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On March 9, 1950, the last remaining Kuomintang (KMT) force of over 800 men, pursued by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), crossed the Yunnan border into Burma under the command of Regiment Commander Li Guohui. They joined forces with remnants of the KMT's Anti-Japanese Expeditionary Force led by Tan Zhong, forming an armed force of over 3,000 men, becoming a formidable military force in the Golden Triangle. In 1951, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Li Milai, commander of the KMT's 8th Army and a lieutenant general, to lead this remnant force. By 1953, its strength had expanded to nearly 20,000 men, designated the "93rd Division." The Burmese government forces launched an offensive against the KMT army, which lasted over two months, ultimately ending in defeat for the Burmese. In January 1961, with the support of the PLA's operations across the border, the Burmese army defeated the 93rd Division. The remnants, led by Duan Xiwen, left Burma and entered the Mae Salong region of northern Thailand, where they have persisted to this day. In exchange for the right to survive, Duan Xiwen's army surrendered to the Thai government in 1963 and was reorganized into the "Northern Thai Mountain People's Self-Defense Force". In the following nearly 20 years, it cooperated with the Thai government army many times to eliminate the Thai Communist armed forces, but it also paid a heavy price, so much so that there were many orphans, widows and disabled veterans in the Golden Triangle, which was shocking.

Two years ago, Duan Xiwen passed away, and Lieutenant General Lei Yutian, the Chief of Staff of the Northern Thai Mountain People's Self-Defense Force, took over as commander.

On this day, the area surrounding the headquarters of the 93rd Division in Mae Salong was under heavy security. Passersby were subject to checks by heavily armed soldiers. General Bo Nong of the Burmese government army visited the area to meet with Lieutenant General Lei Yutian, the commander of the 93rd Division. The headquarters' main hall was also prepared, with soldiers patrolling back and forth armed with American-made carbines. General Bo Nong would meet with the officers and soldiers of the 93rd Division and the people of Mae Salong there and deliver an important speech.

Around noon, people from Mae Salong gradually arrived at the square in front of the Great Hall. Most of them were women and children, who were family members of soldiers from the 93rd Division. They were all filled with fear and anxiety upon hearing that there was going to be fighting again.

Among the crowd was an old monk with white eyebrows, leaning on a purplish-red cane, and standing beside him was a blind young man in black clothes. They were none other than Ao Lao and Huang Jianguo, who had been sent to assassinate General Bo Nong.

The square was surrounded by sentries. No one, regardless of age or gender, was allowed to carry guns or knives. These weapons were common in every household. Old Man Ao and Huang Jianguo were searched before being allowed to enter.

When the time came, a group of military officers arrived at the square in front of the auditorium and sat down in order behind the podium made of long tables. The dark-skinned and upright old man at the head of the group was General Lei Yutian of the 93rd Division. To his right sat a middle-aged man with a black beard and wearing a general's uniform, who was the famous Burmese army commander, General Bo Nong.

First, General Lei spoke. As soon as he stood up, the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

"Fellow villagers, we are soldiers. We joined the army to fight the Japanese and recover our land. But after driving out the Japanese, we fought the Communists. Later, we fought the Burmese government, the Burmese Communist Party, and the Thai Communist Party. From the September 18 Incident to last year's Battle of Kokhao, I, Lei, have been in the army for forty-five years. In these forty-five years, we have been like lepers, fighting back and forth, all for the sake of politics... Look at you, the orphans and widows, the old soldiers with missing limbs, we are all victims of those in power. Now we can't go home and are stranded in foreign lands..." General Lei said with a heavy heart.

At that moment, soft sobs could be heard from the crowd.

"The smoke of war will eventually dissipate, and hatred will fade. We are like a tree grafted onto a foreign trunk. Our descendants are neither fish nor fowl, a group of stateless children..." General Lei's eyes reddened. He paused for a moment, then continued, "We, this group of wandering Chinese, no matter what we have done in the past—whether we served in the army, fought against the Japanese, fought in civil wars or foreign wars, fought to retake the mainland, engaged in power struggles, or trafficked drugs—everything eventually returns to the earth. We just want to go home..."

The sound of crying from the crowd had become a cacophony.

