Bandit Suppression

"The coffin is ready, with an inner and outer layer, and I've had good quality salt packed between them to ensure Fourth Brother's body won't decay easily," Chen Mo explained slowly inside Qingmu County's largest coffin shop.

According to Mo Hu's plan, he intended to send Mo Dao back to his hometown in Tulong County, Shouren Prefecture, for burial. This journey would cover a thousand miles.

Mo Dao's body would be exposed for at least half a month, so it needed proper preservation. Otherwise, the condition upon arrival at his hometown would be dire.

"Thank you so much for this. I'll pay you back later," Mo Hu said gratefully, offering his sincere thanks.

He hadn't brought much money with him on this trip. The coffin, the salt, and other items needed for the body's preparation had cost nearly twenty taels of silver, all of which Chen Mo had advanced.

It's easy to add flowers to a bouquet, but difficult to send charcoal in the snow. This was undoubtedly a case of the latter for him.

"Fourth Brother was also my brother. We are brothers, so let's not stand on ceremony," Chen Mo replied.

The money he was spending now wasn't from his own savings; it was from the Daoist he had encountered earlier, so he spent it without hesitation.

Moreover, Mo Dao was his fourth brother, who had shown him kindness during his life, kindness he hadn't yet been able to repay.

Now that Mo Dao was deceased, it was only right for him to spend whatever it took to prepare the body for burial.

"Let's get Fourth Brother into the coffin first," Chen Mo said as the coffin shop's assistant brought over a basin of red medicinal soup.

This soup was a secret recipe from the coffin shop owner. Washing the body with it was said to preserve it for longer.

Mo Hu didn't say much, merely wiping his slightly red-rimmed eyes with force.

"Let's go out for now," Chen Mo gestured, and followed suit.

Not long after, soft sobs could be heard from inside the room.

Chen Mo waited outside for over half an hour before a call came from within.

Mo Dao's body had been thoroughly cleaned. The missing part was filled with cotton wrapped in fine silk.

Once dressed, the missing part was barely noticeable.

Mo Hu had already helped him put on a layer of undergarments. According to their hometown customs, at Mo Dao's age, he should wear seven garments in total, four outer and three inner layers.

Chen Mo stepped forward to help, and together they dressed Mo Dao in the remaining five garments.

"The County Commandant of Qingmu County sent over a piece of raw jade to be placed in Fourth Brother's mouth."

Chen Mo took out a piece of fine mutton-fat jade from his robes. Judging by its quality, it was worth at least six or seven taels of silver.

According to Great Qian customs, the deceased must have a mouth-dweller placed in their mouth during interment.

The Son of Heaven would have a pearl, feudal lords a jade, officials a green jade, and commoners only ordinary coins.

Given Mo Dao's status, he would have originally been entitled to a green jade.

"Green jade," or qingyu, was a type of jade.

However, after the founding emperor of this dynasty ascended the throne, he issued a decree allowing everyone to exceed their prescribed rank for occasions like weddings and funerals.

Therefore, Mo Dao was now permitted to be buried with mutton-fat jade in his mouth.

"I'll have to trouble you to thank him for me later, Thirteenth Brother," Mo Hu said.

If not for the County Commandant sending the mutton-fat jade, they would have had to spend more money to buy it, and it might not even have been available.

Qingmu County wasn't a major county, and white jade of this quality was hard to find there.

The two of them worked together to place Mo Dao into the coffin and closed the lid. It would be nailed shut during the formal burial.

Chen Mo then called several personal guards to help carry the coffin. The carriage was already prepared, pulled by two horses. Transporting a coffin was not difficult.

"Don't worry about your end. I'll speak to Godfather."

With Chen Mo's assurance, Mo Hu felt much more at ease about leaving.

"Generals, my master has sent ten taels of silver for General's travel expenses."

A young servant in plain gray clothes, carrying a money pouch, ran over.

"Who is your master?" Mo Hu asked, not rushing to accept the money.

"The County Magistrate of Qingmu County, Wang Shouzheng," the servant announced his name.

"Please thank your master for me," Mo Hu said, finally accepting the silver.

With Mo Dao's death, the County Magistrate and the County Commandant, having met him as colleagues, still sent some items through their servants, even though the funeral rites weren't being held here.

"Be careful on your journey, and return quickly," Chen Mo said his final parting words.

Mo Hu nodded gently, then drove the carriage with the coffin and departed.

Chen Mo returned to the city with the others to rest. Exhausted from the journey, there was no need for them to rush back to the military camp immediately.

There was another reason for staying here: to guard against the band of passing bandits.

If those bandits intended to advance further into Xingyuan Prefecture, they would have to pass through Qingmu County.

