When Mian Tang led her four brothers and over a dozen men from the escort agency out, she turned to Lu Quan with a stern face. “What were you babbling about earlier? Being an expert among experts? If I remembered anything, would I need to bring you along?”
Although she had some underworld experience, it all came from her maternal grandfather and uncle. As for the turmoil on Yangshan Mountain, she couldn’t recall anything at all.
Now, she was relying on the strength of the Yangshan brothers, hoping they might find a way to rescue Lord Zhao.
Rebuked by the boss, Lu Quan didn’t dare talk back. He only muttered softly, “But you were formidable…”
Mian Tang had no time to discipline her subordinates. She swiftly mounted her horse and led the group to the scene of the incident.
Upon arrival, they found chaos and bodies strewn everywhere. Lu Yi examined the wounds on the corpses. The narrow cuts appeared to be from the samurai swords typically used by the Japanese.
Mian Tang ordered them to search the surrounding area for traces of the kidnappers’ escape route with Lord Zhao.
Lu Zhong, an expert tracker, quickly discovered broken branches on a small path and chaotic hoof prints, indicating they had retreated southeast.
Having determined the direction, they naturally mounted their horses and gave chase southeast. Mian Tang had Lu Liang leave a note for reinforcements to follow.
Holding a torch, Mian Tang examined the overgrown path but found no significant blood trails. At the very least, the traces suggested Zhao Quan hadn’t sustained severe injuries.
Further ahead lay a vast expanse of dark, wild mountains. It was said that the Japanese who came ashore loved to hide in these mountains. Many abducted women were reportedly taken through here to a dock on the other side, where they were sold to various places.
Mian Tang ordered her brothers to extinguish their torches at dawn. Staring at the pitch-black mountain before her, she wracked her brain for a plan. After a long while of contemplation, her mind buzzed emptily, without a clear idea. She waved Lu Yi over and asked, “If you were me, what would you do?”
In the past, when the boss was on Yangshan, she often posed such questions to Lu Yi, testing the thoroughness of her protégé’s thinking.
Believing the boss was testing him again, Lu Yi pondered seriously before answering, “A few days ago, when the prince was investigating the nearby mountains, he brought us along because we were somewhat familiar with the terrain from collecting rattan and mountain goods near the village. We heard locals say that these Japanese occasionally make landfall and take refuge on those cliffs. However, since the Zhenzhou troops arrived, the Japanese haven’t dared come ashore for a long time.
The prince once pointed to this mountain and said, ‘Although this place is treacherous, with one side being a cliff, it’s become a blind spot. If we could scale the cliff, we’d certainly catch them off guard.’ So if we want to rescue someone, we might as well climb the cliff, capture a prisoner, interrogate them to find out Lord Zhao’s location, and then devise a rescue plan… Boss, is my thinking correct?”
Since it was the Prince of Huaiyang’s words, they could be trusted. Mian Tang nodded perfunctorily, “That’s quite thorough. We’ll proceed as you suggested!”
Having settled on the mountain assault strategy, the group of over a dozen stealthily made their way to the cliffside under the moonlight.
The Zhong Yi brothers came well-prepared with tools: ropes, grappling hooks, deerskin gloves, chisels, and axes were all at hand.
Lu Quan, the most agile climber, went first to clear the path.
He swiftly scaled several zhangs high, grasping and stepping deftly. As he climbed higher, suitable holds became scarcer. Where he couldn’t find purchase, he used his axe and chisel to create footholds. Every few zhang, he drove iron spikes into the rock face and hung ropes, allowing Lu Zhong, Lu Yi, and Lu Chuan to easily climb up using the ropes and rock face.
Watching the four brothers’ athletic figures, Mian Tang and the remaining men couldn’t help but admire, “This climbing method is excellent. They’re truly impressive!”
A Yangshan brother cautiously said, “Boss, you devised these tools yourself! When you led the attack on the prince’s camp, you climbed the cliff like this and then outflanked them… The prince was so angry he put a bounty of 100 taels of gold on your head…”
The man spoke excitedly but was silenced by Mian Tang’s glare.
Mian Tang turned back to watch the four brothers’ nimble climbing, suddenly feeling that amnesia wasn’t so bad. At least she could praise her past ingenuity and valor without any burden…
Because breaking the trail was exhausting, they took turns leading. Now Lu Liang was at the front, reaching the top of the cliff. He listened cautiously for a moment, and hearing nothing, slowly peeked over the edge. After carefully scanning left and right and confirming no one was there, he pulled himself up. Lu Zhong, Lu Yi, and Lu Chuan followed, tying the rope to a tree root at the cliff’s edge. They scouted the area thoroughly, finding no Japanese around. It seemed the enemy was overconfident about the cliff’s security and never imagined anyone could come up this way, so they hadn’t posted any guards.
Lu Zhong tugged the rope five times, the pre-arranged signal to the boss indicating the coast was clear. Soon, Mian Tang and the remaining men climbed up the rope to the cliff top.
