Only when the last wounded soldier disappeared into the tunnel entrance did Qing Chen turn around.
His gaze swept over the remaining Twin Eagles Association soldiers, sharp as a blade. Whoever it fell upon involuntarily straightened his back.
Finally, his gaze settled on the two bandits who were still breathing:
One was a low-ranking bandit with a slashed arm, sprawled on the ground and groaning; the other was their leader, Iron Ox, who had been badly injured in the beating.
"Tie these two bastards up. Use hemp rope soaked in cold water, and pull it tight."
"Once they're tied up, put some medicine on their wounds. Don't let them die. I still have questions for them."
At Qing Chen's command, the soldiers dared not delay. They rummaged through their packs and pulled out the coarse hemp rope they had prepared earlier.
The hemp rope had been soaked in cold water. As they wound it around the bandits, they pulled every loop tight, then secured the knots with wooden wedges.
The low-ranking bandit convulsed all over from the pain, while Iron Ox clenched his teeth.
While applying medicine to the low-ranking bandit, one soldier accidentally touched his wound. The bandit let out a howl of pain, and the soldier's hand shook, spilling more than half the medicinal powder.
Qing Chen raised the corner of his eye. The soldier instantly turned deathly pale and hurriedly knelt to beg forgiveness.
"What are you panicking for?" Qing Chen kicked away the medicine jar in front of him. "If you're out of medicine, search the dead for more. Don't waste time here."
With the prisoners dealt with, Qing Chen's gaze swept over the bodies strewn across the ground-some in soldiers' uniforms, others bandits.
He frowned. "What the fuck are you standing around for? Carry all these bodies to the north cliff of Northern Mang Mountain and throw them over. Don't leave a single one."
The soldiers quailed inwardly, but dared not disobey.
Below the north cliff lay a field of jagged rocks so deep its bottom could not be seen. Once the bodies were thrown down, not even their bones could be recovered.
Two soldiers carried a corpse, stepping over loose stones as they approached the cliff's edge.
A quarter of an hour later, dull thuds echoed from below the cliff, like rotten melons smashing against rocks, making their scalps crawl.
It was strange, really. Qing Chen had heard Young Master Zhao shouting over there earlier.
Yet once the fighting began, Young Master Zhao had gone as quiet as a cat, not even daring to make a sound.
That saved Qing Chen a good deal of trouble. He no longer had to divide his attention to deal with that noisy fellow.
He selected four quick-handed soldiers and pointed at the thatched hut. "Stand guard here. Don't let anyone approach, and don't let anyone inside come out. If anything goes wrong, you die."
The soldiers answered in unison, their hands resting on their saber scabbards.
With everything arranged, Qing Chen led the remaining soldiers toward a nearby patch of dry grass, escorting the two bandits, who were bound up like rice dumplings.
The grass stood waist-high, with dead grass roots and loose stones filling the patch.
Qing Chen found a flat stone to sit on and pointed at the two bandits. "Whip these two hard for me. Hit them hard wherever it isn't vital."
One soldier took a cowhide whip from his pack. He flicked it with a sharp crack, making the low-ranking bandit shudder all over.
Another soldier clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.
They did not hesitate in the slightest, knowing Qing Chen's ruthless methods and disposition full well.
The whip first landed on the low-ranking bandit's arm. Grit clung to the cowhide, and every stroke left a bloody welt.
The low-ranking bandit twisted into a knot, muffled whimpers coming from his mouth. The filthy sock stuffed inside had not yet been removed.
Iron Ox turned his head aside and closed his eyes, but the veins in his neck could be seen throbbing.
"Hit somewhere else." Qing Chen smiled.
The soldier obeyed, bringing the whip down on the low-ranking bandit's calves. Stroke after stroke soon raised purple-black welts.
The low-ranking bandit's tears and snot streamed down together.
Fists slammed into Iron Ox's ribs. He grunted with every blow, and traces of blood gradually seeped from the corners of his mouth.
After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, both bandits were covered in blood, without even the strength to struggle.
The ordinary bandit among them tried to speak, but the filthy sock blocked his mouth, leaving him able to make only indistinct whimpers.
He struggled to break free of his bonds, but the rope held him firmly, leaving him unable to move.
Despair and pleading showed in his eyes, as though he were begging Qing Chen for mercy.
Only then did Qing Chen raise his hand. "Stop. Take the socks out of their mouths."
The moment the socks were removed, one bandit hurriedly cried out, his voice thick with tears, spitting saliva mixed with bloody froth all over the ground:
"My lord! My lord, spare me! Stop hitting me, stop! Whatever you want to ask, I'll confess everything! My name is Jiang San. I'm just an errand runner. I've never killed anyone!"
"Jiang San, you traitor!"
Iron Ox's eyes flew open. He struggled to lunge at him, only for the hemp rope to cut into his shoulders until they bled. "Jiang San, you traitor! I'll slaughter you!"
"I'll confess! I'll confess everything!" Jiang San cried even harder. "My lord, Iron Ox is Master Eagle's trusted man. Master Eagle ordered him to watch Young Master Zhao on the rear mountain, afraid the other bandits would hurt Young Master Zhao!"
Qing Chen said nothing and drew a short knife from his boot.
He patted Jiang San's face with the back of the blade. Blood stuck to it, and a cold, sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth:
"Heh heh, that was only the appetizer. You two will talk separately. If your statements don't match..."
"I'll chop off your fingers and toes, one by one. Once that's done, I'll cut off that little bit between your legs too, and make you swallow it yourself."
At those words, even the two soldiers beside him could not help shivering, instinctively pressing their legs together.
Iron Ox's face also turned deathly pale, his earlier defiance vanishing without a trace.
Jiang San wet his pants in fright. The rank stench of urine drifted over, mingling with the smell of blood, as he kept shouting:
"My lord, I'll confess everything! I'll confess it all!"
Qing Chen had one soldier drag Jiang San off to the other side, while he himself stared at Iron Ox.
Iron Ox remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, his voice as hoarse as though it had been scraped with sandpaper:
"Master Eagle did order me to watch Young Master Zhao. He was afraid bandits from the other mountains would snatch Young Master Zhao and make an enemy of Ford City's city lord."
"Ford City's city lord?" Qing Chen's fingers clenched sharply. "Master Eagle wants to throw in his lot with Ford City's city lord?"
Iron Ox nodded. "Master Eagle was originally the second-in-command on Northern Mang Mountain. He killed both the previous leader and his son.
"Master Eagle kept Young Master Zhao alive because he wanted to show the city lord his loyalty. He wanted Ford City's city lord as his backer..."
"What about his daughter-in-law?"
"Master Eagle doesn't care whether his daughter-in-law lives or dies!" Iron Ox said with a bitter smile. "She's a woman. If she dies, she dies. But if this affair blows up, he won't be able to hold on to his position..."
The time it took an incense stick to burn slipped quietly past. Qing Chen closed his eyes in thought, waves rising and falling within his heart.
He could not help marveling inwardly.
Those who can become high officials or lead great bandit gangs really do have black hearts.
Qing Chen suddenly felt that his earlier ruthlessness still fell far short of Master Eagle's.
It seems that if I want to survive in this world of chaos, my heart will have to grow a little blacker, he thought.