Beads of scalding sweat were streaming down his cheeks. Ling Zhang was sweating buckets from somewhat hot medicated bathwater and scorching steam. Though this was the second time that he had taken a medicated bath, he still found the numbness, itch and pain exceptionally unbearable, as if numerous ants were gnawing at his heart. He clenched his fists. His fingertips had deeply sunk into his palm. Fortunately he had no sharp nails. Otherwise his palms would have been mangled and bloody by now.

This was such a miserable experience.

Ling Zhang gritted his teeth to prevent any groan from escaping his lips, as if that would be a signal that would throw him into a breakdown.

Yuwen Tong, whose palms were pressed against Ling Zhang's back, was continuously injecting warm energy into his body, expanding his meridians bit by bit. He was also sweating profusely.

"Hang in there."

Seeing that Ling Zhang was suffering from the process, Yuwen Tong couldn't help encouraging him.

The first time was the most painful, but the second time was the most intolerable.

Only by enduring the first two times accustoming himself to the effects of the medicine would Ling Zhang feel less miserable.

Finally, it was over. Not surprisingly, Ling Zhang passed out again when he abruptly relaxed his concentration.

Like the last time, Yuwen Tong carried him out of the bathing pool, helped him change his clothes and then left.

Since Xia Feng had already seen this kind of thing happen once, he had been quiet from start to finish. After Yuwen Tong left, he stayed in the ante-room.

When Ling Zhang was asleep, something unusual happened outside the Prefecture Encampment as well.

"Elder Brother Wang, we got company."

Liu Yi hiding outside the Prefecture Encampment pushed Wang Dashan who was sleeping soundly beside him. Though Wang Dashan seemed to be in a deep sleep, he woke up immediately after Liu Yi touched him, and his eyes lit up. "They arrived?"

"Yeah." Liu Yi pointed in a direction. "There."

Wang Dashan craned out of the cover and, as expected, saw half a dozen tough hombres, who were dressed like common residents but walking very like bandits, go to the entrance of the encampment, show the guards something like an ID plate and then enter the encampment swaggeringly.

"Young Master was right. These guys indeed come here tonight!"

Wang Dashan stared at the Prefecture Encampment with piercing eyes, trying to figure out what those people did in there. Pity his eyesight was not that good, so he angrily gave up.

"There's no need to be anxious, Elder Brother Wang. Don't let fretfulness cloud your judgement. Since young master only bade us stalk those bandits, all we need to do is follow them closely after they come out. The Prefecture Encampment is heavily guarded. Even if we manage to sneak in, we won't be able to eavesdrop on them."

"I know. I'm angry because as the commander of the Prefecture Guards, Zhang Chong is so unruly as to let those bandits into the encampment with no misgivings whatsoever. He's in thorough collusion with bandits!"

"Haven't I informed you of this long ago? Why are you still so indignant?"

"Because now I saw it with my own eyes."

Speechless with resignation, Liu Yi ignored him and re-concentrated his attention on the front gate of the Prefecture Encampment, waiting for those bandits to come out.

On a branch of a tree in the distance sat a man in black against the trunk, leisurely chewing a cracker half of which was between his lips. Compared with vigilant Wang Dashan, he literally seemed to be on an outing.

"Those two morons," after hearing the conversation between Liu Yi and Wang Dashan, the man in black sneered. "They had the nerve to say that they were here to spy on people. I've been spying on you for several days, yet you didn't spot me even once. If it weren't for that I have orders from Marshal not to let Childe Ling know about this, I would have taught you a lesson long ago." Neither Liu Yi nor Wang Dashan was aware that there was someone else who was staking out the Prefecture Encampment like they were. Finally, after about two hours, those bandits went out of the encampment, every one of whom was walking with a rolling gait. Manifestly they had drunk a lot of wine!

"Zhang Chong entertained these bandits at a banquet. As the Commander of the Prefecture Guards, he brought such a shame on the Great Yue."

"Stop cursing and follow them."

Liu Yi gave Wang Dashan a pull and followed those bandits. Gradually, they walked further away from the front gate of the Prefecture Encampment into a pitch-dark wood, where they saw that those bandits found their horses and were about to ride away.

