~~~

Pebble Town is as insignificant-looking as its name suggests, little different from a bunch of pebbles lying on the side of the road. The entire town is a collection of about one hundred houses made of wood and stone arranged in no particular order. It is protected by a rudimentary wall made of wood cut from a nearby forest. It’s decently well-made, but Liu Jin doubts it could stop anyone above the Inner Realm.

“Hear me, people of Pebble Town!” Ten yells at the top of his lungs. He could use Qi to magnify his voice, but he doesn’t. The people here are too weak to react well to an expression of Qi from someone like him. “We are here on orders of General Murong Bang!”

The people on the town square, what passes for it at any rate, flinch when they hear the general’s name.

“The pleas of the City Lord have been heard!” Ten shouts. “General Murong ordered us to purge this land of the scourge that calls itself the Brotherhood of Thunder!”

Tall and powerfully built, Ten cuts a striking appearance. Even more so dressed in armor and on top of a horse. He’s exactly the sort of person that people would imagine when thinking of someone in charge of a hundred men. It is exactly why Liu Jin delegated this duty to him.

Besides, he’s tired of people finding him ominous.

“Those of you who know anything about these criminals are invited to come forward. You will be handsomely rewarded for your help!”

Ten keeps talking for a few minutes, but no one comes forward. Not then, and not later. The people of Pebble Town disperse and hide in their houses as though Liu Jin and his soldiers were a storm they needed to wait out.

“I apologize, Senior Brother,” Ten tells him later that day. “It seems I could not inspire any trust once again.”

“You’re older than me,” Liu Jin points out. “There is no reason why you should call me Senior Brother.”

“On the contrary, referring to Senior Brother as Senior Brother is the least I can do,” replies the older and taller disciple. He sounds offended at the idea of using a less respectful title for Liu Jin. “Senior Brother has proven himself numerous times and in numerous ways. That is something everyone knows.”

Liu Jin refrains from sighing. He knows Ten means well, but the reverence with which he, Lei Kong, and… an increasingly large number of people treat him is trying.

“That matter aside, there is no reason for you to apologize,” Liu Jin says. “I already told you that I did not expect many people, if any, to come forward. We are here as soldiers of Murong Bang. We should be thankful that people don’t run away screaming at the mere sight of us.”

“That might be true, but still…” Ten frowns. “For no one to be tempted by the promise of money? That’s not natural.”

Liu Jin hums and nods. “It is, isn’t it? Similar things happened in the other towns.”

At Liu Jin’s insistence, City Lord Lei--or rather, City Lord Lei’s men--gave him a map of all the towns and villages in the area. They also gave him the location of all the places the Brotherhood of Thunder has attacked.

Pebble Town is the fifth town they have visited thus far, and in every town, the same story has repeated itself. By large, the people have nothing to say to them. At most, one or two people will volunteer information, and they will usually do so later in the day, as though they were thieves skulking in the night. Even then, the information is never anything meaningful. Just hearsay and rumors.

“Do the people fear Murong Bang and his soldiers so much that they won’t support them even when it would be in their best interests to do so?” Ten wonders.

Liu Jin hums. “Is that really what is going on? Obviously, they fear us, but that’s not all there is to it. Look at this town. Does there seem to be anything strange about it?”

Ten looks at houses then turns to him in confusion.

“I beg your pardon, Senior Brother, but I see nothing of interest here.”

“Does this look like a town routinely attacked by bandits?” Liu Jin asks. “The walls are not damaged. In fact, they’re in relatively good condition. The same can be said of the houses. The people are not injured or depressed. Small and plain as this village is, I think the people here are generally happier than those in Rainfall City.”

“But… we were told the bandits were attacking the towns?” It is not a question, but Ten voices it as such. “Maybe there was no point in stealing anything from a place like this?”

“Maybe,” Liu Jin says. “Either way, it's interesting, don’t you think?”

~~~

"This is… different."

Liu Jin finds himself nodding at Ten's words. Slate Village, the sixth settlement they are visiting, is certainly different. A little smaller than Pebble Town. More rustic too. It is also quieter. Much quieter.

It has to be, considering that it is empty.

There is not a single person in the village. Not a young child. Not an old man. Not even a pet. The whole place has been abandoned.

"What happened here?" Ten asks, looking around.

"Perhaps this place was attacked by the Brotherhood, my lord?" Lei Kong suggests.

"Perhaps," Liu Jin says. In a louder voice, he says, "Men! I want you to search every inch of this place! Bring me anything you can find! People, food, clothes, valuables! No object is too small or unimportant."

"Smart," Ten says as the men go into the houses to follow his orders. "Some of the men are still annoyed that they didn't get to go into the city. Some looting might calm them down."

"No," Liu Jin says, shaking his head. "That's not why I'm doing this. I'd rather not expose the men to bad habits, but there is something wrong about this whole thing."

"Wrong, my lord?" Lei Kong asks. "How so?"

"You have seen villages and cities raided before," Liu Jin says. The reminder causes Lei Kong to flinch. Liu Jin waves his hand at the houses around them. "Why don't you tell us what's wrong with this place?"

It takes a few seconds for Lei Kong to answer.

