When news of the defeat reached Liuzhou, the entire court was in uproar. Even Emperor Li Gou, who had not attended court for several years, made an exception and attended court. The debate raged, with all fingers pointing at Wang Xian, but no one dared to mention Wu Shu, who had appointed Wang Xian. Ultimately, Li Gou accepted Dong Cheng's memorial and appointed Dong Cheng as the commander of Qinggui, thus tacitly acknowledging Li Jun's control over the fertile land of Qinggui. Wang Xian's entire family was imprisoned, the men enslaved and the women forced into prostitution. News of Wang Xian's own devastation was also sent to Kuanglan City.
Even more far-reaching was Li Jun's use of Feng Jiutian's plan to retrieve and return the remains of over 100,000 Su soldiers to Su. This not only earned the Peace Army a reputation for "respecting the dead" and "benevolence," but also greatly distressed the Su court and the public. The burial of over 100,000 bodies, the comforting of over 100,000 families, coupled with the loss of Qinggui and Lianggang Xizhou, important financial pillars, emptied the once-full treasury, leaving Su unable to launch a large-scale military attack for two or three years.
"Has he confessed?"
Huo Kuang leaned against his book box and asked with considerable dissatisfaction.
"Because the superiors have ordered that torture not be used, I truly cannot get that brat to confess." The military judge bowed before Huo Kuang, his words filled with both reverence and respect.
“Torturing such a brat is not the act of a wise man,” Huo Kuang smiled slightly. “Bring him here; I want to interrogate him myself.” “This…” the military judge looked troubled and said, “Sir, you bear the heavy responsibility of the entire army; surely it’s not necessary for you to personally handle such a trivial matter?”
"Don't worry, don't worry, didn't you say that brat doesn't know any kung fu? Besides, you stripped him naked and searched him thoroughly, but found nothing. Hmm, how about this, you invite Xiao Guang over again. With him protecting me, you should feel at ease, right?" "In that case, I'll go arrange it right away." The military judge bowed again and left. Huo Kuang smiled gently under the lamplight, casually taking a book from his bookcase and flipping through it for a while.
After a while, Xiao Guangxian yawned and walked in. His towering height made the room seem even shorter. Upon seeing Huo Kuang, he bowed deeply and said, "What are your orders, sir?"
"Today, our spies caught a little devil. They say he's associated with Meng Yuan, and Meng Yuan's brow unfurrowed after seeing him," Huo Kuang said slowly. "I want to see what this little devil said to make Meng Yuan happy." "Oh," Xiao Guang said, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Won't you beat him? He's just a little devil." "Haha, you Qiang people, all that big for nothing, but you're so kind-hearted!" Huo Kuang laughed loudly. A little embarrassed by his laughter, Xiao Guang scratched his head and muttered to himself, "How could I be tortured in the hands of an adult? I was so foolish." "If they are utterly wicked, or those who disregard the people for personal ambition, I will not hesitate to subject them to severe punishment," Huo Kuang said slowly. "Take Li Jun and Meng Yuan, for example. They not only wreaked havoc in Yuzhou, but also invaded my Chen Kingdom first, and now they've invaded the Su Kingdom. If we don't eliminate them as soon as possible, they will become a scourge to the world!" "But I heard that when they arrived in Yuzhou, the people there were quite happy, and the Qiang people there weren't discriminated against like they were in Chen Kingdom." Xiao Guang scratched his head, puzzled. "They are enemies of Your Excellency, so of course they are bad people, but why are bad people treating us Qiang people well?"
Huo Kuang stared blankly at Xiao Guang for a moment, never expecting that this Qiang man would harbor such thoughts. Was his desire to kill Li Jun and Meng Yuan truly to rid the world of evil? If it was merely for their ambitions, then were there no ambitious people in the Chen Kingdom? Even Commander Liu, who had personally promoted him and shown him great kindness…
Thinking of this, he shook his head, forcing himself to stop thinking about it. No matter what Commander Liu did, he could only do his best for him. He sighed softly and said, "Some things cannot be explained by reasons. If you want to explain them, you have to look at the results." "The more you talk, the more confused I get," Xiao Guang said with dissatisfaction.
