Chapter 196: Catching the Traitor

Jiang Jiang Mingyu knelt on the crimson earth, his eyes vacant, his lips trembling, his whole body shaking. He numbly grabbed his hair, his heart filled with self-blame and pain. His tears fell like rain, staining the ground red.

Just moments ago, a camp full of life, now only scorched earth and bones remained. His soldiers lay one by one in pools of blood, yet he was powerless. Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart was torn apart; this was all his responsibility!

If only more sentries had been posted, if the march had been more cautious, if the enemy had been spotted earlier, perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided. A single wrong thought caused consequences that left Jiang Jiang Mingyu filled with regret.

Images of Tu Tu Kesiluo and Zhang Zhang Jiani flashed repeatedly in his mind. Were they still alive? Could they return? The moment Jiang Jiang Mingyu thought they might have perished in the fire, his heart felt like it was being sliced by a sharp blade, bleeding profusely.

"My lord, let us leave this place quickly," a soldier spoke cautiously.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of bloodshot veins; the soldier could not help but shiver.

Just then, a faint moan came from the bushes: "My lord... is that you?"

A surge of joy rose in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart; that voice was too familiar to him—it was Tu Tu Kesiluo!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu rushed over in three steps that felt like two, seeing only Tu Tu Kesiluo covered in blood, standing unsteadily. On his arm, which bore a knife wound, fresh blood dripped continuously, one drop, then another. And the person on his back was none other than Zhang Zhang Jiani, already unconscious.

"My lord, are you alright!" Tu Tu Kesiluo said weakly. With red-rimmed eyes, Jiang Jiang Mingyu reached Tu Tu Kesiluo in two steps. "You are still alive, that is good, that is good." He excitedly embraced Tu Tu Kesiluo, feeling his warm breath. But at the same time, he also discovered that behind Tu Tu Kesiluo, not a single person remained. He panted heavily, speaking in broken fragments. "My... lord, the enemy was driven back by my killing... killing, the brothers... all fell in battle, I... I am useless..." Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head frantically.

"No, the fact that you can return is the best news." He comfortingly patted Tu Tu Kesiluo's shoulder, looking at him with relief.

Tu Tu Kesiluo smiled bitterly. "I have... ascertained, those who raided the camp... were... were Wang Wang Jingchun's men." He ground out the enemy's name through clenched teeth.

Looking at Zhang Zhang Jiani, whose breath was faint, Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded hurriedly. "I guessed it all, let us not speak of this." He said with aching heart.

"Zhang Jiani is severely injured; you rest, I will find a few horses and return to the provincial city immediately." He decided to take them back for treatment as soon as possible; no more delay could be afforded. Having spoken, he turned and left to search for horses.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart was twisted like a knife; he could not believe his own camp had been raided by the enemy, and ten thousand troops thus annihilated.

He was left with only a few hundred remnants, along with the severely injured Tu Tu Kesiluo and Zhang Jiani. He did not know who had done it, nor why such a thing had happened. He only knew he must save them; otherwise, what meaning did his life have?

He ran desperately toward the battlefield, disregarding the soldiers behind him who tried to dissuade him. In his eyes, there was only a sea of red blood; in his ears, only cries for help and wails.

In his heart, there was only anger and grief; on his body, only wounds and sweat.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu stumbled into the ruins of last night's great battle; this place had become a human hell.

Everywhere lay corpses and severed limbs too terrible to behold, some still emitting wisps of black smoke.

The once orderly military camp now held only blackened, twisted tent frames, emitting a pungent smell of blood.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu gritted his teeth, searching through the ruins with bloodshot eyes. He must find some usable warhorses as soon as possible; this was the only hope for Tu Tu Kesiluo and Zhang Jiani to survive.

Finally, beside a tent ruin that had already burned, Jiang Jiang Mingyu saw several injured warhorses. They neighed in terror, their fur singed black, covered in bleeding wounds, but they appeared to be largely out of immediate danger of death.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu hurried forward to stroke them, soothing them with a gentle tone. He carefully examined their injuries, selected a few relatively healthy horses, and one by one gave them water and fodder.

"My friends, I beg you, save my family," Jiang Jiang Mingyu choked out with red-rimmed eyes.

