Chapter 14 Human-Faced Dog: Xie Xingzheng
Treat them as they treat you.
Sure enough, the officer leading the investigation in the town was Xie Xingzheng.
Wang Shanyue seemed very excited and almost jumped down from the tree to find him, but Tang Yu stopped him.
“Apart from your senior brother’s Xie family army, the friendliness or foe of the other officers and soldiers is still unknown, so we should not expose ourselves.” Her eyes darkened, and she said in a low voice, “After all, it is still unknown whether the person who rang the bell last night saw our faces clearly. It is better to be careful.”
Wang Shanyue nodded in agreement and continued to lie hidden among the trees with Tang Yu. A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, the leaves whispering softly, an ordinary sound that went unnoticed.
Not far away, Xie Xingzheng was riding his horse through the forest, presumably to investigate clues about the human-faced dog. His black armor gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight. He was accompanied by only a few elite cavalrymen, all of whom were taciturn and composed.
Tang Yu and Wang Shanyue waited for the right moment. When the others had dispersed and only he was in sight, Tang Yu gently raised his wrist.
This time she used an ordinary crossbow, only for sending messages, to avoid revealing her identity.
"call out--!"
A short arrow shot through the air as fast as a meteor, but just as it was about to graze Xie Xingzheng's armor, he raised his hand and lightly turned it, as if he had anticipated it, and caught the arrow steadily without turning around.
He took the note from the arrow's tail and examined it. A slight change finally appeared on his cold, stern face. Without making a sound, he put the note away, turned his head, and let his gaze sweep across the dense forest, seemingly landing on the place where the two were hiding.
Looking at the mountain, he excitedly raised his hand to greet him, and Tang Yu was too late to stop him.
Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself and didn't make any stupid noises.
He lowered his voice and whispered in Tang Yu's ear, "Senior brother has seen us!"
Tang Yu was originally preparing to leave, but upon hearing this, she involuntarily looked up.
She met Xie Xingzheng's gaze and her heart skipped a beat.
Those eyes were like the snow-covered mountains of the Northwest, or like obsidian in the blue waves of winter, deep and clear.
They were actually quite far apart, but for some reason, Tang Yu was certain of it.
The young general on horseback wasn't looking at the big, dumb guy next to him; his eyes were fixed on her without missing a beat.
Seriously? You're so petty? It's just... shooting him with an arrow.
Tang Yu couldn't help but inwardly grumble, but she would never admit that her momentary panic was because she was afraid of him.
Just as she was about to give up and look away, Xie Xingzheng looked away first.
Then, he gently tugged on the reins, as if nothing had happened, and continued to ride slowly. The sound of hooves faded into the distance, echoing through the woods, much calmer than Tang Yu's heartbeat.
*
As night falls, the wind howls at the foot of the cliff in the suburbs.
With a flash of black shadow, Xie Xingzheng landed silently and nimbly behind Wang Shanyue and the other two, demonstrating his extraordinary martial arts skills.
"Senior Brother!" Wang Shanyue exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the newcomer.
Xie Xingzheng nodded as a greeting, but his gaze remained impassive as he looked at Tang Yu.
Wang Shanyue hurriedly introduced with a smile: "This Su Yutang is a traveling doctor we met in Xia Nan. He is returning to the capital with us and is taking the opportunity to see the sights of Zhongjing."
The two were clearly very familiar with each other, chatting away as they looked at the mountains, and they didn't forget to praise Tang Yu to the skies.
Xie Xingzheng was surprisingly patient, listening quietly without showing the slightest impatience.
Finally, Xiao Fangliang couldn't stand his nagging any longer, so he put away his folding fan and lightly tapped Wang Shanyue's head with a "snap": "Enough."
"Ouch." Wang Shanyue groaned, clutching his head, but dared not say anything more. He asked curiously, "Senior brother, are you all alone? How are we going to wipe them all out?"
“Not just me,” Xie Xingzheng said calmly.
With a wave of his hand, the surrounding trees rustled softly, and dozens of figures emerged from the darkness, all dressed in night clothes, standing silently in the night, their killing intent concealed.
