Jiang Jin's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "We will only ask once. You have one chance, and there is no room for bargaining."
Saying this, she nodded at Zhou Sui and Xie Nanxiao.
Zhou Sui and the other man each escorted a captive to the side to interrogate them separately, preventing them from colluding to provide false information.
The burly man didn't dare to play any more tricks. Enduring the excruciating pain from his hand, he answered honestly, "We... we are from Dalin Village, over ten miles away."
Jiang Jin suddenly thought of a question. "Did you ride horses here?"
The burly man shook his head, then nodded. "No, over ten of us rode horses here, while the rest ran."
Despite being mountain bandits, they had a clear hierarchy; only those at the rank of squad leader or higher were allowed to ride horses.
Their plan was to launch a sneak attack at night. Since the sound of horse hooves was too loud, they left the horses about two miles away, with two men staying behind to watch them.
Jiang Jin called out to Yao Ji, who was clearing the battlefield in the distance.
Yao Ji hurried over. "My lady, what is it?"
Jiang Jin explained the situation and ordered, "Take some men now and bring the horses back."
Yao Ji nodded and led his men toward the location the burly man had mentioned.
Only then did Jiang Jin continue her questioning. "How many people are left in the village?"
The burly man replied, "There... there are still about two hundred people."
Jiang Jin frowned. "All young and strong men?"
The burly man quickly shook his head. "No, there are about fifty women, over thirty elderly and weak, and the remaining seventy or so are young and strong men."
Jiang Jin continued asking, "Is your chief in the mountains?"
"Yes, our... our eldest brother is a scholar. Usually, we are the ones who take action, and he... he comes up with the ideas." The burly man answered very quickly, terrified that if he were too slow, another of his fingers would be chopped off.
Jiang Jin then asked about the wealth and provisions in Dalin Village, even making him draw a map of the village and mark the guard posts.
A few minutes later, after Jiang Jin had thoroughly clarified all her questions, she had the man taken away. Zhou Sui and Xie Nanxiao had also finished their interrogations. The three of them cross-checked their findings to ensure the information was accurate.
Dong Si came over to report at this time. "My lady, we have killed a total of 162 enemies. Five of our soldiers were injured, two of them rather seriously. Doctor Suo and Doctor Mu are already tending to them."
"Oh, right. Four of Shopkeeper He's guards were also injured. Fortunately, their wounds are not severe. Lady Liu is treating them," he added.
This outcome was quite impressive, considering these soldiers hadn't been training for very long.
It was also fortunate that Yao Ji had discovered the enemies early, otherwise the consequences would have been dire.
After finishing the official business, Dong Si handed over the copper coins looted from the corpses to Jiang Jin. Unfortunately, most of these men hadn't brought money with them; they only managed to scavenge a little over two strings of coins.
The sound of horse hooves came from afar. A look of joy appeared on Jiang Jin's face, knowing that Yao Ji had returned.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Yao Ji strode over to report, "My lady, there is a total of seventeen horses. The two men watching the horses have also been brought back."
Jiang Jin was very satisfied. "You did well."
She looked around at the crowd and said, "Qiu Wu, Lu Ping, the two of you lead some men to clean up the battlefield. Dig a large pit and bury the bodies."
The two stood up straight and replied, "Understood."
He Li came over at this moment to ask if they needed any help.
Without standing on ceremony, Jiang Jin had his carriage slaves help move the bodies and dig the pit. They were all young and strong men, very useful for the task.
Once the arrangements were made, Zhou Sui and the others looked at her, waiting for her decision.
Jiang Jin couldn't help but smile. "We definitely have to attack Dalin Village, but there's no rush. We aren't familiar with the terrain, so the night is disadvantageous to us. I plan to launch a surprise attack just before dawn."
Zhou Sui raised an eyebrow. "Are you going personally, my lady?"
Jiang Jin nodded. "Yes, I will go this time."
Yun Chengxuan immediately declared, "If Aunt goes, I'm going too."
Zhou Sui and the others stared at her, hoping she would select them for the mission.
Jiang Jin thought for a moment before saying, "Send one platoon of male soldiers and one of female soldiers to go up the mountain with me. The rest will stay at the camp."
Jiang Jin looked at Yao Ji. "When the time comes, I'll leave the troops here in your hands. Also, send men to continue keeping watch during the night, and have people guard the intersection leading to the camp. This is in case the enemy sends someone to check the situation. If you spot anyone, capture them all."
Yao Ji was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't follow them up the mountain, but he also knew Jiang Jin was doing it for his own good. Although his injuries had healed considerably, it wasn't suitable for him to engage in fierce fighting for a prolonged period.
He nodded. "Understood."
Everyone discussed a few more attack details before dispersing.
Jiang Jin returned to her carriage to continue resting, preparing to set off around three in the morning.
Dalin Village.
An oil lamp was lit inside the room. Its dim light illuminated the profile of a middle-aged man, casting half his face in a sallow yellow and the other half in deep shadow, making his sleepless face look incredibly eerie.
His eyes were dark and impatient. "Are they still not back?"
A young man shook his head. "I sent someone to check the intersection, but they haven't returned yet."
His expression also grew tense. "Could something have really happened? That shouldn't be possible. We sent nearly two hundred of our men, all of them highly skilled."
The middle-aged man stood up and paced around the room twice. "Didn't you send someone to check the situation? Have they not returned either?"
The young man replied, "No. I don't know what's going on, but none of those who left have come back."
He couldn't help but mutter, "Why hasn't anyone come back? We have so many people. Hiss... could it be that those women were too beautiful, and they couldn't resist doing the deed right there and then?"
The middle-aged man's brows furrowed tightly. "Impossible. Lao Qi has always been reliable in his work. He wouldn't do such a thing."
Things had exceeded his expectations, and he had a bad feeling about it.
Just then, a short man ran into the room, looking excited. "Boss, they're back."
The middle-aged man rejoiced. "Really? Where are they?"
The short man replied, "They just entered the village. They'll be here in a moment."
"What about the provisions and the horses? Did they bring them all back?" the middle-aged man asked as he walked outside.
The short man froze for a moment, hesitating slightly. "It's too dark outside. I couldn't see clearly."
The middle-aged man paused his steps, sensing that something wasn't quite right. He turned back into the room to grab his saber before leading his men toward the village entrance.
Although he was a scholar, having stayed in a bandit lair for so long, he was no stranger to killing.
The dozen or so men guarding outside saw him emerge and shouted in unison, "Boss."
The middle-aged man didn't speak, continuing his walk toward the village entrance.
The others hurriedly raised their torches and followed behind him.
Before long, they heard footsteps approaching from the opposite direction. However, it was very strange—none of the people coming toward them were holding torches.
A chill ran through the middle-aged man's heart. He shouted, "Lao Qi, what is going on with you?"
As soon as his words fell, over a dozen arrows suddenly shot out from the darkness ahead.
The middle-aged man was terrified. Before he could even react, an arrow pierced straight through his neck.
By now, the sky had brightened just a fraction. The middle-aged man's eyes widened, and through his blurring vision, he saw figures moving in the shadows ahead.
Cries of agony erupted one after another in his ears. He knew that the men beside him had also been hit by arrows, but his vision had completely faded to black.
His saber clattered to the ground. His body staggered backward two steps before collapsing with a heavy thud. His lifeless eyes stared up at the dark grey sky, dying with lingering grievances.
The screams rang out across the quiet village, instantly shattering the peace.
