Chapter 38 Taming Yellow Swamp Mountain

Subduing Yellow Swamp Mountain took some effort, but the speed was still quite fast.

The Tiger Head Mountain contingent turned back to Tiger Head Stronghold. Zhou Jing only brought along the Red Cloud Mountain lackeys, as well as the two stronghold leaders and their respective personal guards, embarking on their journey home.

After traveling for some days, the group was not far from Red Cloud Mountain.

Zhou Jing and the other two, along with Hong Dingxian, walked ahead, chatting casually.

Because Hong Dingxian’s kung fu was the highest among the two stronghold leaders, Guo Haishen and Fang Zhen had been discussing martial arts with him every day these past few days, feeling quite like kindred spirits. Their friendship gradually deepened, even better than the relationships with the other leaders.

"The three of you brothers, are you really not staying in Luhe?"

After chatting for a while, Hong Dingxian couldn't help but ask.

Guo Haishen shook his head, "Master Yu treated us well, but we brothers can't stay idle. We still want to roam around."

Hong Dingxian sighed, "Alas, without you three brothers, I won't have anyone to spar with after I go to Red Cloud Stronghold. Although Lu Yunzhao’s martial arts are not bad, and his personality is considered generous, he doesn't quite suit my taste. And Deng Zhi, although his spear technique is extraordinary, he comes from the imperial court, so I don't feel much for him either. I'm afraid these days will be quite dull."

Fang Zhen blinked, "What's so difficult about that? You might as well abandon the stronghold and roam the world with us. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Hearing this, Hong Dingxian hesitated, "I've been a bandit in Tiger Head Mountain for a long time. Leaving like this wouldn't be good, right? Besides, I'm still wanted..."

Zhou Jing hadn't said much, but remembering this person's background, he asked, "I heard that you're from Wenshui County. You killed a local tyrant in the street because of a family feud, and then fled in fear of punishment, joining Tiger Head Mountain."

Hearing this, Hong Dingxian recalled distant memories, exhaling a long breath from his nostrils, "That's right. My uncle and aunt were harmed by powerful people. I killed someone out of righteous indignation, and was wanted with nowhere to go, so I became a bandit."

"I heard that the magistrate and the county sheriff of Wenshui also had a grudge against you. Why didn't you deal with them as well?"

Zhou Jing stroked his chin.

Hong Dingxian was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly:

"I once had such thoughts, but the county sheriff is an official after all, so it's not easy to take action. Moreover, Master Peng didn't want to easily clash with the government. After I joined the mountain, he often advised me not to commit the capital crime of killing an official, so I put this matter aside to avoid implicating the stronghold. Later, as time went by, my thoughts faded."

Zhou Jing nodded, not continuing this topic, changing the subject:

"A hero like Brother Hong can go anywhere in the world. Why bother with a mere wanted notice? If you want to go with us, we're naturally welcome."

Fang Zhen immediately understood and echoed, "That's right, my second brother committed a much bigger crime than you, and he's still not afraid. Besides, what's so good about staying in Tiger Head Stronghold? It's understandable that Brother Hong wants to take care of his brothers' loyalty, but why not think about how Peng Jin treated you?"

Hearing this, Hong Dingxian's expression became uncertain.

He had contributed to Tiger Head Mountain for many years. When he was captured, Peng Jin didn't care about his life or death. This matter had always bothered him.

At the same time, Xu Gui in the back of the group also approached Peng Jin.

"Master Peng, have you been well?"

Xu Gui greeted with a smile, seemingly without any resentment about Tiger Head Mountain dragging their Yellow Swamp Mountain into this.

Peng Jin glared at him, "I'm no longer a stronghold leader. Are you mocking me?"

"Where are you going with that? Aren't I the same?" Xu Gui smiled.

"Tch, I have nothing to say to you."

Peng Jin snorted, his tone impatient.

Xu Gui waved his hand, warmly saying, "Hey, although we have old grudges, we became acquainted through fighting. Brother Peng, why reject people from thousands of miles away, being so distant? Besides, we are already ants on the same rope. We should get closer."

Peng Jin's eyes flickered, "Oh? What do you want to say?"

