Chapter 191: Inner Unease

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

The captured civilians finally dared to cry out loud.

Some clutched the bodies of their loved ones, glaring with hatred at the Yulin County soldiers and village militia.

“Why didn’t you… surrender? If you had surrendered, we wouldn’t have died like this…”

Slap!

A single blow silenced the man, knocking out several of his teeth.

The one who struck was certainly not Li Lin, but an ordinary soldier.

“We came to save you—and already lost many brothers,” said the soldier, a youth of about sixteen or seventeen, his face dark as he yanked the man upright. “Now you want us to surrender? Do you want to get us all killed?”

The man dared not speak.

“Say another word, and I’ll kill you all—even if the Superintendent punishes me, I’ll kill you.”

The young soldier hurled the man to the ground, then swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes filled with fury and hatred.

He had a good brother who died not long ago.

He died trying to save these ungrateful wastes.

He hated these people now, his gaze icy.

The captured civilians dared not meet his eyes.

Li Lin watched this from afar, pulling Tao De aside. “What’s that young soldier’s name?”

“Yue Shan!”

“He looks promising. Nurture him well.”

“Yes.”

At this moment, Su Bei led a group out of the enemy’s tents, dragging a small, red altar.

Compared to the massive blood altar seen earlier, this one was no bigger than a dining table.

Li Lin circled the blood altar once, then tapped its surface. “Come out.”

A tiny True Lord, about a meter tall, with a cat’s head and a cat’s tail, floated out from within.

It was terrified, glancing at Li Lin once before lowering its head again.

“Siamese cat… hmm.” Li Lin studied it with surprise. “You have no evil aura at all. No smell of blood.”

The Siamese True Lord looked up at Li Lin again, then quickly lowered its head, whispering cautiously: “I only eat grilled fish…”

No wonder it had no evil aura—it was also weak.

Just malnourished.

“Would you be willing to come back with us and become a True Lord of our Qi people?”

“What if I refuse?”

Li Lin smiled with narrowed eyes. “What do you think?”

“I’ll go, I’ll go… don’t smile like that—I’m terrified!”

The little cat clutched its head, trembling.

Am I really that frightening?

Li Lin was puzzled.

At this moment, Tao De approached. “Superintendent, we’ve captured over a hundred Nanman soldiers. What should we do with them?”

“Kill anyone who looks like a Nanman. Those who look like Qi people—take them back, throw them into the village militia to work as laborers in the fields.”

Tao De grinned. “Good.”

An officer who acted so decisively made subordinates feel truly at ease.

Li Lin ordered his soldiers to count the number of Qi civilians. After a night’s tally, the number was complete.

Just over nineteen thousand.

Mostly because the Nanman had slaughtered over a thousand civilians on the battlefield last night.

Li Lin sighed, saddened by the dead civilians, but he felt no regret—under those circumstances, he could never have halted his advance, let alone surrendered.

After counting the people, Li Lin led them back to Yulin County.

Fortunately, Yulin County was large enough and had sufficient grain reserves; otherwise, accommodating twenty thousand more would have been impossible.

But he was only responsible for bringing them back—their placement was the Assistant County Magistrate’s duty.

Li Lin sat in the barracks, drafting his battlefield report.

These documents would eventually be submitted to the Central Secretariat.

He had just finished summarizing the events of last night’s battle when Jiang Jili came over.

“County Lieutenant, some refugees have accused you of ignoring their lives last night, trying to get them killed.”

Li Lin smiled. “I expected as much.”

Those people had been terrified by Yue Shan, but once removed from the scene, they’d dare speak again.

“You’re laughing? If this reaches the Central Secretariat, it’ll become a stain on your future advancement. Someone will use it against you.”

Li Lin waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

Jiang Jili studied him deeply. “Since you don’t care, I won’t press you. I’ll find a way to erase this impact—keep the report from reaching the Central Secretariat.”

“Why help me so much?” Li Lin was puzzled.

Their relationship was not close—merely a fragile alliance born of mutual caution over each other’s strength.

“We’re friends.”

With those words, Jiang Jili left.

Li Lin found it utterly baffling.

At that moment, a government office runner approached. “County Lieutenant, the person you asked after has woken up.”

Li Lin nodded and went to the prison.

Behind the black iron bars sat Qin Donglai, his face flushed crimson.

He gasped heavily, clearly in great pain.

“You’re in poor health,” Li Lin said, looking at Qin Donglai.

“I’m dying…” Qin Donglai stared at Li Lin. “You shouldn’t have brought me back—it’s just a waste.”

Li Lin shook his head. “That’s not true. I want to ask you some questions.”

“I won’t tell you anything.”

Li Lin smiled. “I knew you’d say that… so here’s my idea: if you refuse, I’ll have your ancestral shrine cut up and fed to dogs, then lock you up with male prisoners who favor men. What do you think?”

“You vile little monster!” Qin Donglai’s hair seemed to stand on end.

Li Lin smiled. “A traitor to your own people, allied with the barbarians, slaughtering your own kin—you call me vile? Do you even have the right?”

Qin Donglai’s face flushed even redder, filled with humiliation. After a long silence, he sighed helplessly. “Ask… My body is already ruined. The shaman’s medicine wasn’t for healing—it drained my life force.”

“Did your Qin clan collude with the Nanman to obtain White Elephant Flesh?”

Qin Donglai looked at Li Lin strangely. “I thought you’d ask about the Qin King. White Elephant Flesh… I not only know of it—I’ve eaten it.”

“White Elephant Flesh was in Tang’s army. How did you get it?”

“Heh… naturally, I traded with Tang’s army.”

Li Lin froze. A sudden sense of danger stirred within him.

After all, Qin Donglai’s smile had been too… smug and reckless.

Li Lin asked again: “Why ally with the Nanman?”

“Our clan chief wants to be emperor. The Nanman want to invade the Central Plains. We saw eye to eye.”

Though his answer sounded plausible, Li Lin felt something was off.

Two incense sticks later, Li Lin emerged from the prison.

Qin Donglai had revealed little of value.

He was merely a distant relative of the Qin family, generations removed, far from the political core.

Outside the prison gate, Li Lin told the government office runner: “Buy Qin Donglai a good jar of wine and a boiled white chicken. Let him eat and drink. When he dies, bury him well and erect a tombstone.”

Li Lin believed Qin Donglai had contracted tetanus—he had little time left.

Let him have a decent final meal.

After all, he had revealed something important to Li Lin.

The Assistant County Magistrate had his duties; Li Lin had his own.

He sent word via pigeon to his father-in-law Huang Yan—and arranged for compensation payments.

(End of Chapter)