Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 42 Mysterious Force

The air in Jinan was stifling, like a ball of cotton soaked with water. The cicadas' chirping was particularly shrill in the sweltering afternoon, but it did not disrupt the rhythm of Lu Ji's camp.

Under the protection of the apricot-yellow banner of the "Imperial Timber Bureau of the Imperial Household Department," Lu Ji's war machine was rapidly being broken in. Every day, dozens of large carts loaded with supplies entered and left the camp, their tracks leaving deep furrows on the dirt road.

However, beneath this seemingly prosperous and orderly facade, a set of unusual data caught Lu Yan's attention.

Inside the central command tent, several pieces of saltpeter ice were placed in an ice chest to cool the room, emitting a slight chill.

Lu Yan sat behind his desk, holding the "Security Weekly Report" presented by Zhao Changying and the "Logistics Loss Table" by Hu Jingshui. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were examining an engineering drawing with a tiny crack.

Something's not right.

Lu Yan put down the report, his gaze sharpening, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Something's not right?" Zhao Changying, standing to the side, immediately tensed up. He had an almost superstitious trust in his cousin's intuition—a kind of data- and logic-based intuition that was sharper than that of a wild beast.

"The data is incorrect."

Lu Yan picked up a vermilion pen and circled a few dots on the "Security Weekly".

"Over the past seven days, our convoy reported five instances of being 'spyed on' in Zhangqiu Road, the southern suburbs of Licheng, and the twenty-mile stretch of the Grand Canal. In particular, the No. 3 convoy, which was transporting iron and sulfur, was followed by refugees three miles behind us. They could not be driven away, and they did not beg."

"Refugees?" Zhao Changying asked, somewhat puzzled. "These days, there are refugees everywhere. It's not unusual for them to follow the caravan and try to scavenge some leftover grain, is it?"

"If it's about food, they'll be eyeing the grain wagons, not the dark iron and the pungent sulfur."

Lu Yan stood up, walked to the map of Jinan Prefecture hanging on the wall, and slowly traced his finger along Lu Ji's transportation route.

"Moreover, ordinary thieves or bandits would either have run away in fear or set up an ambush to test us if they saw our heavily armed forces. But this group..."

Lu Yan emphasized several nodes on the map with his finger: "They're like shadows, hanging around us at a distance. They don't rob us, they don't make contact, they just observe. They're recording our departure frequency, the number of guards, and even... our weaponry."

"This is 'reconnaissance'."

Lu Yan turned around, his eyes becoming unusually sharp: "Changying, we're being watched. And the other side is very professional, with strict organizational discipline."

Zhao Changying's face instantly darkened, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword: "Is it the Huang family? Or the government?"

"Those nouveau riche Huang family only know how to hire thugs to loot and vandalize; they can't do this kind of meticulous work. The government's spies only know how to eavesdrop in teahouses; they don't have the stamina to follow the convoy for hundreds of miles."

Lu Yan shook his head, his gaze deep: "This is a 'third-party force.' Its origins and intentions are unknown. In engineering safety management, this falls under the highest level of 'unknown risk source.'"

"Should we grab someone by the throat and ask them questions?" Zhao Changying's eyes revealed a murderous intent.

"We should arrest them, but not by brute force. Since they like to watch, let's put on a show for them."

Lu Yan picked up a command arrow from the table and tossed it to Zhao Changying.

"At midnight tonight, arrange for a 'special vehicle' to leave the camp. Load the vehicle with straw, cover it with tarpaulin, and disguise it as transporting 'Shenji Battalion firearms.' Have our most elite scout team change into civilian clothes and secretly follow from both flanks."

"Remember, don't make a move on the main road. Lead them to a dead end like the mass grave. I want them alive."

"Yes!" Zhao Changying took the command token and strode out.

……

The night was dark and windy.

A lone wagon creaked and groaned as it drove out of Lu Ji's camp and headed towards the wilderness west of the city. The driver seemed very nervous, cracking his whip from time to time, and the wheels made a dull thud as they rolled over the stones.

About two miles behind the truck, in the thicket of weeds, two dark figures were moving silently like ghosts.

They weren't dressed in night clothes, but rather in tattered refugee tunics, their faces smeared with mud and ash, and their feet shod in soft-soled straw sandals, landing silently.

"Second Brother, this vehicle looks heavy. Could it be the legendary 'Red Barbarian Cannon'?" one of the shadowy figures asked in a low voice.

"Shut up. Master Xu said, just look, don't touch." The man called Second Brother had a hoarse voice, revealing a coldness that didn't match his appearance. "The Lu family's camp is a tough nut to crack. Master needs to find out their background, especially where those muskets that can be fired without a matchlock came from."

"Yes."

