The sudden voice shattered the silence. Scarface and the others all turned toward the entrance. When they saw that the person walking in was Jiang Che, they froze in stunned disbelief.
"What, don't recognize me anymore?"
Jiang Che smiled faintly.
"How presumptuous! Who allowed you to enter?!"
Scarface immediately demanded, though a flicker of alarm flashed through his eyes.
Shouldn't Jiang Che have been taken away by Gou Buyi for punishment by now?
How could he be here?!
No sooner had he spoken than a group of soldiers in paper armor surged into the tent. At their head stood none other than Geng Dabiao.
Gou Buyi had already been detained. Liu Zhi had mobilized the soldiers but handed the task of arresting them to Jiang Che, allowing him to settle the score for the previous threats and coercion himself.
Everyone held sharp blades to Scarface and the others' necks, frightening them into breaking out in cold sweats. They did not even dare to move.
"Jiang Che... what are you trying to do? Who gave you the authority to barge into the camp tent?" Scarface pointed at Jiang Che, his wrist trembling slightly.
"Captain Zhu gave me the authority. Do you have a problem with that?"
Jiang Che openly shoved someone aside, stretched as he sat down, took a fresh bowl, poured himself some wine, and drained it in one gulp.
"Y-you... what did you say?"
Scarface's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
Jiang Che very much enjoyed the look on his face and said with a light laugh,
"Gou Buyi's crimes of embezzling provisions, buying low and selling high, and bullying people through his power have all come to light. He'll be beheaded soon. You're all accomplices, and I'm here to take you in."
"You're talking nonsense."
Scarface's expression changed drastically.
"Otherwise, how do you think I dared to storm into the camp?"
"I don't believe it."
"Believe it or not. Just make sure that when the blade falls on your neck, you still don't believe it."
"H-how could this happen?"
Scarface blurted out unconsciously.
He could not make sense of what had happened at all.
"I won't waste any more words. In short, whether you live or die depends on how many of Gou Buyi's crimes you can confess. Of course, you can also choose not to talk.
Before my brother joined the army, he slaughtered pigs and butchered cattle. He's best at skinning and slicing flesh. To be honest, I'd quite like to see it."
Jiang Che pinched up a peanut and tossed it into his mouth. As he chewed, he pointed at Geng Dabiao.
"Y-you dare use torture? I don't believe it!"
Scarface snorted coldly, guessing that Jiang Che was merely trying to bluff him.
"You're all condemned criminals. So what if I use a little torture? Don't tell me you think someone will still stand up for you?"
Jiang Che shook his head and casually waved his hand. Geng Dabiao immediately understood. He drew a sharp knife from behind his waist, while several soldiers nearby swiftly tied Scarface down.
Pfft!
The blade sank into flesh. Expressionless, Geng Dabiao moved the knife across Scarface's body while explaining to Jiang Che,
"Brother Che, this is how I used to slaughter cattle. First, you separate the bones from the flesh and blood. As long as you find the right spot, killing a man is no different from killing a cow."
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Scarface's face twisted savagely as he could not help roaring in agony, yet no one stopped it.
"Fine. Remove one of his arms first, then go through them one by one." Jiang Che nodded, carefully observing Geng Dabiao's technique. He did not know why, but watching such a scene did not make him feel the slightest discomfort.
"I-I'll talk, I'll talk!" Before Scarface could confess, one of the men beside him had already gone deathly pale with fright and hurriedly shouted.
"Talk."
"Gou Buyi, he..."
Once one man opened his mouth, the rest followed.
Starting with that man, the others were likewise terrified of such methods. In a frantic rush, they spilled everything they knew. They did not seek to live, only to die quickly.
Among the soldiers, one man held a brush and recorded their words.
Scarface had already passed out from the pain. Only after a basin of cold water was poured over him did he awaken, but the pain coursing through his body still left his face incomparably twisted.
"I said I'd give you a quick death if you talked. If you don't... I'll skin you bit by bit."
Jiang Che walked up to him and spoke each word distinctly.
"I'll talk."
Scarface met Jiang Che's eyes. He could see that Jiang Che was not joking. Gritting his teeth, he began to confess.
The case of Gou Buyi's corruption was handled very quickly. With Zhu Sheng's order and the testimonies of Scarface and the others, Gou Buyi's path to survival was completely sealed off. In merely a few hours, death would come for him.
All the soldiers in the camp were gathered, their eyes focused on Scarface and the others being dragged forward, as well as Jiang Che in his auxiliary soldier's padded uniform.
"Jiang Che."
Gou Buyi raised his head and turned toward the figure beside him.
Jiang Che ignored him.
"Brother Che, Little Doggy has something he wants to ask you." Gou Buyi gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
Only then did Jiang Che turn his head.
"What is it?"
"Today, in the main tent, you risked your life before Captain Zhu and my brother to accuse me of corruption. Was that a spur-of-the-moment decision, or had you been plotting it for a long time?"
Gou Buyi stared at him with blazing eyes.
"What do you think?"
Jiang Che did not answer. Instead, he asked a question in return.
"You must have planned it long ago, right?"
Jiang Che neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely said,
"Actually, there's something I don't understand either. You made such a big issue out of me privately passing on martial arts, so weren't you afraid I'd go all out and accuse you of selling military provisions and weapons? I just didn't expect you to truly not be afraid."
His public exposure of Gou Buyi had naturally been planned for a long time. Before this, however, he had only been an auxiliary soldier. He had neither the standing to make such an accusation nor anyone to support him.
He had to wait until he mastered Savage Bull Strength and earned Liu Zhi's attention before he could act.
He had been enduring it all along as well.
"I..." Gou Buyi was momentarily speechless. After several breaths of silence, he said, "I was simply carried away by success and overlooked it."
With Gou Buren shielding him, many people in the camp knew about his schemes, yet nothing had ever happened. Faced with an auxiliary soldier who had little ability to resist, why would he have deliberately considered such a possibility?
"It's all right. Just pay more attention in your next life."
Jiang Che smiled.
After a long while, accompanied by several muffled groans, Gou Buyi, Scarface, and the others' heads fell to the ground. Their bodies collapsed limply as blood sprayed several meters away.
These were the first wave of enemies Jiang Che had encountered in the camp, and thus they fell.
However...
Jiang Che's gaze turned toward a certain direction within the camp.
Having personally sent Gou Buyi to his death, Gou Buren would absolutely not let the matter rest. And there was also the Cao Gang of Yanggu County. He still could not relax in the slightest.
"Now that Gou Buyi has been executed, how do you feel?"
Inside the tent, Liu Zhi asked with a smile.
"It feels like a weight has been lifted from my heart."
"What do you think about what happened today?" Liu Zhi lightly sipped his wine and looked at Jiang Che with a smiling gaze that carried a trace of deeper meaning.
Jiang Che fell silent for a moment.
"This subordinate's knowledge is shallow. I cannot see through it."
"The main reason you were able to kill Gou Buyi was not your accusation. It was because Captain Zhu wanted him dead. Do you understand?"
"Why is my lord telling me this?"
"I only want you to understand that without powerful status and extraordinary strength, the lives and futures of people like you and me are, in truth, nothing more than a thought in someone else's mind."
Liu Zhi said in a deep voice.