Having spent the last few days observing his house guards, Ling Zhang realized that the level of skills possessed by the guards of his family varied; some of them had genuine skills while others just wanted to put food on their table.

It was impossible for them to truly protect the Ling family from rampant bandits or the prefecture guards.

The first thought that occurred to Ling Zhang was to fire the incompetent ones and keep only those with real skills.

The second idea involved finding a way to train his men to become an elite group of guards!

Alas, his knowledge in the art of war was too shallow to give his guards a soldier’s training. But he could still apply the tactics that his mother had taught him!

According to ancient history, the Eight-Diagram Tactics could be employed to trap enemies. This fact had been emphasized over and over again since antiquity until it became a legend. Now, driven by need, Ling Zhang found himself remembering a lot of knowledge about tactics and formations that he had previously forgotten. The Eight-Diagram Tactics was one of them and, considering its legendary status, he thought it was definitely worth a try.

Well, it was probably impossible for them to achieve the miraculous things that the Eight-Diagram Tactics did, but it was totally possible for him to strengthen the fighting capacity of the guards and to make the guards of Ling family a force to be reckoned with.

As for the exact tactics to be used or how to incorporate it in training, Ling Zhang hadn’t come up with anything concrete yet, just some rough ideas.

Besides eliminating incompetent guards, it was also necessary to test the characters of the guards to make sure that those who stayed had the ability to keep secrets.

Because of his idea, Ling Zhang was trying to remember everything about tactics these days. Whenever he got a minute, he would shut himself in his study and draw out everything he could recall. Luckily, the memories were very fresh, as if he had just memorized them yesterday.

Then again, it was a pity, because his drawings were all he had at the moment; the books on tactics left behind by his mother had already been burnt by his father.

“Young master, the second master is back!”

The servant’s announcement pulled Ling Zhang out of his thoughts.

Ling Zhang got up and left his courtyard to look for Ling Zhaowen.

“Uncle, have you arranged the men who would escort Jia Yuanling?” The uncle and niece discussed this affair after they entered the study and dismissed the servant.

Ling Zhaowen nodded, “Yes, I’ve done that already. The men who escort Jia Yuanling are Lord Tao’s. So it took me quite a while to convince them into this.”

“It won’t go wrong, right?” Ling Zhang felt uneasy when he heard that the men were Tao Feng’s followers.

Ling Zhaowen chuckled, “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. You’re forgetting that Tao Feng is now on the same boat with us. Even if he knew our plan, he would turn a blind eye. He will never expose us.”

“The falling-out between Jia Family and Zhang Chong benefits not only us, but Tao Feng as well.”

Not that Ling Zhang couldn’t see it through, but because of the ordeals that he’d been through in his previous life, he developed a sense of wariness and vigilance against anyone other than his immediate family members.

Sure, Tao Feng was on their side for now. But that might easily change in the future.

Lin Zhaowen was highly pleased to see Ling Zhang showing his concerns. “It’s wise to be cautious. Indeed, we can’t trust Tao Feng completely. That is why I’ve contacted those officials through indirect means. If things go south, nobody would be able to dig up any dirt on us.”

Ling Zhang was relieved to know that Ling Zhaowen had already planned ahead.

Ling Zhaowen patted Ling Zhang on the shoulder, “What the Jia family did was despicable. I will never let them off the hook. By the way, I heard that you’ve been joining Wang Dashan, the leader of the guards, every morning in their exercise routines?”

“Currently, my body is too weak, Uncle. I’m planning to take up martial arts to strengthen my body,” Ling Zhang answered.

“Good job. You should ask Maomao to do the same.” Ling Zhaowen was confident in his nephew’s judgement and didn’t see the need to question the choices in his nephew’s life. So he never hesitated to put out the suggestion that Maomao should follow Ling Zhang’s footsteps in taking up martial arts as well.

“...” Ling Zang was rendered speechless. “Uncle, Maomao is still too young for martial arts. He can start learning in a few years.”

Ling Maomao had to get up early every day to go to school. Ling Zhang was pretty sure that the little brat would cry if he had to get up an hour earlier just to throw a few punches and kicks.

Ling Zhang’s reminder made Ling Zhaowen realize that his son was indeed a little too young to undergo martial arts training. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and said, “Well, let’s wait a few more years then.”

Meanwhile, Ling Maomao had no idea how close he came to be forced to get up while the sky was still dark every day in order to practice martial arts.

...

In the Prefecture Yamen, Tao Yi rushed into Tao Feng’s study and said, “Father, Jia Zhong went to visit Jia Yuanling.”

Tao Feng put down the book in his hand. “Is everything in the prison arranged?”

Tao Yi nodded. “Yes, sir.”

In Prefecture Prison.

Jia Zhong had to go through gate after gate to get to his nephew’s cell. Needless to say, there was a discontented look on Jia Zhong’s face as he walked. He lost his temper as soon as he saw Jia Yuanling in a white prison uniform, huddled in a dingy cell with his life hanging on a thread. “How dare you! How dare you confine my nephew in such a terrible cell!”

“Lord Jia, the cells here are all the same,” the jailer said with a smile.

“Even so, you should clean it up...”