Xu Gui lowered his voice and said, "Your and my strongholds were also powerful in Luhe, but now they have been subdued by a small stronghold. You and I were originally masters of a stronghold, but in the future, we will have to listen to other people's orders. Are you convinced?"

Peng Jin's face stiffened, and he said in a deep voice, "I am naturally convinced of losing to that Chen Feng. Do you dare to disagree?"

"Of course I am convinced by Chen Feng. If he becomes the stronghold leader, then I will wholeheartedly assist him without saying a word. But Yu Feng can forget about it. Although he is an old hand in the martial world, his talent is ordinary, far inferior to me… cough, and you. In the entire Red Cloud Mountain, only Qingfeng Fan (Clear Breeze Fan) Li Chun and Shenjian (Divine Mace) Lu Yunzhao can catch my eye."

Xu Gui spoke softly.

Peng Jin narrowed his eyes, "I am also not convinced by that Yu Feng, but what can be done? You have many tricks. Do you have any plans?"

Xu Gui snorted softly, elaborating, "In my opinion, his Red Cloud Mountain is attempting this snake-swallowing-elephant act, so he will naturally be wary of you and me, and will definitely try to suppress our prestige and break up and annex our strongholds. However, because we are powerful, Yu Feng can only slowly plot this and nibble away at our mountain. Perhaps he will use your and my differences to make you and me check each other, so that he can sit firmly in the stronghold leader's seat..."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Continue." Although Peng Jin wasn't that smart, he had been a stronghold leader after all, so he was no stranger to this.

Xu Gui paused and continued:

"We might as well put on an act, pretending to be at odds, so that Yu Feng thinks he has a hold on us, and then secretly hollow him out. Your and my strongholds are well-established, while Red Cloud Mountain is just a small household, unable to accommodate the men from our two mountains, so most of our people will be able to continue staying in their respective mountains. If he doesn't speak up, we will use this reason to request it, presuming he won't refuse.

"We find an excuse to return to our respective mountains, and then occupy them without leaving. In name, we listen to Red Cloud Mountain's orders, but in reality, we will give him a 'listen to the tune, not the dispatch'. Without a fierce person like Chen Feng, what can Yu Feng do to us? We will just treat Red Cloud Mountain as an ally, imitating the ancient feudal lords. This way, it won't be considered a violation of the agreement with Chen Feng."

On the way, Xu Gui had analyzed the situation that would occur after merging into Red Cloud Mountain, guessing the balancing methods Yu Feng might use. Thus, he ran over to Peng Jin to explain it in advance, so as to avoid the snipe and clam fighting, benefiting the fisherman.

Hearing this, Peng Jin's eyes lit up, "Wonderful, you bookworm, your brain is indeed different."

"That's only natural."

Xu Gui stroked his beard and smiled, secretly despising Peng Jin for being unlearned, crude and unbearable.

The group traveled with their own thoughts, finally arriving at Red Cloud Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, Yu Feng, Li Chun, and many other leaders were waiting here early, eagerly anticipating their arrival.

Seeing Zhou Jing and the others, Yu Feng wore a face full of joy, striding forward to greet them.

"Brother Chen, Brother Guo, Brother Fang!"

"Master Yu."

Zhou Jing and the other two stepped forward to meet him.

Yu Feng immediately grabbed Zhou Jing's hand, caring, "Have the three of you brothers been injured?"

"Not at all," Zhou Jing shook his head.

"That's good, that's good..."

Yu Feng nodded repeatedly, breathing a sigh of relief, as if only then was he at ease.

Then, his expression became excited, praising excitedly:

"The three of you brothers, with only two hundred men, have captured the two ten-thousand-man strongholds in the Luhe area. It's simply miraculous! Brother Chen Feng is truly a first-class hero of this world, even if ancient famous generals were resurrected, you would not be inferior!"

"Master Yu is too kind."

Zhou Jing's expression didn't change.

Fang Zhen let out a cry, exclaiming, "Second Brother, why be so modest? You have pierced through a thousand troops with your spear, broken a mountain cliff with your strength, and suppressed two strongholds with your courage. Who in the world can do that?"