"Hurry. Hurry. Pursue them," Liu Yi anxiously urged.

"How the fuck are we supposed to do that? They got horses. You are going to run after them?" Wang Dashan cursed in an undertone, running rapidly.

Running side by side with him, Liu Yi said, "They've just drunk wine, so they can't ride fast."

"Well, lucky for us, they've just drunk wine." Wang Dashan broke out in a cold sweat. 'If these bandits had not drunk wine, would we be able to catch them up with our average lightness skills?' he wondered.

"We've got to prepare horses next time." Wang Dashan made a belated suggestion which was clearly a pointless afterthought.

Liu Yi speechlessly flicked a glance at him.

Like Liu Yi said, these bandits, having drunk much wine, didn't dare to ride fast. They progressed slowly, talking dirty and laughing along the way.

After an hour.

"This direction... " By moonlight, Wang Dashan looked around. "They're heading for Qi County?"

"Is there anything special about Qi County?" Liu Yi asked him.

"The largest den of bandits is in Qi County. They hide in the Grand Mang Mountain. Since this mountain is too vast and there is also miasma in it, bandits hiding there are the most difficult to eliminate. Every year, the Prefecture Guards..."

"Never mind. Now I even have my doubts about whether they have ever put any real efforts into suppressing bandits. Anyway, the bandit gang in the Grand Mang Mountain is the most powerful one. It is rumored that they relocate their stronghold all the time. Though numerous bandit-suppressing operations have been carried out, never once has the den of those bandits been found, and the total number of them remains unknown as well."

"The Grand Mang Mountain..." Liu Yi mumbled, as if something had just occurred to him. "It seems to extend into Yanzhou. The Yellow Sand River flows past a canyon in the Grand Mang Mountain."

"Yeah. That's the Grand Mang Mountain I'm talking about."

"Judging by your description, this Grand Mang Mountain is really huge. Those bandits are good at hiding, so it's indeed not easy to handle them."

"Tell me about it. Bandits in the Grand Mang Mountain were also the first to pop out. Though they didn't control the main road built by the local government, they were responsible for all slaughter and raids in nearby villages. They are a bunch of cold-blooded and vicious outlaws. During the past few years, some Jianghu scum have gone to the Grand Mang Mountain and joined the gang after hearing its reputation, which made those bandits an even more powerful force."

"Does young master really want to mess with those bandits regardless of the current situation?"

Liu Yi asked in deep concern, hesitatingly slowing down his steps.

Wang Dashan gave him a pull and said, "Don't stop. No matter whether young master decides to fight them or not, we have to finish our job first. Besides, if we go there and do some scouting first, we will be able to get some first-hand information about the real strength of those bandits, which will make our words more convincing when we try to persuade young master to give up the thought of messing with these people."

On hearing this, Liu Yi speeded up. "You're right."

The man in black, who had been following them and eavesdropping on them, seemed to have thought of something. 'It seems that the place Marshal had been investigating into during the couple of days was probably this Grand Mang Mountain. Are there by any chance really some secrets in the Grand Mang Mountain? Tsk. Never mind. Currently, I should keep an eye on these two people lest they get killed during this task."

In Tanyang.

After falling into a coma, Ling Zhang had been sleeping all along until daybreak, totally unaware of what had happened. This time he didn't suffer any convulsions late at night and had a sound sleep. When he woke up, he had a feeling, which was even stronger than the one he had two days ago, that he had become more robust and also more energetic, that even his eyesight and hearing had improved somewhat. When he looked into the distance, he found that his range of vision was wider and he could also see distant things more distinctly. Thanks to the improvement of his hearing, he was now able to faintly distinguish sounds from the front gate of the courtyard.

"There have been such remarkable benefits after merely unblocking meridians. If I begin to cultivate internal energy, how many more amazing changes does the future hold?"

With subdued excitement, Ling Zhang got out of bed and started washing his face and combing his hair. Suddenly, footsteps came from the doorway. He stood up in confusion, wondering, 'Dawn has just broken. Who came here at such an early hour?"

"Young Master, Captain Wang and Guard Liu arrived," Xia Feng walked inside and said.

'It's them? Does this mean that...'

"Let them in!"