By being here, Chen Mo and his men could scout and prepare in advance, preventing any unexpected situations.

This was something only Chen Mo's group could handle. If they had to rely on the local garrison, they might only react after the bandits had already attacked.

Of course, Chen Mo also dispatched several personal guards to escort the bodies of their fallen comrades back to the military camp. He also instructed them to relay the news of the bandits' movements to General Sun.

This was the primary task they were supposed to be undertaking. Now that there was a situation, it naturally had to be reported.

The next two days were quite peaceful, and Chen Mo visited many small food stalls around the city.

During their two days of rest, their food and lodging were naturally provided by the county office. While the meals were good, Chen Mo's frequent trips to the food stalls were just extra treats.

After finishing two bowls of the special smooth meat soup from Qingmu County, breaking out in a sweat all over, Chen Mo finally got up from the food stall, preparing to return to camp.

The camp where they were temporarily stationed was in the northern part of the county town, in a slightly old courtyard.

The remaining horses were temporarily housed in another courtyard, with several personal guards specifically assigned to look after them.

Chen Mo entered this area but didn't immediately return to camp; instead, he moved through many small alleys.

He had a general idea of the surrounding environment on the first day he settled in, so he was quite familiar with it.

Even when moving through various alleys, it was impossible for him to get lost.

"Are you looking for me?" Chen Mo quietly came up behind someone and asked with a smile.

The person was wearing a common blue cloth outfit. Upon hearing the voice, they didn't flee but turned around in terror.

Immediately after, they saw a fist getting closer and closer.

Chen Mo knocked him down with one move and dragged him into the temporary barracks.

This person's strength wasn't very high; their physical strength was decent, but they lacked combat experience.

If it were a martial artist with sufficient combat experience, upon realizing Chen Mo could get behind them.

They would either surrender obediently or fight desperately to escape forward.

In any case, they wouldn't waste time turning around.

Seeing Chen Mo dragging someone into the barracks, several resting personal guards immediately surrounded them.

"Get a few basins of cold water to wake him up, and prepare some torture instruments. I want to interrogate him." Chen Mo casually threw the person to the ground and gave instructions.

The personal guards immediately got busy upon receiving the order, first finding a sturdy wooden chair and tying the person to it.

Then, they splashed water to wake the other person up and brought out torture instruments to prepare for the interrogation.

"Speak, what's your name, and why were you following me? Where are your accomplices? Inside or outside the city?"

Gao Dayou had just opened his eyes when he heard a barrage of questions.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Chen Mo didn't waste any more words and directly ordered them to proceed with the torture.

Under severe interrogation, the person quickly spilled everything clearly, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Their group of over a hundred people was indeed connected to the Qi Refiners of the Grand Heaven Dao.

According to this person, they were ordered by an immortal master to lie low here, but they weren't told what they were supposed to do.

They were simply told to wait here, and an immortal master would arrive after some time.

However, they waited outside but never saw anyone arrive.

The reason he was tracking Chen Mo was that Chen Mo's group had entered the city by horse a few days prior, causing too much commotion, which attracted their attention.

He came in mainly to scout Chen Mo's group's movements and see when they would leave the county town.

With this information, combined with the previous intelligence, everything became clear in Chen Mo's mind. The bandits first entered Qingmu County to lie low, then the Grand Heaven Dao disciples acted, preparing to harvest something in Qing Province before meeting up with them here.

However, the imperial court learned in advance about the bandits passing through, which led them to notify his adoptive father to send people to investigate the specific situation here.

Chen Mo's group happened to encounter those immortal masters and engaged in a fight with them.

Out of five immortal masters, two died, and one was severely injured and fled. The remaining two, even if unharmed, would not dare to step foot into Xingyuan Prefecture for a short period.

And the portion of people dispatched in advance became abandoned pawns, forced to continue waiting here in misery.

"You all keep a close watch on him. From now on, no one except me is allowed in or out. Even if you die, die in this courtyard."

Chen Mo sternly ordered everyone. Since there were indeed over a hundred bandits lurking outside the city, they had to go and suppress them.

These hundred-plus bandits were not ordinary mountain bandits or vagrants. According to Gao Dayou, these hundred or so people were all strong young men like himself, who hadn't practiced martial arts but had all undergone basic strength training, and each of them carried a weapon.

Chen Mo's group currently had less than thirty personal guards, and it was indeed quite difficult to annihilate them all.

They had to find a way to quickly request reinforcements, asking his adoptive father to send elites to suppress them.

And before that, this news absolutely could not be leaked. Otherwise, by the time they arrived, they would definitely find nothing.

Two days later, Sun Shouren personally led his elite troops to suppress the bandits. Chen Mo charged into the fray on his horse, beheading dozens of enemy leaders.