Chapter Fifty-Two: Another Visit

Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the foot of Panlong Ridge.

Qi Jun, battered by Deng Fang’s wild gallop along the mountain path, was dizzy and nauseous. As soon as Deng Fang reined in his horse, Qi Jun wasted no time in dismounting and squatted by the roadside, retching violently.

Deng Fang and Sun Jiu exchanged helpless glances. Even for someone unskilled at riding, even if the mountain path was winding and bumpy, it seemed excessive to actually vomit from the journey.

Qi Jun himself was speechless at his own embarrassment today. In his previous life, he had never gotten motion sick even when riding in tanks or helicopters during his time in the military, yet here he was, dizzy and sick on horseback in this life.

“Brother Jun, if it’s really too much, you’d better take a sedan chair next time…” Deng Fang shook his head, smiling as he came over to help Qi Jun up.

“Get lost!” Qi Jun finally caught his breath and brushed Deng Fang’s hand away. “Let’s get up the mountain quickly!”

“Where’s Liu Kui? Why didn’t he come?” Sun Jiu looked at the other two, suddenly asking.

During the battle for Panlong Ridge, Sun Jiu had noticed Liu Kui’s physique and stamina. After the fighting, he’d chatted with him and found him agreeable, so Sun Jiu was hoping to recruit Liu Kui into the county guard as his deputy.

“There’s still a mountain of things to handle back in the village—he went back yesterday afternoon,” Qi Jun replied, unaware of Sun Jiu’s intentions.

Sun Jiu nodded, making a mental note to visit Dongling Village to talk to Liu Kui about joining the county guard once they’d found what they came for.

The traces of the heavy rain from the night before last still lingered on the ground, and some of the mountain paths were dotted with puddles that hadn’t dried. The footing was slippery, and a careless step could soak one’s trouser legs, sending an uncomfortable chill up the body.

Supporting each other, the three made their way upward and soon arrived at Shizui Cliff.

“Hey, how come there’s nobody at such an important spot?” Qi Jun glanced at the watchtower in passing; it was still in shambles, with no county guards posted inside.

“Come on, the bandits have been driven off. There’s no need to post anyone here now. Besides, I don’t have enough men!” Sun Jiu said indifferently. “Anyway, we’ll be gone once we’ve got what we came for. Let whoever wants to guard this place do so!”

“Brother Jun, Captain Sun, what are we actually doing at Panlong Ridge?” Deng Fang, having been silent the whole way, finally couldn’t help but ask as they neared the summit.

“We’re here to fetch something, to be moved to Dongling Village,” Qi Jun replied casually, wary of Deng Fang’s loose tongue.

“Moving stuff? Brother Jun, you should have said so! I could’ve called my three apprentices to come help!” Deng Fang, who’d been weary from the climb, suddenly perked up.

“These things are important. I can’t trust outsiders for now.” Qi Jun patted Deng Fang’s shoulder in thanks. “Your strength alone will suffice.”

“Outsiders? Brother Jun, you just haven’t had a chance to get to know them. My three apprentices are all good lads! Last time it was just too rushed for proper introductions, but when we get back tonight, I’ll call them all over and we can drink till dawn…”

With Deng Fang’s chatter as background, the three soon reached the drawbridge gate.

Sun Jiu came to a halt and shouted “Open the gate!” toward the watchtower on Dragon Claw Peak. His voice echoed far and wide through the mountains.

A few county guards quickly appeared in response, peering at them from a distance to confirm their identities before turning the winch to lower the drawbridge.

Sun Jiu gestured grandly for them to proceed. Qi Jun didn’t stand on ceremony, striding quickly toward the former bandit stronghold.

Now, returning to Panlong Ridge just a day later, Qi Jun’s mindset was entirely different from before. That night, though the operation had gone smoothly, he’d been tense throughout, fully aware of how quickly things could change on the battlefield. Even facing a rabble, he hadn’t dared let down his guard, remaining vigilant at every moment.

This time, aside from some fatigue, there was no trace of tension. With Sun Jiu and Deng Fang, he ascended as if on a leisurely excursion, chatting and laughing along the way.

