Demon Emperor

Chapter 59 Flying Head Messenger
Ruan Hu, dressed in loose clothing and with his hair disheveled, sat in the main seat, holding a wine cup in one hand, his eyes closed, immersed in the music.

He was every inch the tyrant.

However, there was only one female musician and a few musicians playing instruments in the hall.

Ruan Hu didn't know where the female musician came from; perhaps she was from the imperial harem, or perhaps from somewhere else.

Anyway, he said he wanted to hear some music, so the other person came.

After fighting and killing all day long, it's time to enjoy some leisure time.

Lately, because there's nothing much going on, Ruan Hu feels restless and irritable. It's as if he's not used to living like this anymore, since there aren't many rebels jumping out for him to kill.

Listening to the music, Ruan Hu felt that his restless heart had indeed calmed down a lot.

A eunuch quietly entered the hall, afraid that his footsteps would disturb the music. He didn't speak after entering, intending to wait until the piece was finished before speaking.

However, the music ended before he could even speak.

The emperor then asked, "Who has come?"

With the emperor's authority growing stronger, there were very few people who would allow eunuchs to disturb him at this time.

The eunuch replied, "It's Zhou Kaigu from the Investigation Department!"

Ruan Hu raised his hand without speaking, but the eunuch understood his meaning and ordered someone to summon Zhou Kaigu into the palace.

The musician, holding his zither, rose and immediately withdrew.

Zhou Kaigu entered with his head down, looking at the floor tiles, and knelt down to pay his respects.

"His Majesty!"

"The Huan Shou barbarian tribe has rebelled."

After confirming that Ruan Hu had heard, Zhou Kaigu continued to explain the details.

"Gong Tian, ​​the chieftain of the Huan Shou Man tribe, attacked and killed the Qin family village of the Hei She Man tribe, and cut off the heads of the adult men in the village for sacrifice."

"Then he attacked Dachang County, killed the county magistrate, and proclaimed himself the Barbarian King."

"Many bandits in the mountains have taken advantage of the chaos to plunder and loot, and now the area around Dachang County is in complete disarray, especially the garrison commander of Kuitang Pass, who has deep ties with the Huan Shou barbarians and Pei Yuanxiao..."

Ruan Hu had been prepared for the rebellion of the Huan Shou Man, so he was naturally unmoved.

However, upon hearing the word "reversed," Ruan Hu's somewhat listless spirit instantly lifted, and his eyes seemed to sparkle.

Zhou Kaigu seemed to hear the rumbling of a hungry tiger's belly.

At this moment.

Ruan Hu did not ask about the Huan Shou Man tribe, nor about the Wuxi Patrol Office and the Ministry of War, but instead asked about something else.

"Any movement from Pei Yuanxiao's side?"

Regarding the imperial edict previously issued by Ruan Hu to Pei Yuanxiao, Pei Yuanxiao responded with a memorial that appeared to be filled with remorse and loyalty, but which was tantamount to saying nothing at all.

Now Zhou Kaigu says, "There is no movement for the time being."

Ruan Hu frowned instead. He wasn't afraid of discovering a problem; he was afraid of discovering nothing at all.

It's impossible that Pei Yuanxiao's side did nothing; it can only mean they haven't found it yet.

Ruan Hu said, "Keep an eye on the various camps under Pei Yuanxiao's command in Ling County, and report back immediately if there is any movement."

Zhou Kaigu: "Yes!"

Pei Yuanxiao's unclear movements have cast a shadow over the entire matter.
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Ruan Hu felt that everything in Wu County was like a fog, and he was eager to tear this fog away.

Soon, the flying ghost that flew to Wu County brought Ruan Hu news from afar.

at night.

Ruan Hu dreamed of the flying demon again; it was flying among the towering mountains of Wu County.

"Flying Head Ghost!"

"Is there anything you want to say?"

Ruan Hu muttered in his sleep on the dragon bed, but his words seemed unable to reach the ears of the flying-headed ghost.