"Young Master, we have something urgent to report to you," said Wang Dashan and Liu Yi the moment they entered the room, looking travel-stained, their clothes dew-soaked and covered in dust, their faces full of fatigue, as if they had been through a torturous long journey.

"Xia Feng, go get some hot washing water, towels and some food," Ling Zhang said to Xia Feng.

Xia Feng nodded and left the room.

Liu Yi and Wang Dashan walked up to the chairs and sat down.

"Young Master, we found out which gang those bandits belong to."

"There's no hurry. Have a rest and drink some warm water."

On the sight of the two people, Ling Zhang knew they must have been laboriously running around for a whole night and were definitely exhausted.

Xia Feng did things very quick. Soon he returned with a couple of servants carrying hot washing water, towels, newly-made tea and food.

"You may go wash your faces to ease the fatigue first."

Liu Yi and Wang Dashan exchanged glances and then, without any pretence at politeness, washed their faces and wiped their necks clean with the hot water brought by servants. After that, they sat down, drank some hot tea and each ate half a dozen steaming steamed stuffed buns. It was not until then that they perked up.

Ling Zhang patiently waited until they ate and drank enough. Then he asked, "Which gang do they belong to?"

Wang Dashan put the teacup down and answered, "The gang in the Grand Mang Mountain, Young master."

"The Grand Mang Mountain?" Ling Zhang knitted his eyebrows, immediately realizing that this was a tricky issue. "Are you sure about it?"

"Positive. Liu Yi and I stalked them and saw them ride onto the mountain. They kept riding deeper into it. Originally, we planned to continue to follow them, but afterwards..."

"What happened afterwards?" Seeing that Wang Dashan was a little hesitant, Ling Zhang asked.

"A bodyguard of Lord Yuwen who lives next door suddenly showed up and stopped us from continuing to follow those bandits, saying that there were traps everywhere on the mountain, which we might stamp on even during daytime, that we would surely end up dead if we followed them at night. He told us to come back," Liu Yi answered the question for Wang Dashan.

A bodyguard of Yuwen Tong? It occurred to Ling Zhang that on that day, he told Yuwen Tong that some men, presumably some bandits, entered the Prefecture Encampment. He believed that Yuwen Tong probably had also sent someone to stake out that place.

"I see. I'll talk to him about this matter later. Tell me your other findings, if there are any."

"I'm afraid that's all we've got for the moment, but I want to say those ferocious bandits in the Grand Mang Mountain are far more dangerous than those of any other gang. You really want to mess with them, young master?" Wang Dashan asked worriedly.

"Captain Wang, you still don't understand? Even if I stand by and leave them alone, they will no doubt come here and make trouble for me. Moreover, we're on Zhang Chong's opposing side, which means that this is inevitable. I value my own life. I value my family's lives. And I also value your lives. I won't take any rash action, which is a promise I'm making to you. Like I once said, it's not too late for you to absent yourselves from this matter."

"Don't take me wrong, young master. It's not that we're mortally afraid of death. Since the determination of Young master is still grim, we promise we'll stand by your side and see this through," Wang Dashan hurriedly said after hearing Ling Zhang's words.

"Good. Be it so, I hope you'll never mention what you've just said ever again. Meanwhile, I've already given you two chances to choose, so I hope you'll hang in there. Don't let me down."

"We understand."

Seeing that Wang Dashan and Liu Yi had understood his words, Ling Zhang said, "Last night has been tough for both of you. Have a break this morning. Tell all our bros to have half a day off. We'll resume the training in the afternoon."

"Yes. Thank you for your kindness, Young master."

After Wang Dashan and Liu Yi left, Ling Zhang went to the Green Bamboo Mansion to meet Yuwen Tong.

"Did you send someone to stalk Wang Dashan and Liu Yi last night?"

"My men have been staking out the Prefecture Encampment with them all along for the past few days. It's just that they failed to spot my men."

This was exactly what Ling Zhang had speculated. He didn't feel ashamed that his guards failed to find that Yuwen Tong's men had been stalking them all along. After all, there was such a wide gap between the strength of the two sides.

"How do you know that there are traps in the Grand Mang Mountain?" This was what confused Ling Zhang.

