Chapter 305: The Accomplice (Part 4)

Zheng Miao was already something of a maverick in official circles, and back when Wang Cheng had served under him, he had seen quite a bit of the world.

But it wasn't until he followed Le Wuya that he realized there was always a bigger fish.

Wang Cheng had been framed and thrown into prison as soon as he entered Dansui, acting entirely under others' watchful eyes the whole time, without ever having discussed the Xiaolian Mountain matter with Le Wuya.

But since his lord had told him to stir the pot, he'd just do it right.

Wang Cheng kept a solemn face, though his heart was thumping with a bit of excitement.

It had to be said, Zheng Miao had made the right call letting him go with Le Wuya.

Wang Cheng appeared rigid and obedient on the surface, but deep down he craved novelty, amusement, and excitement—his whole rebellious streak squeezed into the frame of a mild-mannered gentleman.

If he were really that rigid and obedient, Le Wuya wouldn't have given him that review: "You're the one handing him the shovel while he does the killing."

It wasn't until Le Wuya called it out that Zheng Miao finally got it—he'd been using this prime material for a hidden blade as a yardstick.

...What a damn waste.

Wang Cheng turned to Secretary Lin, all casual-like: "Secretary Lin, what's A Shun's full name?"

The second "A Shun" left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze.

A few sneaky glances snapped his way.

Secretary Lin replied, "Wu Shun."

Wang Cheng went, "Oh. Which squad's he in?"

The squad leader, trying to shrink into the crowd, had no choice but to square up and step out: "Y-Your Honor, Wu Shun's one of my men..."

Secretary Lin had been half-worried Wang Cheng would air A Shun's dirty laundry about the murder and robbery, but to his surprise, Wang Cheng was all smiles and charm, saying to the squad leader, "A Shun won't be coming back for now. You'll have to pick up the slack on his duties."

The squad leader looked up: "Huh?"

Wang Cheng said gently, "My lord has some questions he wishes to ask him alone."

The blood drained from the squad leader's face in a flash. His lips twitched a few times before he croaked out a dry "...Oh."

What was that little mention supposed to mean?

First, Captain Guan and his crew—out hunting a bandit that shouldn't even exist—all end up dead out there.

Now A Shun's turn comes up.

He's just a grunt—what the hell would a big shot from the capital want with him?

Is it because he was the one who escorted that surviving miner back to Dansui?

Is the lord trying to dig something up on Xiaolian Mountain, so he grabbed A Shun?!

Secretary Lin had no clue about the squad leader's tangled reasoning. Once the crowd thinned a bit, he turned to Wang Cheng and dropped his voice, dead serious: "Thanks, Special Envoy Wang, for keeping this under wraps."

Wang Cheng smiled modestly: "You're too kind, Secretary Lin. Anyway, A Shun's business ain't exactly something to brag about. I've worked in local offices myself, and I know some things are better left unsaid to the rank and file—just stirs up talk and breaks protocol. So let's just cut each other some slack."

Before Secretary Lin could thank him again, Wang Cheng changed the subject: "Secretary Lin, could you have someone take me up the mountain? I want to go check out the mudslide site myself, scope out the terrain, and figure out what caused it."

Hearing that, a few folks lurking in the shadows felt like ghosts had just crawled up their backs—spines went rigid, hair stood on end.

But Secretary Lin, clueless about the real story, only admired Wang Cheng more, even feeling a twinge of regret that such a gem was going to waste:

How could a guy this solid be stuck following that lord who's got nothing but a pretty face?

His voice dripped with quiet awe: "Captain Wang knows geomancy too?"

Wang Cheng, who knew jack squat about it, nodded with total confidence: "A little something."

Secretary Lin waffled a second: "It's getting late, and the mountain trails are muddy and nasty—who knows what's out there. Maybe... we hold off till tomorrow?"

As he said it, he stared off at Xiaolian Mountain, looking none too keen.

Wang Cheng got it right away.

