That man was only on two legs, how could he possibly outrun several cavalrymen? Without any surprise, Liu Yang kicked the man to the ground.

They immediately tied him up and pushed him in front of Lü Tu: "Kneel down!"

The man looked up weakly at Lü Tu, then quickly looked away and kowtowed repeatedly: "I am Laifu, I don't know where I have offended you, sir."

"You know me?"

"I know you, oh no, I only saw your majestic figure when I was with Wei Hanshan that day."

Lu Tu laughed and said, "I didn't realize you were so good with words. Tell me, what are you doing sneaking around Wuchuan like this?"

Unexpectedly, Laifu, who had always been timid, suddenly shut up firmly when he heard these words.

Since Lu Tu had nothing better to do anyway, he became interested when he saw him like this: "Trying to act tough with me, huh? You should have heard about my methods."

Lai Fu glanced timidly at Lü Tu, then stubbornly said, "I'll die anyway if I tell you, and not only will I die, but my family will die too."

Liu Yang kicked Lai Fu to the ground: "Stop arguing with us. While I'm in a good mood today, hurry up and tell us!"

Lu Tu nodded: "Tell me, Huai Shuo can't possibly send you here as a spy. What can you possibly find out with your character?"

Upon hearing Lü Tu's change of heart, Lai Fu's earlier courage vanished instantly. He kowtowed repeatedly to Lü Tu, pleading, "My lord, if I tell you, will you spare me?"

"Tell me first. I can't just let you go if you're plotting against me, can I? I'd be such a scoundrel."

Lai Fu curled his lip: "I dare not hide it, I am here to deliver a secret letter."

"To whom?" A sharp glint flashed in Lu Tu's eyes.

"Xiao...Zhong".

Who delivered the message to Xiao Zhong?

"Deng Lang, the Colonel Who Destroys the Enemy".

Upon hearing the rank of Colonel Polu, Lü Tu knew that Deng Lang had been promoted again recently. If things continued like this, he would soon catch up with him. And the person who could deliver the message to Xiao Zhong should be Deng Lang, if nothing unexpected happened.

But these words had a different meaning when they reached Liu Yang and the others' ears. Especially since Liu Yang had been by Lü Tu's side for a long time, he had also picked up Lü Tu's violent temper through what he saw and heard.

He immediately shouted angrily, "That old bastard Xiao Zhong actually betrayed Huai Shuo and sided with that traitor! I'll go and drag him here for a face-to-face confrontation!"

"Stop!" Lu Tu called out to Liu Yang.

Liu Yang looked at Lü Tu with resentment: "Brother, this spy would never speak carelessly. Otherwise, why would he send a message to Xiao Zhong instead of me? Besides, he usually manages all the affairs of the village. If he were to defect to the enemy, it would be a devastating blow to us!"

Lu Tu nodded: "A general must remain calm. Let me see what the letter says first. You all need to leave for a moment."

Seeing Lü Tu's calm and composed demeanor, Liu Yang knew that there was no use in rushing at this point, so he simply led the others to stand a few dozen meters away.

Lu Tu stretched out his hand to Lai Fu: "Show me the secret letter."

"Sir, I know you keep your word, but could you please promise me you'll let me go after you've read the letter? My son is only three months old, my wife is seriously ill and bedridden, and my mother..."

Lu Tu waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright. If the letter doesn't mention anything about you, I'll let you go."

He would certainly let Laifu go, after all, this guy was sent by Deng Lang to deliver the message, which meant that Deng Lang at least trusted Laifu, and such correspondence always needed someone to deliver it.

Unfolding the secret letter: "Mr. Xiao, please tell Lord Lü that Deng Lang endured humiliation and hardship in the Huai Shuo army, and finally, after wiping out the Wu Huan squad yesterday, he was successfully promoted to the eighth-rank Po Lu Colonel. Moreover, Zhao Wuyou personally received me and also asked me to focus on dealing with you."

Lord Lü, if you see this letter, I hope you can believe me. Deng Lang, like you, is a man of his word and will never break his promise.

These past few days, Zhao Wuyou has been gathering a large number of refugees, most of whom are infected with smallpox. I suspect they will drive these troublemakers into Wuchuan territory in the next few days. Please make sure your village is prepared in advance. Also, please don't make things difficult for the messenger; he won't speak carelessly.”

After reading the letter, Lü Tu confirmed through the handwriting that it was written by Deng Lang himself, and then destroyed it on the spot.

Seeing Lü Tu's furrowed brows, Lai Fu felt a sense of foreboding and kowtowed repeatedly, but dared not utter a sound.

Seeing this, Lü Tu raised his hand and said, "Get up."

"Oh, thank you, sir, thank you!"

Lu Tu took out 10 taels of silver from his pocket and handed it over: "I keep my word. The letter did not mention you. You can use this money to supplement your household expenses. If you come to deliver a letter again in the future, just find any soldier and say you are looking for me."

Lai Fu nodded repeatedly, still shaken. The moment Lu Tu's expression turned cold reminded him of the day Wei Hanshan died.

"Yes, sir. I have always been a man of few words and will never reveal a single word."

Lu Tu waved to Liu Yang, who was in the distance, and when they came over, he pointed at Lai Fu and said, "Do you have any food? Give him some to eat on the way."

Liu Yang and the others all had the habit of carrying dry rations. After all, the training intensity set by Lü Tu was very high on weekdays, and they had developed the habit of saving their extra food and making some easy-to-carry dry rations on their bodies for emergencies.

He handed all the flatbreads he had on him to Laifu. Laifu was flattered and overwhelmed. He had thought he would die on the way, since everyone knew that the relationship between the two sides had deteriorated to the extreme after Wei Hanshan led his men to attack last time.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!