The two men kept their eyes fixed on the large truck, and before they knew it, they had followed it into a desolate graveyard.

Will-o'-the-wisps flickered all around, and withered trees stretched into the night sky like ghostly claws.

"Something's not right." The second brother suddenly stopped, his nostrils flaring like a wary wolf. "It's too quiet. Even the insects aren't chirping."

"withdraw!"

He reacted very quickly, turning around to disappear into the reeds.

However, it was too late.

"collapse!"

A heart-stopping bowstring twanged.

A heavy arrow, its arrowhead removed, struck the henchman precisely on a pressure point in his back, carrying immense kinetic energy. The henchman didn't even utter a sound before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

"Who?!"

The second brother suddenly drew the short knife from his waist, leaned against a dead tree, and fiercely scanned his surroundings.

"Lu Ji Security, routine check."

A cold voice came from above.

The second brother looked up in horror and saw Zhao Changying fall from the treetop like a large bird, his long sword slashing down like Mount Tai as he descended.

"when!"

The second brother raised his knife to block, but it felt like he had been hit by a running bull. His hand was split open and the short knife flew out of his hand.

Before he could make his next move, seven or eight strong men leaped out of the bushes from all directions, and several fishing nets were thrown over his head, binding him tightly.

"Take them back." Zhao Changying sheathed his sword, not even glancing at the prisoner on the ground.

……

Half an hour later, in the underground interrogation room of Lu Ji's camp.

This place was originally a cellar used to store ice, but it has now been converted into an interrogation room. It is cold and damp, and various instruments of torture hang on the walls. Although they have not been used yet, the rust on them and the smell of blood are enough to make one shudder.

The prisoner, known as "Second Brother," was tied to a cross-shaped stake and had been woken up by being splashed with cold water. He gritted his teeth and stared venomously at Lu Yan sitting opposite him.

Lu Yan held in his hand something he had taken from a prisoner—a domino that was neither gold nor jade, with a lotus bud engraved on it and obscure Bagua patterns around it.

"Dominoes, White Lotus."

Lu Yan fiddled with the plaque, his tone as calm as if he were appraising an antique, "The craftsmanship is quite good, it even has a hint of sandalwood scent. This is not something an ordinary refugee could possess."

He stood up, walked to the prisoner, and scrutinized his face in the dim light.

"The calluses on his hands were from years of sword practice; the slight heaviness on his shoulders came from the strength he gained from carrying loads. There was no pleading in his eyes, only fanaticism."

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the heart:

"You are neither a government official nor a bandit. You are a member of the 'religious sect'."

The prisoner's pupils contracted sharply, then he turned his head and sneered, "Now that I'm in your hands, do with me as you please! My mother will personally guide me to my hometown, the Void Realm! Trying to extract information from me? Dream on!"

"The Unborn Mother, the Vast Homeland?"

Lu Yan read out these eight words, his voice devoid of reverence, only a mocking tone that saw through the nature of things, "So you're a friend of the Fragrance Scent Sect (a branch of the White Lotus Sect)."

He tossed the dominoes back onto the table with a crisp sound.

"I don't need you to speak. Your very existence is the answer."

Lu Yan turned to Zhao Changying and said, "Changying, there's no need to interrogate him. Lock him in that dark cell where he doesn't want to see the light of day. Don't let him die. Keeping him alive might be a bargaining chip in negotiations with 'the other side' in the future."

"Yes."

Stepping out of the cellar, the air outside felt much fresher.

Lu Yan looked up at the waning moon in the night sky, his expression even more solemn than when he was in the cellar.

The dominoes he just saw confirmed his suspicions. The "mysterious force" that had been secretly watching Lu Ji was none other than the behemoth that had been lurking beneath the surface of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, and was about to unleash a massive wave of chaos—the White Lotus Sect.

"They've got their eyes on us."

Lu Yan said to Hu Jingshui behind him, "It's not for money, it's for 'iron' and 'fire.' They're preparing for war; they need our weapons, or... they need our technology."

"Master, what should we do? Report it to the authorities?" Hu Jingshui was so frightened that her face turned pale.

"Report to the authorities? The government is rotten to the core; they might even have their own leaders there."

Lu Yan sneered, casting his gaze northward. "Besides, now is not the time to turn against them. The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the light. This force is like mercury seeping into the ground, infiltrating everywhere."

"Pass down the order: the camp is to enter Level Two alert. In particular, all artisans in the firearms workshop must undergo 'background checks.' Anyone who has recently joined any religion or consumed any talismanic water must be quarantined."

"We must build a firewall against the coming storm."

Lu Yan's fingers tapped lightly on the railing.

"Since they want to play, we'll play along. But this time, I'll set the rules for this game."