Ling Zhang was escorted back to the military encampment. During the more than two hours when they’d been in the wood, the armed conflict between the rebel forces in Jiangzhou and the army sent by the imperial court had come to an end.

It was easy to imagine how furious Wang Xiangxin was at this moment, given that not only had he not seen the people or the gold he’d been expecting all this time, but he had also lost a lot of men after falling prey to the trap set by General Zhongwu.

“Young Master, your wound is very deep and was soaked by rain too. Before making a full recovery, you must not use this arm again lest the wound be reopened.”

Qiu Bing meticulously cleaned Ling Zhang’s wound, applied some medicine to it, dressed it and eventually gave him some advice in a serious tone.

“I see. You guys should get yourselves examined as well. Some of you are injured and should get the wounds bandaged right away. Those of you who are unharmed may have some rest. When the rain stops, send some men back to the county seat to get our baggage. We won’t be going back to that residence anytime soon.”

Looking at the cut on his arm, Ling Zhang made arrangements for them to deal with what needed to be done next.

As he was wounded, the General Zhongwu soon came to check on him. Knowing that Ling Zhang had merely hurt his arm and the wound had been dressed, he gave a gasp of relief.

“It never crossed my mind Shan Congyi would carry with him something powerful enough to blast such a huge crater in the ground. I’d never seen anything like that before either, and I don’t have a clue what it was. If all the armies of the Wan Kingdom are equipped with that kind of things, our country would be in dire danger.”

After hearing what had happened in the wood, the General Zhongwu was very worried.

“It was a small black iron ball. I didn’t have enough time to see its contents. Seeing as Shan Congyi used it as a last resort, it must be very rare and precious to him. He wouldn’t have used it had he had another choice. It’s impossible for the Wan Kingdom to equip its every army with that kind of weapons, but we still need to ascertain what it was.”

Before the General Zhongwu’s arrival, Ling Zhang had had Yao Yi write a letter for him, the contents of which included information about that iron ball. When the rain stopped, he’d have the letter delivered to the capital city, telling Yuwen Tong to send someone to the Wan Kingdom to look into it immediately.

…

In Jiangzhou.

The rebels fled back to the checkpoint, shut the gates as a matter of urgency and finally got themselves a respite. The rebel army had lost more than half of its troops during this fight! Originally they’d planned to go out of the checkpoint, distract the army of the imperial court with a feint, and then lure them away to create an opportunity for Shan Congyi to transport the gold to the checkpoint. They hadn’t bargained on falling victim to the enemy’s subterfuge. The army of the imperial court had not only routed them like a knife through butter but also kept them from retreating to the checkpoint. Worse still, they hadn’t got a single one of the gold ingots that those people of the Wan Kingdom were supposed to deliver to them!

Wang Xiangxin, the mastermind who’d orchestrated this attack launched by the rebel forces, was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. He’d lost so many men during this fight! And he’d failed to get the gold of the Wan Kingdom too!

“Lord Commander, it’s said that when we were fighting out there, there was a turmoil going on in the wood beside Xiaofeng Village as well. That loud explosion we heard during the fight was from that very wood. Considering the ground quaked for a long moment, do you think it’s possible that the explosion was caused by… the thing Shan Congyi mentioned in that letter? That’s also the reason why I suspect Shan Congyi and his men were intercepted.

This time around Xiao Jiangyue clearly had made some preparations. He’d anticipated that we would go out of our checkpoint to harass them, but he’d been laying low all along, pretending to be unaware of it. It seems that Shan Congyi’s plan to transport gold through this checkpoint had come to Xiao Jiangyue’s knowledge some time ago. As things stand, I’m afraid those gold ingots have also fallen into the hands of Xiao Jiangyue. I wonder if Shan Congyi is alive or not, and whether he has more gold to offer us.”

The speaker was a lieutenant of Wang Xiangxin’s, who was very much in Wang Xiangxin’s confidence. On one knee, he anxiously looked at his commander standing in the shadows.

“The Wan Kingdom was at war with the Great Yue for several consecutive years. I’m afraid their exchequer has long since been depleted. This time Shan Congyi managed to bring some gold here, but it’s very unlikely he could do the same thing again. Even if he could, there’s no way the amount would be the same. On top of that, there’s also the problem of finding the right time to open up another gap in the enemy line for him. Right now we don’t even know whether Shan Congyi still draws breath or not. It’s inadvisable to continue to pin our faith on the Wan Kingdom.”

Wang Xiangxin made a reply in a sinister tone in which there was manifest anger he was unable to conceal. “There’s no doubt Xiao Jiangyue had been in Xishan County previously, but he suddenly showed up in this place. They must have got wind of it some time ago. Judging from the deployment of the troops sent by the imperial court, they probably wouldn’t stay at their checkpoint for long. We don’t have much time. We must force our way through that checkpoint in Haizhou and take Haizhou as soon as possible. Jiangzhou is poor in natural resources. We could easily get trapped and killed like fish in a barrel if we stay here too long.”

“But we need the cooperation of the Luohai Kingdom to take Haizhou. It won’t be easy for us to do it without their help, given that currently most of our men are stationed at the four checkpoints.”

His lieutenant was deeply concerned. This time they had not only failed to get the gold but also lost so many men. It was definitely a heavy blow. “In addition, if by any chance the failure of the Wan Kingdom’s plan comes to the knowledge of the Luohai Kingdom–”

“Which is why we must figure out a way to have the Luohai Kingdom cooperate with us and take action before that happens,” interrupted Wang Xiangxin in a fierce tone.

His trusted lieutenant knew that they didn’t really have a choice. If they continued to wait, they would very likely end up being wiped out by the army of the imperial court. “Should I go to–”

“No. You’re to stay here keeping watch on the movement of Xiao Jiangyue’s men. I’ll personally pay a visit to Haizhou.”

