Chapter 50: Wooden Box
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Following Mei Sanniang’s directions, Xu Yan found the hidden compartment in the wall. After great effort, he used his powerless arms to retrieve a small, exquisite nanmu wood box, smaller than his palm and very delicate.
What Mei Sanniang had mentioned was inside the box, but Xu Yan didn’t want to look. He tucked it into his chest, carried the woman on his back, and left the courtyard, departing the bandit stronghold through the rear vegetable garden.
Before long, the staggering figure carrying Mei Sanniang disappeared into the vast mountain ranges.
As daylight brightened, the quiet stronghold was scattered with countless corpses. There was no stench of death yet, but soon this stronghold would become a feeding paradise for wild beasts.
At the foot of Qi Yuan Mountain, a team of several hundred people was slowly approaching.
These were bailiffs and constables from Yongning Town. Their leader rode a horse and wielded a blade, looking imposing, though his face showed distress. The hundreds of officers following behind him grimaced and cursed their superior for taking on this thankless task.
Bailiffs and constables were meant to maintain towns – catching petty thieves and beating up local ruffians was their job. What did bandit suppression have to do with them? That should be the responsibility of local garrisons. Besides, were the Yuan Mountain bandits so easy to deal with? Two years ago, another town’s government had sent two hundred constables plus over three hundred bailiffs into the mountains for suppression. Five hundred went in, but less than a hundred returned.
Those were all murderous bandits who killed without blinking. These officers had families to support – no one wanted to risk their lives.
“Constable Wang, could you please hurry? It’s been so many days, and I don’t know if my poor daughter is dead or alive!”
Walking at the front was a fat wealthy merchant, now covered in sweat, urging the mounted Constable Wang while anxiously looking around for traces of Yuan Mountain Stronghold. Following behind the fat merchant were nearly a hundred household guards.
“Master Zhao, don’t be anxious. Bandit suppression is a major matter. If we don’t determine the bandits’ numbers and stronghold clearly, rash attacks would definitely not be wise. We must know ourselves and our enemy.”
The mounted Constable Wang continued slowly spurring his horse forward. Having Constable Wang catch thieves was fine, but bandit suppression was like forcing a duck onto a perch. How fierce were the Yuan Mountain bandits? Could a constable who worked in legitimate circles not have heard? If not for the county magistrate being unable to bear Master Zhao crying and pleading in the yamen every day, he wouldn’t have dispatched these hundreds of bailiffs and constables.
Though called bandit suppression, in Constable Wang’s heart, leading people into the mountains this time was just reconnaissance. As long as they determined Yuan Mountain Stronghold’s exact location, it would be a great achievement. Then they could return and report. The magistrate would report to the court, and as for which army the court would dispatch to attack Yuan Mountain Stronghold, that had nothing to do with Constable Wang.
The art of protecting oneself – these constables and even the magistrate were all deeply versed in this way.
Constable Wang was indeed cautious. Since entering the mountains, he had been stopping and starting, sending subordinates to scout ahead over every hill, only continuing the march after confirming no danger.
He wasn’t in a hurry, but Master Zhao beside him was sweating with anxiety, constantly urging them on. Thus, the group of five to six hundred people dragged along, entering the mountains in the morning but only seeing Yuan Mountain Stronghold’s shadow in the distance by noon.
“Sir, there’s no movement in the stronghold.”
The scouting constable had crept to the stronghold’s edge but didn’t dare enter, running back to report what he had discovered – simply no movement.
“No movement?”
Constable Wang dismounted and observed from afar, shading his eyes with his hand. He couldn’t see clearly if there were people in the stronghold, but refused to take another step forward.
“Constable, please order the attack on the mountain.” Master Zhao anxiously rubbed his hands beside him. Seeing the bandit stronghold right before them, he became increasingly frantic.
“Such a large stronghold with no sound at all – there must be a trap.” Constable Wang said with pretense: “Rashly attacking the mountain would be improper, very improper.”
Rumble!
Just as Constable Wang was about to lecture Master Zhao beside him about military taboos and delay a bit longer before returning, suddenly the other side of the mountain range began shaking violently. Countless birds were startled into flight, as if a herd of beasts had appeared in the forest.
