After a grueling three-hour march, the army finally reached the designated campsite of the Chu State forces just before dusk.
Upon arrival, the ten thousand troops efficiently set up camp. Jiang Luzhong led a group of officers, along with Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen, into the military tent of Yang Yan, the Command General of Chu State.
Yang Yan and the high-ranking officers of Chu State had been waiting for quite some time.
As everyone took their seats, Yang Yan’s gaze swept across Jiang Luzhong and the others, lingering briefly on Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen. He then spoke in a stern tone:
“The situation in the northern front is not optimistic. We lack artillery, crossbows, and supplies. As a result, we’ve been limited to containment and harassment tactics, unable to inflict significant damage on the Jing State forces.”
Jiang Luzhong nodded slightly. He understood that Chu State had limited resources, and most of their artillery and crossbows had to be kept within their borders for defense. It was impossible to deploy all of them; otherwise, if the Jing State cavalry launched a surprise attack on Chu State, the Da Feng army’s foothold would completely crumble.
Jiang Luzhong glanced at his deputy, who understood the cue and reported the total amount of provisions and military supplies they had brought, as well as the ratio of cavalry, infantry, and artillery.
Yang Yan listened and nodded with satisfaction. He then looked at his deputy.
The deputy stood up and spoke gravely: “Let me brief everyone on the current situation in the north. The main battlefield is deep in the northern regions, where the allied forces of demons and barbarians are engaged in fierce battles with the Jing State cavalry.
“The demons and barbarians have stronger individual combat prowess and more diverse troop types than Jing State, yet they are still being pushed back. We’ve analyzed the reasons and narrowed them down to three points: First, the demons and barbarians’ military expertise is inferior to that of Jing State. The demons have divine and demonic bloodlines, and once their blood boils, they lose rationality. This is an advantage in small-scale battles, but in large-scale campaigns involving tens or hundreds of thousands of troops, it becomes a fatal flaw.
“Second, the Witch God Cult. The battlefield is the domain of witches, and I don’t need to elaborate on this for you experienced commanders. Most importantly, there’s a Third-Rank Witch in the Jing State army. It’s his presence that has restrained the yet-to-recover Zhu Jiu.
“Third, Xiahou Yushu is a top-tier military strategist, and his command skills in battle have reached perfection. Against such a figure, unless we can overwhelm him with absolute power, it’s difficult to defeat him with mere clever tactics.”
He paused briefly before continuing, “The army we’re facing at the Chu State border is Jing State’s left wing, led by Tuoba Ji, a Fourth-Rank Warrior. Under his command are three thousand fire-armored troops, five thousand light cavalry, and ten thousand infantry and artillery. Tuoba Ji intends to pin us down at the Chu State border.”
Planning to pin us down at the Chu State border, which means the two sides aren’t far apart at the moment… Xu Xinnian deduced internally.
Sure enough, Jiang Luzhong pondered aloud, “So, if we want to march north to aid the demons and barbarians, we must first defeat Tuoba Ji.”
Yang Yan nodded slowly: “Only by defeating Tuoba Ji’s army can we proceed without worries. The problem is, in terms of cavalry, we are far inferior to the Jing State cavalry. As for artillery, they are also well-equipped with cannons and crossbows. Except for our overwhelming advantage in numbers, we don’t have the upper hand in other aspects.”
An officer laughed, “That’s why your arrival is timely. Now that we have sufficient troops and equipment, we should strike swiftly and catch Tuoba Ji off guard.”
The other Chu State officers also smiled; they had been waiting for reinforcements for a long time.
Jiang Luzhong nodded slowly: “Do we know their position?”
Yang Yan affirmed, “We only know their general direction. We have scouts keeping an eye on them, reporting back every hour. So far, nothing unusual has been detected.”
Jiang Luzhong looked around at everyone and said, “We must achieve a swift victory in this battle. Otherwise, with the witches’ abilities, a prolonged war would mean an ever-increasing number of undead soldiers. We might not be able to burn the corpses in time on the battlefield.”
