Chapter 42: Midnight Surprise Attack

At the hour of Geng, the palace gardens of the Prince of Qi were already shrouded in dim darkness.

In the small, pitch-black, and silent chamber, only four-colored lamp flames burned with distinct brightness.

After a long while, four black shadows stood silently.

Ma Ma Defake nodded slightly and spoke indifferently: "Are the disciples all prepared?"

The three men in black said nothing, merely nodding heavily.

Ma Ma Defake hummed: "Your target on this mission is none other than the newly arrived Imperial Envoy, Jiang Jiang Mingyu."

"The Prince of Qi has promised that upon success, you shall receive three thousand taels of silver, flee to Jiuli, and never meet again."

"If you can capture Lord Lord Murong and Tu Tu Kesiluo alive, the reward of one thousand taels of silver may be increased."

A hint of warning appeared in Ma Ma Defake's eyes: "If any of you have questions, speak freely. This mission must not fail the Prince of Qi's great cause; otherwise, the consequences are for you to understand yourselves."

The three black shadows stood silent and tall, nodded, then quietly vanished, disappearing into the night.

Watching the Prince of Qi, whose face was cold and gloomy, Ma Ma Defake spoke softly: "Your Highness, the men have already departed."

The Prince of Qi nodded: "This matter is of great importance; the fewer who know, the better. Do you understand?"

A cold smile curled Ma Ma Defake's lips: "Can the dead speak out of turn? Once Jiang Jiang Mingyu is dead, the three of them will be useless."

"No one else knows of this matter. You may rest assured."

After he turned and left, the Prince of Qi's gaze gradually turned colder, and he murmured, "No, there is still one more."

"Conspiring to harm an official of the imperial court is a crime of what magnitude? Only if you are dead as well can this Prince rest completely at ease."

The lamp flames in the small chamber quietly extinguished; all sounds ceased, the silence becoming suffocating.

In the raging wind, the lamps of the Shangmu County Yamen were already extremely faint.

When the men in black left the Prince of Qi's palace gardens, Lord Lord Murong and Tu Tu Kesiluo, their faces covered with black cloth, were already fully prepared.

Tonight, Tu Tu Kesiluo had exchanged his waist knife for a long sword that Jiang Jiang Mingyu had never seen before.

The style of this sword was ancient; having read many magazines on weapons, Jiang Jiang Mingyu knew at a glance that this was by no means an ordinary item.

Fortunately, he did not ponder it further; the three exchanged glances and quietly slipped out of the main gate of the county yamen.

The soldiers guarding the East Gate, though they had never seen Jiang Jiang Mingyu, recognized the waist token he displayed.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu and the other two, having taken two horses from the guards, left the city and headed straight east toward the notorious Green Dragon Shanzhai.

In the whistling cold wind, Tu Tu Kesiluo still felt somewhat uneasy: "My lord, you should not have come; it is too dangerous."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook the cloth covering his face, as if smiling: "Do you know why this official chose to act at this time?"

"We depart at the third watch and will arrive at Green Dragon Shanzhai around the fourth watch, which is precisely the coldest time of the day."

"Everyone will be avoiding the wind and fast asleep; it is very safe."

"You will raid the bandits while this county official keeps watch; a swift battle will ensure absolute safety."

"Stop wasting words; the time is late, let us hurry."

He cracked his whip, immediately charging forward several zhang; Lord Lord Murong and Tu Tu Kesiluo, having no choice, let out a light shout and quickly pursued.

In the darkness, Green Dragon Shanzhai resembled a huge black bun; the faint lights on the mountain must be the bandits' shanzhai.

The two studied the map they had extracted from Liu Liu Tianyu's mouth for quite a while before winding their way up the mountain.

The mountain wind grew stronger and stronger; Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt somewhat nervous as well. If those bandits were still awake, it would be troublesome.

Facts proved he had overestimated the vigilance of these bandits; before the empty shanzhai gate, not a single soul was breathing.

A bonfire, nearly extinguished, burned in the courtyard; the sound of snoring, carried by the cold wind, drilled into Jiang Jiang Mingyu's ears.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu pointed to a small earthen pit not far away, his voice pressed very low: "Go quickly; this official will guard here."

