Chapter 76: Perfectly Seamless (Please Subscribe!!)

Yang Heng sized up Li Yun from head to toe and asked, “Since you say you fought the bandits all night, how is it that you don’t have a single scratch on you? And what about your Qingyang... your so-called Anti-Theft Squad? Where are they all?”

Li Yun pointed behind him and replied, “They’re all back there, resting.”

He smiled as he continued, “As for why I am unscathed after a night of fierce fighting, perhaps Commander Yang is unaware that I have practiced martial arts since childhood. Though the mountain bandits are numerous, it is not so easy for them to harm me.”

With that, Chief Li grinned, “If Commander Yang doesn’t believe me, we could always have a sparring match and put it to the test.”

Yang Heng snorted, turning his head away as if he hadn’t heard, then changed the subject, “Chief Li, Sima Cao sent me here to wipe out the bandits. The villains in the Stronghold of the Ten Kings are fierce, and for the moment, our forces cannot break through. Since you fought them all night and escaped unharmed, I’d like you to lead the charge and attack the stronghold.”

“To rid Xuanzhou of this scourge!”

Li Yun sighed, shaking his head. “From the start, it has been my goal to root out all the strongholds in Qingyang. The Stronghold of the Ten Kings is one I have sworn to destroy. But a few days ago, Commander Du from the prefecture told me that the bandits there are too fierce for our local constables alone to handle, and that there were already plans in place for their annihilation. He warned us not to act rashly.”

“At the time, I was a little too sure of myself and dismissed his words. It’s only after last night’s battle that I realized the danger.”

Chief Li’s face was full of remorse as he clasped his hands in a respectful salute. “Now that I see you here with your troops, I know the prefecture had made preparations long ago. I regret not heeding Commander Du’s advice and alerting the bandits.”

“Now that the prefecture’s elite have arrived, I am merely a county constable and will not make a fool of myself any longer.”

He bowed to Yang Heng and said, “I shall leave the bandits of Lingyang Mountain in your capable hands, Commander.”

With those words, he turned to leave.

Yang Heng reached out to grab Li Yun’s shoulder, but as soon as his hand touched him, it felt as if he’d grasped a block of iron—he couldn’t budge him. Li Yun finally paused, looked back at Yang Heng, and smiled, “Is there anything else you wish to instruct me, Commander Yang?”

Yang Heng’s expression darkened. “Since you realize you’ve disrupted the prefecture’s plans, you’re just going to walk away?”

Li Yun’s face fell. “This was indeed my fault. I intend to return to Qingyang, resign from my post, and ask for pardon from Magistrate Xue.”

Yang Heng took a deep breath, staring at Li Yun. “You say you fought the bandits at the Stronghold of the Ten Kings all night. What were your casualties?”

“Two died, unfortunately,” Li Yun sighed. “And several more were wounded.”

This was, in fact, the casualty report from the Anti-Theft Squad the previous night, and indeed, all had fallen to the bandits.

Yang Heng raised his brows. “An all-night battle, retreating down the mountain, and only two dead?”

“What else?” Li Yun bristled. “Are you saying we all should have died up there?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Yang Heng shook his head. “It just seems odd.”

Li Yun raised a fist and spoke slowly, “I told you—I have some skill, and when things went awry, I managed to get my men off the mountain.”

“If you don’t believe me, we can always spar.”

Yang Heng’s face darkened again. Was this man’s head filled with nothing but his fists?

He took another deep breath, deciding not to argue further. “Chief Li, I am ordered to suppress the bandits at Lingyang Mountain. Since you’ve been inside the Stronghold of the Ten Kings, can you tell me about its layout?”

“There’s not much to say,” Li Yun waved a hand. “Last night we snuck in under cover of darkness, planning a surprise attack. But they spotted us and we had to fight it out on the mountain. Oh, right—”

Chief Li slapped his thigh, “I remember now—there was a burly fellow up there, said his surname was Tu, wielded a spiked mace, and wounded several of my men.”

Tu Sheng, the fifth!

Commander Yang immediately knew who he meant. He had seen this Giant King of the Stronghold with Sima Cao in Xuanzhou city a few years ago—Tu Sheng once took on several skilled fighters at once and killed them all. A first-rate brute!

“And then?” Yang Heng pressed.

“I killed him,” Chief Li replied with a pure smile. “He was strong, but clumsy—not my match.”

Yang Heng drew in a sharp breath. Was this Li really so ruthless?

Seeing Yang Heng’s skepticism, Chief Li thumped his chest. “If you don’t believe me, we can settle it with our fists.”

“No need,” Yang Heng shook his head, breathing deeply. “Of course I believe you.”

He turned to look at the Stronghold of the Ten Kings, his gaze increasingly bewildered. By now, he could not figure out what had happened in that stronghold. Could it be that after Qingyang’s hotheads caused a stir last night, some other stronghold took advantage of the chaos? Or did the leaders of the Ten Kings’ Stronghold fall victim to a mutiny in the confusion?

After thinking for a moment, he looked back at Li Yun and waved him off. “Chief Li, I have nothing further. Go about your business.”

“However, matters at Lingyang Mountain are not over. When I return, I’ll report everything to Sima Cao, and what happens next is not for me to decide.”

Li Yun slapped his chest with a carefree laugh, “At worst, I’ll just lose my job as chief. I was a wanderer anyway.”

Yang Heng still looked doubtful of Li Yun’s attitude. After glancing at him, he turned to issue orders. “Rest here. Erzhu, return to Xuanzhou and report to Sima Cao!”

Seeing that Yang Heng was done with him, Li Yun paid him no further heed. He walked a few steps to where Chen Da was waiting, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, “Come, let’s go see our brothers.”

Chen Da looked up at Li Yun, then silently nodded, “Yes.”

Led by Chen Da, Li Yun soon reached the rest spot of the Anti-Theft Squad—a deserted temple. Gathering his men, Li Yun’s expression grew serious.

“Brothers, there’s something we must discuss.”

All eyes turned to Li Yun.

Chief Li coughed and began, “This matter could be trivial, or it could be grave. If it gets out of hand, we might all end up in prison!”

This startled everyone. Even Chen Da couldn’t help but look at Li Yun curiously—what could possibly make the fearless Li Yun this solemn?

“The local militia who attacked the Stronghold of the Ten Kings with us last night—I recruited them with my own money. There was no time for careful selection.”

“It was only just now, talking with them on the mountain, that I discovered this—among those men, two are from Hexi Village in Shitai!”

“Many of you have been to Hexi Village with me. You know what happened there. The imperial inspector has already visited and declared all the rebels in Hexi to be traitors.”

“If outsiders discover that Qingyang’s constables had contact with rebel traitors from Hexi, we’ll all be implicated.”

Li Yun looked each man in the eye and said gravely, “This is no small matter. For the sake of our own lives, no matter who asks, we must say that it was our Anti-Theft Squad alone that attacked the Stronghold of the Ten Kings last night.”

“No outsiders were involved!”

“As long as we stick to this story, no one will find anything, and those hunting rebels in Shitai won’t be able to trace anything back to us.”

“Understood?”

The men glanced at each other, then all looked to Li Yun, their faces growing solemn.

“We understand!”