Discovered

This was also why he had chosen to head west. The terrain along the eastern road from Xianling Village was far too flat, and burdened with heavy carriages, they certainly could not outrun the rebels. Going west, however, so long as the timing was right, they might just make it down the mountain without serious incident. Just as his words fell, two bandit soldiers came rushing over, one of them gripping a severed human head. "General, we searched the woods beside the West Mountain Road and found someone who'd been beheaded, lying dead all by his lonesome. We brought back his belongings." The severed head's teeth were bared, caked in grass and mud, but as Wu Shaoyi took it for a closer look, someone nearby cried out, "Liu Houzi! That's General Pei's scout, Liu Houzi! We drank together twice at Woling Pass, and he footed the bill both times!" Before anyone else could speak, He Lingchuan immediately said, "Our government troops don't have the habit of lopping off people's heads. This was definitely the work of the bandit Lu." "Pei Xinyong probably sent him to gather intelligence. If Lu Yao killed him, Lu's likely gotten hold of Old Pei's intel as well." Wu Shaoyi looked at the bandit soldier. "What's that in your hand?" The man hurriedly offered it forward. "It seems to be a mechanical bird. Liu Houzi was dead on the ground, but I found this perched in the treetop right above him." He Lingchuan had long heard that puppetry existed in this world, whereby puppeteers could make contraptions of their own making move in all kinds of ways. But witnessing one with his own eyes was a first. The mechanical bird in the bandit's hand was the size of a real pigeon, dull gray in color and completely inconspicuous—fitting its purpose well. "The man was most likely discovered while tinkering with the mechanical bird up in the tree. Lu Yao cut his head off, but didn't notice the mechanical bird still perched in the branches above." Wu Shaoyi turned the mechanical bird over and over, inspecting it, and opened its belly to reveal a hidden compartment. It was empty. Yet across his long-stern face, a flicker of a smile finally broke out. "Heaven aids us. This scout was sending intelligence, so this mechanical bird can probably fly straight to Old Pei." Lian Deng clapped his hands together. "Right! We can use the mechanical bird to send a message to General Pei, and that gets us in touch!" Time was of the essence. The bandits brought paper and brush, and Wu Shaoyi wrote several dozen large characters in one sweeping breath. Folding the note, he stuffed it into the mechanical bird's belly, then gave its head a gentle pat. "Go find Pei Xinyong." The mechanical bird raised its head, fluttered its wings with a whirring rustle, and took to the sky like a living creature, heading west. "Let's move," He Lingchuan said, standing up. "There's no time to lose." He had already spent far too much time in Xianling Village. The men boarded the backs of the giant crocodiles in single file. The beasts shifted their heavy steps and slid gracefully into the water. Despite their immense mass, not a single splash broke the surface. Even burdened with humans, the demon crocodiles possessed such boundless strength that they swam with effortless ease, their speed hardly slowing down at all. Seated atop the backs of these primordial beasts, the men were trembling with fear at first. But after traveling a short while, they realized the creatures were steadier than any boat; closing their eyes, they could hardly feel they were gliding across water, and their anxieties settled. Carrying the crowd, the giant crocodiles also swam west. The waters were wide open, allowing them to travel in a straight line rather than winding through the mountain paths on land. It was late autumn. Red maple leaves drifted along the lakeshore, and the surrounding mountains seemed draped in golden thread, presenting a majestic yet desolate beauty. With the river breeze brushing his face, He Lingchuan stood at the crocodile's snout and drew a deep breath, filling his lungs with crisp chill. Riding a giant crocodile over five zhang long across mountains and waters, rushing to a battlefield alongside a band of bandits... Half a year ago, could he ever have imagined such a thing? *** Lu Yao spurred his horse onward along the West Road. He pushed the animal relentlessly. Rounding several bends, the mount nearly misstepped, kicking loose stones that plunged down the cliffside, the distant echoes returning only after a long moment. He was fearless, but the bandits under him were terrified. Galloping flat out along mountain roads with so many twists and turns—did he think they weren't dying fast enough? Yet not a soul dared utter a peep. Earlier, when passing Shaozi Crag, Lu Yao had deliberately detoured to inspect it. The site had been a scene of utter carnage, marked everywhere by the signs of battle, with tree bark and blades of grass spattered with blood. Dozens of corpses littered the ground, some killed by arrows, others hacked to death. These had all been his men! The more Lu Yao looked, the more ferocious his expression became, until finally he threw his head back and roared to the heavens: "Pei Xinyong, you stupid ass!" The newly absorbed subordinates of Wu Shaoyi had already explained to him along the way why Wu and Pei had suddenly turned against him. It truly was that dog official surnamed He who had driven a wedge between them! No wonder he had sought him out last night to drink, eat fish, and chat, playing the overly hospitable host. It had all been to let Wu's and Pei's scouts catch them red-handed! And those two fools had leaped headlong into that bastard He's trap without a second thought. A perfectly planned three-way rendezvous had been completely ruined like this. When he saw the corpses of his men scattered along the mountain path, he actually calmed down instead, only letting out a savage sneer: "Doesn't that dog official He Chunhua love grilled fish? Once I catch him, I'll carve his family to pieces by slow slicing right in front of his eyes, roast the sliced-off flesh, and stuff it down his throat! Heheh, feed him until he bursts to death!" With that, he swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva. Just then, a shrill cry pierced the sky. Lu Yao raised his arm, and a red-tailed peregrine falcon landed upon it, speaking in human tongue: "The government convoy is thirty li ahead of you, but the mountain road is winding. It may take you longer to catch up!" "Where is Pei Xinyong?" "He has halted at Zhumapo and hasn't moved yet." The red falcon added, "Our men have crossed Zhumapo and retreated toward Desheng Town." "A bunch of useless trash!" Lu Yao snorted and said to the red falcon, "Make another trip shortly and urge all our forces at Desheng Town to hurry here." "They fear Pei Xinyong." "With Wu Shaoyi dead, Old Pei doesn't have the guts to stand against me!" Lu Yao sneered. "He'll turn back sooner or later." He fed the red falcon several pieces of meat and was about to release it. The red falcon suddenly lowered its voice, leaning close to his ear. "By the way, as I flew back across the lake, I spotted something unusual at Twin Gorges Bay. Those demon crocodiles were packed with people on their backs, heading west." "Demon crocodiles? Carrying people?" Only now was Lu Yao genuinely shocked. He knew the Crocodile God's temperament—callous and unfeeling. Even though they had cooperated a few times, if he were to seek out the Crocodile God now without offering sufficient payment, the beast wouldn't hesitate to devour him. "Who is the Crocodile God carrying?" Who could make the Crocodile God willingly demean itself into a mere mount, obediently carrying humans? "Wu Shaoyi," the red falcon whispered even lower. Lu Yao waved back the bandits behind him and urged his mount forward a few paces before staring at the red falcon. "What's going on? How is he still alive?" Hadn't Wu been mauled by the crocodile? How could he now be riding its back? Even as his mind swirled in turmoil, he did not forget to keep his distance from his subordinates. Many of the bandits here had defected to him from Wu Shaoyi's ranks; if they overheard that their former master was still alive, who knew what chaos might erupt? If Wu Shaoyi truly still lived, he was the greatest destabilizing threat. Lu Yao was growing uneasy. "I'm not sure, but he has over two hundred men with him, traveling partly on crocodiles and partly by boat."