Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 5: Exploration and Slaughter

That night, Xuan Chong and his group of twenty-three people affixed "concealing talismans" and then left the grain depot camp.

Nighttime stealth is something that someone in the second or third rank of the army absolutely cannot be unaware of. If one day the army is trapped in the city and needs reliable people to break out and find reinforcements, this is pretty much the way to go.

After confronting the snake-men for so many days, Xuan Chong had a general sense of where they might be hiding in the surrounding vegetation. For example, in areas where the snake-men moved in densely, the sounds of frogs and birds were much less frequent. These things are not difficult to explain, but they require keen observation.

There are currently 526 people in the entire grain depot, but only a few are truly observant and vigilant at all times. After finishing their battles each night, they spend their spare time playing gambling games.

If we really had to count them one by one, only Wu Fei himself could take on this kind of task, well, it's a task that a reconnaissance soldier could handle.

This is also a drawback of feudal armies—there are too few capable people! They absolutely cannot be compared to the modern army of my previous life, which had a strong learning ability.

……

Xuan Chong and his group left the area around the grain depot, completely shaking off the scent of the snake people. Then, Xiao Qing, the guide Wu Hanluan had assigned to them, proved her worth. She led them to a cave on the mountain north of the camp, and they went inside.

The "cooing" sound wasn't loud, but it was startlingly abrupt. Wu Fei looked around abruptly, confirming that it was the sound of bats inside the cave. In this cavernous hall, the group could occasionally see fluorescent moss on the ground, but most areas were pitch black, and they couldn't perceive anything. A sudden noise from within could be terrifying.

The other soldiers following Wu Fei were in an even worse state. Although they had gags in their mouths and could not make a sound, their eyes were filled with fear as they stared ahead, their hands constantly resting on the swords at their waists.

Guide Xiaoqing used her agility to cling to the rock face, resembling a giant gecko. Xuan Chong: Like an alien from a movie in my past life.

Xuan Chong couldn't help but sigh: If a snake-man who has become human can walk on the rock wall like Spider-Man, then what about those orthodox snake-men?

As this thought arose, Wu Fei couldn't help but imagine this scene: in the darkness, suddenly one by one, snake eyes opened, and the sound of their tongues spitting out echoed like a tidal wave in the cave. Then, countless snake-men, like alien creatures, suddenly raised torches, engulfed their own exploration team, and then took their heads to their uncle to show off.

Caves are inherently claustrophobic places, and one shouldn't let their imagination run wild. Wu Fei stared intently at Xiao Qing above him, then took a deep breath, repeatedly dismissing the possibility that this guy was a double agent, trying to appear "naive." Everyone knows the principle of trusting those you employ, but in the unknown, in a state of confusion and helplessness, who can truly believe the loyalty of someone who has ties to the "opposing camp"?

…The unknown, doubt, are growing…

As they ventured deeper into the cave, the fluorescent stone markers left by Xuan Chong and the others on the ground slowly extended forward. In the darkness, as everyone's breathing and heartbeats became increasingly chaotic, their sense of reality steadily weakened. At this point, the only thing they could discern was the coded message provided by Xiao Qing, which led them blindly through the black hole.

Many people were worried about being attacked by the snake people at any moment, and were ready to fight back desperately if anything happened, taking Xiao Qing with them.

Wu Fei suddenly understood the truth behind "Li Guang getting lost." In the vast desert, without any landmarks, water and supplies dwindled, and the entire army, led by the "foreign" guides they had previously rejected, marched into the unknown. One day, two days passed, and finally, it seemed they had taken a detour, or perhaps the guide had also made a small mistake in the sandstorm. A dispute arose, and the guide was killed. History won't record how a foreigner who betrayed the Xiongnu died, but the writer will lament: General Li lost his chance to be ennobled.

As a time traveler, Xuan Chong took a deep breath and began to adjust himself, following the advice of something (the system).

Xuan Chong reflected on himself: "Anxiety and timidity both stem from not being able to find a direction to exert force. Just like a person who has just entered the water and cannot find a stable point to hold onto, they will kick around wildly, and as a result, they can drown even in water as shallow as 1.5 meters. The more confused you are, the calmer you need to be. Your mind needs to find an anchor point for thinking in the present moment and position itself accordingly."

As the leader of the current team, Wu Fei knew that he should play a stabilizing role at this time.

Inside the cave, Wu Fei gently stomped his foot. The soldiers groping in the darkness stopped, and Xiao Qing, who was ahead, was also signaled by Wu Fei to pause for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

On the stone path, Wu Fei gave orders to the soldiers in the front and rear ranks one by one by drawing characters with his palm.

“Every five steps, pick up a stone for me. If the stone’s moisture level changes, scrape it with your finger to let me know.”

"You, focus your attention on the smells. Pay attention to these smells, then tap on the rocks to give me a hint." Wu Fei pinched off a handful of moss, a handful of soil, and a stalactite, and had him smell them carefully.