Tang Yu's gaze shifted slightly as she slowly swept over the shadows, raising a brow.
These men were all agile and composed, clearly well-trained and no ordinary people. It seems that this young General Xie, though young, is a leader of his generation in both martial arts and status.
Tang Yu's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously took two steps back to create some distance between them.
Unexpectedly, Xie Xingzheng noticed her, paused slightly, and turned to look at her.
"General Xie, is there something you need?" Tang Yu smiled gently, seemingly calm, but in reality, he was quite nervous.
“This matter concerns young children, and to prevent accidental injury, it is not advisable to forcefully attack the cave. I wonder if Young Master Su has a good plan?” His voice was calm and extremely serious, and his eyes seemed to see through her disguise and into the subtle fluctuations in her heart.
Tang Yu was slightly taken aback. She had only been thinking about avoiding him and had forgotten that she was the one who had orchestrated the whole thing.
She looked toward the cave entrance on the cliff, a smirk suddenly appearing on her lips and a glint of light in her eyes. “Since they are using fog to deceive people, we might as well… give them a taste of their own medicine.”
*
The night wind was chilly, and in the shadows behind the forest, everyone lay crouched, holding their breath and awaiting orders.
Tang Yu took out several beads from her bosom, inside which were a specially prepared sleeping potion. Using incense as a catalyst, once the smoke spread in the cave, the sufficient amount of the drug would cause anyone who smelled even a trace to fall into a deep sleep in no time.
Xie Xingzheng took it, examined it for a moment, and then put it back in his palm. "You all step back, I'll handle this."
Despite the darkness of night and the heavy concealment of the cave entrance, he deftly lit the bead and precisely dropped it into the cave.
As the guards, wearing eerie painted masks, stood there in a daze, wisps of smoke slowly seeped from the bead. Before they could realize something was wrong or even cry out, the guards swayed and collapsed to the ground.
Even the mountain breeze seemed to be helping them; as the breeze blew in, the mist seeped even deeper.
After waiting a while, Xie Xingzheng gave the order in a low voice: "Go."
The guards had already covered their mouths and noses and filed in in an instant. Tang Yu and the other two followed closely behind, using the firelight to illuminate the scene inside the cave, which was clearly displayed before their eyes.
The cave has a network of passageways, and the rock walls bear rough chisel marks, indicating that it has been modified by humans.
There are signs of a mechanism here.
Tang Yu's eyes were alert, and she glanced around at her surroundings out of the corner of her eye, not daring to relax her vigilance. She was thinking about how not to arouse suspicion and remind everyone.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure in front of them stopped in his tracks, his short blade lightly flicking the ground—it was an extremely thin tripwire!
"There's a secret agency involved."
Before the words were finished, a "click" was heard from the corner, and a crossbow hidden in the side of the stone wall was activated, with arrows whistling out and grazing past the ears.
Fortunately, the Shadows were highly skilled in martial arts and, after narrowly dodging the attack, became even more vigilant.
Tang Yu deliberately lagged behind by two steps, staying only at the very back of the group.
At this moment, a low rumble, like a boulder sliding, came from deeper within the cave.
Everyone's expression hardened; it seemed that the cave was much larger than they had imagined.
The deeper you go, the more mysterious and unpredictable it becomes. Stalactites hang upside down like blades, stalagmites stand tall, and you can faintly hear the sound of water droplets falling.
Following the shadowy figure who was scouting ahead, the group finally reached the deepest part.
The place was almost completely dark, with several huge boxes covered by opaque black cloth and scattered around.
The moment the black cloth was lifted, everyone gasped.
Inside the box were dozens of thin, frail girls, separated and imprisoned in this simple, large wooden cage. They were ragged, pale-faced, and lay in the filthy, damp cage, reeking of mold, like domesticated livestock.
"Save the child first!" Xie Xingzheng waved his hand.
The crowd rushed forward and cut the chains, preparing to rescue the person, when suddenly they heard several "whoosh" sounds!
Several more arrows shot out from the cave wall.
