iron pots, massive chunks of mutton were bubbling away alongside various other unfamiliar ingredients.

The soldiers instantly found their mouths watering at the sight.

For so many days, it had been far too long since they had last tasted meat.

This spread looked countless times better than the rations served in their military camp.

Huzi beckoned to a few young men, who promptly delivered a jar of wine to each table. The rich fragrance of the wine made the soldiers eager to dig in immediately.

However, a military camp had its rules; until Tang Jiangtao spoke, no one dared to pick up their chopsticks.

"Young Master Chu, we'd better just eat the rice. As for this wine..."

"I say, Brother Tang looks so robust and stalwart, why are you being so overly cautious? Rest assured, those bandits won't be coming back in the next couple of days. Today, everyone should drink to their heart's content."

With that, Chu Chen filled Tang Jiangtao's bowl right to the brim with wine.

Mount Qingniu was a long way from here; even if the bandits caught wind of the news and rushed over, it would likely take them about three days.

Chu Chen figured that the Fierce Tiger Hall of Mount Qingniu would undoubtedly seek revenge.

It was already too late to organize a militia from scratch, so he might as well have these soldiers stationed directly in the village.

When that time came, which bandit would ever dare to come and harass Mashan Village again?