Chapter 6: Men in Black

  "Now that the crows are all dead, let's head back." As he spoke, Baili couldn't help but say this as he watched the last remnants of the sunset disappear behind the western mountains, and the surrounding trees gradually darkened.

  "Are you scared by a dead man?" Grand Commander Sima Deqian said with a hint of cold smile on his face.

  Pei Li was not enraged by this mocking remark. Although he held the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Jin Wang Fu, in reality he did not obtain his position through bravery or military prowess. Rather, it was due to his birth into the esteemed and influential Pei family of He Dong, as well as his exceptional literary talent, that he became a personal bodyguard of the Crown Prince, Jin Wang. Being ten years older than Jin Wang, he had also followed him on numerous campaigns. However, standing amidst such a gruesome scene of carnage was not an uncommon experience for him. "A bunch of dead men, not worth wasting time."

  "Oh, the dead may not speak, but they can still tell us a lot of useful information." Sima Deguang said in a cold voice: "Who are these black-clothed people, why did they appear here, and who killed them? Do we know?"

  "It might just be a vendetta, bandits or pirates, anything is possible, this kind of thing happens every day, it's nothing unusual." Pei Li said somewhat casually. "Who cares who these dead people are."

  Several guards officers who followed saw the two officials arguing again, and they couldn't help but shake their heads secretly. As soon as they left the Yangzhou General Administration Mansion, the two men had been at odds with each other all along, only to think that it would start again so quickly. Commander Yang Wei hastily spoke up: "Perhaps we can first inspect the scene, maybe we can find some clues, perhaps these black-clad men are the mysterious black-clad men who infiltrated Yangzhou as reported by King Jin earlier."

  Yang Wei moved out of the Jin king's place, and Sima Dezhao and Pei Li glared at each other, no longer arguing.

  "All these crows are dead." Pei Li pointed out, "I think we should immediately return to Yangzhou and report this matter to the King of Jin, and let him handle it."

  Simaz Deqiang heard this, his eyelids flipped, and he swept a glance at the dimly lit forest. "The most important thing now is to confirm the identities of these dead people. If they are indeed the mysterious black-clad men who infiltrated Yangzhou earlier, then we should quickly investigate who killed them. This is Yangzhou, and this group of mysterious black-clad men suddenly died here, which is our dereliction of duty. Commander Pei, aren't you afraid?"

  Simade could see Pei Li's tightly pursed lips and the suppressed anger under his thick black cloak. As a member of the powerful Pei family from Hedong, he had been an official in Yang Guang's government during the Northern Zhou dynasty and had followed the King of Jin for twenty years. This kind of experience was not something to be trifled with. However, Simade felt that today Pei Li's anger towards him was not just about provocation. In addition to his annoyance, Simade vaguely sensed a hidden unease in Pei Li, as if he was really anxious and fearful.

  Simade Gou also had a similar feeling, he was not a staff member of the Jin Wangfu like Pei Li, but a real general. His family was also a military family, his father was once the governor of Northern Zhou. However, his father died early, and his family was poor when he was young. At that time, he was weak and alone, and could only rely on being an apprentice to a butcher to support his family by killing pigs. Later, a monk named Shikuang near his home had an affair with his mother and took him back home to raise and educate him, also teaching him to read and write. This allowed him to grow up slightly and inherit his father's career, becoming a soldier. Later, due to his outstanding performance, he entered the palace as a servant, and was later transferred to the Jin Wangfu, accumulating official positions until he became the current Grand Governor, commanding a guard of 200 people. His military background and experiences in his youth made him stronger, but also made him look down on people like Pei Li who relied solely on their family background and literary talents to become officials. He had worked hard to become the Grand Governor, leading 200 guards, while Pei Li was just a scholar, yet he held the position of Ku Zhen Governor. It's worth noting that the position of Ku Zhen in the palace was not simply equivalent to being a personal guard. A Ku Zhen must be from a noble family and possess various talents, normally inspecting the guards and also having important powers such as participating in literary and military affairs. In comparison, Pei Li's position as Ku Zhen Governor had much more power than Simade Gou's position as Grand Governor.

  Simadeer is only eighteen years old, but he has already become the Grand Marshal of the Wangfu Guards. It's quite impressive. To be honest, this is also thanks to his father's shelter that he became a Grand Marshal at the age of eighteen. Although he entered the imperial army relying on his father's influence, his achievements today are absolutely inseparable from his own efforts. At the age of fifteen, he had guarded the Great Wall border and made his first incursion into the north. When he followed the army to conquer the Xiongnu in the grasslands, he was once so exhausted that his limbs were weak. Now, thinking back on it, he can't help but laugh. However, during his two years at the Great Wall border, he had over a hundred experiences of going out to patrol the grasslands beyond the pass. That vast and desolate expanse of grassland no longer intimidated him. Logically speaking, this small forest outside Yangzhou in Jiangnan, with more than ten corpses, shouldn't make him tense up either.

  However, today was an exception. Standing in this small forest filled with corpses, the gentle evening breeze made him feel a chill that sent shivers down his spine.

  Since receiving the order from the King of Jin, this team of fifty cavalrymen rushed out of Yangzhou City overnight and pursued day and night for three days, searching for that group of black-clad men who suddenly infiltrated Yangzhou. For several days, not a single trace was found, but today, they suddenly saw the bodies of these black-clad men. Eighteen black-clad men, all quietly lying in this small forest, had long since stopped breathing.

  The black-clad men who could make the King of Jin take notice were by no means ordinary people, yet they had all been killed here in Yangzhou. This was the King of Jin's territory, where he resided and commanded forty-four states along the Huai River. Now, with unknown forces infiltrating, things were already serious enough. But now this group of people had also been silently killed off here, making the situation increasingly complicated.

