Vanguards who climbed up from the steep cliffs cleared out the Zanhuang Mountain sentinel posts, then the Yongning Army descended from above like a force majeure.
Without the warning from the sentinel posts and losing the advantage of terrain, the several dozen bandits were no match for the government soldiers and were quickly subjugated; moments later, the entire stronghold was levelled.
The dead bandits were piled together, the living were herded and squatted on the flat ground. The hall where celebrations had recently been held was now half burned, illuminating the area.
With a thump, Big Teeth, who had been hung up, let out a howl as his whip-struck body burst open like flames licking flesh.
"Speak up!" the general barked, lifting the whip again.
Big Teeth wished he could die right then and there.
"Master Peng, I've told you everything," he babbled through tears and snot, "We only did it a few times and planned to do it again tomorrow, but we haven't gone yet..."
Before he finished speaking, the whip in the general's hand lashed out again, and Big Teeth nearly screamed himself into unconsciousness.
"Don't play dumb with me," the general cursed.
A soldier hurried over.
"Sir, we found nothing," he announced.
Big Teeth heard this in a daze, then another whip struck, and he instantly became alert from the pain.
"Where is it?" the general shouted.
These government soldiers often lacked sufficient military funds, and now with the tense situation, could it be they were after his stored grain?
Otherwise, it made no sense for them, sated and idle, to ignore the Jin thief and instead mount a night raid on his small fort, mobilizing so many troops.
"Master Peng," Big Teeth cried, "Money, grain, alcohol, and cloth are all hidden behind the mountain. That's all I have. The harvest has been poor, and we couldn't rob anything good..."
Before he finished, the general raised his hand and struck with the whip again.
"Stop your bloody feigning of ignorance!" he shouted.
Big Teeth wailed like a banshee.
After venting anger with two whip strikes, the general turned to see Lei Zhonglian and Eighteenth Jin standing to one side, looking as though they were enjoying the mountain scenery, which fueled his anger again.
His eyes narrowed.
"Lord Lei, it's dark and the mountain is vast. Why don't you lend a hand and help us search?" he suggested.
Lei Zhonglian glanced at Eighteenth Jin.
"Alright," he replied, then turned and walked away.
His followers, as well as those of Eighteenth Jin, naturally followed suit, keeping close watch on each other just like before.
Watching them leave, the general smiled coldly before turning back to Big Teeth.
Colluding, huh?
Even if you're as tight-lipped as an iron barrel, I'll pry open your mouth.
"Let him down," the general ordered coldly.
The soldiers immediately went to lower Big Teeth. Before he could even relish his relief, the general grabbed him.
"Where are they?" he demanded through clenched teeth, taking a small curved knife from a nearby soldier, "Or I'll flay your skin."
The firelight glinted off the curved knife as it pressed against Big Teeth's scalp.
It was said that these government soldiers had a penchant for flaying the skin of captured Jin thieves, flaying them alive without killing them...
Big Teeth felt as if his skin had already been peeled off, leaving him utterly spent.
What should he say? What exactly do they want him to reveal? It's a matter of life and death!
.............
It really was a matter of life and death.
Life and death for these bandits, and even risking the lives of government soldiers to climb cliffs at night.
Gazing at the pitch-black cliffs, Eighteenth Jin stopped, the surrounding clamor and torchlight unsettling him.
But something... was not right.
Something was off about this whole situation.
He abruptly turned around, and sure enough, saw Lei Zhonglian standing behind him.
"I'll ask you once more, where is Miss Jun?" he said sternly.
Lei Zhonglian regarded him.
"That is also what I'd like to know," he responded, "I know the Jinyiwei fear neither heaven nor earth, but I'll tell you, for Miss Jun's sake, there are those who would dare rip a hole in the sky."
Eighteenth Jin, not sneering as before, stared intently at him with a cold glint in his small eyes.
"You might not believe what I'm about to say," he declared, "Although I am ordered to capture Miss Jun, if anything happens to her, I am surely dead."
So, the Jinyiwei wouldn't harm Miss Jun?
Thousand-Man Commander Lu... it was said he was determined to have Miss Jun, and what he wanted was surely a living person.
Lei Zhonglian's expression shifted for a moment.
"I know Miss Jun is very formidable, but this is the northern lands, different from Yangcheng, Runan, and even the capital. To go alone here is very dangerous," Eighteenth Jin said, "I only want to capture Miss Jun, not to take her life. In fact, I can say that the order I received from Thousand-Man Commander Lu is that her life is more important than anyone else's."
