Chapter 1: The Land of Murder (Part 2)

  "Qin Tou!" The general's smile grew even brighter, not bothering to argue with the young man about what had just happened in the teahouse: "After all these years, your skills haven't declined one bit!" He slowly sheathed his sword.

  "What are you doing here in this poor and remote place, instead of being a great general leading your troops?" The soldiers outside only heard this sentence, and then they couldn't hear any more voices from inside. It was strange that the teahouse had windows on all sides, and these soldiers were all skilled warriors who had been training for many years in order to be selected into the general's guard, but no matter how hard they strained their ears, they couldn't hear a single word from inside the teahouse.

  After a long time, the general finally came out of the teahouse with a satisfied smile on his face. From start to finish, the soldiers outside saw that the two had been talking all along, but no one heard a single sentence.

  Two bodyguards had already come forward: "General..." The words behind were not yet spoken, and were stopped by the general's waving hand: "Set off, return to the capital!"

  Not just the two bodyguards, but also the team of people they brought with them, were all inexplicable. However, at this time, it can be seen that the entire team is well-trained, facing incomprehensible orders, not a single person disobeyed, even if there were questions, it was not something that could be asked now.

  The general seemed to be in high spirits, with a smile on his face that never broke. The two attendants who had followed the general for a long time had never seen him behave like this before and couldn't help but look at each other in confusion. Had the general suddenly gone mad? How could he end things so abruptly when the mission was still incomplete? This wasn't the general's usual unyielding style, and judging from his rumored personality and past actions, it shouldn't have happened.

  What's more, this time the general was appointed to come and perform tasks, now just entering this area, how can nothing be done, and chatting with that young man for a few words, then turning back to Beijing? Is the general not afraid of the emperor's blame? Although the emperor may not pursue it much because of his relationship with the general, but if it spreads out, after all, it is not good for the great general's face.

  "General..." The bodyguard on the left opened his mouth but was signaled to shut up by the general. Although the bodyguard had known the general for some time, the kick on his butt still hurt a little, so it's better to keep quiet; the general didn't like people who talked too much.

  The team walked silently all the way forward, returning on the same road, until they saw the county town where they rested yesterday tens of miles away.

  "What were you just going to say?" The general seemed to have been smiling with his eyes closed all the way, and no one knew what he was thinking. Now that he finally spoke up, his attendants also let out a long-held breath - as long as the general was speaking, he wouldn't be angry.

  "What's the background of that little brat, how dare he be rude to General?" The personal attendant next to him opened his mouth and complained. Having followed the general for so long, even in the capital, which king, noble or aristocrat dared to use such a gaze to intimidate himself, who was the general's personal attendant?

  "Have you ever experienced a thousand light cavalry pursuing and killing two million Tartars for ten days and nights without sleep or rest, beheading thousands of people?" The general stared at him with a stern expression and asked in a deep voice.

  "No!" The orderly shook his head like a rattle drum, just about to respond, when the general continued to ask: "Then do you have experience of having 17 people infiltrate the enemy's camp of 10,000 people, assassinate the enemy general, burn and destroy the enemy's supplies and equipment, and return unscathed?" The general didn't give the orderly a chance to interrupt.

  "No!" The aide hastily replied, sensing that the general's tone was off and not daring to be presumptuous.

  "Do you have the merit of deeply entering the enemy's lair and successively killing several dozen tribes, making the enemy restless?"

  "No!"

  "Do you have the prestige of unfurling the great banner and having them not dare to release their horses?"

  "No!"

  "Do you have the power of a duke conferred by the emperor himself, commanding half of the empire's troops?"

  "No!"

  ……

  "Grandfather, these are all your credit and wealth, I don't have such good fortune!" The general's tone was unpleasant, his attendants shook their heads in denial, not daring to have any other thoughts. Now that the tone had finally softened, they hurriedly flattered him.

  "Even I, who must show respect to that person by addressing him as 'sir', how dare you call him 'young master'?" The general's sudden thunderous roar was like a clap of thunder, ringing in the ears of his attendants.

  His attendants' hearts were all in their mouths, and they hastily dismounted, kneeling on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Another attendant didn't even dare to breathe, sitting still on his horse, grasping the reins tightly, afraid that if the horse was startled, it would anger the general. The entire army was silenced by the general's one word, and the originally quiet front line became even more silent, with only the flags flapping loudly in the scorching wind.

  In the capital, the general's spoiled children were notorious. Even if their own subordinates committed a crime, General would ignore it and protect them first. The two attendants had experienced General's shortcoming many times, relying on General's power, they were also lawless in the capital, no one dared to provoke them. Unexpectedly, just because of a small title, they triggered General's thunderous anger.

  When dealing with others, two attendants have experienced the general's ferocity. Now this anger is directed at himself, who has the guts? Or are there dozens of heads enough for the general to chop off?

  "Note down the fifty military rods for now, after returning to Beijing, you go to the military law office to receive them yourself." The general's voice turned back to being warm but with an unrefusable dignity. The kneeling attendants hastily agreed. Although the military rods were not pleasant, in any case, their lives were spared. The attendant who got on the horse again secretly glanced at the general and exchanged a look with another attendant, and did not dare to speak again.

  "What were you just going to say?" The general's eyes gazed at the county town as he spoke.

  Another attendant, having just witnessed the fate of his fellow attendant, didn't dare to speak nonsense and hastily accompanied with a smile: "General, this time we left the capital, we haven't completed the task assigned by His Majesty..." Eyes secretly looking at the general, afraid that this sentence would also provoke the general's displeasure.

  "It's done!" The general waved his hand, and the army continued to advance, marching back and forth for hundreds of miles, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the scorching sun, just looking for a place to set up camp here.

  "Done... successfully?" The servant seemed to have been stuffed into a large egg, staring blankly.

  This is what was said, and the two attendants who came before also knew what kind of errand this was. A few years ago, a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared on a certain night, and most of the people in China saw it with their own eyes, and the evil spirit contained in it could even be felt by ordinary people.

  After years of calculation by those old gods, a piece of ominous land should appear here, within a hundred miles. If not suppressed, it will be the root of disaster. Therefore, the general was sent to relocate all the people in this area and bring the talismans made by those old gods to suppress this ominous land.