  Simaz Deqiang felt it, and Pei Li had felt it even earlier. At this moment, Pei Li felt that he was being watched by a cold gaze, but after careful observation for a long time, he didn't find anything. Now he just wanted to turn his horse's head around and return to Yangzhou City immediately. However, it was difficult to say this out loud, especially in front of Sima Deqiang, with whom he had never gotten along.

  He turned his gaze to Yang Wei, who was also a Du Zu, but without the title of Ku Zhen, he was just an ordinary Wang Fu team leader, commanding fifty guards. However, Yang Wei also came from a noble family, in the prosperous and flourishing Hongnong Yang clan, one of the top-tier families in the Great Sui dynasty, he was the eighteenth son of a branch of a branch. He was a handsome eighteen-year-old youth, with the same age as Sima Deqian, born in the year the Great Sui dynasty was founded, with a pair of black eyes, elegant demeanor, but his body was slightly thin and frail. He had a good relationship with Pei Li, but also got along well with Sima Deqian. At this time, he rode on that robust black-colored Hetao warhorse, much taller than Pei Li who rode a smaller Khitan horse. He wore black deerskin boots, black cloak, and black armor. Originally, he was a servant of the emperor in Daxing City, just like Sima Deqian, but joined the Yangzhou Jin Wang Fu guard less than half a year ago. With his background and experience, it wouldn't take long for him to add the title of Ku Zhen to his Du Zu title.

  The most dazzling thing on his body was naturally the eight-foot-long spear, which took three years to make and was made of expensive materials. It was also crafted by Yuwen Dashi, the most famous spear master in Daxing City. Holding it in hand, it was much taller than a person, thick and powerful, standing out from the crowd. "I dare bet that this spear is absolutely worth hundreds of gold!" More than once, the guards at the Wang Mansion would admire the spear when they were drinking. Pei Li knew very well that the top-level spear crafted by Yuwen Dashi himself was worth hundreds of gold, and it was not an exaggeration. In fact, the most valuable thing about this spear was not the spear itself, but the fact that it was crafted by Yuwen Dashi himself. All spears made by Yuwen Dashi were masterpieces, and they were sought after by kings, nobles, and high-ranking officials. Being able to get a new spear from Yuwen Dashi's hands fully demonstrated Yang Wei's prominent status as a distant relative of the royal family. However, Yang Wei did not cherish this spear too much, often lending it to his friends among the guards, so although he was new, he had a very good relationship with the guards.

  "The King of Jin ordered us to investigate the whereabouts of the black-clad men, and now we've found them." Yang Wei caught Pei Li's eye signal and spoke up: "Now they're dead, and it seems no one will escape. Who killed these people is not the most important thing at the moment; let's first bring back these corpses to report, and then listen to King Jin's instructions for our next move."

  Simazhēng was lost in thought, his brow furrowed slightly as he gazed up at the darkening evening sky.

  "Commander Yang, come and examine this with me carefully. See if there are any clues. Maybe we can find out the identities of these men in black or who killed them."

  Simade Gou and Yang Wei were transferred to the Jin Wang Fu, they had both served as attendants in the Daxing Palace. However, what many people did not know was that before entering the Daxing Palace as attendants, they had also spent two years together on garrison duty at the Great Wall. Although Yang Wei now always appears to be a refined and elegant young nobleman, in those days when they were on the border, they actually lived very austere lives, eating raw meat and drinking blood, often spending half a month wandering outside the passes. The two young Dus were both experienced military officers.

  "There are eighteen people in total, both men and women. Sixteen of them are men and two are women, all under the age of forty." said Yang Wei.

  "Their bodies were scattered all over, and none of these people even had a weapon in their hands."

  Simen Deguang nodded, "These people's weapons are by their side, horizontal knives, long swords, and bows, but not a single person has picked up their weapon. Look at this person, there is a crossbow with a string next to him, but he hasn't even picked it up."

  "This is too strange!" Even Pei Li couldn't help but exclaim in surprise at this moment. "They actually have no power to fight back?"

  "To be exact, these people never came around until they died!"

  "Could it be that this isn't where they died, but rather where their bodies were abandoned after death?" Pei Li's heart grew increasingly uneasy.

  Yang Wei opened a corpse and looked at the bloodstain on the ground that had already dyed the soil dark red, shaking his head. "No, this is where they were first ambushed."

  "Maybe they were sleeping and then encountered a surprise attack!"

  A gust of evening wind blew by, the branches rustling in response. Pei Li's warhorse grew restless, pawing at the ground with its hooves. "Commander Yang, who do you think killed these people?" Sima Deqian's brow furrowed even deeper, his hand tightening around the hilt of his horizontal sword.

  "Maybe it's horse thieves!"

  "Have you heard of any notorious horse thieves appearing near Yangzhou recently?"

  "No!" Yang Wei finally understood Sima's words. Since the ninth year of Kaihuang, when Emperor Wen of Sui sent 520,000 troops to conquer Chen, and in the tenth year of Kaihuang, Jiangnan rebelled, Yang Su and Shi Wansui pacified Jiangnan, and the King of Jin was stationed in Yangzhou, governing the forty-four states of Jianghuai, and comforting Jiangnan. In these years, Jiangnan had long been subdued, although there were still some thieves and bandits, but they were just small-time robbers, and absolutely no gang of robbers could suddenly appear outside Yangzhou, wipe out this mysterious force in one fell swoop, and silently kill them without making a sound. Ordinary bandits didn't have such skills, and judging from the scene, these people were killed without being moved at all, with their military equipment still lying there.

  "The bandits don't leave empty-handed, if they were thieves or robbers, they would have taken the valuables after killing someone, but these black-clad men had good equipment yet didn't take anything, this is too abnormal."

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