From what Iron Ox told him, Qing Chen learned that, to stabilize the situation on Northern Mang Mountain, Master Eagle had no choice but to put on a show of avenging the wrong and washing away his shame.
He had ordered the kidnapping of the city lord's youngest son, Young Master Zhao, to use him as a bargaining chip to intimidate the mountain bandits who were itching to make a move.
Privately, however, he had hinted to his trusted subordinates that they should not act rashly.
He wanted to avoid truly enraging the lord of Ford City and bringing unnecessary trouble upon himself.
Unfortunately, Master Eagle had rattled the beads of his calculating abacus far too loudly.
What he had never expected was that the previous chief's trusted followers-
Those mountain bandits who barely obeyed his orders-would actually slip past his watchers, descend the mountain without permission, and abduct Young Master Zhao!
This move had undoubtedly smeared a thick streak of black across Master Eagle's face.
It had left Master Eagle in an awkward predicament unlike any he had faced before.
He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to secure his position, but instead, it had nearly cost him his future and his life.
He therefore had no choice but to hastily send someone to plot with the city lord over the matter, hoping to find a solution that would satisfy both sides.
And during Ford City's bandit-suppression campaign, Master Eagle had transferred all the disobedient bandits to dangerous positions to guard the mountain gates.
In reality, Master Eagle was preparing to prune away those disobedient bandits.
This way, the lord of Ford City could earn military merit for suppressing bandits and raise his prestige and standing;
He could also rescue his son, preserve his Lineage's honor, and secretly bring the considerable force on Northern Mang Mountain under his control.
This was killing three birds with one stone, and the city lord was naturally happy to see it happen.
For Master Eagle, this operation was also a perfect opportunity to escape his predicament.
The lord of Ford City was a man who commanded a formidable army and wielded power that reached the heavens.
The city lord had promised that, once the matter was settled, he could give him a post as a Fifth Rank Valiant Commandant.
For Master Eagle, this was undoubtedly tremendous news.
From then on, he could whitewash his identity and transform himself into an official of the Jing Kingdom's court.
He would hold Northern Mang Mountain and become a "king of the mountain" in both name and deed.
A Fifth Rank Valiant Commandant was already a fairly high-ranking post in the Jing Kingdom's military hierarchy.
After all, even Lord Wang, the Tiger Warrior Commandant serving in this vanguard army, was only a Fifth Rank official.
Under the Jing Kingdom's military hierarchy, a Ninth Rank officer was a squad captain, merely the leader of a fifty-man squad, while the squad captain's deputy held the Subordinate Ninth Rank;
An Eighth Rank officer was a centurion, who could command a hundred or so men;
A Seventh Rank officer was a military administrator, barely qualifying as a mid-level commander, who could lead several hundred men.
A commandant without a title held the Sixth Rank, already a substantial post, with more than a thousand soldiers under his command;
Those with titles, such as Valiant Commandants, held the Fifth Rank and could just about be considered senior commanders, able to command several thousand soldiers.
Above them, an associate general held the Subordinate Fourth Rank, while an auxiliary general held the Fourth Rank; they commanded armies of over ten thousand and were truly among the military's upper ranks.
At the Third Rank stood the military commissioner, also known as a military marquis.
The lord of Ford City, for example, was a Third Rank military commissioner stationed in Ford City, bearing the title of Border-Pacifying General, commanding a formidable army and wielding power that reached the heavens.
The Second Rank belonged to the grand marshal of the armed forces, a position held by a member of the Jing Kingdom's royal clan;
As for the First Rank, it was an honorary post, generally a posthumous title granted to deceased officials who had rendered great service.
Master Eagle was therefore naturally especially concerned about Young Master Zhao's safety.
He had sent Iron Ox, his utterly trusted confidant, to place Young Master Zhao under guard on the absolutely secure rear mountain, waiting only for the day when the time was ripe.
After digesting this information, Qing Chen could not help feeling a headache coming on.
In the eyes of those at the top, the lives of several thousand people were merely pieces on a chessboard.
They could be sacrificed or discarded at any moment.
That coldness and ruthlessness sent a chill through Qing Chen as well.
Compared with them, Qing Chen might still count as a "good person."
Still, he also knew that these matters actually had little to do with him.
The point was that, if this was how the war would be fought, it could never become a bloody struggle.
If neither side's true main force made a move, how was Qing Chen supposed to sneak into Northern Mang Mountain's assembly hall?
Qing Chen knew that the hall concealed what he was looking for, the thing that could change the course of his entire life!
And the chief's seat was actually a mechanism.
That secret had come from the gravely wounded wandering martial artist; perhaps he had been one of the old chief's trusted followers.
All one had to do was press the claws in the North Mang Celestial Eagle Painting on the hall's wall and turn them in a particular pattern.
The chair in the hall would spring up, revealing the secret chamber within.
Suddenly, feeling as though he had forgotten something, Qing Chen turned to look at the thatched hut.
He quickly summoned the two soldiers under his command.
He pointed at the two bandits bound up like rice dumplings, his eyes revealing an unquestionable resolve.
Qing Chen had indeed said that he would not kill them, but if his subordinates killed them, that had nothing to do with him.
The soldiers exchanged a glance, both understanding what Qing Chen meant.
As they drew their blades, their scabbards scraped across the stone with a metallic rasp.
Jiang San still tried to shout, but the moment he opened his mouth, a blade swept across his throat. Blood sprayed out, splashing onto the roots of the dry grass and quickly soaking in.
Iron Ox showed some backbone. He did not shout, only stared with perfectly round eyes, and did not fall heavily to the ground until his throat was slit.
The soldiers dragged the two corpses like dead dogs to the northern cliff and threw them over.
A dull thud was followed by the sharp crack of breaking bones, echoing twice through the valley before fading.
Qing Chen did not look. He turned and walked toward the thatched hut.
There was a hole in the thatched roof, and several yellowish stains marked the floor. The reek of urine mixed with the smell of mold, stinging the nose.
Young Master Zhao huddled in a corner, his hair matted into felt, a bloody streak running across his face from his temple to his chin;
His clothes had been torn to shreds, and his exposed arms were mottled with bruises. He was still muttering:
"Don't kill me, don't kill me. My father is Zhao Erhe. Promotions and noble titles, dukes and marquises for ten thousand generations."
Qing Chen crouched down and lifted Young Master Zhao's chin with a finger, a hint of amusement in his voice:
"Young Master Zhao, you really are a nobleman with a short memory. I'm not a mountain bandit. I'm the hired thug you met at the brothel that day.
"I even helped you stop that fleeing female bandit. Now I'm a centurion in the city lord's vanguard army sent to suppress Northern Mang Mountain."
Young Master Zhao raised his head and stared blankly at Qing Chen for a long while, then suddenly shrank back as though pricked by a needle.
But once he made out Qing Chen's face, he lunged forward again, both hands clamping onto Qing Chen's sleeves like iron pincers:
"Save me, save me! I'll give you an official post, I'll give you silver, I'll give you anything! As long as you get me out of here, I'm willing to give you anything!"
Looking at him in this state, Qing Chen suddenly felt a surge of pleasure.
A few months earlier at the brothel, Young Master Zhao had been so imposing; now he was begging him like a dog that had lost its home.
The feeling of holding the fate of someone whose birth and status had originally been above his own filled Qing Chen with excitement.