Chapter 150: Bandit Leader (1)

Night.

In the cave that should have been dark, a roaring bonfire was lit, illuminating the entire cave with firelight, looking from afar as if it were on fire. Dozens of alien men holding steel sabers surrounded a man in cloth clothes in his early thirties. Under the firelight, the steel sabers flashed with cold light, dazzlingly eye-catching. The man had his hands behind his back, his face calm, even with a faint smile, generously looking up at the figure shrouded in a black cloak on the high seat.

Under the cover of the cloak, one couldn't see the person's face at all. Even so, Yu Xiang still felt a cold and inquisitive gaze fall straight on him. He had met this mysterious leader no less than three times, but had never seen his true face. Apart from knowing that his name was Mu Cang and that he held a high position in the tribe, which no one dared to disobey, he knew nothing else.

The two looked at each other in silence like this. Yan Ge asked impatiently, "Yu Xiang, our deal with the Western Empress Dowager ended the moment King Hao died. What are you still doing here?"

The reason the leader had conspired with them back then was because King Hao promised that after he ascended the throne, he would return these territories around Pei City that originally belonged to them, allowing them to live a simple and natural life under the leader's guidance like their ancestors. Who knew that King Hao's rebellion didn't succeed and he was beheaded instead? For three years, the Western Empress Dowager hadn't dared to talk to them about the gold. Could it be that she was going back on her word now?!

Yu Xiang didn't take Yan Ge's rudeness to heart. He always had a calm smile on his face, took a gold-stamped secret letter from his sleeve, looked at the figure hidden under the black robe on the high seat, and smiled, "This is the secret letter from the Empress Dowager to the leader. It won't be too late to discuss it after the leader has read it."

The determined look on his face was very eye-catching. Mu Cang was secretly curious about what made him so confident. Lifting his hand gently, the youth beside him immediately walked to Yu Xiang, took the secret letter, and respectfully handed it to Mu Cang.

Opening the secret letter and reading it all the way through, Mu Cang's face grew darker and darker, a flash of violence crossing his dark eyes. Laughing out of extreme anger, Mu Cang slammed the secret letter shut with a slap, threw it at Yu Xiang's feet, and with a hoarse and low laugh full of disdain, he snorted, "Yang Zhilan hopes I will return the gold to Qiongyue? What capital does she have left to negotiate with me now?" Did she really think she was the master and everyone else was a slave under her feet, to be ordered around by her?!

Mu Cang calling the Empress Dowager by her name was truly disrespectful, but facing a group of barbarian thugs, Yu Xiang knew that if he wasn't careful, not only would the Empress Dowager's dignity be swept away, but his own life would also be lost. Secretly taking a deep breath to stabilize his mind, Yu Xiang shook his head and smiled, "The leader has misunderstood. The Empress Dowager is not negotiating with you this time, but to help you and your people escape this death calamity."

It was shameless enough for them to hand over the gold, and now they were brazenly saying they wanted to help them escape a death calamity. Yan Ge spat directly, "Bah! King Hao is long dead. Your Empress Dowager can no longer fulfill the promise she made before. Now she wants to order us to do things for her and finds such a high-sounding reason. She's thinking quite beautifully!"

Yu Xiang looked at Yan Ge, who was ignorant and fearless, and sighed, "Su Ling has fought for many years and has never been defeated. The title of Zhenguo General is not just a name. The Emperor has issued a death order; the gold must be recovered. Even if you don't hand it over, the result will be the same."

Who knew that Yan Ge not only wasn't frustrated but laughed out loud, "No matter how powerful Su Ling is, isn't he still trapped outside the forest now! If he dares to come in, it's just right. He hasn't been defeated, right? Let him have a taste this time!" Having clashed once, he admitted that Su Ling was indeed very tricky, but what was the use of him being powerful alone? His soldiers entering the forest area were just as vulnerable. How many times did the Qiongyue imperial court try to suppress them every year, and weren't they still beaten out of the rainforest!

Yu Xiang asked amusedly, "Is Su Ling a person who sits and waits for death! The Su Family Army has three hundred thousand men. How many men do you have? He has only dispatched thirty thousand now, and you are already exhausted. He is determined to have the gold. If you want to risk the lives of all your people and this forest, I have nothing to say."

Wuji, who had been silent all along, seemed to hear a hint of subtext and asked, "What do you mean?"

Starting to worry? Yu Xiang was secretly happy, but his face carried a faint sorrow as he said, "As far as I know, all the fire oil and sulfur in Pei City have been bought up. What do you think Su Ling wants to do? He can't wait. Su Ling is aiming for the gold. If you are willing to follow the Empress Dowager's arrangements, the Empress Dowager will definitely do her best to help you avoid this disaster of extermination."

Su Ling wants to set fire to the mountains?! When the late Emperor of Qiongyue sent troops to suppress them back then, it wasn't that they hadn't used this trick. It was just that the rainforest was too large and the humidity was too high. They couldn't find the place where the tribes gathered, and using fire attacks took a lot of time. The shrubs in the rainforest grew very fast. After being burned, as long as there was a rain, they would grow back in a few days. In the end, they gave up.

But this mountain forest was a holy land left by their ancestors. Even though it only burned for a few days back then, it already made his father, as the clan leader, feel ashamed. Now Su Ling was going to repeat the old trick. With his strategy and wisdom, he definitely wouldn't do something he wasn't sure about. It was likely their habitat had already been discovered.

His dark eyes swept over the gold-stamped secret letter on the ground again, and his hoarse voice replied coldly, "According to Yang Zhilan's meaning, she wants me to surrender and be escorted to the capital by Su Ling, so as to help her frame Lou Xiyan?" He really didn't trust that woman. If he were captured, he feared that not only would she not help his people, but she would also kick them while they were down.