Witches could manipulate corpses, so the best solution was to burn the bodies of the fallen immediately on the spot. This was the most effective way to curb the number of undead soldiers.
The group began discussing this topic.
“The Divination Bureau’s sorcerers will provide us with directions. We’ll start with several rounds of bombardment, then advance with archers and musketeers…”
“But if the enemy retreats, only our cavalry can keep up. If the cavalry pursues alone, it would be like sheep entering a tiger’s den.”
“Why don’t we take advantage of our numbers and form an encirclement?”
“No, encirclement means dispersing our forces, which would negate our advantage. The enemy could break through in any direction, and might even launch a counterattack.”
“We still need to guard against the witches’ divination skills. If only we had a high-ranking sorcerer to conceal our movements from divination…”
“Diviners can only predict their fortune. If they’re not in mortal danger in this battle, they won’t be able to foresee anything. Heh, unless the enemy has a Third-Rank Enlightened Master, that is.”
Amidst the heated discussion, Xu Xinnian glanced at Chu Yuanzhen, who had his eyes closed, seemingly resting and showing no intention of joining the debate.
Xu Xinnian could only remain silent. After a quarter of an hour, the military officers were still discussing, but they had moved past the disagreement phase and started to formulate details and strategies.
Xu Xinnian looked at Chu Yuanzhen again. He was still silent, but Xu Xinnian couldn’t hold back anymore. He coughed lightly, raised his arm slightly, and spoke in a clear voice:
“Gentlemen, may I offer a word?”
The discussion halted, and the military officers frowned, their sharp gazes fixed on the sole scholar in the tent.
Xu Xinnian originally had no right to sit here, neither by his position as the Investigating Censor of Dingzhou nor by his experience. But Jiang Luzhong and Xu Qi’an had visited the brothel together and investigated cases in Yunzhou together, so he naturally paid extra attention to his friend’s little brother.
As for Yang Yan, he glanced at the displeased officers and nodded imperceptibly: “Censor Xu, please speak freely.”
Having received the tacit approval of the Chu State Command General, Xu Xinnian breathed a sigh of relief and posed a question to the officers present: “What is our objective?”
One officer frowned and replied firmly: “Naturally, it’s to repel Tuoba Ji’s army and advance north to aid the demons and barbarians.”
Xu Xinnian nodded: “So our true purpose is to aid the demons and barbarians, not to fight Tuoba Ji to the death.”
“What’s the difference?” an officer scoffed.
Xu Xinnian glanced at Yang Yan, and seeing that he was listening intently without interrupting, he continued:
“Of course, there’s a difference. In warfare, attacking the city is the lowest strategy, while attacking the mind is supreme. Achieving victory with minimal casualties should be our goal. If we only know how to fight recklessly, sacrificing soldiers’ lives for victory, it’s cru—”
“Ahem, ahem!” Chu Yuanzhen suddenly coughed, interrupting Xu Xinnian’s speech.
“‘Attacking the city is the lowest, attacking the mind is supreme’ is a concept from the military treatise written by Xu Qi’an. You may not have read it; the book is called ‘The Art of War,’ recently authored by Xu Ningyuan. By the way, let me introduce you—this is Xu Qi’an’s cousin, this year’s second-rank scholar. Ah, Censor Xu, please continue,” Chu Yuanzhen said with a smile.
Does Silver Constable Xu know military strategy? ‘Attacking the city is the lowest, attacking the mind is supreme’—brilliant…
So this fair-skinned scholar is Silver Constable Xu’s cousin…
The officers’ thoughts stirred. Upon learning that Xu Xinnian was Xu Qi’an’s cousin, they set aside their displeasure and adjusted their attitudes.
The officer who had scoffed earlier now showed a friendly smile and said, “Censor Xu, please continue. We’re listening.”
Their attitudes had changed completely.
The story of how Xu Qi’an had sought justice for the 380,000 citizens of Chu State and cleared the name of Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Chu State, had spread throughout the region.