Secretary Lin was a frail bookish type; making him slog through mud up the mountain in the dark was asking way too much.

He'd be half-dead by the time he got halfway up.

So Wang Cheng, ever considerate, said, "This is my job. My lord sent me ahead for exactly this. If I hang around at the base too long, he's gonna be pissed. Lord Wenren and Magistrate Zhou should be showing up any minute, and it'd be a real slap in the face if nobody was here to greet them right. Tell you what: I head up to scout, you stay down here to play host. We each do our part—sound good?"

Seeing how thoughtful Wang Cheng was, Secretary Lin rushed to thank him. He turned to call someone over, but spotted three or four garrison soldiers skulking nearby, sneaking peeks their way.

Secretary Lin frowned slightly:

Skulking around like that—what the hell's wrong with them!

He suppressed his displeasure and smoothed things over: "Perfect timing. Special Envoy Wang needs to go up the mountain to survey—you lot will accompany him properly!"

Wang Cheng nodded to the soldiers who had been pressed into service: "Much obliged."

With that, he waved a hand behind him without looking back at Ji Zhun.

Ji Zhun felt a surge of frustration but gritted his teeth and followed.

Watching the group leave, Secretary Lin planned to find his cousin, Clerk Lin, to reconcile the accounts properly, but upon inquiring, he learned that the clerk had been summoned back to the Dansui county office that morning.

Unable to find him and with nothing else to do, Secretary Lin sat down on a damp wooden stump by the shed and mused:

What exactly had that surviving miner looked like when he was dug out?

A Shun, driven by greed at the sight of wealth, had murdered and robbed Zhong Piaoping who was traveling alone—that was understandable. But what madness had possessed him to insist on killing that surviving miner as well?

Thunder rumbled low across the sky, and raindrops carrying the smell of earth pattered down, growing from sparse to dense.

Dew smelled rank, and the vegetation was still.

The half-collapsed Xiaolianzi Mountain resembled the carcass of a great beast, exuding a chilling stillness, broken only by the monotonous squelch of boots treading through mud.

Wang Cheng pretended not to notice the soldiers dawdling and deliberately leading him in circles halfway up the mountain.

His intention wasn't actually to investigate anything.

Wang Cheng reached out and beckoned the squad leader over: "You're the one in charge of A Shun, aren't you?"

The squad leader's heart trembled, and he answered nervously, "Y-Yes... that's right."

Wang Cheng stopped, sweeping his gaze over the man from head to toe and back again, scraping him until his skin tightened and his heart shivered wave after wave, before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

In the next instant, he gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, turned, and walked off, lowering his voice to Ji Zhun: "Do you think he's that kind of person?"

Ji Zhun looked totally lost, casting a glance at the squad leader, his face a mask of genuine confusion:

Huh? What's he on about?

Wang Cheng nodded with a show of grave seriousness, his deliberately lowered voice still clearly reaching the squad leader's straining ears: "Yeah, I didn't think so either."

Ji Zhun, still clueless, could only look at the squad leader again.

In the heat of summer, being stared at again and again, goosebumps rose on the squad leader's skin.

He certainly didn't dare grab the Special Envoy and demand an explanation; he only felt his heart hammering in his chest, like it might crack his ribs, while his legs felt like lead weights, dragging him forward step by step.

Wang Cheng, not even looking at him, said casually: "Yesterday, A Shun hauled someone back. You know about that, right?"

"Yes..." the squad leader blurted out, "the only one we managed to dig out alive..."

Wang Cheng halted mid-step.

A survivor, huh?...

Interesting choice of words.

If Wang Cheng had dug up a hundred corpses and, after all that effort, finally pulled out a living person from the mud, he wouldn't describe him with that kind of word, and when others mentioned this "survivor," he'd be worried sick about whether the guy was okay.

Not like now, where he didn't even dare to ask.

The squad leader was completely unaware of the tell he'd given.

Noticing Wang Cheng's subtle pause and gaze, he thought of something else, his throat seized up, and he broke into a cold sweat.

