Volume One, Chapter 8: First Encounter with Ningxia

“Hand over the warehouse key, and I might consider letting you off,” the scar-faced middle-aged man leading the group surrounding Jiang Feishang spoke slowly.

Without hesitation, Jiang Feishang shouted loudly, “You think you’re worthy of stealing from the village chief?”

Jiang Feishang had been standing off against this group for some time now. If he weren’t worried about causing trouble for Lin Xuan, he would have acted long ago.

But what puzzled Jiang Feishang was why these people had yet to make a move.

Judging from the aura exuded by the scar-faced man, he was likely a martial artist like himself.

Plus, the man had brought so many followers. Jiang Feishang was very curious—what exactly was this guy waiting for?

“Feishang, what’s going on? Who are these people?” Lin Xuan and Huang Sheng approached just as Jiang Feishang was pondering.

Lin Xuan observed the tense atmosphere on both sides and was curious about the situation, so he asked Jiang Feishang.

“Village chief, these people want to steal our iron mine!”

Lin Xuan was momentarily stunned by the response, then realized: by the gods, he was facing bandits!

Frowning, Lin Xuan turned to look at the group and spoke in a low, stern voice, “So it’s you who want to seize my iron mine?”

[Name: Luo Hongyu] Age: 35
[Territory]: Dayan Village
[Quality]: Two Stars
[Profession]: Military Commander
[Strength]: 76
[Leadership]: 53
[Politics]: 45
[Weapon]: None
[Mount]: None

At that moment, as Lin Xuan’s gaze fixed on the scar-faced man, his virtual panel reacted.

Reading the information displayed, Lin Xuan was taken aback.

“The virtual panel can actually reveal this person’s details!” Lin Xuan was genuinely shocked.

Back in Jiyin City yesterday, Lin Xuan had attempted to scan many people, including Chu Xiaobai.

Yet, without exception, he could not access the attribute panels of any of the locals—neither Chu Xiaobai nor the blacksmith Liu.

But now, he could see the information of this scar-faced man clearly on the panel!

“Belonging to Dayan Village… Could it be… this guy, like Feishang, is a military commander recruited by some lord? The virtual panel simply can’t detect the attributes of the indigenous people in this world.”

Lin Xuan speculated.

The next moment, a woman about twenty years old suddenly stepped out from behind the crowd, followed closely by a youth wearing garments made from animal skins, with a beast’s tooth pendant hanging around his neck.

The woman approached and stopped beside the scar-faced man.

The youth with the tooth pendant halted behind her.

Ningxia turned to Luo Hongyu and asked, “Uncle Luo, didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on the blacksmith’s shop? How did you end up here?”

“And Uncle Luo, next time you send someone to find me, can you not bring Xiaowu? That guy stammers so much I never know what he’s trying to say!”

Ningxia cast a helpless glance backward at Hong Xiaowu.

“Understood, Village Chief,” Luo Hongyu nodded, then leaned in to whisper something to Ningxia.

After hearing Luo’s words, Ningxia finally understood why he had brought the villagers here.

But she felt that what Luo said sounded a bit unreliable. “Uncle Luo, are you sure this won’t attract the authorities?”

“Village Chief, you must understand: whether we steal or rob, no matter the amount, the government will notice.”

“In that case, we might as well go all out! After today, we don’t plan to come back to Jiyin City,” Luo Hongyu expressed his opinion.

Ultimately, the decision was Ningxia’s, which was why she had yet to order an attack on Jiang Feishang and why Hong Xiaowu was sent to call her.

“Uncle Luo, you’re right! If we’re going to do it, let’s go big!” Ningxia made up her mind and looked at the three across from her.

However, when her gaze landed on Jiang Feishang, and she saw his attribute panel materialize before her eyes, she widened them in surprise.

[Name: Jiang Feishang] Age: 25
[Territory]: Lin Family Village
[Quality]: Three Stars
[Profession]: Military Commander
[Strength]: 90
[Leadership]: 81
[Politics]: 65
[Weapon]: None
[Mount]: None

Staring at Jiang Feishang’s panel, Ningxia rubbed her eyes in disbelief. When she opened them again, the panel was still there.

She quickly glanced at Huang Sheng and Lin Xuan beside Jiang Feishang.

[Name: Huang Sheng] Age: 26
[Territory]: Lin Family Village
[Strength]: 60
[Intelligence]: 57
[Leadership]: 33
[Politics]: 34

She couldn’t check Lin Xuan’s info since his panel hadn’t activated yet, but Huang Sheng’s was visible.

Looking at Jiang Feishang’s staggering ninety points of strength and Huang Sheng’s sixty points—higher than any other villager’s, including Hong Xiaowu’s—Ningxia was stunned.

Good heavens!

Ningxia turned to Luo Hongyu and rolled her eyes.

Inwardly, she grumbled, “My dear Uncle Luo, you really know how to pick your men! Are we here to rob them or to be slaughtered?”

“This won’t work! We can’t pull this off!”

Just after greeting Luo Hongyu and signaling him not to attack Jiang Feishang’s group, Ningxia saw Lin Xuan leading Jiang Feishang and Huang Sheng toward her.

“Hello, beautiful lady! Let me introduce myself: I’m Lin Xuan, and these two are villagers from my territory. You must be their lord, right?”

Lin Xuan gestured toward Luo Hongyu and the dozen or so people behind him.

“Uh… hello! I’m Ningxia!” Hesitant but polite, Ningxia finally extended her hand to shake Lin Xuan’s.

“Uh… can you let go now?”

“Don’t be in such a rush, beautiful! I’m sure you’ve grasped the situation just now. Since that’s settled, let’s talk about compensation!”

Lin Xuan smiled warmly at the lovely young lady before him.

He swore he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her—just a friendly handshake, nothing more. Or, well… maybe he was.

After all, if he wanted to demand more compensation later, he couldn’t let her get away. He had to hold on tight!