The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 61- 63

Chapter 61: Recruiting New Guards

Yaoyi couldn’t understand what Yuwen Tong was going to do. He rifled through the baggage doubtfully and took out two maps drawn on the fabric. He and the person standing by the side exchanged a glance before the latter nodded and took one map from Yaoyi. Then the two stood by the desk, each holding an unfolded map.

Yuwen Tong set his eyes on these two maps. His expression grew serious after some careful observation.

“Marshal, what do you find?” Yaoyi asked.

Yuwen Tong asked in reply, “Who is in charge of the water route of the Huangsha River in Yanzhou?”

Yaoyi answered after some ponderation, “Li Chong.”

“Now, send someone to investigate whether Li Chong has contact with Imperial Concubine Shu and the sixth Prince. Look into every possible lead, and leave no stones unturned,” Yuwen Tong said.

“Got it, Marshal,” replied the man who put the map down and went out.

Yaoyi watched the man go out and looked at the map again, his eyes widening out of shock, “Marshal, do you mean that Zhang Chong will take this waterway?”

Yuwen Tong glanced at him and said, “You are not so stupid.”

Yaoyi wasn’t interested in hearing Yuwen Tong’s praise at all. “But the encampment of the Prefecture Guard in Tanyang and Huangsha River are separated by vast mountains, right?” Yuwen Tong pointed at those mountains on the map. Eyes following along his fingertip, Yaoyi said, “These palaces have been occupied by the bandits.”

The map was marked with dense red dots, all referring to the massive bandits.

“Get someone to dig out everything in these mountains,” Yuwen Tong said.

The lights in Green Bamboo Mansion were turned off again after an hour. Ling Zhang, who lived next door, still didn’t fall asleep and only slightly relieved the inward fidget by drinking a large cup of cold water.

It was not until dawn that he finally managed to fall asleep.

When he got up the next day, he looked terrible. But he changed his clothes, went to the residence of the Guard and continued his morning training.

Wang Dasan greeted in a hurry as he saw Ling Zhang coming, “Young master.”

“Guard Wang, I need you to fill in for the twelve guards temporary, I am sorry it will be a hard work for you.” Ling Zhang said.

“That is what I am supposed to do. Since I took your salary, I will share your concerns. Young master, I’ve found someone to fill the vacancy. When do you have time to test him?” Wang Dashan said.

“So soon? You are well-connected,” Ling Zhang said with a smile.

“I am flattered, I just have a lot of friends,” Wang Dashan said.

“Is he in Tanyang?” Ling Zhang asked.

“Yes. He lodges at an inn,” Wang Dashan said. “He’s from Yanzhou. He originally wanted to join the army to contribute to the country after hearing that the bandit was serious in Tanyang. But he changed his mind after a visit to the encampment of the Prefecture Guard. So I took the chance to propose when he was preparing to return to Yanzhou and he agreed.”

Noticing that Ling Zhang was listening carefully, Wang Dashan continued, “His name is Liu Yi, who ranks third at home, with two elder brothers and a younger one; with an awkward position not favored his parents, he left home at a young age and had worked as escort for some Express. He is quick-witted with good martial skills. The most important thing is, he is a man of integrity, not someone with sticky fingers or lazy character.”

Ling Zhang nodded, “Alright, you take him here. I need to see him first. If he is fine, I will let him stay.”

Wang Dashan said with joy, “Thank you very much, Young Master. I will let someone notify him right away.”

Then Ling Zhang began to run around the residence of the guards. He didn’t feel well when he started running.

The emergency happened yesterday and the long journey exhausted him. He still felt sore after rubbing the medicine oil. But he insisted on exercising without even frowning.

Ling Zhang felt particularly grumpy when he thought of being held like a child by Yuwen Tong for a few times. Then he practiced harder because of it.

A man in black standing on the roof of the Green Bamboo Mansion was surprised when seeing Ling Zhang running around the residence of the guards before dawn, and his surprise increased when Ling Zhang was still running after quite a long time. And he couldn’t help but jump off the roof as he saw Ling Zhang begin practicing horse stance and lifting stones under the guidance of a guard.

“Marshal, Young Master Ling is practicing horse stance.”

Yuwen Tong also got up and washed up just now. After hearing this he involuntarily raised his eyebrow.