“Uncle!” The light returned into Jia Yuanling’s eyes the moment he heard Jia Zhong’s voice. He struggled to his feet and rushed towards the bars. Overjoyed, he grasped the bars hard and shouted, “Uncle, are you here to save me?”

Jia Zhong winked at Jia Yuanling, telling him to stay calm. Then he turned to the jailer and said, “Open the cell.”

The jailer hesitated. “That’s… that’s against the rules.”

“I command you to open the door! Do you still value your life?” Jia Zhong kicked the jailer, and the poor guy staggered backwards.

The jailer winced in pain, anger flashing across his eyes. Holding back his anger, he lowered his head, and opened the cell door. The jailer watched the two members of the Jia family with resentful eyes as Jia Zhong entered the cell.

“Uncle, I will be released from prison, right?” Jia Yuanling asked, grabbing Jia Zhong’s arm in anticipation.

Jia Zhong looked at his nephew’s disheveled appearance, and was instantly hit by a wave of emotions. Jia Yuanling’s grip on his arm was so strong that his arm hurt. Suddenly, his expression turned harsh. “Jia Yuanling, calm down,” he said.

Jia Yuanling shuddered at the reprimand. He withdrew his hands and whispered, “Uncle! Uncle, can I go out now?”

Obviously, Jia Yuanling had been tortured in prison; he had lost the aggressiveness that he’d shown in court.

“Calm down. I am here to save you now,” Jia Zhong comforted.

Thinking that he was finally saved, Jia Yuanling was going to rush excitedly out of the cell.

Startled, Jia Zhong stopped him quickly. “What do you think you’re doing?” he growled.

“I thought you said you’re getting out of here?” Jia Yuanling fumed, annoyed at being stopped.

“Not now. Listen, if you don’t calm yourself right now, you can forget about ever getting out,” Jia Zhong reprimanded.

Jia Zhong’s threat calmed Jia Yuanling down, causing the latter to stare at Jia Zhong expectantly.

Seeing that Jia Yuanling had finally calmed down, Jia Zhong approached him and whispered, “After a while, there will be some officials who are going to escort you to the frontier. I’ve already bribed those tasked to escort you. So they will take care of you and will not let you be bullied. When you get to the frontier, Commander Zhang will send someone to secretly take you back to Tanyang.”

Jia Yuanling had been about to voice his objection when he heard that he was still going to be exiled. But he quickly calmed down again when he heard that he would be transported back to Tanyang in secret.

“He’s going to save me? That day, in the court of justice, he didn’t even show me any mercy, he even gave me a hard kick!” Jia Yuanling said, clenching his jaw tight. His face became murderous the moment they talked about Zhang Chong.

“That’s all because of your own stupidity. Commander Zhang was there to save you that day, but you yourself have already confessed. You’ve put him in an awkward situation. It will arouse public rage and everything will go out of control if he handled things carelessly back then,” Ji Zhong said coldly.

Jia Yuanling’s jaw remained tightly clenched; his face becoming more hideous. “This is all Ling’s doing. I won’t let him off lightly.”

“None of us will. You need to focus on healing first. It’s going to be a long journey. You can’t just die halfway in the journey, you understand?” Jia Zhong said.

“I can’t stand this place for a second longer. How the hell am I even going to recover?”

“I will bribe the jailers to switch you into a better cell. I’ll ask them to get you a doctor too.”

Jia Yuanling calmed down a little.

“By the way, did you see two men with broken legs who had been brought in here?”

“Over there,” Jia Yuanling pointed to a place some distance away from his cell. “Who are they? What do you want from them?” Jia Yuanling asked.

“That’s none of your business. What you need to do is to get well after the doctor has seen to your wounds.”

Jia Yuanling balled his fists and said nothing anymore.

...

“My lord, young master, Jia Zhong is gone.”

As soon as Jia Zhong left, someone in the prison notified Tao Feng and Tao Yi.

“So, how about it? What did he tell Jia Yuanling?” Tao Yi asked.

“He said that Zhang Chong would rescue Jia Yuanling when Jia Yuanling reached his exile destination. After that Jia Yuanling will be sent back to Tan Yang,” the man said.

“I knew it,” Tao Yi said.

Tao Feng glanced at the messenger, “What about the two men with broken legs? Has Jia Zhong contacted them?”

“Yes, my lord. But those two men had been tortured beforehand. They all passed out. Jia Zhong didn’t manage to ask them anything,” the man answered.

“Well done! Alright then. That’s all for now. You’re dismissed,” Tao Feng said.

“Yes, my lord.” The messenger left Tao Feng’s study.

“Looks like Ling Zhang is right, Zhang Chong really is planning to save Jia Yuanling,” Tao Yi said.

“Because Zhang Chong doesn’t want to abandon the mine field of Jia Family.”

“What should we do? Are we supposed to just sit around and let Zhang Chong and the Jia family team up?”

Tao Feng gave a sneer. “That’s impossible.”

“Father?” Tao Yi looked at Tao Feng in bewilderment.

“Ling Zhaowen have taken action already. They are just waiting for Jia Yuanling to put his neck into the noose,” Tao Feng said.

Tao Yi was taken aback. “Has the Ling family taken action already? I didn’t expect that the Ling family, gentle and kind as they usually are, could be so ruthless to Jia Yuanling.”

An Encounter with Bandits