There was no point examining the corpses on the ground; they wouldn’t yield anything of value. Judging from their martial arts style, they were from Daqian, but not Qingchen’s n.
Xiao Yunjing guessed they were sent by a family from Huayang County. The order must have co from Qingchen. Qingchen should have received news imdiately after Xiao Yunjing captured Huayang County. However, likely unable to spare the personnel or ti to deal with him directly, Qingchen had to send these lackeys to cause him so trouble. Their orders were probably to kill if possible.
Afterwards, several more waves of attackers ca, but Xiao Yunjing decisively killed them all.
Two and a half days later, Xiao Yunjing and his group arrived at a small hill outside Red Leaf Villa.
"Master."
Yun No. 4 and Yun No. 5 greeted him along with the others.
"No need for formalities. What’s the situation now?" Xiao Yunjing raised his hand, signaling for everyone to stand up.
"Master, please take a look," Yun No. 4 said, leading him to an inconspicuous ditch. Xiao Yunjing followed him in.
The ditch was natural, quite deep, about three feet wide, and easily allowed people to pass through.
Deeper inside, at the bottom, n were already transporting the excavated earth and stone.
"Is there a place to dispose of the excavated earth?" Xiao Yunjing asked.
"Yes," Yun No. 4 replied. "There’s a cliff about a mile from here. We can dump the soil there; no one ever goes to that area."
This area was on the periphery of Red Leaf Villa’s grounds. Not only did nearby villagers avoid it, but even Red Leaf Villa’s own people rarely ca this way. No one would ever suspect soone would dare to dig here.
Xiao Yunjing nodded and approached the tunnel entrance. They had already dug a five-mile-long tunnel in just two days.
"How much further until we reach the interior?" Xiao Yunjing asked after inspecting the progress.
"We estimate about fifty miles total."
"Then we must speed up. If manpower is insufficient, call in more. This must be completed before the Lunar New Year." Xiao Yunjing was worried Qingchen might return during the festival.
Provisions like dry rations and water were secured, but accommodation would be more troubleso. Their only option was to hollow out this small mountain for everyone to live inside.
After his inspection, Xiao Yunjing erged and shared his thoughts with Yun No. 4 and Yun No. 5.
"Master, we have sufficient manpower," Yun No. 4 said. "Once the accommodation is sorted, the rest will be manageable."
"Good. In that case, Yun No. 5 and Lord Xu will return to Huayang County. I’ll remain here to oversee things for a few days."
This location was more critical. As for Xu Yi, as long as he had soone by his side to help maintain order and handle miscellaneous difficult matters in Huayang County, there would be no problem.
"Master, shall we depart now?" Yun No. 5 asked.
Xiao Yunjing glanced at the sky and nodded. "Yes, leave now. Lord Xu lacks internal energy and won’t bear this freezing weather well. Hurry, and you should reach Huayang County before nightfall."
The past two days had been unavoidably difficult; they just had to endure it.
Yun No. 5 cupped his fist. "Very well, I will depart at once."
Xiao Yunjing nodded. He and Yun No. 5 went over to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi had also alighted from the carriage and was surveying his surroundings.
"Master."
Xiao Yunjing gestured with his hand. "I’m sending Yun No. 5 to escort you back to Huayang County. I’m entrusting matters there to you."
"Rest assured, Master," Xu Yi replied. "I will not disappoint you."
Xiao Yunjing patted his shoulder. "I have faith in your abilities. However, so people don’t play by the rules. Yun No. 5’s martial arts are good; when you need to use force, don’t be lenient. You understand about making an example of so to warn others."
Xu Yi was capable, but having only recently entered officialdom, he was still a greenhorn, unlike those slick, evasive old hands. Huayang County would be an excellent place for him to gain experience.
Xu Yi nodded; he understood Xiao Yunjing’s implication. Even with all his talent, he was no match for those brazen old foxes without support. It required suppression by force; one’s fist had to be harder.
