"We have a bit of a numbers... problem," Zuo Chen said. "However, we find ourselves in need of new members, and I think that you would find joining with us to be quite profitable. Junior brother, it is your good fortune that we happened upon you and happen to need fresh people to bolster our ranks. Else, you would be left here in the wilderness "
Zuo Chen did not say the "or else" part out loud, although it lingered in the air regardless.
"Relax, we don't want you to do anything too terrible. It's an easy job. We just need another Gu Master to make sure that things go smoothly," Zuo Lin said.
"What kind of job?" Zuo Ming asked.
"Have you heard of Qing Mao Mountain?"
Zuo Ming had heard the name once or twice. "Why? What of it?"
"There was a massive disaster that occurred there," Zuo Chen said. "They were attacked by a demonic Gu Master, apparently, and they are in dire straits. However, one of the villages atop there has managed to recover."
Zuo Ming could already tell what Zuo Chen was plotting. He wanted to extort them.
If the village had survived, it was likely not possible for a lone Rank 4 Gu Master like Zuo Chen to annihilate them wholesale.
That was why he would prefer extortion over direct violence.
"Exactly. See, you always had a good head on your shoulders," Zuo Chen said, smiling wickedly as he realized that Zuo Ming had caught on. "We just have to go there and knock on their door. Remind them how terrifying we are, and claim this as an easy payday. We'll even give you ten percent. How about that?"
"Ten percent of what? What makes you think that they'll surrender so easily?"
Zuo Chen laughed. "You've been living in a cave for too long, my friend. My reputation has soared throughout the Southern Border as the feared Blood Tiger! Not only that, I am a Blood Path Master now! Ah - and after the events on the mountain I doubt that they're eager to fight someone when they're barely scraping by."
Zuo Ming's eyebrows raised. To become a Master in any path was something almost unheard of for mortals.
Blood Path Gu Masters were dangerous as is, but if one were to become an expert in the Blood Path, he was extremely dangerous.
Merely dropping this as a fact would cause most Gu Masters to flee instantly.
"Why do you even need me then?" Zuo Ming asked.
"Because you being there would make us look better," Zuo Lin said. One Gu Master extorting the village was rather difficult unless they were Rank 5. Zuo Chen likely wanted the two of them as backup in case anything happened and also to increase the pressure on the villagers.
"No need to think about it too hard," Zuo Chen said, slapping Zuo Ming on the shoulder. "Just agree to join us, and things will go smoothly. You must be running low on supplies - right? We can fix those up for you."
Zuo Ming glanced towards another direction where he could run, but then ultimately gave up.
He wasn't sure how it was that these people had found him in the first place, but if they had been able to, they would likely be able to track him even if by some miracle he managed to get away.
He would need to make sure, however, that he disguised himself properly. "I don't want to use my actual name then."
"Oh, that's fine," Zuo Chen said. He, of course, would be using his own name simply because of the notoriety it generated. It was not worth taking half-measures as a demonic Blood Path Gu Master. Zuo Ming also wanted to wear a mask in order to hide his identity.
"Don't worry about the job, m'kay?" Zuo Chen said. "I've heard that the leader of the clan that we're going to target, the Gu Yue Clan, is a very kind and righteous man by the name of Fang Yuan - wet behind the years maybe, but very caring. He's a real bleeding heart who cares for the welfare of his clansmen. I know those types well - all we need to do is generate a small amount of noise, kill a few of his clansmen, and he'll likely pony up whatever we ask from him to save the rest of his villagers."
Zuo Ming doubted that it'd be so easy if they were trying to extort him to join them this badly, but he could only nod as they prepared to leave.
If there was one small benefit of being recruited by them, it was that he actually had something to eat.
The major downside, though, was that they had a long journey ahead of them.
Twice, they had had to attack mortal villages along their journey simply to feed Zuo Chen's Gu worms. There's a reason why the Blood Path was so reviled, after all.
Zuo Ming's stomach still turned at the memories of the screaming mortals as they were slaughtered wholesale.
Not even the chickens and dogs were left alive. Once again, Zuo Chen found no use in applying half-measures.
'What kind of crime did I commit to be forced to go along with these savages?' Zuo Ming thought. He wanted to see if there was a good chance to flee on their journey, but the other two watched him closely.
"You can go to sleep, leader, I'll keep watch," Zuo Ming volunteered.
"Nonsense, you need your rest - let your leader take that burden," Zuo Chen said, not falling for the obvious trick.
It was a long and hard journey, even with Zuo Chen's Rank 4 skills to help them. Nothing was as easy as it seemed out here in the wilderness.
"There's so much ice here," Zuo Ming noted as they reached the foot of Qing Mao Mountain. While most of the ice at the top had melted away, there was still quite a bit towards the bottom for some reason. "Was there some kind of freak snowstorm?"
"No, apparently, this was the action of a demonic Gu Master," Zuo Chen said. "Now, to the mountain! Let's get to work." They rested for one night at the foot of the mountain before ascending.
The village's hidden locations somewhat. However, there was only so much that you could do to conceal such a large group of people who had to move out and about.
Zuo Ming saw why it was that Zuo Chen had chosen to extort this clan and not the other two present on the mountain. It was the largest clan, and more likely to have something that was worth taking.
"Good news boss," Zuo Lin said. "It looks like the other two clans have lost their chiefs - there isn't a Rank 4 Gu Master with them. We might be able to sack them completely if we play our cards right."
"Hmm..." Zuo Chen thought to himself. It was highly doubtful that those villages would be entirely defenseless. They must have their trump cards if they had survived up until this point, and there was also the possibility of the leader of Gu Yue village coming to their aid if they were attacked.
For now, he did not want to do something so reckless. He was here to do an easy job.
While members of the demonic faction loved taking risks, he was not bullheaded enough to just launch himself into danger. Were that the case, he would've met his end quite some time ago.
"We'll see about that. Right now, let's spread some chaos! What did you find out about Gu Yue Fang Yuan?"
"You were right on the money boss, he's a very kind and caring village leader," Zuo Lin said. "The kind who would do anything for his village."
That was excellent news, as that meant that the likelihood of their plan succeeding was extremely high.
They decided to ambush a group of Gu Yue village Gu Masters while they were on patrol.