Leaping to the rooftop, as expected, he immediately saw Ling Zhang was basic skills, with stones tied to his legs. Ling Zhang was sweating and his legs were shaking. Even so, he still insisted. Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhang, his curiosity towards this man accumulating. His clothes clung to him because of sweating, which fully exposed his slim figure.

Yuwen Tong watched this scene with great interest for a long time. Not until Ling Zhang was almost impossible to hold on did he finally jump off the roof.

Yuwen Tong would very much like to tease Ling Zhang, but then on a second thought he decided to save some dignity for Ling Zhang so as not to annoy him.

“He gets angry so easily,” Yuwen Tong thought.

A whole morning passed in exercise, and Ling Zhang was soaked in sweat already. He went back to his yard and washed up. Then he rubbed himself with medicine oil to relieve the pain of muscles as taught by Wang Dashan.

By the time he got changed and came out of the house, it was bright.

“Young Master, Old Master asks you to have breakfast in the front hall,” the servant said.

Usually they ate in their own room.

Why the change? Absolutely because of the arrival of Yuwen Tong.

Much unwilling as Ling Zhang was, he still went to the front hall.

As soon as he entered, Yuwen Tong eyed him from head to toe.

“Big brother, you stink,” Ling Maomao said.

Ling Maomao didn’t like the smell of medicinal wine, so every time he smelled that on Ling Zhang, he would say it stank.

“You’re not feeling well, Brother Zhang?” Yuwen Tong asked knowingly.

Ling Zhang didn’t know Yuwen Tong had seen what he did in the morning so he replied, “Nothing. I just did some exercises.”

Yuwen Tong raised him eyebrow. ‘That was far beyond some simple exercises, but horse stance for the whole morning.’

Thinking of the shape of the waist and hip when Ling Zhang was practising horse stance, Yuwen Tong couldn’t help but secretly glance at the waist and hip of Ling Zhang again.

“Zhang’er, don’t forget to show Yuwen Marshal around the city today,” Ling Xingzhong said to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang answered, “I still have something to deal with this morning.”

“What is it? Leave it to your uncle,” Ling Xingzhong said.

Ling Zhaowen froze for a moment before replying, “Right, leave it to me.”

Ling Zhang gave his grandfather a helpless look and said, “No need to bother you, uncle. I just need to meet someone later. He is my newly recruited guard.”

“Really? I also want to see him if you don’t mind.”

Ling Zhang really wanted to tell Yuwen Tong that he did mind. But in consideration of his grandfather and uncle, he refrained.

After breakfast, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were waiting in the front hall together. It was not long before Wang Dashan came to meet Ling Zhang with a man of about 30 years old.

This person was tall and looked very strong. Everyone could tell from just a glance that he was a man who often practiced martial arts. Although he was plain looking, his eyes showed that he was an honest and calm man.

“I am Liu Yi. Greetings, Young Master,” the man said.

“Guard Wang mentioned that you are cool-headed and a man of integrity. And he is right about that. Could you please tell me why you want to serve our Ling Family?” Ling Zhang asked.

Liu Yi glanced at the man sitting next to Ling Zhang. He sensed a terrible aura from him, an aura that was rarely seen in ordinary folks.

Although he was confused, Liu Yi still answered Ling Zhang, “I just want to earn my living. I heard that Ling Family treats the guards well, so I want to have a try.”

Ling Zhang nodded, “That’s right. As long as you work hard, we won’t treat you badly. You can rest assured that we will pay you a little more than elsewhere. we won’t keep a man who can’t do his duty.”

“Although I don’t have great gift, I am strong enough. Now that I take the salary, I will do everything as ordered,” Liu said.

“Could you perform some martial arts with Guard Wang? Just to broaden my horizon,” Ling Zhang said.

Liu Yi agreed, turning to Wang Dashan, “Brother Wang, forgive me for my offence.”

Wang Dashan said, “Never mind.”

Wang Dashan and Liu Yi went out and competed their martial arts in the open space in front of the hall.

“He has a solid foundation, and stable footwork. His movement are flexible and his eyes are sincere. Eligible a guard.”

Ling Zhang pressed his lips. Though vexed by Yuwen Tong’s insistence to assess the guard’s performance with him, he still trusted Yuwen Tong’s judgment.

So after their competition, Ling Zhang decided to keep this man.

“Brother Liu, I don’t mean to pry, but do you have a wife and kids?” Ling Zhang asked.

Yuwen Tong was shocked by Ling Zhang’s question.

