Lu Dakuan was still speaking when someone inside the room shouted, "Lu Daizaiwai, are you tricking me again?" The curtain was lifted, and a burly man nearly two meters tall emerged.
He was so tall that he had to stoop low to exit, his massive frame making the surrounding objects appear tiny. He had a round face, a full beard, and wore an eye patch. His clothes were tattered, and he reeked of something foul, as if he had been fished out of a slop bucket, looking like a beggar.
"Zeng Shazi, what are you shouting about?"
It seemed this person was Zeng Huan.
As Zeng Huan was about to speak, his peripheral vision caught sight of Li Man'er, and his heart skipped a beat. He immediately became vigilant, pretending not to recognize Li Man'er, and continued to curse Lu Dakuan, "Didn't you say you brought something good? Where's the wine, where's the meat? You came with empty hands?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Even if you sold me, I wouldn't be worth the price of a pot of wine! Someone is looking for you."
Zeng Huan shifted his gaze to Li Man'er and Ah Qi, "You're looking for me?"
Li Man'er smiled, "So you're Zeng Shazi. I've heard of you."
Lu Dakuan's body tensed slightly, but he said nothing, standing crookedly to the side. There were still many onlookers, and some brave ones even beckoned Lu Dakuan, inquiring about Li Man'er and Ah Qi's identities.
Lu Dakuan ignored them all, his gaze fixed on Li Man'er's expression.
"You've heard of me, what do you want?"
Li Man'er scrutinized Zeng Huan, "I see you are tall and move with ease. It seems your injury is only to your eye, and nowhere else."
"What do you mean?"
Li Man'er said, "This is a time when people are needed. Surely you know that?"
"I..." Zeng Huan cleared his throat. "Well, of course I know." He still harbored some hope, so he patiently played along with Li Man'er.
Li Man'er glanced around at the people and remarked, "Like Lu Dakuan, with his injured legs, he certainly cannot charge into battle. But you've only lost one eye, why not don your armor again and go fight?"
Zeng Huan had always presented himself as defeated and dejected. He got drunk every day to better conceal his identity.
"Fight whom? They're all dead," Zeng Huan snorted, intending to turn back into the house.
"Ah Qi!"
Li Man'er commanded, and Ah Qi dared not disobey. He immediately lunged at Zeng Huan, leaping high and delivering a flying kick in mid-air that landed squarely on Zeng Huan's back.
Zeng Huan's muscles tensed. He turned to grab Ah Qi's ankle, but Ah Qi dodged nimbly, leaping into the air and landing steadily.
Zeng Huan knew this fight was unavoidable. He let out a roar and lunged at Ah Qi with his fists. Ah Qi was agile, and Zeng Huan possessed immense strength. They clashed, their fight becoming quite spectacular.
There are always those who enjoy a good spectacle. The two fought evenly, with cheers and taunts from the onlookers.
Li Man'er watched Zeng Huan's movements closely, gradually gaining an understanding.
From his physique and face, Zeng Huan bore a striking resemblance to the barbarians. However, his facial features were not as flat as those of the barbarians, and his eyes were not narrow and puffy. Instead, he had a pair of large, round, tiger-like eyes.
Although his build was powerful, there were still certain differences compared to the barbarians. From a lineage perspective, the barbarian traits were not pronounced, suggesting he might be a hybrid, with half or a quarter barbarian blood.
Furthermore, his fighting style primarily featured trips, throws, leg sweeps, and foot hooks. He also favored grappling throws, having twice grabbed Ah Qi's shoulders in an attempt to throw him.
Observing this, Li Man'er was convinced. This man named Zeng had barbarian blood, and in his heart, he did not consider himself a subject of the Zun Kingdom. His continued presence likely meant he was working for the barbarians.
This implied that barbarian spies had already infiltrated. It was possible there was more than just Zeng Huan. Why would Zeng Huan take a fancy to a woman like Gao Yujuan, who was unchaste? Was it merely out of some need? Could it not be that he was trying to recruit people to work for him?
Gao Yujuan had a worldly demeanor, clearly a woman of loose morals, making her easy prey. Working as a general laborer in logistics, she had access to many things.
Take the incident of putting castor beans in the dumpling filling, for example. Without Gao Yujuan, who would Zeng Huan have found to help him? Although it failed this time, would they be so lucky next time?
As for Damao and Xiaomao, it was likely they had long sided with Zeng Huan. If they didn't listen to Zeng Huan, would they not listen to Gao Yujuan?
A child's values are not yet formed. Whatever they are taught, that is what they become. The influence is detrimental.
These spies must be rooted out!
"Alright, stop fighting." Li Man'er called out, but the two engrossed in their fierce battle paid her no mind.
Li Man'er had no choice but to pull out her Emei dagger and quickly step between them, pushing and blocking to separate them.
"Both of you, stop."
Ah Qi immediately retreated two steps and cupped his fists towards Zeng Huan, "Good skills, good strength." Having dealt with barbarians many times, Ah Qi could see what Li Man'er saw.
It seemed the lady was right; Zeng Huan was highly suspect.
"With such impressive skills, you must have been a formidable general on the battlefield." Li Man'er sheathed her Emei dagger and smiled, "Interested in a chat?"
For some unknown reason, Zeng Huan inexplicably agreed. Li Man'er then said, "Good. Lu Dakuan mentioned you like to drink. Coincidentally, I have some good wine. Let Lu Dakuan come along, and we can talk over food and drink."
"Drinking so early in the morning, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Zeng Huan perfectly portrayed the image of a hopeless drunkard. The mention of wine made his eyes light up, clearly piqued.
"Appropriate, why wouldn't it be? It's settled then."
"Then, I shall gratefully accept your invitation."
Li Man'er gestured for Ah Qi to lead the way, then glanced thoughtfully at Lu Dakuan, "You come too."
Lu Dakuan inexplicably felt his heart race, sensing something momentous was about to happen.
"Everyone disperse, disperse, don't crowd around." Lu Dakuan feigned calmness as he shooed away the onlookers, then limped along beside Li Man'er, not daring to overthink.
The four soon arrived at the Iron Blood Camp. Since both Lu Dakuan and Zeng Huan were brought by Li Man'er, the guards waved them through without a second glance.
Li Man'er led them into the main tent and ordered food and wine to be served.
Zeng Huan couldn't help but cast a few glances at the tent's interior. His heart pounded rapidly; he vaguely felt that a golden opportunity had presented itself.