Among the officers present, some were locals of Chu State. These people revered Xu Qi’an like a god and were deeply grateful to him.
Of course, even the soldiers and officers who weren’t locals held Silver Constable Xu in high regard. Who wouldn’t praise him and give a thumbs-up when speaking of him?
This seemingly ill-mannered fair-skinned scholar, being Silver Constable Xu’s cousin, was no longer considered ill-mannered but rather someone who, like his cousin, dared to speak his mind and was undoubtedly talented.
Well, his talent remained to be confirmed, but that didn’t stop the officers from viewing him in a new light.
Xu Ciju’s skin is still too thin. Having such a renowned cousin and not knowing how to use it to his advantage? He should have brought it up earlier; who wouldn’t give him a face then? I had to step in and help… Chu Yuanzhen shook his head.
I don’t need my brother’s protection… Xu Xinnian grumbled proudly to himself, then took a deep breath and continued:
“Our real goal is to shake off Tuoba Ji, not to fight him to the death. Jing State left this army at the Chu State border to tie us down, wear out our forces, and buy time for them to kill the demons and barbarians, easing their pressure.
“Even if we were to engage in a deadly battle and win, it would only be a local victory with no benefit to the overall situation.”
Jiang Luzhong frowned slightly: “We understand this principle. What’s your idea?”
The officers all looked at him. They understood these principles, but how could they march north to provide aid without defeating the enemy?
Xu Xinnian looked around at everyone and said, “Our advantage is in numbers. I believe that making good use of this advantage doesn’t mean simply outnumbering the enemy, but rather effectively utilizing and deploying our troops.”
He paused for a moment, then said, “Why don’t we send a large force to flank them?”
Upon hearing this, the officers were deeply disappointed.
Only Yang Yan and Jiang Luzhong furrowed their brows in thought.
“How do we flank them? Without dealing with Tuoba Ji, if we recklessly try to go around, aren’t we just waiting to be surrounded?”
“Censor Xu, your method is… acceptable, just not suitable for this situation,” the officers said diplomatically.
This Censor Xu falls far short of his elder brother, they thought.
Xu Xinnian placed his hands on the table and said calmly, “Please let me finish. I heard you mention earlier that Tuoba Ji’s forces total about 18,000 men, is that correct?”
Yang Yan’s deputy nodded, “Excluding logistics and militia, that’s accurate.”
Xu Xinnian asked, “With 18,000 men, how effective would they be in a siege?”
An officer laughed, “That’s wishful thinking. Forget about Chu State City; even a small town couldn’t be taken with just 18,000 men. Besides, hundreds of strongholds along the border can provide reinforcements at any time.”
Yang Yan’s deputy added, “We’ve already implemented a scorched earth policy.”
Xu Xinnian smiled, “If that’s the case, it shouldn’t be difficult for us to mobilize another 10,000 troops from Chu State, right?”
Yang Yan’s deputy pondered, “Of the 20,000 troops you brought, 10,000 are stationed in Chu State City. Bringing those troops over wouldn’t be a problem. It wouldn’t affect the city’s defense either.”
Xu Xinnian’s smile deepened, “Then let me ask another bold question: against Tuoba Ji, not aiming to defeat him but just to engage and protect ourselves, how many troops would be enough?”
This time, Yang Yan answered, “20,000 troops would be more than enough. This location isn’t far from Chu State City, and if deployed well, the city’s garrison could provide support. So, 15,000 would suffice.”
Xu Xinnian nodded, “To be conservative, let’s keep it at 20,000. Currently, we have over 40,000 soldiers in the camp. We can deploy 20,000 to join the 10,000 from Chu State City. These 30,000 troops can take a detour deep into the northern territory to rendezvous with the demons and barbarians.
“As for Tuoba Ji, we leave 20,000 troops to engage and distract him. This way, we don’t have to worry about being surrounded.”
The tent fell silent as the officers considered the feasibility of this plan.
“We also have sorcerers. Their aura-sensing techniques can help us locate the enemy. Even if they realize what’s happening and move north to support, we can still hold them back.”
