"Enough!"
Just as Lu Cheng was anxiously pondering the situation, Xue Yin suddenly looked away and said calmly:
"I'm an official, and you're a commoner. Since you've reported this, naturally I have to handle it."
"As for what you're hiding... as long as you're not like these people, I won't pry."
With that, he looked toward the dozen or so people bound together. Some were dead, and some were injured. Including the man whose arms had been crippled, only seven were still alive.
"I've helped you deal with this trouble. Can we requisition two of your carriages?"
Xue Yin pointed to the ring of wagons, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
At his words, Lu Cheng wasn't annoyed. If anything, he felt somewhat relieved. It was certainly good that the Martial Suppression Battalion was willing to take these people away. Still, he wanted to know what would ultimately become of them. After all, he'd just made some enemies for life—and one of them was an academy's young master.
Lu Cheng pointed to the young man and asked Xue Yin, "General Xue, may I ask what will happen to these people? And may I ask who this man is?"
Xue Yin shook his head. "How they're dealt with isn't something you need to know. As for this man's identity, wait a moment."
Then he turned and instructed a soldier in leather armor:
"Since the injured party wants answers, interrogate them here."
The soldier didn't waste words. With a grim smile, he dragged two men into the woods on the hillside.
Before long, screams even more agonized than the young man's rang out, making quite a few people in the caravan shudder.
Only then did Lu Cheng remember something. He clasped his hands toward Xue Yin to thank him.
But before