Finally, he carefully lifted Tu Tu Kesiluo and Zhang Jiani onto the horses. The smell of burnt corpses still drifted in the wind, but Jiang Jiang Mingyu cared not for such things; he urged the horses to gallop swiftly toward the provincial city, with only one thought in his heart: he must save them!

After suffering a crushing defeat, Jiang Jiang Mingyu and the others, their bodies covered in wounds, struggled to return to the provincial city.

Although Tu Tu Kesiluo had luckily survived, his injuries were severe, and he remained unconscious. As for Zhang Zhang Jiani, she was even more critically wounded, near death, her face pale and bloodless, her breath as faint as a thread.

No sooner had they entered the residence than Liu Liu Yifei rushed forward. Seeing her friend Zhang Zhang Jiani in a dying state, she immediately burst into tears, falling to Zhang Zhang Jiani's side and weeping bitterly.

"Zhang Jiani, you cannot leave me alone! We grew up together since childhood; how can you just leave like this!" Liu Liu Yifei screamed hoarsely, tightly gripping Zhang Zhang Jiani's cold hand.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart was cut like a knife; self-blame and pain churned in his chest. With red-rimmed eyes, he said to Liu Liu Yifei, "It is all my fault; I am useless, causing Zhang Jiani and Tu Tu Kesiluo to suffer, and even sacrificing all my soldiers..."

Looking at Zhang Zhang Jiani's pale face, his heart was filled with regret and guilt. He recalled the scene where Zhang Zhang Jiani blocked a blade for him; he recalled Zhang Zhang Jiani's deep affection and loyalty toward him.

He wished he could die in exchange for Zhang Zhang Jiani's life.

Liu Liu Yifei shook her head to stop his words, her eyes red-rimmed, and said, "Now is not the time for self-blame; the important thing is to save Zhang Jiani! Physician, you must save her!"

Seeing the Physician rush in, she asked anxiously, "Physician, is there still hope for Zhang Jiani?"

After diagnosing her, the Physician said heavily, "Miss, her injuries are too severe; the arrowhead has penetrated deep into the lungs. I will do my utmost."

Having spoken, he began treating Zhang Zhang Jiani. He pulled out the arrowhead, stopped the bleeding and bandaged her, and forced medicine soup down her throat.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu and Liu Liu Yifei could only wait anxiously on the side. They prayed to Heaven that Zhang Zhang Jiani might survive.

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi watched her younger sister Zhang Zhang Jiani lying on the bed, her breath faint, her heart twisted like a knife; tears burst from her eyes. She suddenly stood up, drew the long sword at her waist, and was about to rush out the door.

"Zhang Jiaqi, where are you going!" Seeing this, Zhang Zhang Junhao hurriedly stopped her.

With red-rimmed eyes, Zhang Zhang Jiaqi screamed hoarsely, "I am going to find that beast Wang Wang Jingchun for revenge! He has caused my sister's life to hang by a thread; I must kill him!"

Having spoken, she forcefully broke free from Zhang Zhang Junhao's grip, her eyes filled with murderous intent. She wished she could rush to Wang Wang Jingchun's presence immediately and carve him into a thousand pieces.

Zhang Zhang Junhao looked at her with aching heart and gently advised, "Calm down; this is suicide. Wait until Zhang Jiani wakes, and we will settle this slowly."

Tears burst from Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's eyes, yet the tip of the sword in her hand still pointed toward the door. She could not bear to let Wang Wang Jingchun go like this; she was unwilling to lose her sister and brother-in-law; she wanted to do something for them.

At this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu stepped forward and said to her solemnly:

"Zhang Jiaqi, rest assured; I will definitely avenge Zhang Jiani. Once her injuries stabilize, I will lead the great army to annihilate Wang Wang Jingchun and present his head before you sisters!"

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi looked at Jiang Jiang Mingyu's determined gaze, finally slowly lowered her long sword, and choked out, "Very well, I will go with you; I will kill that beast with my own hands! This is what he owes my sister."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded heavily, gripping her hand: "A promise is a promise! We will certainly make Wang Wang Jingchun pay with blood for his blood debt!"