Standing on the desolate cliff in the middle of the night, Mian Tang gazed at the surrounding undulating peaks. As the strong mountain wind buffeted her body, she felt an indescribable sensation.
It seemed familiar, nostalgic, and… somewhat exhilarating. She shook her head, suppressing the unclear feelings, and asked Lu Yi what they should do next.
Since coming up, Lu Yi had been observing the surrounding mountain terrain, using their past Yangshan experience to judge good locations for camps and suitable spots for overt and covert sentry posts.
Hearing the boss’s question, he said, “Boss, if the Japanese have any military sense, they’ll set up camp between those two peaks. It’s a high ground, easy to defend and hard to attack.” He pointed out several locations, continuing, “If they set sentries here, they can observe the entire surrounding area and quickly alert the camp of any situation. If the Japanese aren’t militarily adept, the camp might be in the basin below the peaks, as the flat terrain surrounded by mountains would seem safe to ordinary people.”
Mian Tang nodded, saying, “The Japanese have defeated the imperial army in the North Sea several times in recent years. The prince said some of their battles were quite impressive, showing military knowledge. The camp is likely between the peaks you mentioned. Let’s sneak over there and capture a ‘tongue’ for interrogation.”
Soon, Mian Tang led Lu Zhong and Lu Liang to the edge of the Japanese camp, crouching by the low palisade wall. They could hear women crying and men’s lewd laughter from inside.
Peering through a gap in the palisade, Mian Tang saw the Japanese selecting from among a dozen or so women.
Those with beautiful faces were dragged away to the Japanese leader’s tent. The young women, clearly from good families, cried and resisted but were forcibly taken into the tent.
Several others with numb expressions, wearing only thin undergarments, served wine and meat among the drinking and reveling Japanese. Occasionally, drunken ronin would pull them into their laps and grope them…
Mian Tang even saw three or four children around ten years old among the women caged up…
At this sight, Mian Tang could no longer contain her anger. She had originally planned to rescue Zhao Quan first, ensure the lord’s safety, then quietly retreat. Once Fan Hu had gathered his elite troops, they would return to confront these people head-on.
But now, if she left these weak and helpless women to be molested, Liu Mian Tang would never sleep soundly again!
With this thought, Liu Mian Tang suddenly untied her headscarf, partially undid her hair bun, and let her sideburns fall loose. Then she began to remove her outer garment.
Lu Zhong and Lu Liang were dumbfounded, turning their heads away and asking nervously, “B-boss, what are you doing?”
Mian Tang tore the collar of her inner garment slightly and said, “I’m still wearing an undershirt beneath my outer clothes. Why are you panicking?”
She then grabbed a handful of dirt and smeared it on her forehead and inner garment before asking them, “You brought the knockout drug, right?”
Lu Zhong nodded. Mian Tang hid a small willow leaf dagger in her hair bun and instructed them, “Tell Lu Yi and the others the plan has changed. I’ll first put the knockout drug in their wine vats, then sneak into their leader’s tent. Use a whistle as the signal. When it’s time, we’ll cut down these bastards and rescue all these women down the mountain!”
Hearing this, Lu Zhong shook his head vigorously. There were too many Japanese on the mountain, and they didn’t have enough manpower. Moreover, the boss intended to use herself as bait. If anything happened to her, let alone anyone else, the Prince of Huaiyang would have them chopped to pieces and thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
But before he could say anything more, Mian Tang had already crouched down and leaped over the palisade like a wildcat.
She was indeed bold, sneaking up behind a woman serving wine and naturally taking the tray from her hands. Then, pretending to pour wine, she walked over to the large wine vat.
The other women, all familiar with each other, naturally eyed this strange new face suspiciously.
Mian Tang looked up, smiled slightly at the women, and whispered, “Turn around and cover for me!” She then quickly sprinkled a large packet of powder into the wine vat.
Although the women didn’t know who she was, they guessed her intentions from her actions. The quick-witted ones immediately turned around, silently raising their wine cups to shield Mian Tang’s actions.
As for these ronin, they had come ashore to plunder based on intelligence that the great general had gone to sea with his troops.
They took advantage of the coastal forces being depleted to raid villages. This time they were lucky, encountering a fat sheep on the road – some rich young master they didn’t recognize. Not only did he have plenty of money and valuables, but he also brought four or five beautiful maids. Just these few women, if sold back to Japan, would fetch a tidy sum.
When they killed the guards, that young master cried out not to kill him, saying he’d have his family bring a large ransom. Now the unfortunate fellow was hanging in a cage, crying pitifully.
After adding the knockout drug, Mian Tang walked a few steps and saw Zhao Quan hanging in the cage. Seeing him cry with such vigor, she felt somewhat relieved that he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.
Mian Tang lowered her head and walked out when suddenly a drunk guard grabbed her hair. He grumbled dissatisfied in Japanese, “Why is this one’s face so dirty? Weren’t you all washed?”
With that, he splashed the wine in his hand onto Mian Tang’s face. The mud washed away, revealing her beautiful features.
The guard’s eyes widened, his lecherous grin growing as he shouted, “Heavens! I just discovered such a beauty here!”