Chapter 6: Asking for a Reward

"Wuya!"

Li Wuya had just removed the money pouch from Huyan He’s body when she heard Li Sanlang’s voice from behind. Turning around, she saw Li Sanlang walking quickly toward her, holding a fire starter.

Soon, Li Sanlang reached her side. His eyelids twitched violently as he caught sight of Huyan He lying on the ground, his face covered in blood, clearly already dead.

His little sister had stabbed a burly man to death without a change in expression.

His little sister had poisoned them with calm composure.

Li Sanlang swallowed hard. How had he never realized before that his little sister was this... formidable?

"Brother, why did you come looking for me?"

Wuya’s question pulled Li Sanlang back to his senses.

"I saw you chasing this man into the post station master's room and you never came out. I was worried something had happened to you, so I came to find you."

"Brother, look!"

Wuya held up the money pouch with a beaming smile. "There’s quite a bit of silver in here. We have money now!" She weighed it in her hand; there had to be about ten taels.

It had been five years since they transmigrated into the Li family’s eldest branch, and their family savings had never exceeded one hundred copper coins.

One tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, so ten taels was ten thousand coins. They could finally improve their lives!

"Oh, right, Qilang has another money pouch."

Li Sanlang asked hurriedly, "How does Qilang have one?"

Wuya replied, "Just when Qilang and I hid in the secret passage, someone else came in, so I used a rock to smash him to death."

Looking at the nonchalant Wuya, Li Sanlang’s eyelids began to twitch again. He quickly pulled her up. "Let’s go. Take me to see."

Wuya glanced at Li Sanlang’s pale face and shook her head. "It’s very far, and you’re injured, Brother. You need to go home and rest quickly."

Li Sanlang didn't insist. "Then take me to find Qilang quickly. We need to get out of this secret passage."

"When I came in, that group of cavalry had already charged into the post station. They are the garrison generals from Dieling Pass. Once we go out, we’ll likely be questioned. Wuya, you need to tell me exactly what happened."

Immediately, Wuya led Li Sanlang to find Li Qilang, explaining along the way how she had smashed Huyan Ji and Huyan He to death.

At the same time, Zhuang Yutang had already led his cavalry to secure the entire post station.

In the main hall, a soldier was reporting the situation to Zhuang Yutang.

"General, it has been clarified. The reason this group of Northern Yan people were poisoned is reportedly because they drank water brought in by a little boy."

"Additionally, there is a secret passage under this post station that leads directly outside the pass."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yutang’s expression darkened.

The deputy general continued, "Huyan He was also poisoned and shouldn't have gotten far; Deputy General Xu should be able to catch him. It’s just... the Northern Yan man who left earlier is likely gone for good."

Zhuang Yutang slammed his fist onto the table. "Huyan He must have had that person deliver the stolen military defense map to the Northern Yan camp."

Thinking that the Great Chu’s military defense map would soon be known to the Northern Yan, Zhuang Yutang’s face turned terrifyingly gloomy.

The Great Chu’s northwestern defense line was long. To better repel Northern Yan invasions, besides the visible military defenses, Great Chu had also built several bases in secret.

Some of these bases were troop fortresses, some were granaries, and others were armories—all of them were vital locations.

If the Northern Yan found out about these and launched a surprise attack, the losses would be immeasurable.

The soldier looked worried as well. "General, what should we do now?"

Zhuang Yutang suppressed the anger in his heart. "What else can we do? We must report to the imperial court immediately and relocate the bases to minimize the losses."

The deputy general said with dissatisfaction, "What on earth are those people at the Protectorate Office doing? How could such important items be stolen!"

Over the past two years, their relationship with Northern Yan had become increasingly tense, with constant skirmishes. Having the military defense map stolen at a time like this would only add so much extra work for them!

Life for the border troops was already hard enough, and those guys at the Protectorate Office who just took their salaries without doing any real work were always finding trouble for them. Why didn't the heavens just take them away!

Zhuang Yutang didn't want to think about the people at the Protectorate Office. Seeing the others still squatting in the corner, he said, "If everyone has been questioned, let them go. I see some have serious injuries; let them go get treated."

The soldier nodded and turned to relay the orders.

In the post station kitchen, a faint sound came from behind the unused stove, and then Li Sanlang’s head popped out.

He scanned the kitchen, and seeing no one, he beckoned to Wuya and Qilang behind him, signaling them to come up.

Li Sanlang stood behind the window and, through a crack, saw that the people in the main hall had been released. His heart eased, and he said to his younger siblings, "You stay hidden in the kitchen. I’ll go out and check the situation first."

Wuya nodded, pulled Qilang to sit down behind the stove, took out the two dry buns she had saved for her brother and sister, gave one to Qilang, and they began to eat slowly.

After all this trouble, she was starving.

Before she had taken many bites, Wuya’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

Through her mental perception, she saw a pale-faced burly man in the servant’s room knock out the just-awakened Li Erniu with a brick, then strip off his clothes to change into them.

Seeing this, Wuya stood up with a 'whoosh,' grabbed Huyan He’s sword, threw the dry bun to Qilang, and flew out of the kitchen.