General Lei wiped away his tears and said sadly, "Fellow villagers, the Burmese government has promised us that as long as the Burmese Communist Party is wiped out, they are willing to permanently allocate a piece of land in the Shan State Plateau of northern Myanmar to the 93rd Division as a highly autonomous special zone. We will wait there for China to open the door for us to return home... If one generation can't wait, then generation after generation will wait. Sooner or later, we will return to our roots..."

"Waaah..." People burst into tears, like the sound of the ocean waves, one after another, moving the mountains and weeping the rainforest.

At this moment, even the bewildered minds of Elder Ao and Huang Jianguo were deeply shaken, and they were filled with sorrow.

Chapter 44, Part 3

A brother and sister stood at the front of the crowd. The sister had a slender figure, a fair neck, and long, flowing black hair. The brother turned around, looking at Old Man Ao with a puzzled expression, his brows furrowed as if he were recalling something...

Old Ao saw this and thought to himself that something was wrong. He had already recognized the child as Nai Suo, his orderly.

Nai Suo looked at the old monk behind him and felt that he looked very familiar. After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered that it was Elder Ao...

"Nai Suo, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The older sister, Shan Ni, looked at her younger brother, whose face was deathly pale, and asked in surprise.

Without saying a word, Naisuo grabbed Sanny's hand and hurriedly slipped out of the crowd.

“Elder Ao…he is Elder Ao!” Nai Suo’s face was deathly pale.

"Who? Who is Elder Ao?" Sunny asked in confusion.

"It's that old monk!" Nai Suo kept turning around to look, his heart pounding as he said.

“Monk, really? Isn’t your superior, Elder Ao, in Kokang? How come he’s in Mae Salong? I think you must have mistaken him for someone else,” Sanny said with a smile.

After hearing what his sister said, Nai Soe lost his confidence. Yes, Ao Lao was a big figure in the Burmese Communist Party, how could he be a monk? Nevertheless, he still said, "Sister, I'm scared, let's go home."

“Okay, let’s go home.” Sunny led Naiso away from the square.

At this moment, General Bo Nong of the Myanmar government army is standing upright, giving a speech in Burmese, while an interpreter translates it into Chinese sentence by sentence.

“Officers, soldiers, and their families of the 93rd Division, on behalf of the Burmese government, I assure you that as long as we jointly send troops to wipe out the Burmese Communist Party People’s Army and recover the lost territory, we will designate a piece of land of more than ten square kilometers to you as a highly autonomous special region. On this land that belongs to you, you can have an army and decide for yourself what crops to cultivate… Hehe, of course, you can grow whatever you want,” General Bo Nong said.

"Where is the land you're talking about?" a voice in the crowd asked.

“Kokang, right here in Kokang, is a rich, flat, and beautiful land with a mild climate, fertile soil, and plenty of water. It’s located right next to Zhenkang County in Yunnan Province, China,” Bo Nong replied.

Old Ao led Huang Jianguo quietly to the front of the crowd. He lowered his head and whispered to Huang Jianguo, "Son, can you sense the person who is speaking right now?"

Huang Jianguo nodded and said, "Dad, I can feel it."

"Suck him dry!" Old Ao ordered viciously.

Huang Jianguo's hazy eyes looked ahead, locking onto the target's location. Then, he unleashed the "Intermediate Yin Corpse Suction Technique," his shoulders swaying, his nostrils flaring, as he began to inhale violently...

"Fellow villagers..." The interpreter was translating when he suddenly felt a chill in his abdomen. His stomach churned violently, his navel opened wide, and he collapsed with a "plop."

"Quick, take a look, what's wrong with him?" General Lei waved his hand, and the military doctor immediately stepped forward, bent down, and carefully examined the interpreter's condition.

"Report, he is dead," the medic reported.

Chapter 45, Part 1

The sudden death of the interpreter, without any warning or external injury, caused quite a stir in the square. The military doctor shook his head in bewilderment, indicating that he could not determine the cause of death.

"Could it be poisoning or some kind of curse?" General Lei asked.

"That would require an autopsy to examine the internal organs and find out the truth," the medic replied.

"Take him away for dissection. I'll translate here," General Lei waved his hand and ordered.

The conference then resumed, with General Bo Nong continuing his speech, which had been interrupted earlier. General Lei had spent many years in the Thai-Myanmar region and was quite familiar with the Burmese language.

