The summer rain poured down relentlessly. In the market outside the mountain valley, the accumulated mud and water had already submerged people's calves. Lou Shuwan sat in the tavern on the second floor of the market, watching the chaotic scene below.

Thunder, rain, curses, and clamor converged in this astonishing rain curtain. The rain washed all sorts of filth from above. In the shops at the bottom, people were busy blocking the water while trying to move the items in their rooms to the second floor of the market. Many beggars had nowhere to shelter from the rain, running through the sewage-filled streets. Some tried to enter people's shops but were kicked out by the shopkeepers wielding knives and sticks. Dirty men cursed on the street, while women with children could only hide nearby and cry.

The market was extremely crowded. Most of the horses that had come with the Jianghu people were also led up to the second and third floors of the market - the owners of these horses were likely to have some money or status. But there were still some with nowhere to go. In the heavy rain, one horse, probably unable to find shelter, stumbled and ran down from above along the sewage. A man chased after it in the sewage.

At the end of the market not far away, a large number of people were being organized to dig open the drainage ditches over there. The person in charge was a leader from Qingmu Stronghold. Earlier, he had led a team to knock on the doors of these merchants one by one, asking them to send people to help, either by hiring or by contributing their own labor. If they refused, they would be directly driven out of the market. A large group of people were now working frantically in the rain, and a long section had already been dug through.

Although she was sitting in the most expensive private room in the market, the surroundings were still noisy. People came and went in the corridors in the middle, and the sounds of hooves and the stench of horses occasionally drifted by. Curses and shouts were constant. Lou Shuwan sat on the side facing the street for a while, then heard someone behind her say, "Hey, girl, you're pretty good-looking. Where are you from? How much silver do you want?"

It was from the other side of a thin wooden partition. Someone had also leaned out to look down and saw her profile. Lou Shuwan's clothes were already as similar as possible to those of the Jianghu people here, but her appearance and temperament still stood out. The man assumed she was a girl from a nearby brothel and smiled, reaching out to grab her. Lou Shuwan dodged and said, "Don't reach out randomly. There are some people you can't afford to offend."

"Hey, who can't I afford to offend?"

The man laughed, leaning his upper body further out from the railing, trying to look into Lou Shuwan's small cubicle. Qiu Guyan, who had been sitting silently in the corner, stood up, glanced at the man, and then went out the door.

"Who is that..." The man waved his hand, then heard a chaotic sound from next door. Then, with a thud, Qiu Guyan threw the man down from the building, and he fell into the sewage in the street below.

"Damn! What the hell are you doing..." Standing up from the sewage, the man shouted in the rain, seemingly giving a name, and then shouting for a group of people to rush up from the side. Next door, Qiu Guyan led his men to block the stairs, and there was a chaotic fight. Amidst the chaos and screams, one person after another was beaten into the mud. As Lou Shuwan leaned on the railing watching this scene, Qiu Guyan had already returned and walked closer. "Miss Lou, be careful of them throwing hidden weapons." Lou Shuwan nodded and sat in a little further.

After a while, another commotion sounded. Someone came in from outside, it was Yu Yulin and a man in black. The two entered, chatting happily. As soon as the man in black saw Lou Shuwan, his eyes lit up obviously, but Yu Yulin then introduced, "Chieftain Chen, this is Military Advisor Lou, who is by the side of our Tiger King. Don't look at Miss Lou being a woman, but she's no less impressive than any man, and she's deeply trusted by the Tiger King. Many of the Tiger King's businesses are managed by Military Advisor Lou. Military Advisor, this is Chen Jiu, the second-in-charge of Chenjia Canal. Hero Chen is straightforward and a good friend to make."

"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you." Chen Jiu hesitated slightly, cupped his fist towards Lou Shuwan, glanced at Yu Yulin, and then said, "If it wasn't for General Yu's introduction, I wouldn't have known that such a heroine had come to Mount Lüliang. But... is this a place where we can talk?"

"It doesn't matter." Yu Yulin waved his hand, and a group of his subordinates began to drive people away in this wooden market, causing another burst of chaos.

Lou Shuwan also smiled and cupped her fist. "Hero Chen, nice to meet you. General Yu, please sit down too."