She didn't know how that man had avoided the cavalry’s search, and she didn't want to be a busybody, but his accomplices had been poisoned by her and her third brother.

Northern Yan people held grudges. If this man escaped and came back for revenge later, what would they do?

He must not be allowed to leave alive!

Through her mental perception, Wuya could clearly see that the man was also poisoned. Perhaps because he had drunk less water, the poisoning was milder, leaving him only slightly unsteady on his feet.

Wuya arrived outside the servant’s room but didn't rush in directly. Even if he was poisoned, he knew martial arts. If she, a five-year-old sprout, faced him head-on, she would definitely be no match.

"Cough, cough~"

Wuya first suppressed her voice to cough twice, then deliberately increased the friction between her feet and the floor, creating the illusion that someone was coming.

Sure enough, the man in the room was startled. Thinking the cavalry had come to search, he hurriedly dodged into the wardrobe.

At that moment, Wuya rushed in at lightning speed, headed straight for the wardrobe, raised the sword, and accurately thrust it into the gap of the wardrobe.

To facilitate observation, the burly man had been hiding right behind the gap.

"Sshh~"

The sound of a sharp sword piercing a body rang out.

The man was poisoned, and his original martial arts could only exert one or two percent of their power. Even so, after being stabbed, he still shattered the wardrobe with a single palm strike.

Wuya was hit by the debris and flew backward, simultaneously pulling the sword out of the man’s body.

"Pfft~"

Blood sprayed out, splashing all over Wuya.

The man clutched his chest, which was spurting blood, and stared at the fallen Wuya with extreme hatred. "You deserve to die!" As he said this, he prepared to attack her.

The moment he took a step, Wuya grabbed the dirt on the ground and threw it directly into his eyes.

Taking advantage of the man raising his hands to block, Wuya did a kip-up, raised her sword, and stabbed out again.

"Sshh~"

"Bang!"

The sound of the sword piercing flesh and a brick hitting a head rang out simultaneously.

Immediately after, with a "thud," the man fell to the ground!

"Wuya!"

Li Sanlang, who had rushed over in a hurry, was shocked to see Wuya covered in blood. He quickly pulled her over, checked her thoroughly, and only after confirming she wasn't injured did he pull her into his arms, patting her back to soothe her. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Brother is here!"

Wuya, held tightly, felt a bit awkward. "...Brother, I'm not afraid!" She tried to break free from Li Sanlang.

Who knew, Li Sanlang held her even tighter and wouldn't let go. "No, you are afraid!"

Wuya felt helpless. "Brother, I’m really not afraid!"

Li Sanlang let go of Wuya and held her shoulders, facing her directly. "No, you really are." As he said this, he pulled the sword out of the burly man’s body.

"Wuya, later when those garrison generals ask questions, don't say anything. Let me do the talking."

"Also, this man, and the two in the secret passage, were all killed by me. Do you remember?"

Wuya looked at the serious-faced Li Sanlang and nodded.

For a five-year-old little girl to kill three people in a row, and for those people to be martial arts experts, it would be quite shocking if word got out.

If she appeared too monstrous, it wouldn't be a good thing!

Her brother was ten years old. Killing three poisoned Northern Yan men, while unexpected, wasn't too outrageous. There were many boys at the border who dared to kill Northern Yan soldiers at a young age.

"Brother, the money pouch!"

"Brother will handle it."

Li Sanlang had just removed the money pouch when several cavalrymen rushed in, and the siblings were taken to the main hall.

In the hall, Xu Chengkun had already led men to bring back the bodies of Huyan He and Huyan Ji from the secret passage.

Zhuang Yutang sat on a stool, looking at the pile of Northern Yan corpses on the ground with a strange expression.

This group of Northern Yan people, led by Huyan He, had disguised themselves as traveling medicine merchants and had been active at the border in recent years, secretly collecting military intelligence on Great Chu. The people at the Protectorate Office had been investigating them for a long time, but unfortunately, they had never been able to catch them.

The Northern Yan spies who had given the Protectorate Office such a headache had been completely wiped out by a half-grown child!

Zhuang Yutang looked up at the three children standing in a row according to height.

The oldest looked to be only about ten; the two younger ones were even smaller—were they even five?

"Was it you who put the poison in the well water?" Zhuang Yutang looked at Li Sanlang.

Li Sanlang nodded.

Zhuang Yutang continued, "And these two were killed by you as well?"

Li Sanlang nodded again.

Zhuang Yutang was silent for a moment. "Tell me, how did you kill those two?"

Li Sanlang repeated the story clearly, just as Wuya had told him.

Zhuang Yutang rested his chin on his hand, listening silently. No expression could be seen on his face, though his gaze occasionally swept over the two younger ones.

Their older brother was recounting such thrilling deeds, so why did these two little ones look so bored?

When Li Sanlang finished, Zhuang Yutang smiled and looked at Wuya, pointing at the burly man who had snuck into the servant’s room, and asked, "I heard you were the one who discovered this man?"

Wuya blinked and nodded.

Zhuang Yutang asked with a smile, "Why didn't you call for help? If your brother hadn't arrived in time, wouldn't you have been in danger?"