"Then forget it, haha..." Huo Kuang couldn't help but laugh again. Just then, the military judge and several knife-wielders escorted the boy into the house.
"What's your name?" Seeing the boy startled when he saw Xiao Guang's burly body, Huo Kuang's suspicions grew stronger. The boy's reaction was clearly the normal reaction of an ordinary country boy who had never seen a Qiang person before. Could it be that he really wasn't a spy?
"I am Lu Qi," the young man said, his words filled with great respect.
"They didn't hit you, did they?" The boy's name was nothing special; in ordinary families with many children, they were often named after their birth order. Therefore, Huo Kuang found it even more strange.
"These uncles scared me, but they didn't hit me." The boy was clearly clever; at this point, he even gritted his teeth at the military judge, as if he were biting something. The military judge blushed. Huo Kuang forbade them to use torture, but he didn't forbid them from using intimidation.
"Please sit down. Don't be afraid. We just want to ask you a few questions. You can go back after we're done," Huo Kuang said with a smile.
"Please ask me whatever you want, I dare not hide anything." "Did you go to Maple Forest today?" Huo Kuang asked.
"I went there. I was arrested by those old men. I don't even know what I did wrong." "Did you see Meng Yuan? Oh, you know, that young general, not very tall but very sturdy." "Yes, I saw him. I even spoke with him for a while. He gave me a bag of money, but they took it. Sir, could you return it to me when I leave?"
"What did you say to him that made him give you the money?"
Young Lu Qi frowned, seemingly recalling something, then suddenly said, "I remember now, I gave General Meng something, it was something like a drawing." Upon hearing this, the military judge stood up abruptly and roared, "I've been asking you for so long, why didn't you tell me?"
The boy looked aggrieved and said, "You only asked me if I worked for Meng Yuan. If this official hadn't told me that the general's name was Meng Yuan, I wouldn't have known him at all. How could I answer that?"
"Don't shout, don't shout." Huo Kuang waved for the military judge to sit down, then asked, "What does that painting look like?"
"It seems to be some kind of tunnel." The boy thought hard for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There are words on it, but I can't understand them. By the way, where's my bamboo?"
"It's here." The military judge took the bamboo stick from beside a knife-wielder, but didn't give it to the boy, saying, "Your things are all here. What do you need this bamboo stick for?"
“I can draw it for you. I don’t recognize the words on the picture, but I remember some of the picture itself.” The boy reached out to take the bamboo, but the military judge chuckled and suddenly broke the bamboo in two. He examined the bamboo carefully and found that it was hollow and had no other features before giving the boy the thinner piece.
The boy squatted on the ground, drew a few strokes with bamboo, then put the bamboo in his mouth as if he was thinking about something. Xiao Guang glanced at him for a while, but felt that he couldn't understand what the boy was drawing at all. But Huo Kuang could tell that it should be a map of Fenglin Ferry Town.
"Could there be some kind of tunnel in Fenglin Ferry Town that the spy discovered and had this boy report to Meng Yuan?" Huo Kuang's heart stirred. "That spy must still be in the town. Since he can't easily go in and out, he sought out this kid to help him. So who exactly is he?"
"Hey big uncle, you're blocking my light." The boy muttered to himself as he lowered his head and continued drawing on the ground. Xiao Guang moved aside upon hearing this. After drawing a few strokes, the boy seemed to encounter another problem. He put the bamboo tube in his mouth, looked up, and smiled at Huo Kuang.
Seeing him smile, Huo Kuang couldn't help but smile back. In that instant, the boy suddenly inhaled and blew out the poison needle that he had been holding in his mouth for a long time. The poison needle was as thin as a cow's hair, and its power would have been negligible if it weren't for the fact that it was in this room. But in this room, the poison needle shot out swiftly and pierced Huo Kuang's cheek.
"Ouch!" Huo Kuang clutched his cheek and retreated. The boy stood up, but his untrained movements were no match for Xiao Guang's. Xiao Guang's leg, as thick as his waist, rammed into him. With a "crack," the boy's chest and abdomen bones shattered. But a strange smile appeared on the boy's face, and purple blood trickled from his mouth and nostrils. His originally innocent face was now as grotesque as a ghost!
