During the day, the sun scorched the grass and trees dry and yellow, and the wind by the river was strong. If a fire were to start, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Mo Li attempted to get up.
But he couldn’t.
His belt was grabbed from behind by a hand, almost causing him to fall back onto the bed.
Doctor Mo quietly turned his head, and Meng Qi, with a smile, let go of his hand. He whispered, “This inn is so large. To surround the whole place would require at least thirty to fifty people. If they intend to start a fire, unless they brought their own oil and tinder, they would have to go to the inn’s kitchen or woodshed. Doctor, why don’t you go and keep an eye on that Huang Liu, while I take a trip to the woodshed?”
Without giving Mo Li any chance for “revenge,” Meng Qi took a quick step and dashed out.
Mo Li: “…”
No worries.
You can run for now, but you can’t hide forever.
After being interrupted by Meng Qi, Mo Li calmed down.
The encounter in Run County had made him overly anxious. In truth, most people in the martial world wouldn’t be as meticulously planned as Ayanpuka and Shopkeeper Sun, capable of staging a fire that would engulf the Sweet Spring Bathhouse.
From what this group was saying, they seemed to be searching for something.
This item must have been stolen, and the ones responsible for transporting it were those peddlers who smuggled goods across the river for the military camp. Since their goods had to be inspected before boarding the ship, they couldn’t hide it in a chest. Given that they needed to make contact, it was likely a deal between the traveling merchants from Jingzhou and those from the north. The perfect inconspicuous meeting place would be a temporary stop like this inn.
Mo Li quickly pieced it together. He didn’t go through the door but climbed out through the window, just like Meng Qi.
Outside the window was an abandoned small courtyard. When the inn thrived, it must have been well-maintained, with carefully arranged plants. Now, it was just overgrown with wild grass and cluttered debris.
It wasn’t that Mo Li preferred climbing through windows; the door was simply too rickety.
Even a skilled martial artist couldn’t prevent the creaky noise the door made when opened. The windows, however, had been left open due to the sweltering weather.
Mo Li silently bypassed the courtyard and made his way to the front hall of the inn.
The peddler Huang Liu was still drinking.
He was sipping on huangjiu from the south, and three pots of it wouldn’t be enough to make anyone drunk.
The innkeeper, holding a long duster made from a rag, lazily swatted at mosquitoes flying towards the light, smiling and making small talk. Whenever Huang Liu’s hands became too forward, she deftly dodged.
Huang Liu wasn’t annoyed; most female innkeepers in these rough establishments had this talent for attracting customers while keeping them at arm’s length.
If they were easily taken advantage of, the inn probably wouldn’t survive.
There was also a hulking man who worked as a servant, currently dozing off behind the counter. Huang Liu wouldn’t really push his luck. But after three rounds of drinks, with his pockets nearly full of silver, Huang Liu was feeling quite elated.
Before crossing the river, Huang Liu had been worried about those two mysterious old men getting in the way. But now, sitting in this familiar inn, sipping aged huangjiu, his mind was at ease.
—This was the territory of the traveling merchants. They had years of friendly ties with the innkeeper, and this place was isolated with no villages or towns nearby. What could two old geezers and a pair of grandparents and grandchildren possibly do?
“I can’t take it anymore, I need to rest.” Huang Liu stood up, swaying slightly. Yawning, he lazily called out, “Mistress Tao, I’m here to meet Wang Mazi to check the goods. If that old guy arrives, have the servant knock on my door to wake me.”
“Sure.”
The innkeeper had just spoken when her expression suddenly changed.
Huang Liu sluggishly took a few steps before realizing something was wrong. Confused, he turned his head.
“……!!”
A flash of blinding steel greeted his eyes.
Huang Liu broke out in a cold sweat, instantly sobering up.
His limbs were stiff, his body still in mid-turn, unable to move.
At the entrance of the inn, seven or eight masked men with black cloths over their faces, exuding murderous intent, flooded in. They wielded broadswords with thick backs and wide blades, looking like vengeful ghosts come to claim lives.
