The Second Master was starting to lose his composure as well.

Although he’d already planned that if it really came to it, he and the chief would go down personally, if it actually ended up with the two of them taking the field, winning wouldn’t be very glorious—after all, those were still just two kids.

If they lost—

From then on, he feared the brothers of Niu Tou Mountain would be beyond their control.

There aren’t many bandits who are easy to get along with.

Originally he’d never been any sort of jianghu master, just a boy from an ordinary family who, after some bad blood with someone, lost his temper and killed the man in a fit of rage, then had to run off and turn bandit.

He’d become Second Master because he’d read a bit as a child, had some brains, and was ruthless enough.

Only after coming up to Niu Tou Mountain did he start training in martial arts; he knew that in a place like Niu Tou Mountain, if you want to rise, you need brains, ruthlessness, and strength—none can be lacking.

At this moment, Master Ming, standing beside the Second Master, looked down toward the mountain road; the chief was still nowhere in sight.

Master Ming said quietly, "What do we do? Just keep waiting like this?"

The Second Master snapped, "What else can we do if we don’t wait?"

Qi Er and You Er, seeing that no one had come down for so long, didn’t rush them. They simply sat on the ground to recover their strength.

The Second Master’s face grew darker and darker. It was supposed to be a wheel battle, but the chain had come off halfway; once these two youngsters had fully recovered, they’d have even less of an advantage.

Just then someone suddenly spoke up: "Second Master, no one’s going up anymore?"

"If no one’s going, I’ll go!"

The Second Master’s mouth twitched. He’d just opened his mouth to say something when another voice chimed in, "Count me in!"

"Damn it, I don’t believe it. You telling me we can’t even beat two brats?"

Right at that moment, the man the Second Master had sent to fetch the chief came running back, panting as he said, "The chief says, for this kind of thing Second Master can decide as you see fit, he’s not getting involved."

The Second Master hesitated for a moment. With the chief not coming, he himself was even less willing to go down in person. After thinking it over, he said to the two who had volunteered, "Fine, you two go down and fight."

"Take it seriously—this concerns ten thousand taels of Silver." More importantly, it concerned the face of Niu Tou Mountain.

The two of them dashed down the mountain at top speed. You Er and Qi Er stood up, patted the dust off their clothes, took their stances, and braced themselves for battle.

The bandits all over the mountain were howling, whistling, clapping—cheering the two on.

The pair rushed over in one breath.

In Qi Er and You Er’s eyes, the two men were covered in openings. At the very first exchange, one of them took a punch from Qi Er and staggered back several steps. Qi Er followed up with another punch, and the man went straight down.

The other one was simply sent flying by a kick from You Er.

The bandits on the mountain fell silent in an instant.

Qi Er and You Er cupped their fists. "Thanks for letting us win."

"We’ve fought, now we can go, right?"

The Second Master and Master Ming exchanged a look but did not speak.

Four trusted aides went to move the rolling logs.

The rolling logs had just been shifted aside, and You Er and Qi Er were about to mount their horses when suddenly someone on the mountain shouted, "Damn it, there’s no such thing as this kind of logic! We’re bandits—since when do bandits talk about rules and credit? We’re here to kill people and take their money!"

For a moment the whole mountain seethed with agitation, but since the Second Master hadn’t given the word, no one rushed down yet.

Qi Er and You Er both put their hands on their knife hilts. If they really couldn’t leave today, then they could only have a good, bloody fight.

Just then a long howl suddenly rang out from within the forest, so loud it drowned out all the uproar on the mountain.

The Second Master frowned. "Who is it?"

The profound internal strength in that howl— even the chief didn’t have that level of power.

From somewhere in the mountains came a voice full of breath: "Even thieves have their code. If the bandits of Niu Tou Mountain can’t keep their word, once this spreads, will you few leaders of Niu Tou Mountain still have any face to stand in the jianghu?"