“I am a single man. My parents and brothers are in Yanzhou, and they all have stable places to live. If you want to investigate me, you can send someone to Yanzhou to check, Young Master,” Liu Yi answered.

‘He is straightforward.’ Ling Zhang arched his eyebrow slightly.

“Please fill in the status of your family simply when you sign the contract with the butler later. I assume Wang Dashan has told you about the content of the contract?” Ling Zhang said.

That was a yes. Liu Yi looked a little relaxed. “He did mention it to me.”

“You can ask me if you have any question,” Ling Zhang said.

Liu Yi thought about it and then nodded. “Not for now.”

“Please take Brother Liu to find Butler Li,” Ling Zhang said to Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan promised happily, then left with Liu Yi immediately.

After leaving the front hall, Liu Yi asked Wang Dashan, “Brother Wang, who is that one beside Young Master?”

“He is a respected guest of Ling Family. I don’t know where he came from, all I know is that he came with a dozen guards. His Kung Fu is extraordinary, and he certainly doesn’t come from an ordinary wealthy family,” Wang Dashan said.

“Didn’t you know him before?” Liu Yi asked.

“No, I have never seen him before. But I sensed something different. They all demonstrate extreme swiftness and sharpness rarely seen in ordinary guards, and exhibit no sign of viciousness. Do you think there is something wrong with him?”

Liu Yi shook his head, “No, I just feel that there is a strong aura on him that makes me feel oppressed. I am definitely no match for him. He makes me feel dangerous.”

Wang Dashan burst into laughter, “Right? I got the same feeling. He must be some big shot.”

Chapter 62: Jia Yuanling Was Exiled

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were still in the Front Hall.

“I heard that you fired several guards,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang was not surprised that Yuwen Tong knew this. That was not confidential, and it was not difficult for Yuwen Tong’s omnipotent subordinates to inquire about this.

“They are all people who are lazy or with sticky fingers,” Ling Zhang said.

Yuwen Tong nodded. Just as he wanted to say something, Wang Dashan returned, “Young Master, Xiafeng’s letter arrived.”

This news brightened Ling Zhang’s eyes. He immediately opened the letter and checked it carefully.

Although Yuwen Tong only stayed at Ling Family for one night, he was clear about the people who served Ling Zhang. So far as he knew, this person named Xiafeng Feng was sent by Ling Zhang to investigate something classified.

Seeing Ling Zhang being so happy, Yuwen Tong couldn’t help wondering what was in that letter.

The letter was long. He explained in detail the background check of all the guards he had found. All the formation was not much different from what they had so far, which made Ling Zhang feel relieved.

Now that they were clean, he could start training them.

Xiafeng wrote at the end of the letter that he was in Yanzhou now and if Ling Zhang had no other instructions, he would soon return to Tanyang.

‘Yanzhou…’ A bright idea occurred in Ling Zhang’s mind. He got a chance to ask Xiafeng to check Liu Yi’s background.

He looked at Yuwen Tong and said, “I have to write a letter.”

“I’ll be waiting here,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang then went back to his yard.

Yuwen Tong just cast Yaoyi a glance, whom, upon getting the hint, left quietly.

Therefore, Ling Zhang didn’t know that the letter he sent to Xiafeng had been intercepted before it had been sent out of Tanyang. After carefully checking the contents of the letter, Yaoyi put the letter back into the messenger’s package, unnoticed.

While Yaoyi was doing that, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong had already left Ling Family and went all the way to the west gate of the city.

“Are we going to the west mountain?” Ling Zhang asked in surprise.

“Let’s investigate Jia Family’s mine field you mentioned,” Yuwen Tong said.

“But it is broad daylight and there are many guards at their mine field. We’ll be spotted if we get close,” Ling Zhang said.

“Just follow me,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang gave him a suspicious look. But then on a second thought, he realized that Yuwen Tong’s Kung Fu was so powerful and he might be able to sneak in. There were a lot of herb shops in Tanyang City, so there was always the aroma of herbs in the street, which residents of Tanyang had long been used to. Walking along the street with Ling Zhang, Yuwen Tong kept an eye on the herb shops as they walked and found that almost every shop had a flag in front of its door, embroidered with a totem similar to the family emblem.

