Chapter 270

"These are the royal relatives who died in the capital and its surroundings, as well as their in-laws, servants, and so on."

Alright, he forgot that people with power and money can usually give birth more than rats. "Your legs are truly long; you go to the scene even if it's not a battle of the Beijia Nation?"

"This is a task assigned by the State Preceptor, which must be done." The prisoner lowered his head, "Like last night's battle, it happened between you and the Xunzhou people. I was also sent here as an envoy of the Beijia Nation to collect Nightmare Qi. However, the quantity collected is pitifully small."

"You think too few people died?" Jiao Tai sneered, raised his hand, and punched him in the belly, "What a bastard!"

The prisoner was beaten until he retched repeatedly, and Shan Youjun scolded his companion: "Nonsense, the proprietor is asking questions!"

He Lingchuan's focus, however, was on the four words "pitifully small":

"Pitifully small, what does that mean?"

"At least nearly two hundred people died last night." The prisoner finally caught his breath, "By rights, I should have collected at least a hundred red lights—you saw it too—but there were very few, at most ten or so. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lingered here for so long!"

"Fewer?" He Lingchuan's eyeballs turned slightly, "Has this situation not occurred before?"

The prisoner shook his head.

That is to say, there was something here that hindered the Punishment Dragon Staff from fishing for "Nightmare Qi"? At least from the outside, Xinhuang Town was an ordinary, unremarkable small town.

He changed the subject: "The Xunzhou people don't know your purpose?"

The prisoner shook his head.

"But they let you follow along in the action." Nian Zanli defected to the Beijia Nation, which was the northern demon nation, so for the envoy sent by the latter, there was clearly no reason to refuse. "So, do you know which general is the one who ambushed Baiting Town?"

"He was originally a great general of the Beijia Nation, named Hong Chenglue, who had performed countless military exploits. Some of the Nightmare Qi I collected came from battles he launched." The prisoner's voice was hoarse, and he reached out for water again.

"Give it to him."

After drinking water to moisten his throat, the prisoner continued: "Later he avoided battle and lived in seclusion, and for a long time, I hadn't heard any rumors about him. I don't know what happened this time, but he came out again to lead the action of the Xiazhou mobile cavalry."

"The sneak attack plan was all formulated by him?"

"Yes. The Xunzhou Shepherd ordered the mobile cavalry here to all listen to his command."

"You know where their previous hiding spots were, right?"

"I've been there, but, but I'm not familiar with Xiazhou, and I couldn't find my way back after leaving." The prisoner mumbled, "I just know they have a stronghold north of Baiting Town, which seems to be a lumber yard. I only met Hong Chenglue there."

"Did they discuss what to do after the sneak attack failed?" Planning any attack required a contingency plan for failure beforehand.

The prisoner shook his head repeatedly: "I don't know; they didn't let me participate in discussing the combat plan."

"Also, why would the demon puppet master Dong Rui act together with the Xunzhou mobile cavalry?" He Lingchuan was puzzled, "Isn't he a wanted criminal of the Beijia Nation?"

"Uh, I heard that as long as he participates in our actions, he can receive a pardon."

He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows: "Oh? He committed a serious crime; can this be pardoned too?"

The prisoner smiled awkwardly: "I don't know the details."

"Does General Manager He know about what you said?"

Before the prisoner could answer, Shan Youjun had already said: "Only the proprietor and the two of us have heard the confession."

He Lingchuan smiled slightly, knowing that Shan Youjun was showing loyalty: "Good."

Next, he went to find He Chunhua and recounted the newly obtained intelligence.

Hearing that the Beijia Nation sent people to collect "Nightmare Qi" for deliverance, He Chunhua sneered: "Tricking a fool? Would they do this without profit?"

"I think so too." Sure enough, not of the same family, not entering the same door. "However, these people sent by Beijia seem to believe it deeply themselves."

"The most brilliant scam must not even spare its own people." He Chunhua ridiculed, "Not to mention the influence of five hundred years; as long as they say the tradition is like this, no matter how stupid it is, the Beijia people themselves won't question it."

He held the short staff handed over by He Lingchuan and observed it repeatedly, stroking it several times. When his eldest son began to talk about the person "Hong Chenglue," he casually put the short staff into his bosom, his movements very natural.

He Lingchuan frowned secretly, but his father wanted this short staff, and he seemed to have no reason to object.

"Hong Chenglue? I have truly heard this name." He Chunhua showed a thoughtful look, "Good at using troops, coming and going like the wind. Having such an opponent is truly not a blessing for Xiazhou. Hmm, it's best if this march can lure him out and kill him; otherwise, letting him make trouble behind the northern battle line will always be a great disaster."

He looked at He Lingchuan and suddenly said: "Chuan'er, Mao Tao and Shan Youjun under your command are both good at spying for news; you go to Baiting Town for me. I need more intelligence about Hong Chenglue."

The Xiazhou army still had to stay here until tomorrow morning, and time was abundant. He Lingchuan agreed immediately and went out of the tent to pick people.

