The First Military God of the Border

Looking at the leader's murderous gaze.

The bandits dared not conceal anything and recounted the whole story, beginning and ending.

After hearing this, Bai Shirui's eyes were so fierce they could kill, and his face was extremely gloomy.

He turned and walked into the mountain stronghold.

"Gather all the brothers and go down the mountain..."

"I want to see what kind of hunter he is, that he could kill so many of us."

Just as the enraged Shiraishi Rui roared...

Chen Ning stopped him.

"Old Bai, calm down, calm down."

Bai Shirui glanced at Chen Ning: "What, are you going to stop me?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ning's expression changed. He didn't look at Bai Shirui, but instead turned to stare at the bandits who had just escaped.

"Hunter? What kind of hunter are you talking about?"

"How's your archery? Are you a hunter from Sigou Village?"

The bandit was taken aback, wondering how he knew so much detail.

"Replying to the general, they are indeed from Sigou Village. Their archery skills are superb; I almost didn't make it back."

Chen Ning's expression immediately darkened, and he turned to look at Bai Shirui.

"Boss, this person cannot be touched, at least not now."

"What do you mean? He's just a hunter."

Bai Shirui looked puzzled: "The one who died was the second-in-command of my White Tiger Mountain, and seven or eight brothers. If I don't avenge this, how can I, as the leader, explain to my brothers?"

Chen Ning patiently explained, "Boss, it's not that I don't want you to take revenge, but now is not the time. This person's background is suspicious, and the general is secretly investigating him."

"What?"

"Who is he that he has alarmed the general?"

"This is a long story. The general suspects that the archery expert who was at the An family's house at the time was him."

"The general suspects that he is the one who killed Chu Yanlai and a group of border soldiers."

"This person cannot be touched until the general has investigated the matter thoroughly."

Bai Shirui said nonchalantly, "Since the general suspects him, that's easy. Let me go and bring him back. We'll torture him and dig out any secrets he may have."

"Boss, calm down. The situation is different now. This man has a good personal relationship with Ma Dayuan, the magistrate of Linjiang County. If he makes any rash moves, not only will Baihu Mountain be besieged by government troops, but even the general will have to deal with the pressure from Ma Dayuan."

"Boss, I can assure you, once the general has investigated thoroughly and we find a legitimate reason, how could we possibly fail to take him down?"

Shiraishi Rui wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately didn't say anything more.

He was once a member of the border army.

They were well aware of the relationship between the border troops and the local government. On the surface, they were both subjects under the rule of the same emperor, but in reality, they were already irreconcilable enemies.

They lived a comfortable life as bandits here.

If Ma Dayuan targets us and brings people to harass us every few days, that won't do either.

The bandit on the side looked at the two men and asked, "Boss, what about my brother's revenge?"

Bai Shirui glared at him: "Shut up and get back. Nobody is allowed to cause trouble for that hunter on their own. If I find out anyone has taken him down, don't blame me for not showing brotherly affection."

Seeing Bai Shirui's murderous gaze, the bandits dared not utter a single unnecessary word and hurriedly entered the mountain stronghold.

Chen Ning turned to Bai Shirui and said, "Boss, the situation is unstable right now, so just bear with it for now. The Northern Barbarian army is pressing in, and nobody knows how long we can hold out on the border."

Shiraishi Rui sighed.

He was well aware of the fighting strength of the Northern Barbarians, and knew that it was impossible for them to hold the border with their current forces.

"What are your plans, General?"

Chen Ning said, "The general said you don't need to worry about anything else; your job is to guard the things."

Bai Shirui nodded: "General, rest assured, these things are perfectly safe with me."

Chen Ning watched as all the carriages entered the mountain stronghold, then mounted his horse, and the other border troops quickly assembled as well.

Then, after saying goodbye to Shiraishi Rui, he led his people out of the canyon.

Lin Hui stayed on the platform on the cliff, watching until Chen Ning and the border soldiers walked away before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"What exactly is it?"

Lin Hui frowned deeply.

His mind raced, frantically trying to figure out why Cheng Wuyou would take it so seriously, sending his deputy general to personally deliver it and even hiding it in White Tiger Mountain.

Military equipment? Silver? Or something else?

Lin Hui thought about it again and again but still couldn't be sure, because he could come up with a reason to refute every possible one.

He wanted to go inside and find out what was going on, but the gate of the stronghold was heavily guarded, and bandits patrolled the inside of the stronghold constantly.

Going in would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Moreover, Lin Hui overheard bits and pieces of their conversation.

Cheng Wuyou is investigating him and told Bai Shirui not to touch him.

In that case, he and Sigou Village would definitely not be attacked by the bandits of Baihu Mountain in the short term.

Since it's likely he'll meet with bad luck if he goes in alone, why not find more people to investigate?

Fan Wujiu and his group have almost fully recovered from their injuries, and they are all experts, so sneaking in shouldn't be a problem.

Lin Hui followed the vines down to the bottom of the ditch, then turned around and climbed up to the other side of the ditch, thoroughly surveying the terrain around the valley before slowly retreating to where the horses were tethered.

Upon arriving at the destination, Lin Hui immediately mounted his horse and quietly headed back.

By the time Lin Hui got home, it was already very late.

In the courtyard, Ling Ziyi and Shui Feiyuan were still cleaning up the bloodstains on the floor.

The body was gone.

After tying up the horse, Lin Hui went out and looked around.

"Is the body disposed of?"

Ling Ziyi stood up, patted the water stains left from wiping the blood off her hands, and said, "The village chief called a few young men from the village to drag all the bodies into the woods."

"forest?"

"Yes, what I mean is, if we dig a hole and bury it, it will be time-consuming and laborious, and it will also leave a trace. In this season, the wild animals in the mountains are starving, and if the carcass is left in the forest, it will be gone the next day."

Lin Hui nodded, took the bamboo broom from Ling Ziyi's hand, and said, "You two go cook, I'll clean up."

Shui Feiyuan and Ling Ziyi responded simultaneously and turned to walk into the kitchen.

A short while later, Ling Ziyi came out again. She stood next to Lin Hui and asked, "What's the situation with my brother and the others?"

"They've recovered very well and there are no problems anymore. I've already discussed it with them, and they'll be allowed to enter the city in batches in a couple of days. They'll all be accommodated at Shiweitian's winery."

"We can let them enter the city a little later."

Lin Hui looked at Ling Ziyi with a puzzled expression: "What do you mean?"

"Think about it, White Tiger Mountain doesn't have as many people as Eagle Ridge. Although Eagle Ridge has lost most of its brothers, with you and me joining forces, we should be able to sneak in and take them down without any problem."

Ling Ziyi's eyes were shining as she spoke, looking eager to try.

Lin Hui shook his head: "I went with the surviving bandits to check it out. The terrain of White Tiger Mountain is unique, it's not easy."

"What? You didn't catch him? I was already sent flying by your arrow."

Lin Hui chuckled: "When I chased after him, I thought about killing him with an arrow, and then having my elder brother lead men to completely wipe out White Tiger Mountain."

"But when I arrived at the place, I discovered the bandits' great secret."

"What secret?"

Seeing Ling Ziyi's expectant eyes, Lin Hui continued, "The bandits of Baihu Mountain have connections with the border army. I saw Chen Ning, the deputy commander of the Ningyuan garrison."

"Chen Ning had more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages hidden in the mountain stronghold."

"I suspect there's a conspiracy involved."