The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 322- 324

Chapter 322: Planning a Journey to the North-West

This political struggle had started and ended in the main hall of the imperial palace, and nobody except those who’d been there to witness it knew what had happened in there, but from this day on, barely anybody dared have doubts about under whose dominion this country was. The faction led by the Right Prime Minister, who were in charge overtly, and those in the Ling Mansion, who were in power de facto, became two juggernauts in this city.

“The Jiang family still haven’t made any moves so far. Clearly they have given up on the Eighth Prince as well. Fang Quan and his followers lost the support of the garrison from Jiangzhou and the Jiang family, and are now imprisoned in the imperial palace. It’s the end of them.”

The Right Prime Minister and all the others gathered in the Ling Mansion, discussing the current situation.

“Now the only problem left is Cangzhou. Childe Ling, do you have access to up-to-date intelligence reports?” asked the Right Prime Minister.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Just wait for another two days. Everything will be clear in two days.”

In two days? The Right Prime Minister and the others exchanged glances, and then the former said with a nod, “I see. We’ll be waiting for your message, Childe Ling.”

After a brief consultation, the Right Prime Minister and the other courtiers took their leave. Seeing as how things stood in the capital city at this point, they still needed to keep their eyes peeled and must not let their guard down in case some adversaries were unreconciled to the situation and tried to fight against heavy odds.

…

“I knew I made the right choice, that you and the Marshal definitely had a contingency plan.”

Tao Yi and Ling Zhang were sitting in a courtyard house. After being informed that Fang Quan and his followers had been imprisoned, Tao Yi had excitedly come bearing wine and food, intending to celebrate.

The two of them talked for a while, and then Ling Zhang noticed the apprehension concealed in the depths of his eyes and said, “Are you worried about your teacher?”

“How… is he?” asked Tao Yi.

Ling Zhang replied, “Relax. The Right Prime Minister didn’t cause them any harm. He just placed them under temporary house arrest. Also, he made arrangements for some men to take care of them, ensuring their safety. After all, they’re all distinguished scholars. Things would get rather tricky if any of them dies.”

Tao Yi gave a mirthless smile. “Although these words of yours make a lot of sense, why do they strike me as so weird?”

Ling Zhang said, “There’s nothing weird about them. They’re the truth as well as what the two old lords can rely on to survive.”

Tao Yi sighed, “My teacher is probably quite upset about this, but there’s nothing I can do for them. Originally I wanted to plead with you not to kill them, but now, considering they’re still alive, you’ve shown them mercy already. Besides, my teacher and I have taken different stances now.”

Ling Zhang said, “Don’t overthink it. You still have a chance to see them. When that day comes, you’ll be able to meet them face to face and sort things out with them.”

Tao Yi bobbed his head, feeling that this was the only way.

…

Two days later, news came from Cangzhou, saying that Dai Cheng had died after an aggravation of his injury, and Wang Cai had also died during an assassination carried out by the rebels, that the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) had taken command of all government forces in Cangzhou.

On receiving this message, Ling Zhang in the capital city felt a sense of relief. Finally the situation in Cangzhou was now completely under control. Vastly outnumbered, those surviving rebels were no longer a threat. On top of that, before the General Zhongwu departed, Yuwen Tong had indicated to him that the policy of offering amnesty and enlistment to rebels should take precedence over suppression. Since Yuwen Tong had trusted the General Zhongwu to handle it, Ling Zhang also believed he was capable of settling the matter of Cangzhou.

The Right Prime Minister and the others were also relieved and rid of their previous misgivings, starting to focus on the north-west, sparing no effort to provide Yuwen Tong with all the supplies his army needed.

After they set their minds at ease, there was a blip in the south. Rumor had it that the South-western Army had left their encampment without authorization, but He Xiao, along with the garrisons stationed in a couple of southern cities, had overpowered them. It was not until the whole thing was over that a report of the incident was delivered to the capital city.

“Fortunately it didn’t escalate. He Xiao is unbelievable. Why didn’t he send us a message earlier? Did he think he could shoulder the responsibility alone if by any chance anything happens?”

