Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Pfft, cough cough, what, what did you say?!" Dou Yaoming's voice rose in fear as he abruptly stood up, his plump body trembling. His small eyes widened in shock, and the teacup he was holding shattered on the floor. In his haste, he rushed out the door, nearly tripping over the threshold.

The teacher hurried to support Master Dou, noticing his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Teacher, has the Jiedushi really been attacked?" Dou Yaoming's voice grew more despairing. What a calamity! He had just sent a carriage to the Jiedushi, and now an attack had occurred on his jurisdiction's official road!

"Quick, prepare the horses!" Dou Yaoming shouted, rushing out the door. He attempted to mount a horse handed to him by a servant but struggled due to his trembling legs, eventually being half-pushed, half-carried onto the horse. He spurred the horse, following a Lei clan rider.

The teacher, following Master Dou, quickly gathered some servants and yamen runners to catch up.

By the time they reached the scene, Dou Yaoming was exhausted. Seeing the Jiedushi sitting under a tree, he scrambled over to him.

The ground around was stained with dried blood, the dark red mixed with the yellow earth. Dou Yaoming knelt before the Jiedushi, his teeth chattering: "Your Excellency, I am incompetent. I let you be attacked in Cang County. I don't know where the culprits are now, but I will interrogate and find the mastermind behind this, and execute them severely."

Seeing Dou Yaoming, Zhou Xu turned his head to the left: "Enough, go see the assassins."

"County Magistrate Dou, please." Lei Bao led him to the roadside forest. A brief glance revealed about a dozen bodies scattered around, seven or eight beheaded.

Dou Yaoming's legs weakened, barely managing to support himself against a tree trunk.

He had heard that the Jiedushi liked beheading people. During the northern invasion of the Tujue, the Jiedushi led troops against them. After each victory, he would build a Jingguan in front of the captured enemies, inviting spectators regardless of time or place.

In his early years, the Jiedushi's cruel and ruthless methods silenced all the prominent families in Youzhou, who could only tremble in his shadow.

"County Magistrate Dou, there were seventeen assassins, all in black, faces covered with black scarves, armed with swords and bows. They camouflaged with dry branches and leaves, lying in ambush in the woods. Fearless in attack, their palms were calloused, indicating they were well-built and likely trained for years. All around their twenties, they had poison hidden in their teeth and committed suicide by ingesting it when we got close. I suspect they were trained assassins raised by a certain family," Lei Bao reported dispassionately.

Most of the assassins were shot dead with arrows, and the rest retreated in defeat. When Lei's elite cavalry engaged them in close combat, the outcome was clear.

Although all the assassins were killed, their clean deaths, succumbing to poison without leaving any survivors for interrogation, frustrated the Lei cavalry. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, a few heads were chopped off.

Unexpectedly, Lady Xiao in the carriage saw this, and it seemed to have shocked her greatly…

Lei Hu, struggling to hold back his words, felt terribly uneasy. As the one with the most beheadings, he now felt even more stifled, sitting on the ground, anxiously ruffling his hair. It wasn't intentional; fighting against the Tujue, they valued beheadings as a measure of military merit. He vowed not to repeat this mistake, tugging at his hair in thought.

Dou Yaoming, hearing the rider's words, squeezed out a smile at Lei Bao, "Thank you for your advice, sir. May I know your name?"

"Lei Bao," he replied.

Dou Yaoming asked further, "Are you perhaps from the Lei Clan's Fenglei Camp?" He remembered that the Jiedushi's personal guards usually consisted of the Lei Clan, another allied tribe, and trusted soldiers from the army. This man, calling himself Lei Bao, was likely an elite of the Fenglei Camp.

"Yes," Lei Bao, frustrated with the unserious County Magistrate Dou, advised, "County Magistrate Dou, you better attend to your duties."

Dou Yaoming responded, "You're right, Lei Langjun." He turned to his assistant, "Scribe, did you get all that?"

"It's all noted. Ensure the assassins' bodies are well-preserved; I'll send constables to take them back to the county for the coroner's examination," the scribe methodically instructed his servants.

"That's good, that's good," Dou Yaoming said, clearly unsettled.

The scribe crouched to inspect and found many of the assassins' rib and leg bones shattered. He inwardly gasped at the frightening combat strength unleashed by the Lei Clan's riders.

Zhao Qingshan, brewing tea in a small clay pot, sat cross-legged on the grass, gently fanning himself. Nearby, injured riders were bandaging each other, while the uninjured patrolled in shifts.

Once the water boiled, Zhao Qingshan poured it into a teacup on a small wooden tray and offered it to his master.

Zhou Xu, unconcerned about the heat, held the cup and set it aside to let the tea cool.

Following his master's gaze, Zhao Qingshan saw Madam Xiao's carriage parked under the shade of a tree, the wind bell chiming gently. Through the carriage window, he could see Xiao Qingxue fanning something anxiously.

"Was Madam Xiao frightened?" Zhao Qingshan speculated, fanning himself, "Ladies of her stature, sheltered in grand estates, would certainly be shocked at the sight of corpses. Later, we should have Fang Yun brew some calming herbs to ease her nerves."

Receiving no response, Zhao Qingshan looked at his master quizzically, "My lord?"

Zhou Xu snapped back to reality, "What?"

Zhao Qingshan repeated his earlier statement.

Zhou Xu nodded, "I was negligent. I didn't consider that Lei Hu and the others might have frightened Madam Xiao. We should be more careful in the future."