"I did it!" the boy gritted his teeth, straightened his body, then collapsed to the ground, twitching once before falling still. Huo Kuang clutched his cheek; those around him, not seeing any wounds or blood, were puzzled. Huo Kuang slowly sat down and said, "Summon the army doctor." Xiao Guang rushed to his side, and Huo Kuang moved his hand away, revealing a short needle tip protruding from his cheek. The army doctor knelt down with a thud, crying, "I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" "It's not you who deserves to die, but the one who ordered this child to risk his life to assassinate him." Huo Kuang closed his eyes; he could feel a numbness spreading from his cheek to his brain. Soon, he would lose his mind. He sighed deeply. He was full of talent, yet he had served as a minor county magistrate for over ten years, only able to display his abilities under Liu Guang. He never expected to end like this. The ancient saying, "To die before achieving one's goal," rings true…
"Grind the ink for me," Huo Kuang said, the numbness on his face growing stronger. He knew the needle was poisoned with a slow-acting poison; although it wouldn't kill instantly, he would eventually die. The poisoned needle must be in the boy's dentures. He had made a face at the military judge earlier, actually biting through his dentures. After that, he hadn't spoken much, until he tricked Xiao Guang into moving aside, and then suddenly the poison took effect. This plan must have been devised by someone with an extremely meticulous mind, capable of reading people's minds from a thousand miles away. Commander Liu should be wary; there are such unscrupulous people in Li Jun's army.
As he thought about it, he wrote it down: his time was running out, and he should do his best for Commander Liu in his final moments...
Outside Maple Forest Ferry Town, a figure stood quietly, her slender body trembling slightly in the night wind before disappearing into the maple forest. Where she stood, four words were worn away by her feet, unnoticed by anyone: "Lu Clan Death Squad".
"Brother Li Jun, Brother Meng Yuan, this is all I can do for you. If you also intend to disturb the peace of the people of Su Kingdom, then this is all I can offer you." Facing the setting moon, she walked quietly away, her eyes shimmering like two waning moons. The night wind carried away a soft sigh of "Xiao Qi," disappearing without a trace, like the maple leaves scattered on the ground, vanishing into the soil with time, never to be remembered again.
Chapter Ten: Time
one,
Although Feng Jiutian appeared calm, his frequent glances into the distance revealed that he was still worried about something.
The shouts of battle in the distance gradually subsided. Under the frontal assault of the Xuanji chariot, coupled with the coordinated attacks of the main force of the Peace Army, the Chen soldiers, whose elite troops had already been destroyed by the earth-shattering explosion, were forced to retreat.
"Pass down the order: no pursuit. As long as we force Liu Guang to retreat, we've won," Liu Guang commanded. Lei Hun, standing coldly to the side with his hands in his sleeves, was glanced at by Feng Jiutian, who added, "Quickly have Miss Ji Su retreat back to the central camp."
Not long after the military order was issued, the sound of the retreat signaled, and a moment later, Ji Su, covered in blood, rushed over. Lei Hun saw the murderous intent in her eyes, as if she had not yet had enough of fighting, and his lips twitched slightly, but in the end he said nothing.
"brush!"
Feng Jiutian felt a blur before his eyes, and Ji Su's saber was already pressed against his throat, while her gaze, sharper than the blade, was fixed on Feng Jiutian's eyes.
"Are you going to blow me up too?" Ji Su asked, almost word by word.
“I’ve already told you that there are explosives buried in those places. As long as you don’t go near those places, you’ll be fine.” Feng Jiutian’s face was a little pale, and he forced a smile.
"So, did you intend to place me among the enemy's defeated troops?"
Feng Jiutian was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "That's true. My original intention was for you to die in battle amidst the mournful soldiers of Liu Guang."
Ji Su slowly sheathed her saber. Feng Jiutian had no chance to dodge under her attack; if she wanted to kill, she could have killed a hundred of them long ago. She removed her helmet; her face was extremely pale from blood loss. She closed her bright eyes slightly, seemingly dizzy, then glared fiercely at Feng Jiutian: "Are you really capable of such ruthless methods?"
Feng Jiutian lowered his head, avoiding her gaze, and said, "Do you remember what Liu Guang said when we met outside Huichang City that day?"