Chen Jiu walked to the opposite side, spread his hands, and waited for Yu Yulin to come over before sitting down. When he first saw Lou Shuwan, he thought she was a prostitute accompanying them, and his gaze was a little improper, but by this time, he had restrained himself. His words were heroic but not without a hint of shrewdness.

"Military Advisor Lou, right. Mount Lüliang is a dead place. We mountain people don't have much contact with the outside world, but I, Chen Jiu, still know the Tiger King's reputation and have always admired him very much. I, Chen Jiu, am very happy to have friends like General Yu and Miss Lou come over. But today, Miss Lou has summoned Chen here, and it doesn't seem as simple as just making friends, right?"

He had already said a lot to Yu Yulin before, so he didn't have many roundabout ideas at this time. Lou Shuwan got up and smiled, pouring him a cup of tea. "Hero Chen, you're too kind. When we were about to leave, the Tiger King said that the heroes of Mount Lüliang are all heroic and generous people. Other things can be skipped, but we must make friends. Therefore, meeting Brother Chen today is mainly about making friends. Unless Brother Chen looks down on me..."

She picked up her teacup and toasted him. Chen Jiu laughed, picked up his teacup, and said to Yu Yulin, "Your Military Advisor Lou really knows how to talk." Then he drank the tea in one gulp. "I've made this friend."

Lou Shuwan refilled his tea, her voice soft but not rambling. "Originally, when meeting Brother Chen, we should have prepared good wine and food, but unfortunately, I can't drink, so I can only prepare some tea."

"Hey, although we are mountain people, we don't drink all the time." Chen Jiu waved his hand. "Since everyone is friends, let's talk frankly. This time, General Yu and Military Advisor Lou have come here, and I'm sure they have the same purpose as those gathered at Qingmu Stronghold, right? But General Yu has been visiting the surrounding mountains these days. I'm a little confused as to what that's for. To be honest, if the Tiger King really wants to take over Lüliang, I, Chenjia Canal, am willing. But Chenjia Canal's battles with Little Bandit, Qiu Mengtang, haven't been just once or twice..."

Among the major forces in Mount Lüliang, the leader is currently Qingmu Stronghold. Outside of Qingmu Stronghold, there is Little Bandit Qiu Mengtang, "Black Skull King" Luan Sanlang, the Fang Yiyang brothers of the Fang family, and Chenjia Canal, led by "Chaotic Mountain King" Chen Zhenhai. The rest are scattered forces. Tian Hu has a great reputation in *******. In the early years, when he wanted to extend his reach into Mount Lüliang, many people were willing to submit, but because the economic pressure of taking these people was too great and the gains were not much, the Tiger King could only choose a portion of the people to support.

This time, multiple forces gathered at Qingmu Stronghold, and some mountain tops nearby also sent people to watch the excitement and inquire about the direction. People like the Qi family, the Wusheng Army, and Dong Pang'er have been negotiating with Qingmu Stronghold since they arrived. Only the Tiger King's men, who arrived at Qingmu Stronghold in the past two days, have been contacting the people on the nearby mountain bandit strongholds. Chen Jiu, as the second-in-command of Chenjia Canal, was a little confused about this. In the past, Tian Hu had always supported Qiu Mengtang. That was because taking in too many would be a loss. Now, even if it was to have chips to force Qingmu Stronghold, would the Tiger King have to take on the entire burden of Lüliang?

Everyone is a hungry wolf. Unless they are going to starve, no one wants to occupy a mountain and fight to the death. But if the Tiger King wants to trick people with a lie, everyone is the type to not release the hawk without seeing the rabbit, it's not that simple. With confusion in his mind, Yu Yulin came to find him today, but he didn't expect that the person in charge was a beautiful woman. After he asked his doubts, he saw the other side pouring tea while shaking her head.

"Brother Chen doesn't know, Little Bandit is already dead. His stronghold is now temporarily managed by us."

"Oh? So the Tiger King wants to..."

"I know what Brother Chen is thinking, but we don't want to."

Little Bandit Qiu Mengtang is dead. The Tiger King is contacting everyone again, possibly to support the next proxy. This is a natural conclusion. If that's the case, Chenjia Canal can try to fight for it. But before he could finish speaking, Lou Shuwan had already shaken her head with a smile. Chen Jiu straightened his body.

