Chapter 195 - 195 Excited Yet Nervous
195 Excited Yet Nervous
Su Binglan realized that Lin Zheng was a hot-blooded person. She said softly, “It’s good that you’re asking about these things, but you don’t have to be a general to do great things. Even ordinary people can make a change.”
Lin Zheng’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at his boss. “Is that true? Will you teach me how?”
Su Binglan replied, “You can do many things if you’re capable. Come on. I’ll bring you somewhere so we can avenge these people.”
Lin Zheng was stunned and did not regain his senses for quite a while. “Master, is the avenging you’re talking about the same thing I understand?”
Su Binglan nodded, “Yes, it’s the literal meaning you understand. Someone killed these innocent people, and we won’t stand for it. We must do something about this.”
She was not one to meddle in other people’s business, but she felt depressed when she saw the state of the village and its villagers. She felt stifled and needed to vent.
If no one stood up and did something about these incidents, the culprits would always think they could get away with such heinous crimes. Perhaps these culprits would target the next village, so Su Binglan wanted to do something about it.
Lin Zheng was very excited when he heard his boss’s words, but after a while, he collected his thoughts and felt something was off. “M-Master, do you know who did this?”
Of course, Su Binglan knew. She could use the compass to figure out who invaded and terrorized the village. She said, “I have a hunch. Let’s take a detour and ask around.”
Su Binglan’s ability to guess amazed Lin Zheng, but he also knew his master was not an ordinary person. If his master said so, then so be it. Lin Zheng would never doubt his master’s words, after all.
Immediately after, Su Binglan led Lin Zheng to a mansion.
“Isn’t this Zou Mansion?” Lin Zheng asked.
Su Binglan responded, “Yes, King Jian might be here. Lord Zou is King Jian’s official. Lord Zou was once a bandit, but he later joined King Jian and became a high-ranking official. Now, King Jian and King Jin are fighting because of the occupation of the fiefdom.
“Fighting in a war requires many things, and food is one of the most vital. King Jian’s grain production is more on the low side, so Lord Zou probably arranged for his subordinates to invade the village to please his king.”
Lin Zheng was shocked when he heard that. “H-How do you know so much, Boss?” He would have suspected Su Binglan had lived here if he was not with his boss the entire time.
Su Binglan pointed at her head and said, “You must learn to think beyond what’s in front of you. We heard many things on the way here; some were more helpful information than the rest.”
The duo had rested at inns or places with many people, and Su Binglan sometimes got off her horse to walk around every town to listen to others gossiping.
Still, some information was more helpful than others. The duo had passed by some towns on the way to Zou Mansion, and Su Binglan would hear people discussing.
Moreover, she could hear more whenever she focused. She remembered every piece of information she had heard.
Lin Zheng was shocked when he heard Su Binglan’s explanation. He admired his boss even more. Lin Zheng thought no one could compare to his boss’s ability. He knew he had to listen, think, and see more in the future.
When Su Binglan finished explaining, she said, “Let’s go in.”
She removed a rope from her straw bag as she spoke. Then she threw it upward, and the hook at the rope’s end latched onto something. Su Binglan tugged the rope to ensure it was secure and quickly climbed it.
From Lin Zheng’s point of view, Su Binglan climbed the rope effortlessly as if she was merely walking on a flat surface. He simply followed suit.
When the duo reached the top, Su Binglan put away the rope. The duo did not need to climb like that, but she wanted to treat it as training. She would think of ways to teach Lin Zheng things whenever possible.
There were soldiers and guards scattered around Zou Mansion. Most knew Lord Zou as Zou Kongtie. He was King Jian’s high-ranking official because he had done many despicable things to please his king.
Although Zou Kongtie did horrible things, he solved several of King Jian’s problems many times. That was why he was such a high-ranking official.
Even if Zou Mansion had patrols, these people were nothing to Su Binglan as she had effortlessly infiltrated the mansion with Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng followed his boss, feeling increasingly amazed. He thought his master could do anything. Still, he felt excited yet nervous.
Lin Zheng was sweating all over, but he looked at his master and saw how calm and collected she was.
Su Binglan entered Zou Kongtie’s room, her footsteps were light, and the person inside was utterly unaware of her presence.
Lin Zheng dared not breathe loudly, afraid he might accidentally alarm the person.
After entering the room, Su Binglan knocked the person unconscious and whispered to Lin Zheng, “Drag him away.”
“Huh? You want me to drag him away?”
Su Binglan said, “Yes, drag him out of here.”
Lin Zheng carefully asked, “But won’t someone discover us if I do that?”
Su Binglan waved her hand. “The others aren’t a threat. They won’t discover us.”
Lin Zheng realized how easily he could drag the unconscious person out. Su Binglan led Lin Zheng to a quiet place and told Lin Zheng to wake the person up by splashing cold water on his face.
“A-Ah!” Zou Kongtie woke up in a daze. He saw the two masked people in front of him and shivered. “W-Who are you?” He said in a muffled voice.
Su Binglan said in a disguised voice, “Look around you.”
Zou Kongtie’s eyes darted around and found he was in the wilderness. “M-Mmm!” He was so scared that he tried to scream for help.
However, Su Binglan had told Lin Zheng to stuff Zou Kongtie’s mouth with a sock, so he could not make a sound.
Su Binglan told Lin Zheng to tie Zou Kongtie’s hands together, then to the horses. Then the duo sat on their horses to ride away with Zou Kongtie in tow.
Su Binglan said to Lin Zheng, “Consider this your training.”
The duo towed Zou Kongtie along the way with their horses. He was scared and exhausted from walking, wanting to cry. Moreover, the socks in his mouth were stinky as it had been several days since anyone had washed them.
No one had ever tortured Zou Kongtie like that, even when he was a bandit. He wanted to cry, but he could not make a sound. He could only allow the duo to tow him away.
Zou Kongtie could not make a sound and helplessly followed the horses. The horses would drag him along the ground if he did not walk quickly.
He did not know what the duo wanted with him, and they were in the wilderness. It was not until they reached the village that Su Binglan told Lin Zheng to untie Zou Kongtie from the horses.
Zou Kongtie only had a few breaths left at that moment. He felt like he was going to die. However, when he saw the bloody corpses before him, he started to tremble in fear. He was so scared that he jumped.
Su Binglan pulled the rope around Zou Kongtie’s hands hard, and he fell to the ground. “Tell me how you told your people to kill these villagers.”