Starting with choosing a wife, creating the most powerful Xia

Looking at the dark muzzle of the gun, still emitting wisps of smoke.

On Saturday, Liu Yan felt as if he were prey being hunted by a hunter. A suffocating feeling of impending death suddenly filled his chest, making it much harder for him to breathe.

I was immediately caught in a dilemma.

He couldn't tell whether Chu Xuan was bluffing or genuinely confident of killing them all.

This guy isn't very old, but he's extremely mysterious. Nobody knows where his bottom line is, and even Master Zhou doesn't dare to gamble on him.

In a daze, he seemed to realize something and turned to look at his brothers behind him.

But they saw that everyone's faces were full of fear, and some even had despair in their eyes. Clearly, even though they were standing in front of Chu Xuan, they were already intimidated by his methods and had no desire to be his enemy.

Upon seeing this, Uncle Zhou suddenly realized what was going on.

What other path could he take? From beginning to end, Mr. Zhou had no other choice.

Chu Xuan's thunderous methods were not intended to subdue him. He only needed to deter the bandits from making a move, and that would be enough. Once he achieved that, he would be a tiger with its teeth pulled out. What threat could a chieftain who couldn't command his men pose?

In the end, Chu Xuan won this game.

Old Man Zhou sighed deeply, looking at the village building behind him with a helpless expression in his eyes.

After the old chieftain died, he barely kept the Hanyang Gang afloat, not hoping to return to its original position, only hoping not to be destroyed by his own hand.

But this plan has ultimately failed today.

Amidst helplessness and disappointment, Uncle Zhou actually felt a sense of relief.

He suddenly knelt down in front of Chu Xuan: "Zhou Meng greets Your Excellency. Today, I offer all my treasures and disband the Hanyang Gang. I beg Your Excellency to take me in!"

The group had long been considering surrendering, but since Zhou Meng had not given them a reply, they dared not make any rash moves.

Now that the chieftain had surrendered, what else did they have to hesitate about? One by one, they quickly knelt down and pledged their loyalty to Chu Xuan.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Chu Xuan's smile widened even further.

"My lord... I have no idea how many more skills you possess..."

Looking at Chu Xuan's back, although it wasn't particularly imposing, and could even be described as somewhat frail, it seemed like a mountain to Chu Ling'er at this moment.

It attracts attention.

With just a few words, he made a bandit stronghold surrender without a fight. His awe-inspiring presence, like that of a divine emperor, was unshakable.

"You do have some discernment."

Chu Xuan smiled and then asked, "In that case, where is your warehouse?"

Now that Zhou Meng had surrendered, he naturally had nothing to hide. He immediately took out the key hanging from his waist and respectfully pointed upstairs.

"Reporting to you, sir, it's on the third floor. Here's the key to the storeroom."

Chu Xuan took the key, didn't even look at it, and tossed it to Chen Lu.

"Go and order some, then come back and give me the numbers."

At this moment, Chen Lu was still in shock from Zhou Meng's sudden surrender with his men, unable to extricate himself from the shock. He had even thrown the keys into his hand and hadn't yet reacted.

When he came to his senses and saw the key in his hand that meant he had control over the finances, he was completely dumbfounded.

He never expected that Chu Xuan would trust him so much!

Although the Hanyang Gang is declining, it still has some foundation. The amount of gold and silver in its warehouse is not small. Chen Lu asked himself if he could resist the temptation of such a large amount of gold and silver.

But he entrusted it to me so readily; what a level of trust that is!

Thinking of this, Chen Lu's eyes suddenly became moist. He trusted me, and he would repay him with equal trust!

"Don't worry, my lord."

Chen Lu responded with a word, then turned and left.

The scene became somewhat awkward.

Chu Ling'er suddenly spoke up, "Husband, should we take all these people back with us?"

She was a little worried. These bandits had visited Wuming Village before, and if the villagers saw Chu Xuan taking them back, who knew what trouble they might cause.

Moreover, these bandits are not benevolent people; if they harbor any other intentions, they will be troublesome either way.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Meng and the others immediately felt a sense of unease.

They also knew that they didn't have a good impression in Chu Xuan's eyes to begin with. If he really listened to the madam's words and waved his hand, wouldn't they have died for nothing?

She immediately looked at Chu Xuan nervously.

The latter naturally noticed their gazes and shook his head with a smile.

"I promised that those who surrender would not be killed. How can I change my mind so easily?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Meng and the others felt relieved.

But Chu Ling'er immediately became anxious and was about to speak when Chu Xuan interrupted her.

"However, there are indeed still things that haven't been done."

He walked over to the boiler where the group had been sitting, looked at the bits of bone and flesh inside, and a look of disgust crossed his face.

"Who ate all of this?"

As soon as the words were spoken, several people in the crowd trembled. They were the same people who had been surrounding the area earlier.

Chu Xuan noticed the strange behavior of these people at a glance and waved his hand: "Kill him, Zhou Meng, and make it clean."

He did indeed promise not to kill those who surrender, but cannibalism had crossed the line that Chu Xuan could accept.

This is not human, it's a beast.

As soon as he finished speaking, those who had previously held onto a glimmer of hope turned ashen-faced and instinctively looked at Zhou Meng.

Zhou Meng bit his lip, looking somewhat conflicted. The reason was simple: these people were all capable men in the village.

But he knew very well that Chu Xuan was going to establish his authority by taking over these people, and these few people had just unfortunately run into the line of fire, so they had no one to blame but themselves.

He immediately nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, sir."

He then stood up and said, "We were all brothers before, so do it yourself and save face."

The others also looked at them with predatory eyes, their gazes conveying a clear message: they should be quick to act and not let them become a burden.

Seeing this, the men knew their deaths were inevitable and lost all will to resist. They drew their swords and ripped open the throats.

Blood splattered all over the ground.

After confirming their deaths, Zhou Meng arranged for people to throw their bodies into the valley. There were many wild animals there, and in a few days, only skeletons would remain.

At this moment, Chen Lu also rushed back, looking excited.

The inventory in the warehouse was much more plentiful than he had expected. Even Chu Xuan's expression changed slightly after seeing the ledger.

Good heavens! There are seven hundred taels of gold alone, more than two thousand taels of silver, and countless other supplies and provisions.

It will take a lot of effort just for these people to move back to the nameless village.

Unexpectedly, even a long-declining Hanyang gang could possess such a foundation, which made Chu Xuan even more interested in the other bandit strongholds.