However, the sound from the Flying Head Ghost reached Ruan Hu's side, and he could clearly hear the sounds from the other side.

Ruan Hu first watched as the flying ghost flew over a breached fortress, which itself bore the marks of fire.

And outside.

A large number of headless corpses were piled up and arranged in a strange shape. At this moment, these corpses were already rotting and stinking, but no one was collecting them, because soldiers were still watching them menacingly from inside the stronghold.

This should be the village of the Qin clan of the Black Serpent Barbarians that Zhou Kaigu mentioned earlier, which was attacked and slaughtered by the Ring-Headed Barbarians.

But the flying ghost didn't stop; it continued to fly deeper into the area.

Ruan Hu saw a group of barbarian soldiers camped near a river. The group numbered only three or four hundred, but they were fully equipped with armor and weapons, including nearly a hundred sets of iron armor.

Ruan Huyi immediately became serious upon seeing this scene; this was definitely not something that ordinary barbarian soldiers could obtain.

"This Huan Shou Barbarian is indeed related to Pei Yuanxiao, and may even be an important part of his plan."

Now I understand why the Huan Shou Barbarians could be reduced to ruins in an instant.

Then, the flying-headed ghost appeared on a fortified village.

"This is the stronghold of the Huan Shou Barbarians."

Ruan Hu recognized the gold rings around the necks of the barbarians and immediately understood where they were.

However, Fei Tou Man headed straight for a reed field outside the city walls, under the moonlight.

There was nothing here, and Ruan Hu didn't understand why the Flying Head Ghost had come here.

"What is this doing?"

However, Ruan Hu then saw a man and a woman sneaking around the place. The man was wearing a gold ring around his neck, clearly a nobleman.

The woman's attire suggests she was from the Chu region, perhaps a woman who was abducted or brought in through a marriage alliance.

The man and woman made love in the reeds, and they seemed very eager to do so.

Whether it was a man or a woman.

Ruan Hu thought to himself, "This flying-headed ghost is only a head left, yet it still has this hobby of peeping?"

However, Ruan Hu soon learned their identities through their conversation.

The woman was actually the wife of Gong Tian, ​​the chieftain of the Huan Shou Man tribe.

The man was the chieftain's cousin.

The man opened his mouth, his voice filled with resentment at not becoming the leader, and he vented this resentment on the woman in his own way.

"You think you can look down on me, huh!"

"what!"

"You look down on me."

The woman seemed very excited as well, and shouted loudly.

"That's it, let's get our revenge on him, get our revenge on him!"

Little did the man and woman know that a head was hiding in the reeds in the night, spying on their affair.

The scene ended, and Ruan Hu successfully received the message that the flying head ghost wanted to pass on to him.

Having learned their identities, Ruan Hu understood the meaning of "Flying Head Ghost".

"These two people can be used."

The Flying Head Ghost truly lived up to its human origins; although its speech was not very fluent, its meticulousness far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Ruan Hu felt more and more that using this flying head ghost to cooperate with the Detective Agency was the right thing to do; one of it could do the work of several Zhou Kaigu.

Ruan Hu summarized the information that the flying head ghost had just sent back: there were three images in total, but each one was crucial.

First, it allowed Ruan Hu to understand the true extent of the chaos caused by the Huan Shou barbarians in the area, rather than the few sentences reported that resembled the cannibalistic descriptions in historical records during a famine.

Secondly, the Huan Shou barbarians are not ordinary barbarian soldiers. They have iron armor secretly funded by Pei Yuanxiao and have deep connections with the local garrison commander. They are capable of fighting and cannot be treated as ordinary barbarian soldiers.

Third, the Huan Shou barbarians were not a monolithic entity; they had various internal conflicts that could be exploited.

Ruan Hu got up late at night, and the palace maids outside immediately opened the curtains, while the eunuchs lit lamps.

Ruan Hu deliberated for a long time, then wrote down two secret edicts and summoned his men.

"One of these two secret edicts is to be given to Zhou Kaigu, and the other to the Assistant Inspector of Wuxi."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)