Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Second Brother Has the Makings of a Ruthless Strategist The moment He Bin finished speaking, his whip cracked against the ground beside the young lady’s feet. “The Jinwu Guard is handling a case. Bystanders, stand aside and leave at once.” The Jinwu Guard possessed absolute authority in the Capital. No one was permitted to question them. He Bin’s whip had struck with considerable force, leaving a deep mark in the ground. Li Linglong’s body trembled, and she felt somewhat afraid. But when she thought of her plan to make an impression on Gu Chen, she still steeled herself and retorted, “What I said wasn’t even—ah!” He Bin seemed to have lost his patience. His second lash landed directly on Li Linglong’s calf, knocking her to the ground. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Li Linglong’s forehead. She was the legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Works, yet these people actually dared to beat her in the street. Wasn’t Gu Chen supposed to find her special? Wasn’t he supposed to look at her differently because of her courage? Why was this so different from what she had imagined? Seeing He Bin strike a young woman without the slightest hesitation, everyone present fell deathly silent, terrified that they would be the next to receive a beating. He Bin’s gaze swept over the crowd. Only after confirming that no one dared to make a sound did he cup his fist toward Gu Chen. “My lord, shall we depart?” They had an urgent mission today. Not even a second could be wasted. Gu Chen withdrew his gaze and said coldly, “Find out which family the person who rescued them just now belongs to.” In the Capital, he would not allow anyone or anything beyond his control to appear. The Black Wind Stronghold was located thirty li east of the Capital, in the outskirts. Three sides of the stronghold were surrounded by cliffs, while the sole path up the mountain was guarded layer upon layer. Any disturbance would be discovered immediately. It was practically impregnable. Taking advantage of this, the Black Wind Stronghold had occupied the area for years, specializing in robbing passing caravans. They would abduct the women of the families traveling with them and threaten the families into paying ransom. Officials cared greatly about their reputations. Even after suffering such a loss, they did not dare make it public, quietly paying the ransom to retrieve their people. Afterward, they would not dare mention the matter again. They would not even send soldiers to wipe out the stronghold, fearing that people would discover that their female relatives had had dealings with the Black Wind Stronghold and that their reputations would be ruined. As a result, the Black Wind Stronghold had run rampant for more than a decade. Originally, people had assumed that they would be safe as long as they stayed away from the Black Wind Stronghold’s territory. No one had expected the stronghold’s leader, after tasting the sweetness of easy profits, to lead his men elsewhere to abduct people and bring them back to the mountain. That day, the stronghold had just brought back a young lady. She and her family had been traveling in a carriage drawn by six horses. Gold thread was woven around the carriage shafts, and eight palace lanterns hung from its four corners. Anyone could tell at a glance that she came from a wealthy family. Aside from the young lady, there had also been a middle-aged beauty in the carriage. Unfortunately, she had escaped. If they had managed to capture both mother and daughter, they would have gained even more. The Black Wind Stronghold’s leader, Lei Hu, sat in the seat of honor with a wine jar in hand. His scarred face was filled with greed and brutality. “Brothers, we pulled off another job today. You’ve all worked hard.” Several of the Black Wind Stronghold’s leaders sat below him and hurriedly laughed and flattered him. The leader really was clever. Robbing the daughter of an official and taking her up the mountain for ransom, without laying a finger on her, meant the other side would not dare investigate too deeply. It was easy money with no risk. If they encountered a family unwilling to pay the ransom, they simply gave the girl to their men as a reward. After years of eating well and drinking fine wine, and climbing into bed with the daughters of officials, their lives were no worse than those of the wealthy masters in the city. The woman they had captured today appeared to be worth quite a bit. They wondered how much silver she would bring them. Just as everyone was making a great commotion and racking their brains to praise Lei Hu, a lowly bandit rushed inside. “Leader, that young lady is stubborn. No matter how I question her, she refuses to say which family she belongs to.” Lei Hu had just finished drinking an entire jar of wine. Instead of becoming angry, he threw the jar to the ground with a wild laugh. “Fuck her! If she won’t talk, strip her clothes. She’ll tell us once she’s naked.” Did he really need to teach them something so simple? The joy on the lowly bandit’s face was impossible to conceal. “Yes, sir! I’ll go right now.” The young lady had such delicate skin. He had wanted to touch her for quite some time. How could Lei Hu fail to understand his thoughts? He immediately called the man back. “Be careful and don’t damage her. Otherwise, I’ll flay you alive.” They were running a business. If they sent back a ruined woman, they would certainly anger the other party. If the matter escalated and the family gathered soldiers to attack, it would