"Use a whistle as the signal; if anything seems amiss, withdraw immediately."

Lord Lord Murong and Tu Tu Kesiluo said no more; after signaling him to hide quickly, they floated lightly over the shanzhai gate and entered the courtyard.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu naturally dared not delay; he carefully crawled into the earthen pit and vigilantly watched for any rustling in the surroundings.

About the time it takes to eat a meal passed.

The wind scattered the clouds, revealing a crescent new moon; Jiang Jiang Mingyu anxiously pulled his robe closed: "It is the fourth watch; why have they not yet emerged?"

The only thing that could now bring him peace of mind was that there was still no movement within the shanzhai; no news was the best news.

Just as he was about to blow on his hands to warm them, the black substance on his hands and some small black fragments immediately caught his attention.

Under the moonlight, Jiang Jiang Mingyu carefully examined the blackness on his hands and the earthen pit where he stood.

Boundless joy immediately crashed full-force against him: "This truly was an unplanned stroke of luck; it is too unexpected."

Shangmu County, Prince of Qi's Palace Gardens.

The Prince of Qi's face was sinister and suspicious: "What did you say? Jiang Jiang Mingyu is not there?"

One of the three men in black bowed to the Prince of Qi: "My lord, exactly so."

"We searched the entire county yamen; not only was Jiang Jiang Mingyu absent, but Lord Lord Murong and Tu Tu Kesiluo were also gone."

"Only a thin man was on guard in the county yamen; we dared not delay further and have returned specifically to report to you."

The Prince of Qi's face was extremely ugly; he looked at Ma Ma Defake with great caution: "What is going on?"

"Did Jiang Jiang Mingyu and the other two hear wind of this beforehand and thus sneak out overnight?"

Ma Ma Defake immediately grew tense: "Impossible. Except for us five, no outsider knows."

The Prince of Qi sneered: "Who knows if someone, eager to curry favor with Jiang Jiang Mingyu, voluntarily became a traitor?"

"They say the human heart is separated from the belly by skin; do you not agree?"

The final few words were drawn out by him with a long trailing tone; the implication within was self-evident.

The whistling cold wind, without any warning, rushed in from outside the door; the four people under the firelight all shivered simultaneously.

Anyone could see that at this moment, the Prince of Qi had already turned murderous.

Just as Ma Ma Defake was about to explain, a soldier wrapped in cold wind suddenly rushed in.

This man seemed not to notice the strange atmosphere in the room; he bowed to Prince Qi and said, "My lord, there is a situation."

Prince Qi gave him an annoyed glance: "Speak quickly if you have something to say, why so much nonsense?"

The soldier did not understand the situation but dared not speak nonsense again: "A report from the East City: the newly arrived Lord Jiang, accompanied by Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai and Tu Tu Kesiluo, has gone out of the city."

Prince Qi frowned again: "No wonder the county office is empty; so that is how it is. What have they gone to do?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Ma Defake and the other three breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The soldier who brought the report sorted out his thoughts: "The brothers guarding the city said that around the third watch, Lord Jiang and the other two left the city."

"One brother followed from a distance; around the fourth watch, that brother discovered they had quietly climbed up to Green Dragon Shanzhai."

Third watch, Prince Qi's brows tightened further: "He truly has a big life; if they had gone out a little later, we would have succeeded."

"But in this freezing cold weather, what is he doing at Green Dragon Shanzhai?"

Ma Ma Defake's eyes rolled: "My lord, it does not matter what he is doing; this is another opportunity for us."

"Everyone in Shangmu County knows that Green Dragon Shanzhai is inhabited by a gang of fierce bandits; Lord Jiang Jiang Mingyu's going there must mean he is colluding with the bandits."

"As an official of the imperial court, Zhi Fa Fan Fa, his crime is indeed unforgivable."

"If we send troops now and block Lord Jiang Jiang Mingyu at Green Dragon Shanzhai, even if he has a mouth full of words, he cannot explain it away."

"Once his collusion with bandits is proven, even if you chop him down in public, it would be reasonable."

"As for Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai and Tu Tu Kesiluo, without Lord Jiang Jiang Mingyu's backing, when to deal with them is just a word from you."