"Speaking of which, it's been years since I've seen such a blatant assassination, and by a group of suicide soldiers at that. I wonder who sent them?" Zhao Qingshan continued.

Zhou Xu took the folding fan from his hand to fan the tea: "It must be one of those Yu Zhou noble families whose heads I've chopped off, or an official who bears a grudge against me."

"This time, the assassins were just a dozen or so. Apart from their decisive manner of death, it felt like a minor skirmish," Zhou Xu scoffed. "I thought I might catch a big fish when I pursued them, but it turned out to be just a handful of people trying to ambush me. I wonder if the mastermind is too confident or just underestimating me."

As the tea cooled, Zhou Xu casually called out, "Lei Shan."

Lei Shan stepped forward and bowed: "Sect Leader."

Zhou Xu took off a blackwood token from his waist and tossed it to Lei Shan: "Ride to the Governor of Taiyang County and report my ambush and injury. No need to hide anything. If the Commandant of Taiyang asks, tell him the truth too."

Lei Shan bowed in response: "As you command!" He mounted his horse and galloped away, disappearing down the dirt road. Lei Bao stood up, watching Lei Shan's departing figure with mixed feelings, while Lei Hu seemed indifferent, thinking that it hardly mattered which member of the Lei clan the Sect Leader chose for the task.

Zhao Qingshan, looking at the unharmed Sect Leader, joked: "Is my lord fishing for something?"

"If only I could catch something," Zhou Xu replied, asking the surrounding riders to move away, and said: "This assassination, though with fewer numbers, seemed professional. Those suicide soldiers died so readily; they don't seem like they were from a small family, but rather a large one."

"The tea is just about the right temperature; I'll take it to Lady Xiao."

Watching his lord walk away, Zhao Qingshan felt puzzled. Although his lord appeared rough, he was actually quite perceptive. Did he really not notice Lei Hu and Lei Bao holding their trophies? Was Lady Xiao's shock within his expectations?

Lying on the grass, Zhao Qingshan, as a strategist, had to think and observe more than others, trying to understand his lord's intentions. But this time, he truly wasn't sure.

Was his lord truly oblivious, or was it intentional?

After much thought, he concluded it was likely the former. Lei Hu and Lei Bao had been standing behind the Sect Leader, who couldn't have eyes on the back of his head.

In the distance, mountains rose gently against the sky, clouds drifted, and the wind chimed.

"Lady Xiao."

Xiao Qingxue opened the carriage door, seeing Sect Leader Zhou holding a tray with tea.

"Miss Xiao, is Lady Xiao alright?" Zhou Xu asked with concern.

Xiao Qingxue's voice lost its usual liveliness: "Mother is resting; she was startled."

"May I go and check on her?"

Before Xiao Qingxue could respond, she heard her mother's anxious call.

"Qingxue!"

Xiao Qingxue lifted her skirt and rushed to her mother's side on the rear couch, "I'm here."

Zhou Xu entered the carriage, first instructing Fang Yun to prepare some calming herbs, then set down the tea tray and sat down not too far away.

"Mother, I'm here," Xiao Qingxue leaned into her mother's embrace. Xiao Luolan, her face pale, clung tightly to her daughter, "Qingxue, don't leave Mother's side." The outside world was too dangerous. Xiao Luolan, having heard from her daughter about the horrors of ancient times, had only a conceptual understanding. Yet, when confronted with a gruesome reality, she was deeply shaken.

"I'll always be here," Xiao Qingxue, holding her mother's cold hand, fought back tears. She knew they had been attacked, and by the time she emerged from her mother's embrace, the bodies had been removed, leaving behind only large bloodstains. Her mother must have seen something.

Xiao Qingxue wiped away her tears and hugged her mother tightly, realizing her mother must have been very frightened.

Xiao Luolan held her daughter close, catching sight of Master Zhou not far away. Recalling the moment the door opened, her face grew even paler, her lips trembling slightly.

It wasn't that she had any grievance against Master Zhou... she just couldn't accept it all at once.

Zhou Xu placed a cup of warm tea on the tea table beside the couch, "Madam Xiao, please have some hot water."

Xiao Qingxue rose from her mother's embrace and brought the tea cup to her lips, "Mother, drink some water."

Xiao Luolan touched her daughter's hair, moved by her concern. The warmth of the tea seemed to chase away the chill in her body. She smiled at her worried daughter, "I feel much better now."

She then thanked Master Zhou, "Thank you, Master Zhou," though her gaze shifted away, not meeting his.

"The fault is mine," Zhou Xu spoke with concern and apology, "I'm sorry to have alarmed you, Madam Xiao."

Xiao Luolan looked up, her eyes still filled with fear and anxiety. Hearing Master Zhou's apologetic words, she replied, "How could I blame you?" Master Zhou had only intended to check if they were hurt when he opened the door, then had the corpses removed and brought hot water. He had also ordered his riders to protect them when danger arose.

"You needn't think that way," Xiao Luolan tried to comfort the assassinated Master Zhou, "It's all the fault of those villains."

Zhou Xu gazed at Madam Xiao, her pale lips tinged red from the hot water. Despite her evident fear, she was earnestly and awkwardly trying to comfort him.

The image of Madam Xiao's tear, shed in fear as the carriage door opened, flashed through his mind - her thick eyelashes trembling, eyes slightly red, complexion pale, a picture of helplessness and fright.

Zhou Xu touched his chin, wondering if his reaction was abnormal.

For seeing Madam Xiao in such a state had inexplicably excited him!