Could it be that good-for-nothing A Shun hadn't finished the job?

Come to think of it, A Shun had hauled the guy off the day before yesterday—two days now, and not a word back...

And why had this lord from the capital singled him out the moment he arrived?

Could it be that A Shun screwed up and got caught?

To save his own skin, had he... ratted them all out?!

After all, A Shun was just some grunt; if it came down to it, wouldn't the blame fall squarely on him as the one in charge? Were they gonna pin it all on him?!

He was so distracted that when a soldier asked to step out of formation to relieve himself, he only waved a hand absently and let him go.

Not far away, Qiu Sinian sat on an old tree with gnarled branches, gently swinging his legs as rainwater trickled down the brim of his conical hat in a thin stream.

When he noticed Ji Zhun following Wang Cheng, he was surprised for only a moment before his expression smoothed over.

Ever since he'd arrived at Xiaolian Mountain, that lingering sense of wrongness had dogged his every step.

And when he spotted a severed leg on a low shrub—torn apart by the explosion, long since stiff and gray—that wrongness finally reached its peak.

He was just pondering how to get word to the lord when Wang Cheng showed up.

After catching the deliberate barbs in Wang Cheng's words and his faintly provocative intent, Qiu Sinian had an idea.

The soldier ran to a spot not far from him, facing a pit filled with muddy water, and unbuckled his pants.

Qiu Sinian leaped silently from the branch, grabbed the stiff leg, hefted it, and swung it in one motion, sending the man tumbling into the mud pit.

Splash—

Wang Cheng whirled around, frowning at the spot where the faint noise had come from.

If he wasn't mistaken, someone had let out a short, startled yelp.

The squad leader jumped again at Wang Cheng's reaction, staring wide-eyed at his every move.

A Shun had gone and never returned, and Officer Guan's four men had died—killed by "bandits."

Damn it all, they'd turned the whole mountain inside out; where the hell had these bandits come from?

Was the higher-up trying to cut them loose now that they'd served their purpose, using this as an excuse?

So should he come clean, or...

Wang Cheng's brow was tightly knit as he interrupted his thoughts: "That soldier who asked to take a piss—why isn't he back yet?"

...

Before long, Wang Cheng's group hauled the nearly drowned soldier out of the mud pit.

The man was caked in thick sludge from head to toe, looking like a complete mud monkey.

A crowd gathered around him, clearing his airways, pumping his chest, and finally managing to bring him back.

Secretary Lin, who had raced up from the base of the mountain upon hearing the commotion, arrived breathless. Seeing the scene, his vision went dark and his temples throbbed: "..."

He was speechless.

Even if these people didn't want to show their faces, constantly mooning everyone wasn't exactly proper either.

More and more mining guards were stirred from their posts and crowded over.

Seeing the soldier caked in mud, like a lump of mud, a chill mixed with panic coiled around everyone's hearts like a cold, creeping snake.

...He looked exactly like those dead miners!

Under countless terrified gazes, the soldier finally let out a long gasp and caught his breath.

Along with his breath, a tidal wave of fear surged back.

He lay on the ground, coughing violently, spitting mud everywhere.

Once he caught his breath, he wailed hoarsely: "Help! Someone—someone's trying to kill me! He hit me... he used something to shove me into that pit!"

All hell broke loose!

Wang Cheng was about to speak when his peripheral vision caught a figure crouched like a big owl on a tree not far off, holding something in his hand.

His face flickered, and he quickly looked away.

...Who the hell was that?

He kept his mouth shut.

The lord's orders were to cause trouble.

Then he would use every means available to fan the flames even higher.

With this in mind, Wang Cheng turned to Secretary Lin, whose face was etched with worry: "Secretary, something's off here, and it could go sideways. Do you have the roster for the mining garrison? Get everyone here for a roll call right now—not a single man missing!"

The figure in the tree clearly overheard Wang Cheng, and with a single leap, vanished without a sound.