"This time, the joint military operation between the Myanmar government and the 93rd Division of the National Army will soon begin..." Bo Nong's words were powerful and clear, his arms waving in the air, spittle flying everywhere.

Old Master Ao's mind raced. This Huang Mingyue, half-mad and half-dull, had attacked the wrong target on her first attempt, killing an insignificant translator. How disheartening... If they waited for Bonon to finish his speech, there might be no more chances. Besides, Naisuo must have recognized him already; danger was imminent...

"Son, whoever Dad talks to later, you should inhale their scent, understand?" Old Ao whispered quietly, preparing to take the risk.

"Okay, Dad," Huang Jianguo replied.

“I have a question for General Bo Nong of the Burmese government…” Ao Lao shouted in a hoarse voice from the crowd, interrupting Bo Nong’s speech.

General Lei was always approachable. This expedition would be a brutal and bloody massacre, and many of his soldiers would surely not return. If the families had any questions, he could not refuse them. So he said, "Whoever has questions, please step forward."

Old Ao led Huang Jianguo past the row of people in front and walked straight to the front of the stage, facing General Bonong, who looked astonished.

"Please speak frankly, Master." General Lei saw that the monk was an unfamiliar face and he did not recognize him. He was probably not a family member of the 93rd Division.

This time, Ao Lao was more cautious and dared not speak Chinese rashly. He had learned from the previous experience with the interpreter and was determined not to let Huang Mingyue accidentally hurt General Lei again, otherwise he would really have no way to explain to Vice Chairman Deqin.

The old man spoke in Burmese: "Amitabha, General Bo Nong, do you have parents, wife and children?"

Bonon blinked, puzzled, and said, "Of course there is."

"The orphans and widows behind me all lost their loved ones because of the war. Don't you know how many more widows and orphans will be added to this expedition? 'Pitiable bones by the Wuding River, still the dream of a maiden in her spring boudoir.' I hope such a tragedy will never happen again. Amitabha." As he spoke, Old Ao gently tugged at Huang Jianguo's hand.

Some of the locals who understood Burmese began to whisper among themselves: "Yes, what the old monk said makes sense."

General Bonon straightened his back and answered resolutely, "I am a general, born to fight for my country. How can war not result in death? To die for one's country is the highest honor!"

General Lei smiled as he looked at the white-browed old monk. In truth, he was also unwilling to fight any longer, but the conditions offered by the Burmese government were too tempting, and he found it difficult to choose... The monk's speech seemed a bit strange. How could a monk refer to himself as "this old man"? He should be called "this old monk."

"May I ask who you are, Master?" he asked kindly.

Huang Jianguo's dull eyes slowly turned towards General Lei, following the sound...

Chapter 45, Part 2

Upon seeing this, Elder Ao was immediately alarmed and hurriedly said to General Bonong, "I request General Bonong to provide a detailed account of the land given to the 93rd Division after the war."

Boonong smiled and nodded, then began to introduce the area: "This land is the Kokang region in the northeastern part of the Shan State Plateau, bordering Lincang Prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. Its area... is approximately 2,700 square kilometers..."

Huang Jianguo slowly turned his head back to Bonong, who was speaking.

“The climate there is perfect for poppy cultivation, hehe,” Bo Nong chuckled dryly. “The Burmese government guarantees they won’t interfere with what you grow. And there’s a valley there. The Yunnan-Burma Railway, planned before World War II, didn’t run along the northern Yunnan-Burma Road, but through the relatively flat southern canyon. This canyon happens to pass through Kokang, making it a shortcut into Yunnan…” Bo Nong suddenly frowned and subconsciously reached out to cover his abdomen.

Huang Jianguo had already started inhaling, his nose twitching incessantly, and his body swaying slightly.

Old Master Ao was overjoyed, a weight lifted from his heart.

Bonon opened his mouth and made an "ah ah" sound. His two resolute eyes gradually lost their luster, and the large black beard under his chin slowly curled upwards at the tips...

"General Bonon! What's wrong?" Lei Yutian asked in surprise.

Bonong stretched out his arm, pointing directly at Ao Lao, then his legs went weak, and he slowly collapsed off the podium.

"Medical officer!" General Lei shouted.

An elderly military doctor rushed out of the auditorium, his hands still stained with blood, as he dissected the interpreter who had died suddenly.

