Ashes to Crown

Chapter 222: Chapter 46: Sowing Discord (Part 2)

After the soldiers from Chen County arrived that day, Chu Zhao had them handle the aftermath. She didn’t ask them to stay and had intended to press on immediately, but they hadn’t gone far when a posthouse soldier from Chen County caught up, reporting that King Western Liang was raiding the Border County.

And so, Chu Zhao stayed behind.

She stayed behind to get the latest updates on the situation so she could plan a new route and hasten her journey to Yunzhong County.

Chu Zhao thanked him but made it clear she was still going. ”The soldiers and people of Yunzhong County aren’t afraid of the Western Liang Soldiers, and neither are we.”

The General’s gaze went past Chu Zhao to the group behind her—a cluster of ”guards” who didn’t look the part. They were staring at him, but when he met their eyes, they flinched and quickly looked away—

If they weren’t in a military camp, the General believed, they would have scattered and fled immediately.

The General had figured out their identities long ago. Never mind their rough-and-tumble air; wanted posters for many of them were still hanging outside the government office in town. They had tried to hide their faces with ragged cloths after seeing the soldiers, claiming injury, but it was a poor disguise.

However, since the young lady said they were her guards, he wouldn’t press the matter.

The General said to Chu Zhao, ”Miss, you still don’t have enough guards. However, we have no troops to spare for you. We’ve just received orders from the court that all garrisons are to strictly defend their own territories.”

They found this order a bit strange. Logically, at least some troops should have been dispatched to reinforce the Border County.

Chu Zhao wasn’t surprised. ’The threat from the King of Zhongshan is more urgent than the crisis in the Border County. That’s why the court ordered all garrisons to hold their positions. If the King of Zhongshan were to suddenly make a move, it wouldn’t be the Border County in peril, but the Capital City itself.’

This was also why she had stopped to wait for news and readjust her route—not because she feared the war with Western Liang, but because she was worried about an ambush from the King of Zhongshan.

Of course, she couldn’t explain all this to the soldiers here, or it would cause a panic. Chu Zhao thanked the General again. ”I understand. I will consider it carefully.”

The General said no more and galloped off.

Watching the General gallop away, Ding Dachui, who was standing in front of a nearby tent, let out a breath of relief, though his body remained tense.

”Well, this is ironic,” someone beside him muttered. ”Us, living in a military camp.”

Ding Dachui turned to see who had spoken. It was another bandit chief, Ge Laosan. Their eyes met, and the moment felt a little awkward.

There had been three bandit strongholds on Luoying Mountain. Chang Laizi had courted death and been killed. Ge Laosan, like Ding Dachui himself, had been beaten into submission.

Now, the two of them were in the same boat. So despite the awkwardness, Ge Laosan gave him a meaningful look before walking off a few steps.

When Ding Dachui followed him over, Ge Laosan was alone inside the tent. He had sent everyone else outside to stand guard.

Ge Laosan was staring at a map.

”Can you even read that? You’re completely illiterate,” Ding Dachui said.

Ge Laosan flipped the map face down on the table. ”I may be illiterate, but I still have ears. Cut the crap. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do now.”

He looked at Ding Dachui.

”Are we really going to be her guards?”

Back then, they had come down the mountain with the girl, posing as kind-hearted hunters, right before the soldiers showed up.

The sight of the soldiers had given them a real scare.

What was even more startling was that the girl didn’t introduce them to the soldiers as the ”kind-hearted hunters from the mountains.” Instead, she just said they were all her guards.

That statement was even more startling because it meant the girl had clearly seen through their fake hunter identities.

If she had actually called them hunters, the local soldiers would only have to do a little digging—

Their wanted posters were still hanging in town for a bounty.

But the girl said they were guards, so the soldiers didn’t give them a second glance. Even if they noticed something was off, they were smart enough not to say anything.

Over the past few days, they had seen things even more clearly. This girl’s background was definitely not simple. Even high-ranking generals in the military camp rushed to salute her first.

This girl’s family fortune would indeed be a big score, but it was a score they couldn’t possibly pull off.

”She’s heading to Yunzhong County, but Western Liang’s forces have already reached there. Going now is a suicide mission,” Ge Laosan said in a low voice. ”Even if her family is rich and powerful in Yunzhong County, the Western Liang Soldiers are like a plague of locusts. Nothing will be left.”

Ding Dachui had naturally thought of this as well. He was silent for a moment before asking, ”What’s the alternative?”

”We run, of course,” Ge Laosan whispered. ”We leave this place, find another mountain... and then, to hell with being ’guards’ or having a ’new boss’—”

Before he could finish, a cough sounded.

The cough was gentle, but to their ears, it sounded like a clap of thunder.

For an instant, their breath caught in their throats. They couldn’t move, couldn’t even turn their heads, frozen to the spot.

”It’s been a few days. Were you thinking of me?”