strokinit Chapter 34: The Mysterious Black Dragon Gang Corpses
Chapter 34: The Mysterious Black Dragon Gang Corpses
Wu He's expression was solemn as he carefully examined the corpses with a candlestick in hand.
They all had an extremely dark gray color, were dry and thin, with skin clinging to their bones, and looked withered, like mummified corpses that had been dead for a long time.
If you look closely, you can see that these corpses have many tiny holes, making them look quite terrifying.
"I remember when the Black Dragon Gang was destroyed, it was only half a month ago. Given this icy and snowy place, it shouldn't have withered up like this so quickly."
"What did the Khitans do with these corpses?"
Wu He thought back carefully.
After the Black Dragon Gang was wiped out, the corpses of all the gang members were thrown into a mass grave outside the city and buried in a haphazardly dug pit.
What we see now is that the Khitans dug it up and moved it to this little black mountain, where they are carrying out some kind of secret ritual.
Could it be... related to this wooden box?
Wu He subconsciously touched the leather pouch at his waist; a sense of conspiracy permeated the stone chamber.
Immediately, a commotion arose not far away, and firelight flickered; it was Yu Long leading his men in.
When he saw the corpses, he was startled and exclaimed in shock, "What are these barbarians doing?"
"Shamanic magic, could it involve some kind of ritual?" Wu He said.
Yu Long's face turned grim. He then carefully examined the corpses inside before saying, "They are the leader of the Black Dragon Gang and the heads of various branches. Their cultivation levels were all at the Flesh Refining stage before."
"At the Flesh Refining Realm, the muscles and tendons have begun to be infused with essence, making them indistinguishable from the flesh of a treasure beast. The Khitan barbarians' actions are probably no small matter."
He realized this was probably serious and quickly ordered his men, "Carry all the bodies out."
At this time, the fighting outside also stopped. All the Khitans had been killed, and there were several hundred bandit leaders. It was a considerable victory.
"Hahaha! Xiao Wu, not bad!"
Military envoy Liu Baoze was overjoyed. He patted Wu He on the shoulder and said, "Your first victory is a great achievement, and your future is limitless. You deserve the greatest credit for today's battle!"
"Wait... oh my! Mid-stage Meat Refining?!"
Liu Baoze suddenly widened his eyes and glanced at Wu He.
The latter nodded in agreement, saying, "I managed to break through last night by sheer luck."
"The middle stage of meat refining?"
Yu Long, who was standing nearby, was also surprised when he heard this. He then realized that the Khitan shaman who had fled into the stone chamber earlier was at the mid-stage of the Flesh Refining realm. Wu He should have been at the same level when he caught up with and killed him.
How can things have progressed so quickly in such a short time?!
"Hahaha!"
Then Liu Baoze burst into loud laughter, shaking the already dilapidated houses around him, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.
"well!"
"It's excellent that I have such a talent as you under my command!"
"Upon returning to camp, I will immediately report to General Guo and promote you to the rank of Captain! With your cultivation at the mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm, it would be a waste of your talents to remain a mere Tenth General."
Wu He smiled and clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, sir."
A promotion in the military is a good thing, as it means you can manage more people and your power and status will be greatly enhanced.
There's nothing wrong with that.
At this moment, a soldier stepped forward and said, "Sir, look at them..."
He was referring to Du Jianlian and his six men from the Dingzi Scout Team. They had managed to break free of their restraints during the earlier battle and intended to leave, but were stopped by Liu Baoze's men.
He took a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"Little Black Mountain is unharmed; the Khitans have left."
"Heh heh, spreading false military intelligence and colluding with foreign powers—you deserve to be executed!"
Seeing this, Wu He turned his gaze to Sun Lin, the captain of his Bingzi scout team, who was standing to the side.
The latter stepped forward and whispered, "Brother Wu, the carrier pigeon we intercepted has been taken by Captain Yu."
"Um."
Wu He nodded and didn't say anything more.
Du Jianlian and the others looked extremely grim, never expecting that the creed would end up in his hands.
This is enough to convict them of treason.
"you--"
Just as Liu Baoze raised his head and was about to say something with a cold smile.
"Brother Liu!!"
Before he could finish speaking, a call came from afar.
Wu He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a strong man riding up on horseback. It was none other than Military Commissioner Wang Chen, Liu Baoze's mortal enemy.
"Brother Wang, you've come after all."
Liu Baoze spoke in a flippant tone, then picked up the note and said, "Look at what your men wrote. It's a good thing my men stopped it; if it had reached General Guo, well, that would have been a disaster."
Wang Chen looked at the note, his face immediately turned ashen, and he glared fiercely at Du Jianlian and the others.
"Brother Liu, may I speak to you in private?"
He forced a smile, pulled Liu Baoze aside, and whispered something to him.
Wu He didn't hear clearly, but he noticed that Liu Baoze's expression changed from gloating to solemnity, and then he tore up the note.
This is a transaction, isn't it?
He was guessing.
As rivals, if Liu Baoze were to leak the news of Du Jianlian's betrayal to his superiors, he would win this power struggle.
That was indeed what I was thinking just now, but seeing him tear up the creed, it must be that Wang Chen promised him a lot of benefits.
Or, is there anything special about Du Jianlian?
As expected, the deal was struck, and Du Jianlian and the others left with Wang Chen.
On the way back.
Yu Long stayed by Liu Baoze's side for a moment, then rode closer on horseback and whispered to Wu He, "The military envoy said that no one is allowed to leak Du Jianlian's matter."
"He is General Zhao Guangyi's brother-in-law, with a complicated background. It's best to avoid him if possible."
Zhao Guangyi's brother-in-law.
Upon hearing this, Wu He understood. He had been wondering what kind of benefit Liu Baoze could offer to give up this chance to kill him, and he thought it was money, but he didn't expect it to be power.
"I see."
"Hey, don't overthink it, it's always been this way."
Yu Long sighed softly: "We come from poor backgrounds. It's enough for us to have a minor official position in the army and live a comfortable life. Don't even think about competing with these rich kids."
"They only work for a year or two, accumulate military achievements, and then they're transferred. We have to keep working hard."
Wu He agreed, saying that Du Jianlian was clearly a newcomer with little experience in the world.
They gilded it and then left.
Then, stopping himself from thinking about him, he asked, "What are Commander Liu's plans regarding the Black Dragon Gang's corpses?"
Yu Long said, "This matter is too strange. We must report it directly to General Guo and ask the coroner to investigate it thoroughly."
"Commander Liu said that the Khitan's evil arts are very strange. They must have some ulterior motive for doing such things around Xiongzhou."
"I'm afraid there's going to be a lot of trouble in the future."
……
Wang Chen's side.
"Little Du, things in the military aren't that simple, are they? Take this as a lesson, and be extremely careful from now on."
He comforted Du Jianlian, who was standing beside him, looking dejected and gloomy.
"Brother Wang, I've disappointed you this time."
"Hey~ don't say that. You've just joined the army, so you have to learn everything."
"Who is that person?"
Du Jianlian suddenly asked abruptly, making Wang Chen, who was standing next to him, look slightly suspicious: "Who are you talking about?"
"Those ten scouts."
Du Jianlian's breathing became heavy, his gaze extremely gloomy: "Watching me being captured by the Khitan barbarians and doing nothing, standing idly by, humph!"