The Mengjin magistrate cursed inwardly, so fiercely his molars nearly cracked—but on the surface, he could only smile stiffly and swallow every word back down his throat.
General Qin frowned slightly. "So… dealing with Bai Yuan—this comes from His Highness the Prince of Fu?"
Eunuch Zheng waved his hand with a laugh. "How could that be? Absolutely not the Prince's concern. It's just a trifling matter—only a few hundred taels of silver a year. How could such a speck of dust trouble His Royal Highness? Naturally, it falls to this servant to resolve it properly before even considering reporting it upward."
Oh.
So it wasn't the Prince's will at all.
Just your bright idea, you damned castrated dog.
The corner of General Qin's mouth twitched, curling into the faintest sneer—quickly suppressed. At the same time, a thread of relief slipped quietly into his chest.
He wasn't a fool.
In the past, he himself had tried to suppress the Xiaolangdi water bandits. He'd failed miserably. That wretched place was a maze of river channels and reed marshes; to launch a full campaign there would burn manpower, silver, and time like dry firewood.
Yet Bai Yuan had swept those bandits away with shocking ease.
That alone told General Qin everything he needed to know.
Provoking such a local power—for what? For a eunuch's wounded pride?
If the Prince of Fu himself had issued the order, then even if it meant grinding his teeth bloody, General Qin would still have led troops to Xiaolangdi. But this?
This was nothing more than a eunuch's private vendetta.
A mere lackey, daring to bark commands at a frontier general?
General Qin's face darkened. "Eunuch Zheng, this humble general is always eager to shoulder burdens for the Prince of Fu. However, at present, I truly cannot spare a single soldier to deal with Xiaolangdi."
Eunuch Zheng frowned. "Why not?"
General Qin raised his hand and pointed north. "Across the Yellow River, roving bandits are growing restless. This general has been ordered to garrison Mengjin County precisely to prevent them from crossing south."
Eunuch Zheng snorted. "Xiaolangdi is only forty li away. Send a few warships, make a quick trip—back within a day. How would that possibly interfere with guarding the river?"
General Qin let out a cold laugh. "Eunuch Zheng, that only proves you understand nothing of warfare. Roving bandits move like wolves—one hundred li in a day is nothing to them. If I shift my gaze for even a moment, and they seize a crossing point, a flood of bandits could pour straight into Henan. That responsibility—this general cannot bear it. And neither can you."
Eunuch Zheng's face stiffened. "So that means I'm just supposed to swallow the humiliation Bai Yuan dealt me?"
"Of course not." General Qin's tone softened, smooth as oil. "Once the bandit threat across the river is settled, and I have breathing room, I will personally lead troops to Xiaolangdi and have a proper talk with Bai Yuan. With several thousand government soldiers at my back, asking for five hundred taels of silver—do you think he'd dare refuse?"
Eunuch Zheng hesitated, then slowly nodded. "If that's the case… very well."
The Mengjin magistrate, who had listened to every word, could endure no longer. With a polite excuse, he withdrew from the room. Once outside, he let out a long breath and shook his head bitterly before returning to his quarters.
General Qin raised his teacup, signaling the end of the discussion.
Night had already fallen. Eunuch Zheng, unwilling to return to Luoyang so late, simply took another guest room within the residence and settled in.
—
Late at night.
Once Eunuch Zheng's breathing grew deep and even, Li Daoxuan made his move.
The miniature mechanical Dao Xuan Tianzun slipped silently into the room, scaled a pillar, crawled along the roof beam, and positioned itself directly above the bed.
Then—
It dropped.
"THUD!"
In his dream, Eunuch Zheng felt as though a meteor had slammed straight into the center of his forehead.
"AHHH!"
He bolted upright, clutching his brow, eyes wild. He looked left. Right. Behind the bed. Under the table.
Nothing.
The Reconnaissance Dao Xuan Tianzun had already rolled off the mattress, tucking itself neatly behind a table leg.
Eunuch Zheng staggered to a bronze mirror.
A swollen lump stood proudly on his forehead, red and angry.
"Something hit me… but there's nothing here."
His face drained of color.
"A ghost!"
"G-GHOST—!"
Shrieking, Eunuch Zheng fled the room and clung to his attendants like a drowning man grasping driftwood. He didn't dare sleep again that night, pacing back and forth until dawn, eyes bulging and bloodshot.
—
While a eunuch was being tormented out of his wits…
In a shadowed corner of Mengjin County, three men dressed in coarse sackcloth slipped quietly out of an alley. Their faces carried the worn, hollow look of refugees—but their eyes were sharp.
"Did you confirm it?" one whispered. "Which general is stationed here?"
Another snorted softly. "Qin Renhong. Brigade Commander Qin. He tried to suppress us at Xiaolangdi before—couldn't even find our shadows. Spent half a month flailing around before slinking back."
The others chuckled. "So it's that useless bastard."
"And the troop deployment?"
"Already mapped. Two thousand five hundred men, spread along Dongpo, Wengkou, and Dongmiaozhuang. I even sketched it out."
The leader's lips curled into a grin. "Perfect. We'll take this straight to Zezhou and present it to Elder Brother—Zijing Liang Wang Ziyong. Once he breaks into Henan, we borrow a few thousand troops and reclaim Xiaolangdi."
The other two clasped their fists. "Elder Brother is wise!"
These men were remnants of the Xiaolangdi water bandits.
The leader's birth name was Xu Liyu—Xu Carp. He'd disliked it since childhood and later changed it to Xu Chenglong.
He hadn't been among the strongest bandit chiefs. When Bai Yuan wiped out the major factions, Xu Chenglong fled early, leading a dozen boats and several dozen sworn brothers across the Yellow River into Shanxi, hiding near Dayu.
He survived—but hatred festered.
Unable to confront Bai Yuan head-on, he traveled to Zezhou and pledged himself to Zijing Liang Wang Ziyong, offering intelligence and guidance across the Yellow River.
Wang Ziyong was delighted. He promised Xu Chenglong command of several thousand men once Henan was breached.
And so, Xu Chenglong returned—slipping once more into Mengjin County.
A native accent. A flood of refugees.
Perfect cover.
In no time at all, he uncovered troop numbers, patrol routes, even the hiding places of imperial warships.
Xu Chenglong grinned. "Everything's ready. Time to head back to Shanxi."
One subordinate hesitated. "Big Brother… I saw people close to Bai Yuan in the county. A man and woman in martial attire. Important figures, I think."
Xu Chenglong laughed softly. "Too clean. Too naive. No real jianghu experience. Even their guards look green. Capture them, take them to Shanxi—hostages are always useful."
His eyes gleamed coldly.
"Let's prepare."