Noticing that Yuwen Tong was looking at those flags, Ling Zhang said, “Those are the emblems of the family behind each shop.. People can tell the owner of the shop at a glance by the flags. Merchants who often do herb business in Tanyang all know which shop ensures smoothest in and out of the city and which the worst. Once they identify a good shop they think, they will not waste time going elsewhere.”

“Are these related to bandits?” Yuwen Tong asked immediately.

“Yes, if a foreign merchant buys herbs from a shop, they will plant the shop’s flag in the cargo when they leave Tanyang so as to get out safely. Otherwise, it’s hard for them to leave Tanyang easily. Merchants who met difficulty when transporting the herbs are not on good terms with Zhang Chong or refuse to bribe him. In fact, merchants in Tanyang are well aware of the secret collusion between the Prefecture Guard and the bandits but just too afraid to expose it. If they want to do business, they must obey this unwritten rule,” Ling Zhang said. Yuwen Tong frowned and his eyes turned cold.

“I guess you also noticed that there is almost no separate house on the outskirts of the city when you entered Tanyang. All the farmers are grouped together, and they plant the flags outside each habitation, right?”

Yuwen Tong nodded, “Exactly.”

Even though it wasn’t dawn yet at the time and it was hard to see everything clearly, Yuwen Tong still found those conspicuous flags.

“Those are the flags of the Prefecture Guard which have the same effect as the flags outside these shops. They are useful most of the time, but there’re also times when they don’t. And that is normally when bloodshed happens,” Ling Zhang said in a cold voice.

Then he continued, “Which is also the time when Prefecture Guard will launch a massive attack to destroy the rebellious ‘bandits’ and their chance to display their meritorious deeds and contributions to the Court.”

Tanyang residents were no fools, and they knew it well. But there was nothing they could do. Since they lived on this land, they had to compromise on something.

The emperor had been very fatuous for years. Even in other Prefectures, people suffered a heavy servitude and taxation, too. They might also face problems of land infertility or other problems even if they left Tanyang.

Moreover, the roads out of Tanyang were being watched by bandits. Could they leave Tanyang safely? What if they were sick on the road?

In Tanyang, as long as they paid enough bribes to the Prefecture Guard, they were likely to survive.

This was what the people thought. That was the life here.

Yuwen Tong was silent for a moment before finally speaking, “According to your words, not only the merchants, but even the people are voluntarily or forced to obey the Prefecture Guards.”

Ling Zhang said with the cold eyes, “You are right. So it is hard to overthrow Zhang Chong.”

“Yes, which means, it’s no easy task to overthrow Zhang Chong.”

He chose a very difficult path.

“The biggest problem is the rampant bandits. And the Prefecture Guards rely on those bandits to consolidate their interests. If we want to overthrow Zhang Chong, we must get rid of those bandits,” Yuwen Tong said.

“It seems that the Court is unwilling to send troops to suppress the bandits. Do you have any idea?” Ling Zhang looked at him.

“The reason behind the Court’s decision is complicated, but only on the premise that Prefecture Guards will not threaten the imperial power,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang immediately understood what Yuwen Tong was trying to say. Thinking of his doubts about the Prefecture Guard he asked, “Did you find something?”

Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhang’s expecting eyes and said, “I can’t tell you now. When the time comes, you will know it.”

Ling Zhang was disappointed. This guy kept him in suspense. However, with the blood feud between him and Zhang Chong, he didn’t have that patience to wait quietly. He would find a way to figure it out himself.

If Zhang Chong’s action really threatened the imperial power, then his intention was to rebel. If this really happened, Ling Zhang would set off firecrackers to celebrate it.

As for the consequence of Zhang Chong’s rebellion, that was something beyond his reach .

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that Wang Dashan once told him that Liu Yi had planned to join the army. But when Liu Yi went to the encampment of the Prefecture Guard, he regretted his decision. Did he find any secrets?

It seemed that he should talk to Liu Yi.

“Are those people from Jia Family?” Yuwen Tong asked suddenly.

Ling Zhang looked at him with a doubtful look. Yuwen Tong motioned him to look across the street.

Following Yuwen Tong’s gaze, Ling Zhang saw a sedan parked in front of the opposite restaurant. On the doorframe of the sedan hanged a wooden plaque with the word Jia. A person who looked plump came out of the sedan. He wore like a moneybags, but his face was very gloomy.

“He is Jia Yin,” Ling Zhang said in a cold voice.

“Really? Jia Yuanling’s father?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Ling Zhang said.