Wuya’s expression paused, and she stared blankly at Zhuang Yutang.

Why?

There was no why; it was just an instinctive reaction. Solving problems on her own was already ingrained in her bones. She had forgotten that in that situation, she could have called for help.

Seeing the little girl hang her head in frustration, Zhuang Yutang smiled and shifted his gaze back to Li Sanlang, though deep in his eyes, there was still a trace of suspicion.

Could a child raised in a military colony really have the ability to wipe out Huyan He and his group?

One had to know, Huyan He was an eighth-rank expert, and his subordinates were all sixth or seventh-rank powerhouses.

Even he himself wouldn't dare guarantee he could take them all down.

This was too unbelievable!

Zhuang Yutang looked at Huyan He’s corpse, eyes bulging and face full of unwillingness. To be killed by a ten-year-old child—he must have felt terrible before he died!

"Truly, the younger generation is to be feared!"

Li Sanlang gave a shy smile, looking as if he didn't dare take the credit.

Xu Chengkun, standing to the side, saw that Zhuang Yutang hadn't asked about the military defense map yet and felt anxious. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you take anything from these two?"

Zhuang Yutang noticed with interest that while the older brother didn't react much, the two younger ones immediately became guarded, looking like they were protecting their food.

"It's ours. The silver is ours. It's our spoils of war."

Li Qilang clutched the money pouch in his pocket tightly, glaring at Xu Chengkun.

"Yo, you even know about spoils of war," Xu Chengkun said, amused.

Li Qilang puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. "Of course! You really are ignorant!"

Fifth Sister said, whoever kills them, the items belong to them.

The older brother and sister killed them, so the items belonged to the older brother and sister.

And the older brother and sister’s things—weren't they his?

Trying to snatch his silver? No way!

Xu Chengkun: "..." He had been looked down upon by a little toddler.

The interest in Zhuang Yutang’s eyes grew even stronger. The other two children actually had expressions of complete agreement.

These three children were interesting!

At this moment, Li Sanlang quickly took a secret letter from his chest and handed it to Zhuang Yutang with both hands.

Seeing this, Xu Chengkun’s breath hitched.

Zhuang Yutang was calm. When he saw the bodies of Huyan He and Huyan Ji, he knew the stolen military defense map hadn't been sent away.

Xu Chengkun grabbed the secret letter. Upon receiving it, his expression sank. "General, the envelope has been opened."

Zhuang Yutang took it to look, said nothing, and smiled at the three Li siblings. "Alright, it’s fine now. You can go."

He had expected the three siblings to leave immediately, but who would have thought they would stand there without moving.

Zhuang Yutang looked closely and realized it was the little girl holding back the two boys. A smile of interest couldn't help but appear on his lips. "What, is there something else?"

Wuya pointed at the bodies of Huyan He and the others, then at the secret letter in Zhuang Yutang’s hand. "We performed a meritorious service. Is there no reward?"

Zhuang Yutang’s expression paused. He smiled, pondered for a moment, and looked at Xu Chengkun. "Did you bring any silver?"

Xu Chengkun looked displeased, but he still took off the pouch at his waist.

Zhuang Yutang weighed the pouch and smiled as he handed it to Wuya. "There are over twenty taels of silver in here. Is that enough?" After saying this, he saw the two boys’ faces light up with joy.

However...

Wuya didn't take it. "We don't want silver."

Zhuang Yutang raised an eyebrow. "You don't want silver? Then what do you want?"

Wuya said, "My father is a small flag officer at the garrison. Can you promote him?"

Zhuang Yutang laughed. "We are garrison generals; the garrison office is not under our jurisdiction."

Wuya looked a bit regretful. She thought for a moment, then pointed at the boxes in the courtyard. "Then we want medicinal herbs." As she spoke, she held up one finger. "We don't want much, just one box."

Huyan He’s group had disguised themselves as medicine merchants, and each horse was loaded with two large boxes of herbs.

At this moment, over twenty boxes of herbs were neatly arranged in the front courtyard.

Before Zhuang Yutang could speak, Xu Chengkun spoke up: "No, those herbs are to be transported to Dieling Pass for the soldiers to use. We can't give them to you."

Wuya ignored him and looked at Zhuang Yutang. "Why is everything a 'no'? My father is always getting injured, and when he’s injured, there’s no medicine to treat him. Can’t our contribution earn us one box of herbs?"

At this, even Xu Chengkun felt embarrassed to speak again.

Intercepting the defense map was truly no ordinary contribution; not to mention they had wiped out Huyan He and his entire group!

Zhuang Yutang smiled at Wuya. "If we give you the herbs, will you know how to use them?"

Wuya nodded repeatedly. "My uncle and the others are herb gatherers; they understand pharmacology."

Zhuang Yutang looked at the secret letter in his hand. Although the defense map was lost at the Protectorate Office, as the person in charge of the pursuit, if he hadn't recovered it, he would still have been held accountable.

Truth be told, these three little children had really helped him solve a huge problem.

He owed them this favor!

"Since you want them, then I’ll give you one box."