Chapter 15: Claiming the Mountain as One's Own

Ling Ruoxi leaped onto the carriage and spotted a glittering piece of silver under the wooden chair. If she wasn't mistaken, Xiaobai had likely been abducted.

"Young Miss, I will go to the local government office immediately to ask for help."

"No need." Ling Ruoxi suddenly smiled. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, which meant her son had either been drugged and carried off, or he had left with the kidnappers of his own volition.

"Ling Xiaobai, have you grown the guts of a lion or a leopard?" She tucked the silver into her robes with a backhand motion and sat down elegantly. "We will settle in a nearby town; there is no need to alert the authorities."

If her guess was correct, the ones who had fished in troubled waters to take Xiaobai away were likely from the Black Wind Stronghold.

Inferior smoke bombs were hardly the tools of a professional assassin.

Zhuyi looked completely bewildered, unable to fathom what this Young Miss, who had been away for six years, was thinking at this very moment.

The young master had been kidnapped, so why wasn't she the least bit anxious?

Meanwhile, in a private room at an inn in Sunset City, Yun Jingchen was draped in red, lazily leaning against the carved window frame. His waterfall-like black hair was loosely tied with a silver crown, and the silky strands fell naturally over his chest, obscuring the glimpse of skin revealed by his loose collar.

"Young Master, your subordinate has already located the base of the Black Wind Stronghold. It is in the deep mountains a thousand miles from here. For years, this stronghold has been burning, killing, and looting throughout the borderlands, committing every evil imaginable. Our clan's caravan was also hijacked by them. Furthermore, on the road, I heard that a few days ago, the Black Wind Stronghold ransacked a village and abducted many young women. Please issue the order, Young Master, to crusade against the Black Wind Stronghold." Yun Xu knelt on one knee, his face showing a hint of cold fury.

The Yun Clan’s businesses spanned the entire continent, and for years, there had never been an incident where their goods were stolen. Now that the Young Master was about to take over as the clan head, such an accident had occurred; there was no guarantee the clan elders wouldn't seize the opportunity to hold him accountable. He would never allow anyone to damage the Young Master's reputation.

The Black Wind Stronghold must be eradicated!

"Hmm, daring to rob this master's belongings—tell me, are the people of this Black Wind Stronghold truly audacious, or are they just tired of living?" Yun Jingchen laughed with wicked indulgence. "We depart for the Black Wind Stronghold immediately. Not only will I reclaim the silver, but I shall also rid the world of evil and support the weak."

The hard lines of Yun Xu's face twitched for a moment. The Young Master clearly just found the Yun Clan's life too boring and had found some amusement, yet he insisted on doing it under the banner of justice...

"What, do you think I am wrong?" Yun Jingchen’s enchanting face held a glimmer of mockery, looking very much like he would send Yun Xu to the desert to reclaim land and transform the environment if he dared to nod.

Yun Xu decisively shook his head: "No, the Young Master is absolutely right. I will go and prepare at once."

"Go." Yun Jingchen waved his hand, letting him off, and slowly stood up from the window frame. The bright sunlight enveloped his tall, upright figure, radiating brilliance: "I am going to wander around the city."

Perhaps he might even run into one or two beautiful maidens.

As the evening breeze blew, the Black Wind Stronghold, perched atop the deep mountains, was brightly lit. The chieftain watched with a pounding heart as the little milk-bun sat on a lounge chair like a pampered master, toying with a medicine bottle in his hand, cold sweat dripping down his face.

What kind of bad luck had he run into? He had thought he’d kidnapped a wealthy young master, someone he could use to avenge his brothers and extort a fortune, but he never expected this little child to poison them. It was a colorless and odorless poison that suppressed their profound energy, leaving the brothers in the entire stronghold weak in the limbs, like fish on a chopping block, forced to let him knead them as he pleased.

"Did you not hear my instructions? Bring the good wine and food quickly! And bring out all the evidence of the crimes you’ve committed while exploiting the common people over the years. I am going to rid the people of this scourge!" Ling Xiaobai held his head high, shouting proudly.

Mother said that those who dare to hurt him must pay a price in blood. He was so kind-hearted, how could he bear to hurt them? As long as he took some compensation, he would be satisfied.

"This little young master..." the chieftain stammered, only to be frozen in place by a sharp glare from Ling Xiaobai.

"Little young master? Let me tell you, this stronghold is mine now. You should call me Hero! Or Big Boss." Ling Xiaobai said righteously, not feeling in the slightest that taking advantage of a situation to seize someone else's territory was a shameless act.

"You!" The chieftain was so angry he could barely breathe. Ling Xiaobai made a move to throw the antidote in his hand onto the ground, and the chieftain hurriedly suppressed his anger and humiliation, licking his lips and smiling: "Big Boss."

"Good." Ling Xiaobai laughed with satisfaction. "Since you’ve called me Big Boss, you’ve acknowledged my status. Now, I order you to immediately bring out all the ill-gotten gains you’ve scraped together over the years as a tribute to me. Perhaps then I will consider handing over the antidote."