Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" Zhou Lin kicked open the door of the dilapidated temple. The door, which was not strong to begin with, creaked and fell down, raising a cloud of dust.

"Damn it, you just destroyed the place where I live." The man sitting next to Shen Chuning picked up a stick and rushed towards Zhou Lin.

"Old Five! Sit down," said the man sitting in the middle, with a hint of being the leader of this group.

The man stopped obediently and slowly sat down again.

"Mr. Zhou Er arrived quite quickly. It seems we caught the right person." said the man who spoke just now.

"Who are you? If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you have to fart, fart quickly." Zhou Lin asked.

The man stood up and said, "I am Chen Hongchang, the third in command of Panlong Village."

"Remnants are just remnants. What's the point of talking about the third in command? Can the third in command only live in this dilapidated temple now?" Zhou Lin said disdainfully.

"Damn it, isn't it all because of you that your grandfather is like this?" The man named Lao Wu stood up excitedly again.

Chen Hongchang coughed heavily, "Old Five, please speak to Mr. Zhou Er in a nice way. After all, we still need your help."

Lao Wu snorted, turned his head to the side and stopped talking.

Chen Hongchang continued, "Master Zhou Er, we would like to ask you to lead the troops to Yonggu Mountain again to suppress the bandits."

Zhou Lin frowned. "The leaders of Panlong Village have all been killed. General Ji has also sent people to investigate on the mountain. There are no more bandits gathering on Yonggu Mountain. Roaming around like you doesn't meet the requirements for sending troops to suppress the bandits."

Lao Wu knocked the stick in his hand and said, "Damn it, you dare to look down on me. When grandpa was the king of the mountain, you were still at home nursing."

Chen Hongchang restrained the agitated Old Five. "Huh, General Ji? That old thief Ji colluded with Second in Command. He killed my eldest brother and took the military credit. Second in Command relied on the government's army to eliminate dissidents and now has successfully taken control of Panlong Village. How can this not be considered a match made in heaven?"

Zhou Lin didn't believe that General Ji would do such a thing.

"How can you prove the truth of these words?"

Chen Hongchang said angrily, "Mr. Zhou Er, if you don't believe me, just go up the mountain and take a look. When my eldest brother was here, he only robbed passing caravans to earn a living for his brothers. He never attacked the elderly, the weak, women, or children. We are also principled bandits. Look at Yonggu Mountain now. They have almost raped all the young girls nearby."

The person next to Chen Hongchang secretly nudged him and said, "Third brother, keep your voice down. Is it glorious to rob a caravan?"

Chen Hongchang slapped the man on the head and then said to Zhou Lin, "Anyway, we just want Mr. Zhou Er to send troops to suppress the bandits."

"If I'm not mistaken, everyone here has been with me for quite some time, so you must know that I'm unable to lead troops right now. Rest assured, everyone, as long as what you've said is true, someone will definitely come and wipe out Panlong Village. Please release the people you've captured first."

"Want to take the person back? Dream on. How do I know if you officials will protect each other? Once you take the person away, there will be no one to suppress the bandits. Stop lying to your grandfather." Lao Wu said excitedly.

Cheng Hongchang kicked Lao Wu and said, "We won't make it difficult for you. As long as you leave a personal token, we can take the person away. If you don't send troops to Panlong Village within five days, you will be accused of colluding with Panlong Village."

Zhou Lin said okay while touching his waist. Then he remembered that he had asked the teahouse owner to take his jade pendant to the Zhou family to ask for help.

"I don't have any token with me, but I promise that when I return I will petition the emperor to send troops to suppress the bandits." Zhou Lin spread his hands.

The fifth brother became even more excited. "Third brother, I told you this kid can't be trusted. I told you to be cunning. Wait until I chop this little girl off and you'll behave yourself."

After saying that, Lao Wu took out the dagger from his body and put it under Shen Chuning's neck.

"Don't get excited, don't get excited, let's talk it over. I really didn't bring the token with me. Hero, please tell me if there is any other way."

"Hahahahaha, did you hear that, Third Brother? He called me a hero. General Zhou actually called a bandit a hero. It seems we really caught the right guy."

Zhou Lin looked at the tip of the dagger against Shen Chuning's neck, which was close to her skin, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhou Lin took off his purse and said, "I have some silver here. Take the money and have a good meal and change your clothes."

"Damn it, you look down on me. Do I need your little money?" Lao Wu said, then took out another dagger from his pocket and threw it in front of Zhou Lin. "To show your sincerity, you should cut the tendons of your right hand first."

Chen Hongchang glanced at Lao Wu and said, "Lao Wu, don't make things so awkward. We are still counting on him to do big things."

"What are you afraid of? He can't lead troops anyway, so what's the point of keeping his right hand, right, General Zhou?"

"Third brother, he killed the eldest brother, so he has to pay a price. We can't let him get away with it so easily."

Seeing Zhou Lin holding a dagger in his hand, four more people stood up. Two of them raised their knives at Zhou Lin, and two pointed their knives at Shen Chuning and the Fifth Prince respectively.

Zhou Lin held the dagger and thought about how likely he was to get rid of these people while protecting Shen Chuning and the Fifth Prince from getting hurt.

There were eight bandits in the ruined temple. It was conservatively estimated that each of them had more than one knife on them. Shen Chuning and the fifth prince were surrounded by bandits. As long as he moved, Shen Chuning and the others would be in danger.

Zhou Lin could only delay time as much as possible and wait for Zhou Lie to bring his men quickly.

"Do you have any evidence to support your claim that the second-in-command of Panlong Village is colluding with General Ji?" Zhou Lin asked.

"We in Panlong Village send money to the house of the old thief Ji every year. In previous years, the second in command was the one who took care of this matter. Last time when we suppressed the bandits, my eldest brother thought it was just a formality and didn't take it seriously. Who knew that he would be pecked by an eagle. The second in command sent three women to the house of the old thief Ji the night before last. They should still be there. You can find out if you check." Chen Hongchang replied.

Zhou Lin nodded. "Okay, I'll go check it out when I get back. If it's true, General Ji and the Panlong Village will be in trouble. But you can't do this robbery anymore."

"Damn it, Third Brother, don't waste your time talking to him. He just wants to delay time." The Fifth Brother yelled. He really didn't like listening to Zhou Lin's preaching.

"Don't get excited, don't get excited." Zhou Lin's right hand holding the dagger was sweating.

"I said I was going to sever the tendons in your right hand. Can't you fucking tell left from right?"

Zhou Lin slowly moved the dagger to his left hand.

At this time, there was a noisy sound outside the dilapidated temple.

Everyone in the temple became nervous when they heard this.

"I told him I couldn't trust him, and he really did call for reinforcements. Do you want to take action or not? If not, I will." Lao Wu said as he pressed the dagger in his hand towards Shen Chuning's neck. The tip of the dagger pierced the skin, revealing a little bit of bright red.

The two men who pointed knives at Shen Chuning and the Fifth Prince were also ready to make a move.

"I'll do it, you let her go." Zhou Lin said as he picked up the dagger and stabbed it into his right wrist.