Valley Reconnaissance

Lin Maoxian tossed his medicine basket and the Dilong Grass into his storage space, then sat on the ground to wait for Xiao Zhang to catch up.

Not long after he sat down, Xiao Zhang came running up, panting heavily, and stood before Lin Maoxian gasping for air.

Lin Maoxian looked at Xiao Zhang's disheveled state and said with a smile, "You're a smart kid for not trying to run. Otherwise, given your speed and stamina, heh..."

Xiao Zhang wheezed, "I... I wouldn't dare. How could I dare to run?"

"It's good that you wouldn't dare. Kid, your life is temporarily saved for now. Whether you can keep it depends on how well you cooperate." Lin Maoxian's face turned stern instantly. In his view, the key to handling this kid was a balance of carrot and stick; he couldn't let him get too comfortable, nor could he let him be paralyzed by fear.

"Cooperate, I will definitely cooperate fully! My Lord, just tell me whatever you need done." Xiao Zhang tried his best to be careful; he didn't want to provoke this god of slaughter before him and end up finished off with a single punch.

Lin Maoxian was satisfied with Xiao Zhang's reaction. "Good. I want to know exactly how many Yellow Turban Soldiers are gathered in that valley."

"Over a hundred, though now there are only about a hundred left." Xiao Zhang answered the question immediately.

"Do you know what kind of people they are?" Fearing Xiao Zhang might misunderstand, Lin Maoxian explained, "I mean, how many elite soldiers are there? How many Squad Leaders, and so on?"

"Oh," Xiao Zhang thought for a moment and said, "I only know that the team inside is led by a Centurion. He has five Personal Guards, and under him, there are ten Squad Leaders. As for how many elite soldiers there are, I don't know."

"Personal Guards? What's that about? Compared to a Squad Leader, who is stronger?" Hearing the term for the first time, Lin Maoxian asked with extra focus.

Xiao Zhang said with a hint of envy, "The Personal Guards, of course. That's not a position an ordinary soldier can just take. It's decided after the Squad Leaders hold a competition, and the five winners serve as the Personal Guards. Unless there's a special situation, they never leave the Centurion's side. Wherever the Centurion goes, they go."

Seeing Xiao Zhang's envious expression, Lin Maoxian asked curiously, "When I first heard you talking, didn't you say you didn't care about rank? Why are you envious of them now?"

Xiao Zhang swallowed hard and said enviously, "Because the Personal Guards stay by the Centurion's side and must protect his safety at all times. Not only are they supplied with full meals, but they also get to taste meat often. As for us common soldiers, we're lucky if we can just eat our fill every meal."

Hearing this, Lin Maoxian was even more puzzled. "Since there are such benefits and you have connections, why don't you want to be in management?"

Although he didn't quite understand the meaning of "management," Xiao Zhang could guess the gist. He stammered for a long while before saying, "Be... because I'm afraid that on the battlefield, I'd have to block a blade for the Centurion at a critical moment. A Personal Guard must put the Centurion's life above his own."

So it was fear of death. No wonder he spilled everything the moment he was threatened. However, fearing death was human nature, and Lin Maoxian didn't look down on him for it; instead, he felt a bit of admiration. He knew what he wanted and wouldn't lose sight of that goal for other things—a trait worth learning. "Then why did you join the Yellow Turban Soldiers instead of the Great Han Imperial Court's army?"

"My hometown was hit by a disaster, and there was nothing to eat. My fellow villager dragged me into it. Even though we don't always get enough to eat in the Yellow Turban army, at least there's food, and we won't starve to death."

Looking at Xiao Zhang, Lin Maoxian seemed to see countless impoverished commoners who joined the Yellow Turban Rebellion just for a bite to eat. Even if they failed and died in battle, at least they had eaten their fill, and they had no regrets. It was no wonder the early stages of the Yellow Turban Rebellion had the Imperial Court reeling; a starving man driven to madness was truly terrifying.

"Kid, as long as you cooperate well, I will grant you a fortune when I leave this area, enough for you to eat and drink well and take a wife. But if you dare to double-cross me, even though I think you're a pitiful soul, I will still kill you, just like Wang Hu and the others. Do you understand?" Lin Maoxian knew his own power; he couldn't change this world, but as long as the kid cooperated, he didn't mind granting him a fortune before completing his mission and leaving. If he stood in his way, however, he couldn't blame him for being ruthless.

"Yes, yes... I will definitely cooperate." Hearing that he could live without worrying about food and even take a wife, Xiao Zhang's spirits lifted instantly. He felt that perhaps this was a blessing in disguise; if he played his cards right, he might live a good life for the rest of his days.

