Whoosh—!
A dagger sliced through the air, carrying a bone-chilling frost as it flew straight for Su Tang’s forehead.
Su Tang’s pupils dilated in sheer horror, her mind going completely blank.
【Finished! Finished! My life is over!】
【I haven’t even slept with Lu Ci yet… cough, I mean, I haven’t even finished spending that hundred thousand taels! How could I die in some random grove where people come to relieve themselves?!】
At that critical moment between life and death, survival instinct made Su Tang’s hands move faster than her brain. Grabbing the slingshot she had brought along for self-defense—a reward from the System’s beginner gift pack that she had never used—she fired a shot toward the cold gleam of steel without even taking time to aim.
Twang!
Like a meteor chasing the moon, the stone struck the incoming dagger with uncanny precision!
Clack—
Sparks flew in all directions.
Knocked off course, the dagger grazed Su Tang’s scalp and plunged deep into the tree trunk behind her, shearing off a lock of her fine hair.
Yet the stone lost none of its momentum, hurtling straight toward Zhao Tiezhu’s lower extremities.
“Aaagh—!!!”
A sharp, agonizing scream echoed through the night sky, startling a flock of crows from the trees.
Clutching his crotch, Zhao Tiezhu turned as pale as paper. Doubled over like a cooked shrimp, he collapsed to his knees with a thud, so consumed by pain that he couldn’t even make a sound.
Su Tang was flabbergasted.
She looked at the slingshot in her hand, then at Zhao Tiezhu writhing in agony on the ground.
【Holy crap? Is the Master Marksman Trial Card really this awesome?】
【System: Ding! Host is mighty! A one-shot kill! This is the legendary ‘family-line-ending kick’… err no, ‘family-line-ending shot’!】
Su Tang swallowed hard. Although it felt a bit ruthless… it was seriously satisfying!
“Who’s there?!”
The commotion finally alerted the patrolling personal guards.
A dark shadow swept over from the camp like a giant bird spreading its wings, landing soundlessly right in front of Su Tang.
It was Lu Ci.
Clad in tight-fitting black attire and wielding a long sword, he was shrouded in an aura of pure malice. Seeing Su Tang disheveled, her hair in disarray as she held up her pants, a surge of murderous fury flared in his eyes.
“Who hurt you?”
Lu Ci’s voice was terrifyingly low, sounding as though it came from the depths of hell.
Su Tang froze for a second before pointing at Zhao Tiezhu on the ground, a look of utter grievance on her face. “Your Highness! It’s that pervert! I was answering nature’s call, and he… he spied on me! He even tried to silence me by killing me!”
【Waaah, scared me to death! Lu Ci, you’re finally here! That man was so fierce just now!】
Lu Ci turned his head, his gaze falling upon Zhao Tiezhu.
By the moonlight, he caught sight of the man’s face, his pupils narrowing slightly.
“Zhao Tiezhu?”
“You’re not dead?”
Drenched in cold sweat from the excruciating pain, Zhao Tiezhu saw Lu Ci and caught a flash of desperation and madness in his own eyes. “Lu Ci! You eunuch! I never expected that after surviving the battlefield, I’d fall into the hands of a mere soldier!”
“Eunuch?” Lu Ci sneered, flicking his long sword gracefully. “It seems you’ve grown tired of living.”
“Hold on!”
Su Tang suddenly poked her head out from behind Lu Ci. “Don’t kill him yet! He has a treasure on him!”
Lu Ci paused. “What treasure?”
Su Tang pointed to a corner of parchment sticking out from Zhao Tiezhu’s chest. “That’s a defense map! And he was pouring croton powder into the grain wagons just now! This guy not only survived, but he also colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country! He wanted to give our whole army diarrhea!”
Lu Ci’s eyes cold-hardened. Stepping forward, he planted his foot on Zhao Tiezhu’s chest and retrieved the parchment.
It truly was the border defense map!
“How bold.” Lu Ci’s voice was cold enough to form icicles. “As a general of Great Zhou, you dared to conspire with the barbarians. Your crime deserves death!”
“Hmph! Winner takes all, loser eats dirt!” Zhao Tiezhu gritted his teeth. “Even if you catch me, it’s useless! The barbarian army arrives tomorrow. Without grain or fodder, you have nothing but a dead end!”
“Without grain or fodder?”
Su Tang suddenly shuffled forward with a grin, waving a brass key she had fished off Zhao Tiezhu’s body.
