Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey
Chapter 51: Bait (Part 1)

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Bait (Part 1)

"Boss, something terrible has happened. The brothers we sent down the mountain to set the fire have been completely wiped out. Their corpses are all hanging outside the camp."

"What should we do now?"

"We must retrieve the bodies of our brothers. We can’t just stand by and watch their bodies exposed!"

"You’re right, we have to recover the bodies. Boss, quickly dispatch someone!"

The night raid ended in complete failure, and Black Pine Village was in chaos. All the leaders gathered in the main hall, some angry, some excited, others fearful, their expressions varied.

Zhu Yidao’s expression was also very grim. He slammed the armrest of his chair forcefully: "What’s all the noise about! Everyone shut up!"

Seeing the boss angry, everyone fell silent. However, no one left, waiting for the boss to instruct them on what to do next.

A patrol team had been killed and two were captured alive, surely compromising the terrain and location of Black Pine Village. In anger, Zhu Yidao sent men down the mountain for a night raid to set fire. However, the fire was extinguished before it started, and those sent out were like meat buns thrown to a dog—never to return.

The most treacherous thing was that the opponent had hung the bodies outside the camp. Clearly, it was bait!

No, we can’t fall for this trap!

But Zhu Yidao couldn’t bring himself to say that. He was the leader of the bandit’s camp, and he relied on cruelty and loyalty to gather the bandits. If he just allowed the bodies to be exposed, what would the bandits think of him?

All eyes were on Zhu Yidao. He had to make a quick decision, and after much struggle, he gritted his teeth and said, "We can’t act tonight. We’ll wait a day or two until the camp below the mountain lets down their guard, then I’ll personally lead a team to retrieve the bodies of our brothers."

The bandits breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "The boss is indeed the most loyal!"

"We’ll follow the boss’s arrangements."

The bandits dispersed one by one, leaving only a one-eyed bandit behind. This one-eyed bandit was short with a sinister and fierce demeanor. He spoke softly, "Boss, they have many people, and if we stay in the village, we can still survive. But if we go like this, we might not return."

Zhu Yidao revealed his frustration and anger only in front of his trusted subordinate: "Do you think I don’t know that? But just now, you saw it too. With so many people watching, what else could I say?"

The one remaining eye of the one-eyed bandit flashed a stern look. He whispered, "Let’s wait for a day. Tomorrow night, I’ll take people to snatch the bodies. If we manage to retrieve them, so be it. But if I don’t return, boss, you should run early!"

That was precisely Zhu Yidao’s plan.

Now that the one-eyed bandit volunteered, it was for the best. He patted the one-eyed bandit’s shoulder hard: "Alright! For such an important matter, I can only trust you. Once we get through this, I’ll make you the second in command."

The one-eyed bandit said, "Who knows if we can get through tomorrow. I don’t care about becoming the second in command, just let me enjoy the beauty for a night."

Zhu Yidao didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed, personally leading the one-eyed bandit into a room.

Inside the room was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, slender and delicate, with an elegant and beautiful appearance.

"Serve my brother well," Zhu Yidao threatened with a cruel smile, "If my brother is not satisfied, I’ll kill your father and your elder brother with one slash."

The one-eyed bandit, who had long coveted the beauty, couldn’t restrain himself and rushed forward, pulling the girl into his arms.

The girl showed a look of despair and sadness in her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks.

...

The day broke quickly.

Dozens of corpses hung outside the camp, filling the air with a strong stench of blood.

Steward Cai, looking pale and green, started retching at the sight. He had already vomited everything in his stomach last night.

Liu Hengchang, passing by Steward Cai, paused to kindly remind him, "Steward Cai, if you can’t hold on, return to the tent."

Steward Cai painfully shifted his gaze, wiping his mouth with his sleeve: "It’s nothing, I can hold on." He pulled himself together and instructed the personal soldiers to chop trees and build the camp.

With a paper showing a simple map, Qin Zhan came to Jiang Shaohua: "Commandery Princess, yesterday I interrogated those two captives, and this is the map of Black Pine Village based on their confessions."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly, took the map, looked at it carefully, then tapped the black spot on the map with her finger: "This is Black Pine Village."

"Yes," Qin Zhan said softly, "They confessed that it takes more than twenty miles of mountain roads to get there. This Black Pine Village is not hidden, but the village gate is tall and overlooks the area, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover, Black Pine Village has two tunnels leading outside the village."

The locations of these two tunnels were also marked on the map.

Jiang Shaohua immediately said, "Send people into the mountain to guard the exits of these two tunnels."

Qin Zhan nodded in agreement.

Jiang Shaohua thought for a moment and added, "There might be other tunnels in Black Pine Village. Deploy more people to watch closely, and if there’s any movement, immediately fire the signal rocket."

On flat ground, bamboo whistles could deliver messages, but within the mountains, they weren’t enough. For this bandit suppression, the personal guard camp specifically brought signal rockets. These were specially developed by military craftsmen as communication tools. When shot into the air and exploding, they were very noticeable even during the day.

Qin Zhan took the order to make arrangements.

Song Yuan continued to lead the personal soldiers to guard the Commandery Princess.

After last night, the atmosphere inside the camp had grown much tenser.

Jiang Shaohua went to the Wounded Soldier Camp.

Sun Guangbai and Sun Zelan, the brother and sister, were busy changing medicines for the wounded. Among them, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old wounded soldier, injured in the chest, blushed and was reluctant to remove his clothes.

It was fine with Sun Guangbai, but Sun Zelan was a young and beautiful maiden.

Sun Zelan patiently comforted him, "In the eyes of a doctor, there’s no distinction between genders. You don’t need to be shy, quickly take off your clothes, and I’ll change your medicine."

Qin Hu couldn’t hold it in any longer and stepped forward: "Miss Sun, give me the medicine, and I’ll apply it for him."

Sun Zelan, however, was unappreciative, peeking her face, speaking firmly, "I have to check the wound and adjust the dosage according to the injury. Can you do that?"

Qin Hu: "..."

Qin Hu sheepishly closed his mouth.

Jiang Shaohua watched with some amusement, coughing softly: "Qin Hu, step back and don’t interfere with Miss Sun treating injuries."

Qin Hu felt slightly aggrieved but silently stepped back behind the Commandery Princess. His good brother, Meng Sanbao, winked at him, and Qin Hu glared back.

Jiang Shaohua didn’t pay them any attention and walked to the wounded soldier’s side: "Miss Sun is a doctor, with a healer’s heart. Be prompt."

The wounded soldier didn’t dare disobey the Commandery Princess’s orders, responding with a reluctant voice, struggling to undress.

Wait, why isn’t the Commandery Princess leaving either, and why are her bright eyes staring over?

This wounded soldier felt even more embarrassed, opting to close his eyes.

After checking on this wounded soldier, Jiang Shaohua went to see the other wounded one by one. Then, she stopped in front of an unfamiliar young face: "Is this the government official from Li County?"

From behind, Song Yuan confirmed: "This is the sole government official who fought back when encountering the bandits."

The young government official was seriously injured, but fortunately, there were no fatal wounds. He lay on the bed, pale and weak.