Fortunately, Xie's army, having fought on the battlefield for many years, reacted quickly, drawing their swords to surround the cage, protecting the children and blocking all the hidden arrows.
But the crisis was not over. The masked men who had fainted suddenly stood up, a bell rang, and a swarm of bats suddenly flapped their wings and swooped down from the depths of the cave.
This momentarily threw everyone into disarray, distracting them from dealing with the bats and leaving them no time to chase after the villains.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the group rushed to a corner, and no one noticed the large wooden barrel covered with burlap sacks.
"Bang!"
The wooden barrel was kicked over, and the blood-red liquid inside poured out, carrying a strong smell of rotting flesh and blood that made people want to vomit.
The group moved swiftly, quickly wrapping the petite figure that rolled out of the bucket in a sack, then turned and disappeared into the deeper tunnel.
Tang Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and she wanted to chase after him.
She could see clearly that it was a little girl; in the chaos, her clothes had slipped down, and there was a faint crescent-shaped mark on her shoulder.
But bats were flying around in the cave, blocking her way.
At this moment, the group had rushed to the deepest part of the rock wall and suddenly pressed a stone mechanism.
With a soft "click," an extremely narrow opening appeared in the stone wall!
"Oh no, they're trying to escape!" Wang Shanyue angrily slashed at several bats, intending to give chase and cut off their retreat.
Xie Xingzheng was methodically directing the guards to escort the child away first. Seeing Wang Shanyue about to give chase, he hurriedly shouted, "Don't chase! Watch out for traps!"
Before they could finish speaking, a deafening "BOOM—!" came from the cave entrance where they had escaped, and the entire cave shook violently!
Fortunately, Wang Shanyue was skilled in martial arts and managed to retreat and turn around, mitigating the impact of the explosion.
Xiao Fangliang was not so lucky. He had no martial arts skills and lost his footing in the violent shaking. He was about to fall backward when Tang Yu caught him just in time.
"Get out of here quickly!" she whispered urgently. "This cave is about to collapse!"
But after she finished speaking, she ran towards the children's cage, bent down to check their pulses, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were unharmed.
She carried one on her back, held the other in her arms, and got up to walk towards the cave entrance.
But at this moment, the cave walls began to shake more violently. This modified cave was clearly unable to withstand such a fierce impact.
The stalactites shattered and fell one after another, instantly sending up fragments of stone and filling the sky with dust.
The entire cave seemed to be on the verge of collapse, barely able to hold on for even a few breaths!
"Take the child out of here!" Tang Yu shouted.
Without taking a step back, she steadied herself and stepped towards the exit.
The next instant, a sharp cracking sound came from the cave wall.
Tang Yu suddenly looked up and saw a huge rock that had come loose and was hurtling straight down behind her!
In those few seconds, she almost instinctively threw the child off her back and held him in her arms, using her body as a shield.
The expected impact and pain did not come as she had anticipated, and she turned around in confusion.
Behind him stood Xie Xingzheng.
He lunged forward just before the rubble fell, shielding her and the child beneath his body.
The stone fell heavily, landing squarely on his outstretched left arm.
Tang Yu seemed to hear the muffled sound of bones breaking.
"Go quickly!" he said in a deep voice. His expression didn't change at all, but the bulging veins and cold sweat on his forehead made it clear at a glance how much pain he was in.
"Take them and get out of here quickly!"
Without waiting for a response, he immediately drew his sword and charged towards the remaining children who had not yet evacuated.
Tang Yu was stunned for a moment, her mind a jumble of emotions, but this was not the time to think. She hugged her two children tightly and ran towards the cave entrance with all her might.
The shadows also protected the remaining children and evacuated one after another.
But the next moment,
"boom--!"
A loud noise echoed through the mountains and fields, and the entire cave collapsed instantly!
Everyone stopped abruptly and looked back nervously.
Xie Xingzheng hasn't come out yet!
The air seemed to freeze until Xie Xingzheng, carrying three children, escaped from the thick dust and rubble of the landslide at the last moment, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
His face was covered in dust, and his clothes were stained with blood, but his steps were steady and his expression remained indifferent.
It was as if tonight was just another ordinary night patrol for him.
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