The innkeeper, stunned for a moment, squeezed out a smile and swayed her slender waist as she approached, “Brave men, are you here to stay or just for a meal? In the dead of night, drawing swords is quite frightening. Oh… alright, I won’t say more.”
As one of the masked men suddenly pointed his blade at her, Mistress Tao quickly raised her hands, stepping back in a fawning manner.
The servant behind the counter had woken up, but before he could act, two masked men rushed at him with blades, forcing him to obediently sit back down.
Mistress Tao exchanged a glance with the servant, then waited for these men to make demands or ask questions.
But the intruders said nothing, almost as if they were waiting for something.
The inn fell into a dead silence, broken only by the sound of an untrimmed wick popping and the buzzing of mosquitoes.
Mistress Tao was the first to break the tension. Carefully choosing her words, she asked, “There… there are mountain paths for mountains and water routes for rivers. No matter if you’re here for someone or for riches, shouldn’t you at least state your purpose or leave a name…?”
“Shut up!”
The masked leader shouted angrily, clearly irritated.
Worthless! A bunch of worthless fools! So much time had passed, and they couldn’t even start a fire!
He had hoped that once thick smoke filled the air, the people in the inn would panic and flee in terror. His men could then block the exits and easily capture their target. Since the item was of such importance, the contact person was likely carrying it. If it were hidden in the inn and the innkeeper or servants were aware, their reactions would give them away.
But after waiting so long, no fire had started.
The masked leader, frustrated by his failure, was on the verge of deciding to kill everyone in the inn just to end it.
Sensing his murderous intent, Mistress Tao’s eyes flickered as she quietly moved one hand behind her back.
“Chop off a leg and take the people outside,” the leader said viciously.
“Whose leg?”
One of his subordinates stupidly asked, which made the leader’s fury flare up, “Everyone in this inn!”
Huang Liu instantly panicked. He dropped to his knees with a thud, frantically kowtowing, “Spare me, brave hero! Spare me! I have over a dozen family members who rely on me selling goods to survive. If I lose a leg, my whole family will starve to death. Please spare me!”
He even tried to grab the nearest masked man’s leg, but was kicked away.
Huang Liu rolled on the ground three times, curled up, and lay there wailing in pain.
Tears and snot ran down his face, a pitiful mess.
Suddenly, the masked leader laughed, a laugh that left everyone baffled. Mistress Tao and the other masked men froze in their movements.
“I like clever people,” the masked leader chuckled. He stepped forward, grabbed Huang Liu, who looked terrified and immediately began begging for mercy again.
The masked leader threw him aside heavily and started groping around the corner where Huang Liu had been curled up.
Then, he pulled a piece of white cloth out from between the cracks in the floorboards.
Mistress Tao’s eyes widened as she realized Huang Liu had stuffed something into the crack earlier. Her expression shifted, and she exaggeratedly cried out, “What’s this thing? Oh my, I’ve never seen this before! Xiao Hezi, did you put this here?”
The servant shook his head dumbly in agreement.
The masked leader looked at the wailing Huang Liu, grinning as he unfolded the white cloth in his hand.
And then the cloth was gone.
One moment, the cloth was in his hand, but with a blink, a gust of wind swept by, and it disappeared.
The masked leader’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, and one of his men even rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
In the dark corner, Mo Li glanced at the white cloth he had just acquired. Upon opening it, he found numerous charcoal-drawn lines, circles, and small triangular flags.
Meng Qi appeared behind Mo Li just in time. Mo Li raised his eyebrows, signaling to ask about the situation outside.
“They’re all feeding mosquitoes in the grass.” Ever since he tricked the people from the Yuzhou Dragon Head Association, Meng Qi had become quite adept at using “killer moves” in the summer wilderness.
To be fair, the real dragon vein could only emit spiritual energy to attract mosquitoes, while Ayanpuka could drain the spiritual energy from a small area.
“A naval defense map? That should be an important secret. How did it end up in the hands of a traveling merchant?” No matter how Mo Li looked at Huang Liu, he didn’t seem like a meticulously trained spy sent from Jingzhou.