"There are no bodies," Lei Kong says, his voice only shaking slightly. "There are a few broken doors here and there, but otherwise, the houses are fine. I don't smell any bodies left to rot, and I don't see dried blood anywhere. Whatever happened here caused very little violence. By itself, that's not odd. When faced with a superior force, most small settlements tend to submit rather than fight. However, the lack of people means the bandits took everyone here. Someone usually tries to fight when that happens. That person is usually made an example of. It's also not rare for the town to be torched once divested of everything, and-"

"Lei Kong, that's enough," Liu Jin says. Lei Kong has begun trembling. The scars of his past run deep.

"I apologize, my lord," Lei Kong says, taking several deep breaths. "I believe I need some time to myself."

"Granted."

An hour later, Liu Jin's men have divested the town of all its valuables. Clothes, food that expired sometime last week, money, and other such things. The sort of things bandits would take when attacking a village, yet it seems the only thing they took was the people.

"What does this mean, Senior Brother?" Ten asks him.

"I have an idea," Liu Jin says, rubbing his chin. He is pretty sure Lei Kong has the same idea. "An inkling, really. It seems I'll have to write a letter to the City Lord sooner than I thought."

~~~

A few days later, a red hawk appears on the horizon, carrying a reply from the City Lord. All things considered, it is a surprisingly prompt response. Perhaps, it is because Liu Jin implied that if the City Lord took too long to answer, he'd have to visit him in person with Lei Kong. The world might never know for sure.

As the messenger hawk is about to reach their camp, a massive beast snatches it out of the air.

Liu Jin sighs.

"Soaring Feather, let go of that bird. We do not eat the messengers."

Soaring Feather lands before him without making a sound. The Black-Winged Imperial Eagle looks down at Liu Jin with a petulant expression, the messenger hawk caught between its deadly talons.

Liu Jin holds out his hand.

"Give it back."

Reluctantly, Soaring Feather relaxes its grip on the hawk, who immediately flies into Liu Jin's hands for protection. Soaring Feather snorts and looks away.

"Don't sulk," Liu Jin tells him, gently petting the hawk and taking the message tied around its leg. "It's beneath you."

Soaring Feather squawks indignantly before taking off in a huff.

Undoubtedly, the bird is going through adolescence.

"The teenage years are truly the worst," Liu Jin mutters, heedless of all the disbelieving stares aimed at him. He opens the letter and gives it a quick read, his lips curling at the edges when he's done.

"Eh, commander," one of his Five-Man Commanders, Zei, asks him. "What was… all that about?"

"An unfortunate preview of the future if I ever were to have children, but you weren't asking about that," Liu Jin says. He holds up the letter. "This is a letter from City Lord Lei. It seems he has agreed to my suggestion."

"Suggestion?"

"Tell the men to gather their things. We're going back to Rainfall City."

~~~

A few days later, a caravan leaves Rainfall City. Liu Jin rides at the front with Lei Kong and Ten Zichun. Accompanying them are ten of City Lord Lei's men and twenty of Liu Jin's soldiers.

Despite the security, there is no merchandise inside the carts. The caravan is nothing more than bait for the Brotherhood of Thunder. It is why Liu Jin does not have all his one hundred men with him, having left most of them under the command of Lu Mei and Big Sister Bai. Too much security might make the Brotherhood think twice about attacking.

When Liu Jin suggested the idea to the City Lord in his letter, he told him to use actual merchandise, as there is a chance there are spies in the City Lord’s house. However, the City Lord vehemently refused this suggestion, insisting empty carts would be enough. The reaction was telling enough, so Liu Jin went along with it.

So far, they have not suffered any attacks. Liu Jin imagines the journey has been quite boring for the soldiers, but that’s not the case for him. The route they are taking, the route the City Lord’s men assure him is their regular route as they have tried changing it without success, is quite interesting.

They are not going to Cloudburst City as he’d initially assumed. Rather, they are heading southeast and have entered a rocky canyon the soldiers call the Whispering Depths. The line their journey traces is almost parallel to the border with the Crimson Cloud Empire. Liu Jin cannot help but be reminded of a conversation he had with Lei Kong a long time ago about who one of Murong Bang’s trading partners is.

“My lord,” Lei Kong tries to call his attention. His eyes are narrowed as he glances up at the cliffs.

“I feel them,” Liu Jin says with considerably greater calm. “It’s fine. The men already know what to do. Let them come.”

Ten minutes later, the bandits appear, dropping down from the cliffs using ropes. They are dressed in grays and browns to better hide against the environment. Some have swords. Some have knives. Some have spears. About half of them are wearing armor.

Their cultivation is not inferior to City Lord Lei's men, and their resolve is undoubtedly superior. Indeed, the City Lord's men panic as the men of the Brotherhood appear in dozens.

"Men!" Liu Jin shouts, his voice managing to prevail over the ensuing chaos. "You have all been trained! Cowering, hesitating, or faltering right now is beneath you! You know what to do!"

Liu Jin raises his hand, and his men roar. Such is their fervor that the City Lord's men are caught in it, and a glimpse of hesitation appears in the eyes of the Brotherhood.

As one, Liu Jin's men attack.

As one, the City Lord's men fall unconscious.

"That was moderately entertaining," Liu Jin says. It is nice when something happens precisely as planned. "Now then…"

Liu Jin looks at the Brotherhood, who have halted in their tracks, looking at them with wariness and confusion.

"My name is Qing Jin, a disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan and emissary of General Nie Dan," he says, his voice clear and strong. "Men of the Brotherhood of Thunder, I wish to have words with you."

~~~