Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 33 Wolf Fang Thieves

Traveling southwest for more than a hundred miles from Wangdu County, one can see a range of green mountains rising abruptly from the ground, stretching across the boundary between the plains and the mountains.

This is Langya Mountain.

This mountain is extremely steep, with peaks resembling interlocking wolf teeth, hence its name.

The main peak is not very high, but the terrain is steep, with sheer cliffs on all sides, and only a narrow path leads to the top.

The mountain ridge is covered with jagged rocks, their color a bluish-black, which from a distance look like a row of ferocious fangs baring towards the sky.

The mountainside is covered with dense pine and cypress trees, their old trunks and gnarled branches blocking out the sun. The forest is perpetually shrouded in darkness and has a gloomy atmosphere.

The mountain wind, as it whistles through the pines, sounds like something crying in the mountains.

Such a place is naturally the perfect choice for a strongman to take refuge in.

For the past year or so, the most troublesome thing in Zhongshan County has been a group of strongmen who have been entrenched on Langya Mountain.

They robbed merchants and wealthy servants who came to the countryside to collect rent.

The county sent troops to suppress the rebellion, but the mountain was too steep, and the soldiers were helpless when they reached the foot of the mountain.

The strongmen, positioned on higher ground, hurled logs and stones down upon the soldiers, who left behind dozens of corpses before retreating in disarray.

The prefect could only turn a blind eye.

Anyway, the other side only robbed ordinary people and didn't touch the powerful and wealthy families, so it didn't cause much of a commotion.

This gang of bandits called themselves the "Wolf Fang Bandits" and had two leaders.

The chief leader called himself "Black Wolf," and the second chief leader called himself "Grey Wolf."

Every time they went out to do something, these two would wear a wolf head mask, so few people knew their true faces.

Why be so cautious?

This is because both the "Black Wolf" and the "Gray Wolf" are locals, and both come from prominent local clans.

Black Wolf's real name is Wang Ying, and Gray Wolf's real name is Wang Xiong. They are two brothers from the Wang family of Wangdu County, Zhongshan Prefecture.

They had an older brother, Wang Zhen, the county magistrate of Wangdu County who accepted two hundred bolts of silk from the Guo family and patted his chest, saying, "It's guaranteed to be fine."

Wolf Fang Mountain Stronghold, Hall of Gathering Righteousness.

The hall was not large, with a tiger-skin armchair placed in the center. Behind the armchair on the wall hung a painting of wolves howling at the moon, which was more than four meters long and very imposing.

Several chairs were placed on each side of the hall, with the chair cushions made of whole wolf skins, and the tails hanging down in front of the chairs, their fur glossy black.

Wang Ying sat on the tiger-skin chair, holding a silk scroll in his hand. He read it over and over again, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

He was a strong, robust man, around thirty-one or thirty-two years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, high cheekbones, and a short mustache around his chin. He didn't look particularly fierce.

But those eyes were too lively, constantly darting around, making it clear at a glance that he was a cunning person.

He wore a worn black brocade robe, with a leather belt studded with copper nails around his waist, from which hung two short knives.

"My elder brother said," Wang Ying handed the silk scroll aside, his smile barely concealed, "that we should pull off a few more big heists. He'll then petition the prefect to send troops to 'annihilate' us."

He emphasized the word "annihilate" with particular force, and then chuckled.

Sitting to his left was Wang Xiong, who was half a head shorter than his brother, but much broader in stature, with a broad back and thick waist, and very strong arms.

His face was dark, his triangular eyes protruded slightly, and his chin was covered with a thick beard, each hair as sharp as a needle, making him look exactly like a black-faced demon, extremely fierce.

Wang Xiong took the silk scroll, glanced at it briefly, and muttered, "Brother is always cautious, but he's been quite bold this time."

"It's not about being bold," Wang Ying said, shaking his head. "It's about the opportunity. My elder brother said he's been getting close to Guo Jing, the third son of the Guo family, lately. What kind of family is the Guo family in Zhongshan County? If he can get in through that connection, my elder brother's career will be secure."

Wang Xiong placed the silk scroll on his lap and asked in a muffled voice, "Would Guo Sanlang be willing to help?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Wang Ying laughed. "How many cases has Big Brother suppressed for him? The Wu family's matter, and the Zhou family's matter recently, weren't they all handled by Big Brother? Guo Sanlang may have many other faults, but surely he can't be so ignorant about 'gratitude'? Hehe, Big Brother said that when the time comes, he'll have the Guo family put in a good word for him and spend some money, and his promotion to county magistrate will be a matter of course."

Upon hearing the word "spend money," Wang Xiong hurriedly asked, "Is the money for buying an official position in Luoyang ready?"

Wang Ying held up two fingers: "Two million coins."

"Two million?" Wang Xiong was taken aback. "Wasn't it four million?"

"You don't know this," Wang Ying stood up, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, looking confident. "There are tricks to buying official positions. A county magistrate's salary is 400 shi, and the official price is 4 million coins. But if someone is 'qualified for the position based on virtue,' then it only costs half the price—2 million coins."

"What does 'selected based on virtue' mean? Simply put, it means being recommended by a prominent local family, proving that the person is of outstanding character and capable of undertaking important responsibilities. The Guo family recommended my eldest brother; isn't that 'selected based on virtue'?"

Wang Xiong suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly, "No wonder you insisted on attaching yourself to Guo Sanlang, you've thought things through very well."

"So," Wang Ying turned around, patted his brother on the shoulder, "we need to hurry up and pull off a few more heists. We've saved over two million in just over a year, and it's all gone after we bought our brother an official position. We can't let this time of being outlaws go to waste."

Wang Xiong said, "If you ask me, we should continue this business for the long term. It's much more profitable than farming or doing business."

He added, "Since you've managed to get on the good side of the Guo family, why not just buy a position as a prefectural magistrate? A prefectural magistrate's salary is 400 shi (a unit of grain), which should be about the same as a county magistrate's. Plus, you don't have to leave your hometown; you can work right here in Zhongshan Prefecture and protect us. Wouldn't that be great?"

Wang Ying waved his hand and scoffed, "What do you know?"

He walked back to the tiger-skin chair, plopped down, crossed his legs, tapped the armrest with his fingers, and said slowly:

"Although both the Prefectural Assistant and the County Magistrate earn between four and six hundred shi (depending on the size and prosperity of the prefecture or county), the Prefectural Assistant is still under the jurisdiction of the Prefectural Governor and cannot make decisions independently. The County Magistrate, on the other hand, is the head of the county and his word is law; he is a true official who governs the people. Brother, haven't you been working so hard all these years for this day?"

Wang Xiong listened, seemingly understanding but not quite.

But since his eldest and second eldest brothers had already said so, he was too lazy to ask any more questions.

He yawned, stood up and said, "Second brother, I'm going to sleep now. Tomorrow I'll arrange for the men to go down the mountain to scout out and see if there are any suitable prey."

"Okay, go and rest." Wang Ying waved her hand.

After the younger brother left.

Wang Ying took out another silk scroll from his bosom.

It was still a secret letter from the eldest brother, Wang Zhen.

The content written above was not suitable for the third brother to see, as he was rough and impulsive and easily revealed his flaws.

The secret letter said: "Guo Jing's third son is hot-tempered and arrogant; he may not be truly willing to help. If you can persuade him, that would be best; if not, find an opportunity to bind Guo Jing, but do not kill him, just detain him for three to five days. I have evidence of his evil deeds over the years, all recorded on a scroll. I will use this to threaten him, and he will surely comply."