Chapter Twenty: A Sudden Turn in the Situation

"Ah!"

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I was just too excited to hear such good news." Feng Mu let out a dry, awkward laugh to mask his lack of composure.

"Since that is the case, Battalion Commander Lin, I shall take my leave. Oh, by the way, I wonder if you have any of the bandits' heads? I would like to report to the Imperial Court and request rewards for you all."

"Ah, as for that... my men were so caught up in the slaughter that they left nothing behind, so there is no bounty to claim."

No spoils? Lin Shize’s shifty gaze aroused Feng Mu’s suspicion. How could there be no spoils after dealing with over a hundred bandits?

"Then, Battalion Commander Lin, have you seen the stolen military grain?"

"No." Lin Shize shook his head. "After we took the stronghold, we searched every inch of the mountain but found nothing."

Feng Mu’s eyes flickered, but he did not press further. After exchanging a few words with Lin Shize, he returned to the county magistrate's office.

"What! Lin Shize isn't dead?" Lin Feng stood up in the office and exclaimed.

Feng Mu’s face darkened. "I went there myself and discovered that Lin Shize had built a military camp in the valley at some point. To think he managed to do something so significant without a whisper—just thinking about it breaks me into a cold sweat."

Lin Feng paced back and forth, frantic. "What are we to do? If we don't get rid of him, we will never have peace."

Though Feng Mu appeared calm on the surface, he was in a panic. Lin Feng was only worried about future transactions, but Feng Mu had thirteen carts of cargo, and he had no idea what had become of them. The Gushan bandits were nowhere to be found, dead or alive.

Feng Mu took a sip of tea. "Brother Lin, for now, we must plan carefully. Why don't you return to your manor? I will notify you the moment I have news."

Lin Feng sighed heavily. "That is all we can do."

No sooner had Lin Feng left than the official runners Feng Mu had sent to Gushan returned. Feng Mu hurriedly grabbed one of them. "What is the situation at Gushan?"

"We don't know," the runner replied. "We waited at the designated spot as ordered, but we never saw anyone. Then we climbed up to the stronghold, only to find it burned to the ground. Not a soul was in sight—not even a ghost. I then went to Old Li’s place in Bao Village; it was empty, and the whole family had vanished."

"My lord, could they have fled?"

Feng Mu felt the world spinning; his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground. It took him a long time to come to his senses. He had suspected Lin Shize was lying—how could a few dozen men defeat over a hundred bandits without any spoils? Furthermore, there was all that silver in the stronghold; how could there be nothing left? And where did Old Li’s thirteen carts of goods disappear to? No matter the situation, it was dire for Feng Mu.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Feng Mu scrambled up and slapped the runner hard.

*Smack!* The crisp sound left a clear red handprint on the runner’s face. The man knelt in terror, not daring to breathe.

"Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find them for me! I want to see them alive or see their corpses!"

The runner cried, "My lord, the stronghold is a ruin. Where am I supposed to look?"

"They couldn't have grown wings and flown away!"

"We searched everywhere. There isn't a single clue."

Feng Mu wheezed, sweeping the teapot and ornaments off the table, shattering them to pieces. "Where? Where did they go? Over a hundred people, vanished without a trace!"

Before Feng Mu could finish venting his rage, a runner crawled in, covered in blood. "My lord, disaster! Our men at the Mengla camp have been slaughtered!"

Feng Mu’s eyes turned bloodshot. He grabbed the runner by the collar. "What happened?!"

The runner shook his head frantically. "I don't know! They stormed in, accused us of colluding with the Great Qi border army, and killed over twenty of our men. If I hadn't been feeding the horses outside and realized something was wrong, my head would be hanging from a tree right now."

It was over. Everything was over. His relationship with the Mengla people had cost him a year of painstaking effort and countless silver.

"Why would they say we colluded with the Great Qi border army?"

"They... they just started killing without a word. When Old Wang asked what was going on, a Mengla warrior cut off his head and said they had gone to Bao Village last night for the agreed-upon trade. And then..." The runner tapped his head violently, his mind a blank blur from the terror of his flight, trying to recall the events. "They were ambushed by the Great Qi border army! Over twenty of them died! They suspect we set a trap with the border army."

Feng Mu slumped to the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng, having received the news, stood frozen. He could not understand how things had spiraled out of control so quickly.

"Did you send someone to ask the Mengla?"

"Master," the steward replied, "our men were executed on the spot by the Mengla!"

"Impossible!" Lin Feng roared. "The layout I spent so much effort on—how could it crumble so easily?" His hands trembled as he gripped the table, gasping for air. "I must go to the Mengla myself! I must find out what is going on!"

The steward hurriedly blocked him. "Master, those Mengla are bloodthirsty killers right now. If you go and something happens, what will we do?" The steward was not truly concerned for Lin Feng; in fact, the people at the Lin manor had been hunted down by Lin Shize’s men. The steward only needed to stall Lin Feng so that his rift with the Mengla would become irreparable. "Master, we must prepare for the worst."

Lin Feng’s eyes were unfocused, darting around the room. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He pursed his lips tightly, then opened them to speak, but no coherent word emerged. Finally, he could only repeat one thing:

"Gone... everything is gone."

At the border camp, in the main command tent:

"Hahahaha!"

A hearty laugh erupted from the tent. Inside, the generals of the Great Qi were looking at a military map of the border. The laughter came from a burly man in the center: Garrison Commander Zhang Jiawen, who was responsible for a defense perimeter spanning hundreds of miles.

Zhang Jiawen looked at the dense markings on the map, his heart filled with satisfaction. "The situation is improving. The Mengla haven't been raiding the villages lately, and small enemy scouting parties have almost completely disappeared."

Such a favorable situation had never occurred before. The other officers looked relieved; they could finally catch their breath.

Battalion Commander Sun Zheng looked at the map, deep in thought. "Commander, I believe there must be a reason why the Mengla suddenly stopped their small-scale raids. Look, their offensive ceased starting from this sector. Something must have happened here that made them wary, forcing them to abandon their original strategy."

Sun Zheng drew a circle on the map. The circle enclosed the very sector where Lin Shize was stationed.