Xiang Tianjie’s expression turned solemn as he cupped his fists solemnly, “So it’s Brother Chen. We’ve also heard of your deeds of splitting the wealth of the Wu Family Village to the people recently and are very impressed. We didn’t expect to see you here. You’re indeed extraordinary.”
“No problem.” Zhou Jing was also polite.
Although he had just debuted in the Green Forest and was just a small fry compared to the other party, the people in the Green Forest would not neglect their etiquette. They had to show some manners.
Moreover, powerful people had always been respected by the Green Forest. To these leaders of the stronghold, destroying the Wu Village was a small matter. However, Zhou Jing’s feat of fighting against a hundred people alone showed his astonishing strength.
It was precisely because of this that the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were so surprised… They had been lying low in the state capital for many days and accidentally discovered such a fierce person in the southern area. They could not help but be interested in this strong man. In private, there were even people who sent out news to invite this person to join them.
Xiang Tianjie also had the intention to befriend Zhou Jing, but he was not familiar with Zhou Jing yet, he did not mention any sort of invite.
Because of the commotion, the group did not want to alarm the officials, so they quickly changed places to chat.
…
When everyone arrived at a quiet place, Xiang Tianjie and the others took off their human skin masks and came up to report their names to Zhou Jing.
These leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were all skilled in martial arts and were famous in the Northern area of Green Forest. However, after knowing Zhou Jing’s name, they did not dare to be careless and cupped their fists respectfully.
Only then did Xiang Tianjie mention the purpose of their visit.
“Brother Guo Haishen was imprisoned here because he offended a noble. We’ve been hiding here for many days, looking for an opportunity to save him. Because it’s quite important, we don’t dare to show our true faces.”
“I’m old friends with Brother Guo, and I’m also here for him.” Gao Yun added on, but then asked in confusion, “But since you have something important to do, why did Brother Shi Qing steal my money?”
Hearing this, the two groups turned to look at Shi Qing.
Shi Qing’s face immediately turned red as he stammered,
“I was asking around on the street and happened to see this man’s bulging bag, so I kept an eye out. Later on, when I saw him buying things in front of the stall and revealing his silver, my hands itched. I thought that no one here knew me, so I hid my face and wanted to make a fortune, but I didn’t expect…”
Hearing this, Xiang Tianjie was furious and cursed, “You thief, you almost ruined our plans!”
The leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were also unhappy at his confession.
They did not know the cause and effect, only rushing over to help after discovering Shi Qing’s distress signal. On the way, they roughly guessed that Shi Qing had been caught red-handed, but they could not help but get angry after hearing his explanation.
“Brothers, calm down. I know my mistake.” Shi Qing dejectedly mumbled.
Xiang Tianjie was helpless towards his apologetic look. He could only turn to Gao Yun and cup his hands in apology,
“Brother Gao, don’t take offense. This Brother Shi Qing hasn’t been in my village for long, so he doesn’t recognize your appearance. He was originally a thief on the streets, but later on, he became the disciple of an outlaw. Although he’s young, he has learned many Lightness Techniques like jumping on roofs and walking on walls, as well as the skill of changing his appearance.
His ability is extraordinary, but he can’t change his habit of stealing. His hands are always itchy and he wants to steal. I’ve said this to him many times, but he’s always back to his old ways and doesn’t think much of it. Today, it was his just desserts to bump into an expert, so this can also be a lesson.”
“I see… If not for Brother Shi Qing, we wouldn’t have been able to meet. Brother Xiang, don’t blame him.”
No matter what Gao Yun thought, he still gave the other party a way out.
In fact, in the Green Forest, the status of thieves was not high. Most of the Green Forest people did not like them. The underworld occasionally called them “Hidden Ones”, “Little Thieves”, and “Bundlers”. There was a certain amount of disdain in their tone.
Zhou Jing watched from the side as Shi Qing was reprimanded.
Most of these people in the Green Forest came from poor backgrounds and were all rough and crude. They might have some bad habits, such as alcohol addiction, greed, bad temper, and so on.
Even if they had important matters to attend to, it was difficult to expect them to be completely obedient. Many of them were unstable factors.
At this moment, Gao Yun spoke out,
“The leaders have been investigating here for many days. Can I ask what’s happening with Guo Haishen now?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold turned furious.
Xiang Tianjie’s chest heaved as he spoke angrily,
“Brother, you might not know this, but although this An Lin Prefecture looks prosperous, the officials and merchants have colluded together to plunder the wealth of the people. Many merchants and officials often do business with each other and often engage in inferior backroom deals. Not only do the locals suffer, but some passing merchants are also harmed.
Even if they report it to the officials, it will be left unsettled. The entire place has long been arranged by these local merchants, and there’s no way to sue them at all.
Moreover, the local merchants stock up on food all year round and only care about maintaining high food prices. If there’s excess food, they’d rather sell it to other state boundaries than provide it to the locals…”
“This is clearly a rich place in the south, with the harbor and fisheries, but ordinary people have no choice but to spend more money to survive. Even if there’s some excess money floating around, it will usually go into the pockets of those major grain merchants.
This group of profiteers have their mouths full. They have money to expand their industries, and their roots are intertwined. There are still many black-hearted transactions behind the scenes, and it’s difficult to explain them with words.”
“How hateful!”
When Fang Zhen heard this, he was furious.
Gao Yun was also dissatisfied. He frowned and said, “The south is indeed a rich place. Even after they have plundered like this, the people can still survive… If we go to a place in the north with poor grain production, if we dare to do this, the people there will definitely start a mutiny!”
Xiang Tianjie sighed before he continued explaining the situation.