The assembly whistle echoed bleakly across the ruins of Xiaolian Mountain.

About half an hour later, the scattered mining troops had assembled at the mountain's base.

When the count was done, three more men were missing!

Secretary Lin's heart gave a lurch.

Could they have... deserted?

No one knew when Surveillance Commissioner Wenren and Magistrate Zhou would show up, and if they found the ranks short, how would they explain themselves?

He forced himself to stay calm, hardening his expression and sharply questioning the squad leaders: "Where are the men?"

The squad leaders broke into a cold sweat, stammering excuses: "Maybe, maybe they're holed up in some corner, slacking off, catching some shut-eye?"

Secretary Lin urged: "Go find them, now!"

But at that moment, the mining troops were harboring other suspicions.

A suffocating silence settled over the mountain's base.

The rain picked up, fat droplets pounding the broken rocks and mud with hollow, chaotic sounds.

The soldiers, terrified and sleepless for days, were gaunt and haggard, reeking of mud. Every so often, a flash of lightning lit up their fierce, filthy faces.

Beneath every pair of dark eyes churned currents of suspicion and dread—any slight disturbance would be enough to push them over the edge.

Of the three search parties sent out, only two came back.

The third seemed to have been swallowed whole by Xiaolian Mountain; no matter how the whistles blew below, there was no answer from within.

They couldn't all be "slacking off and catching some sleep" in some corner again, could they?

Secretary Lin's impatience had curdled into terror.

How could this keep going on?

When Commissioner Wenren actually showed up, how would he explain?

In a panic, he urged: "Search again! Search again!"

But not a single soldier budged.

Xiaolian Mountain seemed to have become a haunted mountain that devoured people, sending them in with no return.

Who was out for their lives?

Who was so desperate to see them vanish one by one?

The miners were all dead, not a single one left—so who else in the world knew the secrets of Xiaolian Mountain?

Foreman Guan was dead, A Shun was gone, and the soldier who'd fallen into the mud pit had nearly died.

So who was next?

Thoughts like that were enough to drive anyone mad.

A Shun's squad leader rasped: "Secretary, none of us dare go up. Maybe you should head up the mountain and see for yourself?"

Secretary Lin vaguely sensed the hostility in their eyes, and his legs turned to jelly: "...What... what's gotten into you all?"

The squad leader swallowed bitter spit, his face shifting, muscles twitching and contorting.

As his emotions churned, Wang Cheng extended an arm to shield Secretary Lin and stepped back several paces.

Secretary Lin might have been fine staying put, but this retreat and movement snapped the squad leader's taut nerves: "Where are you going?"

Wang Cheng gripped the blade of the saber at his waist and said coldly: "Back off!"

The squad leader's face twisted into a savage grimace: "Where's A Shun?! Where the hell is A Shun?!"

Wang Cheng spoke fast: "A Shun's fine! He's at the county office! Everyone, stay calm! Don't mutiny!"

The word "mutiny" sent blood rushing to the squad leader's head.

Were they taking him for a fool?!

He suddenly yanked the dagger from his belt: "Damn it, they're killing the donkey after the mill's done! Brothers, attack! Before that Zhou bastard shows up, tie up all these bastards!"

They think they can use us and toss us aside—no such luck!!

Ji Zhun: "..."

As he instinctively drew his blade to block the incoming clubs and spears, Ji Zhun's mind went completely blank.

What the hell was going on?! Why was he even here?!

Author's note:

Let's break down the combat stats of the four Le family sons:

Qin Xingyue: close combat 4 stars, ranged 5 stars, light kung fu (specifically climbing roofs and trees) 2 stars, intelligence 2 stars.

Wang Cheng: close combat 3 stars, ranged 2 stars, light kung fu 2 stars, intelligence 5 stars.

Qiu Sinian: close combat 4 stars, ranged 2 stars, light kung fu 5 stars, intelligence 4 stars.

Jiang He: close combat 5 stars, ranged 4 stars, light kung fu 4 stars, intelligence unknown.