Chapter 66: Shut the Door to Beat the Dog

Inside the temple, chaos erupted instantly; the enemies drew their weapons, wanting to resist, but they were no match at all.

Jiang Xiaomu walked up to a bound enemy, crouched down, and slapped his face.

"Tell me, who is your leader, and where are the other hidden operatives in the city?"

That person clenched their teeth and remained silent.

Jiang Xiaomu gave a cold chuckle and said, "Looks like you won't cry until you see the coffin."

He stood up and said to Xiong Kuohai, "Take him outside the city and chop him off!"

"Yes!"

Xiong Kuohai answered with a feral smile and dragged that person out.

The other enemies in the temple saw this and their faces turned pale.

"Now I ask again: who is your leader, and where are the other hidden operatives in the city?"

Jiang Xiaomu's voice was ice-cold.

One captive could no longer bear the fear of death, tears streaming down, and spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.

"It... it's General Li Zhen!"

"It was he who ordered us to infiltrate the city, disrupt order, and cooperate with the main army to assault the city..."

"How many of your comrades are still in the city, and where are they hiding?"

Jiang Xiaomu demanded in a stern voice.

The captive stammered in reply:

"I... I really don't know... we are all on a single line of contact."

"I only know my own mission; everything else... I know nothing about."

Jiang Xiaomu narrowed his eyes; this captive did not seem to be lying.

To prevent information leakage, the enemy army's use of a single line of contact is understandable.

"Xiong Kuohai!"

"At your command!" Xiong Kuohai replied in a deep, resonant voice.

"Seal the city gates immediately! No one is allowed to enter or leave!"

"Search every household; be sure to root out all these hidden enemy troops!"

Jiang Xiaomu's tone was ice-cold.

"Yes!"

Xiong Kuohai received the order and left, immediately arranging the city gate lockdown and a citywide search.

Jiang Xiaomu looked at the dense markings on the map, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

We must eliminate them all as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable.

The other captives in the ruined temple were also taken away, but under severe torture they yielded no further useful information.

It seems these low-ranking soldiers truly know nothing.

"Sir, these guys are tough; we've used all eighteen kinds of torture, yet they still won't talk."

Xiong Kuohai scratched his head, reporting to Jiang Xiaomu with a helpless expression.

Jiang Xiaomu walked up to a captive tied to a pillar and looked down at him from above.

"What is your name?"

Jiang Xiaomu's voice was very calm, revealing no emotion.

The captive merely glared at him fiercely, saying nothing.

Jiang Xiaomu wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and said:

"It's fine if you won't talk; to me, you're just a bunch of ants."

He crouched, pinched the captive's chin, and forced him to lift his head.

"But even ants have their value."

He carefully observed the captive's face; suddenly his gaze fell on the captive's left hand.

To be precise, it was the captive's left pinky—or rather, where the pinky used to be.

There it was bald, the cut clean, obviously severed by a sharp weapon.

Jiang Xiaomu felt a stir; he went to another captive and examined his left hand the same way.

Sure enough, it was also missing the pinky.

He checked the remaining captives in turn and discovered they all shared the same trait: their left pinkies had been cleanly severed at the base!

Jiang Xiaomu's eyes grew sharper. This was definitely no coincidence!

"Xiong Kuohai!" he sprang to his feet, his tone excited.

"Bring me the corpse of the one who first confessed!"

Xiong Kuohai didn't understand why, but he complied immediately.

Jiang Xiaomu walked to the corpse, crouched, and carefully examined its left hand.

Just like the others, this corpse's left pinky was missing too!

"It seems we've found a breakthrough."

Jiang Xiaomu's mouth curled into a cold smile.

He interrogated the remaining captives again, this time asking directly:

"What's the deal with your left pinky?"

The captive trembled with fear and stammered:

"Rep... replying, sir... I... I was born without a pinky..."

"Born without them?" Jiang Xiaomu let out a cold snort, turned his head to look at the other prisoners.

"You all were born without your thumbs?"

The prisoners exchanged glances, their eyes flickering, not daring to meet Jiang Xiaomu's gaze.

"Looks like you won't cry until you see the coffin!"

Jiang Xiaomu sprang to his feet, his tone icy as he said:

"Xiong Kuohai, take them all downstairs and give them a proper 'reception' — I don't believe they won't tell the truth!"

"Yes!"

Xiong Kuohai grinned wickedly, accepted the order, and dragged the prisoners away.

Not long after, Xiong Kuohai came running back, his face lit with an excited smile:

"Sir, I've found out! These people's thumbs were all cut off by General Li Zhen!"

"Li Zhen?" Jiang Xiaomu raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Why would he cut off his own soldiers' thumbs?"

"He says it's to show loyalty!" Xiong Kuohai explained.

"These are all Li Zhen's personal troops, specially assigned to carry out special missions."

"To prevent them from turning against him, he cut off their thumbs as a mark!"

Jiang Xiaomu suddenly understood — Li Zhen was indeed ruthless, coming up with such a vicious method to guarantee his subordinates' loyalty.

But this also gave him an important clue.

"Xiong Kuohai, send the order: search the whole city; anyone found missing a left thumb is to be arrested!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xiaomu got the answer he wanted.

He walked out of the ruined temple, looked up at the sky — night had already fallen, and Yun Cheng was shrouded in darkness.

"Xiong Kuohai!" Jiang Xiaomu's voice echoed across the night sky.

"Subordinate here!"

"Issue the order: the whole city is under lockdown! All soldiers, search house by house!"

"Focus on checking anyone missing a left thumb! Remember, once found, kill on sight!"

"Yes!"

Xiong Kuohai took his leave; tonight, Yun Cheng was destined to be a bloody night.

The search operation went unusually smoothly; within an hour, reports of victory kept coming in from all parts of the city.

"Report! Sir, thirteen thumb-less thieves were found in the eastern district — all have been executed!"

"Report! Sir, eight thumb-less thieves were found in the western district, put up fierce resistance — all have been slain!"

"Report! Sir, southern district — "

Victory reports came frequently; Jiang Xiaomu listened as the numbers kept rising, the smile at the corners of his mouth beginning to turn up.

Li Zhen's painstakingly built spy network was being torn apart piece by piece by him.

However, as time passed, Jiang Xiaomu gradually sensed that something was off.

Although the number of captured "thumb-less thieves" was not small, it was still far fewer than he had anticipated.

Since Li Zhen dared to venture deep alone, it was impossible for him to have sent only this few people to lurk inside.