What kind of person can be a scout?
Not everyone can make a living by gathering information. First, they must be unremarkable, neither too tall nor too short, neither too fat nor too thin, someone who can blend into a crowd and go unnoticed.
Secondly, they must be extremely meticulous. Whether it's gathering information, tailing someone, or searching for a person, only by being truly meticulous can they be competent for the job, avoid detection, and save their lives.
The people on the city wall were no longer Xiao Ruqin's men; the garrison had clearly been replaced.
Most of Xiao Ruqin's men had been transferred outside the city. Only the Li family and some of the Xiao family's forces remained within the city. If someone were to take over the city's defenses at this moment, it was possible.
The young scout looked up and indeed discovered something amiss. A dark-faced general guarding the city was a副将 (fùjiàng - deputy general) under Xiao Ruduo, nicknamed "Great Black Tiger."
"It's Fourth Master Xiao's men."
"Aren't you blind?"
The young scout said, "Fourth Master Xiao is one of our own. Even if we go back, we shouldn't lose our lives, right?"
The older scout smacked him on the head, with considerable force.
"Old Bazi, what are you doing?"
The one called Old Bazi pouted his lips, "Look at what they are holding."
The guards were on high alert, their long spears glinting coldly, and faint glints hidden in the shadows that were barely visible if one didn't look closely.
Upon seeing them, the young scout gasped, those faint glints were actually arrows!
This was not a defense against them; it was an attempt to kill them. Fortunately, he hadn't acted impulsively. If he had charged forward, he would likely have died on the spot.
It was infuriating to think that he had almost died at the hands of his own people, rather than on the battlefield fighting the barbarians.
"Old Bazi, you're still the wise one. That's the way." The dark-faced man who hadn't spoken earlier chimed in.
"Hmph, hurry back."
The few of them quietly departed and rode back to the camp at full speed.
By now, it was already broad daylight, and the mist had considerably dissipated. Without even a sip of water, the scouts went straight to the meeting tent and reported what they had seen.
"This is outrageous." None of them were fools. As soon as they heard that the city guards had been replaced by Xiao Ruduo's men, they understood. Hearing that the enemy had arrows nocked and ready further fueled their anger.
"It seems Fourth Master Xiao has set a deadly trap, waiting for us to walk into it and die."
"I've always known he was no good."
"This is clearly setting us up to be branded as rebels."
They exchanged words, each fueling the flames of anger.
Li Man'er remained still, while Qi Yihan seemed even more leisurely, as if watching a play from his seat of power.
"General, what should we do now?"
"General Li, what are your thoughts?"
"Me?" Li Man'er smiled and shrugged, "I only brought forty men, and we've already lost two brothers. I can't help much with the dirty work. Let your general suggest a plan."
All eyes then turned to Qi Yihan.
"We implore the general to decide quickly and present a plan. We cannot bear the blame for the Xiao family's schemes for no reason."
"Right!"
"Exactly! How can the credit for our hard-won victories be snatched away by villains?"
Qi Yihan said, "The most important thing right now is to guard against their night raid on the camp."
"What do you mean by that, could it be..." The man's expression changed, and he fell silent.
Indeed, if they were all alive, the matter of snatching credit would eventually be exposed. But if they were all dead? Then the credit for defeating the hundred thousand barbarian army would fall to Xiao Ruduo.
This would make them rebels, and they might even implicate their families and bear eternal infamy.
The men were furious. "Let's fight them!"
"I've killed a hundred thousand barbarians, why would I fear them?"
Li Man'er, who had remained silent, said, "We are all people of Zun Kingdom, brothers guarding the northern frontier together. Do you intend to engage in fratricide?"
"General Li, they are the ones trying to kill us now! If we don't resist, aren't we just waiting to die?"
"Exactly!"
"Could it be that General Li has a good idea?"
Li Man'er glanced at Qi Yihan. Seeing no special reaction from him, she said, "There's a saying: strike first and prosper, strike later and perish. In my opinion, we should preempt them."
"Does the general mean we should attack the city?"
Qi Yihan, however, said, "Inappropriate."
"Then what's the difference from fratricide?" Li Man'er said, "My intention is to use the same tactics we used against the barbarians on the Xiao family."
She calculated that Xiao Ruduo's leg ailment should be acting up by now. The needle buried in his meridians was not something just anyone could remove. Once it flared up, he would know how treacherous human hearts could be. To completely resolve his leg problem, he would have to seek her out.
"I will go and negotiate with the Xiao family."
"How can that be? They won't show any mercy; your life might be in danger."
Li Man'er, however, said with great confidence, "Don't worry, they won't kill me."
At the same time, Xiao Ruduo's leg ailment flared up, causing him such pain that he almost wanted to commit suicide.
The unprecedented pain made him want to smash his head against a wall. Even the thought of slitting his own throat flashed through his mind.
If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to endure it and would have taken their own lives on the spot. But Xiao Ruduo was ambitious and a formidable figure, with self-control far beyond that of an ordinary person. He managed to bear it.
The two military doctors summoned to give him acupuncture were helpless. No matter how hard they tried, they could not relieve his pain. They couldn't even diagnose the cause, only guessing that it was a relapse of an old ailment, or even worse.
But Xiao Ruduo did not believe so. He knew his own body. In the past, when his leg ailment acted up in winter, it was painful, but it was a pain he could endure. He could even chat and laugh with others, ignoring the pain in his leg. But the current pain was bone-deep, as if every bone had needles inserted into it. His legs were so numb with pain that he couldn't tell which leg was injured or which was healthy.
Previously, only one leg pained him; now both legs ached, and they showed signs of swelling.
This was clearly Li Man'er's doing, a scheme she had been plotting against him for a long time.
"Issue an order: no matter what, spare Li Man'er's life. Do not harm her."
"Yes!"
After the messenger left, Xiao Ruduo took another painkiller, hoping for some relief. Unfortunately, the painkillers had no effect. It was only when he finally fainted that the ordeal came to an end.
Li Man'er tried to persuade Qi Yihan to let her go alone to negotiate with the Xiao family.
"Don't worry, they won't dare to hurt me. I have something to bargain with."