The opposite building was called Guest Pleasing House, which was a two-storey restaurant. Its layout was medium among the restaurants of Tanyang city, and it was a relatively good one around the West Gate. But Jia Family was located in the east of the city. Why didn’t he choose some of the larger restaurants near his home? ‘What is he doing here?’

“We’ll go out of the city later,” Ling Zhang said.

Yuwen Tong didn’t care about it. He glanced around then looked at the small tea house behind him and said, “Let’s go there then.”

This tea house was also a two-storey building, but it was not spacious. There was a position beside the window on the second floor. So Ling Zhang paid more money and exchanged the seats with the guests who had been sitting by the window. He sat down with Yuwen Tong and looked out of the window. There was a good view of the Guest Pleasing House from here.

Even more coincidentally, Jia Yin was sitting right next to the window on the second floor of the Guest Pleasing House. He was looking right this way.

Ling Zhang left the window half closed, blocking himself and Yuwen Tong. Jia Yin was obviously waiting for something. But what was it? Suddenly, Ling Zhang’s eyes turned cold. Today was exactly the day when Jia Yuanling was going to be exiled.

“What’s wrong? Do you recall anything?” Yuwen Tong poured Ling Zhang a cup of tea.

“Jia Yuanling is going to be exiled. According to the practice of Tanyang Prefecture Yamen, this is supposed to be the time for Jia Yuanling to be sent to the West Gate,” Ling Zhang said.

Yuwen Tong looked at the street through the window. He saw a man in a gray prison uniform in the distance being escorted this way by four yamen runners. Those people caused some commotion. Many pedestrians gave way for them and stood on both sides of the street to watch.

Yuwen Tong gently rotated the teacup and showed a murderous look.

Ling Zhang turned to look at the street and immediately saw Jia Yuanling who was being escorted.

Jia Yuanling was sitting in the prison car with his hair disheveled. Through the scattered hair, he stared ferociously at the people who talked about him till they stopped. With Jia Family backing him up, he showed his arrogance even when he was a prisoner.

Ling Zhang looked at the prison car with a poker face. ‘Just enjoy your last days of arrogance. You’re stepping into hell.’

Perhaps having noticed the gaze of Ling Zhang, Jia Yuanling looked up at the tea house in a sudden.

Ling Zhang didn’t evade, but looked right into his vicious eyes.

Jia Yuanling was infuriated. He stared at Ling Zhang with hatred, trying to tear Ling Zhang apart with that ferociousness.

“Let’s wait and see who laughs last, I will be back,” Jiayuan Ling mouthed some words to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang stood there calmly. His indifference was the most powerful taunt to the enemy.

‘Wanna be back? It is not up to you.’

Jia Yuanling was enraged by Ling Zhang’s reaction. He clenched his fist tightly and stared at Ling Zhang furiously with his reddened eyes.

Chapter 63: Exploring the Mine Together

“Is there anything I can do for you?” After the team that escorted Jia Yuanling was far away, Yuwen Tong asked.

“No,” Ling Zhang said. He trusted his uncle’s arrangement. They wouldn’t allow Jia Yuanling to reach the border alive.

Yuwen Tong took a glance at Ling Zhang and said nothing. It seemed that he had seen through something from Ling Zhang’s attitude.

“Let’s go to the west mountain,” Ling Zhang stood up and said.

Then Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang left the teahouse together.

“It will take two hours to get to the mine in the west mountain. We need to rent two horses,” Ling Zhang said.

Mines and herb farms were located in the distant suburbs of Tanyang, so the horses were the most essential means of transportation and riding. There was a horse shop near the west gate. Ling Zhang rented two horses, and went out of the city with Yuwen Tong. Before going out of the city, Ling Zhang looked around specially, trying to find the traces of those elusive guards of Yuwen Tong, but he didn’t even see a shadow.

“What are you looking for?” Yuwen Tong asked.

“You…just you and me?” Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong.

Yuwen Tong raised his eyebrow and said, “I can handle everything. Let’s go.”

Thinking of Yuwen Ton’s personal guards who protected him all day long, Ling Zhang didn’t think they would give up following him this time.

After mounting the horse, Ling Zhang went out of the city with Yuwen Tong and headed for the west mountain.

” We will see a fork at the end of this main official road. And the narrow one on the right leads to Jia Family’s mine,” Ling Zhang said.

Had he known that Yuwen Tong would drag him along, he would not work hard to draw a map.