Hearing this, Yu Feng and the others were greatly curious, hurriedly asking for details. They weren't quite clear about the detailed process.

Fang Zhen didn't hide anything, vividly narrating the details.

The Red Cloud Mountain people were immediately greatly astonished.

This was almost single-handedly pacifying two mountain strongholds!

"Brother Chen is truly unparalleled in martial arts. It's a pity that I didn't participate in the battle with you, so I didn't see your heroic figure." Lu Xinniang was quite regretful.

Li Chun was shocked, "Brother Chen's martial arts are much more powerful than they were a few months ago, directly capable of moving gods to tears."

The few people surrounded Zhou Jing, exclaiming in amazement.

Guo Haishen spoke at the right time, interrupting everyone, steadily saying, "Don't neglect the leaders of Tiger Head Mountain and Yellow Swamp Mountain. Let me introduce everyone."

Saying this, he introduced everyone one by one.

Xu Gui and Peng Jin were well-behaved babies in front of Zhou Jing, politely leading the leaders of each stronghold forward to pay respects to Yu Feng.

Yu Feng hurriedly responded one by one, no matter how familiar or unfamiliar he was, praising everyone a few words, putting on a full show.

After a round, everyone was considered acquainted.

"From now on, everyone will be brothers, eating meat in large chunks and drinking wine in large bowls."

Yu Feng said loudly.

Regardless of what everyone thought, they all agreed.

At this time, Yu Feng turned his head, cupped his fists towards Zhou Jing and the other two, and issued another plea:

"The three of you brothers have made great contributions to my Red Cloud Mountain. Brother Chen has made the greatest contribution. Please stay in the stronghold. I am willing to give up the top spot and offer you to be the master of the stronghold!"

Hearing this, everyone's gazes turned to Zhou Jing, their faces hopeful.

Zhou Jing refused again, shaking his head, "This trip is only to repay a favor. My mind is made up, so don't persuade me anymore."

Yu Feng was greatly anxious, "Brother Chen, please don't mention repaying the favor again. It's really killing me. This time, my Red Cloud Mountain owes you a great favor!"

This time, the benefits that Red Cloud Mountain received were too great, far exceeding the due repayment. After it spread, the heroes of the Green Forest would not think that Zhou Jing had paid off his debt, but would feel that Red Cloud Mountain owed a great debt of gratitude.

Everyone sighed, knowing that Zhou Jing was not playing hard to get, but was truly declining.

Zhou Jing looked around, seeing everyone's complex expressions, and said,

"Since this matter is over, I will leave now."

"Why are you in such a hurry, brother? No matter what, allow me to set up a banquet to welcome you and wash away the dust."

Yu Feng hurriedly said.

Zhou Jing shook his head, "Stronghold leader's kindness is appreciated by us brothers, but we have been staying here for quite a few days, and we don't want to bother you on the mountain any longer. Getting drunk would delay us for several more days. Children of the martial world don't need to be fussy. Let's part ways here."

"This… alright." Yu Feng agreed helplessly, and said, "But no matter what, please accept some gold and silver as travel expenses, to make it easier to eat and use on the road."

"That's fine."

Seeing that Zhou Jing didn't refuse, Yu Feng hurriedly had the leaders take out their money bags, not even counting, handing them all over to Zhou Jing and the other two.

Zhou Jing and the other two collected the money, and also had Zhang San and the others escort Lin Song behind them.

——On the way back, they passed through Tiger Head Mountain. He had already conveniently had someone take Lin Song out of the prison, bringing him along in the team, to avoid having to go back and forth.

After doing all this, Zhou Jing cupped his fists towards everyone:

"The green mountains will not change, the green waters will flow forever. We will meet again in the future."

After speaking, Zhou Jing didn't linger, carrying his iron spear and turning to leave, his back gradually disappearing into the distance.

After accomplishing his task, taking down two mountain strongholds and handing them over to Red Cloud Mountain, he directly left in a dashing manner, without any dragging or fuss.

Seeing such behavior, the three parties present felt a surge of enthusiasm in their hearts, greatly admiring him.