“If the enemy moves, we move. If they don’t, we keep them occupied. This way, we can both aid the demons and barbarians and tie down Tuoba Ji’s 18,000 troops.”
“Hmm, although it’s not entirely satisfying, this strategy is indeed viable…”
The experienced officers present could quickly assess the feasibility of Xu Xinnian’s plan.
In the tent, the high-ranking officers’ gazes towards Xu Xinnian now held a degree of recognition, at least acknowledging his intellect.
They now saw him as someone who could participate in strategic discussions.
Yang Yan exhaled and smiled, “Not bad. This plan is feasible. We’ll need to discuss the details further.”
Xu Xinnian let out a breath. He wasn’t proud of this achievement; coming up with a good idea during a military discussion didn’t make him a genius. Surely the officers present had their moments of inspiration and strategic input as well.
Waging war wasn’t just about a single strategy. The knowledge required was profound, down to the specific placement of latrines in the camp.
Ciju indeed has a talent for military strategy, but he cannot command in battle. For now, he’d make a good military advisor… Chu Yuanzhen nodded to himself.
…
“The Imperial Tutor’s insight is truly remarkable!” Xu Qi’an first flattered, then analyzed, “The Earth Sect Leader and Emperor Yuanjing are indeed in collusion, but what does that prove? I’ve known about this since my time in Chu State.”
Moreover, the Earth Sect Leader now cares for nothing but his evil deeds and women. There’s no need to investigate this lead, right?
The breathtakingly beautiful Imperial Tutor glanced at him lightly, “Isn’t investigation your forte? If I knew, would I need you to investigate?”
That’s a good point. I’m speechless.
Next, Luo Yuheng inquired about his cultivation progress and offered guidance on his Heart Sword technique. Upon learning that Xu Qi’an was stuck at the “Intent” stage, Luo Yuheng pondered for a while and said:
“Techniques are techniques, Intent is Intent. There is no Intent. What you need to do now is to comprehend Intent, not merge it with techniques. You’ve got it backward.”
But I don’t have any “Intent.” If freeloading counts as Intent, I’d be at the peak of the Fourth Rank by now, Aunt… Xu Qi’an hung his head.
“Haste makes waste. It takes others years, even decades to comprehend this, and you’ve only been cultivating for a little over a month,” Luo Yuheng admonished. “Don’t rush.”
After a pause, she added, “However, I hope you can master Intent within two years.”
Hmm? Why within two years? Is there some significance to that timeframe? Xu Qi’an nodded, “I’ll focus on it diligently.”
Luo Yuheng nodded, saying no more, and departed in a flash of golden light.
However, she didn’t return to Lingbao Temple. Instead, she made a turn in mid-air and descended into a small courtyard not far from the Xu residence.
The small yard was filled with colorful flowers, the air sweet with their scent. A plain-looking woman was lounging comfortably in a bamboo chair, eating early-ripened tangerines. She winced at the sourness but couldn’t resist the temptation, enduring it.
“Why are you here again? What if someone discovers you?” Mu Nanzhi grumbled.
“No one but the Overseer can see me,” Luo Yuheng said flatly. “Unless you think the Overseer would covet your beauty, I’ll stop coming.”
“Well, I’m self-aware enough to know that’s not the case,” Mu Nanzhi mumbled in agreement.
Ignoring her, Luo Yuheng walked straight to the water vat and glanced at the thriving nine-colored lotus roots, nodding with satisfaction.
“You seem to be living well lately,” she said, scrutinizing the Princess Consort.
“I feel like my waist has gotten thicker,” the Princess Consort complained, pinching her slender waist. “It’s all that scoundrel Xu Qi’an’s fault, always taking me out for lavish meals.”
Luo Yuheng smiled. When she was still the official consort of Prince Huai, she had access to all sorts of delicacies but never enjoyed eating. Now, as a plain woman in the common quarters, eating simple fare, her appetite was better than before.
Confined in the prince’s mansion for twenty years, she was finally free. The sparkle in her eyes was different now.
