Chapter 195: Still Have to Travel On

The south lacks horses. Bandits and brigands were never wealthy organizations to begin with, and having horses was even rarer. Often, the number of horses they possessed represented their strength. From the battle just now, one could also see the caliber of the enemy. They coordinated with each other, wielded decent weapons, and only broke and fled when cut down to a small fraction of their number. They were indeed very strong.

"I heard from the men over at Pig-Butcher Li's place that in a bandit gang, those who can ride and those who can shoot get an extra share when dividing the spoils. Damn it all, these bastards really invested some serious capital!" Liu Yong said through gritted teeth from the side.

Drawing a bow and shooting with accuracy takes no less than three to five years of dedicated practice to achieve. It is a craft, and it is also capital. A man like that holds no low status within a bandit gang.

Ji Xiang pulled a leather pad out of a horse's saddlebag, then slowly sat down on the ground. As soon as his back touched a tree trunk, he convulsed in pain. Zhao Jin immediately looked over with concern. Ji Xiang grimaced, bared his teeth, and waved his hand dismissively. "My back's probably just bruised. It's nothing. Big Brother, are we just going to stay put here from now on?"

Everyone was a bit confused, unsure of the reason behind Zhao Jin's arrangement. Logically, after such a harrowing encirclement and slaughter, the most urgent task should be to leave this place immediately, lest the enemy still have reinforcements waiting.

"Don't worry, no fresh enemy troops will be coming. If that He Weiyuan could dispatch a few dozen more men of this caliber, he'd have long been the top power in the territories of Xuzhou and Huai'an Prefecture. Why would he need to hide his head and tail until now?" Zhao Jin said, as if reading everyone's thoughts, offering an explanation.

If he truly had a hundred or so mounted desperadoes at his disposal, he could indeed run rampant across the region of Shandong and Southern Zhili. The Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander himself only had just over two hundred cavalry. Judging by He Weiyuan's low-profile, hidden manner, he did not seem like a figure possessing such strength at all. Moreover, among the desperate bandits who came for this ambush, there were men from Shandong, men from Huai'an Prefecture, and men from his own He Family Manor. They were a patchwork force scraped together from all over. How could there possibly be any fresh troops?

"The reason we're guarding this place is to wait for those dozen or so routed ambushers to return. None of them are locals. If they want to flee, they'll have to come back for horses. One comes back, we kill one!" Zhao Jin declared.

At the time, those routed ambushers had not fled up the slope, but rather scattered toward areas that were easier to escape through. Their courage had been shattered in that moment, and they would have to run a long way before thinking of turning back. After Zhao Jin and the others arrived here, no one had yet returned.

Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted with a surge of energy. Toward these irreconcilable mortal enemies, only killing them all would be satisfying.

Zhao Jin paused thoughtfully for a moment, then continued, "However, our purpose in waiting here is not to kill people, but to prevent anyone from riding back on horseback to deliver a report."

Having said this, Zhao Jin paused again, then spoke once more: "And what of it, even after we kill these small-fry? The chief culprits are the ones who most deserve to die."

Everyone jolted, turning in unison to look at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin continued, "He Weiyuan and Li Shun set this death trap. They can also figure out who was responsible for the night raid and arson at our distillery. Li Shun is holed up inside the city and can't run. As for He Weiyuan, having sent so many men out here, his manor must be utterly empty right now. Even less would he imagine that just a few of us brothers could slaughter nearly a hundred of his men. We should seize this chance to strike where he is unprepared."

After he finished these words, the scene fell considerably silent. Zhao Jin looked at everyone. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhaojing suddenly straightened his body, and said through gritted teeth, "If we don't wash He Family Manor in blood, the future troubles will be endless. If we let them off this time, even greater trouble awaits us later."

The reason Wang Zhaojing was so agitated was, on one hand, hatred; on the other hand, it was because of his loss of composure when facing a formidable foe. He had nearly collapsed then, and now he needed to prove himself with redoubled courage.

Chen Sheng held a corner of his outer robe, scooped up some snow from the ground, and wiped his blood-stained long saber. The blade became gleaming bright again. He lifted the blade to examine its edge, shook his head, and said, "Before we go, we'll need to swap out our weapons outside the city. Your long spear is broken, and my saber's edge is already curled."

"Let's go! Big Brother, whatever you decide to do, I'll follow. We'll avenge Dalei!" Liu Yong shouted hoarsely.

"But none of us know how to ride horses?" Ji Xiang spoke up.

"If we can't ride, we'll go by cart. Even if we have to walk, we can reach there before dawn." Zhao Jin said solemnly.

With the matter settled to this point, no one raised any further objections. They simply waited there quietly.

Just as Zhao Jin had predicted, it was roughly half a shichen later before someone approached this area. The men fleeing back were utterly distraught and spiritless, so much so that they didn't even notice Zhao Jin and the others hidden among the herd of horses.

They killed seven in this manner, waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy. Two more sensed something was wrong and, caring nothing for the horses, simply fled far away on foot.

After that, no one else came running over. Perhaps they had been so terrified by the slaughter that they collapsed mentally and no longer dared to return.

They waited like this until the sky was about to turn dark. Zhao Jin and the others took turns going over to the official road to see if the people from the city had arrived yet, and also to relieve the exhausted Zhang Hubin.

Ji Xiang and Liu Yong used the tinder they carried to start a fire. Just as it began to burn, they heard the dense sound of horse hooves.

But Zhao Jin and the others' first reaction was not to rush down to the official road to greet them, but to immediately run into the woods and hide. They only emerged when they heard Dong Bingfeng's shout.