The several hundred-man team was frightened out of their wits by the gradually approaching noise. Without waiting for orders from superiors, they all turned and fled in unison, their movements so coordinated it seemed they had practiced it thousands of times. Including Constable Wang, this group who should have been protecting the people abandoned Master Zhao and rushed toward the mountain exit without looking back.
Master Zhao was already stunned by the officers’ behavior. When he came to his senses and prepared to flee, a warhorse suddenly charged out from the forest to one side, followed by a second and third.
A full five hundred iron cavalry!
Cavalrymen completely encased in iron armor appeared and immediately charged toward Yuan Mountain Stronghold. After the flying horses passed, the simple stronghold walls were trampled into mud. Those knights all drew swords and nocked arrows – five hundred iron cavalry like five hundred asuras, full of killing intent.
Constable Wang, who had run far away, fortunately looked back. When he recognized that group of cavalrymen as not bandits but border army attire, he finally calmed down, hurriedly rallied his scattered subordinates, then led the charge toward the stronghold.
With border troops clearing the way, Yuan Mountain Stronghold definitely wouldn’t have good fortune. Such merit shouldn’t be wasted.
When the group of defeated soldiers who had fled before battle returned and charged into the stronghold, the scene before them once again left them utterly astonished.
The five hundred iron cavalry remained unmoved, still maintaining their charging formation. Before the cavalry lay corpses covering the mountains and plains – over a thousand Yuan Mountain bandits, each hunched over with extremely horrific death appearances. Not only were their mouths and eyes askew, but many had their eyeballs bulging out.
“General, it’s poison killing.”
At the very front of the five hundred iron cavalry, a scout with a blade came to report. In this short time, he had already cut open over ten corpses – without exception, all flowed black blood.
“Poison killing?”
The leading general removed his face guard, revealing a young face. It was Cheng Yu’s third son, border army deputy general Cheng Yu. He frowned and ordered: “Search the stronghold. Find me the corpse of a little Taoist. If you see anyone alive, bring them too.”
Yes sir!
With a thunderous acknowledgment, the five hundred iron cavalry spurred their horses forward and began combing through the entire stronghold. After half an hour, the cavalry returned one after another, all empty-handed without exception.
“General, over eleven hundred Yuan Mountain bandits, not one survivor.”
“General, we didn’t find any youth wearing Taoist robes.”
Hearing his subordinates’ reports, Cheng Yu’s brow furrowed even tighter. Constable Wang in the distance had wanted to approach and greet him, but seeing Cheng Yu’s expression from afar, the Yongning Town constable didn’t dare come over.
“Poisoning a thousand people at once – what a grand gesture.” Cheng Yu muttered coldly: “What ruthless scheming!”
Who exactly had poisoned Yuan Mountain Stronghold, Cheng Yu didn’t know. But anyone capable of poisoning an entire stronghold at once must have been due to internal divisions within Yuan Mountain Stronghold. If outsiders had acted, unless they were cultivators, ordinary innate martial artists couldn’t accomplish killing over a thousand people at once.
Not finding the little Taoist who had saved his father’s life, Cheng Yu felt some regret. Fortunately, no one had seen any corpse wearing Taoist robes. If so, that little Taoist should still be alive.
Spurring his horse forward, Cheng Yu ordered a return to camp and was first to leave the corpse-strewn stronghold, with five hundred iron cavalry following closely behind.
For a moment, Cheng Yu’s mind had connected the three words “little Taoist” with the mastermind who poisoned a thousand people, but the next moment he cast it aside.
Not everyone could kill people. A half-grown child absolutely couldn’t have slaughtered Yuan Mountain Stronghold.
Seeing the border army withdraw, Constable Wang could finally hold his head high. He led the charge into the corpse-filled bandit stronghold. He didn’t dare face living bandits, but dead bandits he wasn’t afraid of. So throughout the stronghold, one could occasionally hear bailiffs’ delighted shouts upon discovering treasure, as well as Master Zhao’s crying over not finding his daughter.
In the depths of Qi Yuan Mountain, a clear stream flowed. Beside the stream, Xu Yan was continuously forcing water into Mei Sanniang’s mouth. After she drank large amounts of clear water, he used his shoulder to ram her abdomen, causing Mei Sanniang to vomit everything including bile.
