CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 56: FOURTH CHIEF ASCENDS

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." The boss stopped the two of them, then said, "Third brother, you also stop refusing. Brother Lou is a hero; I think it’s time for us at Sunset Mountain to add a fourth chair."

He looked at Lou Yi: "I just don’t know, is Brother Lou willing?"

Thoughts flashed through Lou Yi’s mind, but seeing the expectant look in Zhu Darui’s eyes, he slowly nodded: "Thank the boss for looking favorably upon me."

"Still calling me boss?" The boss feigned anger.

"Thank you, big brother, for your high regard!" Lou Yi suppressed the awkwardness in his heart, "I also ask all my brothers to take care of me in the future."

"No problem at all! We’ll work together to develop and strengthen the village, so those people in Tai City can only watch with envy, hahahaha!" The boss spoke grandly, painting a promising picture for everyone.

The second leader’s face was sullen, and he said nothing.

During the conversation, Lou Yi learned the names of the two leaders.

The boss was named Xu Xi, and the second leader was Wu Yiping.

Afterwards, Lou Yi and Zhu Darui led the thirty or forty prisoners back up the mountain.

Among them were bandits who were originally here and prisoners who had never been on the mountain, officially settling into Sunset Mountain.

Because Lou Yi and his group arrived suddenly, the mountain had not cleared rooms.

Everyone had to squeeze into one room with Zhu Darui’s original subordinates and get through the night.

The next day, a middle-aged man wearing a Daoist robe, similar in temperament to the old Daoist, came looking for Lou Yi and said, "Fourth leader, your place is ready, it’s just..."

Seeing his flickering gaze, Lou Yi had a bad premonition and asked, "Just what?"

"The conditions there are a bit poor, but I have spoken with my master, and he said he will soon add supplies for you."

Lou Yi frowned, and when he followed the middle-aged Daoist to the assigned place, his face sank.

The grey and damaged wooden door was covered with spider webs everywhere.

The inside of the house was even worse, with dust blowing in his face as soon as he stepped in, and rats scurrying away with a ’whoosh.’

"Time was too tight, and the cleaning wasn’t thorough. Forgive us, fourth leader..." the middle-aged Daoist said awkwardly upon seeing such a mess.

"No worries, I’ll have my men clean it up."

After the middle-aged Daoist left, Lou Yi had his subordinates start cleaning the house.

His subordinates were almost all criminals from Xinxiang Prison.

Among them were people who had committed theft, harmed others, or were caught for adultery with a sister-in-law... a motley crew.

But since they came to Sunset Mountain with Lou Yi, he naturally turned a blind eye, as these people were considered his foundation.

Treated with such discrimination by the locals of Sunset Mountain, these prisoners all cursed under their breath, each one fuming with anger.

"Damn it, bullying us because we just got here, huh?"

"I’ll swallow this anger for now, but in the future, I’ll make that bastard pay!"

Of course, they feared Lou Yi and dared not disobey his orders, but they kept complaining.

After a while of cleaning, Zhu Darui arrived. Upon seeing the situation, he was furious.

"How dare that old bastard treat us like this! Fourth brother, wait here; I’m going to find our big brother!"

"Hey, third brother, we just got here; it’s better not to complicate things." Lou Yi stopped Zhu Darui and continued, "This place just needs some cleaning to be livable, and the location is not bad, close to the back mountain, convenient for hunting."

Hearing Lou Yi’s words, Zhu Darui’s anger subsided somewhat, and he grudgingly said, "It must be that fake Daoist causing trouble; let’s let him off this once!"

He looked around: "These houses on the mountain were left by those before us, and big brother brought us over to take them directly.

I see there are many empty houses, why don’t I also bring people over?

That way we don’t have to see that bird Daoist and his lackeys every day, avoiding the sight eases the mind."

"Sounds great." Lou Yi smiled.

Zhu Darui was willing to bring people over, showing that he stood with him.

The two of them banding together made it easier to survive on this chaotic mountain.

Zhu Darui acted quickly, bringing over a group of loyal followers by night, about fifty or sixty people.

Adding Lou Yi’s subordinates, there were nearly a hundred people, accounting for almost half of the bandits on Sunset Mountain.

On the other side, where the boss Xu Xi was.

The old Daoist Wu Yiping hurriedly came over to report the matter to him.

"Big brother, third brother’s mind is restless. What does he plan to do, establish a separate power?"

"I understand third brother’s frustration, especially since I had him go on a suicide mission before..."

"After all we’ve been through together, how could it be so simple? In my view, it’s that new guy Lou Yi stirring up trouble, probably wanting to usurp the place..."

Hearing this, Xu Xi’s face suddenly darkened.

...

...

"Do you know what you’re saying? The Breathing Technique is the boss’s family treasure, even if passed on to future generations, it’s passed to male heirs, not female, and you actually want the boss to pass it to you?"

"I don’t care, back then I risked my life for the boss, and he said as long as I survived, he would agree to anything, isn’t that right?"

"That doesn’t mean you can bring the Breathing Technique into it; such a valuable thing isn’t child’s play."

"The Breathing Technique is valuable, but isn’t my life equally valuable, and doesn’t the boss’s promise count anymore?"

Sunset Mountain, Hall of Unity.

It was located in a huge hollowed-out cave.

On the rough grey-white cave walls, there were black oil lamps burning every few steps.

Embedded in the top of the cave, which was about ten feet high, were many translucent fluorites emitting a faint white light, making the visibility in the cave quite good.

At this moment, the bearded Zhu Darui and the old Daoist Wu Yiping were arguing fiercely in the hall, their faces red from anger.

Sitting at the head, the bald-headed Xu Xi wore a displeased expression.

He occasionally glanced at Lou Yi, but the latter’s face remained calm, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

"Enough, stop arguing, and don’t mention the Breathing Technique anymore. Besides, at your age, you can’t learn it, find another condition." Xu Xi’s face looked displeased, and he loudly stopped the two from arguing.

"Big brother! Didn’t you say back then that any condition was fine..." Zhu Darui still wanted to argue, but seeing Xu Xi’s sullen expression, his voice gradually dimmed, "Fine, I’ll think about it later."

Hearing this, Lou Yi felt a pang of regret but didn’t show it at all.

Zhu Darui’s request for the Breathing Technique from Xu Xi was, of course, to fulfill his promise to Lou Yi.

Lou Yi naturally craved the Breathing Technique, as the pressure of life expectancy began to manifest as his strength increased.

Even if he continued to practice martial arts and increase his strength, his lifespan could not be extended, and he could only live until fifty-five, so what meaning would there be in being invincible in the world?

And the Breathing Technique might greatly extend his lifespan.

Forget it, be patient and wait for the opportunity. Lou Yi thought to himself.

Sitting on the tiger-skin seat at the top, Xu Xi turned to discuss another matter.

"The grain storage on the mountain is depleting, winter is approaching, we must approach those fat merchants for grain.

But the past two years have had little rainfall, and life is tough, those merchants may not be willing to cooperate."

"Fourth brother, are you willing to lead a team on this task?"

Lou Yi felt a stir in his heart, not expecting Xu Xi to point him out.

...