Chapter Thirty-Eight: Hidden Motives

In the northeastern corner of Longba’s territory, more than thirty bandits were sparring with one another.

“Yinyou!” With a resounding call, Lei Yan’s figure appeared in the northeast corner.

“At your service!” Yinyou’s silhouette materialized at Lei Yan’s side.

“Have them prepare. We depart at once!” By rights, Cui Ba and the others should have set out ahead of Lei Yan, yet Lei Yan had already returned for over an hour. Even with some delays on the road, they should have arrived by now. An unease crept into Lei Yan’s heart; what he feared most was that Cui Ba and his group had encountered Jin Wei’s men. He was unwilling to wait any longer.

“Yes!” Yinyou had just responded when a disturbance arose nearby. His expression changed at once. “Who’s there?” With a shout, his body flashed like a shadow toward the source of the sound.

“Young master, it’s Leader Zhao…” Yinyou’s words made Lei Yan’s heart sink. In a flash, Lei Yan sprang forward.

“Young master, he just fainted!” As soon as Lei Yan arrived, Yinyou spoke up.

Lei Yan crouched down, placing three fingers of his right hand on Zhao Liu’s pulse. Feeling the weak throb, his brow furrowed. “Severely wounded and forced to travel at speed! Who could have injured him so badly? Has my foster father truly met with misfortune?” While pondering, Lei Yan steadied Zhao Liu with his left hand and sent a gentle surge of inner force from his right palm into Zhao Liu’s back. Spurred by this energy, Zhao Liu slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Lei Yan’s face, he spoke feebly, “Young master, please… save… save Cui Ba…”

“Of all things, this is exactly what I feared!” Lei Yan’s face darkened. Turning to Yinyou, he ordered, “Yinyou, take them down for treatment!” Then he turned to the half-prone Zhao Liu. “Speak slowly. Where is my foster father?”

After receiving Lei Yan’s inner force, Zhao Liu seemed much improved; his words became clearer. “Young master, shortly after you left, Jin Wei’s men surrounded us at Sunset Mountain. I was at the perimeter gathering intelligence and managed to escape, but Cui Ba and the others are still trapped at Sunset Mountain!”

“I understand. You should rest now.” As Zhao Liu finished, Lei Yan’s expression turned grim. Clearly, without an insider’s tipoff, Jin Wei’s men could not have known that Longba’s people would be at Sunset Mountain. This alone was enough to confirm that there was a traitor within their ranks.

The night was cold as water, fine threads of rain weaving a chill into the darkness. Thirty-six bandits followed Lei Yan in silence, moving through the rain as if shrouded by death itself. The company was enveloped in utter stillness. Upon Lei Yan’s horse, Qing Ling’s true energy shielded them from the rain. Sensing Lei Yan’s mood, she leaned back, pressing herself gently against his chest.

“Who is the traitor?” Lei Yan’s mind raced as they traveled. “Qian Duoduo? He’s always remained at Longba—he’s unlikely. Zhao Liu? His wounds don’t appear feigned, so he’s not likely either. That leaves only Leng Lao’er, Lu Kai, and Wang Wu. Yet, judging by Leng Lao’er and Lu Kai’s respect for foster father, they seem unlikely. That makes Wang Wu the most suspicious. I only hope it wasn’t one of you leaders who betrayed Longba!”

******

Sunset Mountain appeared as though built atop a mound of corpses; bodies lay strewn about, crisscrossing the terrain. Fresh blood gushed from their wounds, indicating that death had only recently claimed them. Rainwater pooled and mingled with blood, streaming down the mountainside, staining nearly the entire mountain crimson.

Jin Wei’s chief, Jin Ding, stood at the edge of a jagged hollow on Sunset Mountain, his eyes fixed intently on the mountain path below. In the darkness, his vision revealed only the faintest outline, yet he refused to look away, his gaze locked on the depths below. This Longba, who had cost him nearly a thousand warriors, where had he come from? With barely three hundred men, he had buried almost a thousand of Jin Ding’s followers here.

Jin Wei’s second-in-command, Ding Quan, stood behind Jin Ding. As he watched his chief’s back, a trace of resentment flickered in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. He stepped forward and offered a suggestion, “Boss, this can’t go on. I think we should just bury those below.”

“Bury them?” At Ding Quan’s words, Jin Ding’s fury flared. He raised his hand and struck Ding Quan. “Idiot! If we bury them, how will we find that shipment? Are we supposed to search you instead?”

The blow sent Ding Quan staggering, nearly tumbling down the mountain. As he steadied himself, Jin Ding’s furious curses rang out. A surge of venomous resentment welled up within him, but cowed by Jin Ding’s dominance, he suppressed it and forced a smile. “You’re right, boss.”

Jin Ding’s eyes flashed with malice as he looked at Ding Quan’s forced grin. He roared, “Don’t just stand there like an idiot! Every half hour, send a hundred men down. I want to see how long this pack of Longba bastards can hold out!”

“Yes!” Ding Quan bowed and withdrew. Jin Ding’s gaze returned once more to the yawning darkness below. Though his heart brimmed with desire and greed, he was not the least bit muddled. This time, he had used the Sun family’s power to swallow up the weaker factions around Bafang Road. Yet, because of this, every Sun family envoy sent had died, so now he had to provide the Sun family with an explanation. Fortunately, a traitor from Longba had sent him word, allowing him to arrive at Sunset Mountain in time.

At the foot of Sunset Mountain, thousands of bandits rested in place. Every half hour, a hundred would charge into the hollow—but none ever returned.

Ding Quan sat atop a rock, lost in thought, his eyes betraying a cruel glint. A bandit with a yellow scarf wrapped around his arm glanced furtively about before sitting beside Ding Quan. “Boss, now is our chance! Only one expert remains at Jin Ding’s side.”

Ding Quan’s eyes sharpened, and he whispered, “Only one? What about his men? Jiang Tuzi has two thousand men of his own and Jin Wei’s group still has five hundred elites and three top fighters. Are they just decorations, Huang Jian? Sometimes you really need to use your head.”

The bandit called Huang Jian was momentarily stunned, having not considered all this, but stubbornly pressed on, “Boss, I have over a thousand men under my command, and Jiang Tuzi only has two thousand. I’m sure we can take them. At worst, if we kill Jin Ding, we just don’t go back. With our strength, we can still carve out a place for ourselves on Bafang Road!”

“Even with your forces, that’s just over three thousand men. How many would be left after a clash with Jiang Tuzi?” Ding Quan regarded Huang Jian for a moment, then sighed. “Huang Jian, I know you bear a grudge against Jin Ding. The deaths of your brother and wife were truly tragic. Don’t worry; Jin Ding doesn’t have many days left.” He paused, glancing up the mountain, a sly smile playing at his lips. “He buried more than fifty innate martial artists from the Sun family. Do you think the Sun family will let that go? Unless he can find that shipment they’re after. But do you really think Jin Ding can find it?”

A glint flashed in Huang Jian’s eyes as something occurred to him. “Boss, rest assured, that shipment won’t be found so easily!”