"What a heroic demeanor!"

Li Chun couldn't help but exclaim.

"Everyone has their own ambitions. It's a pity that he's unwilling to stay in the stronghold. Otherwise... alas."

Yu Feng shook his head regretfully, sighing incessantly.

In the crowd, Hong Dingxian's expression constantly changed, finally making up his mind.

He suddenly stepped out from the crowd, cupped his fists towards everyone, and said in a deep voice:

"Master Yu, Brother Peng… please forgive me for not wanting to stay. I only want to follow Brother Chen Feng, goodbye."

As soon as he finished speaking, before the stunned people could react, he immediately turned and chased after Zhou Jing's group.

"Brother Hong, wait..."

Peng Jin's face changed greatly, wanting to say something to keep him.

However, Peng Jin discovered that Hong Dingxian simply ignored him, running up to join Zhou Jing and the others in a puff of smoke. Now he was in a difficult position, not daring to go up and stop him in front of Zhou Jing.

"How could this be..." Peng Jin was a little flustered.

He had thought that he would still have a chance to repair his relationship with Hong Dingxian in the future, but he didn't expect that the other party would just slip away... Without this highly skilled brother, his status after joining Red Cloud Mountain would plummet.

Everyone watched the group walk away from afar, not daring to stop them, their thoughts different.

On the other side, Zhou Jing and the others heard the sound of footsteps chasing from behind, stopping and looking back, discovering that it was Hong Dingxian who had followed.

"I have already thought about it. Rather than staying in Red Cloud Mountain and scheming with them, I would rather follow you three brothers to travel around the world, enjoying the martial world!"

Hong Dingxian cupped his fists, his tone firm.

Hearing this, the three couldn't help but smile.

"Hahaha, what Brother Hong said is absolutely right. Being with us, life will be more flavorful." Fang Zhen laughed loudly, stepping forward to pat the other party's shoulder vigorously.

"With Brother Hong joining, it's truly a blessing." Guo Haishen was also smiling.

Zhou Jing nodded, and said, "Since that's the case, then let's take a trip to Wenshui County. We're going to Jiangchun anyway, so it's on the way."

Hearing this, Hong Dingxian was stunned for a moment, "What do you mean, Brother?"

The corners of Zhou Jing's mouth curled up:

"Peng Jin won't help you take revenge, so I will help you. Anyway, we're drifting around, and we don't care about having more debts. There's nothing to be afraid of. No matter which powerful figure it is, as long as you have the will, brother, I will take your enemy's head."

Hong Dingxian was stunned, then a strong sense of emotion welled up in his heart, greatly moved, bowing his head in worship: "Brother treats me like this, how can I not die for you? From now on, I will follow you, brother, and hold the whip and stirrups!"

"From now on, we are all brothers, no need to be so polite."

Zhou Jing smiled, helping Hong Dingxian up, and the group strode away.

…

Not many days later, a earth-shattering rumor spread throughout Luhe.

The Life-Reaping Yama Chen Feng, who had been silent for several months, had actually reappeared, directly subduing the ten-thousand-man strongholds of Tiger Head Mountain and Yellow Swamp Mountain in the Luhe area, just to repay Red Cloud Mountain's kindness in taking him in!

And after the matter was accomplished, this person didn't linger on the merits, handing over the spoils of war to Red Cloud Mountain, and directly left in a dashing manner!

The Green Forest heroes and martial world figures in the Luhe area all knew about this matter, praising it without exception, directly calling Chen Feng loyal to a fault and incomparably heroic.

Going alone, not counting merit or fame—such a generous act, for a time, taught countless Green Forest heroes to be convinced and admire him, with countless admirers.

In addition, the Green Forest path also found out about Chen Feng's process of subduing Tiger Head Mountain and Yellow Swamp Mountain, and they were all shocked, all horrified by Chen Feng's courage. Some even shouted the title of "Number One Expert in the Green Forest".

His fame became more and more prominent!

At the same time, Chen Feng's feat of "single-handedly pacifying two mountains", as it was spread by the world, spread towards the surrounding provinces, becoming more and more widespread, with the potential to sweep the Green Forest of the world!