"Then what do you want..."

"I want to tell Brother Chen how Qiu Mengtang died."

"...How did he die?"

"Blood Bodhisattva killed him." Lou Shuwan said, "General Yu was also there on the day of the fight and had an exchange with Blood Bodhisattva. In front of hundreds of people, Blood Bodhisattva killed Qiu Mengtang and left without anyone daring to stop him. I don't know martial arts, so I can't explain it clearly. Brother Chen can ask General Yu."

The rain mixed with thunder sounded outside. Chen Jiu frowned and looked at Yu Yulin. Yu Yulin nodded and began to talk about the situation that night. After he finished, Chen Jiu looked at Lou Shuwan. "So what?" he said, "Blood Bodhisattva has great martial arts. There are few opponents in Lüliang. Everyone knew that when she killed the old Wolf Lord. Her master's martial arts were even higher, but he didn't die in the Liao army's formation many years ago. What does Miss Lou want to say?"

"Just to explain to everyone about the future of Mount Lüliang."

"Hmm... I understand." Chen Jiu thought for a while, looked at her, and laughed. After laughing like this for a while, "Miss Lou is saying that Blood Bodhisattva is so powerful, plus the momentum of Qingmu Stronghold, she will sweep through Mount Lüliang next, and we will all have no chance. Miss Lou, you're not being honest. When others come to Lüliang, they ask our brothers to help, and there's always some reward. But you want to get something for nothing..."

He finished speaking with a cold smile, pointed at Lou Shuwan. "Miss Lou, you really don't consider me a friend..." Then his expression turned cold, and he got up to leave.

Lou Shuwan listened to these words with a smile, her fingers supporting her in front of her. When the other party was about to leave, her face was also a cold smile, and she looked out the window. "Ignorant fool..."

Seeing that it was about to end on bad terms, Yu Yulin quickly got up to stop Chen Jiu.

******************

"Chieftain Chen, let's talk things out..."

"What's there to talk about!"

"At least listen to Military Advisor Lou finish her words..."

"There's nothing to say. General Yu, I think you trust women's strategies too much..."

Amidst the pushing and shoving at the door, Lou Shuwan sat aside with a cold smile. At this time, she stood up and showed a smile towards the other side. "Brother Chen, at least you should let me finish speaking, so that you won't wrongly accuse a good person. Don't you think so?" Her previous sentence "ignorant fool" was said without avoiding Chen Jiu at all. At this time, she spoke with a smile, changing her face, which seemed quite hypocritical. Chen Jiu laughed angrily and turned back to look at Lou Shuwan.

After a moment, he said, "Okay, what you say can't be any different from what I think, can it?"

He gnashed his teeth, walked back to his seat, and stared at Lou Shuwan. Yu Yulin walked back, his expression a little helpless.

"What I want to say is that Qingmu Stronghold is indeed about to sweep through Lüliang, and you're about to have no chance."

Chen Jiu spread his hands, his expression clearly saying, "So what? I don't care."

"But it's a little different from what Brother Chen thinks... completely different." She smiled. "I know what Brother Chen is thinking, a stronghold that has suddenly grown so big, a stronghold leader with great martial arts. It looks powerful, but Lüliang has always been a place where everyone takes turns being in charge. No one can only take advantage temporarily... Qiu Mengtang said this before he died. I remember it very clearly. Before coming to Qingmu Stronghold, I also thought it was like this, but after coming here, I found that this time is completely different."

In Chen Jiu's cold smile, Lou Shuwan said, "Because of the amnesty decree."

"Because the Privy Councilor Tan Zhen issued this amnesty decree, the situation in many places in the north has changed. And you are still watching the fun... After I came here, I found that all of you are watching the fun." The woman spoke calmly, her eyes calm. "Qingmu Stronghold has only a total of more than 6,000 people now. The number of outsiders gathering at Qingmu Stronghold this time - including us - has already exceeded a thousand, and everyone can fight. So now, it's so crowded inside and out. It seems that Qingmu Stronghold may not be able to hold the situation at any time, and you are all very happy. You all sent people over, waiting for something to go wrong. Then let me ask you, if nothing goes wrong, what will happen?"