“Previously the rebel forces in Cangzhou cut off the main road to the capital city. If the General Zhongwu hadn’t taken some men there and unblocked it, we would still have been in the dark about it, so it wasn’t really Commander He’s fault.”

After hearing the complaints, Ling Zhang slowly observed, “Presently, all other cities are under our control, so we should concentrate all our efforts on supporting the troops fighting in the north-west.”

“Childe Ling is right. Right now the Marshal is in the border city Shengzhou. Judging from the battlefield reports we’ve received, although the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom joined forces, they’re not getting the upper hand, which is something we could rejoice at, I believe,” said the Right Prime Minister.

“Only when the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom withdraw could we rejoice. I’m afraid I’ll have to put you to the trouble of supervising the preparation of the supplies to be delivered to the north-west, Your Lordship,” said Ling Zhang.

The Right Prime Minister smiled, “I’ll handle it, Childe Ling.”

…

In the Ling Mansion.

On his return, Ling Zhang immediately went to Ji Yin. “Grandfather, I want to go to the borderlands.”

Ji Yin’s eyes widened with astonishment. “No. Why do you want to go to such a dangerous place?!”

Ji Yin was fully aware of why Ling Zhang intended to go to the north-west. He just disapproved of Ling Zhang going there.

Ling Zhang looked at Ji Yin, his mouth a thin line. “The situation in this city has already stabilized. Nothing would happen if I leave.”

“Even so, you’re still not going. Yuwen Tong can win this war. You’d do him more good staying in this city than going to the north-west to worry him,” said Ji Yin.

“I’ll have Wang Dashan and the others go with me,” said Ling Zhang.

“The answer is still no.” Ji Yin was not swayed.

“Grandfather!” Ling Zhang went anxious.

Ling Zhaowu winked at him, indicating to him that there was no need to be fretful. Then he said to Ji Yin, “Let me go with Zhang’er. We’ll have Ji Donglin accompany us. You may stay here making sure everything’s in order. Rest assured, I won’t let any harm come to Zhang’er.”

Ji Yin gaped at him. “You won’t let any harm come to him? Given your current physical conditions, you’ll be in even greater need of protection than him. Neither of you are going. End of discussion!”

Ling Zhaowu, “…”

He almost forgot what kind of state he was in.

“Father-in-law, how about you get some more men here and have them go with Zhang’er? That will do, right? The Clan Leader is cooperating with Yuwen Tong anyway. Ensuring Yuwen Tong’s and Zhang’er’s safety counts as part of the cooperation, doesn’t it?” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ji Yin slightly furrowed his eyebrows but couldn’t bring himself to refuse again.

Seeing the old man was swayed, Ling Zhaowu continued, “Zhang’er has lost a lot of weight lately, and you’ve actually been quite concerned about him, haven’t you? I think you might as well let Zhang’er go there. It’s a better choice than having him stay and worry in vain. Zhang’er is on the verge of reaching the third layer of the cultivation method. He just needs a little more experience. Maybe he’ll be able to find an opportunity to make a breakthrough during this journey. Besides, the kung fu skills he now has are more than enough for him to protect himself.”

Ji Yin cast a disgruntled look at him. “Is this how you parent your son? Instead of dissuading him, you’re actually encouraging him to go to the north-west. If anything happens to him, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

“I would do anything to keep Zhang’er safe, including giving up my life,” said Ling Zhaowu solemnly.

Ji Yin lapsed into silence. Seeing this, Ling Zhang hastily said, “Grandfather, let me go. Please!”

“I’ll think about it and reply to you tomorrow. Even if I am to assign some men to go with you and protect you, I’ll have to consult with them first,” said Ji Yin eventually.

This was as good as a yes. Ling Zhang hastened to say, “Thank you, Grandfather.”

…

“You’re really going to the north-west?” Tao Yi looked incredulously at Ling Zhang. “That’d be so risky.”

“I’m going, no matter how risky it is,” affirmed Ling Zhang.

With a serious face, Tao Yi stared at him for a while. “Whatever. I could tell that I won’t be able to talk you out of this just by looking at you. I only hope you’ll come back in one piece. Otherwise there might be unimaginable consequences. This stable situation in the capital city hasn’t come easy. If anything happens to you, there will definitely… the future of this whole country would be hanging in the balance, not to mention that of this city.”

