After a while, someone else walked into the courtyard.
The man who arrived was middle-aged; he was missing an ear and appeared somewhat weak in his limbs.
But Luo Heng didn't dare to be negligent when he saw this person. He took the initiative to get up and go to greet him with a smile, "Brother Hou, you've come."
The visitor was none other than Hou Huai, whom Wu Shuangren had invited from Bo County.
Hou Huai bowed respectfully to Luo Heng, saying, "Master Luo."
Luo Heng feigned displeasure. "I've already said, Brother Hou, there's no need to be so polite."
Hou Huai, without a smile, simply said, "It's only right."
Luo Heng shook his head helplessly, not knowing what to say.
Initially, Wu Shuangren transferred Hou Huai from Bo County to serve as the deputy head of the Flying Feather Hall, Luo Heng simply interacted with him normally.
Later, after learning that the old constable, who had lost all his martial arts skills and was missing an ear, had an unusual relationship with Wu Shuangren, Luo Heng dared not be negligent.
He wanted to get closer to Hou Huai, but the old constable always kept him at arm's length, handling matters meticulously and rigorously.
"I heard two outsiders have come to the city, trying to find out about the Yi Province Militia?"
Hou Huai asked.
After his injuries healed, he thought that was the end of his life. But he never expected that Wu Shuangren would find him again and ask him to help with intelligence matters.
He was grateful to Wu Shuangren for saving him, and even more grateful for the other's trust in him, so he agreed.
Upon arriving in Yi Prefecture City, Hou Huai learned that Wu Shuangren had directly appointed him as the deputy head of the Flying Feather Hall and given him the rank of Junior Militia Colonel.
Having mastered intelligence work, Hou Huai quickly realized the prestige of this Junior Militia Colonel!
Therefore, he became even more serious about his work, without the slightest slack. Faced with Luo Heng's initiative to befriend him, it wasn't that he was cold-hearted, but rather that he intentionally kept his distance from Luo Heng.
Because he knew that Wu Shuangren had transferred him to the Flying Feather Hall to create a system of mutual supervision between him and Luo Heng, the two of them should not, and could not, get too close.
Luo Heng informed Hou Huai of the details regarding Xue Ling and Peng Cheng.
After listening, Hou Huai said, "Since these two are not ordinary people, the people that Hall Master Luo sent to keep an eye on them should be even more careful to avoid being discovered by them and alerting them."
Luo Heng nodded. "I've already given the order to send more men to keep watch in different sections."
Hou Huai thought for a moment, "The main purpose of these two is probably to gather intelligence on Militia Commander Wu. If they can't get any information, they probably won't leave easily."
Luo Heng: "What does Brother Hou mean?"
Hou Huai: "Rather than letting them find out something, we might as well proactively leak some information to them."
Xue Ling and Peng Cheng stayed in Yi Prefecture City for three days.
Over the past three days, the two of them tried to find out about the Yi Province Militia through various channels and learned quite a bit, but they found very little information about the head of the Yi Province Militia.
All the two of them knew was that the head of the Yi Province Militia Wu Shuangren, a Bo County, and very young.
I know nothing else.
How could a young man born in a small county town become the head of a militia force of tens of thousands?
Xue Ling and Peng Cheng both realized that something was amiss, but they had no way of investigating.
So the two decided to leave the city and head towards Mist Hidden Mountain. They had already discovered that the Yi Province Militia's current headquarters was located at the foot of Mist Hidden Mountain.
Early that morning, the two left the city and headed towards Mist Hidden Mountain.
To avoid attracting attention, the two chose to walk instead of riding horses.
They walked until nearly noon before arriving near Mist Hidden Mountain.
They could see from afar that there were checkpoints set up ahead, which seemed to prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching the militia's camp.
"One! Two! Three! Four!"
"One, two, three, four—!!!"
Suddenly, a series of neat slogans came from ahead.
Xue Ling and Peng Cheng exchanged a glance.
"That sound could be from at least three or four thousand people shouting at the same time."
"It must be the Yi Province Militia training."
"These Yi Province Militia actually train regularly. It's quite a proper local militia; no wonder they were able to repel the Mount Liang rebels."
"It's all flat ground around here, we can't get to a high place to look around. Should we sneak in at night?"
The two discussed it, taking turns speaking.
Just then, they heard a noise behind them. When they turned around, they saw several large trucks slowly driving towards them.
"It looks like they're delivering something to the Yi Province Militia."
Xue Ling said.
The convoy stopped a hundred paces away from the two men. One of the trucks had its wheels stuck in a ditch, and several men were pushing it with all their might.
Xue Ling and Peng Cheng exchanged a glance and decided to go and take a look.
The two quickly struck up a conversation with the man pushing the cart and offered to help him push it.
Soon, the truck that had gotten stuck in the pit was pushed out.
Thank you all!
The middle-aged man at the head of the group thanked Xue Ling and Peng Cheng.
"Haha, you're welcome."
Xue Ling waved his hand, "Master, where are you delivering this to?"
The middle-aged man at the head of the group pointed ahead. "Deliver supplies to the Yi Province Militia ahead."
The village nestled at the Mist Hidden Mountain.
The middle-aged man responsible for delivering supplies to the Yi Province Militia's camp stood cautiously in front of Luo Heng and Hou Huai.
"I followed instructions and told the two men that this batch of melons and fruits was ordered by Lord Xu."