“General Zhao, this key… looks a bit familiar, doesn’t it?”
Zhao Tiezhu’s expression changed drastically. “You… how do you have that?!”
【Ding! Gossip Alert!】
【System: Host, this key opens Zhao Tiezhu’s private vault! By embezzling military funds and reselling military grain over the years, he has amassed a full two hundred thousand taels of silver! It’s all hidden in Black Wind Cave, five miles from here! Plus, there’s a stash of fine weapons he secretly withheld in the cave!】
Su Tang’s eyes instantly lit up like searchlights.
Two hundred thousand taels!
Fine weapons!
【We’re rich! We’re rich! This isn’t catching a traitor; this is catching a money-dispensing god!】
【Lu Ci! Quick! Don’t kill him! Make him lead the way! I want to empty out his lair!】
Looking at Su Tang’s money-grabbing expression, Lu Ci shook his head helplessly. However, upon hearing the words “fine weapons,” his eyes lit up as well.
Although the army currently lacked no grain or fodder, weapons were indeed in short supply. If they could obtain this batch of weapons…
“Lead the way.” Lu Ci pointed his long sword. “And I shall spare your life.”
…
Half an hour later, inside Black Wind Cave.
The moment the shadow guards moved the boulder blocking the cave entrance and lit their torches, everyone gasped.
The huge cave was packed with sealed chests.
Opening them revealed shimmering white silver, gleaming gold bars, and row upon row of cold, sharp modao blades and heavy crossbows…
“My goodness…” Even An Yi was stunned. “Did this Zhao Tiezhu move the national treasury here?”
Su Tang pounced straight over, hugging a chest without letting go, drool practically dripping from her mouth.
【Hahahahaha! Empty it! Empty it all out!】
【Zhao Tiezhu, oh Zhao Tiezhu, to think you’d have a day like this! Spit out whatever you swallowed, and return whatever you took from me!】
【This is called: Emptying the treasury? No, I’m here to collect a debt on behalf of the state!】
Tied up to the side, Zhao Tiezhu watched the fortune he had accumulated over half a lifetime being hauled away like cabbages. Heartbroken to the point of twitching, tears and snot streamed down his face. “My money… my weapons… those were my meeting gifts for the Barbarian Khan…”
“Meeting gifts?” Su Tang walked over and patted his cheek. “Sorry, but they are my meeting gifts now. Oh, and thanks a lot—Boss Zhao is so generous!”
Lu Ci looked at the little woman rolling around in the pile of gold and silver, the laughter in his eyes deepening.
“Princess Consort.”
Su Tang immediately turned around. “Present!”
“Since you’re here to collect a debt,” Lu Ci pointed to the weapons, “shouldn’t these weapons be handed over to the state?”
Su Tang gave a generous wave of her hand. “Granted! The weapons are yours, the gold is mine! We split eighty-twenty… no, fifty-fifty!”
【Although I love money, I know what’s important. With these weapons, Lu Ci’s chances of winning the battle are much higher. As long as he wins, the whole Great Zhou will be my gossip haven in the future. This is called a long-term investment!】
Hearing her inner thoughts, a warm sensation washed over Lu Ci’s heart.
Though this woman was greedy for money, she certainly kept a clear head at crucial moments.
“Alright.” Lu Ci walked over, pulled her up from the pile of gold, and brushed the dust off her clothes. “Fifty-fifty. As for the rest, This King will hold on to it for you… as a betrothal gift.”
Su Tang froze, her cheeks flushing slightly.
【A betrothal gift? I’m already married to him and he’s still giving a betrothal gift?】
【This man… is getting better and better at flirting.】
“Report—!!!”
Just then, an urgent message came from outside the cave.
“Your Highness! Disaster has struck! The barbarian vanguard executed a surprise night attack! They’ve breached the outpost at Wild Wolf Valley and are advancing toward the main camp!”
Lu Ci’s expression shifted dramatically, the tenderness on his face instantly fading into a murderous aura.
“How many?”
“At least three thousand elite cavalry!”
Lu Ci’s gaze hardened as he looked at the newly uncovered weapons.
“Pass down the order! All troops form up! Equip the new weapons! Follow This King… and fight back!”
Infected by the tense atmosphere, Su Tang clenched her fists.
【Is this what the battlefield is like?】
【They came so fast!】
【Lu Ci, go get ’em! Flatten them all!】