"Hmm... those children and women, did you spare them when they begged?"
"Young master (少爺 Shàoyé), I don't know..."
Not yet finishing his line, he had already rolled on the ground, crying in pain as Yang Jun swiftly stabbed his back with a wooden chopstick.
"I have followed your trail for six months. Do you know how many times I refrain myself from killing you? For each child and woman you abducted and raped, I wanted to stripe you one by one -- hanging your corpses on the Jin's State gate."
Hearing that statement, the bandit was terrified. This kid before him knew all along, their deeds and even connected them to Jin state. No wonder for this past half year, less and less children and women they delivered.
"H-how do you....?"
"Since you toiled so hard to reduce Yang's military morale, you have to know that even tiger leaves its track after hunting. Why is only targeting Yang's household military troops and their families? The answer is to loosen the border between Gifu and Jin. Creating diversion to reduce military morale and gaining some advantage by raping and selling their family while unattended, seems to be a good idea. Moreover, Yang household military is the weakest among five founders. Because of the black qilin seal that hold the second power within governance, emperor has been wary of Yang Family. Emperor will not favor Yang Family to the length that he will even be thankful to this event. Then, Yang will slowly lose its position and power, resulting weakening the entire nation and creating opporturnity for other nations to strike in. How come a group of bandits ever think about this kind of strategy?"
His expression was indifferent, yet the hand that jabbing the bloody chopsticks said otherwise.
Hearing Yang Jun's explanation, his eyes went blank. He understood that all this time - their deeds wasn't simple robbery and kidnapping. It rooted something evil, that could bring dooms to his family and people. If they were caught kidnapping, they would only face being locked down or tortured physically. But treason was another crime that would wipe three generations family. Not only a person, but his family and descendants would never allow to live.
He immediately kneeled down, kowtowing to the ground. As if the pain on his back was forgotten, he hit his head several times to the ground, begging Yang Jun's mercy.
"Shàoyé, pardon your mercy... We are just bandits who do not know anything about politics and military."
"Do you wish me to believe that while you are messing with my people?" Yang Jun's calm demeanor was changed into anger.
The bandit shouted, "We don't even know whose children and women they are..."
"Ha ha ha..." Yang Jun laughed out loudly, "hey, listen to this man. He is so funny." He turned to the boy, holding on his stomach with left hand, and another one was pointing to the man.
That boy who had long finished his meal watched them without flinching. He was not stupid not to aware of gis surrounding. He wasn't expected to be entangled in this kind of situation. He was just woke up from long sleep and exhaustion from his own journey. He felt like his life was messed enough, and now he had one more problem ahead. Even though he seemed uninterested, but his onyx eyes couldn't stay away from a boy who had just saved him. His heart was beating again - another kind of rythm that he did not understand.
"I don't know that a bandit can have such humor..." He wiped out his tears from laughing, and suddenly grabbed the man's neck with his left hand. His right feet was on the man's hips, while another one propped his body weight. That man so surprised that a little boy could lift and sustain their bodies in such position. His right hand was pressing the chopstick deep. The dazzling bright eyes disappeared into a depth pit - cold and terrifying.
"If I knew, I should have hunted some more bandits to entertain a whole camp of soldiers..."
"Listen up old man, you should have behaved yourself when I was being polite. With or without your assistance, I can dig to the bottom of the matter. However, don't ever anticipate my mercy later. I will never forget the names you kindnapped, raped, sold and dismembered. They are the beloved family of someone's. What do you think I cannot do the same to yours?"
Horror was seen from the man's face.
"I walked through the slum in the town. Horrible sight, but those people were still in better place..."
The man shouted, gritting hit teeth, "No... You dare not..."
"Oh... What makes you think that? Because I am a 'Yang', a noble prime minister's son? Too bad, you have never heard about 'black sheep in Yang Family'. Old man, let me tell you one thing, I am not noble at all."
Seeing that the man had no intention to fight back, Yang Jun let him go. "Tell me everything, maybe your family can be spared. If you tell one lie, one member of your family will face a consequences."
He sat on the ground with empty eyes. Tears flew from his eyes to the cheek, he said dejectedly, "The slum area, near the northern forest was once well known for wild game village. Not only providing the wild game, the northern forest was also home for various medicinal herbs."
"But later, the war between Gifu Nation and Jiang Nan Allianced affected our town. We don't know how this town which originally part of Jin State had turned side to Gifu. Not long after that, the forest area was sealed by local goverment. Without the access, we couldn't afford the living. Slowly, our village was dying and fell into poverty. Villagers who sneaked into forest were died terribly..."
The man shook in fear, as if he forgot the pain he was in right now or he immersed too deep into the past. His eyes were widened looking at Yang Jun.
"Later, we knew why. They accidentally found a lead mine at the foot of the mountain. Local government forced lowly class peasants like us to work at the mine - a day long work without proper food and little wages. Who could stand it? We were doom to die."