"The big share of the amnesty quota, everyone is optimistic about Qingmu Stronghold. Why?" Lou Shuwan said, "Because they have mountain channels, because they are the biggest, and they can make money. Do you know how big the Qi family's business is in the south? How much money can they earn with one more customs clearance route? Qingmu Stronghold can help make money, what can you do? Except for me, except for the Tiger King, no one cares about you."

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by thunder. Lou Shuwan's face was calm as water, and her eyes looked at Chen Jiu.

"Next, if there are no accidents, they will accept the amnesty. After that, they are officials, and you are thieves. You may not look any different now, but I tell you, when Lüliang is full of thieves, it's one thing. When the biggest force in Lüliang is an official, and you are thieves, it's another matter..."

The woman's tone slowed down, and she stretched out her finger. "For military merit, they beat you; for wealth, they beat you; to put on a show, they beat you; and they can beat you even if they are in a bad mood today. That's the difference between officials and thieves. Once there is this difference, everyone is no longer talking about Jianghu morality. At that time, it will be a case of rise and fall. Now you are in the mountains, everyone will fight, and you will also talk about rules. At that time, there will only be fighting, and the rules can't be talked about..."

After a while, Lou Shuwan's tone became slower and more sarcastic. Chen Jiu frowned. "You say it is, is it?"

"Lüliang has been like this for so many years, it hasn't changed. I say it changes, does it change?" Lou Shuwan also laughed, then looked at him. "But this time it will change... Brother Chen, I have met several people this time. You are the first person to leave halfway. You are a smart person. So as long as you calm down, you will definitely be clearer that if Qingmu Stronghold becomes an official, and you are still bandits, what will happen. There is no need for me to say more, you will think of it."

"...Amnesty decree." Chen Jiu thought for a while and smiled. "Then we can also be officials."

Lou Shuwan also smiled. "Then Brother Chen should think about what it would be like to put a bunch of officials in Lüliang... You are a bandit, he may beat you when he is in a bad mood. If you are an official, he will have to beat you to death... Don't you think so?"

The friction between bandit strongholds is for profit, and in many cases, they can coexist. If it is really like the power struggles of officials outside, and it is placed in a place like Lüliang, then it will really be a situation of death or life. These things, as Lou Shuwan said, Chen Jiu, although he does not understand it deeply, can also imagine it. His face changed several times, Lou Shuwan's fingertips touched lightly, and she opened her mouth again.

"Either continue to be a mountain bandit, or find a way to accept the amnesty. Qingmu Stronghold is still a big official, you can only be small officials... These things are already obvious, but you are still very happy to watch the fun here. That's right, I came to Lüliang this time with the Tiger King's mission, to take some advantage back here. But after seeing your current situation, I can't help but feel chills in my heart. Do you think it's too much to judge you as ignorant and unwise?"

Chen Jiu's lips opened slightly, and after a moment, he said, "Then what can we do? Miss Lou, your so-called taking some advantage is just wanting us to cause trouble in Lüliang, to force and pressure them with this. You take our strength, and we are the ones who do the work, and we can't take much advantage. You want to send people around with empty words. How can I agree?"

"First, I don't want to cause trouble." Lou Shuwan took a breath. "Second, it's not time to cause trouble."

"What do you want? I can listen." In the sound of the rain, Chen Jiu was already expressionless. Although his tone was not good, at this time, he had already been moved. However, as a smart person, most things must be weighed before making a conclusion. After he finished speaking this sentence, Lou Shuwan nodded.

"It's only when the fish dies and the net breaks that we really need you to contribute. I am in charge of business under the Tiger King, and I am a businessman. Since it is business, it is nothing more than laying out the chips and then negotiating. Being able to develop Qingmu Stronghold to such a large scale, that Blood Bodhisattva should also be a negotiable opponent. This time when I came to Lüliang, like the Qi family, they look down on you. At any time, they do business with the largest forces. But in Lüliang, the forces that can really pose a threat to Qingmu Stronghold right now are still Brother Chen and 'Black Skull King' Luan Sanye. If everyone can join forces, Qingmu Stronghold will be afraid. Once they are afraid, they have to talk."