“Something like this only requires more time and observation. You could sketch a rough version just by walking around the military camp.” Meng Qi said indifferently to Mo Li. “In a battle between two armies, if one side takes advantage of the terrain and seizes the high ground, wouldn’t the enemy’s defense be completely visible? Relying on the enemy never knowing your layout to win a war will only lead to death on the battlefield.”
War is never that simple. Even if you know the strength and distribution of the troops, following a map doesn’t guarantee victory.
What if the lightly defended area is full of traps?
What if the few soldiers are elite troops?
Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
“The highest form of war is strategy. War is just a process of calculating to win. Whoever calculates one step ahead wins.” Meng Qi disdainfully looked at the defense map and shook his head, saying, “This map is so crude… Real strategy exists only in the minds of the generals. No matter how skilled the spy, they can’t steal it. And even if they did, how would they know it’s not a trap? Would they dare use it?”
Mo Li understood.
Simply put, the Qi Dynasty general who allowed a traveling merchant to smuggle goods and sketch a defense map from the military camp was laughable. Now that they realized something was wrong, they were panicking. It turned out the Qi Dynasty’s navy had no backup plans in their defense strategy, leaving them unable to handle any changes. They couldn’t even turn the tables, resorting to murder and arson in desperation.
What a disgrace.
They were supposed to be war commanders, but each generation is worse than the last. Meng Qi couldn’t stand it anymore!
Setting aside Meng Qi’s evaluation, Mo Li focused and asked, “So, these people are Qi Dynasty soldiers?”
“From the scout camp. They’re skilled in gathering intelligence, occasionally act as assassins, and generally know some martial arts. Their skills are better than the average soldier.”
But that doesn’t justify killing and setting fires.
“I think they acted on their own without reporting to their general.” Mo Li had figured it out. Huang Liu’s smuggling of the defense map was probably not discovered by the Qi Dynasty, but by these scouts stationed on the riverbank. While gathering intelligence, they discovered someone was trying to trade the Qi Dynasty’s naval defense map. They caught the person who was supposed to meet with Huang Liu, which led them to this inn.
“We just don’t know what went wrong. Did that Wang Mazi, the one Huang Liu mentioned, die or run away… Anyway, these scouts didn’t know who was supposed to trade with Wang Mazi, only that the time was tonight.”
Capturing someone would have been ideal, but even if they didn’t, burning down the whole inn would ensure the defense map wouldn’t get out.
The people who saw the map were limited to the person carrying it across the river, and possibly the innkeeper and servant as accomplices.
Since Wang Mazi didn’t show up, the defense map was definitely still in the inn.
—But was it hidden on someone, or stashed somewhere in the inn?
Huang Liu, unable to handle pressure, had panicked and exposed himself.
“Who’s there?
“Who’s skulking in the shadows? If you have guts, come out and face me!”
The masked leader shouted in the inn’s main hall, his voice fierce but his heart faint. While yelling, he subtly retreated to a corner, pressing his back against a pillar so he wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed from behind.
Huang Liu, who had broken a bone, was trembling. He knew he was finished. Even if he didn’t die today, the Qi Dynasty navy would never let him go.
In desperation, Huang Liu suddenly struggled to his feet, screaming, “I was coerced! Someone gave me ten taels of silver and this piece of cloth, asking me to deliver it across the river. That person was highly skilled, able to break rocks with one palm. I was greedy and afraid of death, so I had no choice. I know nothing else!”
Everyone in the inn turned to look at him.
The masked leader, growing impatient, no longer cared about Huang Liu’s fate after the defense map had been stolen.
He gave a signal, and one of his men raised his broadsword—
Huang Liu, terrified, began babbling incoherently, “That man… said his surname was Meng. He was the former state preceptor of the Chu Dynasty. It must be his people here, his people who stole the defense map.”
Author’s note:
Meng Qi: ???
Mo Li: ???
Meng Qi: I’m lying here next to the doctor, and this blame flies across the river?
Meng Qi: Well, it’s not completely wrong. It *was* ‘my people’ who stole the defense map.
