Chapter 62: Centurion Li's First Time

"Lord Li, what do you mean..."

Eleven secret agents immediately gathered around, wearing looks of eager anticipation, awaiting his orders.

Li Wenxuan said, "The mine refuses to pay the miners their wages and has even locked up the foreman. Zhang Xiaogui used to be an old acquaintance of this foreman. When he went to look for him, he uncovered this matter."

Li Wenxuan withdrew a document from his wide sleeve. "It does no harm to tell you the truth. Zhang Xiaogui's father was a corporal of the Imperial Guard who died in the Battle of Shanhai Pass. According to the rules, he should have inherited his father's position and become a corporal of the Imperial Guard..."

"And yet—"

Li Wenxuan sneered. "Someone took his place. He came to me, and I told him to gather evidence first."

"The foreman at this mine was his father's squad leader back then, and can testify that his account is true."

"Coincidentally, all these matters happened to collide at the same time."

"Chief! Why don't we just march in right now and make the arrests?" one of the agents couldn't help asking.

Li Wenxuan smiled at the man. "If we march in with a great fanfare now, they will surely hide the people away. Therefore—"

He swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "My requirement for you is that after dark, you will sneak in and find that foreman first..."

Li Wenxuan opened the document, glanced at it, and said, "His name is Tian Gaoyi!"

"In addition, slip over to the workers' shanties as quickly as possible. Once you reveal your identities, tell them not to be afraid, that we are here to help them demand their back pay."

"Understood, my lord!"

Mad Donkey and the eleven agents cupped their fists in unison.

"Very well. I brought some dried meat with me. You brothers can share it. Once we get things done tonight, we'll go back to a restaurant and have a grand feast!"

Li Wenxuan pointed to a cloth bag behind the willow tree and smiled at everyone.

"Thank you, Chief!"

Everyone carried their own water flasks and munched on the dried meat, finding the moment quite pleasant.

Li Wenxuan drank a few sips of water himself. Seeing that everyone had finished eating, he said, "This document contains a rough map of the entire mine. Come closer, all of you, and I will explain the details so you don't take the wrong path and end up groping around blindly in the dark."

"Understood!"

The men hurriedly crowded around, listening as Li Wenxuan explained the routes.

Li Wenxuan categorized the various routes as Route One, Route Two, and Route Three.

As night fell, the temperature in the outskirts was even colder than in the city.

Even the snow on the ground was thicker.

The men tied all their horses near the willow tree, shivering from the cold as they hurriedly groped their way in the dark up Xiama Slope.

After walking a few more miles along the mountain path, they could see the mine glowing brightly with blazing fires!

"Remember clearly: Xu Que, you lead two men along Route One, head straight for the shanties, reveal your identities, and mobilize the workers!"

"Then, lead the miners to rescue Tian Gaoyi!"

"Understood! This subordinate remembers!" A tall agent immediately acknowledged the order.

Li Wenxuan nodded, watching as the agent named Xu Que led two men and quickly vanished into the curtain of night.

He turned to another man. "Zhou Long, you lead four men along Route Two. This area is where the mine's enforcers live. Once you go in, draw your blades first to declare your identities. If anyone dares to disobey, cut them down immediately to stabilize the crowd before speaking further."

Zhou Long was a burly fellow. Hearing this, he nodded, signaled to the men behind him, and likewise vanished rapidly into the dark.

Xu Que had taken two men, and Zhou Long had taken four.

Out of the eleven agents, only three were left.

"My lord, then we—"

Mad Donkey rubbed his hands together, looking eager to render meritorious service.

Li Wenxuan drew his three-foot official saber. After the previous melee, he had formed a rather clear understanding of the quality of this weapon—which could be summarized in two words: trash!

Only the mysterious iron blade severed by Li Hu could be considered a truly good item.

Pity—he wondered if his personal ATM would bring any good merchandise the next time they came to duel.

"The rest of us will take Route Three, heading straight for where the mine managers live. Once inside, the first step is to declare our identities and take control of them. If anyone disobeys and attempts to resist, cut them down on the spot!"

"Understood!"

The men nodded one after another, then walked swiftly ahead of Li Wenxuan, giving the strong impression of blazing a trail for their superior.

Seeing through their little scheme, Li Wenxuan neither exposed nor refused it.

No matter where one went, people within this circle and environment had already formed their own set of survival methods.

If he broke that abruptly, everyone would feel uncomfortable.

Walking up the mountain path, Li Wenxuan felt a slight strain; after all, his body had not yet fully recovered.

Fortunately, they soon arrived inside the mining area.

Over on Route One, a sudden commotion arose. Clearly, Xu Que had already arrived at the shanties with his men and woken up all the miners.

Listening closely, one could even hear the rough curses of some miners.

"Damn it! Old Jin, go take a look at what those cheap bones are doing, not sleeping in the middle of the night!"

Inside a room where the enforcers were sleeping, an aggrieved, gruff voice echoed.

Old Jin, having been called out, muttered unhappily a few times before finally yawning, lighting a lantern with a flint, and stumbling out the door with hazy, sleep-heavy eyes.

Who would have thought that the moment the door was pushed open, a gleaming, bright saber would land squarely against his neck?

The icy blade instantly shocked Old Jin into a violent tremor, banishing all sleepiness.

Before Old Jin could even cry out, a large hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

"If you don't want to die, don't struggle!"

Zhou Long's raspy voice rang in Old Jin's ear.

Old Jin immediately froze, not daring to put up the slightest resistance.

The remaining agents roared as they charged into the room, shouting loudly, "The Eastern Depot is on official business! Anyone who doesn't want to die, lie down and stay put!"

Before the people inside the room could recover their senses, the sound of blades being drawn rang out in a chorus!

"Have mercy, Your Honor!"

"Have mercy, Your Honor!"

In the darkness, some people were immediately terrified into pleading with crying voices.

"Whoosh—"

Several torches were lit. Blinded by the sudden glare, everyone inside the room felt their vision go black.

The next moment, they all heard miserable screams ringing in their ears.

"I already said, anyone who doesn't want to die, lie down and stay put. You still reached for a blade—did you really think the men of my Eastern Depot are blind?"

As a thick, pungent smell of blood assailed their senses and their eyes finally adjusted to make out the surrounding environment, they saw something terrifying.

An Eastern Depot agent wearing a large red cloak was holding a freshly severed human head by the hair, tossing it casually onto the floor.

The head rolled around a few times with muffled thuds before finally coming to a stop.

Horrified, the crowd looked toward the agents in the room. Each of them thought of the things they had done in the past, feeling as though their own doom had arrived...

"It's over! I'm finished! I never expected to suffer such unimaginable humiliation in this lifetime!"

Zhang Xiaogui watched as the beastly Feixiong stripped off his outer dog-skin coat, revealing something resembling a donkey's appendage, and plunged into utter despair.

Tears even welled up in the corners of his eyes.

"You bastard! A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated! If you have the guts, kill me!"

Feixiong laughed obscenely. "Kid, save your breath for later. The louder you scream, the more excited I'll get!"

Zhang Xiaogui struggled with all his might, but it was completely useless.

Moreover, his left shoulder had already been slashed by Feixiong, leaving him with not an ounce of strength.

To make matters worse, his hands and feet were bound, and he was sprawled facedown on the bed, stretched into an extremely humiliating "big" character shape...

There was no escape!

"You donkey-spawned beast, I fuck your ancestors!"

Zhang Xiaogui roared in despair.

At that very moment, Li Wenxuan, who had just walked up to the window and was about to draw his blade and leap into the room, was startled by the heart-rending screams from inside!

Goodness gracious!

Are they playing it this intense?