“What are you talking about? Nothing’s going to happen to me,” said Ling Zhang.

…

That very evening, Ji Yin replied to them. He had made contact with a hidden branch of the Millennium Pavilion and they’d agreed to sent some men to protect Ling Zhang.

“But it’ll take another two days for them to get here,” said Ji Yin.

A two-day wait didn’t sound that bad, for at least he had got the permission to go.

“Now that you’re going to the north-west, what do you plan to do with the half of the commander’s seal you have?” Ling Zhaowu asked Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang answered, “I’ll leave it here.”

“Your grandfather will be here, so it can’t be lost. Still, you need to inform the Right Prime Minister and the others of it lest there be any unnecessary misunderstandings,” commented Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang gave a nod. “I understand.”

The next day, Ling Zhang told the Right Prime Minister and the others that he was going to the north-west.

“That’s madness, Childe Ling. Preventing you from getting hurt in the north-west was the very reason why the Marshal had you stay in this city. It’s too dangerous! Furthermore, this city needs you here, and you have the other half of the commander’s seal, which is by no means something to be taken lightly,” observed the Right Prime Minister.

“The situation in this city has already stabilized. With you being here in charge, I have nothing to worry about. As for the other half of the commander’s seal, it’s the very matter I came here to talk to you about…”

…

After Ling Zhang left, the Right Prime Minister and the other courtiers looked at each other in disbelief.

“Does Childe Ling really trust us so much?”

“Isn’t he being too… too reckless?”

The Right Prime Minister thought for a moment and then shook his head. “The way I see it, he’s not being reckless but fearless, because he has something secure to rely on.”

“Something secure to rely on?” The others were baffled.

Zhao Zheng asked thoughtfully, “Your Lordship, are you referring to that kung fu expert Ling Zhang has at his back who’s capable of deploying superb formations?”

The Right Prime Minister gave a bob of the head. “No matter whether he’s a kung fu expert or not, given that Ling Zhang dared entrust him with the whole capital city, he must be very much in Ling Zhang’s confidence.”

“You’ve been to the Ling Mansion, Your Lordship. Did you see anybody out of the ordinary there?” someone inquired.

The Right Prime Minister shook his head. “Not that I can remember.”

“Uh…”

“No matter what, since Childe Ling insists on leaving this city, the one staying behind will surely have dealings with us one way or another, and we’ll find out the truth when he does.”

“You’re right, Your Lordship.”

…

After having a talk with the Right Prime Minister and some other courtiers, Ling Zhang paid a visit to Yuwen Feng the Assistant Minister of Rites.

Yuwen Zhi and Fang Quan, along with all their allies, were locked up in the imperial palace. Yuwen Qi was also imprisoned. Yuwen Feng had been set free, but he looked rather dispirited, his face ghastly white.

“How do you feel? You don’t look well,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Feng gave a smile. “It’s nothing serious. I just need a rest cure. By the way, thank you for getting me out of there.”

“Your father is in the imperial palace…”

“I know. What my father did was inexcusable, and I don’t dare intercede for him. I just hope you’ll let him live.”

“That’s not my decision to make. You’ll have to wait until Yuwen Tong comes back and talk to him about it.”

This at least indicated that Yuwen Zhi was safe for the moment, so the apprehension on Yuwen Feng’s face dissolved considerably. “Thank you,” he said.

Chapter 323: The Journey to the Borderlands, Spending the Night in a Small Town

Youzhou. Near the border.

The Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom joined forces because they wanted to take advantage of the civil strife in the Great Yue to blindside it, break through the fortification line near Youzhou, and then take Youzhou before marching straight south, but unexpectedly, the garrison in Youzhou seemed to have some time ago made preparations for this situation. After attacking it for such a long time, the coalition forces still hadn’t taken the border city. Worse still, Yuwen Tong had arrived, which was very bad news for the two countries.

