Chapter 109 - 95: Night Return

Chapter 109: Chapter 95: Night Return

"From the South City Bureau, escorting supplies?"

A burly, armored man with a sword stared at Chen Er, his gaze intensely scrutinizing.

"Yes, General. It’s the absolute truth."

Chen Er replied hastily.

"Nonsense!"

With a ringing sound, the officer drew his sword and pressed the blade directly against Chen Er’s neck.

"Just you lot? How could you have possibly made it through all these miles of mountain trails? I’d wager you’re the bandits yourselves."

The officer shouted harshly.

"It’s not true!"

Chen Er nearly pissed himself in terror. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and it took every ounce of his courage just to stay on his feet.

"General, we encountered many dangers on our journey. If it weren’t for our constable single-handedly saving us, we never would have made it this far. Right now, he’s still behind us, holding off the bandits."

Chen Er said, plucking up his courage.

"What bandits?"

The officer frowned.

"The Feiyun Thieves, it was the Feiyun Thieves!"

Chen Er cried out.

"What a joke. If you’d really run into the Feiyun Thieves, do you think you’d still be alive? You’re too green to fool me."

The officer sneered.

"If you don’t believe me, General, you can send men back down the road to investigate. You might even run into the Feiyun Thieves yourselves."

Chen Er shouted, pointing back the way they came.

"I’ll get to the bottom of this myself."

The officer ordered, "Men, seize them!"

SWOOSH!

Just then, a dark shadow shot toward them.

The officer let out a great shout and swung his sword on instinct.

With a sharp CRACK, the flying object was cleaved in two by his blade.

When the officer saw what had fallen to the ground, his expression changed dramatically.

"Captain Zheng, long time no see."

As the officer looked ahead warily, he saw a man strolling toward them, a faint, barely perceptible smile on his face.

"Su Mu?"

Zheng Tu’s expression shifted again when he recognized the newcomer. "What are you doing here?"

"And why shouldn’t it be me?"

Su Mu was also a little surprised. ’To think I’d run into an old acquaintance out here in the middle of nowhere.’

"I’m under orders to escort supplies to the City Defense Army’s supply point. Don’t tell me you’re the one in charge of receiving them?"

"I am."

Zheng Tu said, his voice a low rumble.

’Of all the people in the South City Bureau, Su Mu was the last person he wanted to see.’

’Losing to some young punk by half a move was hardly something to be proud of.’

"Well, what a coincidence."

Su Mu smiled. "Captain Zheng, please inspect the supplies. If everything is in order, just give me a signed confirmation, and my mission will be complete."

"The supply point is still a little ways off. You’ll need to haul the supplies into the camp."

Zheng Tu said, his face impassive.

He nudged the severed head on the ground with the tip of his sword and frowned. "What’s the story here?"

"That’s Yan Zhu, the leader of the Feiyun Thieves."

Su Mu said nonchalantly, "He tried to rob the supply convoy, so I killed him."

Zheng Tu: "..."

’You killed the leader of the Feiyun Thieves?’

’And you say it so casually?’

Staring at the head on the ground, Zheng Tu’s expression grew solemn. Inside, his mind was reeling.

’Yan Zhu, leader of the Feiyun Thieves, ranked eightieth on the bounty list. His skills were even greater than my own!’

’And Su Mu actually killed him?’

"What about the other Feiyun Thieves?"

It suddenly occurred to Zheng Tu, and he looked up and asked.

"There are no more Feiyun Thieves."

Su Mu stated calmly.

Zheng Tu’s expression changed yet again.

......

Following Zheng Tu’s group, they soon arrived at the supply camp.

On the way, Su Mu learned why Zheng Tu was here.

As it turned out, it was somewhat related to him.

Zheng Tu had failed to find the killer responsible for Ding Zhidou’s death. In his anger, the General had punished him by reassigning him here to guard the supply point.

"Captain Zheng, do you often get bandits harassing this supply point? Why did you have such a strong reaction to seeing Chen Er and his men?"

Once inside the camp, Su Mu asked his question while they waited for the City Defense Army to inventory the supplies.

’Chen Er and the others were in the official uniforms of constables and were hauling several large carts. It was obvious they were a supply convoy. Yet Zheng Tu had nearly cut them down on sight.’

Su Mu found it rather strange.

"You haven’t spent time in the mountains, so you wouldn’t understand."

Zheng Tu explained.

’Someone who could annihilate the Feiyun Thieves, even if he was just a minor constable now, was bound to have a limitless future.’

The army respects strength above all else. Knowing that Su Mu’s power was far greater than his own, Zheng Tu naturally dropped his arrogant demeanor.

"Daxing Mountain is filled with danger. You have to stay vigilant at all times.

The slightest carelessness could cost you your life."

Zheng Tu continued, "We’ve even had monsters disguise themselves as our own men, infiltrate the supply point, and slaughter many of our brothers."

"Oh? They’re that intelligent?"

Su Mu asked curiously.

"Simply put, anything is possible in Daxing Mountain. You can never be too careful."

Zheng Tu said.

He didn’t know much about monsters and fiends himself. He couldn’t say for sure what abilities they possessed; all he knew was that they were extremely dangerous.

"Which officials from the Taiping Bureau are active in this area?"

Su Mu asked out of curiosity. ’I wonder if I’ll run into Lin Qi Huan.’

’If I do run into him, I can show off my skills a bit and maybe get some perks out of him.’

’Ever since I became one of the Taiping Bureau White Clothes, my nominal superior has left me completely to my own devices.’

"Four or five Capital Captains frequent our supply point, and occasionally, some of the Taiping Bureau White Clothes will stop by while training in the mountains.

If you stick around for a week or two, you might be lucky enough to meet one of the Capital Captains."

Zheng Tu added, "Since I’ve been posted here, I’ve met Capital Captain Li Zhengwu and Capital Captain Fang Ru."

Zheng Tu mentioned two names, but Su Mu had never heard of either.

’Then again, when it came to officials from the Taiping Bureau, he had only ever met Lin Qi Huan and Zhao Poni.’