He had not been to the west mountain for a long time and the Jia Family’s mine was strictly guarded, so he had never been there but just knew its general location.

They slowed down to avoid going the wrong way or bumping cross the people of Jia Family without the time to dodge after taking the fork.

The further they went, the more remote the place was. It was so quiet that there was only the chirping sound of birds.

Yuwen Tong suddenly loosed the rein and patted the horseback. Then he sprang from the horseback, just like an eagle shooting high into the sky.

Ling Zhang was frightened and hurried to look up at him.

But Yuwen Tong disappeared in a blink of an eye and he didn’t know where Yuwen Tong was.

“Hey.” Ling Zhang was stunned. Yuwen Tong left without even saying goodbye. Did he want to leave him here alone?

Just when Ling Zhang was scolding Yuwen Tong inwardly, Yuwen Tong fell from the sky, which dazzled Ling Zhang suddenly. Yuwen Tong landed on the horseback, and turned to Ling Zhang. “It’s not far from there. The road ahead is heavily guarded. We need to tie the horse in the woods. Let me take you there then.”

Ling Zhang’s nervousness was finally relieved. Then a dark look formed on his face. Thinking of his flusteredness just now from worrying that Yuwen Tong would abandon him, his face chilled like ice.

That obvious anger was hard to be neglected. “What’s up?”

“Please tell me in advance when you decide to suddenly disappear, my lord.” Ling Zhang gnashed the teeth in anger.

Yunwen Tong knew what was going on. But the way Ling Zhang gnashed his teeth was really cute. So he nodded, deliberately misinterpreting his words, “I will take you with me next time.”

‘That’s not what I’m trying to say. He put it in a way like I can’t tolerate a second without him by the side. Pah!’

Ling Zhang stared at Yuwen Tong with anger, blushing scarlet with embarrassment.

Yuwen Tong’s eyes turned profound as he saw Ling Zhang’s cheeks become rosy. Ling Zhang’s eyes gleamed in anger, clear like the surface of a lake under the bright sun where now a cluster of flames was burning. He felt so fascinated by Ling Zhang’s vivid reaction after being pissed off but having no way to vent it out.

There was also a fire burning in his heart, which aroused his impulse to bully this person in front of him.

But if he did it, Ling Zhang would leave immediately.

“Cough. I won’t tease you again. Let’s go and have a look,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang took a deep breath to regain his cool and turned away first. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hold back his impulse to beat Yuwen Tong up if he looked at Yuwen Tong one more time.

Yuwen Tong was a clever man. He said nothing but followed Ling Zhang closely.

As they approached the mine, they faintly heard various noisy sounds.

Yuwen Tong suddenly stopped, his face turning serious, “Wait a moment.”

Ling Zhang stopped and looked at him.

“Something wrong ahead. Let me take you there, because there are guards ahead,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang looked in the direction of the noises and said, “Okay.”

Although he was angry, he never became affectedly bashful when he got down on his business.

Yuwen Tong put his arm around Ling Zhang’s waist and said, “Hold me tight.”

Ling Zhang froze…

Fighting hard to suppress the weird and uncomfortable feeling, Ling Zhang held Yuwen Tong’s waist tightly. The next moment, he felt like he was flying. This feeling of insecurity that he would fall at any time forced him to abandon those complaints about Yuwen Tong and hug Yuwen Tong as tight as he could.

Yuwen Tong took Ling Zhang quietly through the Jia Family’s guard and entered the mine.

“Hurry up, don’t dawdle!”

” Move your lazy asses, you fools!”

Bang! Bang!

An open pit mine appeared in front of them where hundreds of miners in coarse gray cloth were busy working under the close watch of the guards around. Although these guards were wearing unremarkable black clothes, judging from their standing posture and temperament, they were not ordinary guards. These men kept a close eye on everything that was going on inside the mine.

A large hole had been dug in the cliff of this open-pit mine, where other miners worked.

Trolleys shuttled back and forth in the mine. When the trolley was loaded with ore, it would be sent to the furnace on the open space above the mine. The burning ore had raised the temperature here a lot. Many implements were arranged in disorder; and the scorched black stuff piled up like a mountain at the other side.

However, at the exit of the mine, some miners put the ores of better quality into the cargo containers which were then loaded onto the carriages.

These people had the same qualities as those men in black who guarded the mine. They were definitely not ordinary guards.

