It was after Yuwen Tong had his internal energy run two circuits of his meridian network that the transports of emotion churning inside him subsided.
At the sight of him walking out, Yuwen Jin, He Xiao and Xiao Jiangyue all of whom had been waiting outside the tent hastened up to him.
“Sire, are you okay?”
Yuwen Tong appeared unhurried. “I’m fine. I was just circulating my internal energy. Why are you all here?”
“We were worried something had happened to you. Yao Yi and the others wouldn’t tell us anything. We were all startled.”
Yuwen Jin tossed Yao Yi a somewhat reproving glance.
“I told them to keep their mouths shut because I didn’t want to concern you. I didn’t bargain on drawing all of you to my tent. The troops have just returned and they need regrouping. You have nothing to worry about with me. Now go and regroup the soldiers and have them settle down. Tonight we’re having a meeting in my tent to formulate a plan of our next attack.”
“Yes, Sire.” As Yuwen Tong did look composed and well, the three of them took their leave.
Yuwen Jin, after going a couple of paces, turned on his heel, doubled back, glanced over his shoulder and, having checked that the others were out of sight, said to Yuwen Tong, “Cousin, are you really okay? You don’t look very well.”
Yuwen Jin, who had always been quite bluff, was being uncharacteristically observant and scrupulous on this occasion. Yuwen Tong felt that what he had done for this second cousin of his had been worthwhile.
“I’m really fine. It just so happened that I was on the verge of making a breakthrough in my cultivation of internal energy, and the murderousness in the air on the battlefield was quite intense, so my internal energy was affected a little and started churning. It’ll return to normality after I circulate it another couple of times.”
Yuwen Jin heaved a sigh of relief and said relaxedly, “I see. Actually you don’t have to be on the battlefield every time. General Xiao and the rest of us could handle it. There’s no need to concern yourself. Besides, you’re now the emperor, not a general. If you go to the battleground every time, the soldiers could easily become dependent on it, and when they do, what should we do if some day it’s inconvenient for you to be present at the front?”
Yuwen Tong was somewhat surprised that Yuwen Jin saw it this way. It would seem he had indeed learned a lot during the northward advance of the army. On top of that, Yuwen Jin had been doing a good job directing operations in every one of the battles he had participated in. Now he had the makings of a competent commander.
“Okay. I’ll discuss your suggestion with the couple of generals and see if it’s okay to let you guys be in charge of our next attack on the city. Actually I could use some rest to recharge and prepare myself for the upcoming Battle of Jifang City. Show me something in the fight and I’ll make you General-in-chief after we take the Wan capital.”
Gratified, Yuwen Jin smacked a hand on to his own chest. “You may rest assured that I won’t let you down, cousin.”
Yuwen Tong’s face turned cold as he watched Yuwen Jin leave. Currently what was inside his body was still unknown, so it was indeed inadvisable for him to go to the battlefield. He had a hunch that this thing not only was capable of affecting his mood but also fed on his emotions. Before he could figure out a way to rid himself of it, his best choice was to avoid mood swings.
Yuwen Tong was confident of restraining every kind of his emotion, with one exception – his yearning for a reunion with Ling Zhang.
The thought existed in his mind for only a fleeting instant, but he immediately felt a throbbing in the heart as expected, his breathing quickening. He had no choice but to force himself into clearing his mind, the look in his eyes growing even colder as he did so.
…
“Childe Ling, to detour around the city ahead, you have to follow this narrow pass. You’ll have to cross some rugged and steep areas, and it’ll take you two extra days.”
An assistant supervisor working in a store affiliated to Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, who had accompanied Ling Zhang out of Jifang City, unfurled a sketchy road map, pointed at a winding route skirting the city ahead, and gave Ling Zhang some information about it.
Ling Zhang took a look at the road map. The alternative route would take a common porter two extra days, but he and his bodyguards could finish the journey much quicker. As long as they could get to the encampment of Yuwen Tong’s army safely, spending some extra time on the road would be worthwhile. However…
Ling Zhang raised his head to look in the direction of the city not far away, a somewhat hesitant expression in his eyes.
