Chapter 1110

First Volume, Chapter 1110: The Prodigal Returns

Wu Er never expected his luck to be this good—he had only heard of the Brocade Uniform Guard's name during the day, and now, at night, he faced the real thing.

Killing nine comrades in complete silence—such terrifying assassination skills could only belong to the real deal!

Wu Er instantly collapsed in terror, forgetting even to beg for mercy.

The man standing before Wu Er was none other than Liu Ming.

Upon learning of the massacres committed by Wu Heli and others in Yuping County, Liu Ming immediately deployed personnel to track their movements, and before nightfall, he had already located the bandits holed up in the mountains.

To annihilate them completely, Liu Ming did not act hastily; instead, he waited until nightfall, when the men had fallen asleep, then sent the Brocade Uniform Anwu Guards to infiltrate the camp and slay all nine bandits in their sleep.

Wu Er survived not because of great fortune, but because Liu Ming deliberately kept him alive as a witness.

Looking at Wu Er, who was utterly terrified, Liu Ming smiled faintly and said, "I won't give you any meaningless illusions."

"You will die—only the manner of your death remains to be decided."

"If you cooperate willingly, I'll let you die swiftly and painlessly."

"Otherwise, there's still plenty of time tonight—we can play around."

Faced with Liu Ming's threat, Wu Er trembled violently; to avoid further torture, he nodded frantically without a moment's thought.

"I'll cooperate—please, Master, give me a quick death."

Seeing Wu Er's cooperation, Liu Ming was in good spirits; after all, Liu Ming especially favored those who understood the times.

In contrast, those so-called hardheads always wasted a great deal of time—and still ended up confessing.

What's the point of suffering needless torment?

Liu Ming gave a signal, and the Brocade Uniform Guards placed the nine severed heads before Wu Er.

"Identify them—which one is Wu Heli?"

Wu Er, well aware of the Brocade Uniform Guard's terror, dared not conceal anything and shook his head repeatedly: "Wu Heli isn't here."

"Earlier today, Wu Heli left with half the men."

At this, Liu Ming's smile vanished clearly.

He had been as cautious as possible, yet still missed his target—this Wu Heli was far more cunning than expected.

"Where did they go?"

Facing Liu Ming's question, Wu Er answered bluntly: "I don't know—they headed north, saying they'd recruit soldiers and buy horses, and ordered us to stay behind and watch Ming County."

Given Liu Ming's experience, he could easily tell whether Wu Er was telling the truth or lying.

He sighed softly and patted Wu Er's head: "Recruit soldiers and buy horses? Hahaha—they've left you here as bait to cover their own escape."

"You fools—you've been sold out, and you're still counting the money for them."

Hearing this, Wu Er froze, then burst into furious rage, screaming curses.

"Damn Wu Heli! We agreed to get rich together—how could you betray us like this, bastard!"

Watching Wu Er's look of wounded fury,

Liu Ming waved his hand, and in the next instant, Wu Er was beheaded on the spot.

The Deputy stepped beside Liu Ming and whispered: "Commander, this Wu Heli is not only audacious but also extraordinarily cunning—it seems unlikely we can easily eliminate him."

Liu Ming nodded, as composed as ever.

"He escaped from the Marquis's grasp before, and now, under the Brocade Uniform Guard's manhunt, he's slipped away again."

"This man is no ordinary bandit or chaotic faction member."

"With his flight, he likely won't reappear for a while; setting up a vast net to catch him would be overly disruptive."

"For now, ignore him—just send a few men to patrol secretly around nearby County Cities and prevent Wu Heli from infiltrating again."

Hearing this, the Deputy frowned slightly.

"Commander, are you suggesting… Wu Heli will still attack a County City and slaughter indiscriminately?"

Liu Ming's expression held a deep smile: "Isn't it obvious?"

"His army was crushed head-on by the Marquis—he must realize his weakness and desperately needs quality armor and weapons. But raiding a Military Camp or Zhu Qu? Unless they're eager to die."

"That leaves only one way to obtain weapons and armor: the County Cities."

"The Garrison Commanders and morale of County Cities vary greatly—if they encounter a soft target, they might indeed plunder vast amounts of Materials and Supplies."

The Deputy hadn't expected these bandits to have such grand ambitions.

No wonder the Qin Marquis personally ordered their annihilation.

Liu Ming didn't dwell on it—he immediately led his men out of the forest, decisively abandoning the pursuit.

The Brocade Uniform Guard didn't have the energy to waste on someone like Wu Heli, but since Qin Feng had ordered it, Liu Ming would comply.

So he decided that, while securing the County Cities, he would send messengers to the Zhou Fu to issue a wanted notice.

Once Wu Heli became a fugitive, all his movements would be severely restricted—trying to infiltrate a County City again would be as impossible as climbing to heaven.

Aside from direct support from the Nan Jing Powerful Clans, Liu Ming couldn't imagine any other way Wu Heli might succeed.

"By the way, where is the Qin Marquis?"

The Deputy quickly replied: "He has already shed his armor and accelerated, heading straight for Jingdu—he'll leave Ben Zhou tomorrow, and in another two or three days, he'll reach Jingdu."

Hearing this, Liu Ming nodded, letting out a quiet sigh.

Thus, the matter with the Bei Di is finally concluded; come spring, we can turn to the Nan Jing Powerful Clans.

And the Nan Jing Powerful Clans will not sit idle.

Liu Ming immediately followed Qin Feng's orders, shifting the Brocade Uniform Guard's operational center southward—for the foreseeable future, their primary focus will be the Nan Jing Powerful Clans.

"Another month until the New Year…"

"Spring is no longer far away… enjoy this hard-won brief peace."

"The battle against the Nan Jing Powerful Clans won't be any easier than the one against the Bei Di."

……

Three days later, Qin Feng led the disarmed Light Cavalry and finally arrived at the Jingji Region.

Looking at this familiar land, Qin Feng could not help but let out a long sigh: "After so long away, I've finally returned."

"This land is still the same land—but I wonder, have the people here changed…?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yuxiong said lightly: "Why must Brother Qin worry?"

"Now, His Majesty utterly trusts the Marquis; the Imperial Court is held by the Grand Commandant and the Taolin Party, and the military is guarded by my father—who else could stir up trouble?"

Qin Feng did not answer Zhao Yuxiong, but his eyes revealed a depth of thought.

There was one person who had never abandoned plotting!

That woman, the Empress who presided over Heaven, born of the Powerful Clan of Nan Jing… Nangong Empress!

The great war against the Powerful Clan of Nan Jing is at hand; knowing Nangong Empress as he did, Qin Feng was certain she would never sit idle!