"By then, perhaps, my lord, you could even be promoted for this merit and leave this ghost place forever."

Prince Qi's eyes suddenly lit up: "Give the order, muster one hundred soldiers, and head immediately to Green Dragon Shanzhai."

His face showed ferocity: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, this is all your own doing."

Prince Qi's expression suddenly became stern: "Set out."

Green Dragon Shanzhai, in front of the shanzhai gate.

The fourth watch was nearly over, the coldest time of the day, but at this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face bore infinite joy.

That is right; the thing he had just accidentally discovered was coal hidden in a pit.

Before transmigrating, he had done business in coal, so he was quite familiar with it.

Under the moonlight, his expression was very excited: "Heaven, you have finally favored Jiang Mou once."

"During the day I was still worrying about how the common people would survive the winter; with this, is it not all solved?"

Like many mountainous areas before transmigrating, the entire Eastern Yue Kingdom relied on firewood for heating and cooking.

For the elderly, weak, women, and children in the city who could not chop wood, this was absolutely huge good news.

As long as it is transported back, everything will no longer be a problem.

In the pit, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, facing the knife-like cold wind, carefully looked around.

If his estimate was correct, this Green Dragon Shanzhai beneath his feet should be a huge coal mountain.

Such a massive quantity of coal, even if the entire Shangmu County burned it for several years, would have no problem at all.

The joyful expression slowly climbed onto Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face: "If we can open up a market here, we can surely make a good profit."

"We are rich, this time we are truly rich."

In the blink of an eye, he already had a rough plan in his mind; at the same time, a deeper smile climbed onto his face.

Watching Jiang Jiang Mingyu giggling foolishly in the pit, Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai and Tu Tu Kesiluo, who had appeared at some point, were speechless: "My lord, what are you doing?"

"We agreed on lookout duty; luckily nothing happened, or I would have had people chop you up, and you wouldn't even know."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu woke from his joy, somewhat embarrassed: "This official just had confidence in you."

"By the way, is it all settled?"

Confidence, Tu Tu Kesiluo rolled his eyes flirtatiously: "Twenty people, not one left; Shangmu County will be peaceful for a few days."

His casual manner was as if the twenty people who had just died under his hand were merely twenty chickens.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded: "Well done; just now this county magistrate discovered something very important; let's go quickly, we will talk when we return."

Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai and Tu Tu Kesiluo did not ask much, helped Jiang Jiang Mingyu out of the pit, and headed toward the path down the mountain.

As they neared the mountain path, the howling cold wind also diminished considerably.

Lord Lord Murong Murong Yunhai seemed to be in a good mood: "Brother Jiang Xingqiu, what have you discovered?"

Before Jiang Jiang Mingyu could reply, a rough, powerful voice suddenly came from the darkness in the distance: "Surround them."

The firelight and the voice appeared as suddenly; by the time Jiang Jiang Mingyu reacted, he found himself trapped in heavy encirclement.

Tu Tu Kesiluo's sword was just about to leave its sheath, but was stopped by a look from Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "Stop, do not be impulsive."

He saw clearly that these people around were wearing city defense uniforms and should count as our own side.

In the glaring firelight, Jiang Jiang Mingyu saw a middle-aged man holding a horse rein slowly approaching them.

The man pointed with his whip from afar: "This must be Lord Jiang, do you recognize this king?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled lightly: "Prince Qi, I have long heard of your great name."

"So deep in the night, why do you have the interest to come to this Green Dragon Shanzhai?"

Prince Qi smiled faintly: "Naturally, I came for Lord Jiang."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu brushed the snowflakes off his clothes: "Your news is truly well-informed."

He gradually stopped smiling: "If you want people not to know, unless you do not do it yourself."

"Jiang Jiang Mingyu, as an official of the imperial court, you dare secretly collude with bandits; what crime should you be punished for?"

Such a scene naturally could not do without Ma Ma Defake: "Zhi Fa Fan Fa, the crime is compounded; Lord Jiang, you really should not have done this."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was very calm: "To say this imperial envoy colludes with bandits, where is the evidence?"

Prince Qi sneered: "You appearing at Green Dragon Shanzhai at this time is the evidence."

"Enough, Lord Jiang, whatever you have to say, let us speak in the prison; seize him!"