“Previously a small team of soldiers of the Wan Kingdom were found to be skulking outside our fortification line, and I immediately came to know those fools of the Wan Kingdom were up to something,” said Jiang Xi the deputy commander in a smug tone. By successfully defending Youzhou and thwarting the Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s scheme, he had no doubt performed a meritorious wartime exploit.

“Since you’ve got enough time on your hand to boast, how about you go and make an inspection tour? The enemies have been quiet for two days. It won’t be long before they launch another attack,” said Yuwen Tong, reading a letter in his hands, slightly furrowing his brows.

Originally Jiang Xi had wanted to say something, but at the sight of Yuwen Tong’s frown, the complacency on his face disappeared and he asked, “Did something happen in the capital city, Marshal?”

“Everything in the capital city is under control now. Barring accidents, all they need is for me to return,” responded Yuwen Tong.

“Then why are you frowning? I was startled,” said Jiang Xi.

“Someone refused to behave and insisted on coming here.” Yuwen Tong’s resigned voice was tinged with expectation, seeming to be torn between anger and delight.

Jiang Xi was thrown into perplexity by the complicated expression on his face. “Who’s coming?”

After a while, Jiang Xi came to understand. Only when receiving a message about Ling Zhang from the capital city would Yuwen Tong had this kind of expression. Was the one coming by any chance…

“Marshal, is it Childe Ling who’s coming here?”

Yuwen Tong burnt the letter and answered, “Yeah. If his horse is fast enough, in all likelihood he’ll get here in six days.”

Jiang Xi immediately cheered. “Does that mean I’ll soon see what your marriage partner looks like, Marshal?!”

Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at him. Naturally, the form of address “marriage partner” struck him as pleasant, but Ling Zhang undoubtedly wouldn’t be very happy to be addressed as such.

This inscrutable glance from Yuwen Tong made Jiang Xi’s flesh creep. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Don’t disclose this to anybody else yet. I’ll have Lao Qi make arrangements for some men to meet him covertly,” said Yuwen Tong.

Jiang Xi patted his own chest. “You may rest assured that it’ll stay secret, Marshal. I look forward to seeing how charming Childe Ling, the one you’re smitten by, is.”

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and made no reply, but his mind had flied across the borderlands to the road connecting the capital city and Youzhou.

…

The Sanguan Mountains were between Youzhou and Shengzhou. Tongguan Town was a small town located in Youzhou, not far away from the main road leading from the capital city to Youzhou.

Ling Zhang was on the back of Snowflake the horse. Riding alongside with him was Ling Zhaowu, closely followed by Ji Donglin, his twenty-four bodyguards and some men sent by the Millennium Pavilion to protect him. The group of them on fast horses were galloping along the main road.

What with the war, almost all commercial and transport activities in Youzhou had stopped. Barely anybody could be seen traveling on the main road, except for some teams who were leaving Youzhou, heading south.

“Why are these people so anxious to flee when the border city of Youzhou still stands?” said Qiu Bing, disgruntled.

Their trust in Yuwen Tong was absolute, and they had no doubt whatsoever that he would succeed in defending Youzhou against the attack.

“It’s not their fault. They’re all just common townsfolk. You can’t blame them for fearing death,” observed Wang Dashan.

“Humph. The Marshal cannot be defeated,” snorted Qiu Bing.

“Well, we’ll get there in three days. It’s late. Let’s find a place to spend the night. We’ve been traveling for so long. It’s time we got some rest,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang was bent on going to the borderlands as soon as possible, but Ling Zhaowu had just started recovering not long ago. He himself could endure the fatigue, but his father couldn’t.

Wang Dashan walked over and said, “Young Master, we’ll go and scout out the lay of the land first. You and Master Ling may slow down a little bit.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head.

Wang Dashan, Qiu Bing and Zhou Xiang galloped forward. Liu Yi and the rest of the guards gathered behind Ling Zhang and his father, progressing at a gentler speed.

Before long, Wang Dashan and the other two returned.

“There’s a small town ahead, Young Master.”

They went into the town and found that although some stores were still open for business, there weren’t many pedestrians on the streets. Probably because of the ongoing war, residents here all looked somewhat apprehensive.

Since Ling Zhang and the others made a big group, some residents panicked at the sight of them entering the town. All pedestrians ran off, and some storekeepers even directly shut the doors, which showed how watchful people here were.

