His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

The atmosphere suddenly plummeted to freezing point.

Qin Hongxiu originally wanted to advise Mu Yuan to retreat in order to advance, after all, this was someone else's territory, and Mu Yuan was facing the leader of Black Cloud Village.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere suddenly became so tense that she had no chance to offer any advice.

Upon hearing Mu Yuan's words, Li Tai's eyes were filled with undisguised murderous intent, as if he were about to drag Mu Yuan and his group of six away and kill them at any moment.

However, after only a few breaths, Li Tai burst out laughing, and the murderous intent in his eyes vanished completely.

He immediately clapped his hands in praise:

"I didn't expect you to be so unafraid. You truly are a young hero, even more impressive than I was back then!"

Everyone then realized that Li Tai was testing them.

"Mu Yun, I admire you. Would you like to join my Black Cloud Stronghold? I guarantee that if you join, you'll live a life of luxury, with endless wealth and countless beauties to enjoy!"

Li Tai's words once again surprised everyone, and the matter suddenly changed from a buying and selling transaction to recruiting talent.

Even Mu Yuan couldn't quite see through Li Tai.

The other party has a changeable personality; sometimes he looks murderous, sometimes he laughs heartily, and he also knows how to disguise himself.

You can never guess what he's going to do next.

According to intelligence, Li Tai, the chief of Black Cloud Village, is fond of beautiful women. However, after arriving here, Li Tai only glanced at Qin Hongxiu a few times, showing no interest in her and not revealing any lewdness.

This is completely different from what was rumored.

Li Tai's behavior was not at all what one would expect from a bandit leader.

Mu Yuan couldn't help but re-examine Li Tai, and wondered in his heart whether Black Cloud Village was really a den of bandits.

And those bandits and henchmen, wearing armor.

A variety of questions lingered in Mu Yuan's mind. His intuition told him that Black Cloud Village was not the bandit den that was rumored to be, but a hidden paradise!

To find out all this, Mu Yuan immediately accepted Li Tai's offer to recruit him:

"Having wandered the martial world for many years, I am fortunate to have gained the appreciation of the big boss and been given a place to stay. Mu Yun will not hesitate to do so!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Hongxiu and the others were dumbfounded.

The original plan was to stall for time, wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then wipe out Black Cloud Village in one fell swoop to avenge Lin Xueshang's family.

However, Mu Yuan did not carry out the plan as scheduled.

"Guards, arrest these men and throw them in jail!"

Just as Mu Yuan agreed, Li Tai suddenly flew into a rage and ordered his bandits to arrest Mu Yuan and his group of six and imprison them.

A sudden change.

This caught Qin Hongxiu and her group completely off guard.

In contrast, Mu Yuan was not flustered at all. He not only surrendered but also cooperated fully.

Black Cloud Village Prison.

Qin Hongxiu glared angrily at Mu Yuan and demanded, "What exactly are you thinking?"

Mu Yuan seemed not to hear Qin Hongxiu's question, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, like a high monk in meditation.

"Even at a time like this, you can still remain so calm."

Seeing his behavior, and with a belly full of questions, Qin Hongxiu became impatient and increasingly angry.

"What's the rush?" Mu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

"Don't forget why we came here. Now we're locked up here. Not only has Black Cloud Village not been wiped out, but we can't even avenge Xue Chang?" Qin Hongxiu wasn't afraid of death, but she was afraid of dying in a muddle.

"Don't worry, not only will Black Cloud Stronghold be wiped out, but Xue Chang's revenge will also be avenged," Mu Yuan said confidently. "However, not now!"

Qin Hongxiu was skeptical of Mu Yuan's words.

After all, they were in prison and could barely protect themselves, let alone wipe out Black Cloud Stronghold and avenge Lin Xueshang.

"Sister-in-law, don't be impatient. Let him explain first." Lin Xueshang was uncharacteristically calm and, despite not knowing the truth, resolutely believed Mu Yuan's decision.

Seeing Lin Xueshang's unwavering belief in Mu Yuan, Qin Hongxiu pursed her lips. She wanted to say something, but somehow, she ended up saying nothing.

In order to avoid Qin Hongxiu misunderstanding, Mu Yuan had no choice but to voice his suspicions:

"This Black Cloud Stronghold isn't a bandit's den; there's more to it than meets the eye!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Hongxiu's suspicion did not dissipate, and she asked with a questioning tone, "Is there another hidden meaning?"

Mu Yuan took the opportunity to come here and recounted in detail about Li Tai's unpredictable personality and the details of the Black Cloud Village henchmen wearing armor.

After listening, Qin Hongxiu frowned and fell into deep thought.

Taking advantage of this moment, Mu Yuan turned to Lin Xueshang and asked, "Sixth Sister-in-law, what were the goods you and your family escorting when you went on those escort missions?"

Lin Xueshang was unwilling to recall what had happened back then, after all, her family had died tragically, and every time she thought about it, her heart would ache.

However, when Mu Yuan inquired about this matter, he explained that there were probably other hidden stories behind the massacre and plunder of his family by Black Cloud Village back then.

Suppressing her grief, Lin Xueshang carefully recalled the goods she had escorted.

After a long silence, she shook her head and said:

"I don't remember. In the escort business, the employer pays the money, and we are responsible for escorting the goods. We don't ask about the goods or their origin; we just deliver the goods to the designated person."

"Do you remember the destination of the shipment? And who was designated to escort it?"

Mu Yuan was not convinced. He still believed that the things stolen from Lin Xueshang's family when they were massacred by Black Cloud Village must have been extraordinary.

Lin Xueshang recalled carefully and said, "It seems to be in the capital, and the person designated... I think his name is Lü Fang."

"The capital city, Lü Fang."

Mu Yuan kept repeating it.

We wanted to find clues from these leads.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about what was happening in the capital, and no matter how much he talked about it, he couldn't find any clues.

However, at that moment...

Qin Hongxiu exclaimed in surprise, "Lü Fang? Could it be the Emperor's brother-in-law, Lü Fang?"

"The Emperor's brother-in-law?"

Mu Yuan's spirits lifted, and he looked at Qin Hongxiu with expectant eyes, hoping that she would tell him everything she knew.

Qin Hongxiu understood Mu Yuan's gaze and explained:

"The emperor's most favored concubine is named Lü Qi. Her father is Lü Fang, who is also the emperor's brother-in-law."

Mu Yuan nodded thoughtfully and said:

"It's most likely him. The border is not just a thousand miles away from the capital, but the journey of escorting goods is extremely dangerous. This is not something that money can just buy."

At this point, Mu Yuan looked up at Lin Xueshang and said, "So, most of the goods your family escorted back then belonged to the Imperial Brother-in-law, Lü Fang."

The Black Cloud Stronghold must have known who the goods belonged to when they robbed them.

They dared to rob the current emperor's brother-in-law.

This further proves that Black Cloud Stronghold is not just a bandit group as rumored; there are powerful figures behind it!

Thinking of this, Mu Yuan suddenly remembered the matter of reinforcements.

He must stop reinforcements from arriving here.

If reinforcements arrive now, even if Black Cloud Stronghold is wiped out and Lin Xueshang's family is avenged, the truth behind this will never be revealed.