At this moment, if she were to reveal her true appearance, she would undoubtedly be the most captivating woman in the world.
Luo Yuheng asked casually, “If Xu Qi’an leaves the capital, will you go with him?”
The Princess Consort shook her head quickly, denying, “Of course not! Why would I go with him? I’m not his concubine. I’m just borrowing some money from him and temporarily staying in his outer residence.”
Luo Yuheng was satisfied with this answer and said coldly, “Remember your words. If you go back on them, I’ll sell you to a brothel.”
Mu Nanzhi asked suspiciously, “What’s it to you?”
Luo Yuheng ignored her.
The Princess Consort tossed her a tangerine, “Try this. I bought it at the market this morning. It was quite expensive.”
Luo Yuheng waved her hand, sending the tangerine back without even looking at it. “I don’t eat those.”
The Princess Consort remarked, “Tsk, tsk. I envy women like you who don’t need to use the toilet.”
Luo Yuheng frowned slightly, “The way you speak now is just like a vulgar commoner woman.”
The Princess Consort just chuckled.
…
Meanwhile, Xu Qi’an was pondering how to find a breakthrough in the Earth Sect Leader’s case.
“I definitely can’t investigate the Earth Sect Leader directly. First, I don’t know where the Earth Sect is, and even if I did, I can’t go there. Golden Lotus Daoist would report me for suicide. But now, I can’t go back to the dragon vein because it’s too dangerous and there’s no gain.
“I’ve finished reading the Imperial Chronicles and found no major clues. How should I investigate? No, what exactly am I investigating?”
Xu Qi’an reviewed his clues and thoughts. Initially, he investigated Emperor Yuanjing because the emperor supported the Northern Warlord’s massacre of a city, which seemed disproportionate in terms of cost and benefit. This was very suspicious.
After all this investigation, it was clear that Emperor Yuanjing indeed had major issues, but Xu Qi’an didn’t have a clear answer or direction as to what those issues were.
“What I need to do is uncover Emperor Yuanjing’s mysterious facade. Soul Pills, human trafficking, dragon veins – these are all clues, but they lack a thread to connect them. The Soul Pills involve the Earth Sect Leader, and the dragon veins also have his shadow…
“Luo Yuheng’s approach is correct. The Earth Sect Leader might be the thread that connects everything. But how do I find an entry point?
“I’ve also fallen into a thinking trap. To find an entry point, I don’t have to start with the Earth Sect Leader himself. I can start with the things he’s done. I should visit the Night Watchmen’s Office.”
He immediately left the mansion, mounted his mare, and headed straight for the Night Watchmen’s Office.
Arriving at the Night Watchmen’s Office, Xu Qi’an tossed the reins, adjusted his robe, and entered as if returning home. The guards at the gate didn’t stop him; one even offered to take care of his horse.
Inside, he looked around but couldn’t find the two lechers, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao. Perhaps they were out on patrol, visiting the brothels to listen to some music.
Fortunately, Li Yuchun, a diligent Silver Constable, was happy to see Xu Qi’an. He eagerly led him inside while constantly glancing behind.
“Don’t worry, that unkempt girl didn’t come with me,” Xu Qi’an knew his superior too well.
“No, don’t say it, don’t mention her…” Li Yuchun waved his hands vigorously. “Even now, when I think of her, I still get goosebumps all over.”
It seems Zhong Li left a deep psychological scar on Brother Chun, about as big as a two-bedroom apartment… Xu Qi’an got straight to the point of his visit:
“Chief, I’d like to see the confessions of the human traffickers from the Marquis Pingyuan case.”
“No problem, I’ll have someone fetch them for you.” Li Yuchun didn’t ask further questions, just called over a clerk and instructed him to retrieve the documents from the archives.
For cases like this, the Night Watchmen didn’t even need to go themselves; sending a clerk was sufficient.
As they sat down to chat over tea, Li Yuchun said, “By the way, Guangxiao is getting married at the end of the year. The date has been set.”