“It seems that some people have been taking advantage of the war to loot and pillage in this area, which is why townsfolk here are so wary of strangers,” said Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang hadn’t thought of this at first. It was after Ling Zhaowu brought this up that he came to realize the reason.

“This town is not really far away from the fortification line. Even Youzhou is only a half-a-day’s horse ride away. The garrison of Youzhou are still guarding the city, yet there are people in this area who dare take advantage of the war to rob and plunder?” said Wang Dashan, astonished.

“Brother Wang, you’ve been to Youzhou before?” asked Ling Zhang.

Wang Dashan responded, “Some of my friends travel around the country quite often, and I once heard them talk about this town, so I know it’s not far away from Youzhou.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod.

Ling Zhaowu said, “Although the garrison of Youzhou are still in position, it’s impossible for them to patrol this place. Besides, as this town is near the main road, robbers and ruffians could easily make their escape if they have things well planned out before committing crimes.”

“Let’s make some inquiries later and find out if this kind of things have really been happening,” said Ling Zhang, a grave expression on his face.

They checked into an inn in the town. At first the innkeeper was also very wary of them, but then he noticed that Ling Zhang, Ling Zhaowu and a couple of others were well dressed, of great presence and quite refined; on top of that, Wang Dashan and other guards were acting in a well-trained manner. In the knowledge that they were not robbers or bandits, he let his guard down and invited them to take seats in the lobby.

“Is it a meal or accommodation that you are seeking, my guests?”

“It’s late, so we’d like to spend the night here. There are a lot of us. Do you have enough rooms available?”

The innkeeper hurriedly answered with a nod, “Yes, I do. There are very few outsiders in town at this point in time, so my inn is basically empty. There are enough rooms for all of you.”

“Then please prepare the rooms for us. By the way, we’d like some food first.”

“Right away, my guest.”

The innkeeper quickly took his order and then instructed his two waiters to get to work. It was quite some time before their dishes were served. Ling Zhang and the couple of others sharing the table with him were the first to have all their courses served. The cooked rice and dishes were all fresh and steaming, seeming to have just been prepared in the kitchen.

It took the chef and waiters another long while to have all the others’ dishes prepared and served.

Then the innkeeper took the waiters to prepare the rooms. After Ling Zhang and the others had their fill of food and drink, the rooms were almost ready.

Ling Zhang called the innkeeper over and said, “Hey, keeper, there’s something I want to ask you about.”

“What is it, my guest?” asked the inn-keeper.

“We traveled all the way north to this town and noticed that there were very few pedestrians on the streets. Most people, when they saw us entering the town in the distance, got scared, turned around and fled, and a lot of storekeepers closed the doors at the sight of us. What’s the reason for that? To my knowledge, the defense of the border city of Youzhou is still solid. Marshal Yuwen is personally directing operations there. The Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s armies won’t be able to break through the fortification line. Even if residents in this town are somewhat panic-stricken, this kind of overreaction would still sound a little dramatic. They could totally set their mind at ease and continue leading normal lives,” said Ling Zhang.

The inn-keeper’s countenance gradually changed as he listened. His face crumpling up, he let out a sigh and then explained, “You probably don’t know this, my guest. We’re not worried that the Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s armies would break through the defense line. It’s those brutal bandits that we’re afraid of.”

“Brutal bandits?” Ling Zhang knitted his brows. Was his father right, by any chance? There were really bandits wreaking havoc on this town?

“Yeah. Two gangs of bandits have been here recently. They were not in great numbers, but they raided every store that was open, took everything they could carry and killed those who tried to stop them. After that, they fled south. We reported it to local authorities but it was no good,” said the innkeeper resentfully.

“Two gangs of bandits? Can you provide some details? There are not many of us, but if you could give us some specific clues, we might be able to help,” said Ling Zhang.

“Oh, thank you in advance, my guest. That’s so kind of you,” said the innkeeper delightedly, but then his face crumpled up again. “I’m afraid it won’t do any good. Those bandits are from the north. As far as I could tell, they are a bunch of northern ruffians and rogues who fled to this area, plundered our town and then escaped to the south. They’ve definitely run far away from this place by now.”

