With soldiers backing him up, He Lingchuan had felt relatively relaxed when dealing with the fat man earlier, but now something felt wrong. Towns were not like small hamlets; wealthy gentry would pay out of their own pockets to organize village militias and self-defense corps—armed forces that were all the more necessary in troubled times. If this band of ruthless bandits could take down an entire town, they had to have numerical superiority at the very least.
If the fat man had lied about one thing, he could have lied about everything.
He Lingchuan shoved the flatbread back into his mouth, pulled open the front of his robe, and carved a cross over his heart with a dagger.
Blood welled out immediately, flowing fast.
The fat man let out a muffled cry of agony, most of it smothered by the flatbread. His facial muscles contorted, a gurgling rattle escaping his throat.
Next, He Lingchuan handed the dagger to Zhu-shi, guiding her to press the tip against the center of the cross. "Hold it steady. One inch deeper, and he's a dead man."
After a slight hesitation, Zhu-shi gripped the dagger with both hands.
"If you scream, she stabs your heart. If you give me nonsense answers, she stabs your heart too." He Lingchuan patted the fat man's shoulder. "She hates you to the bone. You'd best not test her. Understand?"
The fat man nodded gingerly.
"Let's play a game called 'beat the clock,'" He Lingchuan said with a smile. "If you answer all my questions before you bleed out, I'll staunch the bleeding and spare your life. How about it?"
The fat man began nodding much faster.
He Lingchuan nodded in satisfaction as well.
Just a few months ago, he wouldn't have been capable of such cruelty. But after living through several life-and-death struggles, he had finally learned a simple truth:
Mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself—especially when that enemy still harbored murderous intent.
He removed the flatbread and asked again, "Which town do you still have men in?"
"Qianteng... Town."
"How many?" He Lingchuan frowned in displeasure. "Can't you show some initiative instead of acting like a puppet on strings, only speaking when pulled?"
The fat man strained to speak. "The town was taken two days ago. There are two hundred men left."
So this band had four to five hundred men in total? "Ordinary bandits aren't this numerous. Where did you come from?"
"Hongchuan!" the fat man replied. "Our hometown was flooded, and there was no money to be made there anymore, so we wanted to find somewhere else."
"Here?" He Lingchuan turned to Zhu-shi. "Is this place prosperous? What's the population?"
Zhu-shi shook her head. "The soil is poor, and the population is sparse."
The fat man added hastily, "We're only passing through! Boss Lu wants to keep heading south!"
Bandits merely passing through were the most ruthless killers, because they only did business in a place once.
As they spoke, a clamor arose outside.
He Lingchuan said to one of his personal guards, "Go check outside."
The guard went out to take a look and soon returned to report, "A sudden wave of fish came out of the lake, washing onto the shore. The ground is covered in flopping fish right now."
"Fish?" He Lingchuan had never expected such an answer. But right then, hurried footsteps sounded outside, along with the crunch and squelch of boots on gravel and muddy water.
From the noise, there were at least a dozen people.
The fat man's reinforcements? The four of them tensed up at once. He Lingchuan gripped the hilt of his saber and pointed at Fat Wang. "Drag him into the inner room."
Fortunately, the footsteps approached from a distance and passed right by the door without stopping.
It seemed the entire eastern half of the village was filled with these running footsteps.
Unable to hold back, He Lingchuan opened the door and stepped out. Seeing large numbers of soldiers running past, he waved over the nearest one and asked, "What's going on?"
"We got into a fight with the villagers! His Excellency the Prefect is at the lakeside on the west side of the village too!"
They were fighting already? He Lingchuan was startled. "Is my father all right?"
"I don't know! Three blasts of the flying whistle—we've been ordered to reinforce them!"
The flying whistle was the rally signal of the Blackwater City troops, using variations in blast length to issue different orders.
He Lingchuan shut the door and stepped back inside. His personal guard immediately asked, "Should we go over and help?"
"Wait, hold on!" He Lingchuan's mind raced. He wasn't at the lake, so he didn't know how the clash had started, but breaking into open battle at this point was undoubtedly premature—unless his father had seized an unexpected opening... or Boss Lu had.
To put it cold-bloodedly, He Lingchuan wasn't the commander of the guard regiment. Even if he rushed over now, he couldn't take charge of the scene or turn the tide.
What else could he do?
Over a dozen ideas crossed his mind, only to be discarded one by one. In the end, He Lingchuan sent another guard toward the western side of the village.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, the guard hurried back, breathing heavily. "His Excellency the Prefect has made peace with them."
"Is he hurt?"
"No."
"Are there bandits outside the houses?" An idea was already forming in He Lingchuan's mind.
"No one left. They've all rushed to the lake."
Relieved, He Lingchuan let out a breath. "Good. Go into the inner room and help."
The three entered the inner room, where Fat Wang had been kept under Zhu-shi's watch. The wound on his chest had been hastily dressed and was no longer bleeding.
The fat man's mouth was still gagged, and his face was somewhat pale, but otherwise he was unharmed.
"Escort him to my father's quarters."
The three hauled the fat man to his feet, checking left and right before stepping out. Indeed, there was not a soul in sight.
Bandits and soldiers alike were currently gathered by the lake.
And so, guarding Fat Wang between them, they moved swiftly toward He Chunhua's lodgings.
A quarter of an hour ago, this area had been crawling with bandit lookouts; how could they have escorted a captive out in the open? Fortunately, once the clash broke out, both sides were distracted, giving He Lingchuan the chance to take Fat Wang back.
Good things never came easy, however.
With forty or fifty paces left to their destination, a nearby cottage door suddenly opened, and a woman poked her head out.
She had probably wanted to see what was going on around her, but at first glance she spotted He Lingchuan and his guards escorting Fat Wang, along with Zhu-shi walking beside them. Her eyes went wide.
Naturally, Zhu-shi saw her as well.
The woman froze for two breaths, pulled her head back, and tried to slam the door shut.
Zhu-shi darted forward and shoved against the door, preventing it from closing.
The woman wept, "You can't do this! You're going to get us all killed!"
Zhu-shi ground her teeth. "Come with me, or I'll kill you!" She was terrified this woman would run to alert the bandits.
"Have you lost your mind? The soldiers won't stay!" the woman cried. "Once the soldiers leave, the bandits will still be here!"
As the two struggled over the door, a guard turned to He Lingchuan. "Eldest Young Master?"
He Lingchuan murmured, "Go help her!"
The guard charged forward to help Zhu-shi drag the woman outside. Terrified, the woman raised her voice in a bloodcurdling shriek: "Someone help!"
Zhu-shi immediately let go, taking two steps back. "Forget it!"
"Forget it?" He Lingchuan repeated. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!" The confusion in Zhu-shi's eyes snapped into resolve. "Let's hurry!"
Ignoring the woman, the four continued forward with Fat Wang in tow. The wooden door banged shut, and the woman ceased her screaming.
There were no further hiccups along the rest of the way, and not a single villager peeked out again, even though they had all heard those piercing shrieks.
Chapter 107