"And then an offer came to be group of bandits. We just have to delivered people from ShenGang Desert passage to the mine. The one who sneaked those children and women were ShenGang horse bandits."
"Ah, are you hiding your hand after throwing the stone? I can tolerate a crime committed to satisfy your belly. But, it is not the case. You were torturing, raping, and murdering. Those sins can only be forgiven through death. By tomorrow, the village you mentioned will be burnt to ash."
The man kneeled again, crying out loud and holding Yang Jun's feet, "Please, spare us. You can kill me, but our village has done nothing wrong. Please, young master. I will do anything -- anything for you..."
No matter how much and how loud he cried, Yang Jun was still indignant. He looked down at the man, and asked, "Tell me, Who are those ShengGang horse bandits? How did they sneaked inside city border without alarming the guards?"
"I don't know. I really don't know.... I only know that we usually wait for them at the exit of the rocky cliffs. For this past month, they has never shown up. Our leader said that they might be murdered by that boy, whom we saved from piling snow." That man pointed at the boy who sat across the table.
Yang Jun turned back, meeting gaze with the cold onyx eyed boy. His gaze told Yang Jun that he wasn't interested meddling in. He probably wouldn't tell anything. Moreover, the mysterious boy smelled like a trouble beyond his capability.
Other people might have stayed away from trouble, but not Yang Jun. Even in the middle of argument and fury, he could flirt, "No wonder, I found those wounds on your body so handsome..."
"..."
The boy did not say anything, only sharply looking at him.
"And miraculously, healing by itself. I wonder if there is a magical medication like that in this world."
Yang Jun grinned at him, which he knew the meaning. He decided to keep silent -- not a word was coming from his mouth, except a cynical smirked. Amused by his action, Yang Jun let a short laughed and took out his whistle and started to blow it.
That boy stood there puzzling with his own action. He had been revitalized, nourished his stomach to fullest, wore Yang Jun's warm coat. He did not have any business in that hut anymore. He was free to go, and yet his body did not move an inch. He wondered why, was it because of Yang Jun's essense inside him? Or something else stirred his emotion? This was the first time, in his whole life, he felt something beating inside his heart.
As the whistle blown, two men in black suddenly barged in from the rooftop. They immediately paid respect to Yang Jun and called him,
" 大帥 (Dàshuài) = great commander"
"Da Hai, Zhong Li, please, don't call me with that honorific. I am temporary in charge replacing my grandfather, not yet a chief commander."
Both of them looking at each other and then shouting in unison, "Alright, Shàoyé"
"Did you hear what he said?"
Zhong Li took out a paper map from his robe. The map had few red marks, marked with blood, "Yes, shàoyé, his words are aligned with your prediction. The ShenGang horse bandits are actually Jiang Nan Allianced armies."
"As your prediction, there are traitors inside ShenGang city border. It's General Ma ZhangDa and his troops. They are very slick. Those horse bandits lures our troops to this rocky cliffs area, ambushing and killing them here. While General Ma's men opened the back gate at night for enemy to kidnap children and women. After the event, they do not report this to palace. They even kill protested guards as warning not to opposed superior. Until..." Zhong Li couldn't finish his sentence. He knuckled his fingers so hard that they were bleeding.
Yang Jun, "General Ma from Wei Family? Whether he is acting alone or not, Wei will deny their involvement. Do you collect enough evidence to evict him?"
Zhong Li, "Shàoyé has given me a chance to avange our death brothers, how can I let you down? I have collected much of his evil deeds that he can't run away anymore."
Da Hai, "By the rules of military, he should have been executed to death. If I was assigned to scout the border, I will surely end his life in a gruesome way."
Yang Jun, "What for? If you kill him today, there will be another General Ma knocking at your front door tomorrow. What we want is finding out the people behind and exposing them to public. So,their ancestors would be embarrassed to have such descendants, and their descendants are ashamed to acknowledge them. Their bad deeds will be noted and condemned throughout history."
"Next time, do not say such thing ever again. Our great Gifu has law and order; without it, what the difference between human and wild animals?"
As a young boy, his intellection was admirable; full of dignity. Sometimes he made others wondered, if he was just a thirteen years old or an incarnate sage.
Da Hai was dissapointed with himself, uttered an apology, "Shàoyé, I am sorry. I just cannot stand that our brothers in arms being treated like this. They sacrificed themselves to protect the civilians at the border, and yet.... Because of this matter, most of them died in vain."
Yang Jun, "No, we cannot let their sacrifices waste. That's why, we have to take an action tonight. They who dare to mess with Yang Family will taste a bitterness."
Glossary :
1. 大帥 (Dàshuài) - "Grand Marshal" or "Great Commander"
· Usage: This term was reserved for the overall commander-in-chief of a large army or campaign. It signifies supreme authority in the field.
Reason why Zhong Li and Da Hai called Yang Jun with this title because he was entrusted with Yang military emblem belonged to his grandfather. With that emblem, his rank was in same peer with his grandfather; the same power.