“These are soldiers,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang got it immediately, ‘Prefecture Guards.’

At this time, two people walked into their sight from somewhere else. A dark look formed on Ling Zhang’s face when he saw them. “Jia Zhong and Zhang Chong.”

Jia Zhong and Jia Yin had quite similar facial features, only one fat and the other thin. However, the scar on Zhang Chong’s face was what made him easy to recognize.

“We are so lucky, we happen to see them trading ores,” Ling Zhang said coldly.

The purpose of Yuwen Tong’s coming here this time was mainly to figure out the scale of this mine. Now he knew it fairly well.

Jia Zhong and Zhang Chong were talking about something. Jia Zhong showed his flattering smile while Zhang Zhong wore a ferocious look.

Shortly afterwards Zhang Chong left the mine with the carriages.

Ling Zhang watched them leaving and said, “Out from here, then cross the main road and go south, and they’ll get to the rear of the encampment of the Prefecture Guard. This is how they transport ores. With some disguise, no one knows what exactly are in their carriages.”

After following Zhang Chong for a while, Yuwen Tong, still carrying Ling Zhang, stopped and whistled, which sounded weird with rhythm in it.

“I sent someone to follow Zhang Chong and find out their route,” Yuwen Tong explained.

Ling Zhang was dazed for a second before uttering a “oh” as reply.

He didn’t expect that Yuwen Tong would explain this to him.

“What should we do now?” Ling Zhang asked him. “Shall we go back?”

“No, let’s go back to the mine,” Yuwen Tong said.

“Why? What are you going to do?” Ling Zhang asked.

“To check something out,” Yuwen Tong said.

Ling Zhang followed Yuwen Tong back to the mine. They happened to see Jia Zhong talking to someone like a butler. He took something like an account book and wrote something down after reading.

“That should be the account book. It’s a good thing,” Yuwen Tong said coldly.

A good thing? Ling Zhang was confused.

“We must figure out a way to get it and see if it records the transaction between him and Zhang Chong,” Yuwen Tong said.

It suddenly dawned on Ling Zhang, “This is the evidence.”

“Clever,” Yuwen Tong said.

“How can we get it?” Ling Zhang asked.

“Not now. If we act rashly, we will alert the enemy. You wait for me here, I’ll take a look first,” Yuwen Tong said to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang nodded. Then Yuwen Tong took him to the trunk of another tall tree and let him sit there.

“This is the signal flare. Pull this ring if you are in trouble.” Yuwen Tong handed Ling Zhang a small bamboo tube.

Ling Zhang took it, held the trunk and sat there steadily. “Be careful.”

Yuwen Tong arched his eyebrow slightly, surprised. Ling Zhang, the little hedgehog, asked him to be careful.

Yuwen Tong jumped off the tree and disappeared soon.

Ling Zhang held the bamboo tube and didn’t dare to move.

This place was too high.

After an hour, Ling Zhang’s legs were numb, but Yuwen Tong had not returned yet. He couldn’t help but frown, worrying if Yuwen Tong was in trouble, although he didn’t want to think about Yuwen Tong.

If he exposed his tracks and was besieged…

Ling Zhang lowered his head and estimated the distance between each branch. He was going to jump off the tree and check if there was anything unusual going on near the mine.

Just as he held the trunk tight, planning to move to the next branch, suddenly Yuwen Tong’s voice sounded in his ear. “What are you doing?”

Ling Zhang was shocked and slipped down from the tree. “Ah!”

“Watch out!” Yuwen Tong hastened to jump off the tree and caught Ling Zhang in midair before landing softly on the ground.

Ling Zhang’s heart was beating so fast. He thought he was about to fall to the ground.

Yuwen Tong put Ling Zhang on the ground and said, “Why do you suddenly want to go down?”

“You haven’t been back for such a long time. I want to see what’s going on,” Ling Zhang said. He felt safe when his feet touched the ground. However, his feet became weak as soon as he stood up, then he unconsciously grasped Yuwen Tong’s arm.

“Your feet numb?” Yuwen Tong said. “Let me have a look.”

“Wait…” Ling Zhang wanted to refuse. But Yuwen Tong was faster. And the moment his warm palm held Ling Zhang’s ankle, a wonderful feeling of warmth spread all over Ling Zhang from where Yuwen Tong touched, reliving the numbness and tingling sensation in a second.