“The north? Right now the north should be under tight control of the North-western Army. How come these ruffians and hooligans still dare to be so unruly?” huffed Ling Zhang.

The innkeeper also furrowed his brows. “Nobody knows why. I think maybe those bandits fled because they heard about Marshal Yuwen’s arrival and got scared. Their doings caused a panic among residents of all towns near the main road. They were targeting small towns and never went into any big ones. It’s so unfortunate of us to be living in a small town.”

Ling Zhang was indignant. It’d never crossed his mind that in these circumstances, there would still be people who dared commit this kind of heinous crime.

Ling Zhaowu patted his shoulders in an effort to allay his anger, and then asked the inn-keeper, “How many people were there in the two gangs of bandits?”

“About a dozen, maybe over twenty,” answered the inn-keeper. “These days some people who are scared of the war are going south in groups, but if they take the main road, I think there’s a very high chance they’ll encounter those bandits again. Alas, this is so…”

A thought suddenly occurred to Ling Zhang and he said, “We didn’t come across either of the two gangs of bandits on our way here. In addition, except for this one, all the towns we stayed in along our journey had never been pillaged.”

The innkeeper looked quizzical and frightened. “Ah? Are they still lingering in this area, by any chance?! My goodness, they might come back here again!”

“No, no, no… I need to tell everybody about this immediately and alert them!” After saying this, the innkeeper ran off. Ling Zhang and some others tried to persuade him to stay but failed.

“Young Master, we’ll go and check the perimeter. If those bandits are really still around, we’ll take care of them,” said Wang Dashan.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Okay. Be careful.”

Chapter 324: A Hunt for Bandits

Ling Zhang and the others spent the night in the small town. What with the matter of the two gangs of bandits, they didn’t resume their journey right away. Shortly after daybreak, Wang Dashan returned.

“Young Master, those bandits indeed didn’t go further south. It seems that the two gangs have merged and made a den out of a spot on a hill fifty miles away from this town. Liu Yi and some others are trying to check out the lay of the land in that place, and I came back here to report it to you first.”

“Fifty miles away?”

When Wang Dashan reported on this, Ling Zhang and the others were having breakfast in the lobby. The innkeeper and the waiters were all present. When they heard that those bandits had made a den out of a place fifty miles away, despair appeared on all their faces.

“Why did they make a den nearby? Are they planning to rob us again? We’re toast. We’re so toast,” said the inn-keeper, harassed-looking.

Ling Zhang exchanged glances with Ling Zhaowu and then said, “Since we’ve already got involved in this, we won’t leave until all of them are handled, so there’s no need for you to panic.”

The innkeeper rejoiced at these words. “Thank you, childe. You’re such a good Samaritan!”

“But those bandits number thirty to forty. Are you sure you can defeat them?” said one of the two waiters both of whom looked apprehensive and didn’t seem to quite believe Ling Zhang and his men could handle those bandits.

“They’re just a bunch of bandits, a disorderly mob. We’ve got nothing to fear from them,” said Ling Zhaowu.

The two waiters seemed to have something else to say, but the innkeeper stopped them and said, “If you really dispose of those bandits, you’ll be the saviors of this town, and we’ll do everything within our power to repay you for your help. Apart from anything else, I won’t charge you a single coin for the meals or the accommodation.”

Ji Donglin on the side uttered a snorting chuckle. Although he didn’t saying anything, it was very obvious that he was not very struck on the promised reward.

The innkeeper appeared somewhat disconcerted.

Ling Zhang said to him, “Please prepare some more food for us – something we can carry with us: dumplings, steamed buns, etc.”

The innkeeper hurriedly took his leave, followed by the two waiters.

“Should we directly go there, Young Master?” asked Wang Dashan.

Ling Zhang nodded. “Let’s make this quick and then resume our journey.”

“Fortunately these two gangs of thugs didn’t go further south. Otherwise nobody knows how many more people would fall victim,” observed Wang Dashan.