The guards at the stronghold’s gate sprang to attention as they approached, snapping to a salute.

Sun Jiu nodded in response and led Qi Jun and Deng Fang inside. As soon as they entered, Qi Jun noticed a corpse hanging from a post in the center of the courtyard.

As he drew closer, Qi Jun instinctively looked up and saw that the body belonged to none other than the one who had wounded him with a hidden arrow that night—the bandit chief known as Red-eyed Eagle. The corpse bore fresh lash marks and signs of being stoned.

“That scoundrel wounded you that night. I was so furious, I had him strung up here,” Sun Jiu explained quickly, seeing Qi Jun’s gaze fixed on the body.

Qi Jun sighed, a complicated expression on his face as he looked at Red-eyed Eagle’s corpse.

This Red-eyed Eagle had been cruel and shameless, but to Qi Jun, he was still the first formidable opponent he’d bested. Though an enemy and deserving of death, this manner of brutal post-mortem humiliation unsettled Qi Jun deeply.

“Captain Sun, let’s take him down and burn the body. Isn’t it foul enough in this heat?” Qi Jun pinched his nose and walked away.

“Ah…” Sun Jiu hesitated, glancing at Deng Fang.

“My brother Jun is too soft-hearted! That fiend doesn’t deserve such mercy,” Deng Fang muttered, shaking his head before hurrying after Qi Jun.

Sun Jiu could only wave over a guard and instruct him to take the corpse down and burn it.

Qi Jun surveyed the buildings and facilities of the Panlong Ridge stronghold, and a new idea began to take shape in his mind.

Panlong Ridge’s terrain was naturally defensible and difficult to assault. If they simply abandoned it, another bandit gang would soon occupy it and turn it into a new lair. And if those new bandits learned from the last group’s defeat and fortified every key point, it would be even harder to root them out in the future.

Since Panlong Ridge boasted so many natural advantages, if abandoning it would only invite future threats, why not seize it for his own use and develop it instead?

As this thought struck him, Qi Jun’s eyes lit up. He pondered how best to approach Magistrate Feng and secure his support, even as he absentmindedly opened the door to one of the rooms.

The sight inside made him freeze, his right foot hovering in the air, suspended in disbelief.

A nauseating stench assaulted his senses. Within the room, he saw twenty or thirty women, naked or half-clothed.

As the door burst open, some women glanced up with vacant eyes, others sat numbly unresponsive, while still others cowered in terror, crowding into the corners to hide.

The scene reminded Qi Jun of lambs penned in by herdsmen. Lambs fear slaughter; what did these women fear?

He dared not dwell on it. A surge of burning rage rose within him.

“Brother Jun, what are you looking at?” Deng Fang, seeing Qi Jun motionless at the doorway, craned his neck to see, and was struck dumb by the same sight.

“These… these women…” Deng Fang realized at once what they had suffered.

“This prison holds these unfortunate women, but it cannot contain the crimes the bandits committed!” Qi Jun’s fists clenched tightly.

Raised in a peaceful and orderly country, he’d only read of the cruelty and depravity of bandits in old history books. Now, confronted by the reality of their evil, his soul was shaken to its core.

“Master Qi, that bandit woman is locked up separately—” Sun Jiu, unaware of Qi Jun’s distress, was making his way over.

“Sun Jiu! Where are the wounded and captured bandits being held?!” Qi Jun spun around, erupting in a thunderous roar.

Sun Jiu started, retreating a step in shock at Qi Jun’s fury.

Seeing both Qi Jun and Deng Fang glaring at him, eyes blazing red, Sun Jiu felt as if two wild beasts were fixing him in their sights. An unaccountable terror gripped his heart.

“They’re… they’re all in that room. A few who were badly injured were thrown off the cliff yesterday…” Sun Jiu stammered, pointing to another building.

Qi Jun strode quickly over, following Deng Fang’s lead, and stopped before the indicated door, pointing at the lock as he addressed the guard, “Open it!”

The guard, startled by Qi Jun’s presence, didn’t wait for Sun Jiu’s order; he fumbled out the key and hastily removed the iron lock.

The moment the door swung open, the murderous intent in Qi Jun’s eyes reached its peak.