Chapter Seventy-One: Investigation

After entering the city, Qi Jun and his companions made their way straight to the entrance of the county soldiers’ barracks. Sun Jiu handed the barracks token to the guard on duty at the gate. Once their identities had been verified, the three of them proceeded inside.

The barracks token served as identification for those belonging to the county soldiers’ barracks.

Both Sun Jiu and Qi Jun, being members of the barracks, had such tokens. Deng Fang, as the nephew of County Commandant Feng, was already a familiar face there. With his towering build and dark skin, he was recognizable to anyone at a glance.

Qi Jun was in the midst of a conversation with Sun Jiu when, looking up, he nearly collided with Qi Feng, who was coming out.

“Brother! Brother Deng! What brings you here?” Qi Feng called out excitedly upon seeing the three of them.

“Isn’t it perfectly normal for us to be here? The real question is: why are you hanging around the barracks instead of staying home where you belong? You really are a handful!” Qi Jun frowned, reaching out to twist Qi Feng’s ear.

“Ow—easy! That hurts!” Qi Feng clapped a hand over his ear and slapped at Qi Jun’s arm with the other, wincing in pain. “I just wanted to kill a few more bandits to avenge you…”

“Avenge me? And how exactly were you planning to do that in the barracks?” Qi Jun, though already guessing the gist, still twisted his brother’s ear for good measure.

“Let go first… I’ll explain…” Qi Feng knew his brother was worried after he’d followed Captain He into the mountains on his own. He had no choice but to beg for mercy.

Qi Jun finally released him, folding his arms and waiting.

“That night at Panlong Ridge, when I saw you wounded and carried down by Uncle Liu Kui, I just wanted to get revenge for you. But by then, all the bandits had been dealt with. Captain He said they were heading into the mountains to hunt down any survivors, so I begged him to take me along,” Qi Feng recalled.

“You think those bandits are made of clay? You’d feel better after shooting one with an arrow?” Qi Jun reached out again, intent on twisting his brother’s ear.

Qi Feng quickly backed away, hands clamped over his ears, a hint of grievance in his voice. “I just wanted to stand up for you… And look, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I? Besides, I only walked with them along the mountain path for a day. We didn’t see a single bandit—didn’t even spot a monkey.”

The memory of his fruitless participation in the search left Qi Feng visibly dejected.

“If you really had run into bandits, do you think you’d be standing here now? You’d have died without even knowing how!” Qi Jun’s anger flared again. He rolled up his sleeves, about to give his brother a thrashing, but Sun Jiu and Deng Fang quickly stepped between them to block him.

“Let it go, Brother Jun. Feng already knows he was wrong. And besides, he just wanted to avenge you by killing a few bandits!” Deng Fang pleaded for Qi Feng, giving him a meaningful look to apologize to his brother.

“Sorry, Brother. I was wrong,” Qi Feng muttered, lips pursed in reluctant admission.

“Sir, the boy’s apologized—let’s leave it at that. But Qi Feng, don’t pull a stunt like that again. Those bandits are dangerous; your brother and I barely made it out alive…” Sun Jiu tried to comfort him, about to recount their harrowing escape at Panlong Ridge, but was stopped by a glance from Qi Jun.

“That’s enough—consider the matter settled. But don’t ever do it again!” Qi Jun, unable to resist his brother’s pitiful look, ruffled his hair and pulled him over to Deng Fang. “You take him back out of the city in a bit—make sure he goes home and studies.”

“If I go back, what are you going to do?” Qi Feng quickly shook off Deng Fang’s hand, not wanting to go.

“Grown-up business is none of your concern, brat!” Qi Jun shot him a glare and ignored him.

Qi Feng, thoroughly disgruntled, turned away with a huff.

“By the way, what was that you said? Captain He didn’t actually take you into the mountains?” Qi Jun suddenly remembered something, grabbing Qi Feng by the shoulders.

“That’s right. We just walked the mountain path and came back. Why, are you planning to take me?” Qi Feng’s eyes lit up, thinking his brother had changed his mind.

“If he never went into the mountains, what kind of search was that?” Qi Jun’s suspicions were aroused. He now understood why there’d been no intelligence from the county soldiers before the bandits attacked. The so-called search had been nothing but a show.

“Deng Fang, you take him home.” Qi Jun handed Qi Feng back to Deng Fang and said to Sun Jiu, “Something’s fishy here. Let’s go have a word with Captain He.”

“Leave it to me,” Deng Fang said, grabbing Qi Feng like a chick and tucking him under his arm, striding off as Qi Feng protested and struggled.

In front of the captain’s quarters, Qi Jun and Sun Jiu waited for word from the soldier who had gone in to announce them.

After a short while, the messenger returned and, standing at the doorway, gestured for them to enter. Qi Jun and Sun Jiu exchanged a steely glance and walked in.