“It’s the north that’s at war. The further south they go, the less easy targets they could find. Given that they’ve made a den fifty miles away, they must’ve made up their mind to take advantage of the panic to rob residents of Youzhou. Currently they don’t dare travel south,” said Ling Zhang.

“It surprises me that this rabble of thugs actually are not incurably foolish,” said Wang Dashan.

“They’re nothing but a crew of losers,” remarked Ling Zhang.

After waiting for some extra time, the innkeeper had their food ready. Ling Zhang told his bodyguards to take it and deliver it to Liu Yi and the couple of others later.

“Father, I’m afraid you’re not in a fit state to make a round trip to that place, so maybe you should wait in this inn for us to come back, and don’t forget to take your medicine according to Mr. Mu’s instructions,” Ling Zhang said to Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhaowu thought for a while and agreed. “Okay. Stay safe.”

A disorderly mob didn’t really count as a threat to them, and he believed that his son could handle it. It’d be better if he saved his strength for the remainder of the journey.

“Brother Donglin, would you please have some of your men stay here?” Ling Zhang looked at Ji Donglin.

Ji Donglin gave a bob of the head. “I’ll have five of them stay here to keep Master Ling company.”

Among Ling Zhang’s traveling companions were ten guards from the Millennium Pavilion sent by Ji Yin, all of whom were top-notch kung fu experts.

“Just go and get it over with. Those cold-blooded bandits not only plundered this town of its valuables but also murdered innocent people. There’s no reason to show them any mercy,” exhorted Ling Zhaowu.

Ling Zhang inclined his head and then left the inn, followed by Wang Dashan, Ji Donglin and some others. Before long, they exited the town and made a beeline towards the den of those bandits, Wang Dashan leading the way.

The sun was already high in the sky when they arrived. Liu Yi and the others had generally got the lay of the land.

“It hasn’t been long since they made this place their den. I think there used to be a couple of households in that place, but whether those people are still alive is unknown.” Liu Yi had a rather grave face. “There are thirty-six of them in total. I did some recon and found that all the weapons they got were just some sabers and iron staffs stolen from smithies. They are nothing but a bunch of hooligans and loafers. They have no kung fu skills.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod. “Have something to eat. We’ll go uphill in a few moments and restrain all of them.”

Liu Yi bobbed his head, called the others over, took a couple of bites and then led Ling Zhang and the others uphill.

Distantly, on the hillside, they saw a roadblock in the path, which was guarded by two men on the side who were leaning against a tree trunk, seeming rather bored, chatting in obscene language, so engaged in their conversation that they were totally oblivious of those approaching them.

Wang Dashan and Liu Yi crept up on them and each disposed of one without making any noises. The two bandits were unaware of what happened till the last breaths of their bodies.

“Let’s go up there.” Ling Zhang disgustedly flicked a glance at the two men’s corpses.

As they progressed uphill, it became more obvious that these bandits had indeed settled in this place not long ago, because along the way, they saw some newly felled trees and some messy clumps of bushes.

The den of the bandits was located on a piece of flat ground which was quite broad. There were three adjoining houses all of which were fenced and seemed to belong to hunters living on this hill.

Right now there were also some half-finished house-like things standing there. On the open space in front of the three houses gathered most of the bandits, arguing with each other over the building of more houses.

“I told you we should go downhill and get some carpenters and some builders to this place. We would never have had to face any of this mess had we done that. It wasted so much of my time which I could’ve spent on having fun in the town down there.”

“Tell me about it. I don’t know what got into Chief. We would’ve joined the other group had we known that these people were so troublesome. Heading all the way south would’ve been a choice so much better than staying in this godforsaken place.”

“That guy surnamed He forbids us to go downhill without his consent. His control-freak personality is killing me!”

“Shut up, both of you! If you don’t cut this nonsense and it reaches Chief He’s ears, there will be consequences!”

…

Hearing those bandits quarreling, Ling Zhang felt rather surprised. Someone was restricting these criminals’ freedom? They couldn’t leave this hill at will?

“Let’s not waste any more time. Restrain them all. Those who dare resist shall be killed directly,” said Ling Zhang.

Wang Dashan and the others nodded, drew their weapons and charged right into those bandits without further ado.