“That’s great news!”
Xu Qi’an smiled genuinely, thinking that Zhu Guangxiao could finally break away from his bad influence friend Song Tingfeng and leave that frost-covered path of no return.
Last year, during the investigation in Yunzhou, Zhu Guangxiao had mentioned that he would return to the capital to marry his childhood sweetheart once the case was closed.
Another wedding gift to pay… Xu Qi’an’s smile masked an instinctive complaint from his past life.
Come to think of it, the biggest regret from his previous life was not getting married. College classmates, high school friends, and childhood companions all got married one after another, and he kept giving wedding gifts. Now there’s no chance of getting that money back.
The thought was like a knife twisting in his heart.
Soon, the clerk returned with a thick stack of files on the human trafficking organization.
After Marquis Pingyuan’s death, most of the organization’s leaders and lackeys were captured, with only a few escaping. Those imprisoned had long been executed at the vegetable market.
Only the interrogation confessions remained.
Xu Qi’an skipped over the confessions of the small fry and focused on those of the mid-level leaders in the organization.
The nominal leader of the organization was a man called “Black Scorpion.”
Black Scorpion’s identity was mysterious. The Night Watchmen’s Office hadn’t had time to pin him down before Hengyuan killed Marquis Pingyuan, disrupting their plans.
As for these mid-level leaders, they didn’t even know they were working for Marquis Pingyuan. They were only responsible for luring and kidnapping lone children, women, and even adult men.
Men were sold as slaves or laborers, while women were sold to brothels or kept for the organization members’ pleasure.
They were completely unaware of Marquis Pingyuan secretly supplying people to the palace.
“Given Marquis Pingyuan’s status, he certainly wouldn’t have dealt with the human trafficking organization directly. This Black Scorpion is a key figure. The Night Watchmen hadn’t had time to locate him before Hengyuan attacked Marquis Pingyuan’s mansion…”
Xu Qi’an took a deep breath, “Could the python in Fu Xiang’s story be referring to this Black Scorpion? Did he know the Night Watchmen were investigating him, so he secretly reported to Emperor Yuanjing, and after getting the emperor’s approval, leaked the information to Hengyuan, using Hengyuan to silence everyone?”
This speculation flashed through his mind.
But it was just a fleeting thought. Black Scorpion’s fate was either to flee the capital and disappear or to have been silenced already.
There was no need to investigate this person.
Xu Qi’an continued reading the confessions. As he read, an inconspicuous detail caught his attention.
One confession came from a mid-level leader called “Knife Brother.” In his statement, Knife Brother mentioned that when he first entered the trade, he followed a senior called “Deer Brother.”
This Deer Brother claimed to be a veteran of the human trafficking organization, and Knife Brother had followed him in his youth. As Deer Brother aged, he gradually stepped back and supported this trusted subordinate to take his place.
The biggest issue with this information was that Knife Brother had entered the trade in his early twenties, and was now forty-three.
Before Knife Brother, there was a Deer Brother, which meant the human trafficking organization had existed for at least thirty years.
The human trafficking organization had existed for at least thirty years, and this was a conservative estimate. Emperor Yuanjing had only been cultivating for twenty-one years… Xu Qi’an took a deep breath:
“Is Deer Brother’s family still around?”
He handed that confession to Li Yuchun.
Li Yuchun shook his head: “I didn’t handle this case, so I’m not sure. I’ll go ask for you.”
He took the confession and left. About a quarter of an hour later, Li Yuchun returned and said:
“Deer Brother died of illness long ago. According to Da Feng law, human trafficking is punishable by lingchi, beheading, exile, or caning, depending on the severity. When a father dies, the son pays for the crime, with the punishment reduced by two levels.
“Deer Brother’s crime warranted lingchi. Because he died of illness, his son paid for the crime, reduced by two levels, and was exiled to the frontier at the time. Deer Brother’s first wife is still alive though.”
Xu Qi’an drained his tea in one gulp, stood up, and said, “Take me to her.”