He was standing on a height from which he could see most of the buildings in the city. Watching the city, he could distinctly feel the tense, subdued atmosphere in it, though there was such a long distance between them.
He was wavering between detouring to the encampment of the army of the Great Wen or entering that city to figure out a way to help Yuwen Tong’s men take it as soon as possible.
It was only earlier this morning that he had made some inquiries and come to know that the day before, Yuwen Tong’s army and the garrison led by Chen Jing had been stuck in a stalemate for the whole morning, that the city gates hadn’t been battered down. He was positive that with Yuwen Tong’s capabilities, his men would storm into the city in a day or two, though they had failed the day before. Still, if he could do something to help take the city with a lower casualty number…
“No. We’re not making a detour.”
Somewhat astonished, the assistant supervisor looked at him. Wang Dashan and the others, however, just listened carefully to Ling Zhang, waiting for him to give instructions. Nobody raised any objections to Ling Zhang’s decision.
“We enter the city and figure out some way to create chaos. It’d be best if we could approach the city gates. If we can’t, we’ll find a way to destroy the oil Chen Jing’s men are using to defend the city. Even if we can’t destroy their oil, we’ll set a fire to their rear so that they wouldn’t be able to concentrate their effort on defending against the frontal attack.”
For an instant there was a twinkle in all his bodyguards’ eyes. As two of their fellow bodyguards were in the North-western Army, right now there were only twenty of them present. Still, all of them were totally unafraid of sneaking into a city fraught with danger with Ling Zhang.
The assistant supervisor, however, was taken aback. “Childe Ling, are you sure you want to go into the city? You–You’ll be challenged by a lot of guards and patrols if you do that at this point in time. The security there is far tighter than it is in Jifang City. They might even have sealed the gates already. If you try to enter, you’ll either attract the garrison’s attention or waste a trip.”
Looking in the direction of the city at the foot of the hill, Ling Zhang said, “There are other ways to get into the city apart from going through the gates.”
“Ah?” The assistant supervisor was confused. How else could they enter the city if not by going through the city gates? Surely they were not going to fly into it? It was not like they were fairies or something.
However, when he reached the ramparts of the city with Ling Zhang and his bodyguards, he came to realize that he had seen too little of the world, for it turned out that aside from fairies, Childe Ling and his bodyguards were also capable of flying into a city.
Thud!
The assistant supervisor was so nervous he failed to keep his grip on the rope when approaching the ground, fell down and landed on his butt, which now felt as though it had broken. Massaging his hips with a grimace of pain, he was just about to groan when the one beside him rapidly clapped a hand to his mouth, reducing his would-be groan to a muffled noise issuing from his throat.
“Quiet. You don’t want to arrest anybody’s attention in this place.”
Startled, the assistant supervisor hastened to bob his head, silently promising that he wouldn’t yell.
Ling Zhang glanced at him and said, “Now that we’ve gained entry into this city, we no longer need you to be our guide. Tell us all you know about this city first and then bring us to the store of Jiahe Chamber of Commerce. Remember, when we get to the store, do not disclose our arrival until you find someone who speaks the right code.”
The assistant supervisor replied with a nervous inclination of the head, “Don’t worry, Childe Ling. I understand.”
The assistant supervisor told Ling Zhang everything he knew about the city, and then, following Ling Zhang’s instructions, found the store affiliated to Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, gingerly eluding teams of Wan soldiers patrolling the streets back and forth.
Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had only one store in this city, which was the largest variety store selling sundry goods from all around the country.
This was a city Yuwen Tong’s army must take before they could get to the Wan capital in the north. Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu, who had been improving their intelligence network for years, naturally had long since planted some men in this city, but to be on the safe side, Ling Zhang wouldn’t try to contact any of them on his own initiative. It would be safer to have the assistant supervisor check out the lay of the land first.
The assistant supervisor was unaware that someone had covertly followed him to the variety store.