"What do you mean by that?" Lei Zhonglian said hoarsely, "You've captured her, what's the point of beating around the bush?"
Eighteenth Jin reached out and grabbed Lei Zhonglian, and the Fang Family's guards, escort, and four Jinyiwei surrounded them, once again falling into a standoff.
"I've already told you," Eighteenth Jin did not make a move but exclaimed, "We haven't captured her. Where exactly did you let her go alone?"
You say you didn't capture her, should I just take your word for it? Lei Zhonglian looked at him, but the words did not come out of his mouth.
"I also told you, we didn't let her go alone," he shouted back, "Don't underestimate Miss Jun; she is not the kind of person to act recklessly. When exactly did you take her?"
The two men glared fiercely at each other, their expressions slowly hardening, then suddenly they both turned and ran down the mountain.
The stand-offish guards, escorts, and Jinyiwei were stunned for a moment but quickly gathered their wits and followed.
In front of the stronghold's main hall, Big Teeth's screams, with his hands covering his ears, could be heard from afar.
"Master Peng, I really didn't, I don't even know who Miss Jun is!" He lay on the ground, covering his face, bloodied all over and crying, "How could I have kidnapped her?"
The general pressed his foot on his shoulder and shook a piece of paper.
"Cut the crap, you think I can't recognize your handwriting?" he barked.
Big Teeth was crying so hard that he was gasping for breath.
"Master Peng, if I really kidnapped Miss Jun, I wouldn't send the letter to your hands to seek death. I would have sent it to Miss Jun's subordinates," he yelled.
That seems to make sense.
The general was stunned for a moment, realizing that Miss Jun's family would care about her more than anyone else.
But just as he was about to say something, Eighteenth Jin snatched the letter from him and elbowed him aside, stepping on Big Teeth.
This swift action was so fast that the general didn't react in time and was pushed back a few steps.
Impressive skills, he thought as he stared wide-eyed at the man, then squinted again. Naturally, someone scheming against his own family must have some abilities.
Could he be trying to silence the witness? The general immediately stepped forward.
Eighteenth Jin had already kicked Big Teeth up, pressing the letter against his face.
"Do you have any enemies?" he asked.
Enemies?
The general paused, while Lei Zhonglian seemed lost in thought.
"Enemies, I have plenty of them, the local people around here…" Big Teeth seemed to have caught a glimmer of hope as he eagerly shouted.
But his words were cut off by Eighteenth Jin.
"The kind of enemy who can contend with you, not those ordinary citizens," he said indifferently, "someone with a grudge against you or who has had a recent conflict."
For a moment, Big Teeth was dumbfounded, then he also came to a realization.
"I knew it shouldn't be like this, the government soldiers wouldn't be so idle as to exclusively eradicate me; turns out I was framed," he said, his eyes bulging, his face turning pale, and his body trembling, "I know now, it must have been that group of thieves!"
Lei Zhonglian felt his heart clenched tightly.
"Which group of thieves?" he bellowed.
.............
"That group of thieves, they're done for this time."
Amid the talking, a burst of laughter rang out.
The light in Miss Jun's line of sight slowly brightened.
Daybreak was near, and these people had walked all night; they must have finally met up with their own people?
Just a moment ago, laughter and footsteps of unfamiliar men echoed outside.
"Old Tian, how is it?" they asked in a jumble.
"No problem, the goods have been safely transported back," the man on this side answered with a laugh.
Clearly, she, Miss Jun, was the "goods". She smiled to herself as their conversation continued. The man called Old Tian even recounted how he had done it, with no concern that Miss Jun was lying in the cart listening.
When Old Tian mentioned sending a fake kidnapping letter pretending to be Big Teeth to the government soldiers, the group erupted in laughter.
"That's exactly what we should do; by doing this, we're as good as eradicating the bandits of Zanhuang Mountain, which is precisely our duty as government soldiers," someone said loudly.
Government soldiers.
Originally, she thought it was just a joke by that man, but it seems that everyone here has a knack for humor.
A thought flashed through Miss Jun's mind, and the grass covering her was suddenly flipped open, with the morning light pouring in.
Miss Jun couldn't help but close her eyes, and then slowly opened them again.
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Thank you to Miss Jun, Southern Ice, Zi Ze, Southern Ice for the rewards and He's Bi O(∩_∩)O
Thank you all.