Among these subordinates, Shan Youjun had been more prominent recently, and He Lingchuan took him wherever he went. Mao Tao, an old man, was unconvinced; hearing that the proprietor was going to Baiting Town, he didn't wait for assignment and said: "Take me, take me! Dealing with country folk still requires me."

He Lingchuan smiled and added Jiao Tai to make up the three pillars. Going to a foreign land to spy for news, bringing more manpower was never a bad thing.

Lingguang also jumped onto the horse's rump, sitting even more steadily than a person. As for a monster as scary as Rock Wolf, it was left in the camp.

The group headed west.

Strangers came to Baiting Town again, and the gazes cast by the townsfolk were guarded and distant.

He Lingchuan and the others came from the east, and along the way, they could find lying corpses, mostly wearing Xiazhou military uniforms, some already gnawed by wild beasts like coyotes.

By the time they entered Baiting Town, the temporary camp set up by the Xiazhou army had long been burned to charcoal, and corpses were lying in disarray.

At that time, Wu Shaoyi was driven away and didn't return, and the Xunzhou soldiers couldn't clean up for their opponents, so the Xiazhou army's corpses were still exposed to the open air. When He Lingchuan and the others arrived, they startled many crows, as well as sneaky wild dogs in the woods.

The group investigated the battlefield and didn't find a single living person; some corpses were clearly finished off, showing that Hong Chenglue's troop had done the work very meticulously, not missing a single one.

The methods he used here were similar to those Baili Qing used in Xinhuang, both blowing up the leaders first and then beating the rabble; Wu Shaoyi hadn't had time to react before losing half.

As for the other half, given the quality and standard of the current Xunzhou army, it was also difficult to preserve.

According to the feedback from Shan Youjun and the others to He Lingchuan, more than half of the dead had fatal wounds on their backs. That is to say, they were killed while turning to flee, unable to organize any decent resistance.

The provisions were naturally burned clean. However, Mao Tao still found fresh footprints by the grain carriages; these footprints stepped on the burned-out charcoal, clearly appearing after the battle ended.

And they were civilian shoe prints.

This meant the Baiting townsfolk had entered the battlefield, looking everywhere for things they could eat and use, and then left.

Unable to find more useful intelligence on the battlefield, He Lingchuan entered the town.

Unexpectedly, except for five or six houses near the temporary camp being affected, Baiting Town hadn't suffered much damage. The steamed bun shop in the town opened in the morning, the shopkeeper was kneading mixed-grain flour, and the street loafers were still strolling the streets.

He Lingchuan and the others arrived, and the townsfolk all stayed far away from them, their eyes exceptionally cold.

He nudged Mao Tao with his chin, and the latter understood, lifting his leg to go to the steamed bun shop.

The others strolled half a circle in the town, and Shan Youjun whispered: "I see the doors and windows of the houses here are all intact; they weren't looted."

Xunzhou people don't loot civilians? A huge strange thing.

These mobile cavalry operated deep behind enemy lines and didn't have many supplies themselves, usually eating wherever they went and looting wherever they went.

Looting whom? Looting civilians and local large households, calling it "supporting war with war."

Baiting Town was fine; could it be that the Xunzhou people got fat on the provisions in Wu Shaoyi's camp and looted enough? Jiao Tai pointed to a large gate in the alley: "Who said that? Look at this family."

The two ebony doors of this family were quite imposing, and they should be a family of status in the local area. There was even a plaque on the lintel, but it had been smashed off by half, and the large gate was wide open without a soul, meaning anyone could enter and exit.

Jiao Tai went inside and slipped out before long: "It's a mess inside; it's been looted. Things that aren't valuable were also smashed, and there are bloodstains and hair on the ground."

He Lingchuan nodded and ordered his subordinates to disperse to inquire for news.

He himself also asked people, but the townsfolk he met kept their distance; if he approached, they would run, or they would shake their heads and say I don't know, I really didn't see anything.

He touched his face; he was such a handsome young man; could he look as fierce as Rock Wolf Lu Xin?

Later, he saw a boy of about six, with a big head and small body, doodling in the alley; the "works" on the wall were crisscrossed, all drawn with long charcoal sticks.

Hmm? Charcoal sticks?

He Lingchuan walked over, putting on a kind wolf-grandmother expression: "Little kid, where did you pick up these charcoal sticks?"

The boy turned his head at the sound, looked at him vigilantly, didn't say anything, but didn't slip away either.

"Want to eat candy?" He Lingchuan poked Lingguang with his finger, and the latter reluctantly took out a candy wrapped in paper from its medicine bib and handed it to the child.

The child snatched the candy, peeled it with charcoal-stained hands, stuffed it into his mouth, and pointed toward the camp with his other hand: "Picked it up there."

"The robbers came last night; did they enter the town to loot?"

The child shook his head.

He Lingchuan asked him again: "Do you recognize those robbers?"

The child didn't make a sound, his eyeballs turning, clearly also using his brain.

Lingguang didn't need the proprietor's reminder and took out another candy, shaking it back and forth in front of him. The child reached out to grab it, but how could he grab it?

Competing with a monkey for agility was not easy.

"There's plenty of candy." Lingguang was too stingy; it should have taken out a handful, "As long as you tell the truth."

(End of chapter)