The doors of the store were shut. Not only this store but also all the other stores on the street were closed. The whole street was deserted but for a couple of pedestrians walking in great haste, who were challenged by every patrol they encountered. The assistant supervisor, though unable to “fly” and afraid of pain, acted quite composedly in these circumstances. With his composure and perfectly native accent, he soon handled the patrols and reached the back door of the store.
Ling Zhang, sitting crouched behind the ridge of the roof of a house in a small alley, was observing the whole city when he heard the assistant supervisor in a special way knock at the back door, which was then opened by someone.
…
“This is the place. We’ve confirmed it several times in the past few days. It’s just this time around Chen Jing is in command of the army, and the provisions and oil are so heavily guarded we haven’t found any opportunities to approach them so far.”
In the variety store, Ling Zhang was sitting behind a desk. In front of him were the storekeeper, a supervisor and a waiter, all of whom were respectfully standing there with their heads down, not daring look at Ling Zhang’s eyes.
The keepers of other stores had long since fled the city with their families. The three of them, owing to their special mission, had stayed and managed to ascertain where the Wan army were storing their food supplies.
“We planned to destroy all their oil yesterday, but we never had the chance,” said the storekeeper, who was a bearded middle-aged man, and whose clothes were typical of a common storekeeper’s clothing. An expression of mingled ferocity and anger appeared on his face as he said that they were unable to get close to the location where the Wan army were storing the food supplies and oil.
All these people had been specially sought out and recruited by Ling Zhaowu. Though they were all natives of the Wan Kingdom, most of them held deep hatred for this country. Ling Zhang had no idea from where his father had poached these people, but none of them had ever made any slip-ups since they had been recruited, which was why Ling Zhang admired his father’s discernment very much.
“Did Chen Jing have the oil transported here from out of town or did he collected it from locals?” Ling Zhang inquired of him.
“He collected it from locals,” answered the storekeeper, who then added, “Chen Jing’s army had had no plan to do that when they had first entered the city, but a couple of days ago, they suddenly started collecting oil. First they took all the oil from the storeroom of the yamen, then from the mansions of all rich merchants and local squires, and then from every other house in the city. Currently most families don’t have any oil whatsoever at their disposal. Chen Jing’s men have taken every last drop of it.”
A couple of days ago? Ling Zhang furrowed his brows. “Did something particular happen a couple of days ago?” he asked.
The storekeeper recollected, “Yes. On that day Chen Jing sent out an envoy to have an audience with His Majesty. It’s said that he went there to sue for peace.”
To sue for peace? With a slight frown on his face, Ling Zhang inquired prudently, “Has everybody in this city come to know about that?”
The storekeeper said with a head bob, “Yesterday morning some of Chen Jing’s men yelled about it on the ramparts. A lot of people heard it.”
Next, the storekeeper recounted in detail what had happened in the morning of the day before, the frown on Ling Zhang’s face deepening as he listened. The storekeeper, now further deterred from making eye contact with him by the cold air Ling Zhang was emanating, continued, “And then there’s that envoy. After returning from his audience with His Majesty, he died a very weird death at the front gates of the encampment of the Wan army.”
The storekeeper gave him an account of how that man had died.
The look in Ling Zhang’s eyes gradually went cold and grave. For some reason, he kept having this feeling that the circumstances in which the envoy had died were quite suspicious. Also, he had a slight sense of foreboding. “Is the body of that deceased envoy still in the encampment of the Wan army?”
The storekeeper gave a nod. “Yes. I heard that the envoy was a relative of Chen Jing’s, that his surname was also Chen. After his death, he was encoffined in the encampment, but it’s been two days, and now there’s no telling whether or not his body is still there. We can’t get close enough to make inquiries about it.”
The main reason was that the storekeeper and the couple of others had been focusing on how to destroy the Wan army’s oil, and they hadn’t made much effort to look into the envoy’s death. Of course, they indeed were unable to gain entry into the encampment of the Wan army to investigate it.
“Considering the wartime army rules, the body of that envoy is either still in the encampment or has been burnt. Does it strike you that there’s something fishy about that envoy’s death, Young Master?” asked Wang Dashan.
Ling Zhang inclined his head and said with a wintry expression in his eyes, “I need to go there to take a look.”
