Duke of Zhenguan

Lin Chuan had five bodyguards around him. Old Xu and Old Qi, who was also announcing the location, were both veterans selected from Cheng Family Village.

The remaining three were sent by Qin Huaidao at Qin Qiong's request.

The three men were in their prime, all heroes who had survived countless battles alongside Qin Qiong. Upon hearing the location reported by Lao Qi, one stayed by Lin Chuan's side, while the other two, wielding swords, charged towards the dilapidated building on the side of the street from the left and right, forming a pincer movement.

Most of the dilapidated buildings along the street were not tall. After a short run-up, the two used the low wall as leverage to jump and landed by the window.

"call out!"

A muffled thud sounded, and two arrows pierced through the window, shooting towards the two guards respectively.

"Bang!"

As the two guards wielded their swords and slashed away the arrows, the window was also cleaved into pieces that flew everywhere.

As the wooden blocks flew, a flash of light suddenly appeared in front of the two guards. One of the guards was a fraction too slow to dodge and was immediately slashed across the face.

The blade was immediately cleaved away by another guard's horizontal sword.

Upon entering the house, the two discovered that it contained only two brown-haired, blue-eyed boys dressed in tattered fur coats. After a moment's hesitation, they grabbed their swords and charged forward.

The battle was decided in the blink of an eye. Face to face, the two boys were struck in the chest by the guards who had crawled out of a pile of corpses. They coughed up blood and fainted.

Lifting two teenagers from the window and onto the street, the bodyguard bowed and said to Lin Chuan:

"My lord, we've caught him!"

Still shaken, Lin Chuan glanced at the two boys who were clearly of Central Asian descent and asked:

"Are you still alive?"

"Don't worry, my lord, he's still alive, and his injuries aren't serious!" the guard replied.

"Take it back first!" Lin Chuan waved his hand.

After walking for a while, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Old Xu and said softly:

"If it weren't for you guys here today, I'd probably be dead..."

"Haha, you flatter me, sir. We follow you just to keep an eye on these rats hiding in the stinking ditch. If we can't even do this little thing, how can we have the face to follow you?" Old Xu said with a smile.

"Then let's not talk about it. The mutton was alright, but the wine was really awful. When we get back to the camp, I'll ask the general for some wine to calm my nerves!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Didn't the general say there was no more wine?" Old Xu said speechlessly.

"Can we trust what the General says? Cheng Jiu's personal guard battalion still has over a hundred catties of alcohol. The General went to the Ministry of War's warehouse to steal it, saying that he would have to carry some in case of war!"

"But we've been mining salt in Guzang County, so we don't need this stuff. It's just a little water mixed with that stuff and it's top-notch liquor. We probably still have a few dozen kilograms left!" Lin Chuan said softly.

"Back in Guzang County, Lao Qi and I went to see the Duke. The Duke clearly said that the stuff couldn't be drunk. It's really... really..." Xu Laosan opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say the word "shameless".

As they left the city, the soldiers blocking the city glanced at Lin Chuan's identity tag, seemingly ignoring the two bound boys, saluted, and then pulled back the barricades.

Back at the main camp, Lin Chuan led his personal guards and the two boys back to his own barracks. He had two basins of cold water brought over and poured them over the two boys' heads.

Stimulated by the cold water, the two boys lying on the ground finally woke up. They glanced at the guards surrounding them, exchanged a look, and showed little fear on their faces. They resignedly collapsed to their fate and lay back down on the ground.

Lin Chuan glanced at the two boys with interest, then suddenly squatted down next to one of them and asked softly:

"Who sent you?"

"Pooh!"

The boy glanced at Lin Chuan and suddenly spat a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood at Lin Chuan.

However, being tied up made it difficult for him to exert force, and the spittle not only didn't land on Lin Chuan, but instead landed on his own face.

Lin Chuan chuckled and said in a low voice:

Do you know what happens to a woman who is thrown into a military camp?

You will be insulted by hundreds or thousands of people in turn. They will not let you go even if you die. Do you know why?

Because after a person dies, the body takes some time to cool down, and before that, it is no different from when the person is alive.

Once your body is cold, it'll be chopped up and fed to the dogs—not a single bit will be wasted!

After saying that, he pointed to another boy and said:

"He'll suffer less. Although this young man is quite handsome—in Chang'an, such a young man would be worth more than a young woman—most of the soldiers are rough men who don't appreciate such refined pursuits!"

"No one sent us. We wanted to kill you ourselves. Use whatever means you have. What kind of skill is it to bully a woman?" another boy shouted angrily.

"Looks like he's deeply in love!"

Lin Chuan nodded approvingly and looked at the boy who had spoken:

"I've never even seen you before, and I have no grudge against you. If you can give me a reasonable explanation, I might grant you a dignified death!"

"Over the years, the people of the Bone Tribe have relied on their numbers and the weapons given to them by you Tang people to kill our people and steal our cattle and sheep!"

We tolerated it all because of your orders, Tang people!

"But now you've colluded with the Bone Clan and captured our leader. My sister and I are going to kill you to avenge our leader!" the boy said viciously.

No sooner had the boy finished speaking than another boy, who was also bound, shouted angrily:

"Ah Lang, don't talk to these Tang people who don't keep their promises! Kill them if you want, I'm not afraid of them!"

Looking at the two siblings lying on the ground, Lin Chuan was speechless. He softly asked the boy who had tried to explain:

"The Bone Division? Are you referring to someone from the Bone Division called Bone Giant Deer?"

"So what if it is?" the boy asked coldly.

"Is your leader called Shi Polong?" Lin Chuan asked again.

"Yes!" The boy looked at Lin Chuan without fear.

Lin Chuan looked at the two boys for a moment, then turned and walked to the door. He beckoned Old Xu over and whispered his instructions:

"Lock these two up first, lest they starve to death!"

Xu Laosan nodded and led his men to take the two boys away.

Lin Chuan sat on the stool and pondered for a moment before leading his men to Cheng Yaojin's command tent.

Cheng Yaojin was still awake. Seeing Lin Chuan enter, he waved his hand to stop Lin Chuan from bowing and asked with a smile:

"How is Liangzhou City?"

"It's too shabby!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"With a population of less than 100,000, it would be strange if Liangzhou didn't fall. What brings you here so late?" Cheng Yaojin asked with a smile.

"I'm asking Uncle Cheng for some wine! I ran into two petty thieves on my way back tonight..." Lin Chuan carefully recounted what had just happened to Cheng Yaojin.

"Ah, in that case, what Shi Polong said is somewhat credible. This Gubu is indeed shrewd. On one hand, he colludes with officials to take the grain and ironware allocated by the court, and on the other hand, he disguises himself as a mountain bandit to rob merchants!"

"Liangzhou is in turmoil because of them. Tomorrow I will personally lead a large army to wipe out these bandits!" Cheng Yaojin said with a sneer.

"Uncle Cheng, you should inform those two governors, otherwise if someone impeaches you for being autocratic when you get back..." Lin Chuan advised.

"Do I fear their impeachment?" Cheng Yaojin said disdainfully.