“Greetings, Captain,” they saluted Captain He, who sat behind his desk.

“We’re all brothers in arms—no need for such formalities! Please, have a seat. What brings you here today?” Captain He smiled, rising to invite them to sit.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Qi Jun said, glancing at Sun Jiu before taking a seat. “Yesterday, Captain Sun and I were ambushed by over a hundred bandits at Panlong Ridge. Eleven county soldiers fell in battle…”

“What? Is that so? These bandits are truly incorrigible!” Captain He slammed his desk in anger.

“On the day it happened, Young Master Deng sent someone named Xu Sheng to the barracks for reinforcements. Surely you were aware?” Qi Jun recalled Deng Fang mentioning he’d sent a man to seek Captain He’s help.

“Oh? That happened?” Captain He looked momentarily blank, then turned to the soldier standing by the door.

“Captain, yesterday at dusk a young man did come looking for you about something urgent. But you weren’t in, so after waiting a while, he left,” the soldier suddenly remembered, slapping his forehead. “I forgot to report it—please punish me, sir.”

“What? You… you’ve botched a critical matter!” Captain He glared, then jabbed a finger toward the door. “You’ve delayed important business. Go outside and take twenty strokes as punishment!”

The soldier hesitated, then knelt to accept the order and left.

“Captain, isn’t twenty strokes a bit excessive?” Qi Jun smiled faintly at Captain He.

Naturally, this little play between Captain He and his confidant didn’t escape Qi Jun’s notice. He saw through the ruse but, lacking proof, could not dispute their conclusion.

“My failure to discipline my men is my own fault. Still, I’m glad you two came through unscathed. It’s only a pity about those eleven fallen brothers. I will get to the bottom of this!” Captain He put on a show of grief and remorse.

“An investigation is warranted. I’d also like to ask, Captain: when you led your men to search the mountains that day, did you really notice nothing unusual among the bandits?” Qi Jun asked, frowning in dissatisfaction.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you accusing me?” Captain He’s tone turned harsh.

“Captain, we just…” Sun Jiu began, trying to explain.

“Silence! Did I give you leave to speak?” Captain He snapped, glaring at Sun Jiu, who, though stifling his anger, dared not retort since Captain He outranked him.

Qi Jun understood that Captain He was reminding him to mind his place; as an adviser hired by Feng Qinian, he truly had no standing to question the captain’s actions.

That Captain He didn’t chastise Qi Jun directly was likely out of respect for County Officer Feng’s influence.

“Please, Captain He, don’t be angry. We have no intention of overstepping. We only hope some compensation can be arranged for the fallen soldiers.” Qi Jun bowed, continuing, “Also, the spoils from Panlong Ridge have been tallied and brought to the barracks. Only a small force remains on the ridge; we hope you can dispatch reinforcements as soon as possible.”

“Compensation for the wounded will be handled according to the law and submitted for County Officer Feng’s approval,” Captain He replied. But his eyes brightened noticeably at the mention of the loot. “How much was seized?”

“Twenty thousand strings of copper coins, and over three hundred weapons—swords, spears, staves, and the like,” Qi Jun replied. Of course, he would never give the full amount; twenty thousand was only a fifth of the total haul, but it was still a considerable sum.

As for the bandits’ weapons, Qi Jun knew Captain He would see little value in such a heap of scrap metal.

“Twenty thousand?” Captain He narrowed his eyes at Qi Jun, knowing full well that the bandits at Panlong Ridge, entrenched for over a decade, must have amassed a fortune far greater than that.

But since Qi Jun turned over only this much, there was no way to know how much he and Sun Jiu might have kept for themselves.

Still, since Qi Jun and Sun Jiu were willing to hand over Panlong Ridge at all, it was clear there was nothing substantial left. Captain He had after all agreed to act on Qi Jun’s plan, and it was Sun Jiu’s men who had taken the ridge. Even if he suspected something, he had little choice but to accept the outcome.

A share of twenty thousand strings and a pile of junk was better than getting nothing at all.

“Thank you for your efforts, Captain Sun. I’ll send the third detachment to relieve the garrison at once,” Captain He replied with a polite smile, already scheming to have his men comb the ridge for any overlooked treasure.

“We’ll leave the rest to you, Captain. We have other matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave,” Qi Jun said, realizing he’d get nothing more useful here. He and Sun Jiu rose, saluted, and departed.

“Sir, Captain He sure is tight-lipped. What should we do now?” Sun Jiu looked back over his shoulder and asked quietly.

“There’s definitely something off about him. But questioning him won’t get us anywhere. Looks like we’ll have to talk to a few others instead.” Qi Jun sighed and drew a few banknotes from his breast.

Sun Jiu glanced over curiously and saw the clear seals of several wealthy merchants stamped on the notes.