Zhao Zhentang did not know how to ride. He shared a horse with one rider, two men to a single mount. Because of his large, heavy frame, that rider had specifically brought two horses to rotate between. Even so, by the time they arrived here, the horses were completely drenched in sweat.

He brought a total of sixteen mounted men. Zhao Jin recognized most of them. The constables in the yamen were divided into foot runners and mounted runners, but the constables here in Xuzhou mostly led lives of comfort and ease. Most of the mounted ones were unofficial runners and laborers. Moreover, Zhao Zhentang had a clear head about things; the runners he brought this time were all his own men whom he could actually command.

Seeing Zhao Jin and his companions covered in blood and grime, their faces utterly haggard, Zhao Zhentang, who had dismounted and was walking over, was badly startled. Although Dong Bingfeng had not told them anything, he could guess the gist of it. Zhao Zhentang hurriedly came closer to look. Seeing the wound on Zhao Jin's face, he could not help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air. Frowning, he said, "Blades and spears have no eyes. You've learned your lesson today, haven't you!"

After saying this, Zhao Zhentang looked around, puzzled, and asked, "Where are the men who were following you? Where's Sun Dalei?"

Zhao Jin wanted to speak, but felt as if something was stuck in his throat. Only after several attempts did he point toward the slope on one side and say in a raspy voice, "They're all in the woods over there, buried under snow. On the other side of that slope are the bandits who ambushed us."

Zhao Zhentang did not react at first, merely nodding. Then his body jolted. He shot Zhao Jin a look of utter disbelief and strode quickly toward the slope. Zhao Jin followed with his head lowered, and the runners all followed behind.

In truth, they had not buried them deep, merely covering them with snow. Looking over from the road, one would often miss them because of the cover provided by the sparse trees, especially since the sky had already darkened by the time Zhao Zhentang and his men hurried over, making it even harder to notice.

But once they walked into the woods, everything became clear. Dong Bingfeng swept the snow off the corpses, revealing them one by one. Sun Dalei's face still bore a frozen, rigid smile. Dong Bingfeng could not hold back his tears again. Zhao Jin rubbed his eyes fiercely with his hand, yet still could not stop the tears from flowing.

When they first saw the corpses, Zhao Zhentang and the runners behind him could not help but utter low exclamations of shock. But as they looked at them one after another, they all fell silent.

After finishing looking at this side of the slope, Zhao Jin led them to the other side of the slope. The light at the top of the hilly slope was still passable. Everyone looked down and let out a collective cry of alarm, then the sound was collectively cut short, as if severed.

Every single person was stunned by the scene before their eyes. In the woods, corpses lay strewn in disorder, crisscrossing everywhere. Because of the cover of the trees and the dimming sky, it seemed as if there was no end to them.

Zhao Jin briefly recounted what had happened in a dry, hoarse voice. Everyone listened in silence. In truth, they were so shocked they were frozen dumb. After Zhao Jin finished, Zhao Zhentang let out a long breath and then asked, "How many men ambushed you, and how many did you kill?"

"... It was probably over a hundred men. A dozen or so ran away..." In fact, Zhao Jin had stated it very clearly in his account just now. It was just that no one could believe it, and Zhao Zhentang, as his father, was no exception.

"Didn't you say earlier that many of your household guards were shot dead, leaving only one? Just the few of you killed this many?" Zhao Zhentang asked again.

Zhao Jin nodded and said, "We are stronger than them. That's why we killed so many."

Zhao Zhentang suddenly did not know what to say. The runners following him kept their voices very low, but they could still be heard clearly from this side.

"... Mengshan Tiger, isn't that the great bandit who came over from Shandong? The one who washed out two villages in Pei County?"

"It wasn't washing out villages. Villages are nothing. Those two manors—one family was on the salt route, the other had a feud with Mengshan Tiger. Both manors kept household guards and private soldiers, you know. And they still got rushed in and slaughtered..."

"The bounty on the Grass Den that bunch has to be over a thousand taels by now, right?"

"... Dark Red is probably worth even more than that. In that bloody gang fight the year before last, a Patrol Inspector died in Huai'an Prefecture..."

Xuzhou was full of local strongmen. Manors and great clans all kept private troops, and even the authorities dared not provoke them lightly. That Mengshan Tiger's gang had actually managed to wash out two manors. Meanwhile, Huai'an Prefecture produced Huai salt, and salt smugglers ran rampant. Patrol Inspectors, tasked with investigating and seizing illegal salt, were often salt smugglers themselves and typically commanded very strong military force. Well-fed and well-equipped, they were far superior to regular troops. The Grass Den people had actually been able to kill a Patrol Inspector in a gang fight; their strength was imaginable. Both of these groups were exceptionally fierce and formidable.

Yet it was precisely such a force of desperadoes that had been completely wiped out by Zhao Jin and his few companions. Zhao Jin and his group's prowess was even more astonishing.

Zhao Jin was too weary to keep listening to these words. He spoke up, "Father, ignore the corpses on the slope for now. Your son has already found the place where these bandits tethered their horses. Dasheng and the others are guarding it over there. Come with me first."

Everyone subconsciously obeyed Zhao Jin's words without any objection, as if it were perfectly natural for a junior to give orders.

When they reached the place where the horses were tethered, they saw Chen Sheng and the others warming themselves by a fire. The moment they noticed people approaching, they immediately stood up on alert, only relaxing after exchanging greetings.

"Father, tonight I must trouble you and your men to stand guard here for the night. Anyone who approaches this herd of horses during the night, kill them without exception," Zhao Jin said coldly.

Zhao Zhentang nodded silently, then asked, "The city gates will be closing soon. Will you stay here with us for the night?"

"No. Your son still has to travel on tonight. I must also trouble you, Father, to arrange for two men who know the roads well and can drive a cart to help."