“Does Wang Liu really dare to arbitrarily change the military strategy agreed upon by all the generals, based solely on his own whims and without any valid reason?”
If the ancient path could be found, capturing Raven’s Pass and taking seven cities in succession would undoubtedly be a miraculous feat. With such a merit, Qin Sang could be promoted directly to Admiral, and no one would dare to raise an objection.
Qin Sang knew that Wang Liu disliked him and certainly did not want him to achieve such merit.
“It is not entirely without reason,” Vice General Feng sighed softly. “The day before yesterday, soldiers captured a medicinal herb gatherer who had entered the mountains. He claimed that a few days ago, the depths of Guling Mountain shook violently—the mountains trembled and ten thousand beasts fled—for the better part of a day. This became Wang Liu’s excuse. Wang Liu declared that even if an ancient path existed in Guling Mountain, it would have been buried by falling rocks, making it useless to find and merely a waste of military opportunity.”
“Was it an earthquake?” Qin Sang frowned. He had just entered Guling Mountain and had only just begun his operations; he was indeed unaware of this.
“No…”
Vice General Feng’s tone was somewhat strange. “That herb gatherer swore that he saw two immortals flying overhead, and that the earthquake was caused by the immortals battling in Guling Mountain.”
“He really saw immortals?”
Qin Sang’s eyes suddenly brightened.
Vice General Feng sneered, “Brother Qin, don’t listen to that herb gatherer’s gibberish. My wife is from nearby, and there have never been legends of immortals in Guling Mountain. This herb gatherer originally had several companions, all of whom met their ends in the mouths of tigers and wolves. He was the only one who escaped, his face full of terror; he’s likely been frightened out of his mind. Wang Liu isn’t stupid; he’s just using this one-sided story as a pretext. His true goal is to target you and me.”
Qin Sang did not comment. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Can I see that herb gatherer?”
Vice General Feng misunderstood his intent. “You want to use him as a breakthrough? He is currently being held by Wang Liu’s men; I’m afraid it won’t be easy…”
Before he could finish, footsteps sounded outside. Someone outside said, “General Feng, has General Qin returned? I have been ordered by the Admiral to invite General Qin to the central command tent for a meeting.”
Qin Sang and Vice General Feng exchanged a look. It seemed that brat Wang Liu could no longer wait.
Following Wang Liu’s personal guards, Qin Sang entered the central command tent. The first thing he heard was a burst of coquettish laughter. Looking up, he saw Wang Liu sitting behind the commander’s desk, with a woman in each arm.
Wang Liu was acting dissolutely, his hands wandering, while two beautiful maidservants snuggled in his embrace—one pouring him wine, the other feeding him dishes—enjoying himself immensely.
“This subordinate pays respects to the Admiral.”
Qin Sang cupped his hands in salute. Wang Liu acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to frolic with the beauties, his lewd words and vulgar language unbearable to the ear.
Qin Sang stood silently in place, his expression neither sad nor happy.
“Yo! So it’s General Qin!”
After leaving Qin Sang standing there for quite a while, Wang Liu acted as if he had just noticed him, feigning surprise with a mouth full of sarcasm. “General Qin is a dragon among men, a Major General before the age of twenty. You all should really get to know him well. If you could become sworn siblings or husband and wife, you’d be soaring to success and wouldn’t have to sell smiles to me! Isn’t that right, General… Qin!”
The two women giggled and protested coyly.
These two women had a heavy air of the brothel about them. Wang Liu telling them to swear brotherhood was a deliberate insult to Qin Sang.
Qin Sang’s face remained as calm as an ancient well. “The Admiral is joking; Qin Sang would not dare.”
“Not dare? How could you not dare?”