Hearing the anger in Mu Cang's words, Yu Xiang hurriedly replied, "The leader is joking. The Empress Dowager naturally doesn't mean that. Actually, outsiders have only heard of the leader's name but have never seen the person. The leader just needs to find someone to disguise and replace him, which is enough to achieve the goal of framing Prime Minister Lou." The Empress Dowager was also afraid that Mu Cang would turn against her at the last minute and cause trouble for her. After all, the mastermind behind the theft of the gold back then was the Empress Dowager.

Mu Cang was silent for a while, then waved his hand at the youth again. The youth understood and walked to Yu Xiang's side, smiling lightly, "Official Yu must be tired from this trip. How about drinking some water and resting for a while before discussing?"

Knowing that Mu Cang was sending him away, he must be discussing with the left and right envoys. This also showed that he was still moved. Bowing slightly to Mu Cang, Yu Xiang smiled politely, "Good, I will wait for the leader's good news."

After Yu Xiang's figure disappeared into the cave, the hoarse voice carried a hint of exhaustion, "What do you think?"

Wuji bent down, picked up the secret letter on the ground, read it for a long time, and then replied in a low voice, "Actually, the method proposed by the Western Empress Dowager is indeed not bad."

Snatching the secret letter, Yan Ge glanced at it, but his attitude was the exact opposite of Wuji's, "I don't see what's good about it? The gold was transported back by us with great difficulty. With the gold, the people don't need to go out and rob anymore. We also have swords, bows, and crossbows. Although Su Ling is not easy to deal with, we aren't necessarily going to lose! The gold is here, and now we have to hand it over. No matter how I think about it, it's not worth it!"

No sooner had Yan Ge finished speaking than Wuji, who had always been calm and taciturn, acted contrary to his usual behavior, roaring sternly, "They want to set fire to the mountain forest now! This forest not only nurtures countless lives but is also the faith of our tribe. The ashes of successive clan leaders are buried here, and the souls of our ancestors remain in this forest. How can gold compare to the home we rely on for survival!" He wouldn't forget the great fire ten years ago. It burned for five whole days and nights. The sky was dyed blood-red, and the air was filled with a pungent, almost suffocating smell of smoke and scorching.

Wuji knelt on one knee abruptly, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "Leader, please think twice!"

Since Wuji had said it to this point, Yan Ge couldn't continue to insist, kneeling on one knee in resentment, muttering, "Leader, think twice."

The person on the high seat stood up slowly, walking down the steps step by step. His deep eyes flashed with cunning and vicious light. His usually hoarse voice now had a slight fluctuation, "The gold can be given to them, but—it cannot be let them take it so easily! As for Yang Zhilan, we can help her, but she is not a person who keeps her word. Wanting to frame Lou Xiyan is her business. Whether it can succeed depends on whether her own people are smart enough."

Following his slow footsteps, the black robe fluttered slightly. In a trance, a verdant green light flashed across his wrist, flashed once extremely quickly, and disappeared under the black robe.

Noon.

Outside the tent, the sun was scorching and the heat was oppressive. The atmosphere inside the tent was a bit strange.

The military physician's hand changing the dressing was shaking slightly, unable to control itself. He only hoped he could be faster, faster, and escape this weird atmosphere earlier. He was still a bit puzzled. The General's wound wasn't large, but it was extremely deep, almost piercing through the shoulder. But when he checked the wound yesterday, it clearly had stopped bleeding and was gradually healing. How could it have torn open again after just one night? Could it be true as rumored in the army that the General and the Madam were too intense last night!

Should he tell the General that the wound on his shoulder and back was still quite serious and really shouldn't be subjected to strenuous exercise?

Under the General's glare, the generals in the tent kept their heads down, not even daring to raise them. He had better not talk too much. Finally tightening the bandage, the military physician breathed a sigh of relief and said, "General, the wound is bandaged. This subordinate will take his leave."

Su Ling waved his hand, and the military physician ran toward the tent exit as if fleeing.

One by one, the heads were lowered until they were almost hitting the desk. Su Ling almost gritted his teeth and hummed in a cold voice, "Do you like lowering your heads so much?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than those heads were raised in unison, but the smiles on their faces hadn't had time to be retracted, and their faces, which they were trying hard to hold back, looked very funny.

Coughing forcefully, Han Shu said, "General, can you—still fight today?" It was just making conversation because he couldn't stand a group of big men staring at each other. Who knew that as soon as he spoke, the few people opposite him immediately began to "cough" violently, and Su Ling's face immediately turned as dark as the sky before a rainstorm.

No, this atmosphere was really not good. Big Brother might explode at any time. Su Ren hurriedly said, "It's almost noon, why hasn't Sister-in-law come yet? Better send someone to invite her."

Yu Shijun said blankly, "No rush, Old General Lou hasn't come yet. She was exhausted yesterday, let's invite her later." After working in the rainforest for a day yesterday, the Madam must be tired; after all, she was a woman. He didn't feel anything when he said this, but facing the terrified gazes of Su Ren and Han Shu, the two of them looking at him with admiration for "you really aren't afraid of death," and then remembering the Madam's roar last night, Yu Shijun suddenly broke into a cold sweat. His stiff neck slowly turned toward Su Ling, and he said urgently, "I, I didn't mean that! General, I actually meant, I didn't want to say..." The General's fists were clenched so tightly, he wasn't going to beat him, was he! He couldn't take a few of the General's iron fists!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 151 =====