"Report, General Bonon... he's dead." The medic finished his examination and said tremblingly.

"What!" General Lei was shocked. This national hero in the hearts of the Burmese people, the genius military commander of U Naing Win, had suddenly died on the territory of the 93rd Division. This was a troublesome matter.

In a panic, General Bonon's entourage raised their guns and aimed at General Lei and several senior officers. Soldiers from the 93rd Division, who were on guard around the square, also grabbed their carbines and surrounded them. The two sides faced off in a tense standoff, and screams of panic rang out from the crowd, turning the scene into chaos.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ao Lao pulled Huang Jianguo along with the fleeing crowd and they ran out of the square, heading towards the rainforest at the end of the valley.

General Lei waved his hand, ordering the soldiers of the 93rd Division to withdraw, and then asked the medic squatting in front of Bonon's body, "Are General Bonon's symptoms the same as those of the interpreter?"

"Yes, there are no external injuries, exactly the same as the interpreter's," the medic replied.

"How was the autopsy? What did you find?" General Lei then asked.

"The internal organs are all normal, no lesions have been found. The two people died one after the other at almost the same time for unknown reasons. It seems there is only one possibility..." the military doctor said hesitantly.

"What is it?" General Lei asked sternly.

“‘Gu’…they’ve been poisoned with Gu.” the medic replied.

Chapter 45, Part 3

People who have lived in Southeast Asia for a long time know about "Gu". It is a kind of poisonous insect that is prepared and bewitched by a very mysterious method. There are many kinds, such as golden silkworm Gu, snake Gu, Mali'er Gu (dragonfly Gu), toad Gu, centipede Gu, Yu'ang (water Gu), grass Gu, fungus Gu, lice Gu, ghost Gu, Fu Ma Gu, etc., which are varied and difficult to guard against.

General Lei was naturally aware of the practice of raising and releasing "Gu" (a type of poison) among the common people. He frowned and asked in confusion, "What kind of 'Gu' could cause someone to die without leaving any trace?"

“The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, in the Suwen chapter of the Jade Machine True Treasury, records that ‘when the spleen transmits to the kidneys, the disease is called hernia, with burning pain in the lower abdomen and white discharge, also called Gu.’ It mainly says that Gu poison invades the internal organs and causes death. However, we don’t have Western medical testing equipment here, so even if we were to perform an autopsy, it would be difficult to see anything…” The old military doctor pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and added, “I heard that the Wa people in ancient times had a peculiar poison called ‘Blind Gu,’ which was made from eleven insects with extremely poor eyesight. When a person is infected with Gu, they are temporarily no different from a normal person, but once they see a blind person, the Gu poison will suddenly take effect, and they will die without leaving any trace, and the body will not leave any marks.”

These words suddenly reminded General Lei that the young man who had been with the old monk was blind, and that the old monk's self-designation as "this old man" was not in accordance with the title of a monk. Furthermore, neither of these two men were locals of Mae Salong... That's right, the young man was dressed as a Wa person.

"Guards!" General Lei shouted.

Several officers stepped forward to receive orders. Lei Yutian commanded them to quickly arrest the old monk who had just questioned General Bonon and the blind young man beside him.

The officers each led a squad of soldiers and went off in different directions to search.

At this moment, a Burmese military adjutant stepped forward and said to General Lei, "General Bo Nong has unfortunately died suddenly. The cause of death is under investigation. Because this matter is of great importance, we must report to the Burmese government immediately and await further instructions."

“We are deeply saddened by General Boon’s sudden passing. Please come with my chief of staff to the operations room, where there is a telephone to speak with Yangon. We will move the general’s body inside to avoid exposing it to the sun,” General Lei said politely.

The adjutant saluted and then followed the chief of staff away.

General Lei ordered his men to remove Bo Nong's body, feeling quite uneasy. Under the leadership of its predecessor, Duan Xiwen, the 93rd Division had clashed with the Burmese government forces multiple times, resulting in heavy casualties. The two sides already harbored mutual suspicion and dislike. General Bo Nong's death could potentially arouse suspicion within the Burmese government, who might believe that he was intentionally killed. In short, it was a situation where "no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't clear his name."

The only way to prove the 93rd Division's innocence now is to capture that suspicious old monk and blind youth as soon as possible.