Having never expected that a group of men would suddenly launch an attack on them, those bandits were all stupefied and failed to react immediately. On top of that, they didn’t have any kung fu skills whatsoever, so they were no match for Wang Dashan and the others at all. Soon, they were either restrained or killed, lying on the ground this way and that.

Ji Donglin had his men hit some of the acupoints of those who were still alive lest they try to flee.

“Identify yourselves!”

As over ten bandits outside the houses were instantly killed, those inside were alarmed and quickly ran out with sabers, iron staffs and some other weapons in their hands but were also overpowered very soon.

Wang Dashan and some others rushed into the houses and caught two men who looked like ringleaders of these people. They pushed the two of them hard, sending them to the ground. “On your knees!”

“Have mercy on us. Please, heroes!”

“Don’t kill us. Please don’t kill us!”

The dozen of surviving ones of the thirty-six bandits were all gathered together.

“These two are the leaders of these bandits?” Ling Zhang stared at the two men.

One of the two was trembling uncontrollably with fear. The other, though not shaking, had a pale face, cutting a sorry figure.

“Speak!” Qiu Bing gave the bandit kneeling on the side a kick.

“Yes, yes, yes. They’re our chiefs,” the bandit hurriedly answered.

“Where are the original owners of these houses?” Ling Zhang directly asked the two men without saying anything irrelevant.

“They–They are…” The quivering one, with a blood-stained knife held to his throat, replied in a tremulous voice, “They are dead.”

Ling Zhang knitted his brows. “Was it you who killed them all?”

That man didn’t dare respond, so scared that he wet himself, the foul odor of pee making people present nauseous.

Ling Zhang backed away several paces consecutively, looking at the man as though he were looking at a dead man.

Terrified out of his wits, the man soon confessed. “Yes, it was us who killed them. Please have mercy on us, heroes. We’ll never do anything like that again!”

“Kill him,” instructed Ling Zhang coldly.

Wang Dashan wielded his saber and finished the man off in a flash.

“And the others,” added Ling Zhang.

“Please don’t! Mercy, heroes! Please spare us!”

“Please don’t kill us. Please!”

“Ah–!”

The man who the others called Chief He had an ugly look on his face all along, but unlike the others, although he appeared pale and sullen, he’d never trembled so far, and neither did he show any signs of a breakdown, which made Ling Zhang perceptively come to realize that this man was probably more than a common loafer.

“Let this one breathe a while longer. Find out where he comes from and how he managed to flee to this area,” said Ling Zhang.

That man abruptly looked up at Ling Zhang in astonishment.

“What are you looking at? Get your filthy eyes off our young master!” Qiu Bing grabbed the man’s hair and sneered, “You’d better answer all our questions with complete honesty. Otherwise I’ll inflict such torture on you that you’ll beg me to kill you, and I’ll refuse.”

Qiu Bing had a long, thin needle clamped between his fingers, which was giving off a weird, blood-curdling, blackish purple light.

During the period when he’d been learning detoxification skills from Xie Shi, he’d been through a lot of pains and misery that had reduced him to yelling, so his personality had inevitably changed somewhat. At this moment, he was eyeing Chief He icily as though the man were a dummy to which he could do anything he wanted, as though he was waiting for Chief He to resist so that he could use that needle on him.

Frightened half to death, Chief He stammered, “I–I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”

Soon Chief He made a full confession. They came from that border city. As the border city was at war and rumor had it that Marshal Yuwen had arrived, they’d fled the city for fear that the foreign enemies might take the city, and that Marshal Yuwen might kill them after the many evil deeds of theirs came to his knowledge. On their way, seeing some families moving south with very few guards, they’d been tempted and robbed those people of their valuables. At first they’d only aimed at money, but afterward, they had got bolder with every person they robbed, and they’d started killing. They’d snatched their victims’ horses and other belongings and headed straight south. They’d also specially picked some towns, raided them and then fled. It’d been only when they arrived in this area that they decided to make a den out of this place.

“What kind of crime did you commit which made you so afraid of Marshal Yuwen that you fled that border city at the mention of his name?” queried Ling Zhang, fixing him with a flinty stare.