Dujuan said, "The criminal has been arrested. Thank you, Chief Zheng, for dispatching your troops."
"It’s our duty," Zheng Fan replied.
"I will take the criminal with me now, Chief Zheng. May fate allow us to meet again."
Zheng Fan nodded. "Take care on your journey, Miss Du."
"The same to you, Chief Zheng."
Dujuan departed. She rode one horse, while another carried the young man from the Spy Bureau who had been knocked unconscious. With hemp ropes in hand, she led the two bound criminals, moving farther and farther away under the warm afternoon sun.
Zheng Fan squinted into the sun. Behind him, four hundred barbarian soldiers were mounted and ready.
The academy was still the same academy. Only, a few people had died there today.
Liang Cheng asked Zheng Fan, "In the academy, shouldn’t we take anyone?"
"What’s the use of taking them? They’re useless for manual labor. Even if we send them back to Green Willow Fortress, they can’t help with work and would just waste our rations."
"But, just letting them go , immediately..."
"The infamy will follow, won’t it?" Zheng Fan interjected. "They’ll appeal to higher authorities everywhere, write letters to their fellow students and friends, and use every means possible to avenge the humiliation they suffered today?"
Liang Cheng fell silent.
"A Cheng," Zheng Fan continued, "you’re really only suited for leading troops into battle. Why didn’t Zuo Jiqian accept this military order? Why does the Jingnan Army have fifty thousand soldiers, yet couldn’t spare a few hundred to come here and arrest people? Why, even though it’s clear they’re harboring Qian State spies, did Miss Dujuan only take two criminals and leave without questioning the rest?"
Zheng Fan patted Liang Cheng’s shoulder and said with a laugh, "We’re here to be the scapegoats, to bear the infamy. Some people are very protective of their reputations and need subordinates like us to take the fall."
"My lord understands better than I do."
"But we have to bear this blame. Being able to do so proves your usefulness. Perhaps they’ll toss you a sweet date or two as a reward. For those sweet dates, I’m willing to disregard everything else. As for the future, people like us, having come into this world, never planned on living out our twilight years in peace."
As he spoke, Zheng Fan’s gaze fell on the archway behind him. "Let them live," he declared. "Let them be our heralds, our free publicity. It’s too good an opportunity to waste."
"My lord is generous."
"If you’re bad at flattery, don’t force it. Your compliments are always as stiff as you are."
"Haha, my lord, are we heading back next?"
"Going back? Did we ride for three hours just to bully a group of pedantic scholars?"
"Then where are we going?"
"To the place I’ve always wanted to go. Since we’re already prepared to bear the infamy, it doesn’t matter if we cause another huge sensation."
Zheng Fan raised his riding crop.
The warhorse beneath him splayed its hooves and galloped off desperately. Behind him, Liang Cheng and four hundred tribal cavalrymen followed closely!
The setting sun was like blood.
A fortress stood quietly beneath the evening glow.
As far as the eye could see, to the east and west of the fortress, similar Beacon Forts could be seen in the distance. If one’s perspective could rise higher and higher still, one would see fortresses of various sizes scattered across this vast land. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novᴇlfire.net
Without getting too close, from a distance, Zheng Fan pulled the reins. The warhorse beneath him reared slightly and halted. Behind him, the four hundred tribal cavalrymen also reined in their horses simultaneously.
Gazing at the fortress ahead, a smile touched the corners of Zheng Fan’s lips. "Qian," he murmured, "here I come..."