Chen Jiu thought for a while. "How do you want to talk?"

Lou Shuwan laughed, knowing that this sales pitch was almost done.

"The way to do things is actually very simple. The imperial court is very big and only does business with a group of people. Lüliang is so big that in the end it can only accommodate a group of people to eat spicy food and drink. In my opinion, Qingmu Stronghold would not be willing to completely submit to others. If they join forces with the Qi family or the Wusheng Army, they will be eaten clean. If they want to be safe, Qingmu Stronghold can only join forces with you, with Luan Sanye, with the Fang family brothers, etc. In my opinion, why not let Blood Bodhisattva be the boss, and you be the leaders, echoing the Tiger King in the south, and we can work together to make this road bigger. That way, my errand will be easier to handle..."

"To facilitate these things, I need everyone's support, and everyone also needs the Tiger King's face to help. I will try my best to ensure that everyone's power is not swallowed. To do this, a few things must be guaranteed: First, the share of each family on this road must be discussed clearly. After contacting everyone, I will discuss this with everyone; second, the alliance must be public, announced in Lüliang, and then everyone will be people of the imperial court; third, echoing the Tiger King in the north and south is much better than cooperating with others. The Tiger King is a Green Forest man. He does business through this road, but the control of this road is still in everyone's hands. We don't intervene much, but we can at least guarantee that everyone will not have internal strife. Blood Bodhisattva probably doesn't want to fight with everyone before fighting with the Tiger King..."

In the sound of thunder, the heavy rain was still pouring down. After coming out of the market, the sky was gloomy and dark. Lou Shuwan and others were arranged by Qingmu Stronghold to live in the inner stronghold. On the way back to the mountain, Yu Yulin was quite impressed by Lou Shuwan's performance in the past two days. Although the two worked together under the Tiger King, Yu Yulin was in charge of the army, and he didn't know much about Lou Shuwan's personal actions before.

Lou Shuwan and others came this time with the goal of promoting the alliance between the Tiger King and Qingmu Stronghold. However, Qingmu Stronghold is expanding rapidly now, and the Tiger King's deterrence here is obviously not enough. Even if the other side is willing to do business, they may not be able to take too much advantage. Before coming, the Tiger King was even willing to let Tian Shi marry into the family to ensure cooperation. However, after arriving at Qingmu Stronghold, Lou Shuwan obviously found a better way.

In two days, she had persuaded several envoys from the mountain tops - these people may not be able to represent their stronghold leaders, but at least in Yu Yulin's view, Lou Shuwan's words were very convincing. Once most of the Lüliang forces are united to pressure Qingmu Stronghold, and combined with the Tiger King's background, this trip to Lüliang will achieve very good results.

Like Ning Yi's previous plan for Qingmu Stronghold, although he made it a smuggling transit point, what he valued most was Hong Ti's control over the stronghold. Once the stronghold becomes a cooperation of several forces for profit, development may be rapid, but at the same time, the stronghold will also lose its combat power. Next, as long as the other party has interests, they can all participate. And Lou Shuwan's goal is to change Qingmu Stronghold from a monopoly to a multi-shareholding, and then when the Tiger King wants to enter, no one can refuse.

In theory, the current Qingmu Stronghold also doesn't dare to be enemies with the united others. As long as most people can be united, they can negotiate with that Blood Bodhisattva and force her to compromise... Thinking like this in her heart, she looked towards a courtyard on the hillside. The people from Zhuji were living there now. The residence of the two sides was actually not far apart.

They have all come to Qingmu Stronghold. The other party may also be active, and speaking of which, if they have the heart, the other party may have already seen her.

And for two days, the people she arranged to monitor the other side have not seen any signs of their actions, nor have they received too much news about their activities. Ning Yi... didn't even show up.

Where did you go, what are you doing... In the heavy rain, Lou Shuwan thought of these things, blinked her eyes, and breathed out a difficult breath.

I've already made my move, you saw it, right... If you saw it, don't pretend you didn't see it! What inner demons... How do you solve this game? I really want to see!

Biting her teeth, she walked forward in silence...

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