"Listen carefully to the sound of the water. The water dripping from the cave ceiling is rhythmic. Match your footsteps to the rhythm of the dripping. Give me a signal, and I will listen. If your footsteps become disordered, I will stop and ask you (whether the water drips every three seconds or every two seconds)."

……

Wu Fei outlined the things to be careful about for everyone traveling through the cave, and then they set off again.

In a short while, the ranks quickly stabilized. Although the oppressive atmosphere hadn't disappeared, the previously rampant "doubt" had been temporarily extinguished, as if doused with cold water. The soldiers focused on the situations they needed to be aware of, relaying information to Xuan Chong, and after receiving confirmation, their steps became much more steady.

But what about Wu Fei himself? The blue fluorescent moss under his feet started to stain his upper body from his boots.

Wu Fei found himself seemingly adapting to the darkness. Based on the intelligence continuously transmitted by the soldiers behind him, he developed a sixth sense beyond sight, perceiving the cave's height, whether there was water flowing on the cave walls, and the growth status of the stalactites.

Xuan Chong knew that these were all his imaginations based on the information provided by the soldiers. These imaginations might not be accurate, but the hints given by the soldiers, combined with his unbridled imagination, made it seem as if everything was right before his eyes.

However, Xuan Chong was unaware that in this plane, the most dangerous things are the imagination born of confusion about life and the curiosity born of ignorance!
…System: Actually, students don't need to know…

Within the Crimson Serpent Mountains, Wu Fei visualized the labyrinthine layout of the cave system in his mind. At this moment, the mountain contained numerous caves. According to Xiao Qing's information, these caves contained shortcuts leading directly to another mountain peak.

Xuan Chong investigated this phenomenon and concluded that it was similar to the situation in Guizhou Province on Earth, where only locals knew the shortcuts between mountains.

Before Xuanchong's trek, while browsing online, I heard people from Guizhou boast that "when they were children, they had all explored the local caves." Of course, from a military perspective, the mountainous terrain and numerous caves of Yunnan made bandit suppression extremely difficult in the old days, and banditry in the southwest was never completely eradicated. It wasn't until later, with the level of grassroots governance in the new era, that banditry in the southwest was completely eliminated.

Now, Xuan Chong, also known as Wu Fei, reflecting on the current situation, realized that his army was far from having a mutually beneficial relationship with the local people. In other words, what gave Wu Hanluan the audacity to enter the Crimson Serpent Mountains to exterminate the snake people?

Xuan Chong speculated, "Wu Hanluan must have gone to great lengths to plant spies among the various tribes, right?"

…At the front of the group, Xiaoqing continued to explore the path; she was loyal…A quarter of an hour later, Wu Fei’s team saw the light ahead and emerged from the cave filled with piled-up rocks, thus completing their exploration of the cave.

Wu Fei opened the silk map and was suddenly struck by the fact that his current location was separated from his original grain depot by an entire mountain range. He also realized he only had three-quarters of an hour to cross the cave.

Wu Fei immediately used his fingers to measure the distance on the map.

Wu Fei: This distance is wrong. Is it shrinking the distance to an inch, or is the map wrongly marking the mountain range as too long? Or is there some mechanism that just sped up the passage? For example, when we were going downhill in the cave, we were too conserving of energy and unknowingly, the light boat had already passed thousands of mountains?
Curiosity flickered in Wu Fei's mind, and a voice seemed to whisper in his ear: "You have to figure it out. You can't be satisfied if you don't understand it clearly."

However, Wu Fei's unconscious yawn brought this rambling thought to an end.

After I finished yawning, I found that my system had popped up a window again, reminding me that I hadn't performed a mental checkup for forty-eight hours.

What is the purpose of the thought check? System prompt: It basically has a calming and brain-boosting effect. Because you're having random, incoherent thoughts that are affecting your rest, this mode helps you temporarily lock in some thought patterns. You should rest first.

Wu Fei casually pressed the "Checkup" button. After scanning the desktop programs, a message appeared stating "Some shortcut key settings are abnormal." Xuan Chong paused, then looked at the names of these "shortcut keys," such as "Ambush in the Cave," "Ambush by Falling Rocks," and "The Snake Woman's Betrayal." Hmm, Xuan Chong glanced at them, realizing that these were all useless wild thoughts he had had in the cave.

After confirming the information, Xuan Chong threw all these useless and chaotic speculations into the recycle bin.

The system quickly displayed a spinning hourglass and prompted him to begin deleting. After a moment of feeling as if something had been quickly forgotten, Xuan Chong felt a great weight lifted from his mind, his thoughts became much clearer and more relaxed, and he could focus his attention on the important matter at hand.

However, Xuan Chong was unaware that while his system was scanning for viruses, a blue glint suddenly appeared in his pupils, attempting to cover and extend them. But soon, this blue glint in his pupils, like toilet paper in a toilet bowl, was quickly dragged away by a force.

