The two were eventually driven by Alhatu to lead the way. Their hands were tied behind their backs with ropes, and they walked in front. Fourth Prince, Thirteenth Prince, and Alhatu were all on horseback. Cui Da and Cui Er, along with several soldiers of higher rank, followed behind on horseback, with the soldiers on foot at the rear.
The two men led the group through the mountains and forests for most of the day, but they still couldn't find a precise direction. Exhausted, they collapsed to the ground.
"Do you two even know the way? I feel like we're still wandering around in this mountain forest!" Alhatu, a seasoned veteran, though not yet forty, had seen many battles. In the eighteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, when he was not yet sixteen, he had fought alongside Princess Feiyanggu in the Three Feudatories Campaign. In the twenty-fifth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he again served as Feiyanggu's vanguard general in the great battle against the Russian invaders. Therefore, Alhatu, now only thirty-six years old, had already been appointed as a regional admiral, which was indeed a testament to his considerable talent.
The two people sitting on the ground quickly begged for mercy, saying, "Sir, please give us some water. We're human too. We've been walking for most of the day, and we're exhausted and hungry. Our eyes are starting to see stars, and we can't tell which way to go."
Alhatu flicked his whip, which lashed out like lightning at the two men. Several cracking sounds were followed by their screams of agony, like pigs howling and ghosts howling.
"Spare us, sir! Spare us, sir!!!" The two men were whipped to the ground, rolling around and begging for mercy. The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince watched coldly, but Cui Da, who was behind them, couldn't bear it. He rode up behind the Fourth Prince and whispered, "Master, this admiral is too ruthless. They just wanted a drink of water and a bite to eat. Giving them that wouldn't be unreasonable. They're right, we've been walking for most of the day, and we're thirsty and hungry too."
Fourth Master watched as Alhatu continued to whip the two men and said coldly, "You don't understand. When fighting the enemy, you must never show the slightest pity, or you'll be the next one to be whipped like this. Those two men say they're pitiful, but judging from their rolling figures on the ground, they're not ordinary people. They look like they've been whipped, but actually, not many lashes have actually hit them."
When Cui Da heard what Fourth Master said, he quickly went to observe the two men rolling on the ground, but he couldn't figure out how they avoided Alhatu's whip. They were just lying on the ground howling.
"If you don't behave, next time I'll beat you until your skin is ripped open. Get up, sir, give them both some water." Alhatu put away his whip and shouted to the rear.
A soldier ran up from behind, took a leather water bag from his waist, pulled up one of the men on the ground, roughly pried open his mouth, and poured a few mouthfuls of water into it. Then he did the same to another man, pulling him up and giving him a few mouthfuls of water as well.
The two men choked on the water and coughed, but they dared not complain and had no choice but to continue walking ahead.
"Thirteen, mark this spot. If we come here again later, we'll recognize it. These forests are all pretty much the same; it's easy to get lost," Fourth Master said to Thirteen beside him.
Thirteen nodded, pulled out a dagger strapped to his leg, and made several cuts on the branches of a large tree.
Following Thirteen's example, Cui Da and Cui Er also made marks.
As darkness fell, the forest, already lush with trees and leaves, grew increasingly dim, almost completely dark.
"Immediately gather materials from the local area, cut down some small trees, split them into strips, and make torches," Alhatu said to several mounted generals and soldiers as he rode up behind him.
Fourth Master, Thirteenth Master, and Cui Er rode their horses to surround the two men, while Alhatu ordered his men to cut down trees to make torches.
"My lords, it's getting dark. We're even less likely to find that place now. You really have to trust us, otherwise I'll exhaust myself and starve to death leading you around like this," said the man whose identity had been recognized by the Fourth Master.
“If you still can’t remember the way, I’m afraid the Admiral will take your lives immediately. Listen, do you hear that? It sounds like wild beasts are howling.” Thirteen said to the man playfully.
Cui Da and Cui Er listened carefully and, sure enough, they could faintly hear a low howling sound coming from the distance.
"Brother, what kind of wild beast is this? Could it be a tiger?" Cui Er was timid and became frightened first.
"Don't talk nonsense. There are so many of us here, what are we afraid of? Even a tiger is afraid of us!" Cui Dahu said firmly.
"Look, what's this?" Fourth Master said suddenly as he rode his horse to a large tree.
Thirteen rode over, and upon seeing the knife marks on the tree trunk, he was instantly enraged. He dismounted, strode over to the two men, grabbed one of their arms, and snarled, "Did you do this on purpose? We've been here before. I marked the spot, and you've been leading us in circles, haven't you?"
The man looked terrified and quickly said, "Oh dear, we really can't walk! We've already said it, we can't remember the directions. Even if we've come back, it wasn't on purpose. Sir, we've told you everything we need to say, please forgive us."
Thirteen wasn't about to let them off the hook, so he started beating him mercilessly. He threw several punches and then a few kicks, pinning the man to the ground until he was barely moving.
“Sir, even if you kill him, it won’t change anything. I think it’s getting dark, so why don’t we spend the night here? When it’s light in the woods tomorrow, we might be able to find our way.” Another man quickly said this, fearing that if he didn’t speak up, the man on the ground would be beaten to death by Thirteen.
At this moment, Al-Hatu returned with his men carrying some torches. He ordered his men to make more torches and distribute them to the soldiers behind him.
Seeing the man on the ground who had been brutally beaten by Thirteen, he exclaimed in surprise, "What happened? Is this guy trying to be sneaky again?"
Fourth Master said in a deep voice, "We've come back again. We should have been here before."
Upon hearing this, Alhatu became enraged. He threw his torch to the ground, grabbed another man, and was about to give him a good beating when he heard Fourth Master say, "Keep them alive. Let them spend the night here. We can talk about it tomorrow. Tie them to the tree and hang them up so they don't escape at night or get eaten by wild animals."
The two immediately begged for mercy, but no one sympathized with them. Thirteen, Cui Da, and Cui Er together hung the two from the tree.
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