After seeing Xu Yi off, Xiao Yunjing surveyed the tunnel, considering where to excavate the living quarters.
That night, he and Yun No. 4 stealthily approached the outskirts of Red Leaf Villa, near the forest protected by the array formation. They observed from the periter for half the night before returning.
For now, with the situation unclear, he wouldn’t take any more risks.
"Yun No. 4, you’ve been here for several days. Have you seen anyone entering or leaving Red Leaf Villa?"
After Qingchen left, Xiao Yunjing had withdrawn his surveillance teams from this location.
Yun No. 4 shook his head. "No, Master. Your subordinate suspects that the people of Red Leaf Villa also use a tunnel for entry and exit. After all, not everyone would know how to navigate that array formation. If a spy managed to infiltrate, Red Leaf Villa would have no secrets left."
Xiao Yunjing considered this and found Yun No. 4’s reasoning sound. "In that case," he said, "tell them to be extra careful when clearing the passage, so they don’t accidentally run into them."
"Rest assured, Master," Yun No. 4 replied. "I’ve already instructed them to be cautious."
"Good." Xiao Yunjing patted his shoulder. Truthfully, he never had to worry when assigning tasks to the n from the Secret Sect.
Praised, Yun No. 4 felt a bit sheepish. He scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.
Following the Master offered a promising future; everyone naturally treated these tasks as their own. Unlike before, when they were rely tools for killing.
"Master," Yun No. 4 began, "um, I’m getting married next year during the Lantern Festival. If you and Madam are free, would you be able to attend?"
"Oh? That’s wonderful news! Why didn’t you say so sooner? Who is the bride? She isn’t from the Secret Sect, is she? If so, I’ll have to prepare two sets of gifts." One for the dowry, and one as a bridal settlent.
Yun No. 4 scratched his head, blushing slightly. "Master, she is indeed one of ours from the Secret Sect. It’s Yun Yu."
"Yun Yu? Not bad, you have good taste, kid. And you work fast!"
Xiao Yunjing recalled Yun Yu. Besides the four Wuqing won, there were nearly a hundred other won in the Secret Sect. They weren’t assigned numbers but were given nas following ’Yun’. Yun Yu excelled in many areas and was quite attractive. In fact, no one in the Secret Sect was plain-looking; the n were handso, and the won beautiful.
"Where do you plan to settle down?" Xiao Yunjing asked.
"At the base for now," Yun No. 4 replied.
"That’s good. We’ll all attend when the ti cos." If it was at the base, it would be very convenient for them.
Looking at Yun No. 4, Xiao Yunjing thought about the many other mbers of the Secret Sect. Besides Yun No. 2 and Yun No. 4, whose marriages were settled, many others were no longer young. The older ones were approaching thirty. The younger ones were around twenty, all of marriageable age.
This was a matter he had to take upon himself. When he returned, he would send them all out. If they didn’t go out, how would they get opportunities to et won? It would be best if they went out with the won from Tiger Head Mountain and Blue Clouds Mountain. It wasn’t that won from the outside were inherently unsuitable, but if they lived with Secret Sect mbers for an extended period, the sect’s secrets might be exposed. Of course, ideally, Secret Sect mbers would remain unmarried, but that was unrealistic. They risked their lives for him; he couldn’t deny them the freedom to start their own families. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do that. He just had to do his best to prevent the Secret Sect’s secrets from leaking.
Xiao Yunjing remained there for four more days. Only after ensuring all arrangents were in order did he depart.
anwhile, he received word from Yun No. 5: Huayang County was completely secured. The cunning old hands and established families that required dealing with had all been taken care of. Qingchen’s loyalists, in particular, had been completely annihilated. Yun No. 5 also reported that during the confiscation of these families’ assets, they had seized large quantities of dicinal materials, grain, and countless gold, silver, and jewels—a truly staggering and innurable fortune.
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