not be worth the loss. The lowly bandit immediately beamed. “Don’t worry. I understand, I understand.” Not only did they have to strip the girl, they also had to remember the birthmarks on her body. Only then could they threaten her family. They had become thoroughly practiced at such things. After watching the lowly bandit run out, tripping over his own feet in his eagerness, another round of sinister laughter rang through the hall. A daughter of an official was, when all was said and done, nothing special. They had thought everything would go smoothly this time, but before long, the lowly bandit came running back. This time, his expression was extremely ugly. “L-Leader, something’s wrong. That woman we brought up the mountain, she—she’s not…” Seeing him stumble over his words, Lei Hu’s eyes turned sharp. “What happened to her? Did she commit suicide?” If she was dead, things would be troublesome. These useless idiots were incapable of accomplishing anything and yet managed to ruin everything. They could not even keep watch over a young lady. They were all worthless trash who deserved to die. The lowly bandit shuddered. Under the leader’s vicious gaze, he finally stammered, “That wasn’t a woman. It was a man dressed as a woman.” With a clatter, the wine jar beside Lei Hu fell to the ground, spilling wine everywhere. It took Lei Hu a long moment to react before he let out a furious roar. “What did you say?” Su Tang and the three Su brothers were crouching in a patch of grass, secretly watching the Jinwu Guard in the distance. “Eldest Brother, what are they trying to do? They haven’t moved at all this entire time.” Su Hao’an had originally planned to take Su Tang in another direction, farther away from the Black Wind Stronghold, according to Su Haoqi’s instructions. He had not expected Su Tang to act as though she had been there before, expertly directing him to drive the carriage to the foot of this very mountain, beneath the Black Wind Stronghold. Su Hao’an stared at Su Tang in disbelief. Had his little sister truly been an idiot all these years? Why did she seem as though she had spent quite some time out in the world? When Eldest Brother remained silent, Su Haoqi lowered his voice and answered, “Their target should also be the Black Wind Stronghold. Judging by the situation, they’re probably planning to wait until nightfall before making their move.” Su Tang rubbed her chin. So these people were trying to steal her business. It seemed she would have to act immediately. According to the time in this world, there were still two hours before nightfall. If she wanted to claim all those treasures for herself, she could only beat them to it. Otherwise, she would have to kill all the Jinwu Guard soldiers in front of her. Actually, that wasn’t— Just as she was thinking this, Gu Chen suddenly turned and looked toward Su Tang’s group. Su Hao’an and the others instantly fell silent. They had nearly been discovered. That had been terrifying! When Su Tang met that handsome face, the thoughts in her mind vanished at once. No. Of course not. Since she had arrived in Great Xia, she naturally had to follow the rules here. She was not someone who enjoyed fighting and killing. He Bin was discussing a plan for taking down the Black Wind Stronghold with Gu Chen. When Gu Chen suddenly fell silent and looked to the side, He Bin immediately drew his saber and stepped in front of him protectively. “My lord, is something wrong?” Gu Chen withdrew his gaze. “Nothing.” It was strange. He had clearly sensed killing intent just now, but there was obviously nothing over there except trees and grass. Could he really have been imagining things? He Bin returned his saber to its sheath, but his eyes remained fixed on that area. “My lord, have you noticed that the trees and grass in that area are especially lush?” Perhaps he was overthinking it, but the branches there had already drooped to the ground, blending with the tall grass into a single mass, like a natural shield. Gu Chen withdrew his gaze. “The Black Wind Stronghold has committed countless atrocities and taken countless lives. Who knows what has been buried beneath those trees? Have someone come back and dig around there later.” The moment he finished speaking, the unusually lush tree seemed to understand him. It actually trembled, causing the leaves to rustle loudly. Gu Chen could not help pressing his fingers to his brow. Perhaps he truly was under too much pressure. Otherwise, why would he think that a tree could understand what he was saying? Today’s events had happened far too suddenly. Prince Li had been summoned from his fief to return to the Capital and attend the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration. The women of his household had gone to Huguo Temple to pray, only to be ambushed by the Black Wind Stronghold. The Heir of Prince Li, Zhao Ruize, had been raised as a girl since childhood because of his frail health. He had been abducted. Prince Li was the Qizheng Emperor’s younger brother by the same mother. He had immediately entered the palace to beg the Emperor to rescue his only heir. The Emperor was enraged and immediately ordered the Jinwu Guard to eradicate the Black Wind Stronghold and rescue the Heir Apparent. But the Black Wind Stronghold was easy to defend and difficult to attack. They could only wait until nightfall, when the defenses would be weaker, before launching their assault. Seeing that Gu Chen was no longer watching their direction, Su Haoqi suddenly chuckled. “Actually, I have a good way to resolve this without shedding a drop of blood.”