Night had fallen. Inside the gates of Clearwind Stronghold, a roaring bonfire blazed in the open yard.
The old, weak, sick, and crippled bandits of Clearwind Stronghold sat in a circle around the fire, every gaze glued greedily to the roast chicken and rabbit in Shawn’s hands. The wild game, nearly golden and crisp, was wafting out an irresistible aroma.
A moment later, Shawn evenly brushed spices over the wild chicken and rabbit. Instantly, the scent grew even richer—everyone couldn’t help but swallow, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.
"Alright, go ahead and split these up!"
Shawn handed the freshly roasted chicken and rabbit to Sam Wu and Old Stick to divvy up among the group, then picked up another rabbit and chicken to keep grilling.
Technically, the chief hadn’t eaten yet—shouldn’t the underlings wait for him to start?
But who could resist? The chicken and rabbit the chief roasted smelled way too good, so the first two birds vanished in a flash. Soon, everyone’s eyes were locked on the next batch in Shawn’s hands.
Among those hungry eyes was Lily Qi’s.
Watching Shawn flip the chicken and rabbit so skillfully, Lily’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Not only was this guy crazy strong, his cooking was also out of this world. Suddenly, being stuck here as the fire maid didn’t seem so bad.
Two hours later.
Everyone was patting their bellies, totally stuffed. Still, the chief’s cooking was just too delicious—even now, they couldn’t help but crave more.
Suddenly, Sam Wu asked in a serious tone, "Chief, how are you planning to handle Black Tiger Stronghold’s people?"
Back when Victor Steele was alive, Black Tiger Stronghold and Clearwind Stronghold were evenly matched—each had over fifty tough, battle-ready fighters.
But after Victor Steele died, most of Clearwind’s best fighters defected to Black Tiger. Now, Black Tiger Stronghold has at least eighty good men.
Black Tiger’s chief is Victor Black, a peak third-rate martial artist.
In terms of pure strength, he’s not as good as Victor Steele.
But Victor Black has a younger brother, Liu Heizi, who’s also a third-rate fighter. The two of them together could barely hold their own against Victor Steele.
"It’s just Black Tiger Stronghold, right? Relax—if they dare show up tomorrow, I’ll make them crawl away!" Shawn said coldly. He might only be borrowing Shawn Steele’s identity, but he was determined to settle the score for the broken limbs Black Tiger gave him.
Sam Wu didn’t quite buy Shawn’s confident words. After all, Black Tiger had two real third-rate experts.
Shawn didn’t bother explaining. He chatted a bit more with everyone, then sent them off to rest.
Back in his own room.
Shawn didn’t sleep. Even though he’d merged with Shawn Steele’s memories, Shawn had grown up in the stronghold and knew little about the wider world.
So to Shawn, this world still felt completely foreign.
All he really knew was that the Blackwind Mountains were somewhere in Yue Prefecture.
Early the next morning, Shawn got up before dawn and headed out to the yard to practice his fist techniques.
The form he practiced wasn’t anything advanced—it was mostly just to stretch his body.
When he finished, Sam Wu—still limping on his bad leg—stared at him, eyes shining. "Chief, what’s that fist style called?"
Shawn grinned. "Subduing Tiger Fist."
"Did the old chief teach you that?" Sam Wu asked again.
"Nope!" Shawn shook his head. "Sam, do you want to know how my injuries suddenly healed and my cultivation shot up overnight?"
"Of course!" Sam Wu nodded eagerly.
Shawn lowered his voice. "Actually, a real expert healed my injuries. He said I’m a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy, so after fixing me up, he even taught me a bunch of new skills!"
Sam Wu’s eyes practically glowed with envy when he heard that. He quickly flattered Ian: "Congrats, Chief! Unifying the Blackwind Mountains is just around the corner!"
Sam Wu’s eyes practically glowed with envy when he heard that. He quickly flattered Shawn: "Congrats, Chief! Unifying the Blackwind Mountains is just around the corner!"
Shawn scoffed, "Heh, unifying the Blackwind Mountains is nothing. My real dream is to turn Clearwind Stronghold into the number-one bandit lair in the world."
Ian switched topics. "By the way, Sam, I remember Old Stick manages the stronghold’s grain, right?"
"That’s right," Sam Wu nodded.
Shawn switched topics. "By the way, Sam, I remember Old Stick manages the stronghold’s grain, right?"
"On it!"
Old Stick hurried over in no time. "Chief, you called?"
"Here, take this. Go with Bull and buy some rice from the county!" Shawn tossed Old Stick a silver note worth a hundred taels.
"Silver!"
Seeing Shawn pull out so much silver at once, Old Stick’s eyes practically turned green with excitement.
"Don’t just stand there! Hurry up—everyone’s waiting for you to bring rice so we can cook!" Shawn urged.
"Yes, yes, I’m on it!" Old Stick grabbed the silver, called for Bull and a one-armed middle-aged bandit, and headed down the mountain to buy grain. All the while, he wondered where the chief had conjured up so much money.
But Old Stick hadn’t been gone long before he rushed back in a panic.
"Chief, bad news! Black Tiger Stronghold’s men are coming!" Old Stick panted.
"No worries. Gather everyone—I want the whole crew to watch how I deal with these bastards!" Shawn said, full of confidence.
"Chief, don’t take this lightly! I saw Victor Black himself leading the team this time!" Old Stick warned.
"Even better! I’ll take him out first, then go capture Black Tiger Stronghold!" Shawn declared, still brimming with confidence.
Seeing Shawn so confident, Old Stick didn’t say anything more—he just sighed to himself.
Soon, everyone in the stronghold gathered in the yard out front. Including Ian and the newly recruited fire maid Lily Qi, there were fifteen people in total.
Soon, everyone in the stronghold gathered in the yard out front. Including Shawn and the newly recruited fire maid Lily Qi, there were fifteen people in total.
No doubt about it—this was Victor Black, chief of Black Tiger Stronghold.
Victor Black swept his gaze disdainfully over Clearwind’s old, weak, sick, and crippled, then fixed his eyes on Ian, mocking, "Well, nephew! Didn’t expect you to heal up so fast!"
Victor Black swept his gaze disdainfully over Clearwind’s old, weak, sick, and crippled, then fixed his eyes on Shawn, mocking, "Well, nephew! Didn’t expect you to heal up so fast!"
"Who are you calling nephew?" Shawn replied.
A mischievous grin appeared on Ian’s face. "You may be a bit old and ugly, but if you insist on calling me uncle, I’ll let it slide. Nephew, let’s hear you call me uncle!"
A mischievous grin appeared on Shawn’s face. "You may be a bit old and ugly, but if you insist on calling me uncle, I’ll let it slide. Nephew, let’s hear you call me uncle!"
"Chief, you don’t need to bother with a small fry like him. Let me handle it!" Suddenly, a bandit with slanted eyes stepped forward, eager to impress Victor Black.
Seeing the slanted-eyed bandit, Victor Black’s eyes lit up. He clapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Mark Ma, if you kill that kid, I’ll make you a squad leader!"