“That’s… Yes, Commander!” answered Wang Xiangxin’s lieutenant, lowering his head. Then he looked up only to find that Wang Xiangxin was gone. At the prospect of cleaning up the mess on his own, his face crumpled up.

Wang Xiangxin quietly left. The disguise he was wearing was the work of an army physician serving in the rebel forces. He returned to the infirmary, walked into the innermost room and sat down, an ugly look on his face.

“Lord Commander.” A voice was suddenly heard, but the door of the room remained motionless. The speaker must’ve been hiding in this room for some time.

However, Wang Xiangxin had got used to it. “How did it go? Have your men managed to sneak into the encampment of the imperial court’s army? Did they find anything?”

“Sneak into it? That encampment was cloaked in some kind of weird concealment formation. My men got caught immediately after entering. And, when your men were fighting on the front lines, three of my men died in this place. It would seem some killers have infiltrated into your headquarters before any of our men could sneak into the enemy’s encampment, and these killers are capable of accurately identifying my men!”

The speaker walked out of the darkness. He was wearing a skintight black outfit, with eerie black totemic markings on his face, emanating a cold air. His long-fingered hands were very pale, his voice rather wintry. It was as though he were not a living person at all.

“What? Some people slipped in here?” Wang Xiangxin was taken aback.

“Who else knows so much about my men other than you, Lord Commander?” asked the man, staring fixedly at Wang Xiangxin with skeptical eyes.

Wang Xiangxin felt an overwhelming surge of anger but, surprisingly, smiled, “You’re suspecting me? We’ve been in cooperation for so many years. It’s me who’s taken care of your and your men’s needs. I’ve always trusted you and even put my life in your hands. And now you’re suspecting me?”

Seeing this, the man said, “There’s no need to sulk about it, Lord Commander. If it’s not you, then it would mean someone more formidable has come to Jiangzhou, and they’re targeting my men. Or maybe they’re trying to force you out of hiding. Either way, their ultimate target is you.”

Wang Xiangxin’s countenance became extremely sullen. The failure he’d suffered earlier this day had caused his temper to fray some time before, and now, the combat effectiveness of the elite force under his command, who had never disappointed him before, seemed to be on the decline. They had not only failed to infiltrate into the enemy’s encampment but also allowed some killers to sneak into their own checkpoint.

“These people have such an intimate knowledge of your team, and you don’t have a clue who they might be?!”

The man lowered his eyes. After a while, he replied in a malevolent tone of voice, “Our foes are all in Jianghu, but we haven’t shown our faces for many years and they all believe we died a long time ago. These killers’ identities are a mystery to us. Their killing style is quick and clean. They’re even more experienced in killing and more adept at hiding than us. These people have been given specialized training in assassination. In the past few years, nobody has heard of anyone like them in Jianghu.”

Wang Xiangxin pondered over it for quite a while before a thought occurred to him, sending a chill down his spine. “Are you saying that these people are probably not from Jianghu but from the imperial court? That Yuwen Tong sent them here?!”

“Exactly.”

Astounded, Wang Xiangxin sprung to his feet immediately. “We need to change our disguise and go to Jinhai County straight away!”

…

“I’m sure Wang Xiangxin is on tenterhooks. Right now he has to either go to Haizhou or gather his men as quickly as he could, force his way out of Jiangzhou and then take Cangzhou in one fell swoop. Unfortunately for him, in order to defend the four checkpoints, his men are divided. Besides, he almost certainly doesn’t dare take the risk at this point in time. It’s more likely that he’ll go to Haizhou, which is his escape route. In addition, Haizhou is a coastal prefecture and has excellent transport links that facilitate maritime trade. Without the gold from the Wan Kingdom, they’ll have to figure out another way to get funded. I wonder what the situation is like in Haizhou.”

Ling Zhang started talking almost immediately after sitting down. According to their plan, they and the Haizhou garrison would outflank Jiangzhou, launch their offensive at the same time, and destroy the rebel forces under Wang Xiangxin’s command once and for all.

“Messengers from Haizhou have to detour to Yanzhou first before they could deliver secret intelligence reports to us, so it’ll take more time,” said the General Zhongwu.

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and said, “If we could get into Jiangzhou, the delivery of messages between us and Haizhou would be much easier. Jincang County and Jinhai County in Jiangzhou are the only two counties between this place and Haizhou. Sneaking into Jiangzhou would allow us to stay informed about the latest development of the situation.”

Yao Yi’s heart jumped at these words and with that he looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang, who was absorbed in thought, didn’t notice the look in Yao Yi’s eyes, but the General Zhongwu did, so he said, “You’ve got a point, Childe Ling. How about I have some of my men sneak into Jiangzhou?”

“Um?” Ling Zhang looked up at him. “Your men?”

Ling Zhang intended to go there personally. He was in the dark about the current situation in Jiangzhou, so he wanted to go and see it for himself.

“Ahem.” Yao Yi felt obliged to remind him, “Childe Ling, His Majesty made it very clear you’re not to enter Jiangzhou.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

‘I almost forgot this.’ He silently glanced at Yao Yi.

Yao Yi didn’t avert his eyes and looked back at him.

The General Zhongwu said, “I also want to visit Jiangzhou to acquaint myself with the defense there in preparation for our joint operation with Haizhou.”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. The General Zhongwu was the commander-in-chief. If he left, who could deputize for him?

“Pity this army needs me here. It’s impractical for me to leave,” added the General Zhongwu after a brief moment.

Ling Zhang looked at him confusedly. What did he mean?

For some unknown reason, Yao Yi was on the alert, gazing unblinkingly at the General Zhongwu.