Wang Liu smiled with a playful expression. “If General Qin achieves another miraculous feat like you did in Ning County, I’d have to yield my position to you. What would you not dare to do then? It’s a pity, a real pity. You say those damn immortals usually never show their faces, but they just had to come out and fight at this time, ruining General Qin’s good fortune. Isn’t that disappointing? Huh? Hahaha…”
Qin Sang adopted an attitude of lying flat and accepting the mockery. After Wang Liu mocked him for a while, he found it uninteresting. His expression changed, and he said sternly, “The matter of the ancient path is not to be mentioned again. Do not try to fool this Admiral with such intelligence in the future! I now order you to infiltrate Guling Pass to scout for military intelligence. If you delay the military opportunity, you will be executed without mercy!”
Qin Sang’s eyes flashed. Guling Pass was heavily guarded and fortified; infiltrating it to scout for intelligence was no different from suicide.
“This subordinate obeys!”
Qin Sang accepted the order and exited the tent, looking back once with a deep gaze.
After walking around the camp a few times, Qin Sang returned to his own tent and whispered a few words to Water Monkey. Water Monkey took the order and left. Qin Sang sat alone in the tent, deep in thought for a while, before settling his mind to practice the *Nether Scripture*.
A full day passed, the clouds cleared, and twilight gathered.
Water Monkey hurried back into the tent, holding a slip of paper. He whispered, “General Qin, Zheng Kun sent word. Three days ago, there was indeed a tremor in Guling Mountain, but they did not find anyone who saw immortals. Additionally, a scout team has discovered a location suspected to be the ancient path. Zhang Wenkui is going there personally to investigate.”
Qin Sang took the note, glanced at it, and burned it to ash on the candle. He waved his hand. “I know. You may go.”
Late at night.
Outside the tent, there were only the footsteps of patrolling soldiers. Qin Sang stopped his cultivation. The firelight from outside shone in, and Qin Sang’s eyes were exceptionally bright.
Qin Sang took out the Yama Banner, his divine sense attaching to the Yama ghost. With his eyes slightly closed, he commanded the Yama ghost to sneak toward Wang Liu’s tent. It was as if his own eyes were growing on the ghost; the feeling was truly miraculous.
The central camp was not large, and it was easy to find Wang Liu’s tent. The guards outside could never have imagined that an evil ghost was sneaking into the tent right under their noses.
Seeing the scene inside the tent, Qin Sang’s brows furrowed deeply.
There were three people in the tent now, but the two women from earlier in the day were gone. In their place were a young girl and a young married woman. The girl was tied with ropes, her face full of terror and even despair.
Wang Liu held a wine cup, lewdly forcing her to drink.
The girl had a strong temperament; she shook her head, refusing to drink, biting her lips until they bled. After being forced to swallow two mouthfuls, she spat them onto Wang Liu, only to be slapped hard twice.
“Stinking bitch, you won’t drink the toast, so you’ll drink the forfeit!”
Wang Liu was furious. The young woman clung to Wang Liu like a water snake, her voice coquettish. “General, calm your anger. The little girl doesn’t know any better and has annoyed you. Let this slave help you cool off…”
Wang Liu took a large gulp of the medicinal wine on the table and squeezed the young woman hard in his arms. “You’re the sensible one. Let me get comfortable first. Once the merit is recorded, I’ll release your dead husband, and you two can be reunited. Hahaha…”
The young woman agreed repeatedly, actively offering herself, tears in the corners of her eyes.
Qin Sang watched coldly. He recognized the identity of this young woman.
Some time ago, when the Xuanwei Battalion captured the small town before Guling Mountain, the magistrate refused to surrender after being captured and was tied to the back of a horse and dragged to death by Wang Liu. This young woman was the magistrate’s wife.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Liu let out a muffled groan. Just as he was trembling, the Yama ghost seized the opportunity and pounced.
…
At the hour of the Rat, the Xuanwei Battalion was bright with torches. The generals gathered in front of the commander’s tent, including Qin Sang.
Wang Liu’s corpse was covered with a white cloth. His personal guards were kneeling on the ground, shivering; some had even wet their pants in fear.