Chapter 22: Visitors from the Capital!

Inside the Xilin Army camp.

Lei Yan’s temples had turned completely white, and he looked much more weathered than before. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes appeared particularly prominent at this moment. Most crucially, his chest was wrapped in bandages, through which faint stains of blood were seeping.

An old man standing nearby sighed helplessly at the sight. "General, I told you back then that none of these aristocratic families are easy to cross."

"Here in Qinghe Town, it may seem as though we hold the reins, but the moment things don't go their way, someone from the capital will arrive at any time."

"I suspect the reason Fat Li met this fate is primarily because they wanted to use his case as an excuse to give you a stern warning."

Upon hearing this, Lei Yan slammed his fist hard against his desk. "Those vermin! When the barbarians invaded, they were nowhere to be found on the battlefield, yet when it comes to playing these petty tricks, they are more eager than anyone else!"

"Isn't it because they covet the strategic location of Qinghe Town and the resources nearby? They want to seize control of everything here and turn it into a tool for their own profit!"

The old man folded his fan and looked at Lei Yan, saying softly, "General, the Inspector has now arrived in Qinghe Town, so we must be careful."

"He is a blade sent by the Chancellor, and he is here to test your stance. If you collude with them, they will naturally do you no harm and may even fully support you. But if you continue to ignore their overtures as you have in the past, then I fear..."

Lei Yan snorted coldly, his fists tightening. "The Chancellor? Much of the state the Great Liang is in today is the doing of that man! Nearly half of the court officials have already pledged their loyalty to him. I see it clearly! He wants to seize the throne and rule for himself!"

Just then, Deputy General Chen arrived outside the tent with Su Mu. "General! They have returned!"

Lei Yan was taken aback. He turned to look at Su Mu at the entrance, a flash of bewilderment crossing his face. "You’ve returned?"

Su Mu stepped up to Lei Yan and offered a solemn salute. Straightening up, he looked the general in the eyes. "General, I wish to know, what has happened to our Battalion Commander? We have been gone for less than seven days, yet we are told he has been imprisoned for colluding with the barbarians?"

Lei Yan parted his lips, pressed them together, and let out a long sigh. "It is true. Someone from the capital arrived in Qinghe Town to inspect, and an anonymous tip was filed claiming Fat Li was colluding with the barbarians, along with some evidence."

"As it stands, if we cannot disprove this charge, then in three days at most, Fat Li will truly be a dead man!"

Su Mu clenched his fists, his expression turning icy. An anonymous tip? He didn't need to guess to know who it was. It had to be Corporal Jiang! In all of Qinghe Town, Fat Li’s only enemy was him. If he had known this would be the outcome, he should have orchestrated an accident for Corporal Jiang and ended him right then and there; then none of this mess would be happening.

"Rest assured, Fat Li is not only your Battalion Commander, he is my brother as well. I will naturally protect him. It is just that, for the moment, it will take some time to secure his release."

Lei Yan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Su Mu. "Since you are here, I have a few questions for you. Did the withdrawal of the Tiger-Wolf Cavalry have anything to do with you? To be precise, all eight barbarian legions have retreated."

Su Mu leaned against a rope in the corner, his expression unruffled. "It’s nothing major. We just slaughtered over a hundred barbarians and, in the process, set fire to their hundred-thousand-strong army's food supplies for the month."

When Su Mu first mentioned killing over a hundred barbarians, Lei Yan was shocked, yet he felt it was within reason. With careful planning and taking them by surprise, picking them off one by one, it wasn't impossible.

But this—burning the food supplies for a hundred-thousand-strong army for an entire month? That was a monumental achievement! This bought every border city a full month of breathing room. Even for them, a month would be enough to significantly shift the odds of victory in their favor. He never expected that Su Mu and his six men could accomplish such a feat. By merit alone, there would be no issue with Su Mu taking over as the commander of the Tiger Might Battalion.

"Well done! Fat Li was right to trust you. With you here, there is hope for the rise of the Tiger Might Battalion yet." A smile finally touched Lei Yan’s face. It was the first good news he had heard in a long time.

"Besides that, there is one more thing I need to discuss with you in private, General," Su Mu said solemnly.

Lei Yan raised an eyebrow. Something more important? Could it be that even such a monumental achievement didn't count as 'important' in Su Mu's eyes? Lei Yan glanced at the old man. The old man understood the gesture immediately and stepped out of the tent. Only then did Lei Yan look at Su Mu with renewed gravity.

"Speak! What could be so important that you have to be this cautious?"

Su Mu straightened his posture and looked directly into Lei Yan’s eyes with a calm expression. "General, while infiltrating the barbarian base, I discovered something. Within their ranks, there are people who are proficient in our Great Liang language."

Lei Yan rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I thought it was something serious. Is that all? They have been at war with us for years and have captured many of our people; it’s only natural they would learn our language."

Su Mu shook his head, his gaze deepening. "Those individuals look remarkably like people from the Great Liang. I suspect the barbarians have had a long-term scheme in place. They have been sending children into our lands to assimilate into the Great Liang, to acquire our cultural heritage, and to gauge our national strength!"

Lei Yan felt a jolt in his heart. He grasped the implication of Su Mu’s words. It meant that among the high-ranking officials in the capital, there were likely barbarian spies embedded within!

"I understand. I will handle this matter," Lei Yan said, taking a deep breath.

"General, have you ever heard of the High Priest?"

Lei Yan frowned, resting his chin on his fingers. "The barbarian High Priest? Of course. His status is equivalent to our Great Liang’s Chancellor—truly a figure second only to one, and above ten thousand in their society. To the barbarians, the High Priest is both a totem and their faith."

Su Mu raised an eyebrow and nodded. That matched his own deductions perfectly. The High Priest’s status was indeed supreme.

"Why do you suddenly ask about this? Don't tell me you encountered the High Priest while infiltrating their base?" Lei Yan’s expression was deadly serious.

Su Mu flexed his wrists and looked at Lei Yan with a steady gaze. "I did. And if all goes well, I have severely wounded him, and he should now be beyond recovery."