Chapter 327: Nosebleed

Li Daoxuan held a bowl of dry-fried beef noodles, slurping the noodles while placing his “Concern” on Bai Yuan, shadowing him on his “business trip.”

Bai Yuan, clad in white robes, carried a huge, long rectangular box on his back. Accompanied by a group of trusted servants, he passed through Quangou Village, headed east along the official road, and soon entered the territory of Heyang County.

This stretch remained within Li Daoxuan’s field of vision.

Since Gaojia Village was located at the border between Chengcheng County and Heyang County, his vision was actually expanding into both counties simultaneously.

He had long been able to see large areas of Heyang County, even spotting many villages and small towns. However, having barely grasped Chengcheng County itself, Li Daoxuan hadn’t been in a hurry to extend his reach into Heyang County.

Now that Bai Yuan was going to Heyang County on this “business trip,” Li Daoxuan saw an opportunity. He decided to seize this chance to finally start “reaching out” to Heyang County.

Shortly after Bai Yuan entered Heyang County territory, a group of people came to meet him. It was County Magistrate Feng Jun of Heyang County. This magistrate wasn’t old, appearing only around thirty, even younger than Liang Shixian.

Upon seeing Bai Yuan, he clasped his hands respectfully: “You must be Mr. Bai Yuan?”

Bai Yuan quickly returned the salute: “That would be me. Are you Lord Feng Jun, the County Magistrate of Heyang?”

Feng Jun nodded with a sigh: “Yes! I am Feng Jun. Ah, recently, that villain Fan Shanyue has been causing quite the stir, leaving me extremely bothered. I originally heard Shaanxi’s General Wang Chengen was going to deal with him, but then the Jurchens invaded the passes. All five divisions of troops had to enter the capital to serve the king. To say I’ve been having a difficult time here is an understatement. Brother Liang mentioned that Mr. Bai has organized a large militia in Chengcheng County, running it very effectively, and even once repelled an attack by Fan Shanyue on Chengcheng County. He said you have a way to deal with that Fan Shanyue.”

Bai Yuan revealed a confident smile: “Indeed, I have a way to deal with him.”

Feng Jun was overjoyed: “Excellent, truly excellent.”

Bai Yuan: “Eh? Lord Feng, your nose is bleeding.”

Feng Jun exclaimed “Ya!”, immediately feeling the blood flow. He wiped his nose, smearing the blood across his face into a distinct horizontal red streak. Heh-hehed and said: “It’s nothing. I’ve had this problem since childhood. Just the slightest bit of happiness, sadness, or excitement makes me bleed. It’s fine, it will stop in a moment.”

Bai Yuan: “…”

Feng Jun: “May I ask what method Mr. Bai intends to use to deal with Fan Shanyue? Will you be bringing the militia from Chengcheng County?”

Bai Yuan smiled: “That won’t be necessary! Lord Feng only needs to tell me Fan Shanyue’s whereabouts. When he ventures out to plunder ordinary citizens, I will be able to take his life right there in the midst of thousands of his troops.”

Feng Jun was startled: “How could you possibly accomplish that?”

Bai Yuan smiled proudly, deliberately not answering – a flaw of his character, he liked to keep people in suspense and show off.

Feng Jun, needing his help, could only let him bask in the moment: “I must remind you, Mr. Bai. Though Fan Shanyue is a bandit, he accepted the position of Heyang Garrison Commander during the last government amnesty deal. Now, he is, more or less, an official of the court. Whatever you do to him must absolutely not leak out. Otherwise, it will bring great trouble upon you as well, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Yuan smiled: “Set your heart at ease, Lord Feng. If you are truly worried, you are welcome to come and watch.”

Feng Jun thought to himself: How could I possibly go and watch the murder of a court official? If I were present at the scene of such an assassination, the aftermath would be chaos!

However…

He genuinely wanted to see it!

If there was a chance, he absolutely would watch.

Feng Jun said in a low voice: “Understood. Fan Shanyue is currently garrisoned at ‘Xiniuzhuang’ in the north of Heyang County. He has raided several nearby villages, bringing misery to the common folk. I’ll send guides with you. You should find an opportunity near Xiniuzhuang, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Yuan nodded: “Good! Then Lord Feng, wait for my good news.”

Feng Jun sent two trusted men to lead Bai Yuan towards Xiniuzhuang.

He stood in place, watching Bai Yuan’s group disappear into the distance. Still uneasy, he gritted his teeth and said to a trusted servant beside him: “Bring my spare clothes. I need to disguise myself and follow them to watch. Fan Shanyue still has two thousand fierce bandits under his command; he won’t be so easily dealt with. Mr. Bai has brought under thirty men; I worry about whether he can succeed.”

The servant quickly handed him a change of clothes. As he changed, his mind drifted to the peace Heyang County would achieve if Fan Shanyue were eliminated. The thought made him happy, and instantly, blood gushed from his nose again.

A servant nearby cried out anxiously: “Lord, your nosebleed stained the clothes!”

Feng Jun swiped at his nose, smearing the blood into another striking streak across the other cheek – one on each side, rather symmetrical, almost like body art: “Bring another set of clothes. Ai-ya… losing too much blood… feeling dizzy…”

…

Meanwhile, on Huanglong Mountain,

Within the Gaojia Village Militia’s temporary camp…

Cheng Xu opened a bamboo tube, pulled out a sheet of paper, and smoothed it out. His expression darkened. Gao Chuwu, standing nearby, couldn’t help but ask curiously: “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Xu: “News came from Gaojia Village. The Jurchens have invaded the passes; all five troop divisions entered the capital to serve Wang. With most officials and troops withdrawn, bandit armies in both Shaanxi and Yansui will become even more restless. The Deity says that before Shaanxi descends into complete chaos, we must accelerate our actions and eliminate Wang Zuogua as soon as possible to attain revenge for our four fallen brothers.”

Gao Chuwu: “Ao! I see! Then we definitely have to step it up, right, Daniu?”

Zheng Daniu: “Ahh, this eight-treasure rice is really sweet.”

Others: “…”

Cheng Xu tossed the paper into a torch to burn it, stood up, and spread out a map.

They had roamed Huanglong Mountain long enough to know the surrounding terrain intimately. Cheng Xu had also basically pinpointed the ravine where Wang Zuogua was hiding.

He tapped his finger on the ravine on the map: “Prepare to attack Wang Zuogua’s lair. We must completely crush him in one battle, lest we betray our mission given by the Deity.”

Others: “Ao!”

Cheng Xu suddenly sensed something amiss: “Why is one of the three idiots missing?”

Gao Chuwu: “I’m still here!”

Zheng Daniu: “I’m here too!”

Cheng Xu rolled his eyes: “I know you two are here. I’m asking, where is the other one?”

One of his personal guards stepped forward: “Ground Rabbit went out early in the morning with Shi Jian leading the scout team on a reconnaissance mission. He said he’s the most elite among the elite; scouting is his specialty, unrivaled under heaven. Shi Jian himself has to call him ‘Sir’.”

Cheng Xu found it both funny and annoying: “He did well scouting once before, and now he’s hooked? Honestly… whatever, leave him be. We do need the area thoroughly scouted before attacking Wang Zuogua anyway. Worrisome relying just on Shi Jian; having that big-eared rabbit out front gives more peace of mind.”