Chapter 664 - Pyro in the grasslands (1/2)

After Yan Liuyuan, Hassan, and the others left, Su Lei, who had stopped in the distance, heaved a sigh of relief. The transaction this time was way too important to him.

Yan Liuyuan was right just now. He really did put together everything he had in order to purchase those goods. He even needed to sell off a small gold bar he treasured to raise the money.

The last gold bar on a bandit was hidden in his waistband. When the bandit’s life was threatened, this gold bar would act as his lifeline.

Of course, only the more successful bandits could afford to keep a gold bar hidden in their waistbands.

This small gold bar weighed about 50 grams and was passed down from his grandfather’s generation. Su Lei had inherited it from his father, but he did not expect it would be gone in his generation.

The money he had raised for today was Su Lei’s last bit of wealth. All of it had been used to purchase the medicine and ironware. If Yan Liuyuan had not shown up today, Su Lei would have had to go back to town and set up a stall there.

The people in the walled village did not understand why Su Lei would take such a risk.

But to be honest, Su Lei really felt that the opening of the Northwestern trade route was an opportunity for everyone. Whether they could seize it or not would depend on themselves.

At this moment, Wang Ergou, who was standing next to Su Lei, instigated, “Boss, I’ve been watching them closely. Those people don’t even have any guns on them and are only using sabers to defend themselves. We have three improvised guns here. Although they have more people, we have nothing to be afraid of since we have guns. How about finishing them off?”

When this person saw the fur hides Yan Liuyuan had brought with him, he started coveting the goods. After all, 90% of the fur hides had been taken back by Yan Liuyuan.

And that 90% was worth nearly a million yuan!

It suddenly quieted down among the bandits. Su Lei looked at Wang Ergou. “After we steal it, then what?”

“The one million yuan is enough for all of our men to not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives. Boss, let’s do this,” he replied.

Su Lei laughed and said, “My ambition isn’t easily satisfied with just a million yuan.”

With that, Su Lei led the group back towards the South. Their village stood along the route to the Northwest from the Central Plains.

On the way back, Su Lei found an opportunity and ordered Cui Qiang, “After we return to the village, find a chance to finish off Wang Ergou quietly.”

Cui Qiang was stunned for a moment as he looked at Su Lei. He seemed to be very puzzled by this decision but ultimately did not reject it. He just nodded and agreed to do so.

Su Lei gave him a look and said with a smile, “That Wang Ergou is way too good at stirring up trouble. That time he fought the people from Hexi Village, wasn’t it because he tried to hook up with the wife of their second-in-command? And he didn’t even succeed at hooking up with her! If we wish to start taking the right path in the future, we can’t keep someone like him around.”

Perhaps Su Lei could have chosen to give Wang Ergou some money so he would leave their village and go make a living for himself. However, Su Lei was worried someone like him would be resentful and come back to cause unnecessary trouble for him.

Therefore, he thought they might as well just kill him.

Su Lei was a bandit who risked his life daily doing what he did. He was very polite in front of Yan Liuyuan, but he would not hesitate when he needed to kill people.

Now that Su Lei wanted to change their group’s direction, a person like Wang Ergou could not be allowed to live.

Cui Qiang did not say anything. He was only a fighter, so there was no need for him to think too much about it. Besides, he had already disliked Wang Ergou for a long time, so what if he killed him?

…

It only took Yan Liuyuan two days to return to the tribe with Hassan. The horses they rode on were all very fast and had evolved in the steppe to become like the mythical horses in the storytellers’ tales. When the horses ran, the sweat on their bodies would form white mist in the cold air.