"All my subordinates are highly experienced veterans who have been through a lot of battles, so it's very normal that they can detect the danger in the Grand Mang Mountain before your men do."

"Is that so? Are you sure it was not because you scouted out that place before?" asked Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong looked at him. "You think I went there and scouted that place out previously?"

Ling Zhang nodded. "Not long ago, you went missing for a couple of days. And when you returned, you began to study maps and records of counties near Tanyang. You also circled Qi County in red ink on that map on the wall in your room."

All these things were traces that Yuwen Tong had not intentionally tried to conceal. Naturally, Ling Zhang could notice them as long as he observed carefully enough, which was why Yuwen Tong was not surprised at all. He said, "That's right. I did go to scout out the Grand Mang Mountain. And I also located their den and have a general knowledge of which area they might be hiding, but I didn't tell them these things."

"You know where their den is?" asked Ling Zhang, a mixture of surprise and delight on his face.

"Yeah. You want to know it?" Yuwen Tong deliberately tried to whet his appetite.

Ling Zhang nodded unhesitatingly. Of course he wanted to know it!

"It's not that I cannot tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't do anything rash. You must consult with me before you make any decisions." Grabbing this opportunity, Yuwen Tong requested him to make a promise.

Ling Zhang was briefly stunned. He was somewhat unwilling to agree to this, but then he recalled that during the past few days, though not deliberately, he had scarcely made any decision without prior consultation with Yuwen Tong, so it wouldn't really make any difference whether he agreed to this or not.

"Okay. I promise."

Yuwen Tong gave a smile. "The den of those bandits is located in the depths of the Grand Mang Mountain. That mountain separates Tanyang and Yan Zhou. The den of those bandits is on the border between the two districts. Given the traveling speed of common Yamen runners, finding the den of those bandits alone will take them a day and a night."

"A day and a night? How come they hide themselves so deep in the mountain?"

"Did those guys in the Grand Mang Mountain do anything else apart from raiding villages and slaughtering villagers in the past few years?" Yuwen Tong asked him instead of answering the question.

Ling Zhang did some recollecting and answered, "Very few, as far as I can recall. They do rob traders of their goods and money, but there have been very few occasions that they did that. Firstly, the Grand Mang Mountain is not close to the main road leading to Tanyang. Secondly, every time they raid somewhere, they take back huge amounts of money which is enough for them to squander for a long time."

"The two reasons you just mentioned do sound plausible, but the most important reason is that what they really want is neither money nor killing. It is something else that they are after."

They were after something else? Ling Zhang had an intuition that this had something to do with Zhang Chong. "What do you think it is?"

"They want to build a passage connecting Tanyang and the Yellow Sand River in Yan Zhou with their den as a hub. When it's done, it will only take a day and a night to travel from here to Yan Zhou."

Ling Zhang was astounded and also somewhat puzzled by the undertone contained in Yuwen Tong's words. "Didn't you just say that finding their den alone would take a day and a night?"

"If they take the normal route to search the mountain, yes. Outsiders have no idea that those bandits have already unblocked a secret route which allows an army to pass."

"So those bandits in the Grand Mang Mountain have unblocked the shortest route connecting Tanyang and Yan Zhou, but for what?"

Ling Zhang was perplexed. They were just bandits. Why did they laboriously build a road? It didn't make any sense.

Though a flash of inspiration seemed to have just crossed his mind, it was too fast and he failed to grab it.

Yuwen Tong continued, "The Yellow Sand River which flows through Yan Zhou also flows past the capital city. It's only a four-hour journey from the capital city to the nearest crossing point on the bank of Yellow Sand River. And the Yellow Sand River flows downstream almost all the way from Yan Zhou to the capital city, and it takes only a day and a night, if the water speed is fast, to get to the capital city. In other words, it takes seven full days to travel from Tanyang to the capital city by the original route even if the horse is fast, but by this elaborately designed route, armies in Tanyang can get to the capital city in two days and nights."

Ling Zhang gasped in shock. Now he thoroughly understood!

"Zhang Chong has indeed been conspiring for a long time! No wonder bandits in the Grand Mang Mountain are the most difficult to deal with. Zhang Chong launches an attack on them each and every year but has never shaken the foundations of that gang."