…
Although Deer Brother had amassed considerable wealth in his early years, he was well aware of the “dangers” of his profession and had made preparations early on. He had purchased a courtyard house in the inner city and left behind a substantial fortune.
After his son was exiled, Deer Brother’s wife moved into the inner courtyard with the family, originally intending to continue living a life of luxury.
However, the Night Watchmen were a bunch of tough characters who frequently extorted the families of human traffickers, squeezing out all their ill-gotten gains.
So Deer Brother’s family moved back to the outer city, now living in a small courtyard in the northern part of the city – a grandson, a daughter-in-law, and a grandmother.
Li Yuchun led Xu Qi’an to knock on the small courtyard door. It was opened by a pretty woman with a weak demeanor.
She was in the middle of washing clothes, wearing a coarse cloth skirt, looking quite modest.
In the courtyard, a child was riding a bamboo horse, and a white-haired old woman was feeding chickens.
Seeing Li Yuchun’s Night Watchman uniform, the old woman and the young woman’s faces changed dramatically. The latter trembled and cowered, while the former was quite feisty, throwing down her winnowing basket and crying out:
“The officials are bullying us again! You’re going to drive us to our deaths! Even if I die, I’ll let the neighbors see the true faces of you bastards…”
The old woman must have been quite fierce in her youth, which wasn’t surprising given that she was the wife of a human trafficking leader.
Li Yuchun stepped forward and kicked her a few times, shouting, “Shut up! Keep making noise, and I’ll sell your grandson!”
This seemed to touch a nerve with the old woman. She indeed quieted down but glared at Li Yuchun and Xu Qi’an with hatred.
Xu Qi’an closed the courtyard gate, stepped around several piles of chicken droppings, and approached the old woman, saying sternly, “I have a few questions. Answer honestly.”
After the old woman nodded, he asked, “Was Deer Brother a veteran of the human trafficking organization?”
The old woman’s eyes flickered as she said, “What veteran? I’m just a woman, I don’t know anything.”
“Oh, you don’t know anything.”
Xu Qi’an nodded in understanding, then grabbed the young woman and started pulling her towards the house, grinning viciously, “This little beauty is quite pretty. I’ll go in and have some fun with her.”
Awkwardly, the young woman’s face flushed red as she secretly glanced at Xu Qi’an, not even crying out.
Xu Qi’an, embarrassed and angry, said, “I’ll sell you to a brothel then.”
Only then did the young woman start screaming, “Mother, save me…”
“I’ll sell this little brat too,” he added.
The old woman quickly hugged her young grandson and shouted, “No, no, I’ll tell you everything, everything!”
The old woman told Xu Qi’an that Deer Brother was originally an idle ruffian, spending his days doing nothing, fond of fighting, and associating with a group of street thugs.
Until one day, someone asked him to “get” a few people. Later, from taking commissions, it turned into recruitment, and the human trafficking organization was born. Deer Brother led his brothers into the organization and made his fortune.
“When did all this happen?” Xu Qi’an inquired.
The old woman thought for a moment, frowning, and said, “If I remember correctly, it was the 26th year of Zhende.”
The year their impoverished life took a turn for the better was of great significance to her, leaving a deep impression.
The 26th year of Zhende, why does that sound familiar… Xu Qi’an mused for a moment before his body suddenly stiffened, his expression freezing on his face.
The Imperial Chronicles recorded that in the 26th year of Zhende, the previous emperor invited the Earth Sect Leader to the palace to discuss the Dao.
The Imperial Chronicles recorded that in the 26th year of Zhende, Prince Huai and Yuanjing were hunting deep in the Southern Park when they were attacked by a bear, with most of their guards killed or injured.
In the 26th year of Zhende, someone commissioned Deer Brother to secretly abduct people, and these people were secretly sent into the palace. From this, it could be deduced that the earth-traversing formation in Marquis Pingyuan’s mansion was built in the 26th year of Zhende.
All in the same year.
After a very long time, Xu Qi’an muttered, as if using all his strength, “Earth Sect Leader…”