Chapter 67: Been Duped

"Xiong Kuohai!" Jiang Xiaomu called out to Xiong Kuohai, who was excitedly reporting battle results.

"Don't you feel that the number of captured finger-cutting thieves is a bit low?"

Xiong Kuohai blinked, scratched his head, and said:

"It seems… a bit low; logically, the scouts Li Zhen sent should be more numerous."

"But according to the reported numbers of those already wiped out, it's only a few hundred."

"It shouldn't be just this little."

Jiang Xiaomu nodded and said:

"Pass the order down, allocate more manpower, and have the brothers search carefully."

"Especially the mansions that look like those of wealthy merchants and officials—don't miss a single corner!"

"Upon discovering suspicious individuals, arrest them immediately; kill any who resist without mercy!"

"Yes!" Xiong Kuohai received the order and departed.

Jiang Xiaomu stood at the broken temple gate, looked up at the pitch-black night sky, and felt a vague unease.

Li Zhen is certainly no ordinary man; he surely has another trick up his sleeve!

Sure enough, not long after, Xiong Kuohai came running back in a flustered manner and said:

"Sir, not good! We discovered an underground secret passage in the northern part of the city!"

"A secret passage?" Jiang Xiaomu's heart jolted.

"What's inside?"

"The secret passage leads out of the city, and inside… inside there's nobody at all!"

Xiong Kuohai said, panting heavily.

Jiang Xiaomu's face instantly darkened; he had ultimately still underestimated Li Zhen.

Those captured "finger-cutting thieves" were merely bait Li Zhen threw out to draw his attention, while the true elite had already escaped Yun Cheng via the secret passage!

"Damn it!"

Jiang Xiaomu slammed his fist hard against the wall, originally thinking he could wipe out Li Zhen's spy network in one fell swoop, but instead let the enemy escape.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

Xiong Kuohai asked cautiously.

Jiang Xiaomu took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down; what's done is done, regret is useless, the urgent task is to find a way to make up for the loss.

"Pass the order down, search the entire city for the fleeing enemy troops!"

"Also, send people to pursue along the secret passage; be sure to ascertain their destination!"

"Yes!" Xiong Kuohai received the order and departed.

Jiang Xiaomu stood alone in the ruined temple; tonight's mistake will likely have a huge impact on future battles.

Once those thieves escape, they will surely relay Yun Cheng's intelligence outward, making the forthcoming battles even more difficult.

Suddenly, he recalled a detail he had overlooked.

"Xiong Kuohai!" Jiang Xiaomu shouted.

"Here, sir!" Xiong Kuohai reappeared.

"Those captured finger-cutting thieves—are their severed fingers all the left pinky?"

Xiong Kuohai blinked, then thought back carefully.

"It seems… yes."

"Take me to see those corpses right away!" Jiang Xiaomu said urgently.

Arriving at the place where the corpses were kept, Jiang Xiaomu examined each body carefully; indeed, everyone's severed finger was the left pinky.

"Wrong!" Jiang Xiaomu sprang to his feet, narrowing his eyes.

"Li Zhen is full of tricks; he couldn't possibly leave such an obvious flaw! There must be something wrong here!"

He walked over to another corpse again, carefully observing other features on the body.

Suddenly, he saw, precisely, the right hand of the corpse—specifically, the right index finger.

On the corpse's right index finger was a tiny scar almost impossible to notice; without careful observation, it could not be detected.

Jiang Xiaomu immediately checked the other corpses; indeed, each corpse's right index finger bore the same scar!

"Ah, I see!" Jiang Xiaomu's mouth curled into a cold smile.

"Li Zhen, do you think you can fool me with this? You've underestimated me!"

"Xiong Kuohai!"

"Here, sir!"

Xiong Kuohai bowed in response, yet his heart was full of doubt—why is the sir so excited? Could he have discovered something?

"Pass the order down: all scouts, immediately cease pursuit of the remnant enemy outside the city and swiftly withdraw back inside!"

Jiang Xiaomu issued the order in an unmistakable tone.

Xiong Kuohai blinked, puzzled, and asked:

"Sir, why stop the pursuit? If we let those thieves escape outside the city..."

"Idiot!"

Jiang Xiaomu bluntly cut him off.

"Those who fled outside the city are merely pawns!"

"The true Li Zhen spy network is still hidden within Yun Cheng!"

Xiong Kuohai suddenly understood, then again wondered:

"But sir, we have already searched the entire city..."

"Search?" Jiang Xiaomu let out a cold laugh.

"Our previous search direction was wrong!"

"Li Zhen is as cunning as a fox; he deliberately let those broken-finger thieves draw our attention."

"He anticipated we would search the whole city for the broken-finger people, deliberately leading us in the wrong direction!"

"But the real spies are hidden right under our noses!"

Xiong Kuohai listened, utterly bewildered, and asked cautiously:

"That… sir, how should we search now?"

Jiang Xiaomu walked up to a corpse, pointing at the barely visible scar on the right index finger, and said:

"Do you see this scar? This is the true mark left by Li Zhen!"

"Pass the order: city-wide search for anyone with this scar on the right index finger!"

"Remember, be sure to take them alive; I want a living mouth!"

"Yes!" Xiong Kuohai received the order and left, swiftly arranging his subordinates to search the whole city.

The townspeople were panic-stricken; the streets were filled with fully armed soldiers, and the atmosphere was tense to the extreme.

Jiang Xiaomu stood at the broken temple's gate, quietly waiting for news; time passed minute by minute, and the sky gradually brightened.

Just as he was about to lose patience, Xiong Kuohai finally returned with several soldiers escorting several captives.

"Sir, we have not failed our mission! We have captured several people with scars on their right index fingers!"

"Moreover, a large quantity of weapons and fire oil were discovered in the broken temple to the south!"

Xiong Kuohai reported excitedly.

Jiang Xiaomu's gaze swept over the several captives, his eyes icy, devoid of any emotion.

"Take them inside for interrogation!"

Inside the broken temple, several captives were tied to the pillars, trembling all over, their eyes full of fear.

Jiang Xiaomu sat in the chair, coldly staring at them, and asked:

"Speak, who are you? What is your purpose? Where is Li Zhen?"

One of them plucked up courage and said:

"We… we are just ordinary commoners, we know nothing…"

"Ordinary commoners?" Jiang Xiaomu let out a cold laugh and said:

"Would ordinary commoners have such a scar on their right index finger?"

"Would ordinary commoners hide so many weapons and fire oil?"

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

Having said that, he gave Xiong Kuohai a glance.

Xiong Kuohai understood instantly, walked up to one person, drew the dagger from his waist, and pressed it to that person's neck.

"Speak! If you don't, I'll kill you!"

That person was terrified out of his wits and hurriedly shouted:

"I'll talk! I'll talk! We are Li Zhen's spies planted in Yun Cheng…"