Seeing Xiao Zhang's energized state, Lin Maoxian nodded in satisfaction. With this bait, he didn't have to worry about the kid slacking off. "Now, I want to know the situation in the valley. Take me to see it."

"The valley is actually right below this cliff," Xiao Zhang said, pointing down.

Lin Maoxian looked at the thin mist below the cliff and frowned. "If the valley is below the cliff, how do you get up and down? There must be some special, secret way, right?"

"My Lord, you're truly amazing!" After flattering Lin Maoxian, Xiao Zhang pointed to the dense forest beside the cliff. "Actually, we—no, they. They don't enter or exit directly from the cliff. There's a small path in that dense forest that leads to the valley."

Lin Maoxian didn't care much about Xiao Zhang distancing himself from the Yellow Turban Soldiers. He looked at the dense forest and asked, "Do you have any ambushes in the forest?"

"No, but there are men guarding the only path in and out. Because the mountain road is treacherous, there aren't many guards—just a squad of soldiers. But right now, there are only the five Squad Leaders there," Xiao Zhang explained everything he knew.

"How can there only be five? Are you saying you belong to that team? And which team does Li San belong to?" Lin Maoxian asked as he walked toward the forest. On one hand, he believed Xiao Zhang didn't have the guts to lie to him; on the other, with his current stats, he wasn't afraid of an ambush. At the very least, he was confident in his ability to escape.

Because Lin Maoxian was walking fast, Xiao Zhang had to run to keep up. "We are from that team. Li San is from another. Their Squad Leader took the others back to the valley floor for a shift change, so we were the ones sent out to find Li San and his men."

"Then why didn't you go back immediately after collecting the bodies? Why set an ambush?" Lin Maoxian asked, puzzled. Since it wasn't a mandatory order, why not just take the bodies back? Why ambush? Were they looking for death?

Xiao Zhang caught his breath and said, "Because Brother Wang said that if we could capture the killer and bring him back, he could become a Centurion, and we would receive many rewards."

Lin Maoxian still couldn't understand. "Didn't you know I was very strong? Li San and his men were all finished off by me with a single punch. How could you still dare to ambush me?"

Xiao Zhang stammered, "Because we set a trap on the mountain road. Brother Wang said that no matter how strong you were, if you fell into it, it would be useless. I didn't expect..."

"I didn't come up from the mountain road, but charged out from behind your ambush, right?" Lin Maoxian finished his sentence.

"Ye... yes."

"What kind of trap did you set that you were so sure I wouldn't be able to get out if I fell in?" Lin Maoxian was curious about the trap they had mentioned.

"We're almost there. Let's stop here," Xiao Zhang said. Seeing Lin Maoxian stop, he continued, "We dug a giant pit there that was five feet deep."

Lin Maoxian calculated; five feet was nearly 1.5 meters. With his full-strength jump, he could reach four or five meters. Including his own height, the pit wouldn't trap him. However, it served as a reminder: even if this pit couldn't hold him, someone might dig a deeper one. If he relied solely on his high stats, he would eventually suffer. Besides, if conditions allowed, he could use this method to trap enemies he couldn't handle otherwise.

"Your idea was good, but you didn't know my capabilities. I can jump five feet high in a single leap; that depth won't trap me. It would have to be at least ten feet deep to stand a chance."

Seeing Xiao Zhang's skeptical look, Lin Maoxian didn't say much. He could jump over four meters during his training in reality; now, with a 25% enhancement, a jump of nearly five meters was perfectly normal.

"Hide here. I'm going to check the situation." Without waiting for Xiao Zhang's reaction, Lin Maoxian carefully crept forward.

Seeing Lin Maoxian leave him with that instruction, Xiao Zhang didn't know what to do. The thought of running away surfaced, but he immediately suppressed it. He knew deeply that in these chaotic times, even if he escaped now, he would eventually have to join an army and would likely die anyway. It was better to stay; at least he had a glimmer of hope to strive for. He looked around cautiously, and finding nothing unusual, he found a place to hide.

Lin Maoxian crept forward carefully, noticing the trees thinning out. He walked a few more steps and, through a gap in the trees, saw people in the distance. After hiding himself well, he began to observe.

It was a narrow path, barely half a meter wide, with no cover on one side. It was extremely dangerous to walk on, let alone fight on. At that moment, five men were crouching on the side of the path against the mountain. Lin Maoxian knew without a doubt that they were the Yellow Turban Soldiers. Recalling the conversation he had overheard from Wang Hu and his men, Lin Maoxian moved a few more steps forward, and feeling that it was safe enough, he stopped.