"That's what the middle-aged man said."
Hou Huai asked, "What was their reaction?"
"They wanted to take the opportunity to ask more questions about Lord Xu and the Yi Province Militia, but I didn't continue."
Hou Huai asked for some more details before letting the other person leave.
"These two are likely spies specializing in intelligence gathering. If we act too deliberately, they might notice."
Hou Huai said to Luo Heng, "These kinds of people are more willing to believe the conclusions they deduce step by step than the facts they hear directly."
Luo Heng sincerely exclaimed, "Brother Hou is truly amazing!"
He now understood why Wu Shuangren had transferred this crippled old constable to be the deputy head of the Flying Feather Hall.
Meanwhile, Xue Ling and Peng Cheng finally obtained the information they wanted.
"Those people were just delivering fruits to the Yi Province Militia's camp, saying they were ordered by Xu Jing. They didn't even check the goods; they just let them pass. It seems our initial suspicions were correct."
Xue Ling analyzed.
The Xu Jing Jingding's belongings could be delivered to the militia's camp without inspection demonstrates his high status.
Yuan Family and the other man initially believed that the Yi Province Militia was established by the Xu Family in Yi Province, and now they are even more certain of this.
"Are we going to sneak in again tonight?"
Peng Cheng asked.
Xue Ling shook his head. "I think it's not necessary for now, to avoid alerting them. Let's go to Bo County next."
Eight days later.
Xue Ling and Peng Cheng returned to Yi Prefecture City from Bo County, packed their luggage, and prepared to return to the capital to report back.
As the two arrived in Yi Prefecture City, Wu Shuangren also led Guo Jiwang and the others back to Yi Prefecture City.
Wu Shuangren met with Luo Heng and Hou Huai immediately.
"Commander, just in case, Brother Hou personally returned to Bo County to oversee things, and then followed the two of them back."
Luo Heng took the initiative to recommend Hou Huai for credit in front of Wu Shuangren.
"Thank you for your hard work, teacher."
Wu Shuangren's attitude towards Hou Huai remained the same as before.
Luo Heng was startled when he heard this title!
He only knew that Wu Shuangren had studied martial arts under Hou Huai when he was in Bo County. He never expected that with Wu Shuangren's current martial arts skills and status, he would still regard Hou Huai as his teacher.
Luo Heng couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had been polite to Hou Huai from beginning to end, and at the same time realized one thing—
Even if my position as the head of the Flying Feather Hall changes in the future, Hou Huai's position will remain as stable as Mount Tai.
Within the Flying Feather Hall, you can openly or covertly compete with anyone, but you absolutely must not provoke Hou Huai!
When Hou Huai heard Wu Shuangren address him in that way, he was overjoyed and felt all the fatigue from the past few days of travel vanish instantly.
He smiled and waved his hand, "After being idle at home for so long, it's good to get some exercise."
"How are those two doing in Bo County?"
Wu Shuangren asked.
Hou Huai said solemnly, "Ever since the Zhao Xian incident, no one in Bo County dares to make any underhanded moves. The information those two gathered in Bo County Bo County also indicates that the local militia is led by Lord Xu."
Wu Shuangren nodded.
Zhao Xian died in prison, and that very night his house caught fire, killing his entire family!
Everyone in Bo County knew that Zhao Xian had secretly harmed Wu Shuangren, ultimately leading to the death of his entire family.
Such ruthless methods completely deterred some people's ulterior motives!
Wu Shuangren only learned about Zhao Xian's affair later, and it was the first time he had witnessed his father's ruthlessness!
If Wu Shuangren had handled this matter personally, he might have only killed Zhao Xian.
But now it seems that Wu Dongrong was right.
Because of his initial establishment of authority, when outsiders went to Bo County to inquire about Wu Shuangren, they only learned what Wu Shuangren wanted them to know.
Flying Feather Hall's control over Yi Prefecture City is not without its flaws.
But Wu Shuangren's control over Bo County was absolutely watertight!
Most of the able-bodied men in Bo County are now engaged in Yi Province Militia, and many of them have already achieved high ranks.
The money sent home each month alone was enough to change the living standards of every household in Bo County, making everyone deeply realize that their own fate was inextricably linked to that of the Wu Clan!
In addition, after the Wu Clan prospered, Wu Dongrong often donated money to charity. Xu Nanzhi's clinic also rarely charged for consultations.
The Wu Clan was deeply respected in Bo County, employing both kindness and strictness!
It's no exaggeration to say that even if Wu Shuangren stood up now and declared he wanted to rebel, there wouldn't be many people in Bo County who would oppose him.
Wu Shuangren chatted with Luo Heng and Hou Huai for a few minutes, and soon someone came to report that the two who came to gather information had left the city and seemed to be going back to report.
"Don't let your guard down. Continue to send men to accompany them to prevent them from launching a surprise attack."
Hou Huai gave the instructions.
Hearing Hou Huai's instructions, Wu Shuangren was completely relieved and said to the two of them, "I'll leave this matter to you."
He then bid farewell to the two men, got up and left, riding his horse out of the city towards the Yi Province garrison.
He once brought men here to threaten Fan Yu, the former military commander of Yi Province, but now he's here with wine to congratulate the new military commander of Yi Province on taking office.
Soon, Wu Shuangren met Xu Jing, who was wearing armor.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant General Xu."