…System: What kind of monsters and spirits are you talking about? They're all crowding this way!…

Over two days, Wu Fei successfully explored the routes of three key caves centered on his grain depot. While exploring the third cave, he discovered traces of a large-scale snake-man group. In that cave, numerous snake molts were left on the ground.

Just as camel and horse caravans leave behind dung, and snakes leave behind snakeskin, Xuan Chong immediately relayed this information to Wu Hanluan via a black bird messenger.

Wu Hanluan immediately replied with the order: Return to the warehouse camp as soon as possible.

Inexplicably, Wu Fei sensed that things were becoming unusual.

The task of scouting the surrounding caves was personally entrusted to me by my uncle, which indicates its importance. And now, having encountered a large group of snake people, doesn't that mean my uncle already knows about them and sent me to investigate their movements?

Wu Fei immediately packed his bags, because the credit was already in his hands.

"My uncle wants to promote me," Wu Fei said, somewhat certain.

…five hours later…

After bypassing the area touched by the snake-men and returning to the main warehouse, Wu Fei found everything still in perfect order, with Zhao Tu respectfully welcoming him. He even sensed that the other troop units in the main camp breathed a sigh of relief upon his return.

Wu Fei looked around, his gaze suddenly freezing, because the top of the camp flag, which had been empty before he left, now had three human heads hanging on it! Wu Fei remembered that when Wu Hanluan led him into the camp as a child, he pointed to the flagpole and said, "This is the way to offer sacrifices to the flag."

These men were troublemakers in his own camp. Wu Fei had long wanted to severely punish them, but he knew that any punishment he could give them was ten strokes of the military rod for minor injuries. To be honest, the strict system of military rod punishment he imposed was far less effective than the relationship between these soldiers and the guards who carried the rods.

They were beheaded during the two days I was away.

Back at the camp, Zhao Tu respectfully presented the military tally tray, showing no sign of menace.

Wu Fei had to look at him in a new light. This subordinate had crawled out of piles of corpses on the front lines, and could control his murderous aura at will.

At the same time, Wu Fei suddenly realized why his uncle had temporarily assigned him a task and handed over his military power for a few days—because he wasn't decisive enough! Or perhaps, he didn't have enough murderous aura, and therefore didn't dare to, nor did he have enough prestige to, kill.

Looking at his deputy, Wu Fei sighed, "General Zhao, you've worked hard these past two days."

Zhao Tu stepped forward respectfully and said, "Serving the general is my duty."

Wu Fei stepped forward and helped him into the tent. The old soldiers around, who had been about to complain, turned pale. They realized that the young general seemed unconcerned about Zhao Tu's arrogant behavior.

Wu Fei sneered at the old soldiers around him whose expressions had changed: "These conscripted peasants acted like roughnecks in front of me before, complaining about the lack of women and wine behind my back. Now they want me to uphold justice. Do they really think they're some kind of saint?"

Wu Fei quickly grasped his current position and interests: Zhao Tu was there to help him address his shortcomings in "morale" and "prestige." Under the dynastic system, if the commander-in-chief lacked prestige, he couldn't effectively implement rewards and punishments; if morale was low, the soldiers would desert at the slightest loss in battle.

Previously, in this warehouse camp, Wu Fei faced the provocations of the snake people and even worried about the predicament of not being able to recall his troops after the "retreat signal," because Wu Fei was young and lacked the necessary ferocity to kill the ringleaders who violated military orders. Lacking sufficient deterrent power, the maximum punishment he could administer was only ten strokes of the military rod. Exceeding this limit might lead to a situation where veteran soldiers and ruffians conspired to stage a mutiny while he slept.
Previously, when Xuan Chong investigated the illicit brewing in the military camp, he realized that the saying "military orders are as firm as mountains" was utter nonsense. It was because the sword wasn't strong enough to suppress these unruly soldiers. His orders were merely "suggestions for reference." Now, these scoundrels, facing Zhao Tu, dared not conspire. As Wu Fei entered the tent, the other squad leaders nervously led their respective squads back to their tents, not daring to utter a sound. Even the usual games and laughter that used to fill the tents at this time of day were gone.

Looking at the newly renovated military camp, Wu Fei exclaimed, "This is true leadership!" The heads on the flagpole swayed in the wind, as if in agreement.

…However, above the military camp, a blue star twinkled…

Six kilometers away from the main camp, a Taoist priest dressed in a robe, exuding an ethereal aura, gazed intently at the camp, a dark blue light flickering between his brows. Upon closer inspection, this blue light was revealed to be an eye. The deep blue eye seemed to hold an endless curiosity and desire within its center.

The Taoist priest fiddled with his whisk, muttering some mysterious incantation, and looked at the military granary tents, a smile appearing on his face: "The Mandate of Heaven has been bestowed; the year is Jiazi, and great fortune will come to the world."

(End of this chapter)