He looked at Zhang Zhang Jiani lying on the bed, his expression solemn.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu and Zhu Ge Yu sat in the side hall; fine snow drifted outside the window. Both bore heavy shadows on their faces, clearly troubled by the crushing defeat that had just occurred. Their eyes both revealed a sense of unwillingness and anger, as if blaming themselves for failing to see through the enemy's trickery.

Zhu Ge Yu's expression was serious, and he spoke with a heavy tone, "Master, I believe this ambush was most likely the work of a traitor. We must ascertain the truth as soon as possible; otherwise, the consequences will be endless." His voice trembled slightly, obviously unable to calm his heart.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu straightened his back, his brows tightly furrowed: "How do you know? Our army's movements were kept secret; Wang Wang Jingchun is not all-knowing and all-powerful. How could he possibly know our movements and plans?" His gaze was sharp as a blade, as if he intended to dissect every doubt.

Zhu Ge Yu paced back and forth slowly, speaking word by word: "Master, please listen to my analysis. There are three roads leading to Lingna; how could Wang Wang Jingchun determine our army's route? He is merely a city lord of no account; without an inside man, how would he dare rashly attack Tu Tu Kesiluo's famous and mighty army?" His words carried a sharp edge, obviously the result of deep thought.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Your words make sense; Wang Wang Jingchun indeed does not seem to have the courage to launch an offensive initiative. He must have received some secret guidance and support from someone." His tone carried a hint of cold laughter, as if he had already seen through the enemy's conspiracy.

Zhu Ge Yu immediately said, "Furthermore, our army has already captured Luosuo and Chu Yun; Wang Wang Jingchun, knowing his strength is exhausted, should have been terrified and begged for peace; where would he dare to move rashly?" Having spoken thus, he stopped his steps and said seriously, "Master, the true state of our army and the direction of our march are known only to us few. For Wang Wang Jingchun to know our army's movements so thoroughly, the assistance of a traitor is the only explanation." A flash of cold light passed through his eyes, as if he had already locked onto a certain target.

After listening, Jiang Jiang Mingyu pondered for a long time, finally letting out a long sigh: "Your disciple's analysis is very reasonable. I also vaguely feel someone is meddling behind the scenes; this great defeat carries many implied meanings." A surge of anger rose in his heart; he wished he could carve that traitor into a thousand pieces.

A flash of cold light passed through his eyes, and he said sternly, "If this traitor is not removed, our army cannot fight with peace of mind. We must uncover this parasite before we can prevent small issues from becoming major ones." His words carried a murderous intent, as if he had already made up his mind.

"But as you say, how can we dig that person out?" Zhu Ge Yu asked with deep worry. He also knew this matter was not easy to accomplish; after all, the traitor was hidden very deep and not easily exposed.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head: "If this trouble is not resolved quickly, the losses caused in the future will be even more incalculable." His brows were tightly furrowed, obviously troubled by this matter.

Zhu Ge Yu furrowed his brows, half-speaking. He had no good method either and could only ponder deeply.

"This is indeed a problem; we cannot simply kill them all in one go," Zhu Ge Yu said, wrinkling his nose. Although he hated the traitors to the core, he did not wish to treat human lives as grass, for doing so would hurt the morale of the entire army.

Treating human lives as grass was absolutely unacceptable. Immediately, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes lit up.

"I have a way," he said with a mysterious smile. "We can use a stratagem against a stratagem, forcing the traitor to expose himself." The corner of his mouth curved into a cunning arc, as if he had already devised a brilliant plan.

Zhu Ge Yu was startled and quickly asked, "What stratagem? Please, Master, make it clear." A trace of expectation and curiosity flashed in his eyes; he wanted to know what Gao Zhao Jiang Jiang Mingyu had in mind.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words. After hearing them, Zhu Ge Yu could not help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Master is truly brilliant! This stratagem is wonderful! As long as we follow what Master says, that traitor will surely reveal his true colors!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled and said, "Then go and handle it quickly; time is running short. Remember, only you and I know of this matter; do not let a single word leak out."

Zhu Ge Yu nodded in agreement and hurriedly departed. Jiang Jiang Mingyu then sat back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for the traitor to expose himself.